A/N: Hey! Look! Less than two weeks! This was supposed to go up last night, actually... but RL happened a bit. Well, I wanted to thank SWaddict196, Paul, RavenclawLupin11, Fun-Sized Kirk, and Jaccalax for the awesome reviews of Chapter 19 as well as everybody who added this to their alerts or favourites list! You guys keep us inspired to write! Okay, I've talked enough. Read on!

Disclaimer: It is not mine. It never was mine. It never will be mine. I wish I could make money off of it, but I cannot and am not.

Chapter 20: Friends don't let friends miss Hogsmeade

Baby doll, the men who hang like flowers in you hall
Are asking when your love is gonna show
And who knows why the love you need
will always pass you by
Well I heard it's true your love is gonna grow

'Babydoll' by the Fratellis

The week following Maia and Kingsley's break up seemed as though it could not have passed any slower. Classes dragged on forever, even for Lily, Allie, and Remus. The weather was consistently nice, now. All anybody really wanted to do was be outside the sun, laying by the lake and watching the Giant Squid swim about.

Out of everybody, Maia was having the most trouble. Even though she had been quite dry-eyed since falling apart in Sirius' arms, it was obvious to everyone that she was not okay. She was distracted in all her classes, never hearing her name the first time the professors called it. Where she was usually spunky and cheerful she had become withdrawn and quiet. Kate, Lily, and Allie were all doing their best to cheer her up, but to no avail.

"I'm sure it will just get better with time, love," Allie said that Friday at dinner.

"I know," Maia said with a sigh. "I just want it to get better now. I know it doesn't work like that, but I'm impatient."

"It will be okay," Allie assured her. "I know how hard it can be, but it will get better."

"Says you," Maia responded. "You with your boyfriend and your double date."

"Don't worry about them," Lily said quickly before Allie could respond. "You and I will have much more fun with each other than we would with dates."

"Depends on what kind of fun you mean," Maia said, the hint of a smirk playing across her lips.

"That's my girl," Kate laughed. She reached across the table for some salt and winced.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked, her eyebrows suddenly furrowed in concern.

"Oh, nothing really," Kate answered. "I'm fine. Just a bit sore. Well, really sore. James has been working us like crazy all week so that we can have tomorrow off for Hogsmeade. He really wants to win this match."

"Well, that's nice of him to give you tomorrow off," Allie said, handing the salt to her friend.

"He probably just wants to go himself either to buy prank products or go one some date." Lily stressed the last word, a hint of bitterness in her voice. She seemed unaware, but her three friends shared all-to-knowing glances.

"I don't think so," Maia said slowly, watching Lily's face carefully for any reaction. "I know that Sirius was planning on doing a double date with Remus, Heather, and Peter, so I know he isn't going with them."

"Or you hope he isn't," Kate added, a sly half smile on her face.

"He probably has a date then," Lily insisted.

"I haven't heard so," Allie said. "Usually that type of thing is all over school. Maybe he's just not going. That's possible."

"He'll probably spend the day coming up with new and inventive ways to put our team through torture in the name of Quidditch," Kate said. "Besides, Lils, since when do you care what Potter does with his Saturdays?"

"I don't really," Lily said quickly. "I'm just a bit surprised, is all. It doesn't seem like him."

"I think you're too hard on him," Maia said. "Yes, he can be an arrogant prat sometimes, but he's not that bad, really. And he's getting better. I know you've noticed. And, no, before you go bezerk, I'm not saying you like him. I'm just saying that you have noticed him grow up a bit. Am I wrong?"

"No," Lily answered. "No, you're not wrong."

***

"It's time to get up, Maia," Lily said the next morning, pulling back the hangings on Maia's four poster bed. The bright sun poured in through the window, creating a small square of light right where Maia's face was.

Maia responded by pulling the covers over her head and turning away from Lily's voice.

"You have to get up. You said you'd go to Hogsmeade with me," Lily insisted. "You're not really going to back out on me, are you?"

"I dun wan go Hogsmeade," Maia mumbled into her pillow.

"What was that?" Lily asked, smiling. "I didn't quite catch it."

"I said," Maia repeated, more clearly this time, "that I don't want to go to Hogsmeade."

"Well, you don't have a choice. I need to go. I'm almost out of chocolate. And I refuse to go alone."

"Make Allie or Kate go with you."

