Hi guys! I just realized I haven't put any notes or introductions or anything before now.

So, basically, I own no rights to anything. Those all belong to Queen Jo.

Also, PLEASE send in reviews! I'd love it :)

Hope you all like the story so far!

Lily Evans had never been drunk.

Sure she'd had a couple butterbeers when the Gryffindors won a match (which seemed almost constantly, now that Potter was captain.) Once and a while, Laura and Alice and her would sneak down to the lake and dive in at midnight. Marlene was always off with some guy, but came when she could. The girls would get hammered, but Lily always assigned herself as the group mom and didn't drink more than a drop, as to help her friends back to the castle later. When she saw James that day in third year, his helplessness and loss of control, she never desired to feel that. It seemed, she reflected, that he never did again either, as she'd never seen him drink with the other Marauders, who did until they were dancing on the tables and passing out on the toilet. Although, they had only been real friends now for a couple months, so what did she know.

Lily Evans had never been drunk. As in fall-down, dance on tables, drunk. Until now.

"Lils, LILS!" She snapped her head back to Marlene, who had been trying to tell her something, but she couldn't remember what. God it was hard to focus in this state.

"As I was saying," Marlene continued grinning and lacing her fingers around some Hufflepuff's arm on the couch, "What you need is a good snog or two. I know Henry Finch has been dying to get into your pants since last year, and he's fit for a Slytherin. A good shag is all you need. That'll get all these crazy ideas out of your system. Although, I don't know what you're so up-up-upset about." She had began to hiccup. "You two would be cute as hell together."

"Stop it Marls!" Lily scoffed. "He doesn't like me that way anymore... And I'm just crazy and..." She trailed off. She felt honest-to-god tears in her eyes. Why was she getting so emotional? It wasn't like her, her, (feelings? loving?) whatever it was, it wasn't like that was more than a silly crush. She hoped.

That's why she decided to get so pissed in the first place. Stupid Potter, she thought, scowling at her drink. Her mind began to muddle, so she decided to down it. Marlene gave out an impressed whoop.

"You know, 's about time you decided to get plastered with us." She said grinning. She shooed the random boy away, and sat next to Lily.

"You're my best friend Lil, and if making you feel better means drinking to oblivion, then by God I must make it my mission to help you as much as I possibly can." She waggled her eyebrows and Lily giggled.

"I love ya Marly" She said loudly. Marlene smiled and hugged her tight. Lily was beginning to feel better.

"Oh, no, miss Prefect's here." She heard a loud booming call from behind her and looked up to find Sirius's upside down face full of mischeif.

"You gonna shut us down, like you did last time Lils? It wasn't our fault the bathrooms began to flood, and the Slytherin's common room did that on its own!" She giggled loudly at him, and he smiled back. The two had began an unlikely friendship in the middle of fifth year. They were partnered for Charms, and Lily heard a snooty Ravenclaw say he was surprised any of lily's kind would even pass any OWLS. Sirius promptly turned around and punched him in the nose. He got a month's detention for it, but Lily stopped by each one and chatted with him after her prefect duties were done, so it wasn't that bad.

"Hey Siri, member that time in fifth year?" Lily asked loudly, tugging on his sleeve. "'Member it Siri? You punched that guy, you punched him in the nose!" She laughed as if it was the funniest thing she could have ever heard. Sirius glanced down at her, surprise etched on his face. He glanced over at Marlene who nodded in confirmation.

"That's right my lad, our dear Lilykins is losing her drunk-ginity tonight." Marlene laughed as Lily pulled Sirius down on the couch by the two. He landed awkwardly on Marlene's lap, knees nocking Lily in the nose.

"Well we must make sure that this is a night our Lily will not forget then!" Sirius grinned, "Well, until she starts to forget."

"Boooo." Lily said, making a face at Sirius. "That was so corny Padfoot." She had taken to using all of the Marauder's nicknames ever since that night when Remus had told her their secret identities. That was the same night her and James decided to become friends. It all changed since then, she reflected. Sirius ruffled her hair, then suddenly she was being dragged upwards somehow, oh it was by Sirius and Marlene, oh and they're taking her to dance in the middle of the common room where the chairs have been moved out of the way, and why hadn't she thought of dancing? She loves dancing.

