A/N: A few people told me that James was a bit 'off-putting' and cold. So, here he is, his cheerful self. Plus, this is a kinda important chappie! After all, being a LOOOOOOOOOONG one (well, to me at least), it would have to have some important things in it.

A/N: The main plot hasn't really kicked off as of yet. The KayCee issue is a side plot, just so that I can set the scene for y'all before the main course can get here. =) (And yes, I did refer this story to being a meal. Let's hope it's at least three stars! :P)

"Remus! Remus!"

Remus Lupin whipped around, searching for who called his name. Lily made her way over to the Werewolf and handed him his book and quill.

"You left this in Defence Against the Dark Arts," Lily explained.

"And," Lily said before he could escape, "Remember your swap with Ann Marie."

Remus nodded, a distant look on his face.

"Remus? Are you OK?" asked Lily, concerned.

"Well... No, to put it lightly. Full moon's tomorrow," he added in an undertone.

Lily nodded. "Oh, OK, bye."

Remus gave her a half smile and absent-mindedly whistled his way down the hall.

Lily turned and bumped into a very toned chest, causing her books to fall.

"Oh, sorry, I got distracted by that shiny thing over there. Sorry again," said a nervous voice. Lily looked up and saw the very apologetic face of James. She blinked up at him, and he bent down, grabbed her books and placed them in her hands.

"Sorry, er, again," he said sincerely.

Lily looked into his face, searching. He seemed 'normal'. In fact, his face had a happy, well fed look. His molten hazel eyes were energetic and he looked... great, Lily admitted timidly to herself. Then, she mentally slapped herself. Potter? Looking great? Get a grip on yourself! Then, she noticed something was missing.

"Potter," said Lily, concerned somewhat, "Where's your glasses?"

"Peter sat on them."

"Ouch. Why didn't you Reparo them?"

"Would you honestly like to wear something that went under Peter's butt on your face?"

"No."

James smiled at her. Then he narrowed his eyes and stiffened as he recognised her. James' eyes widened in fear, anger, and longing.

"Well. Bye," he said quickly before he dashed around the corner. There was a loud crash, as though someone knocked into a suit of armour.

"That was weird," stated Lily to no one in particular.

"You're telling me."

Lily turned and saw Bridget with her arms folded and a raised eyebrow.

"What?" asked Lily. Bridget shook her head and she looped her arms through Lily's, dragging her to an empty classroom.

"Do you like him?" asked the Veela upon closing the door.

"Wait, what?" asked Lily, bewildered.

"James. Do you like him?" repeated Bridget, leaning against the teacher's desk.

Lily blinked. Then, she scoffed.

"It's Potter. Of course I don't like him. Why do you have to ask me this every year?"

It was true. Every year Bridget would drag Lily into an empty classroom and repeatedly ask her if she liked James. Bridget dragged a slender hand through her hair and sighed.

"Look, this year he's changed. A lot. I don't know why you refuse to see this. I think that you two would hit it off if you gave him a chance."

"You honestly think that?"

"Yes, I do honestly think that."

"Tell me an example on how Potter's changed," said Lily stubbornly.

"Well, he hasn't ask you out, he hasn't done any pranks, heck he even put Peter in detention for charming Snape's hair blue."

"I said an example, not three."

Bridget rolled her eyes.

"So, do you think he's changed?"

"No. How do you know he isn't gearing up to ask me out, play a gigantic prank, and charming S-S-" Lily gulped, her eyes pained. "his hair blue and blaming it on Pettigrew? After all, Halloween is on Sunday and it's a Hogsmeade weekend."

Bridget sighed, frustrated.

"Merlin, Lils! You're as stubborn as a horse's behind!"

"I do not enjoy being referred to as a horse's behind, thank you very much."

"You're welcome."

The two girls glared at each other, then Lily softened.

"Look, it's never going to happen. I'm sorry," she said, placing her hand gently on her friend's shoulder.

"I promise you, it will happen at least once by the end of the year!" chanted Bridget. Lily gave her a half-smile.

"Care to make a wager on that?"

Bridget grinned, her stormy blue eyes brightening. "One galleon."

