Meet me in the Potions classroom just before dinner. Don't come with anyone else.

Potter

Lily stared after Potter's retreating back, which was soon swallowed up in the crowd of students leaving lunch, and then stuffed his note into her pocket. What was he up to this time?

As if to echo her thoughts, Marlene snorted. "What was that all about?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Potter being Potter. He wants me to meet him somewhere."

"How come?"

"How should I know? I probably won't even go. He'll probably have Black and Lupin waiting there to scare the hell out of me so he can get a laugh."

"Maybe I should go with you then." Marlene grinned. "I've been working on my dueling skills all summer."

"No, that's okay. You have to get to dinner early so you can get some homework in before Quidditch practice."

"That won't be a problem. There's no practice tonight. We haven't even had tryouts. Potter's booked the field for next week."

"Procrastinating as usual?" Lily asked absently, consulting her schedule to see which class she had next. Her sixth year schedule had considerably fewer classes than her fifth year schedule, but she never remembered having as much homework as she had had in the past few days.

Marlene shook her head. "He doesn't mess around when it comes to Quidditch. What do you have next?"

"Free. You?"

"Umm," Marlene frowned at her already crumpled schedule. "Free, too."

Lily returned her schedule to her bag. "I don't see how Potter got captain over you."

"Don't probe healing wounds, Lils."

"Oh, sorry."

Marlene laughed and slung an arm around Lily's shoulders. "Just kidding. He deserves it, believe it or not. He's a whole different man on the Quidditch field."

"I wouldn't exactly call him a man."

"Ouch, Lily! That's a blow to any sixteen year old male's ego."

"Yeah well," Lily grumbled, "some of the sixth year boys need to get over themselves."

"Potter and Black," Marlene coughed, drawing a laugh from Lily.

"Come on, we better hurry up so we can get some homework done before class."

Marlene let her arm fall from Lily's shoulder and groaned loudly.

"You'll thank me when you pass your N.E.W.T.s with flying colors," Lily sang out as she continued on.

"You're going to work us all to death, Lily!"

"Aura'll take pity on you and save you from that fate. Now stop complaining and come on!"

Marlene grumbled something Lily couldn't hear before she easily caught up to her friend.

xxxx

Despite her earlier conviction to get her homework done, Lily found that by the time she left the library for Transfiguration, she had only read a page of the Charms reading and completed a useless outline for her Potions essay.

The entire time that she had sat across from Marlene's bent head Lily had been unable to resist the temptation to toy with the letter in her pocket. Was Potter up to something? What did he have to say to her after last year? She would certainly be happy, no thrilled, if they never spoke again. Lily swallowed and reflexively glanced around the library, but he wasn't in sight. She didn't know if she was upset or thankful Severus wasn't there to beg her to reconsider their friendship. No, Lily had little to say to Potter. But it wasn't really Potter's fault that Severus had called her a…a mudblood. Sure Potter brought out the worst in Severus, but could Potter be held accountable? Lily's childish side cried out an indignant "yes," Potter was responsible for all of this. Her mature logic though didn't allow her to completely condemn him though. So what did he have to say to her? There was no taunting, no mischievous grin when he handed her the note. Was he up to something? Was she just wasting her time meeting him? Wasn't she? But the note was searing a hole in her pocket and in her brain and she knew she would wonder later on what he wanted.

"You're awfully quiet," observed Mary, when she met up with Marlene and Lily on the way to Transfiguration.

"Potter asked her to meet him in an empty classroom," Marlene informed her.

"So what's the problem?"

Lily blinked at Mary. "What's the problem? Who knows what Potter's up to?"

Mary rolled her eyes impatiently. "Lily he's not going to come up with anything you can't handle."

Marlene grinned mischievously. "That is unless he's waiting there to propose to her."

"No, Lily'll just hex him until even his own mother won't recognize him."

"If he kisses her."

"Lily won't let him get close enough."

"If he comes from behind."

"I'm sure Lily will have her wand ready."

Lily, stewing in her doubts, ignored her friends as Marlene continued to throw out scenarios and Mary confidently shut each one down.

xxxx

Lily got to the room early, her wand drawn as she first checked the classroom for any "surprises" Potter may have set up. Satisfied that the room was clear, she took a seat in the back of the room where she would see Potter before he spotted her. It wasn't long before she heard a lone pair of footsteps stop outside the door. They paused and Lily held her breath. Maybe she shouldn't have come. Potter never had anything important to say anyway.

Frantically, she looked for a place to hide before he opened the door. He'd think she'd stood him up and then he'd leave.

Lily bolted for a cabinet near Professor Slughorn's desk just as the door opened.

"Oh."

The word was drawn from each of them simultaneously as they paused in their movement to watch one another warily.

"You're early."

"Yeah," Lily replied stupidly, unable to think of anything else to say. She nearly winced, but restrained herself. Let Potter choose what he wanted the word to mean.

Potter cleared his throat and stepped into the classroom. Lily raised her wand warily, but he held up his hands, letting her know he didn't have his wand at the ready.

"You came."

"Obviously."

Potter's face squirmed and his hand leapt up to plough through his hair. He turned and shut the door. He was brave, or stupid, leaving his back open to her wand.

"Hurry up, I don't want to be late for dinner," Lily snapped, her anger at him rising uncalled upon.

Potter turned toward her and shoved his hands into his pockets. "I wanted to say sorry," he mumbled in a rush.

"Well this is a new side of the great James Potter." Lily drawled, crossing her arms. What the hell was going on here?

