Author's Note: These revisions are a lot of work! Just hope it's worth it for everyone! I know it's helping me get reacquainted and back into the swing of things.

I also changed James's owl. Screech owl wasn't sitting well with me.

Chapter 7: Sparks and Butterbeer
Saturday, September 11, 1977

The time has come, I thought to myself as I left my bedroom. As I was walking downstairs a pair of hands covered my eyes from behind. I squeaked in surprise, and I heard a laugh behind me. He uncovered my eyes and I turned around to look at him.

"I heard the girls leave and figured they were done with you," he chuckled. "You look amazing," he said, giving me a once-over.

"Thanks. You don't look half-bad yourself," I replied honestly. He was in tan, corduroy slacks and a blue jumper over a white shirt. He polishes up nice, if I do say so myself. That's when I noticed the bundle under his arm. "What's that?" I asked, pointing at the bundle.

"Assistance," was all he said. "Shall we?" He motioned to the door.

"We shall," I said, walking to the door. I exited first, then James. "Lead the way," I told him.

He pulled out an old piece of parchment and mumbled. I couldn't see or hear what he was doing, but he shortly turned back to me. He tucked away the parchment and took my hand. "Lets go."

I wasn't paying attention where we were going, I was just enjoying the adrenaline of knowing that I was about to sneak out of the castle. We arrived in a corridor of classes that were no longer in use. In front of us, a statue of an one-eyed old crone with a hump.

"Wow, ugly statue," I said. James laughed.

"Yeah, that's the general reaction. Dissendium," he said, tapping the crone with his wand. A passage suddenly opened up behind her. I just gaped at it. He turned and looked at me. "You coming or what?"

"Oh, right, yeah. Of course," I said, following him. I pulled my wand from my boot and said, "Lumos." James did the same. "How did you find out about this passage?" I asked him after we traveled a few meters.

"Peter found it. We know of several around the castle. There's a couple that go outside of the castle, this is our favorite. We're going to end up in Honeyduke's cellar."

"And how are we not going to get caught? We have to come OUT of the cellar, don't forget."

"I know. I have everything under control, I promise. We do this a lot and have been for years."

"I'm new to this whole 'rule breaking' thing, don't forget. 'Relaxing' isn't really in the game plan right now."

He laughed at me a we approached a ladder. He handed me the bundle and held up one finger to tell me to wait and climbed the ladder. I saw a bit of light as he opened the hatch a crack. He then opened it wider and extinguished his wand with "Nox." He looked down at me and waved me up.

I extinguished my wand, slipped it back into my boot, and climbed the ladder to James. After I came out he closed the hatch and took the bundle from me and shook it out. It was a cloak of silver fabric that looked more like liquid. "Now you have to be completely quiet and stay close to me. Also take small steps. We're going to be hunched over a little." With that, he covered us with the cloak.

That's when a worker came down the cellar stairs. I gasped and James put his hand over my mouth. The worker just walked past us, grabbed a box of sweets, and went back upstairs.

"How... what... don't tell me this is a..." was all I could get out. James just smiled at me and lead me to the stairs. We quickly went up the stairs and ducked through the back room's door and out the shop's front entrance. We went into a back alley to remove the cloak. He folded it up and tapped it with his wand. The shrinking charm made it the size of a folded handkerchief and he slipped it into his pocket.

Finally found my tongue. "How did you get your hands on an invisibility cloak!?"

"My dad gave it to me. Been in the family for generations."

"Well that explains how you all have been able to get away with everything all these years."

"Back to Honeydukes?" was his reply, complete with that blasted James Potter smirk. I think I was making a bigger deal out of this than I needed to. I nodded and he lead me back into the shop.

I grabbed some crystalize pineapple, salt water taffy, sugar quills, and a Cauldron Cake. Also a cup of Pumpkin Fizz to enjoy at the moment. After paying for my goodies and while I enjoyed my cold treat, I followed James around the shop while he was browsing. I was a girl on a mission, so I got done really quick.

"Favorite sweets?" he asked with a grin. I nodded and put another small spoonful of Pumpkin Fizz into my mouth. Have to be careful. Easy to get a brain freeze with this stuff! He grabbed some Bertie Bott's, four Chocolate Frogs, nougat, and Licorice Wands. After he paid for his sweets we exited and stood in the street. It was pretty busy, although nothing like the official Hogwarts trips.

