A/N: Extra big thank you to last week's reviewers: Cassie Weasley (nope, you hadn't reviewed yet, haha), Meeeee, Yreva13, Kiley 1 09, DarlingILoveYou, TechnoGlitter ExWhimsicalFairy, BrokenFaerie16, WobblyJelly, Evisawesome, jak23, EchoNightFall22, PoseidonsLittleGirl, emandem, swimer123, soshoryu, ottoismydog, ZoneSystems, Morgana101, marinewife08, JanistheGiant, Tabbycat270, lagirl266, MaryandMerlin, Ami Ukiyo, Alice Demer, MiTosesRTotallyRoses (love the name!), Foreverandtrulyyours, Riley, A's and B's and Gold, Elless, i3fiction, existence555, Angelaaaa, lasting illusion (hope your exams went well!), Justine, and Silver Scorpion! Btw, I've been meaning to say, you all have been breaking my record number of reviews for a single chapter (over 20) for the past few chapters now. BUT this chapter had over 30, hence the extra big thank you ;) You're all amazing!

Several of you correctly guessed the meaning of James's "shit" in the last chapter…for those who are curious, just read some last week's reviews. Or, you know, wait until the end of this chapter, then you'll probably have a pretty good idea ;)

So, with that little teaser . . .

Chapter 20: Lay It Down

"So, it's my birthday this Friday," James said casually at breakfast one morning.

"Congratulations," I said dryly.

He frowned at me.

"What?" I said with a smile. "What did you want me to say?"

"He wants you to gush with enthusiasm that his parents had the incredible foresight to have a shag and produce such a marvelous human being for our endless enjoyment," Sirius said, nodding knowingly at me.

James glared at his best mate. "You know, I was rather looking forward to eating my breakfast this morning, but now that you've got the image of my parents shagging in my head, I don't think that'll be an option."

"Sorry," said Sirius, not looking it in the slightest. "I suppose that is a bit of a disturbing image for you. Especially with your dad dead and all."

Mary snorted as Remus rolled his eyes. "Honestly Sirius, sometimes you are insensitive to the point of stupidity," Mary said.

"Prongs understands me," Sirius countered confidently.

"Luckily for you," Remus muttered.

"Anyway," James said with an effort to redirect the conversation. "The point of all this was to let Mary and Lily know about the party in honor of the aforementioned momentous occasion, that is, me finally coming of age."

"Merlin help us all," I said.

"I don't think they really need to be told about the party," Peter pointed out. "It'll be kind of hard to miss."

"I can only imagine," Mary said, somehow managing to sound apprehensive and excited at the same time.

"Well, it is a big deal, turning seventeen," Potter said sniffily.

"Yet you didn't see me going round announcing it to anyone who'd listen when I had my seventeenth two weeks ago," Remus said.

"Was it?" Mary said.

"Remus," I chided, hitting his arm, "you should've said something! Well, happy late birthday, anyway."

"Yes, see—Lily understands," James said. "Any normal person likes to be acknowledged on their birthday. I mean—when's yours, Evans?"

"It was January thirtieth," I replied.

"Oh," Potter said, face falling slightly. "Well, now I feel like a prick. We were even friends then and everything."

"No, don't worry about it," I said hurriedly. "Honestly, it's not a big deal."

"Now whose side is she on?" Remus said triumphantly.

James sighed. "Well, I offered to share the party with Remus, but he said—"

"—that I rather valued my dignity, actually—"

"—so, there you go," Potter finished.

"So, you're inviting us to your birthday party this Friday, is that what we should take from all that?" I asked with a grin.

"Yes," Potter said. "I mean, technically anyone who's in Gryffindor or can manage their way into our common room that night is invited, I guess, but . . ."

"We, having received a personal invitation, should feel particularly special?" Mary suggested.

"Precisely," James agreed with a smirk.

