Discalimer- NOT MINE!

I am so sorry about this chapter being so late! Sorry sorry sorry sorry! I am such an idiot for leaving it like that in the last chapter- made it harder for me to start… anyways I hope you enjoy this really crappy chapter! And please review?! :)

Chapter 12- A hug.

OH. MY. MEEPING. MEEP. MERLIN! I AM ACTUALLY STOOD NEXT TO JAMES POTTER! Ok… calm Lily Evans… breath.

I'm guessing you would like to know why I am stood next to the amazing hot sex God? Eh? ;) Well… basically because we're going to be heads next year we have to go to some meetings. Professor McGonagall had asked me and James stay behind in Transfiguration but all the old bat was going on about was our duties for next year and that me and James need to behave and be nice towards each other; which is kinda stupid because obviously he and I are made for each other.

"Is there something you wish to share Miss Evans?" McGonagall asked shrilly, her eagle eyes glaring at me behind her spectacles.

I shook my head quickly realising I must have been daydreaming and had this stupid expression on my face.

"Good.. now as I was saying Mr Adams and Miss Zita are leaving Hogwarts in the next 4 months which means you two will then be the next important after teachers."

Liam Adams and Helen Zita are the present heads… they're both beautiful and intelligent and popular. I just still don't understand how I was picked when Taylor Hartley would have been a much better head.

"Yo. EVANS!" James tugged at my shoulder.

"What?" I asked dazed. McGonagall had already left so now it was just me and him. He looked at me impatiently then tugged at my hand again.

"We're going to be late…"

"For what?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowed. James sighed again and gave me a weird look.

"Don't you remember? We have to be there at the Prefect meeting to take notes. Come on!"

He took my hand and dragged me out of the classroom up until we were right outside the Great Hall. I felt that cliché electric static run through my fingers at the touch of his hand. I discreetly glimpsed at his face but he was staring ahead of us. Like he didn't even know I existed.

"This is where the meeting is?" I asked, taking long pauses for breaths in between. He nodded but said nothing whilst he creaked open the Great Hall door's, pushed me in first then followed.

"Ah. So here's Evans and Potter." Helen Zita smiled at us. She had a faint Chinese or Japanese look about her… her long black hair was slightly wavy and her small brown eyes were gleaming. She was actually quite sweet looking and was nice as well.

"Ok.. so as soon as Evans sits down we can start..?" Liam Adams looked at me and then motioned with his hand the seat which was empty. Blushing I sat down quickly, at least it was next to James.

Liam Adams had fair blonde hair that was straight and tufty looking. It went well with the light blue eyes he had that were half covered by his hair. He was pretty cute as well… but I definitely preferred James. That spiky brown hair and hazel eyes always caught me off guard. Liam was more like a fairy princess compared to James- The Quidditch Sex God.

"Oi." James whispered in my ear, "Stop gazing at Liam and actually pay attention. He'll think you're retarded already." Sulking, I poked James in the elbow but nevertheless listened to the drones of all the prefects and Head Boy and Girl.

"Well.. I guess we've covered pretty much everything. Remember Aimee and Rob.. you two patrolling tonight. See you guys!" Everyone got up with the same sigh of relief that it was over for this month. I yawned and stretched my arms but before I had barely taken two steps Helen and Liam called James and I over.

"So you two are the future us eh?" Helen laughed. James and I smiled shyly; they were so easy to talk to.

"So did McGonagall tell you what Lily and I are to do? She said you would tell us something…" James acted so… what was it? Mature? He acted different; like he was supposed to be Head Boy. He, Helen and Liam spoke with such power, authority and knowledge that I couldn't bring myself to say a word. I felt childish and dumb next to James Potter. Now more than ever. I cringed at the though of next year, what would everyone take me as?!

My thoughts stopped as James tugged my shoulder. Helen and Liam were just outside the Great Hall talking about 'official Head's business'. Whilst James was looking at me strangely. He was looking into my eyes so deeply that I thought for a moment he knew everything about me.

"You sure you're alright?" I nodded my head quickly, hiding the blush that was appearing on my cheeks then hurried to the door.

When we were finally out of the Great Hall I breathed deeply.

"I'm guessing you found it extremely boring eh?" James asked without taking his eyes off the floor. I rolled my eyes and nodded vigorously.

"It was a total waste of time-"

"I found it quite fascinating actually…"

I stopped dead in my tracks. "You're kidding right? What was so fascinating about it?!"

