Chapter 7

A mere week had passed since the Saturday afternoon under the tree, but it had felt like an eternity. Lily and James were getting along better than ever; it wasn't uncommon to find the two of them in an empty Common Room or up in the boys' dorm, talking. They often lost track of time during their conversations. Anytime Lily had to vent about something, James was there to listen or offer his advice. In return, Lily listened to James, though he usually shared amusing stories about his friends' antics. With the stress of her final year and Head duties, Lily often found it was just what she needed.

Coming back from the owlry, Lily gave the portrait the password to the Common Room. There were students scattered about: Some were playing Exploding Snap or Wizard's Chess; some were attempting to study; and others were just hanging out, but two particular students caught her eye. Occupying a chair off in the corner, the couple was embarrassed in a heated snogging session. Lily marched over to the couple.

"Hem, hem," she coughed loudly.

Sirius and Summer disengaged themselves from each other and looked up at the Head Girl. Immediately, Sirius put on his heart-melting smile.

"May we help you, Ms. Evans?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, you may, by getting a room," Lily said. "You both know very well that PDA is against the rules."

"We were only kissing," protested Summer.

"No, you were setting a bad example for the younger students," corrected Lily, motioning to a group of giggling first-years watching.

Summer scoffed. "Who died and made you Mother Theresa?"

"C'mon, Sum, let's just go somewhere else," requested Sirius.

"As a seventh year, you're obligated to be a good influence on the grades below you," Lily retorted, both she and Summer ignored Sirius.

"Well, I'm sorry not everyone can be a stuck up prude like you."

"Seriously, babe, let's just go," Sirius insisted, pushing Summer up off the chair and standing behind her. Taking her hand, he practically dragged her out through the portrait.

Lily stood in dismay for a few seconds before going over to the steps and heading up to the boys' dorm. Without bothering to knock, Lily threw open the door and entered.

"Do you think I'm a prude?" she asked.

James looked over from his desk, slightly confused at her entrance and question.

"Um, no. Why do you ask that?"

"No reason," she sighed. "It's just something someone said." Lily walked over and sat on James' bed. After a moments silence, she spoke again. "Actually, it was Summer Johnson; I caught her and Sirius kissing."

James turned in the chair to look at her directly. "What did she say, exactly?"

Lily told him of the encounter.

"Don't mind her," James said after she had finished. "She's just mad that she got in trouble. You're not a prude." James could see that Lily wasn't convinced, so to lighten the mood, he added, "Of course, if you really want to prove her wrong, you could always sleep with me." Lily gave him a skeptical look and he continued, "As a bonus, I'll even tell my friends how great you were, and you could be overheard saying that I was good, but you'd had better."

Lily managed to cover her smile with a scowl.

"Do you want me to sound like a Scarlet woman?"

James shrugged.

"It's better than a bunch of snobs thinking you're a prude."

Lily sighed. "You're right." James wasn't entirely sure what he was right about until Lily added, "I was being ridiculous. I mean, since when do I care what people like Summer Johnson think? When she said that, though, I just got to thinking that maybe she was right. I've only had one boyfriend and even then, all we did was kiss. And it probably doesn't help matters that we broke up because I wouldn't do more."

"Did you love him?"

Lily didn't really see how the question was relevant, but she answered anyway. "No." She scoffed, "That's really the reason I left him: He tried pulling the 'If you loved me, you'd do this.' I just laughed in his face and said, 'Well, it's a good thing I don't love you.'"

James couldn't help but think that was definitely something Lily would say. However, what she did next utterly confused him: She cracked up laughing.

"Merlin," Lily said, catching her breath. "I must really be losing it." James decided it was best to keep his comment to himself, fearful of how she might react. "I guess all the school work and Head duties must be getting to me."

James studied her face for a second. "I don't know; your skin looks pretty clear to me."

He was right; she did breakout when she was stressed. Now the question was how James knew that. He must have sensed what she was thinking for he spoke hurriedly.

"Remus told me. After that day in fifth year, down by the lake, I had said something about the volcano on your chin; Remus told me to lay off, that you got pimples when you were stressed."

Lily nodded. "Oh." After a few second's thought, she smiled. "So, it must be you that's caused me to lose my wit."

James crossed his arms, leaning back in the chair. "This I gotta hear."

"It's quite simple, actually. Since we've become friends, I no longer have to put up with your daily harassment. Therefore, I don't have to produce cheeky comebacks. It's a case of if-you-don't-use-it-you-lose-it."

James considered this for a moment before nodding. "Okay, I see your point. So, what can I do to help?"

"Excuse me?"

"I would like to know how I can be of assistance in helping you get your wit back. I, too, have a busy schedule and, quite frankly, can't afford having you running to me every time you feel insecure."