"Zonko's?" I asked, finishing my treat. He smiled and nodded. We walked around, just laughing at the wares around the shop. After we went to Gladrags, Dominic Maestro's (where I purchased a beautiful music box for my mum), Scrivenshaft's (James needed a few quills), and laughed at Madam Puddifoot's. James was visibly relieved when I said that I wouldn't be caught dead there.

By this point it was nearing two o'clock, so I was relieved when James pointed to the Three Broomsticks. We went in and found a round booth in the corner. Didn't take much time for Madam Rosmerta to come over and take our drink orders. We both ordered Butterbeers, and she left to fill the order.

"So we can finally speak in peace," James said. "I want to learn more about you."

"Same here," I told him. "Ask me anything. I'm mostly an open book."

"All right. Where are you from?" he asked.

"Cokeworth. You?"

"Main home's in Dorchester in West Country. Also have a cottage in Godric's Hollow. We don't really use it, anymore, but my mum is holding on to it for me to use after Hogwarts."

"You have two houses?" I said in shock. I felt my cheeks grow hot. "I'm sorry, that just came out," I said.

"Yeah, my parents are pretty well off. They were much older when they had me, so I'm pretty much taken care of." He shrugged. "But that's why I came off so arrogant for so long. Sirius snapped me out of that."

"Ah, I see," I nodded. "Which reminds me. True or false: Sirius lives with you."

"True. Came to us when we were sixteen, not too long before sixth year started. Lets leave it at 'family drama.'"

"I see how he is with his brother," I said.

"And that is the best relationship, which says something. Anyway, my parents love him and Merlin knows we have the space. It was nice having him around, since I'm an only child. And when my dad died earlier this summer, it was good having my best mate there with me."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know," I said, apologetically. "I didn't mean to bring it up."

"It's okay, I'm actually fine," he said. "Sure, it hurt for a long time, I'm not going to lie. But like I said, my parents had me late in life so the fact I am going to lose them earlier than I would like is something I've come to terms with."

I just felt like crying. The thought of losing Mum or Dad, or even Petunia, terrified me. I just slid (well, practically flew) through our seat and wrapped my arms around him in a tight hug. I felt like crying.

"Lily? You okay? I told you, I'm good," he said, patting my back.

"Just, thinking about being in your shoes. I just felt the urge to hug you. I'm sorry," I said, sliding back over to my area of the table.

"I'm just glad that we didn't have a standard booth. I'm afraid you may have knocked over the table." We laughed at this, because it's completely true.

"Your Butterbeers, dears," Madam Rosemerta said on her return. "Do you know what you want for lunch?"

I nodded and ordered roast chicken and potatoes, while James ordered fish and chips.

"So enough about my family. What about you?"

"Not much to tell. Muggle parents, so we had no idea what was going on when my letter arrived. When it sunk in that magic really exists, we all thought it was brilliant. It was also a relief because it explained all the strange stuff that happened around me, especially when my emotions were high. Then there's Petunia, my older sister by two years. She finds me freaky because of my magic abilities but I think she's jealous. She actually wrote Dumbledore when I got my letter, begging to let her in. Obviously, he didn't, and she's had nothing but negative vibes towards me since." I waved off the thought. "But Mum and Dad love it and find it fascinating. All summer they had me doing spells and charms here and there since I was allowed, being 17 and all that. Every time I did they would get all excited. Tuney wasn't there, thank goodness. She moved in with her boyfriend not too long before I came home from school for the summer. He's worse than her when it comes to 'normalcy.' Normal is overrated." I smiled at him and took a swig of Butterbeer.

"Wow. I had no idea."

"I don't usually talk about it," I said with a shrug. "Anyway, enough about that."

"Right," he said. "Another question. What's it with you and chocolate chip pancakes and strawberries? Dorcas is always whispering to you when you eat it, and you get this look of euphoria on your face."

I blushed. "It's a comfort food. I eat it when I'm anxious, nervous, or need distraction."

"So you had to eat it this morning?"

"Nervous," I admitted, turning redder by the minute. He grabbed my hand, which didn't help my blush.

"Relax and be yourself. That's what I like so much about you," he said with that smile again.

I'm never going to be my same pale self again.

"Soup's on," Madam Rosemerta said, bringing us our food. "You all right, sugar?" she asked me.

