Hey I finally feel like I'm back in the zone! Here's you're new chapter! I'm halfway through the next too so it won't be too long between updates! A massive thank you to all my reviewers and everyone who favourited me :D. Boys be warned, girls really do plot this much!

Thank you to Chubbypotato for pointing out my mistake with adding Molly Prewett. I've edited that section to make it work! I want to keep this story as historically accurate as i can so if i ever mak another booboo like that please let me know!

Chapter 5

A large box of Honeydukes magnificent chocolates sat open on a crimson bedspread, every single one under the scrutiny of two plotting Gryffindors.

The first chosen was a caramel.

"Ok update me," said Alice, tossing the wrapper carelessly.

"Potter has a strategy in place," said Lily, picking up a strawberry cream.

"A strategy?" Alice asked, popping the whole chocolate into her mouth.

"From what I can tell," Lily replied, nodding. "I rumbled him last night. Hence the emergency meeting."

"Wha' he'djo?" Alice enquired thickly.

Lily took a bite from her confection, making sure to catch the sweet cream on her tongue. "Mm – he was fine at first," she started between blissful chews. "Just Potter you know? Cocky. But he had this shy thing starting off –"

"James?!" Alice said, wide eyed. "James and shy in the same scenario?"

Lily raised her eyebrows.

"Sorry. No interruptions. Continue."

"Yes shy. Caught my attention too. I'd steered clear of the sofa –" (Alice nodded since she'd taken to interrogating Lily about her various dreams) "– and he mentioned ever-so-innocently for the third time about why we weren't over there. No teasing, you know? Like he wanted me to move us over there. Oh and this was after he'd tickled my feet and..."

Lily exposed the purple bruise appearing on her pale knee.

"Kissed the owie better.'

Alice's hand shot into the air, the other attempting to unwrap a chocolate.

"Question?"

"Explain the owie?"

"Banged my knee on the table," said Lily, uncrossing her legs from under her to mimic her position during the occurrence. "Foot up on the seat, knee showing above the table. He leans over and kisses it. Swear he looked panicked for second too."

"Understood," Alice nodded. "Then he enquired about the sofa again? And you..."

"Well once I realised what he was trying to do –"

"Who were you to deny him that comfy seat?"

"My thoughts exactly."

"So where do you need me in all this?" asked Alice with a knowing grin.

Lily smirked back. "Your mission, should you wish to take it, is reconnaissance. You my wonderfully feminine friend, will play for both sides. You will use your wiles to weedle answers from our Marauder boys, under the pretence of trying to help James and I get together."

"Pretence?" Alice asked, raising her eyebrows.

For the first time since they'd sat down, Lily felt uncomfortable. She avidly inspected her nails.

"The outcome I would like is that date to Hogsmeade," she said after a moment. "I'm still too unsure of what I'm feeling to think any further into this than that. I need to go on this date to set my mind straight. And since his current strategy seems to involve not asking me out – no I am not asking him myself –" She added in before Alice could speak. "– I'm going to have to break his resolve. I tested the waters last night. He's determined, I'll say that for him, but I know he was reacting to me. So I need to up the ante."

"How exactly did you 'test the waters'?"

Lily cocked an eyebrow.

"Do you remember the day you got Frank to drag you out of the library when he was halfway through his beloved Herbology essay?"

"Oh, you mean the time I bent over right in front of him and then hugged him with half my cleavage on show and my chest pressed right against –"

Alice's eyes went wide with comprehension.

"Lily!"

"What?" she asked, eyes wide with false innocence.

"You pressed your lovely jubblies against James Potter?!'

"Perhaps," she said, fighting the cackle that comes with this kind of plotting. "I may have also flashed some thigh. Oh and I was driving him mental with innocent comments in an innocent voice.'

Alice promptly proceeded to choke on a chocolate.

"If I may quote Molly Prewett," said Alice after her eyes had stopped watering. "You scarlet woman!"