OOOOOOOO

So it was that Friday night found all the Gryffindor girls once again readying ourselves for a party. And this time I was, surprisingly, actually excited. In fact, I was in such a good mood that I just laughed with Mary about Marlene and Dorcas when they fretted over their appearances, instead of rolling my eyes. Additionally, I was extremely amused that their primary discussion topic—besides how much a certain skirt accentuated their curves, of course—was James, and whether they could get him drunk enough to snog one (or both) of them tonight.

"Bit sad—you know, in the self-esteem department—that they think he'd have to be drunk to fancy snogging them," I commented in a low voice to Mary as she applied her makeup and I touched up my hair in the bathroom. I'd left it down, done up in loose ringlets.

"Well, his last girlfriend was Chloe, so I suppose they think that's quite a lot to live up to," Mary replied reasonably.

At that I did roll my eyes. "So she was perfect-looking, so what? Anyway, I feel a bit torn about the whole thing," I added seriously, causing Mary to pause in applying mascara to look at me in the mirror. "One the one hand, I feel I'm morally obligated—as his friend, you know—to warn Potter of their plots to get him drunk and take advantage of him. Especially since it's his birthday. But then . . . well, it would be quite hilarious to witness."

Mary and I shared a grin before exiting the bathroom so Marlene and Dorcas could have their turn.

"I mean, it's been ages—well, three months, anyway—he's got to be over her by now, right?" Marlene was saying, and I could only assume they were referring to Potter and Chloe.

"She did dump him, though," Dorcas pointed out. "And he hasn't started seeing anyone else yet, even though you know Chloe only chucked him because—"

"Shh!" Marlene hissed, and both girls poked their heads out of the bathroom to glance at Mary and I. When I raised my eyebrows at them, they turned bright red and hurriedly faced the mirror again.

"What was that about?" I muttered to Mary, who just shrugged. "Anyway, is Andrew stopping by again, like at New Year's?"

"I think so—I gave him the password today at lunch. He said he's heard a lot of non-Gryffindors are coming, actually."

"It only figures that Potter's birthday would be bigger than the ushering in of a new year," I said dryly as we descended the dormitory stairs.

And indeed, the common room was already incredibly crowded, even though it was only nine. But before I could spot Potter to wish him a happy birthday, Chloe came practically sprinting up to me.

"Lily, I need to talk to you," she said seriously.

Completely taken aback, I just stared at her.

Mary spared her a raised eyebrow before saying to me, "I've spotted Andrew—see you in a bit?"

I nodded, and was just about to reply to Chloe when A.J. appeared beside me.

"You're looking smashingly beautiful tonight, Lil," he said, kissing my cheek. Then, noticing my companion, he reddened slightly. "Oh, hey Chloe."

"Hi A.J., how're you?" she said in what I thought was an impressively normal voice, considering they were exes. I mean, it had been a couple years, but still. I didn't think I'd ever be able to confront an ex with such cool collectedness. Not that I'd ever had an ex, but that's beside the point.

"Er, fine," A.J. replied, but Chloe wasn't really paying attention to him anymore.

Looking back at me, she said, "So?"

"Right, of course." I turned to A.J. "I'll, er, be right back."

And leaving him looking somewhat nonplussed, Chloe and I exited the common room. After we'd gone a few feet down the corridor, she turned to face me again. "I know I haven't been the nicest person to you this year," she started with no preamble whatsoever. "Truth is, I was jealous of you."

No, really? I thought sarcastically. But outwardly I just nodded and let her continue.

"It was stupid, I know—well, I mean, not really, considering—but I'm getting ahead of myself. What I meant to say is, I'm sorry. It was wrong of me to be so horrible to you."

For the second time that night, she shocked me into silence. Instantly, I felt a bit horrible myself, having always treated her with scornful disdain. "That's—that's descent of you to say, Chloe," I said finally, "but really, don't worry about it; it's f—"

"He's never told you, has he?" she interrupted abruptly.

"Er, who hasn't told me what?"

"James," Chloe said a little exasperatedly. Well, sorry if I can't read your mind, I thought defensively, but her next words froze any sarcastic remarks in my throat. "How he feels about you."

Come again? "What?"

Chloe nodded. "That's what I thought. I didn't think you were the kind of person to just toy with his feelings by dating someone else."