"I can't," Lily replied, sitting down on Maia's bed. "They left half an hour ago with Caleb and Josh. They have that double date thing."

"Don't remind me," Maia groaned. "That was supposed to be a multiple date, or whatever Allie called it. But that doesn't matter because I don't have a boyfriend and I'm not getting up."

"Maia Regarne," Lily said, "You have five minutes to get out of bed. Then you are going to shower and put on makeup and get dressed. And you're going to get dressed in something cute."

"I don't have anything cute that I didn't wear on a date with Kingsley," Maia insisted. "So, I can't do it. Sorry. Good. Night."

Lily yanked the covers off of Maia.

"Then you'll borrow something of mine," Lily said.

"I hate you and you're mean and you're stupid and I don't like you," Maia grumbled, glaring at Lily as she got out of her bed.

"No you don't," Lily responded easily, "You love me and you know it."

***

"You coming with us, Prongs?" Sirius asked as he, Remus, and Peter started to leave the dormitory to meet Heather in the Common Room.

"Are you kidding?" James asked, looking up at his friends from the book he was reading. "I don't think there's anything I'd rather do less. I'll head over by myself in a bit."

"Well, I just meant down to the Common Room," Sirius clarified. "Trust me, I don't want you on my date anymore than you want to be on it."

James laughed and shook his head before returning to his book.

"What are you reading, anyways?" Sirius asked, doing a double take when he realised that the book in James' hand was not, in fact, about Quidditch. "And why are you reading?"

"I just felt like it," James answered. "It's a bit of muggle fiction by a muggle novelist named Tolkien. I heard Lily talk about the other day. It sounded interesting."

"Who the hell are you?" Sirius asked, an appalled look on his face.

"What!?" James exclaimed, "Since when is it a crime to read?"

"Since always," Sirius answered immediately. "Wormtail, Moony, have either of you ever seen Prongsie read unless forced?"

"A couple times…" Peter said slowly, "But never when you're around."

Sirius looked back at James in disgust.

"Relax, Padfoot," James said with a smile. "It isn't like I'm reading for school on a Saturday."

"I still think only Moony is allowed to do things like read," Sirius said. "It's just wrong."

"Whatever you say," James answered. "Go on, now. You will be late meeting Heather."

"Okay," Sirius said. "But we're going to have a talk about this when I get back. I am seriously concerned for your mental wellbeing." And with that he walked over to James, grabbed the book from his hands and swatted him over the head with it before grabbingRemus' hand and pulling him through the door.

***

"Are we too cutesy?" Sirius asked his boyfriend mildly as they walked down the cobbled streets of Hogsmeade with Peter and Heather.

"Not that I know of…" Remus answered, quirking an eyebrow in question. In response, Sirius nodded toward the couple that they were doubling with.

Heather and Peter were draped around each other making them look like some weird walking octopus as they whispered and laughed, completely in their own little world. A few months ago, Sirius would've been yelling at them to get a room, but now he found himself thinking they were -- dare he think it?-- sweet.

"We aren't that bad," Remus assured him, thinking along the same lines. "But if you're worried, I could let go of your hand…"

"Nah, no need for that," Sirius grinned, tugging on Remus' arm so that they were touching shoulders. Remus smiled mischievously and leaned up to kiss him. They stopped walking on the crowded street and Remus continued to pull Sirius closer by his tie. A few blissful moments later, he pulled back and kissed Sirius on the nose.

"How about that?" He asked, smirking over Peter's cat call and a few disgusted jibes from standers by.

"It was fine all up until the nose kiss," Sirius stated, his pale cheeks tinting pink.

"Dear lord," a small voice squeaked from behind them. They turned around to see a bright red Helen. Her eyes were wide and her mouth open. The two marauders avoided making eye contact with each other in order to avoid bursting into laughter.

"Hey there Helen," Remus smiled, amusement dancing in his eyes. "You knew me and Sirius were together, right?"

"I kn-knew," Helen stuttered. "But I guess it's different to see it up close. Can you do it again?"

Peter interrupted with a throat clearing and a meaningful glare at his friends.

"Helen," he started, "What are you doing here?"

"It is a Hogsmeade weekend, is it not?" She answered, putting a hand on her hip. "Is a girl not allowed to wander?"

"Well, why aren't you wandering with some of your little friends?" Peter asked. He immediately regretted asking, when his baby sister's face fell.

