CHAPTER 7: ADMIRING FROM AFAR

A/N: We would like to start out with a very heartfelt apology. I Gred, and I Forge, are dearly sorry for the very late update. You guys probably want to kill us right now and that's okay, but we both have excuses. And so here they are:

I, Gred, was just busy with life. And then I went to Florida as well, but it was a complete surprise because my parents did not tell me we were going until we got to the airport! So I could not have known to bring my binder that me and Forge write our fic in. We call the binder Wasabi Salami by the way!

MY TURN! I, Forge had finals that I had to study for and then school ended and I had winter break so my family went to Florida. There I went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and therefore I got distracted and could not write. (WWoHP was awesome! But the lines were very very, very LONG! If you go I suggest going on less busy days. Winter break= a no no!) And when I got back school had started again and yeah, but here we are now!

Before we begin, we would like to thank Morning Lilies for having the brilliant idea for Lily and what we could do with her! Thanks for reviewing and sending us much needed suggestions!

So we will distract you no further read on!

Albus was awoken in the middle of the night because of a faint sniffling sound coming from the direction Lily was sleeping. He had always been the lightest sleeper. Ginny always joked that if the world was exploding Teddy and James could sleep through it to the end. The dark haired boy groggily slipped from the bed and put on his glasses, making his way across the room. Lily was moaning in her sleep and her bright red hair was plastered to her face with sweat.

"Lily…" he whispered. "Lils, c'mon, it's just a dream. Lily!" Gently, the older brother shook Lily. She woke up startled, but then calmed when she saw Albus's familiar green eyes.

"Oh…it's just you…"

"Yeah. What was wrong with you? Were you having a night-"

Albus was thoroughly startled when Lily unexpectedly burst into tears.

"Lily!"

"O-oh A-Albie!" Albus's eyes widened. She hadn't called him 'Albie' since she was 7. "I-I miss them s-so m-m-much!"

"Miss…who? Lily what's wrong?"

"I miss Mum and Dad!" she cried.

"You miss Mum and…Dad?"

"Yes, that's what just said! I know that I'm 11 now and I should be old enough to be without my parents b-but…I wanna go back Al! I want t-to go b-back h-h-home!" She wiped at her tears angrily. "I'm being such a baby! I can't even go a week without my parents. You must think I'm such a loser. I-"

"Lily stop." Said Al firmly. "You're not a baby and you're certainly not a loser."

"But-"

"No buts. Did you know that when I was in first year I couldn't go a day without writing Dad and Mum?"

"But that's just the thing! I can't send them an owl!" She had stopped sobbing, but her eyes still glistened with tears. "We're in the past. Our parents are 12 and 13 years old."

"Lily, I miss them too. But Dumbledore said that they are working on fixing the Time Turner as we speak. And don't forget; James, Teddy and I are with you the whole way through. Sometimes you just have to take your problem and find a way to make it work."

"Thanks Al," Lily smiled. "You always know what to say."

"Now go back to bed. It's 3AM and we need our sleep."

Lily wrapped her arms around Albus's neck.

"Love you Albie"

"Love you too, Lilypad."

~0~0~0~0~0~0~

"Guys, I'm really concerned about Lily," said Albus during breakfast as the youngest Potter disappeared into the bathroom to take a shower.

"How so?" asked Teddy.

"Last night. I heard moaning and crying in her sleep and when I woke her up she burst into tears." James raised his eyebrows.

"She misses Dad and Mum. She's upset because she can't owl them or anything."

"What did you say?" said James curiously.

Albus threw up his hands. "Nothing helpful, probably! I mean, I got her to stop crying and go back to sleep but I don't think my words really made a difference. Teddy, you should have talked to her. You always know what to say."

"I disagree." Replied Teddy. "Al, you're great with words, remember that time when James wouldn't come out of his room when his Quiddtich team lost? You were the only one who could get him to even listen, not me, not Lily, not even Dad. It was you, all you. "

"Hey!" said James indignantly. "You swore that we would never talk about that again! Some brother I have."

"Oi, James don't get your knickers in a bunch, we're the only ones here!" Albus retaliated. "So as I was saying…it's always you. You have a way with words, and I'm just the guy in the corner giving 'uh-huhs and 'oh yeahs when necessary. And James, well he doesn't even listen. He just sits there in a corner concocting new ways of getting into trouble."