The laughter burst from Lily now. Molly Prewett had been a fellow red-head whom Lily and Alice had met at Frank's seventeenth birthday. Her husband Arthur was good friends with Frank's father at the Ministry and both of them were actually distantly related to the Longbottoms. Despite the fact that Molly was older, and had several children in tow, she'd been rather talkative with Lily and Alice.

Molly had a nurturing side, rivalling anyone Lily had ever known. in the few hours they'd spent together, she'd preached to Lily and Alice about how to have a man treat you with respect and that they were above wearing short skirts and low cut tops and giving themselves away too easily. Lily had took her words seriously... well regarding the male of the species anyway. The wardrobe rules were a little extreme for her. And every time she heard her mutter the words 'scarlet woman' when she saw any girl at the party flashing too much flesh, Lily had to stuff her knuckles into her mouth to stifle her giggles.

But she supposed Molly must have been onto something. Between the look her husband got whenever he was in her presence, or the wonderful children they shared, there was no denying her principles had a lot of perks.

"We should write to her," sighed Lily, unwrapping a hazelnut surprise.

"Definitely," said Alice. "Wish I could see her face though when we tell her you finally fancy Potter. She'd clocked the two of you straight away."

Potter had indeed been at attendance with his parents. Lily had avoided him all night, much to Molly's amusement.

"Yes, yes I'm sure she'll jump up and down then send me a howler back screaming 'I told you so!'" said Lily, rolling her eyes.

Alice was, all of a sudden, looking at her in an extremely funny way.

"What?" asked Lily, rubbing her face, thinking she must have chocolate smudged somewhere.

"I just said you fancy Potter," Alice said slowly, her blue eyes gleaming. "And you didn't deny it, or refute the fact in any way."

Lily felt herself blush, but steeled herself. She called on every ounce of Gryffindor courage in her; and nodded.

"Yes."

Both she and Alice blew out a long breath at the same time. And then promptly started to giggle.

"Ok," said Alice, composing herself. "You have another tutor session with James in two days. While you're there, I'll consult with the other Marauders. Now about upping the ante?"

"I was actually hoping you'd help me with that." said Lily. "See, I don't want to come across like a – dare I say it – scarlet woman around him all the time. I'm trying to get him to ask me out, not throw me down on a table."

Alice raised her eyebrows sceptically. Lily blushed but smirked.

"I've only just admitted I've fancied him you're not getting anything else out of me right now. But I want to do this properly Al. I don't want what ever this might become to be just a cheap shag. How do I do that? How do I make myself irresistible without shoving everything in his face?"

Her best friend simply looked at her for a moment, before her face split into a grin.

"I think I've got an idea."

***

"Prongs trust me! Just a little bit! I swear I've had women throw themselves at me with this!" grinned Sirius.

"For the last time Padfoot," said James, attempting to flatten his hair. "I am not wearing your cologne!" He promptly gave up with the jet black mess. "This is a tutor session, not a date. I'm sticking to the plan. This is strictly a friend helping another friend. Besides you've only ever shagged two girls.'

"Two more than you on the last count," said Sirius, settling for spraying his cologne on himself. "Plus no one else knows that."

"I don't see why you care," James said, pulling on his second best jumper since his Gryffindor one had gone missing.

"Don't really," Sirius shrugged. "But why spoil their fun. Everybody thinks I'm a stud, which in itself is a true fact, so why tell them otherwise. You see –' he clasped his hands together, staring doe eyed at the ceiling. "– I'm really rather selfless like that.'

James snorted and was then swiftly struck by a stray pillow.

"Hey I was being serious!"

"You always are," said Remus, who'd just came out of the bathroom. "Prongs give it up already or you'll end up bald," he added when his hand had started tugging and combing again.

"But Lily doesn't like in messy,' whinged James, settling for ruffling it to its messiest. "Bloody sack of shit. She's a complete hypocrite too you know! I've seen her fluffing her ridiculously nice hair up just like I do!"