"Well, Rachel has a boyfriend and I hate being the third wheel and since I've never even kissed a boy, I obviously don't have a date," She explained. "Besides, I am only thirteen. Don't you think that's a little young to have a boyfriend? And Stephanie is with her big sister, Angela. And Susan is busy studying –which by the way is crazy! It's our first year of actually getting to come to Hogsmeade and she's missing it in beautiful weather!—and Alice is—"

"Right," Peter sighed, cutting off Helen's list of busy friends. "All your friends are busy. Well, guess what? So are we. So, we'll be seeing you around."

Heather kicked her boyfriend and smiled kindly at the younger girl. "What Peter meant to say," she glared at Peter, "is that being alone can be really fun sometimes. Before Peter, I used to make things up so that I could be by myself and not have to spend the whole day with my friends."

Helen looked sceptical but didn't say anything. Sirius on the other hand couldn't help but laugh.

"Heather, your best friend is Kristi. Of course you needed alone time!" Heather turned her glare to Sirius. He pretended to look scared and put his hands up making Helen sigh and roll her eyes at the older students.

"Well, I guess I'll just hang out more by myself. I can go to Honeydukes. That way I'll be alone and fat."

"That's the spirit," Peter smiled, patting the 13 year old on the head.

Heather swatted him and rolled her eyes at her boyfriend before turning back to Helen, "You couldn't get fat if you tried, sweetie. But who knows, maybe you'll run into a really cute guy who wouldn't have approached you if you had been with Rachel."

Helen appreciated Heather's effort, but really just felt like a lame tag along younger sister. With a crooked grin she turned away to walk to Honeydukes. She was remembering the cute kiss between her older brother's friends while perusing the shelves and shelves of sweets when she saw another one of her older brother's friends.

"Hi, James," She said to the tall black haired boy who was putting large amounts of candy into a shopping basket.

"Hello there, Helen," he flashed Peter's sister a broad, warm smile. "What are you up to on this fine spring day?"

"Wandering around, getting fat by myself," She smiled wistfully. "You?"

"Pretty much the same," He answered. "Care to wander around getting fat together?"

"Are you sure?" Helen asked, her eyes widening in pleasant surprise.

"Of course I'm sure," James answered. "My idiot friends are all on a double date. I was just going to buy some parchment and stuff and then work on Quidditch plays for training. But I'd much rather spend the time with you."

"Really?" Helen's face lit up.

"It's a date," James answered. "Just, you know, nothing that our dear Wormtail would disapprove of."

"Of course not," Helen wrinkled her nose. "You're old. And you're Pete's friend."

"I also happen to be Quidditch captain and incredibly intelligent and handsome," James pointed out.

"And modest," Hellen giggled.

"Why does everyone say that as if it's a trait I think I have? Really," James chuckled.

"So sorry," Helen continued giggling. "I promise to never accuse you of such a trait ever again."

"Well appreciated, Little Pettigrew."

James bought himself and Helen more candy than they could possibly eat and they left Honeydukes. Outside the air was crisp and flowers were bright in window boxes of the shops. They started to make their way toScrivenshaft's Quill Shop where James planned on getting his parchment.

"Hey James!" A cheerful voice called, "and Helen!"

James looked up to see the shining, gorgeous face that the voice he knew so well belonged to. Her hair was down and shining red in the spring sunlight and her huge almond-shaped green eyes were sparkling. Even in the simple cream coloured muggle sweater and dark jeans, James thought she was the most stunning thing he'd ever seen. It took all of his masculinity and pride to not melt into a puddle of adoration and beg her to say his name again. Instead, he sent her his broad, warm smile.

Maia stood next to Lily, her face also shiny, but not with life, with dulled pain. James couldn't help but notice that she looked very attractive and put together, despite the forced nature of her smile.

"Hello Lily. And Maia," He looked at her carefully. "How are you?"

"Just smashing," Maia answered, intending to sound honest, but her voice coming out somewhat sarcastic. She must have noticed the way she sounded because she shifted tones a bit to continue. "Really. I'm good. How are you?"

"I'm doing well…" James couldn't help himself; he took her hand and squeezed it as if to silently say 'Kingsley was an idiot and it will get better'. His eyes flicked back to Lily, whose face had shifted a bit from joy to include concern. Helen trotted over to the older girls and hugged them each in turn.

