A/N: Hey guys! I'm just now realizing I haven't been very… well, personal with you guys, so I apologize. If you haven't read this yet, fantastic (read & review) and if you have, just review, and if you've done that, you've probably heard back from me. I feel I am pretty good at responding. I hope you all enjoy, and don't hesitate to put in your two cents! I love getting feedback. Plus, if you have a suggestion of how/where you want things to go, let me know, you might just help me deepen or expand my plot! ~MissJoline
Hours later, Lily was meeting up with James to go over their plan for the Prefect meeting. Lily walked into the library and spotted James sitting at one of the tables.
"Hello." She greeted him.
"Hey." James replied, grinning at her.
"I was thinking, we should go over the schedule, and, possibly some upcoming events." Lily started.
"Sure." James replied, slouching back in his chair in a guy-like manner.
"First, I have evenly split up patrols for the week. There's someone from each year, and each house patrolling each night." She began. James stifled a fake yawn. "Potter, do you seriously just live to torture me?"
He chuckled at her. "Sorry."
"Umm, you want to take a look at it?" Lily asked him. He leaned in towards her, and her heart began to race. She wondered if he could hear it. 'Why am I like this?' she asked herself silently, growing flustered.
"I can't really read that." James admitted scooting his chair right next to hers, and leaning into her even farther. Lily immediately straightened up and felt entirely uncomfortable, wishing he would read a bit faster. Putting his arm on the back of her chair and with the other, pointing out some small details she missed, he looked up at her. She felt her breath catch in her throat. For a moment all she could do was just look back into his hazel eyes, things unsaid passing between them. Then, acting as if nothing happened, she turned away.
"What do you think?" She said, finally.
"I think you're scared." James replied to her, knowing full well that his attempts would be useless.
"That's not what we are here to talk about." Lily said crossly. "Besides I don't even want to talk about it."
"So you admit you're scared." He persisted.
"James! I don't want to talk about it." She repeated, using his first name, something she had never done before. Satisfied, James let her have her way, for now, and went back to helping her plan the meeting.
After the Prefect meeting, Lily went straight to her dorm room. 'What is wrong with me?' She thought to herself. 'First I like him, then I hate him, then I want to, and at the same time I don't.' She sighed exasperated. Lily felt awful, and she hadn't talked to Severus all day now, not after the incident at the Great Hall. With nothing else to do, she went in search of him.
As usual, she found him in the library. His head came up from the book he was reading when she reached the table. "Hey Sev." Lily said, smiling.
"Hey Lily." He replied, going back to reading the book he had in front of him.
"I was meaning to ask you, about some things I've read about." She started, he gave her a look. "Dark things Severus? I know you can answer some of my questions."
"Why are you reading books like that Lily? A bit hypocritical don't you think?" He said, still a little sore about her upset towards him at breakfast.
"Well if you're going to be like that, I can just leave." His attitude since the term began hurt her, just a little.
"I'm sorry Lily, please don't." Severus really didn't want her to go; every moment with his precious Lily was sacred; though he would never let anyone know this. "What have you been reading?"
"The History of the Darkest Arts, and Defensive Spelling against Them, it's actually fairly well-written."
"Where did you find that?!" he asked her, a hint of excitement in his voice.
Lily chuckled at him. "In my dorm, you know… the one I share with Potter." She joked lightly.
"That's not funny Lily." Severus frowned at her. "You know I don't like that at all."
"Oh alright," Lily relented. "But what can you tell me about horcruxes?" She asked him, swinging the conversation back to the book.
"Horcruxes?" Severus looked at her clearly, "Are you serious Lily?"
"Yes, the book didn't say much about them, only that making them is very dangerous, that it's something only very experienced wizards succeed at doing, that's all."
"Well, a horcrux is an object that contains a piece of the wizard's soul. Essentially, you're breaking your soul into pieces and putting those pieces in inanimate objects. There is a reason it is so dangerous, and that few have ever successfully broken their soul." Severus was worried about Lily reading about these things; he looked at her skeptically. "Lily, why are you reading this book?"