"Lily—,"

"Evans."

"Evans, I'm really sorry about," his face contorted as if the words were getting stuck in his mouth, "about what happened at the lake last year."

Lily felt her jaw slacken and then reeled it back in with a click of her teeth. Potter's face was oddly earnest, as if he really meant what he said. Well, this was certainly a change. Marlene and Mary hadn't covered this possibility. She watched him as he stood there, his hands in his pockets as he stared back at her. He obviously had said as much as he meant to say at the moment.

"What are you sorry for?" she asked carefully.

"About the whole—well, you know, the you-know-what-word thing," he mumbled, looking away from her. He obviously hadn't expected her question.

Lily swallowed. "You didn't call me a mudblood."

He winced at the word, and she ground her teeth as he once again shoved a hand through his hair. She wanted to shave the jungle off his head so he'd stop dragging his fingers through it. "I was the cause of it."

"Aren't you sorry for what you did to Severus?"

Potter suddenly looked bemused as he blinked at her and adjusted his glasses on his face. "I thought you weren't friends anymore."

"We're not."

His eyebrows knit. "So what does Snivellus have to do with this?"

Lily threw up her hands. "Potter, you were bullying him!"

"Not really, but what does that have to do with you?"

"Everything, Potter!"

"Look, I'm trying to apologize here, Evans!"

"For what, though?"

"I told you," he snapped, for the first time showing his agitation, "for what he called you."

"That's for Severus to apologize for, which he already has."

"Then what am I supposed to be sorry for?" he threw at her, his hazel eyes darkening.

"I don't know, you're the one who asked me to come here. But maybe for bullying Severus, for making fun of people just because they're not as "popular" as you are!"

"What does that have to do with you?"
"Are you really that thick, Potter?" Lily spat.

Potter scowled and his mouth inched toward a sneer. "No, I'm just trying to figure out why you always have to pretend to be so righteous. I try to apologize and you act like I've wronged you a hundred times over."

Lily felt the heat rising in her cheeks, and her wand slipped around in her sweaty palm. "That's a pretty close estimate, Potter."

"You know what, forget about it! Forget I ever apologized!"

He turned to fling the door open and found himself upside down in the air.

"Put me down, Evans!" he roared, glaring at her as he tried to keep his glasses on his face.

"I really don't think I will."

His face reddened, though Lily couldn't tell if it was purely from the blood flow to his head. "I'd've let you get a look if you'd just asked."

"You're not in a position to be a smart arse, Potter," Lily told him coolly.

He sneered. "I didn't know little Miss Perfect Prefect swore."

"Shut up, Potter. I'm trying to figure out what to do with you."

"Don't expect me to ever apologize to you again!"

"I would've listened if you'd apologized for bullying my friend and taunting me when I stood up for him. Now shut up."

Potter heaved out an angry breath as he dangled in the air before her. His scowl faded slightly when Lily grinned at him.

xxxx

Potter's roars of protest faded as Lily put a silencing spell on the door and danced away to dinner. She'd be afraid of detention if Professor Slughorn weren't the one likely to find Potter.

"How'd the meeting with Potter go?" asked Mary as Lily slid into the place that they had saved for her.

Lily barely contained her grin. "He's still cooling off from the fight we had."

"Over what?" asked Carlotta curiously.

Lily shrugged. "The usual."

"How angry is he? He's not going to take it out on us in a surprise Quidditch practice is he?" asked Marlene.

Lily couldn't hold back her grin any longer. "Oh well, you know, he'll get over it and…float on."

And she wouldn't say anymore.

xxxx

Sirius and Remus roared with laughter when the three marauders found their errant member at one o'clock in morning.

James was sitting in nothing but his boxers in a chair far above the floor of the Potion's classroom, his arms crossed as he scowled down at them.

"Shut up, Padfoot, I can't even feel my legs anymore," James rasped, his voice hoarse from yelling.

"Did she put you in time out?" Peter asked timidly.

"Just get me down," snapped James.

"I told you to bring your wand," Sirius gasped through his laughter.

"I did. She took it from me and put it on the floor."

Peter shook his head as he desperately tried to suppress his laughter. "Hell knows no fury like a woman's wrath."

"It's 'a woman scorned' you idiot," croaked James, "and just get me down. Actually no, let Remus and Sirius do that. I don't want to break anything."

"Why'd she take off your clothes, mate?" Sirius called up, holding his hand out to Remus so he wouldn't let James down until he answered.

"She told me that if I was so eager to show off other people's underpants, I could show off mine to the entire Potions class or Hogwart's faculty," James replied, knowing his "best friend" wouldn't let him down without an answer.

"Maybe we should leave you up there," Remus joked.

"It's not funny!" James's shout was ineffectual with his absent voice.

"I don't know, mate, it kind of is." Sirius took out his wand. "So, guess it didn't go over as well as you thought it would? Even you in your boxers didn't incur Lily's sympathy."

James scowled and Sirius howled. "Did she tell you it wasn't worth it?"

"I'm never going to hear the end of this," groaned James.

"We can always see what Professor McGonagall thinks tomorrow morning!"

"Padfoot, Moony, shut up and get me down off this bloody chair!"

I didn't want to give it away at the beginning, but James sitting in a chair above the floor was inspired from a scene in the musical Spring Awakening (my new favorite musical!) where Melchior, the lead male, sits in a chair several feet off the stage for several songs. The scene is preceeded by the song Totally F...ed, which I felt appropriate to James's plight and therefore used as my inspirational song.