The room was spinning slightly, but she felt alive and care-free and just wonderful. The music was beautiful, so she began to sway her arms, smiling up at the ceiling. It was decorated with shooting stars that actually moved, and a banner with a shock of bright colors that loudly proclaimed Gryffindor's victory today against Slytherin, and effectively cinching the House Cup for the team. The banner was adorned with prancing lions. Lily smirked up at them, positive James had something to do with those, as lions were now his favorite. Earlier that week, when she was helping him with his potions essay he made her promise to wear his lucky Quidditch socks. She thought it was kind of gross but she obliged. Looking at her feet, still adorned in the maroon snitch socks, she grinned. Then she caught herself. No, she wasn't going to think about youknowwho. She looked all around her, and saw Alice and Frank in a deep snog session, and Laura heading her way, pretending to vomit as she passed them.

"How ya doing Ging?" She asked, slinging an arm around Lily.

"Super fantastic!" Lily exclaimed. The song changed to one she'd never heard. "This is my favorite song!" She cried, and she had no idea why.

She began to gyrate much quicker and move her feet at a rapid pace. Laura laughed merrily and danced beside her, until a Ravenclaw girl she'd been flirting with all night called her over. She looked over at Lily, eyes asking if it was okay for her to go. Lily grinned happily at her friend and shoved her off towards the girl. She was so proud of Laura, who was now very comfortable in her own skin. As the music got more and more upbeat, Sirius swung her and Marly around. They danced like maniacs. She began to get a few amused looks from party-goers, but she couldn't be bothered. That is, until a certain Gryffindor chaser finally decided to make his entrance.

"Oh, no..." Lily said to herself.

Cheers erupted as James made his way into the Common Room. He'd played more spectacular than normal today, Lily had to admit, taking a Bludger to the ribs in order to make an incredible goal. He was probably coming right from the hospital wing, getting patched up, as Lily saw some purple bruises on his stomach still. She could see those bruises, because James had taken off his shirt and promptly tied a Gryffindor flag around his neck like a cape. Lily knew she was gawking but couldn't help it. She'd never really seen James with his shirt off before, and his strong sculpted chest gave her heart palpitations. Drat him! She thought. How was she supposed to get over her silly crush if he came in flaunting his amazing arms and abs? It was like asking someone to stop looking at a Veela!
He was looking around the room, dramatically bowing to the cheering Gryffindors. Lily would have found this behavior horribly arrogant a few years ago, but laughed now. James had matured so much, and grown up where it really counted. It didn't matter to her anymore that he could be cocky sometimes. Once his sweeping gaze met her undoubtably gawking stare, he grinned and made his way over to her. Before her drunk mind could comprehend, he'd picked her up and swung her around in a looping circle. She squealed in shock and giddiness.

"What did I tell ya Lils? I knew the socks would work!" He shouted, beaming and putting her down. She giggled and looked up at him, the room now spinning considerably around her. He still had black warpaint under his cheeks, which was now smudged from playing. It made him look undeniably sexy. NO. She wasn't going to think about how amazing James was, how fit he looked, because he didn't want her anymore and there was no point. It was just a silly crush. Who wouldn't be attracted to strong arms, and adorable hazel puppy dog eyes?...

"No!" She said aloud. Though she didn't mean to. James looked startled. She tried to backtrack "I- I mean... Well it's just so bloody unfair!" She said, looking at his chest and eyes. That definitely wasn't effective backtracking. He now looked at her as if she'd sprouted horns.

"Am I missing something Evans?" He chuckled. She felt very confused, and had no idea how to explain her humiliating outburst. Luckily, Marlene swooped in just in time to save her from her own drunken antics.

"Oh Jamsie don't worry about Evans here, she's just had a couple more drinks than usual, or ever for that matter." Marlene said to him, taking Lily and leading her off. James stared curiously after them. Lily stumbled a bit over something, and thought she saw concern flash in his eyes.

"What are you doing?" Marlene hissed. "I thought the plan was to get rid of those Potter butterflies, not undress him with your eyes!" Lily looked at her, indignant.

"What? I wasn't doing that! It's not my fault the prat has his shirt off and his chest is..." She trailed off, smiling. Marlene cracked up.

"Deny it all you want Lily, but you are positively absolutely smitten with James Potter."

"Shhh! Keep your voice down!" She thought she had seen Sirius looking over. She turned back to her friend. "Aren't you going to try to help me here?" She asked.