I nearly laughed at that. The thought of me 'toying' with anyone's feelings, especially Potter's . . .

"Anyway, I just thought you should know—he really likes you, and that's why we broke up." After an awkward pause, Chloe said, "Right, so, I'll—see you around." And she turned to re-enter the common room.

Okay, what just happened? Potter, have feelings for me? Ridiculous. I mean, he laughed in the face of those rumors on the very night he and Chloe broke up! And no one's that good an actor. Plus, he basically admitted to me not long ago that he set A.J. and I up. And this is Potter we're talking about—he wouldn't exactly hesitate to confess something like that. Would he? I was suddenly uncertain. He would if he thought you'd reject him outright, a small part of my brain offered. Which, if I was being perfectly honest, is exactly what I'd do, even if he were to come out right now and say it. Was that heartless? Probably. But I knew Potter and I weren't right for each other, and I wouldn't pretend otherwise just to spare his feelings. I mean, I'd barely gotten used to the idea of us being friends, and while I liked it well enough, this was just too much for me. Damn it, Potter, why do you always have to complicate things? I thought, knowing that it was awful to blame him, but unable to help it.

I sighed, leaning against the wall. God, I really, really hope Chloe's wrong. Although, what reason would she have to lie to me about this? Before I could answer myself, the portrait hole swung open and I looked over to see A.J. stepping into the corridor.

"You are still out here," he said, frowning. "I saw Chloe come back in, but . . . what did she want, anyway?"

"Nothing," I said, hitching what I hoped was a normal smile onto my face and walking over to meet him. Kissing him swiftly on the lips, I said, "Let's get this party started, shall we?"

A.J. grinned. "Right-o."

Almost immediately upon entering the common room, I spotted Potter with the other Marauders by the fire . . . and I promptly turned bright red at the sight of him. I wished again that Chloe hadn't told me anything; much as she'd thought she was doing me a favor, I knew I'd never be able to face Potter again without thinking about that conversation. I'll just have to confront him about it, I thought determinedly. But picturing myself asking him about his feelings for me only made me blush harder. This is not good.

"Let's get something to drink," I suddenly suggested to A.J. 'Liquid courage,' Mary had always called it. Well, I certainly needed some of that right now. And, as most people who used alcohol to that purpose, I would live to regret it.

Grabbing a cup of that special 'punch' Potter spoke so highly of, I gulped it down quickly, not really wanting to taste it. A.J. raised his eyebrows as I finished.

"For a non-drinker, you're sure doing a good impression of it," he commented, lips twisting into a smile.

I turned to refill my cup. "And you are one drink behind," I returned with a mischievous wink.

"What about the snogging game?" A.J. asked as he obligingly filled his own cup.

"I guess everyone else will just have to play it about us," I said, stepping closer and looking up at A.J. coyly from under my eyelashes.

His eyes widened slightly. "That alcohol's sure taking effect quickly," he joked.

I threw back my second drink just as someone turned on the music. "Wanna dance?" I asked as I set down my cup.

"Okay, one second," A.J. replied, quickly downing his own drink. Taking my hand, he pulled me into the middle of the cleared space currently serving as a make-shift dance floor.

OOOOOOOO

A few hours and several glasses of 'punch'—which was rather aptly named, I thought, as it did pack quite a punch—later, and A.J. and I weren't so much dancing as stumbling around the floor. It would have been embarrassing, except that we were hardly the only couple doing so. Besides, in addition to reducing my sense of balance, the punch had also dulled my self-consciousness considerably.

As the latest song ended, I asked A.J. breathlessly, "You wanna sit down for a while?"

He nodded gratefully and we (somehow) made our way over to the only empty couch by the fire. Two were occupied by students who'd succumbed to the copious amounts of alcohol they'd consumed—I was amused to see that one of them was Peter Pettigrew—and the third was taken up by a passionately kissing couple.

I wrinkled my nose and turned to comment on this to A.J., but was interrupted by his lips, which he chose at that moment to press to mine. And hypocritical Lily strikes again, I thought as I moved my mouth against his. Oh well.