"Deal."

They shook hands, both assured about the outcome.

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

Bridget dug in her heels as Lionel, Lily and KayCee pulled her out into the grounds.

"C'mon Bridget, it's a rare bit of sun. It's not going to kill you,"

"The sunlight might not, but it will!"

"He's not an it!"

"To you."

Bridget struggled against her friends, but she was fighting a losing battle. One, there was a perfectly toned male Beater for Gryffindor pulling her, two, Lily was way stronger than she looked. Three, KayCee, although tiring easily 'these days', she managed to pull Bridget rather far on her own.

"Look, it's either meeting him, or meeting the squid. He might not be there."

"It will be, I know it! Don't make me go out there!" Bridget struggled against her friend's strength again, before admitting defeat.

"Fine. I'll go out there, but I'm going to keep my head down so that it won't see me."

"Bridget, you're a Veela for crying out loud!"

Lily glared at Lionel. It was, after all, meant to be a secret that Bridget was adopted and a Veela.

"Right, not helping."

They managed to get through to the weak sunshine and sit underneath a beech tree, savouring the feel of the sun before the cold winter would take over.

"Hey," said a soft voice. Everyone looked up, shading their eyes.

There stood Drew Brocklehurst, his olive skin and black hair giving him the classic Latino look.

He only had eyes for Bridget, who attempted to discreetly hide.

It wasn't that he wasn't handsome. No, it was that Bridget was crushing majorly on him, and that she had a very bad experience with Latinos, which involved Bridget turning into her vulture form. And that Drew was a very tantalizing guy, who had the ability to get a girl to stop breathing for ten seconds if he merely winked at her.

And she was afraid that if she gave in, she'd get heart-broken, and even though Bridget was heartbroken only once before, it was plenty horrible. Excessive tears, not caring for anything, chest pains, period problems, and her magical energy had gotten so low that she couldn't even Wingardium Leviosa a feather was just a gist of the issue.

Bridget had confided her fears to her best friends the year before, but to Lily, it seemed like exposing Bridget would be the only way to get rid of her fears.

Drew smiled and sat down beside Bridget who turned away.

"Uh, KayCee, have you started on your Herbology homework?" asked Lionel, breaking the tension.

"Huh? Oh, no, I haven't. Have you?" asked KayCee.

"I've finished. Do you want some help?"

"Yeah, uh, OK."

KayCee and Lionel pulled their books out of their bags, and Lily pulled out her favourite Muggle classic: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.

Bridget and Drew sat in silence, Bridget watching the surface of the lake ripple, and Drew watching the way her hair blew in the wind.

After a few minutes of silence, only broken by the whisperings of Herbology theories and whatnot, Lily eyed Bridget and Drew over the top of her book. Bridget was edging away very slowly, and Drew was just watching her.

Lily frowned, then returned to her book.

As the sun began to sink beneath the horizon, Bridget had managed to sit beside Lily and Drew had gone off somewhere.

Lily shielded her eyes and sighed in a depressed sort of way. Hello winter, she thought. Lily sat there for a moment, considering many things... NEWTs, that nice Hufflepuff guy that eyed her a while back, the pigheaded Malfoy, Severus, her sock, James' behaviour, KayCee's predicament, Lionel, the Senior Party...

Suddenly, it all came back to her in one fluid motion.

Lily sighed, flopping onto her bed in a party dress and high heels. For once (well, thrice) in her schooling life, she decided that she might as well have fun at a party.

One thing worried her, though. It was unchaperoned and there was unlimited Firewiskey.

Sighing again, she crossed the room and sat at her vanity, applying hardly any makeup onto her face. After putting on a thin, golden chain that had the word 'Lily' in silver hanging from it, she twisted her hair into a curly bun.

She made sure that her knee-length and strapless bottle green bubble dress was fitting properly, and that her black stilettos were not going to break anytime soon, she headed out.

Lily bumped into James on the way out of the Heads Quarters and gasped. He looked simple with dark green dress robes, yet it suited him perfectly. He faltered as he drank in her appearance. They stood there for a moment, looking into each other's eyes, when James' face hardened and he turned away.