Lily smirked. "Well, I'm terribly sorry that I've imposed on you. Maybe I should be consulting someone with more intelligence. Besides, talking to you doesn't seem to be that effective, otherwise, I wouldn't always need more advice."

Before James could get a word in, the door opened, Carmen and Kevin emerging from behind it. The couple, embraced in a kiss, failed to notice Lily and James' presence. With a shared look, they decided to see how long it took to be "discovered." In the meantime, they watched as Carmen, caught in between the wall and her boyfriend, pulled Kevin's shirt over his head, letting it fall to the floor. It became increasingly difficult to tell whose hands were whose. After about a minute, Kevin pulled away from Carmen and began kissing her neck. Carmen's hand, starting at his shoulder, slid down to Kevin's belt. It was then that she opened her eyes and noticed Lily and James, who were smiling.

"Kev," she gasped.

The boy must have taken this as a sign of encouragement for he continued to kiss her neck as his hand made its way up her shirt.

"Kevin, stop," Carmen said firmly, pushing him away slightly.

Kevin looked at her, confused. "What is it?"

"Hem, hem." Lily's cough was gentle, unlike the harsh one that she had used on Summer and Sirius.

The boy's head jerked toward the sound. His face reddened a bit. He spoke while still trying to catch his breath. "James, Lily, I-I'm sorry, we didn't see you there." His hand reached the doorknob. "We'll just go somewhere else."

James stood from the chair; Lily followed his lead. "No. No, it's okay. We'll leave." They made their way to the door. "You two have fun," he mused, following Lily out of the room.

Once out in the hall, Lily laughed. "Well, we know Carmen's definitely not a prude."

"That's for sure," James agreed as he and Lily headed to the steps.

Upon reaching the Common Room, which was still relatively full, James turned to Lily.

"Well, I should probably head to the library; I need to finish my report," he said, before his face dropped. "Blimey, I left my stuff upstairs."

"You could always wait until they're done," Lily suggested sympathetically, though a smile was playing at her lips.

"That could be a while and it's due Monday." James shook his head with a sigh. "No, I'm going to have to go up and get it."

This time, Lily laughed half-heartedly. "Good luck."

"Yeah, I'm going to need it," James grumbled as he trudged to the steps.

Lily went up to the girls' dorm. Deciding that she need to start on her own homework, she grabbed her stuff beside the bed and sat at the desk. The parchment was placed before her on the desktop, and Lily was about to dip her quill into the ink when the door flew open.

"Lily, you will never believe who just asked me out," Faith announced ecstatically. Before giving Lily a chance to guess, she blurted, "Dean Vessel."

"No way," Lily replied, standing up. "You mean, the Dean Vessel?" Her friend nodded, a grin permanent on her face. "The one you've fancied since fifth year?"

"The one and only," Faith beamed. "It turns out that he's liked me for years too; he just couldn't work up the courage to ask me out."

"I need details," Lily insisted, sitting on the bed.

Faith, however, was too excited to sit and dove right into the story. "Okay, so I was coming out of the library-I had to get books for the Ancient Runes essay. I don't understand why Professor Gortyna insists on giving us a foot-long essay to do over the weekend- but anyway. That's when we bumped into each other, literally. MY books scattered everywhere and he helped me pick them up. Both of us were apologizing profusely, adamant it was our own fault. As we were standing, he said 'You're Faith Mendel, aren't you?' I said yes, and he introduced himself-as if I needed an introduction.

"We started walking and noticed he was acting nervous, rubbing his neck and all. He mentioned Hogsmeade weekend, asked if I had any plans. Of course, by this time, my heart was about to burst. I was afraid I might say something stupid, so I just shook my head. Then, he says, all casual like, 'Well, I was kind of wondering if you'd like to hang out.' Before I could stop it, I squealed. Embarrassing, right? I was so afraid I'd scared him off, but he just laughed; he thought it was cute. There was an awkward silence. Then, he did it, he leaned forward and kissed me.

"We just spent the past half-hour talking. Well, actually, we only talked for ten minutes; the rest of the time we snogged." She got a dreamy look on her face. "He's an amazing kisser. And look-" She moved her blonde hair off her neck, revealing a bruise-like spot. "He gave me a love-bite," she said proudly. "By the way, what's wrong with James?" Lily wasn't in the least surprised about Faith's sudden change of topic. She was used to it. "I just saw him in the Common Room and he looked a bit traumatized."

"Oh, that's probably because he walked in on Carmen and Kevin." Lily went on to explain her conversation with James.

Faith laughed. "That poor lad, even after he's proven himself decent, you still find a way to blame him for everything."