"Severus, it's a defensive book. I was just curious about a few things that were not in detail. Besides, why should it matter, you know loads of stuff like this. Why can't I know some of it as well?" Lily said tersely. She mentally kicked herself for getting short at him.
"Do what you want I guess." He stated simply.
Lily just stared at him for a moment, wondering what had his knickers in a twist. Finally she got up and headed towards the Gryffindor common room, with any luck, Effie would be there now.
Oh how horribly right she was.
Climbing through the portrait hole, she spotted Effie in the common room, walking in, she noticed Effie wasn't alone. 'The Marauders' she scrunched her nose up at her luck.
"Lily-bean!" Sirius cheered, and jumped up coming towards her.
"Uh, hi." Lily managed to say as Sirius was grabbed her and lead her to an arm chair. Lily gave Effie a futile look, while all Effie could do was giggle at the scene before her. Plopping Lily down in the chair, Sirius sat down on the sofa next to Effie, looking very pleased with himself. Remus gave Lily a knowing look, which she returned with a smile. James and Peter were chuckling, to which Lily could only roll her eyes.
"So… Lily… how was your, uh," he searched for the right way to put it, "morning." James taunted her, referring to her watching them earlier that day.
Not taking the bait, at least, not in front of anyone Lily replied, "It was… lovely." She said, pursing her lips. James quivered; he loved it when she did that, looking all bossy and annoyed. He was torn, between his heart stretching with so much love for her, and wanting to shag her so bad it actually kind of hurt. That and it made his insides feel hollow.
"So what exactly are you all doing here anyways?" Lily finally asked.
"Oh no, no my dear Miss Evans, the question really is, what are you doing here." Sirius said. "Because I'm pretty sure we are doing the same thing we do every year.
"Right. So, there's, four, five, six! of us. Fantastic!"
"What do you mean six of us, and what are you doing?" Lily asked, again.
"James? You have the cloak?" Sirius continued, ignoring Lily.
"Yep." James answered, grinning from ear to ear.
"Remus, the map?"
"Of course." Remus replied, nodding slightly.
"Map? What map, what's going on? Effie? What are they doing?" Lily started to become frantic.
Effie just patted her friends lap. "Really Lily, calm down. It'll be fun. You need to lighten up a little."
"Peter, dung bombs?" Sirius drilled.
"Aye Aye Captain!" Peter replied jokingly, saluting Sirius.
Lily's jaw dropped in realization. "Oh no. No, no, no!" She cried, jumping up out of the chair, her eyes wide in terror. "I will have no part in this. No. You can do whatever you like, but you will not mix me into this. Nope. I won't do it." She crossed her arms over her chest indignantly.
"Oh Lily, come on? Please?" Effie cooed at her. "It will be fun, I promise."
"You may not like the Slytherins, but I have nothing against them." Lily frowned at the group.
"That's not as true as you would like it to be, and you know it Lily." Sirius told her.
She gave him a challenging look. "Really Sirius? Is that really what you think? And why do you say that?"
He answered her simply, as if it was just a matter of fact. "Because they don't like you. You're a muggleborn. They don't like you, much as you would like to think."
"I don't think they like me. But that doesn't mean I'm going to go off gallivanting and pranking them." Lily was making large sweeping gestures towards the dungeons.
"Awww Lily. Come on now. Don't get you knickers in a twist. We are just going to have a little fun. Think of it as, hmmm, a little house rivalry?" Effie said sweetly.
"It will be fun Lily." Remus stated, looking at his nails as he did so, trying not to make eye contact with her.
"Yeah Lily! Besides, we have never had so many people in on a prank before, at least, not at one time." Peter chimed in.
James looked at her from where he was sitting, and she looked back at him. Instead of saying something, he just shrugged, and smiled. It really was her choice, after all.
For some reason, that one look was all it took, and Lily gave in. "Alright. Fine." She said simply. That was when James knew, with such certainty, that she liked him back. Even if she didn't know it, and that just maybe, perhaps, she might just love him. No, he thought, that would be pushing his luck just a little too far. Instead of pondering the feelings of Lily, he decided for now, he would forget about it and just enjoy a little house rivalry.