"Fine, fine." Marlene said, exasperated. "If you want to keep living in denial, who am I to interfere? Let's go find you a boy to snog." She said, tugging Lily's arm.

It turned out a lot of boys wanted to kiss Lily. Through the night Marly set Lily up with Rupert Diggle, Nathan Clearwater, and Lucas Trife. They were all nice, and she did like dancing with them. Too bad she didn't want to kiss any of them. Even in her drunken state, she pushed Diggle away when he made a move, and ducked her head when Lucas gave it a shot. She didn't even get that far with Clearwater, as he had a pubescent mustache growing on his upper lip that reminded Lily of a woolly caterpillar, and when she told him so he didn't take the comment well. Sirius and Remus, who had watched the whole interaction, laughed raucously. She stuck her tongue out at them, which caused them to chase her down and tickle her feet till she apologized. Then snogging boys was removed from her mind.

"Is that Lily Evans?"

"I guess the Prefect is taking off work tonight..."

"Look at her dancing! She's hammered..."

Lily heard snippets of people saying these things, but she really couldn't give a damn. She was upset however, because no matter how much she tried, her body seemed to gravitate toward James's. They ended up chatting a lot the night, but she'd realize what she was doing, and run off. He seemed very amused at her antics, which only made her more bloody annoyed at him because he was just unfairly charming. She did notice he had a rather stony expression on when she was dancing with Clearwater, but she couldn't tell if it made her more mad or happy.

She drank more then, too. She drank firewiskey for the first time, liking the way it burned through her veins. Sirius gave her some weird elvish gin that she spat out immediately, hating the taste. Her, Remus, Peter and Marlene tried to have a drinking contest. Mary came and interrupted them with a loud burst of firecrackers she'd been wanting to set off all night. As Seeker on the team, Mary had played a key role in them winning the Cup, and was in a boisterous mood. Everyone stopped their chatter to ooh and aah at the whizzing lights dancing around the room. Lily asked her where she'd gotten the fireworks and she said from James's room. Lily felt like cold water was dumped on her head, the effect was so sobering.

It wasn't as if Mary and James were a couple or anything, but Lily saw the way she looked at him. They were together almost all the time with Quidditch, and James hasn't shown interest in dating anyone else, so there were plenty of rumors that the two were bound to get together soon. It's not like he was still hung up on her anymore, as he'd hadn't tried to ask her out once since fourth year. Lily used to find pleasure in this fact. Then the two became friends at the beginning of the year. She was happy to get to know him and the Marauders more, as they continually found ways to surprise her. Her and James were fast friends, and now she even considered him one of her best. It seemed like they could talk about anything when they were together. She'd watch his Quidditch practices and he'd help her with Transfiguration or Prefect paperwork. Them and their friends would go to Hogsmede together, and all get a big booth at Three Broomsticks. He told the funniest jokes, and she loved the way his face lit up when he saw her, as he was so happy to be her friend. And this went on for months, this easy friendship. But lately, he would give Lily butterflies, and make her feel different then before, like light was pouring out of her whenever they were together. Lily wrote it off as their friendship becoming ever stronger and didn't try to entertain any other possibilities. She really never questioned it, until earlier today. Mary and James were sitting at breakfast, both a bundle of nerves in their own way. Lily was trying to reassure them before the match, when James got up and took Mary by the hand, as to pull her up as well. Mary took this time to smack a kiss soundly on James's cheek. She said it was for good luck. He looked surprised, but definitely not upset. Then the two left for the pitch. And Lily was left there feeling as if she was falling down a long dark hole and being hit by the Hogwarts Express all at once.

Speak of the Devil Lily thought, as James was striding up to the group, cape still tied around his lanky frame. He slung an arm around Mary, boasting of the 'best Seeking skills Hogwarts ever did see' she possessed. Lily tried to convince herself it was in a brotherly way. She felt tears prick her eyes. Drat Potter! And drat me for being so drunk! She thought. She had no control over her emotions whatsoever. Her friends were talking animatedly around her to one another, but she didn't care to join in. Swallowing, she turned to go, and felt a strong hand on her shoulder.

"Alright Evans?" It was James. He looked at her softly.

"I'm fine thank you very much!" She snapped. He was taken aback.

"Lily, you've been acting strange all night. Did I do something wrong?" He asked. She couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth.