"Perfect," I said, smiling. After she left, I took a chip off James's plate, dipped it in the vinegar, and asked, "Collect anything?"

"Wizard cards from Chocolate Frogs," he answered. "Parent's reaction of Diagon Alley?"

"Froze in place when a witch from the Leaky Cauldron let us in. 'I can't believe this is all real' moment for all of us. And the goblins at Gringotts freaked them out when we went to exchange Muggle money for Wizard," I took a bite of chicken. "Have an owl?"

"Eagle owl. Aether," he said between bites.

"Aether?"

"Greek god of upper air and light. Christmas traditions?"

"Not really. Just kinda chill around the house and exchange gifts. We make a decent dinner but that's it. Tuney just tends to hang in her room. Well, Dad does make a honey mead every year that's delicious. We drink that a little."

"Want to come to my place this year?"

I nearly choked on my chicken. "Excuse me?"

"I'm inviting you to my place for Christmas holiday. My mom told me to extend an invitation. She likes the extra company, especially around the holidays."

"It's sudden and early, but lets see what happens over the next few weeks, okay?" I told him with a smile. "Plus I have to run it by my mum as well."

"Over the next few weeks?"

"Between us," I said. "I don't want to make things awkward or anything, you know? Just taking precautions. It's nothing personal."

"I understand," he said. "Your turn."

I thought for a second. "What's that parchment you were mumbling to earlier?"

"Classified."

"Classified? Seriously?"

"Lets see where things go between us," he said, smirking. "Is that a Golden Snitch on your bracelet?"

"Yes. It's Marlene's. She thought it would go with the outfit and make a good impression."

"She's right," he said with a laugh. "Greatest Seeker I've seen in a while."

I shook my head and laughed. "Greatest achievement?"

"Getting you here today."

I smiled. "That's cheating."

"It's truth."

We were about done with our lunch at that point, so James paid for our food (although I admit I tried to slip a few Sickles in there but he caught me), we gathered our bags and left. We found a nice spot over by the Shrieking Shack under a tree. The colors of fall were beginning to appear and the air was beginning to get crisper.

"Man, that place gives me the creeps," I said, looking at the shack on the hill. "Don't people say it's haunted?"

"I don't believe that," James said. "I've never heard anything coming from there, and the guys and I come here a lot. I think it's just stories to keep kids out of there."

"Well, they work. Nothing, and I mean nothing, can get me to go up there."

"Not even me?" James asked.

"No, and please don't."

"Maybe someday?"

"Don't count on it."

He laughed and leaned back against the tree. He put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close, kissing the top of my head. I left my head on his shoulder. "All right. I won't if you don't want to. But I can promise you, with one hundred percent certainty, that the Shrieking Shack is not haunted."

"How are you so sure?" I asked him, looking up at him.

He smiled at me. "Classified."

"Is everything classified?"

"For a time," he said, smiling.

I looked up at him, his smile warmed me. His eyes were so bright, you could lose yourself in them. I felt his hand slip behind my neck, but didn't fight him. I welcomed it. He pulled me closer, covering my lips with his. I put my hand behind his neck, playing with his hair a little. The kiss was soft and gentle. A perfect first kiss.

It ended before I wanted it to, but I had to control myself. Can't move too fast! But I have to admit. It felt... right.

The next words came out of my mouth before my brain thought about what was happening. "So... Christmas you said?"

With a laugh he kissed me again. "Well," he said after breaking the kiss, "it depends, now."

"On what?"

"Whether or not you want to be my girlfriend."

"Will things still be classified?"

"For a time. Honestly, not really completely my secrets to tell, you know?"

"In that case," I put on an over-dramatic thinking face. "Sounds like a good idea, depending."

"Depending...?"

"Whether you'll kiss me again."

He laughed and kissed me, a little harder this time. "Does that seal it?" he asked, his smile nearly resting on my own.

"Yes, I think it does," I said, closing the small gap again.

James walked me back to the common room, and I gave him another kiss and told him that I had to either run or be killed ("Well, seeing that I won't have you either way," was his reply), and left back through the portrait hole. As soon as I was out of the portrait hole, I turned towards Gryffindor tower and bolted. As soon as I saw the portrait of the Fat Lady in the distance I started yelling, "Archimedes! Archimedes! Archi-fucking-medes!"

