"So you mean to tell me… Severus is a Death Eater?" Lily asked quietly.

"About to be one, yeah."

Lily took a deep breath. "So if you and James hadn't…"

"Who knows." Sirius replied shortly. Lily nodded.

"Well, I'm not surprised. He's the type." She shrugged trying to seem like she was telling the truth. "I'm done with him anyway. Through. Finished." She said, convincing herself.

Sirius nodded, eyebrows raised. "If you say so…"

"And James told the whole Great Hall the truth?" Lily asked, recapping their previous conversation.

"Yup."

"Well… thank you. For… you know." Lily looked down at her lap. Sirius nodded again.

"I guess I should talk to James…"

"You think?" Sirius snorted. "I'll go find him. You hang tight."

He turned to leave, but stopped in front of the portrait.

"Don't leave this room." He said, looking back at her.

She nodded, placing the wet towel on her head again and laying back against the couch. She groaned at the pain, but lay quietly after that.

The common room was boiling hot, because the fireplace was on. Which was weird, since it was so early in the morning, but she figured since she was in an enchanted castle, these things tend to happen.

You'd think after six years a girl would get used to it.

She didn't want to remove the towel from her head for fear of making a mess, so she attempted to unbutton he pea coat. Did it work?

Not in the slightest. She couldn't even get the first one un-buttoned! She was probably working up a fever; she needed to get this bloody jacket off! She threw off her scarf.

Lily continued fidgeting with her jacket until James came in. Her heart skipped a beat. Yes, she had been having second thoughts about him ever since Sirius explained all that he had done for her.

She looked him over. His hair was ridiculously messy, his khakis had splashed of mud on them, and he was wearing a black jacket with a gray sweater peeking up behind the zipper. It reminded her a lot of the day before, when he came into the common room after Tiffany had spread the secret about her.

"Having problems?" He asked, smiling. The fire was reflecting off his glasses, making his brown eyes look auburn.

Lily giggled. "Yes!" She huffed, wiping her forehead. "It's so hot."

James looked at her jacket, taking a step forward. He bent over, his hands outstretched over her torso. The boy paused, looking up at Lily before beginning to unbutton the jacket.

Lily was breathing hard, but didn't say anything. She didn't take her eyes off of his hands, while his eyes were concentrating on the buttons.

It was quiet, so Lily's sharp intakes of breath were heard by James. His heart was hammering loudly, never have been in this position before. Sure, he was a player, but he never took it farther than snogging.

When he finally managed to unbutton the whole coat, he reached up and pulled it off her arms, being careful of the arm holding the towel.

"Thank you…" Lily said after he threw the coat on the back of the couch and moved into a chair in the corner, keeping his distance.

He wanted to give her space, to let her 'figure things out' or whatever the bloody hell that means.

The white t-shirt she was too big on her, as were most of her clothes. Petunia was very tall, so she had to get clothes that were long enough for her, meaning they were massive on Lily.

Lily felt awkward. She knew what he had done for her. She just didn't want him to know… and she didn't know why she couldn't just say thank you like any other respectable witch would.

She started to squirm. She tended to do this in awkward situations.

She coughed quietly, before looking up and noticing that he had been watching her.

"This couch… It's uncomfortable." She said meekly. James chuckled and nodded.

Out of the blue, James tilted his head and asked, "When was the last time you ate, Lily?"

She cringed. It had been a while… "Since Saturday, I suppose." She said, shrugging, trying to ignore the now evident pain in her stomach from malnourishment.

James bolted out of his chair. "Lily Evans!" He shook his head. "Can you walk?" He motioned to the painting.

Lily wondered where he would possibly be taking her.

"I can try!" She said, scooting to the edge of the couch, still keeping the towel in its place. She took up slowly, before wobbling over to James.

She slung her arm around his waist, trying to ignore how amazing his body was from Quidditch, before looking up at him and saying, "Sorry…" And standing up straight.

"So, where to, Mr. Potter?" She smiled up at him.

"Well, first, of all, we need to get your head taken care of." He crossed his arms and furrowed his brow, lost in thought.

Lily perked up, "I know! Mary Macdonald's really good at healing spells…" Lily smiled. "She's a sweetie, I could go wake her up, she wouldn't mind. I don't know why I didn't think of that before…"

She turned and bounded up the stairs leading to her dorm. "Mary?" She rubbed Mary's shoulder until Mary stirred.

"Lily?" Mary's eyes widened. "Lily! God, you had me worried! Are you okay? I haven't seen you in two days!" She grabbed Lily into tight hug, before realizing Lily had a head injury.

"Lily… where were you?" Mary asked, getting up and looking for her wand, shivering in the night air.

Lily wanted to tell her, she really did, but with her suspicions relating to Remus, she felt she shouldn't.