Lily stood there, blinking. She was unsure. Surely James would've asked her out right then and there, as he was accustomed to doing for the past three years.

Strangely, this bothered her. Shaking her head, she followed him down the corridor and into the Great Hall. It was transformed into a golden and white picturesque ballroom that had many round glass tables with centre pieces skirting the edges of the room. A stage had been set where the teachers' table usually sat and the Summer's Edge band was tuning their instruments and sound checking their microphones.

There was a food and drink table to the side of the stage and Peter Pettigrew, Mary McDonald, Remus Lupin, Jean Wesley, Sirius Black, two Hufflepuff girls begging for Sirius' attention, and some other seniors crowded it, chatting merrily.

There was a gigantic banner above all this that read 'Welcome to your final year! Celebrate!' and Lily laughed at the awkward picture of a witch that resembled McGonagall drinking Firewiskey heavily and dancing without much coordination. Lily laughed even harder as she thought of the way McGonagall's lips would disappear at the sight of the moving imitation of herself.

Some Ravenclaw girls were huddled in a corner, sobbing. As Lily looked over at them, she felt an urge to cry as well. This was her last year at this wonderful school. Her last year of seeing many things, such as Slytherins and Gryffindors cheering their hearts out for their respective teams. Her last year before being thrown in the middle of a war. Her last year under Dumbledore's careful eye, watching and helping her. Her last year before she would defend the Wizarding world against the nameless evil. Her last year before she would choose her career. Her last year before she would face danger and death in a horrible mix. Her last year before she would witness and cry for the fallen...

Before she thought much deeper into that, she turned away from the girls and stared at the gold and white decorations.

"Ahem," a cocky voice said behind her. Thinking it was James, she turned and was ready to spit a mouthful of fiery sentences. However, there, in periwinkle blue, stood a Slytherin boy with gleaming teeth and blond, carefully stylised hair. His blue eyes twinkled in the soft glow of the chandelier above the group. She recognised him as Gilderoy Lockhart. Lily never saw him up close and was well aware of the blush creeping into her cheeks.

"Would you like to dance?" he asked in a voice that almost made Lily swoon.

"Y-yes," she said before taking his hand and waltzing around the room, relishing the catchy tune emanating from Summer's Edge. She had to admit, they were good.

As the night grew longer, the people got rowdier. One boy went so far as to grope her chest. Realising this as her cue to leave, she hurried out of the Great Hall and to Blank's portrait. He blushed and was suddenly flustered at the sight of her and she raised an eyebrow, uttering the password. He coughed and bowed, allowing her entry to the Head's Quarters.

Lily gratefully slipped off her shoes and took a hot, relaxing, lavender scented bath before pulling on her pyjamas and slipping into her warm bed, hoping for sleep to overtake her.

Well, it didn't, and she sat there, awake, thinking more about the future. A realisation hit her like a ton of bricks. She might not make it through this war. She looked at her clock, which read 2:20 am. Lily forced herself to yawn, her eyelids finally getting heavily, when someone thumped, giggled and wrenched open the door.

Lily blinked at the intruder, terrified for a moment, until she realised that it was just KayCee. KayCee giggled.

"Hiya Lillian!"

It was then that Lily took in her friend's clothing. She was wearing a red and black lacy bra and matching underwear. A brown cowboy's hat sat jauntily on her head.

"Er, KayCee, have you always been wearing that?"

"Nope! Hehe, I never noticed but your wardrobe looks funny!" KayCee giggled and pointed at a small replica of the Eifel Tower that stood on a small round, tall table.

Lily stared as her friend darted around the room, singing a song that obviously had been played at the party.

"You know, Firewiskey's great! It makes small butterflies appear everywhere!"

KayCee suddenly clapped, as though catching one of the 'butterflies'. Then, she started to stumble around.

"Lionel has really nice hair," stated KayCee randomly, after stumbling around and laughing at Lily's window.

Lily raised an eyebrow. Suddenly, there was a pile of sick at KayCee's feet. Lily jumped out of her bed, grabbed her wand and cleared away the mess.