"Do you think we should explain the differences between men and women to him again?" Remus asked to Peter, who chuckled.

"Shut it for a minute Moony yeah?" said Sirius, watching as James got more and more frustrated.

James was thankful for that. He was barely keeping himself calm right now, he didn't need them ragging on him, even if it was just playful.

"What's up Prongs?" asked Sirius, clearly clicking on that something other than them was bugging him. "Is it about meeting Evans? Because the cologne offer still stands."

James had to crack a grin there, but drew breath anyway. He still hadn't told them of Lily's behaviour at their last encounter. But it had to be done.

"Actually it's about our last meeting," he said quickly. "I think she was... well I'm probably crazy but I thought, maybe, for a minute, shewasflirtingwithme.'

He said it so fast but they all seemed to understand. Sirius blinked.

"What did she do?"

Swallowing, James ended up ruffling his hair habitually.

"She, er, she was talking in this tone. Sat really close to me on the sofa, like bodily contact close. And... she hugged me."

"Well she might have been," started Remus, shifting uneasily. "But Lily does hug quite a lot. She does with me –"

"No," James said, closing his eyes at the memory. "I mean she hugged me. With her –" he gestured around his chest " – against me."

"Lily Evans?' said, Sirius, sitting down. "Pressed her jubblies against you?"

Turning back to the mirror, James nodded but refrained from telling them of her, what seemed to him to be, suggestive comments. It was probably just him being a randy git again after all.

He caught sight of Moony's thoughtful expression in the glass, his brow furrowed in the way it was when tackling a particularly vicious essay.

"Moony wotcha thinking?"

Remus shook his head, closing his eyes.

"Not sure yet," he muttered. "There's something weird. Ask again later."

Just as he checked his watch, thinking that Moony was like one of those Muggle magic 8 balls, there was a knock on their door and he jumped. Shit, she's not supposed to be coming up here! She's going to cancel. Oh shit she's going to slap me!

"Merlin Prongs chill out," said Sirius under his breath as Peter opened the door.

Thankfully it was only Alice, a slim box under her arm and he breathed a sigh of relief. Wonder why she's here. Oh shit I bet Lily sent her to tell me to shove off!

"Good evening boys," she said, entering without asking.

"Welcome to our most private sanction," greeted Sirius with a bow. "To what do we owe this honour and disturbance?"

"Is Lily cancelling our session?" James blurted out, mouth and brain not quite in unison.

Alice looked at him, a slight smirk on her face. "Not that I'm aware of. She's been in your room since tea. But I'd go now, she'll kill you if you're late."

James didn't even paused to say his 'see you laters', just immediately bolted from the room with his bag.

"So, not that it's not delightful, but why the visit Alice?" asked Remus, closing the door after James.

The blonde simply walked over to James' bed and plonked herself down.

"It's time the four of us had an important chat," she said, opening the box. "Chocolate anyone?"

***

James was panting by the time he reached the portrait of the Gryffindor lion. The way Alice had said 'your' room had almost sent his brain into meltdown. Because she was right. This was their room. The room the two of them spent time in together; intimately. The place that had sofas and books and bathrooms...

And bedrooms.

James swallowed hard multiple times and choked the password.

"Strawberry cream." Lily's favourite.

The lion growled approval and the door swung open for him. He walked in, looking to the desk, but finding it empty.

"Lily?" he said into the room.

That's when he heard a the soft shift of fabric on fabric, and rhythmic breathing coming from the sofa.

"Lily?" he said again, softer.

The plush carpet cushioned his steps until he reached the back of the settee, intending to make her jump.

But his eyes widened at sight that he met.

OOOOh another cliffie haha

Please let me know if i've done an all right job or not :D and like i said the next should be up soon! Love to you all! XXXXXXXXXXX ps sorry about the edit but i want to do this right