James was silent for a moment. "It's just that next year we'll be in the exact same position they are in. If you think about it Hogwarts has probably had a million Head Boys and Girls every year. And next year we'll be able to count up to that million; I don't want to ruin the responsibility we'll be given."

"This is why I shouldn't be Head Girl."

James laughed and was about to say something when his evil 'girlfriend' came over. To be honest I don't even know if they are dating, but she sure as hell thinks they are.

"Jamesies! How was the meeting? I missed you.. What are you doing here Evans? Can't you see me and James are talking? Mind your own…"

That little £^&&*&~###&^^&&^%. I forced a smile and turned the opposite way. Anywhere but near them two. It was just then I realised that James and I had had our first real conversation for quite some time. It made me smile and even against the bitter cold wind I was warm.

"Hey.. Lils? Don't you have that tutoring thing?" Izz asked me suddenly. What tutoring thing…? OH SH….

"WHAT'S THE TIME?"

"3:05…"

"OH RUDDY BOLLOCKS!"

I scrambled up from my bed and leapt to the door, only pausing for a breath when I was right outside the Library.

"Adams! Oh my Merlin! I am so sorry about being late! I-"

"It's fine Lily and please, call me Liam." He smiled that angelic smile and pointed at the chair which was next to him, reluctantly I sat down with a thud. He immediately started to go through what the Head's duties were, how sometimes you got to miss lessons, gave speeches, attended Open Evenings (I had no idea that our Hogwarts had an Open Evening!!!) and the best thing- ME AND JAMES SHARE A THINGY! Well.. we don't share a room and I don't think it's a dorm… we just live sort of together.. ish. And blah blah blah. He shouldn't have been telling me about all this Head Girl responsibility; he was supposed to be teaching me Transfiguration. But I knew the subject of Head's was bound to be brought up…

"So.. what you think?" Liam asked. He honestly hadn't even paused for breath. He had droned on about the duties for about 5 minutes! How much do Hogwarts Staff expect 16-17 year olds to accomplish? I sated at him agape for a second and then groaned, banging my head on the desk.

"Yeups.. I was like that last year too." He said reassuringly. "It's a lot to think about but just think- it's great for whenever you want to get a job or need a good statement from your school…"

"But it seems so boring! I honestly cannot believe I am next years Head Girl." I moaned, my hair muffling the words as my face was still flat on the table.

2 weeks later.

Dear Diary,

I have just received a letter from my dad… my mum's ill and is in hospital. Petunia is on holiday with that oaf and so it's just my dad on his own..

I'm worried about him, he can't look after himself. He'll be too worried to bother to keep the house under control. I'm more worried about the fact that my family is a target for the Death Eaters- since I'm a 'mudblood' and my family are muggles. Seeing as it's getting closer to the Christmas season I'm even more worried then I should be! I just hope something good happens.. fast.

Lily x

"Lily. You. Need. To. Stop. Worrying!" Alice shot at me. We were all in the common room doing Herbology(?) homework.. well apart from me. I was just sat on the sofa tapping my leg impatiently and not taking my eyes off the warming fire which was to the left of me.

"How can I stop worrying?! My mum is in hospital and my dad is just left at home… I'm allowed to be worried!" I snapped. None of them had been acting like friends. They all shared a look and then turned cautiously to me again.

"You're worried about You-know-who?" Izz asked. Even the sound of his name made Mari shiver. I nodded my head, unable to look anywhere but the floor.

"Look Lils. Don't worry about it. Voldermort wouldn't risk killing a muggle born family when the Ministry for Magic is after him plus Police in about every muggle country!" I tried to nod but just gave a small squeak. My owl had just appeared and he had a letter. From my dad.

Lily,

I'm sorry that my last letter wasn't very informative. There was so much on my mind then. Your mum has cancer. We were going to tell you and Petunia after Christmas this year. But seeing the way things have turned out. She's doing well at the Hospital though and I will be going to see her tomorrow. Harold Potter talked with me for a while and has made me think about security. Seeing as he is Minister for Magic he told me about this 'you-know-who' and because we are muggles should move... just in case… I have already found a house actually and I've been offered a great deal for our old house too.

You finish on the 18th December right? Well when you get off the Hogwarts Express I'll take you there- don't worry about your room- it's already been taken care off.

Love, Dad.

"Well that's a relief." I sighed, discarding the letter onto the floor, I saw Izz and Alice's hand pick it up but I didn't really notice or care. The good thing was that my dad was safe and my mum was… getting better.