"Evans, I'd tell you to get a room, except I have doubts about your ability to climb stairs at the moment," a mocking voice said from above us.

Pulling away from A.J., it was a couple seconds before my eyes brought the smirking face of Sirius Black fully into focus. "Right, Black, because you're really one to talk—I'm surprised your lips aren't similarly engaged right now."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "I beg to differ—I mean, A.J.'s good-looking and all, but I don't fancy blokes, Evans."

I attempted to swat his arm, but my aim was a little off, so the back of my hand connected with air. "You know what I meant," I scoffed, pretending I didn't notice when Sirius smirked again at my lack of coordination.

"I don't feel so good," A.J. said suddenly.

"Yeah, the thought of snogging Black will do that to you," I said with a snort. But, upon turning to look at my boyfriend, I saw that he was, indeed, slightly green. "Oh, you meant—"

But before I could finish the sentence, A.J. shot up from the couch and hurried away, presumably to find something to throw up in. I winced in sympathy, but didn't make any move to follow him—the couch was just too comfortable. Looking up at Sirius again, I asked, "Am I a horrible girlfriend if I stay here instead of making sure he's okay?"

"Probably. But what do I know about such things?" he said with a wink, helping himself to A.J.'s vacated seat.

"Hey," I said hurriedly, scooting away from him. "I never said you could sit here."

"Aw, come on, Evans, we're friends, aren't we?" Sirius asked, slinging an arm over my shoulders.

I crossed my arms and didn't answer, but I didn't make a move to shove his arm away, either. "So, point of interest," I said after a moment, "why aren't you off snogging some random girl right now?"

Sirius pretended to look affronted. "Is that all you think I aspire to do at parties?"

I just raised an eyebrow.

Sirius grinned. "Ah, you know me well, Evans. And I must say, with how much I assume you've drunk, based on your general lack of balance, you're still impressively coherent."

"And you're evading the question."

"You, my friend, need another drink," Sirius pronounced, and while I didn't miss the fact that he still hadn't answered my question, I let him head for the drinks table.

Almost as though he'd been waiting for Sirius to leave, James immediately plopped down beside me. "Evans, how it is—is it—that I've—that I haven' seen you all night?"

"Maybe you have, but you're just too drunk to remember," I suggested mildly, noting his slurred speech. I was pleased to note that the alcohol had done what I'd intended it to—even though my memory of the conversation with Chloe was definitely still strong, I didn't feel embarrassed around Potter at all.

He laughed. "Oh, I am har'ly that drunk, my dear, trust me."

"Whatever you say, love," I said lightly, cringing inwardly as the last word left my mouth—a little too much liquid courage, I guess.

James snorted. "Spik-speaking of drunk, since when've you called me 'love'?"

"Since—well—okay, fine, since I've had four glasses of 'punch' in the past hour," I said, blushing.

"Good stuff, i'n it?"

"After the second drink or so, it starts to taste pretty good, yeah," I agreed with a smirk. "Oh—Merlin, I can't believe this isn't the first thing I said when you sat down—happy birthday!"

Potter grinned. "Thanks, Evans."

Sirius returned at that moment with a cup for me and one for himself.

James raised his eyebrows. "Padfoot's your enabler? Better watch yourself, Evans."

"'Enabler' implies I have a problem, Potter."

He just grinned back at me.

OOOOOOOO

And that is my last (basically) clear memory for the next couple hours. I don't know if Sirius added something to my drink—wouldn't put it past him, the prick—or if the mere fact that it was my fifth one of the night put me over the edge, but the next thing I remember is stumbling up to Remus, giggling uncontrollably. He was, to my delight, talking to Carin again, the Ravenclaw girl I'd teased him about on New Year's.

"Lily," Remus greeted me with a slightly amused smile, as I grabbed onto his arm to keep from falling over.

"Sooooo," I said, drawing out the word and glancing in what I thought was a surreptitious yet significant way at Carin.

"So . . ." Remus repeated, though in a more confused way. "You've had a lot to drink," he added conversationally.