"Untrue!" shouted James. "I listen... sometimes."

"My point is, Teddy-I need your help. I don't think I really got through to her. Will you talk to her?"

"Sure thing, Al."

"Thanks, Teddy. I know I can always count on you."

Teddy ruffled his already messy hair and Albus scowled half-heartedly. "Anytime, kiddo"

James cleared his throat dramatically. "I'm still here, you know!"

"We know," they chorused together.

"We just hoped that if we stopped talking to you, then you would leave."

Teddy covered his snort with a well-placed cough.

"Fine," said James, feigning hurt. "If you're so desperate to get rid of me, I'll just be on my merry way."

"'Bye now!" called Al again. James made a pout face and Albus distinctly heard him muttering something along the lines of "Cho Chang" and "she'll want to be with me".

"James, just eat your breakfast before it gets cold." Teddy rolled his eyes. "You can talk to that Chang girl later."

"She is not just a 'girl'! She is the most beautiful angel sent from Heaven above! To express my unwavering love, I am working on a heartfelt poem."

At this, Teddy and Al burst into loud laughter. They had never, never seen James act this way before. Honestly, it scared them slightly…

"This is what I have so far, tell me what you think!" his excited demeanor was back at the prospect of sharing his work.

"Uh, James I don't think-"

James cleared his throat. "A hem, hem, hem!" Albus and Teddy exchanged glances.

"Oh Cho Chang, you make my heart go BANG!" At the word bang, James leapt up dramatically and waved his arms in an exploding gesture, making Al jump.

"When you came down to earth, I'm sure the heavens all sang. The way you flip your hair and walk without a care. You make me gasp for air-air-air!"

And with that, James started to claw at his throat as if he were choking and fell to the floor in a heap, 'dead', for his great finish.

Al clapped slowly and sarcasticly. "Woooooowww."

"Wow James, I never saw you as so…artistic." Teddy was having a hard time keeping his laughter at bay, for he knew it would hurt his god-brother's feelings. James looked very proud with his work, oblivious to his younger brother's sarcasm. At that moment, Lily walked in with her long red hair in a braid down the back of her head.

"What was all that noise?" she asked curiously. "It sounded like someone was dying."

Al snorted. "You have no idea."

Shrugging, Lily looked at the table. "Oh! Chocolate chip pancakes-my favorite!" a smile was on her face, but everyone notices the slight fixation it had.

They devoured their breakfast in comfortable silence, occasionally having slight, playful banter. After Albus and James getting up to make their leave (the former throwing Teddy a look) they left the Room of Requirement.

"Hey, Lily?" Teddy hung back as Lily cleared away the rest of her plate.

"Hmmm…"

"You-you look a little down. Is something wrong?"

The smile was back on. "Nothing's wrong Ted. Why would anything be wrong?"

Teddy decided to stop beating around the bush. "Al told me that you miss your parents."

She looked down, suddenly finding a great interest in the patterns that covered the breakfast plates. "Oh…that."

"Don't be embarrassed Lily, I miss them too, but as long as we have each other I'm sure we can make it through."

She giggled a little. "That rhymes."

"Huh, really? I think James is rubbing off on me. This is bad, very bad."

"Or maybe you're just a poet and didn't even know it!"

Teddy was grateful that he was able to lighten the mood a little. "And besides, you're parents are still here, remember?"

"Still here-what? Oh, oh!"

"Oh." Said Teddy with a slight smile. "You can still admire them from afar, if it helps."

A ghost smile crossed her face. "Thanks Teddy."

"Anytime, now lets get to class before you're late."

As they walked, Lily thought. Admire them from afar…admire them from afar…admire them from afar…

But what if Lily wanted to do more than just admire?

~0~0~0~0~0~

A/N: Also, a lot of you guys were worried about James and Cho. Don't worry because Cho will NOT, NOT, NOT like James back. It will strictly be James having a crush on Cho and that is it! We hope you enjoyed the chapter! And Please, Please, Please REVIEW! IT's the only way for us to get your feed back on the story unless we personally know you, which is like 3 of our readers. So please review and let us know what you think! Any questions, comments or concerns let us know! Thanks for reading!

Review! Please! We appreciate it!

Add the part about updating shortly and such in there too please!