But still that small minor thought lingered in my mind. What if's? Dozens of them swirling around in my brain. Even my bold inner thought me had nothing to keep me going. I know I must have been overreacting. But I guess you can never fully understand what it feels like until you go through it…

I suddenly felt something rising up my throat, making a retching noise I ran towards the girls stairs.

"Evans? Holy sh... Evans?!" I noticed James out of the corner of my eye but since I was a bit preoccupied with the vomit coming out of my mouth to say anything. That was, however, before I lost balance on the girls stairs. Causing… me to... well, vomit. James who was the only person there at the time, and he being that insufferable prat that he is, actually came up the girl's stairs. If I wasn't busy being sick at the time I would have laughed as the stairs turned into a slide causing him and I to fall gently to the bottom of the stairs.

"Uuuh. You.. err… feeling better?" He groaned weakly which caused my nausea to suddenly disappear.

"I am actually, thanks." He grunted as I used him as a wall so I was able to stand and then walked a bit to the door to the common room.

I was only when I realised what he had seen that I was too late. He read the letter despite me pleading and trying to snatch it away. He stopped guiltily and the passed it me back with a meek 'sorry'.

I didn't even acknowledge the apology as I snatched it out his hands.

"Why can't you just mind your own business for once?" I snapped. This was it. The peak of my emotions. I had been bottling it up for so long that now I was ready to scream the place down. I wanted to laugh bitterly but also with joy, I wanted to cry, to feel pain…

"Look Lily, I'm sorry… I shouldn't have looked-"

"Yes, you shouldn't have. YOU SHOULD HAVE MINDED YOUR OWN RUDDY BUSINESS…" I was ready to beat him to a pulp, to scream in agony and cry buckets of tears. But before I could do anything James walked towards me. For a moment I thought he was going to kiss me, tilt my head back and kiss me passionately on the lips. But then he brought me into heart warming hug, his long muscled arms engulfed my small fragile body. My wet face was pressed against his chest. I was stunned.

It felt so comforting, so real and… nice. He shushed me softly and swayed us both slightly. His shirt was so soft that I wished I could have stayed there forever. Just him and I. Not kissing, just hugging. Like friends do. It made me smile and still even now, seeing this as a memory it warms my heart.

I have no idea how long we stayed that like that for. It could have been seconds, minutes or hours. All I know is that time seemed to stop completely. But then time sped up.

"What the hell is this?" James and I broke apart at once.

"Taylor?" James asked. He was still holding onto my waist and didn't seem to mind as his 'girlfriend' glared at the contact if anything he seemed to tighten the grip. Taylor sneered.

"You'd stoop as low as Evans, James? My my my Potter." And then she walked up the girl's stairs into the dormitories.

"Just ignore." James said to me firmly. "I should have dumped her ages ago not just today-"

"You dumped her?" I asked. I had always seen James and Hartley to be like a golden couple, no matter how much I hated her.

"Well.. we were never properly dating… but yeah and be rid of her. I can't stand her one bit." I smiled slightly at this.

"Look. About the letter thing, I-"

"No, it's fine James. I was overreacting-"

"Yes. But the thing I wanted to say is that my dad sent me a letter about it as well. Your dad and my dad have become friends I guess. So, what I'm trying to say is that I already kinda knew what happened…"

I didn't know what to say. So instead I settled for an 'oh'. But before either of us could say anything else Tawny and James' owl appeared, both holding a letter each. We opened them simultaneously.

"Woah."

"Yeah.."

"What the hell?"

"This means we're neighbours?"

We were both silent for a moment until we both laughed.

Lily-

Harold's neighbor has just moved and so therefore the house is for sale. It will also give us more protection as well. See you on the 18th.

Love, dad.

"Well this will be fun." James chuckled. We fell again into an uncomfortable silence.

"I should go..." I said, motioning to the girl's staircase. James nodded but didn't move or say anything. He just stared at me.

"Yeah.. I should go to. Laters." He waved at me and then proceeded back into the common room.

"Laters." I said once the door shut. What a stupid goodbye phrase. It doesn't even mean anything. I picked up the letter from the floor and started to climb the stairs till I got to my dorm.

We hugged.

Yes. I know.

There we go! Again I am so so so so so so sorry for it being late! I've been doing college applications and mocks for things and blah blah blah :)

Please review my pretties and thanks for the people who have favourited the story and alerted it as well! :D And yeahs SORRY IT IS SO SHORT! It's so late and I wnated to put it on tonight (or rather 'today' seeing as it is 01:22...)

Frog. Bin x