For some reason this struck me as incredibly funny, setting me off into the giggles again. Remus's grin widened, though I wasn't too sloshed to notice that Carin was looking increasingly uncomfortable.

Once I got myself under control, I decided it was important I clear things up for her. Releasing Remus's arm—I still managed to stay on my feet, which I was quite proud of—I said, "Don' worry, we're jus' friends," I told her. "I mean, e'en when I said I'd kiss him at the No—New Year's . . . thingy, he just . . . y'know . . . didn't. And it was a joke anyway, this—that—the thing I said." Even I could tell I wasn't making any sense. Carin now looked confused in addition to apprehensive, while Remus no longer looked amused. At all.

"Lily," he started with forced pleasantness, "maybe you should—"

"I'm jus' makin' sure she knows y-you fancy her and . . . and not me," I explained.

At that, Carin turned bright red, mumbled something about getting another drink, and practically ran away.

Now Remus looked downright angry. "Thanks, Lily."

"What? I was just—" Suddenly, a thought struck me, and I called out after Carin, "Hey! You're not just leaving 'cause he's a wer—"

Remus clapped a hand sharply over my mouth. "What the hell is wrong with you?" he demanded in a harsh whisper.

I tried to look abashed, but my drunken side once again found the situation inexplicably hilarious, and I felt my lips start to turn up in a grin.

Remus snorted derisively. "Well, I can see why you don't drink," he said contemptuously, turning away.

"Remus—" I started, the horror at what I'd almost said beginning to penetrate my sluggish, alcohol-logged mind.

He whipped around quickly, grabbing my arm roughly. "Don't. Just . . . stay away from me," he said, shoving me back slightly as he released my arm.

Shocked at such hostility from Remus, I could only stare after him for a bit as he stalked angrily away. Knowing I had to fix what I'd done, however, I started after him, shouting "Wait, Remus, I—" But I was interrupted as I tripped spectacularly over a bunched up bit of the rug in front of the fire, knocked into a table, and landed sprawled on my stomach. I could feel my face redden as several people around me roared with laughter. A moment later, I felt a tug on my arm, and looked up to find Potter helping me to my feet. I was grateful to see that he wasn't laughing—I mean, he might have been initially, but I appreciated him not doing it to my face, at least.

He led me over to the couch we'd been sitting on before, and the irony of it being the location where all this mess had started was not lost on me, plastered as I was.

"You okay?" he asked, his face swimming in and out of focus.

"Yeah."

Potter flashed me a quick grin. "Okay, hang on—I'll get you some water."

I must have passed out for a bit, because the next thing I remember is waking up to an empty common room, save for James, seated beside me, head leaning against the back of the couch and eyes closed. "Potter?" I said tentatively, wondering if he was awake.

His head jerked up immediately, and he grinned at me. "Good, you're conscious again."

"Did you—where did everyone go?"

"I kicked 'em out a while ago," he replied, shrugging.

"You—and they listened?" I asked incredulously. I was starting to become aware of the fact that I felt like I'd been trampled by a stampeding hippogriff. My shin was throbbing from where it had connected with the table, a dull ache had settled behind my eyes, and my stomach was rolling unpleasantly.

"It was my party, wasn't it?" James said in answer to my question.

I just nodded, not really caring how he'd gotten rid of everyone, but glad that he had. "And now you're . . ."

"Well, I figured it would be poor form for me—as host, you know—to leave before making sure everyone that had passed out was okay," he said with a wink.

"And that group consisted of just me, I take it?"

"Oh no, of course not," Potter said, frowning at me like I was crazy to even suggest such a thing. "It's not a good party unless there are at least five in that number. I'm happy to say that this time we generated eight—a new record, I think."

"How wonderful," I said dryly, leaning my head back and taking deep slow breaths to try and calm my churning stomach. Bits of the night were starting to slowly come back, and as there was one part I definitely didn't want to focus on right now, I said instead, "Can I ask you something before I get too sober again?"