"You? How could you ever do anything wrong? You're so bloody perfect, the world would come to an end before James Potter did anything wrong!" She exclaimed, exasperated. James was very bewildered now. Lily pushed on, feeling hurt and petty. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have many boys who want to snog me and I shouldn't keep them waiting." And Lily stalked off. She heard Peter behind her, murmuring to James, Bird's a feisty one isn't she? to which he told him to shut up.

Lily walked blindly out of the portrait hole and down the corridor. She didn't want James to see her crying over him like some lovesick dope. Hearing footsteps behind her, Lily's heart sank. As she was turning to tell James off, she stumbled. Strong hands grabbed her, preventing her from falling, but they weren't James' long fingers. Startled, she looked up, and right into Sirius's silver eyes.

"Hey Ging." He said, grinning. "Figured since you stormed out on us, you'd want to be alone. But I never really do what anyone wants, so."

She was about to laugh, but instead she burst into tears.

"There there love." He said, stroking her hair. She wept and babbled to Sirius and he listened.

"Couldn't really make you out there Lils but I assume this has to do with a certain shirtless Marauder?" Sirius asked. Lily looked up and wiped her tears.

"I'm that obvious then?" She asked, sighing in defeat.

'Well, only to someone who's paying attention. James is so mad about you he can't see the evidence right in front of him." Sirius chuckled.

"James isn't mad about me." Lily scoffed. "He hasn't asked me out in ages! And he was just hanging all over Mary." She sniffled. The memory still stung.

"He only sees McDonald as a teammate. Seriously Lil you'd have to be blind not to see it. He looks at you like the sun shines out of your arse! I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous sometimes." That made Lily laugh softly.

"So what should I do now?" She asked him, like a little kid. "Everything's such a mess."

"Oh you'll figure it out." Sirius grinned ruffling her hair. "I'd reckon the first step would probably be to talk to him."

"But confronting your problems is so hard." Lily whined. Sirius barked out a laugh and the two headed back for the common room.

She was welcomed back by cheers, as the party was now in full swing. She saw James at the other side of the room, in deep conversation with Remus and some others. He had his Planning Face on. She shook herself. You're no chicken Evans, she thought. It was now or never. She began to march purposefully over to him, but when she reached the fireplace, Alice ran up and hugged her, dragging her away before she knew what was happening.

"I think Frank is going to propose!" She whispered in delight. Lily shrieked and tackled Alice to the ground. They rolled around filled with joy and excitement.

"I'm so happy for you Al. You and Frank are soulmates." She said. Alice giggled and explained that she had went up to his room to look for more fireworks and heard him in a murmured chat with Peter. It seemed that Peter was reassuring him.

""She's gonna say yes."" That can only mean one thing right?" Alice asked. Lily nodded happily, and the two jumped up and down together.

"Speaking of soulmates..." Alice trailed off, directing a meaningful look towards James. Lily shoved her and giggled.

"He probably thinks I'm bonkers, I've been acting like a fool around him all night." Lily sighed miserably.

"Yeah I heard your little spat earlier. Although doubt James would be mad at you Lil. He probably thought it was just your temper acting up."

"I should go talk to him and apologize for being nuts."

"No!" Alice cried. Lily looked at her, startled.

"No?"

"Of course not! Think about it. In the state you're in all that'll happen is you'll put your foot in your mouth again." Alice explained. Lily scowled at her, but agreed that she had a point. It seems as if she can't trust her mouth around Potter while she was drunk. She was torn between Sirius's and Alice's advice, and it didn't help that she was hammered. She looked up, realizing Alice had run off to tell Laura her news. She suddenly felt very dizzy and rather sick from all the jumping before. Sighing, she wandered though the party, lost in thought. She was about to head up to bed to make sure she didn't do anything else embarrassing when Mary grabbed her.

"Lil! We're going to play Barmaid's Broomstick, I'm trying to get up a team. Want to join?" She looked Lily expectantly. Drat her! Lily thought. Why did she have to be so nice? It was hard to be mad at someone who was so nice.

"Oh thanks for the offer Mar, but I should probably just go to bed. I'm dead hammered and..." Lily trailed, still unsure if she should get into her feelings with Mary.

"Come on Lil!" Mary whined. "I was just begging Jay to play, but he's reffing." Lily noted the nickname Mary used, and the doe-eyed expression on her face. "Said he gets too competitive, but I'm the one who's won every time we've played this year! Anyways, I need someone else on the other team!" Lily was becoming annoyed. Mary gave her a sincere smile, and she plastered one on her face. So Jay was reffing? Game on then.