"I… well, um…" Lily was never any good at lying. "I was on a walk." She decided finally. It wasn't a lie…

Mary nodded. "Sure." She said, smiling. She pulled her wand, finally finding it under her pillow. "I should've checked there first!" She laughed, performing a healing spell.

"That should do it!" She smiled again, inspecting Lily's head and eventually nodding.

Lily sat up and hugged Mary, "Thank you so much!"

"Anytime, girl." Mary smiled and climbed back into her bed, snoring second after her head hit the pillow.

Lily scrambled up to go into the bathroom and wash out her hair. "James will wait." She said smiling, sure of this. Besides, she needed a shower.

She was right, James was waiting.

She changed into a sweatshirt and black pants and tennis shoes. She muttered a drying spell and tied back her now dry hair.

She ran back downstairs and smiled, seeing James asleep on the couch.

His glasses were lopsided, and his hair was even more messy than usual. The dying fire in the fire place made his hair seem to dance.

She didn't want to wake him up, so she grabbed the nearest book and sat down in the nearest chair. She checked her watch. 4:00 in the morning… "Bloody hell." She said, angry with herself. She still wasn't even tired! She shook her head, burying herself in the book she had picked up.

The painting slammed, causing Lily to jump and whip around and James to sit up. "Lily! What? I fell asleep?" He looked around, confused.

"See, I told you they would be awake." Peter said loudly.

"Shut up, mate." Remus said, rubbing his eyes and lowering himself into a chair with a grunt.

Lily peered over at Remus, not saying anything. He didn't look good. She still didn't believe it…

Sirius raised a brow at James, a small smile on his face. "Your head's fixed…?" He said, looking back to Lily.

Lily smiled a nodded. "Mary Macdonald, she's brilliant." Sirius nodded thoughtfully. "She is, eh?"

"Don't get any idea's Sirius." She replied seriously. "I don't want you toying around with her feelings…"

Sirius frowned slightly and sat next to Remus.

James ran a hand through his raven hair and fixed his glasses.

"C'mon, Lily." He motioned her up. "We need to get you some food." He stuck his hands under his glasses, rubbing his eyes.

"Alright. Where are we going, exactly?" Lily asked, glad that she was feeling so much better. James smirked, finally waking. "You'll see."

He lifted his arm, hoping she would take it, but she just looked away.

"C'mon, Evans." He took a step forward. "It's dark out there." He cooed.

"And you can't use Lumos without waking up the whole castle!" Sirius chipped in from behind them, pulling out a piece of paper and studying it. It almost looked that the characters on it were moving…

"And I'd go now." Sirius said, giving James a look before glancing between him and the parchment.

"Bloody…" She huffed, grabbing his arm.

Lily and James wandered through the halls and down steps quietly before Lily peeped up.

"Thank you." She felt James turn to her. She could practically see his eyebrow lifted, a slight smile on his face.

"For telling everyone the truth." James took in a breath. How did she find out…? "And… saving me from Snape." She had trouble saying the word 'saving'. It seemed so surreal.

James nodded, before realizing she couldn't see him. "It was nothing, really." It really wasn't, he would have done it all over again in a heartbeat.

"Well… thank you." She repeated, shivering in the cold air and gripping his arm tighter.

James felt her move closer, giving him goose bumps. "It's not much farther." He said, looking down at her, struggling to see her in the dark.

"Afraid we might get caught?" James asked in her ear. She yanked her arm from his and shoved him into a wall playfully, laughing loudly as if to show him she wasn't afraid of getting caught.

"Do you mind?" A painting of an older man screeched at them.

"Very sorry!" James whispered as sincerely as he could, trying to muffle his laugh.

When they were farther away from the painting James leaned over, chuckling. "Nice one, Lily."

She giggled, nudging him slightly. She was trying to hide her shivers from him, but he could feel her practically vibrating on his arm.

"You cold?" He asked, looking down at her. She shrugged, not wanting him to worry. He stopped walking, surprising Lily. She could hear some ruffling and then felt him reach out for her hand, placing his jacket in it.

"Aw, James, no, I couldn't…" Lily said, eyeing the jacket. She attempted handing it back to him, but he put his arms in the air. "Take it, Lily." He pushed it back into her arms.

She gave in, putting the jacket around her shoulders. It smelled like pine musk and something she couldn't identify…

"Thank you" She said, smiling and taking deep breaths.

He nodded, feeling his nose go numb and sniffing involuntarily. He really wished he could see what she looked like in his jacket. Wonderful, he assumed.

He hurried along, before stopping in front of a painting of fruits.

He turned to her, lit up his wand slightly, illuminating his playful expression. He waited for her reaction.

"So you brought a hungry girl to a picture of fruits?" She demanded, obviously angry. "Amusing, James. Best one yet…" She huffed, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

He chuckled. "Impatient, are we?" He leaned over and tickled the bright green pear that stuck out like a sore thumb in the painting.