"Can we hang out with Lily and Maia, too?" Helen asked, exited to see the older girls, who she had always looked up to. James quirked an eyebrow at the girls in question.

"Well, yeah!" Maia grinned for real now. She linked an arm with the younger girl.

"Well, we were going to run to Honeydukes for some chocolate…" Lily said, relieved to see Maia looking happier.

"Well, Helen and I just bought enough chocolate for an army," James pulled out a box of chocolates and handed it to Lily. "You can have this, it was originally for Moony who is addicted to the stuff, but I'm sure that Padfoot is buying him some today anyway."

"Thanks, James," Lily said, blushing. "I'm sure Maia will appreciate it."

"Yeah," James noticed her blush and resisted the urge to stroke her cheek. "Well make sure she shares it with you."

Lily turned to Maia to show her the chocolates just to see that she and Helen were already sharing Helen's sweets. The red haired girl looked back at James who had also noticed Maia's sweet satisfaction.

"Well, then, I guess these ones are just for you," He said looking at the box of candy he had just given her.

"No, James," Lily sighed and pushed it back into James' hands. "I can't just take a box of chocolate from you…"

"Why not?"

"Because…" Lily blushed deeper red. "Because it's your chocolate."

"But I don't want it," James argued, amused by Lily's awkwardness. "I want you to have it."

"Fine!" Lily glared at him and snatched the box back. "Fine, I'll take the stupid chocolate, Potter."

"You're mad at me for giving you chocolate?" James asked bemused. Lily being beet red and completely flustered, made James feel something he'd never really felt with Lily before; he felt somewhat successful. Sure, he'd made her angry more times than he could count, but maybe, just maybe, this certain kind of anger was becoming a good thing.

"No, I'm not mad…" Lily said slowly, her voice suddenly quiet, as she looked at him disbelief. She was so utterly confused she wanted to just run away… or run into his arms.

He looked so peaceful in the white spring sunlight. An easy smiled played across his lips and Lily was surprised to see that it was neither cocky nor flirtatious. The light wind was further tousling his normally messy hair. Lots of guys had messy hair on purpose, including Severus. But on Severus it had always just seemed greasy. How on earth James Potter managed to pull it off…

She shook those thoughts out of her head and turned away from the cause of her confusion to look at her best friend and the younger girl share sweets. Maia still looked sad, but she was distracted from her heartbreak, and that was a good thing. Helen was animatedly telling her a story that caused both girls to break into fits of laughter. But, when she wasn't laughing or smiling for Helen's benefit, a dark shadow lay over her features.

"Hey, James," Lily whispered, so that Maia and Helen couldn't hear over their chatting.

"Yes, Lily?" James shivered at the sound of his name whispered from her lips and savoured the way her name felt on his.

"Do you think Maia will be okay?" she asked, still whispering.

James frowned and looked at the short haired girl.

"Yes, I know she will be," he stated. "Love hurts, but it's supposed to. She'll be better because of it, I'm sure. She isn't the type to harden up and never let anyone in again."

"But… if love hurts, why put yourself through that?" Lily asked, looking at James. "Maybe it's better to just stay safe."

"You really think so?" James asked. He looked into her eyes, holding his gaze steady as he spoke. "I'm not so sure. See, I've been in love with the same girl since I was eleven years old. And even though I might never get a chance with her, and even though it might hurt like crazy, I don't regret feeling this way at all. Even if it doesn't work out for me, love still will be victorious in the end. The good always outweighs the bad, even if you can't see it right away. That's how I know it is worth it, that every moment is worth it."

Lily continued to stare into his hazel eyes for a couple moments before breaking away. She looked down, a twinge of pain deep in her chest. She nodded.

"So, anyway," James said, clearing his throat and speaking now, to include Maia and Helen. "I needed to go to Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop over on High Street, but then we could all go to the Three Broomsticks, what do you guys think?"

The girls concurred and they all made their way down the cobblestone streets.

"Hey, James?" Maia smirked as they walked, and James was happy to see some of her normal brightness in her eyes, even if the shadow was still here.

"Yes?"

"Did you ever finish that nonexistent potions essay?"

"Yes, I did." James answered easily. "I expect to get full marks. Thanks for asking."

---

A/N: So... what did you think? Too much fluff? Too boring? What was your favourite part? Reviews make us smile. Really, they do!