"Okay, why not." Lily conceded and Mary cheered. Lily hoped she could remember how to ride a broom, as she hadn't done so in a couple years. Why had she decided to play? Mary would pummel her and James would probably see her lousy flying skills and never be attracted to her ever. She just couldn't stand leaving Mary and James off where she wasn't, which she knew was petty, but she was drunk so she was allowed to be jealous, right?

They entered the corridor, where the game was being set up, as it required much more space than the common room permitted. Lily squinted, trying to remember all of the rules to Barmaid's Broomstick. It was a popular drinking game for the Sixth and Seventh years, but Lily had never played it herself. People lined the corridors to watch or participate, chatting animatedly. James had put on a his Captains hat the team had given him, and had a shiny whistle around his neck. He saw Lily and looked wary, but began to walk towards her. Panicking, she turned around and quickly began to chat with Remus. She cursed herself for being so spineless.

"Ready to play teammate?" Remus asked, smiling wolfishly.

"Umm, so after you spin around the Beater's bat and ride the broom what do you do?" Lily asked, making sure she wasn't going to mess up. Remus chuckled at her nervous expression.

"Don't worry Lils, it's not hard to pick up."

With that, James blew the whistle to begin. The first member of their team grabbed the one of the cauldrons full of Butterbeer and took off running. Lily watched with rapt attention. He was a Hufflepuff seventh year, and Head Boy. Lily smirked, thinking how McGonagall would react to see the Head Boy chugging a cauldron of Butterbeer while others cheered him on. Him and a girl from the other team were competing, and they seemed pretty neck and neck, but he finished his cauldron first. He then took the bat laying next to the cauldron, held it vertically and spun around it. Once James blew his whistle again, he charged towards the broom, running into the walls and other students from dizziness. He got on and rode it erratically towards Remus and Lily. He crashed down and smacked Remus's hand, tagging him in. Remus whooped and grabbed another cauldron, beginning his round. Lily laughed merrily and watched them, nerves growing as it neared her turn. She looked over and saw Mary and her would be partnered together. Mary was talking to James, with her hand on his arm. Lily glared at the hand. She vowed to make it her mission to beat Mary if it was the last thing she did. Remus hurtled towards her on his broom, landing better than her other teammate, and smacking her shoulder. At almost the same time, Peter got done and tagged Mary in. Lily grabbed the cauldron and began to run. Game on.

She didn't make it to the other side of the corridor before Mary, who was much faster from her years of Seeking. But she did finish the Butterbeer before her, letting the foamy liquid run down the corners of her mouth in haste. People were cheering them both on loudly. She snuck a glance at James, who was looking directly at her with intensity in his face. She fumbled for a bit under the strength of it, caught off guard. She was brought back to the game with Remus screaming Come on Evans my grandmum can move faster than that! She shakily grabbed the bat and began spinning. She heard James blow his whistle for Mary first, but hers followed shortly after. She stood running towards her broom, but somehow she was suddenly crashing into the wall. Onlookers laughed and cheered. Stumbling with dizziness, she carefully walked towards the broom now, as to not fall again. She reached the broom, pulling it under her. Mary seemed to have a rougher time than her, and was still a couple meters away, dizzy and on the floor. Elated, Lily kicked off, and her broom shot up into the air. From lack of experience, it went much higher than she had intended, the top of her head almost reaching the ceiling. She figured that didn't matter, and began to maneuver slowly towards the finish line. Her broom swayed a bit, but she picked up speed, as she knew Mary was a better flier and she only had precious seconds of a head start.

With her lack of coordination, she felt her broom tip downwards and back up, but she tried to push through. The halls spun around her. Suddenly Mary was next to her, yelling "Lily, pull up!". Confused, Lily noticed the ground coming at her much too quickly. But she could do it, she knew she could. She wasn't going to follow advice from stupid, man-stealing Mary. Wait, man-stealing? Was James her man?

Shrieks of warning rose above the cheers. Lily was going to crash. She saw James running towards her, fear in his eyes. She tried to move the broom in a cooperative way, but her sluggish fingers made all of her movements too little, too late. James was now ahead of her, right in her path. He's going to catch me and sweep me off of my feet. She thought serenely. She pictured him catching her like a princess, and the two kissing passionately.

But instead she crashed two feet in front of him, and everything went black.