"That's an ugly umbrella," KayCee pointed at a horrible lace umbrella that was leaning against the real wardrobe. KayCee sunk to her knees and vomited again. Lily shrugged and grabbed the umbrella, which was a Christmas gift from Petunia, and transfigured that into a wet towel.

Lily gently cleaned her friend up, and used her wand to make the small pile of vomit clear away. She helped KayCee to the bathroom and flipped the toilet lid open and KayCee vomited in that.

"Ugh," said Lily. After all of this vomiting, Lily realised that if she saw or heard any more vomiting, she would also vomit.

"Er, when you're... finished, tell me, 'kay?" asked Lily without waiting for an answer and closing the door.

What amazed Lily was the fact that KayCee had managed to get up and into the Head's Quarters. Softening, Lily used a cleaning spell to take away the vomit on the transfigured towel. It had a scent of citrus fruits and Lily folded it and placed it on her vanity chair. She crossed the room and pulled out a spare pair of pyjamas and a navy sleeping bag and a few cotton pillows. Placing the sleeping back and pillows in a comfortable position, she knocked on the door to the bathroom.

"KayCee? You finished?"

"Yeah. Wait... yeah," Lily opened the door and KayCee was sitting beside the toilet, her hat askew.

Lily smiled gently at her friend and flushed the toilet. She freshened the air with her air freshener. KayCee stood up, swayed, then sat back down again. Lily duplicated her toothbrush, put some toothpaste on the duplicate and gave it to KayCee.

"This is funny!" giggled KayCee, obediently brushing her teeth. She spat in the sink and wiped her mouth. While KayCee was doing this, Lily used her wand to clean her friend's underwear.

"Here," she said to KayCee, dragging her back into the dorm. KayCee saw the pyjamas and put the bottoms on her head.

"Hey, Lils, this doesn't work!" KayCee said feebly.

Patiently, Lily dressed her friend and tucked her into the big four-poster bed, where KayCee yawned and snuggled in the blankets.

"Lionel," she whispered before falling asleep. Lily watched her friend for a while before shrugging. Maybe KayCee will tell her the deal about Lionel tomorrow morning. Thank Merlin it was a Saturday.

Lily shook her head, the sun suddenly glaring into her eyes. She checked her watch and looked at her friends. Dinner was going to start soon. Bookmarking her page, she closed Great Expectations and stood up, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

"Well, time to go," stated Lily, stretching.

KayCee and Lionel looked up and nodded, stuffing their quills and homework (they had managed to finish all of their assigned things) and Lionel helped KayCee up.

Bridget dusted herself off and started slowly towards the doors. Lily, KayCee and Lionel followed her silently.

Bridget pushed her beans around on her plate. KayCee grabbed as much as she could, as usual, and Lionel ate a respectable amount of dinner. Lily had finished her meal and crossed her arms, staring at the starry ceiling.

"... Prongs, you've been acting weird lately..."

Lily's attention snapped to the end of the Gryffindor table.

"...I'm not!"

"...face it, Padfoot's right,"

"Thanks Moony,"

"Anyway... is it a girl?"

"No."

A gasp emitted from Peter.

"It's a guy!"

Lily laughed silently, then considered. In a way it could be true. After all, he was no longer desperately chasing after her.

"What the hell, no way."

"... just wrong..."

"Lately, you've been quiet, and been acting like the living dead. What's wrong?" pressed Remus. Lily edged further towards them, curiosity getting the better of her.

"I-I can't tell you."

"Prongs, you're our friend, you can tell us."

"...can't!"

"...can't or won't?"

"I can't! I wish I could but I can't!"

"Can we guess?"

"No! How hard is it for you to understand that I CAN'T?" James slammed his fork down with such force that several plates and utensils rattled. He grabbed his bag and hurried out of the Great Hall.

Interesting... thought Lily.

"Hey, I'm full, I'm going to go to bed," she announced to her friends. Lionel nodded, KayCee waved and Bridget looked at her with a half smile.

Lily got up with difficulty, grabbed her things and hurried out of the Great Hall.