Potter raised an eyebrow. "How could I say no to that? I like your hair like that, by the way—I meant to tell you earlier, though I suppose it wouldn't have made a difference, since you probably would've forgotten it anyway."

Momentarily thrown, I didn't answer. Why was he being so nice? Staying with me after I passed out to make sure I was okay, complimenting my hair, and not teasing me at all about getting pissed out of my mind like I'd expected. Better enjoy it while it lasts, I thought bitterly. Because once he found out what I'd almost done, I was willing to bet he wouldn't feel so kindly towards me.

"Anyway, I interrupted you, sorry—you were saying?"

"Right . . . er, so Chloe talked to me earlier tonight." I stopped, trying to decide how to phrase the next part. "And she—well, I mean I knew you two broke up because she thought there was something going on with us, or whatever. But then tonight she told me"—and here I looked away from Potter, sober enough to be embarrassed about what I was going to ask—"that she wasn't completely crazy, and that you . . . er, you know."

"Fancied you?" James asked, to my surprise. "Yeah, I . . . er, sort of let her believe that, because I didn't want her to know it was actually because I was just sick of dating her and welcomed the chance to end it."

I did look at him then, frowning in disappointment that he'd been so horrible to Chloe, used as I'd become to him being less of a prick than that. At least, that's why I told myself I was disappointed.

"I know," Potter said, wrinkling his nose as he correctly interpreted my reaction. "That was a pretty crap thing of me to do. But, well, let bygones be bygones, right? Or whatever it is."

I smiled. "Something like that, yeah." My stomach gave a sudden lurch, and I sat up straight, hand over my mouth.

"Shit," Potter muttered, scrambling over the side of the couch for a rubbish bin. Pulling out the bag of trash, he thrust the empty bin under my face just in time for me to throw up into it. With his free hand, Potter held my hair back so it wouldn't get vomit on it. When I was finished, he pulled out his wand, Vanished the mess I'd made, and handed me a glass of water that had been sitting on the table.

Vaguely remembering him saying something about getting it for me before I'd passed out, I drank it gratefully to rid my mouth of the acrid taste. "Sorry, that was gross."

James shrugged. "Nothing I haven't seen before."

I gave him a considering look. Finally, I asked, "Why are you being so nice? It's kind of weirding me out. Like the balance of the universe has been upset, or something."

Potter laughed. "Well, I guess it's because I feel a little guilty—I mean, I'm the one who teased you about not drinking."

I snorted. "Trust me, Potter, you had nothing to do with what happened tonight." My insides twisted again, though this time not with nausea. I was glad when Potter distracted me by speaking again.

"Plus, with A.J. . . . incapacitated rather early on, I figured I'd step into the—" He stopped abruptly.

"Act as my boyfriend substitute for the night?" I supplied jokingly. But when I turned to grin at him, I found James looking at me oddly.

"Lily," he started.

"Yes?" I prompted, almost in a whisper, my heart suddenly beating faster.

James seemed to teeter on the edge of saying something, and when he finally spoke, I had a feeling he'd decided against his original words. "You should probably get to bed."

I sighed as I craned my neck to contemplate the dormitory stairs. "But that would involve standing."

Potter grinned, all trace of his strange expression gone. "Take it from me, you'll feel much better if you wake up in your bed tomorrow."

Sighing again, I reluctantly dragged myself to my feet, letting James take my arm to lead me to the girls' stairs. We came to a stop at its base, and I looked back at Potter. "Well, thanks for taking care of me," I said.

"My pleasure," he replied with a smirk.

"And I hope you had a good birthday."

"It was rather enjoyable, thanks." We stood in silence a moment longer, before James said, "Good night."

"'Night James," I said, the name out of my mouth before I'd actually planned to say it.

James raised his eyebrows, grinning, but didn't say anything as he turned to climb the stairs to his dormitory.

A/N: There you go, another cute moment ;) Consider it a Christmas present. And, on that note, to whom it may apply—Merry/Happy (early) Christmas! Hope everyone has a lovely holiday!

(Random side note: Any LaT fans out there? B/c I don't know about you, but I am DYING for an update!)