"Well, that was uncalled for," the Fat Lady said as she swung the portrait open, revealing that familiar common room I called home for six years. I stopped only long enough to noticed that the girls weren't in the common room. I didn't notice Remus, Sirius, and Peter sitting at the table until I was passing, hearing Remus's question, "How'd the date go?" dissolving into complete confusion as I ran top speed up the staircases towards the girls' dorms. I found the door labeled "Seventh Years" and burst in, seeing Dorcas, Emmeline, and Marlene on one of the beds. Marlene's, by the look of it. There was a poster of the Appleby Arrows Quidditch team on the wall above it and the other girls aren't as big of fans of that particular club.

I darted towards the bed, saying "hi" to Alice on her bed en route. I jumped on the bed with a big grin.

"Went well?" Marlene said through a laugh. I handed her the bracelet. Then I took off the jacket and handed it to Emmeline, then the same with Dorcas's boots. I took off my earrings and Transfigured them into a pair of fluffy green slippers, slipped them on my feet and turned to the girls, never once breaking my grin.

"You look a cat that just ate the house canary," Dorcas said, laughing.

"He kissed me."

They all screamed with me. I told them everything (except some of the more personal points, like his home life and the Invisibility Cloak) and we squealed in delight. Then I mentioned Christmas.

"That's awesome! I don't see how your parents will say no," Emmeline said.

"I agree," Dorcas said. "I know your parents well and I don't see how they could say no."

"I don't think they will, we never do anything special for the holidays. I have to go, though. I want to write them now to let them know."

"Go! We'll see you tonight!" Marlene said, after we all exchanged hugs and I ran back down the stairs, out the portrait hole, and back to my room.

Whole ordeal took twenty-five minutes.

James stared at me in confusion when I entered the common room. "Well, that was fast," he commented with a laugh.

"Yeah, I wanted to come back and send a message to Mum about Christmas now. Maybe I can get there before she send a reply back with 'Nola."

"You can use Aether, if you'd like. He's in my room. I'll go get him."

"Thanks!" I kissed his cheek. "Meet me in my room."

"I'm still shocked there are no charms to keep me out of there," he mused.

I laughed and ran up the stairs to my room and sat at my desk, which is when I realized that all the running wore me out. Feels good to sit! I pulled out a piece of parchment and an owl treat and got started.

Dearest Mum,

I know. I'm writing already. Don't get too spoiled, something just happened today that I wanted to get to you before you send Magnolia back.

James asked me to join his family for Christmas holiday. I wanted to ask you if that was okay before I gave him a definite "yes" or "no." He's a great guy and I really think you'll like him! I see us going far, actually. Today was AMAZING.

This owl is James's, actually, since 'Nola is already out with you. His name's Aether and he's very mild-tempered. He's an Eagle Owl, since I know that Dad will ask.

Can't wait to hear back from you! I love you guys so much!
~Your Lily (again)

As I finished signing my name I heard my door open and James walked in, a beautiful large owl sitting on his arm. "He's stunning!" I said. "He's pretty laid back, right? That's what I told Mum."

"Yeah, he's very even tempered," he replied, stroking the bird's chest.

I grabbed the owl treat from my desk and held it up to him. He took it gently and ate it. When he finished, I gave him the letter and told him where to go, and James brought him to the window. He flew off majestically.

"Your owl is awesome," I said, watching him fly off towards Cokeworth.

"Thanks," he said, wrapping his arms around my waist and leaning his chin on my shoulder. "You think she'll say yes?"

"Pretty sure," I said. "Tuney didn't spend Christmas with us last year. She stayed with Vernon's family."

"That's promising," he said. "You happy?" he asked, kissing my neck.

"Extremely," I said, enjoying every little peck of his lips. He slowly turned me around, leaning in closer to my lips.

"Hey! James? Lily? Anyone home? I see Honeydukes bags and if no one comes down to claim them in two minutes I'm considering it an invitation!" Sirius's voice carried easy up the stairs through my open door.

"Think we have time for one?" James asked, leaning in again.

"Oooh! Crystalized pineapple!" I could hear Sirius opening the tin.

"Unfortunately, no," I said.

"True, those are his favorites. Raincheck," he said, kissing the tip of my nose quickly before we bolted out the door to save my pineapple.