It swung open, revealing a very large white tile room, with tables set up exactly like the ones in the Great Hall.

On the other side of the tables, hundreds of elves running around the kitchen, preparing food that made Lily's mouth water.

"Can… Can we go in?" Lily asked, not taking her eyes off a pot of porridge being made.

James chuckled, watching Lily. He was right; she looked wonderful. "Of course." Placing his hand on the small of her back, he guided her into the kitchen.

James moved around her so he was standing behind the counter separating them from the busy elves. Setting his hands on it, he peered over, searching through the crowd.

"Mr. Potter!" An elf squeaked, squirming to get over to him. James smiled. "Ah, Slinky!" He reached over the counter and shook the elf's hand. "Great to see you, mate."

"Slinky is very pleased to see Mr. Potter as well, sir."

James smiled and nodded. "Slinky I would like you to meet my good friend Lily Evans." James smiled and ushered Lily over. She walked up shyly, pushing loose strands of hair behind her ear. "Hello Slinky." She held out her hand and the elf took it. "Slinky is pleased to meet you, Ms. Evans."

"Call me Lily." She urged, smiling down at her new friend. "He won't." Chuckled James, "I've never been able to get him to call me James."

Slinky laughed quietly. "So, what can Slinky do for Mr. Potter and Ms. Evans?"

James looked over at a blushing Lily. "Well, Slinky, I have a hungry girl on my hands." Slinky turned to Lily. "Slinky wonders if Ms. Evans is in the mood for anything particular?"

Lily looked up at James before answering, "That porridge smelled divine…"

"Right away, Ms. Evans. Have a seat with Mr. Potter over there, if you wish." He motioned to a little able off to the side with two seats on either side.

James nodded to the table and followed Lily over.

They sat down awkwardly. James couldn't help but realize how much this was like a date. He smiled slightly, glancing over at her when he had the chance.

Lily was getting dizzy from all the questions she needed to ask. She needed to know the truth about Remus. And why were James Sirius and Peter out there anyway?

She rubbed her temple, avoiding James's eyes. "Um…"

"Yeah?"

"What were you and the boys doing tonight?"

He knew this was coming. Lily was the brightest witch he knew. "Lily… I want to tell you." He didn't take his eyes off the large arrangement of enchanted tables lay out before them, decorated with the house colors.

She sighed, leaning back and crossing her arms. "This was what I needed to figure out…" She tilted her head slightly, wanting him to look at her. She wanted to know what was going on in his head.

Slinky wobbled forward. "Here you are, Ms. Evans." The elf turned to James. "Slinky wonders if Mr. Potter would like anything?" James smiled and said "Pumpkin juice would be great." Slinky snapped his fingers and a large cup and pitcher appeared on the table, full of pumpkin juice.

"Thank you, Slinky." James and Lily said in union, causing everyone to laugh.

Slinky bowed and scurried away, eager to get back to work.

Lily watched him leave, "How did you meet him?"

James smiled. "He used to belong to my uncle's family. When my uncle died, we asked Professor Dumbledore if he wanted an extra hand since no one else in my family needed him." He took a sip from his pumpkin juice. "He's much happier here than he ever was with my uncle." James added.

Lily nodded. "Well that's good." Lily looked back at James. "Well, anyways. Are you going to tell me?" She lifted an eyebrow, shoving some porridge into her mouth.

James chuckled and looked away, swirling his thumb around his glass of pumpkin juice while using the other one to run his fingers through his hair.

Letting out a breath he looked back at Lily. "Lily…" She rolled her eyes.

"Just tell me." She looked at his hand, now placed on the table.

"I can't." He replied firmly, looking her in the eyes. "I wish I could…" He trailed off.

"You can, but you won't." Lily pointed out, playing with her food despite how hungry she was.

James nodded, trying to hide a smile. She was adorable.

"You're right." James leaned forward slightly. "I would tell you if I could, Lily."

"I know, James." Lily said without thinking.

"James again, yeah?" He lifted a brow. "It's getting hard to keep up."

She laughed, finishing her porridge. "Whatever, James." She crossed her legs and plopped her hands in her lap.

"Should I be worried?" She asked quietly, out of the blue.

James shook his head, not taking his eyes off her. "Not at all. Really." He said as reassuring as he could. Not completely truthful… but she wouldn't know.

They walked back to the common room quietly, arms linked together. When they arrived, James sighed and watched Lily fall on the couch, out like a light, snuggling into his jacket. Sirius, Remus and Peter were gone.

He waved his wand, making the various lights dim and the fire die down into a spark. He conjured up a blanket, surveying her as it landed over her body.

Not wanting to leave her, he made a pillow and a blanket appear next to the fire, giving him perfect view of Lily.

The fire made her hair illuminate like fire.

James Potter fell in love with Lily Evans that night.

AN: HELP! I'm not sure if I should finish it here. I could keep going, but I don't know. HELP!

-Kat