A/N: So for those of you that have read chapters 1-5 and have not reviewed, SHAME ON YOU. As to cc4s, you have reviewed every single chapter. And you know what? I freaking love you for it. You are what provided the inspiration for this chapter. I honestly went into chapter 6, having no idea what was going to happen. I wrote and wrote and wrote, and then I edited and edited and edited, and then I wrote and edited some more. Now that we're starting to get somewhere in the story line, the chapters are going to start getting much longer...YAY! But that also means it may or may not be longer between updates...awww. I promise to do the best I can, and I hope you all enjoy this story as much as I do!

Disclaimer: I own not, you sue not.

Chapter 6

(Lily)

Lily watched as the messy-haired boy stormed out of the Great Hall.

Brilliant, she thought. Now he can't even stand being in the same room with me.

"What has Potter's knickers in a twist?" Marlene asked.

"Dunno," she replied.

"Why did Dumbledore allow us to start eating?" Alice wondered. "Typically, they sort the first years before—"

The sound of the doors opening for a third time interrupted her. A large group of small, scared-looking first years entered, led by, much to Lily's surprise, Rubeus Hagrid.

"Where's McGonagall?" she inquired, looking at Marlene. Perhaps the Head Girl would know the cause of the strange incidences. Marlene, however, looked as confused as the rest of them and merely shrugged unknowingly. A stool was brought to the front of the hall, and a shabby hat was placed upon it. A rip in the hem opened, and the hat began to sing.

Nearly half and hour later, after Yorrin, Jill had been sorted into Ravenclaw, the feast commenced yet again. Lily looked down at her meal in front of her, not having much of an appetite after her dispute with Snape. Her friends attempted to get her to eat, but to no avail.

At last, when the other students had full bellies, and the knots in Lily's stomach felt as though they had somewhat loosened, Dumbledore again stood to speak.

"Now that we have all stuffed ourselves, I would like to introduce all of you to Professor Joyce Salem."

Lily had been so absorbed in her own thoughts, she had failed to notice the unfamiliar face at the staff table. The woman stood in acknowledgement of Dumbledore's introduction. She was small, but did not look like someone you wanted to cross. She appeared to be in her mid-thirties, and was, as Lily suspected, quite pretty when she was younger. Her long blonde hair fell in soft waves down her back, and her light eyes held the look of someone who had seen a lot. On a second glance, Lily noticed signs of a life well-fought for. There was a large scar above her left eyebrow and two wrinkles at the corners of her lips, as though they had been pursed quite often.

"Professor Salem has worked for the Aurors Office for the past fifteen years, but has graciously agreed to join us and teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. Please help me give her a warm Hogwarts welcome."

The woman gave a small smile and nod to the applause that greeted her and took her seat once again. Dumbledore's voice changed to a more serious tone when he spoke again.

"Now I am sure all of you all of you are familiar with the events that have transpired over the summer holidays." Lily felt her stomach clench at the mention of the murders by the dark wizard. "I have received several owls from parents asking if Hogwarts is still safe. Rest assured, our school is more secure than ever. Aurors have worked around the clock for the past two months and security has been placed in Hogsmeade for extra protection."

Murmurs quietly passed through the hall. Lily caught a few words of, "of course Hogwarts is still safe," and, "security in Hogsmeade?" All whispers were instantly silenced as the headmaster spoke again.

"On a lighter note," he continued brightly, "Our own Argus Filch has asked me to inform you of the revised list of banned objects that has been posted outside of his office. He has also requested that I remind you that magic is not to be used in the corridors."

Lily heard Sirius snicker a few seats away.

"Stupid git," he whispered to Peter. "Hasn't Filch realized yet that no one at this bloody school listens to him?"

Peter laughed as Dumbledore made his last announcements.

"Your time-tables will be issued by your Heads of Houses tomorrow morning. You may now retire to your dormitories."

Lily joined to other prefects and led the first years to the portrait of the Fat Lady. Marlene walked to the front of the crowd of Gryffindors.

"Veniam peto," she said confidently. The portrait swung open, and the students piled inside.

(James)

"Potter!" McGonagall yelled. "My office! NOW!"

James sighed as he turned away from the Slytherin boy who had been knocked to the ground.

"Yes, Professor," he said shortly. He began the familiar trek to her office. He quickly reached the room and sat down in one of the crimson chairs in front of her desk. He looked around, thinking of all the times he'd been sent to this very spot. After all the stupid pranks he pulled, after all the fights he'd been in, he had never been as furious in this room as he was now. How dare he do something else to hurt her? How dare he? He had already called her a you-know-what, and now he was trying to—what? Win her over again? He had no right.

Professor McGonagall entered the room a few moments later.

"Well, Mr. Potter," she fumed, "I believe this is a new record. In trouble before the first years are even sorted."

"I suppose I deserve a blue ribbon then, yeah?" he said through gritted teeth.

McGonagall pursed her lips into a taut line.

"Watch your tone, Mr. Potter," she snapped. "I would just like to know what on Earth could have possessed you to hit Mr. Snape?"

James was silent for a moment before he answered.

"Lily Evans," he said quietly.

McGonagall's expression softened. Though James had never outright admitted to it, she knew he had a soft spot for the girl. Her voice held no anger when she replied.

"And how exactly is Miss Evans involved in this?"

"She came into the Great Hall late. Evans is never late, you know that, Professor," James explained. "You could easily see she'd been crying, and Snape was the only one who wasn't in the hall at the time. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what happened there."

McGonagall said nothing, so he continued.

"I'm sorry, Professor. I just—I didn't think, and I was so irate. She doesn't deserve to be treated the way he treats her. So I didn't think. I just hit him."

She was silent for a few moments.

"I'm sorry, Potter, but unfortunately, regardless of your intentions, I cannot allow this to go unpunished. Surely you can understand that?"

James nodded.

"You will serve detention with me Friday night, and you may not return to the feast."

He blinked in surprise. He'd been expecting much worse than this.

"I will, however, grant you permission to go to the kitchens to get something to eat. I trust that you know the way?" she asked with a mischievous glint in her eye.

James grinned slightly.

"Thank you, Professor."

She nodded, and he turned to leave.

"And Potter?" she called from behind him. He turned to face her. "Don't let it happen again."

He dipped his head in agreement and exited the office. As he walked down the corridor to the stairway that led to the kitchens, he could hear the roar of the students in the Great Hall. He dreaded the conversation with Sirius that awaited him. He would taunt James to no end for getting detention on Lily's behalf. James was always hearing that he needed to move on, get over her, let her go. He knew Sirius was right, but that didn't mean he was thrilled about listening to it every five minutes. He was trying—he really was! But no matter how hard he tried, he could just never manage to get her out of his head. It was completely useless trying.

He reached the kitchens after a short time. He knew the Hogwarts houselves quite well, and they were more than willing to give him the food left over from the feast. James stayed down there for a couple of hours, doing everything he could to delay the imminent confrontation with his fellow Marauders. Eventually a timid houself approached him.

"Excuse me, Mr. Potter," she said, doing everything she could to avoid eye contact. "Curfew is soon. Me thinks it would be best if you go to your dormitory."

"Yeah," he sighed. "Yeah, I reckon you're right. Well, er, goodnight."

The houself bowed and went back to work, while James departed for the Gryffindor Common Room. He woke the Fat Lady on his arrival.

"Password?" she asked.

"Shit," he swore. He hadn't been at the feast, and didn't know this year. "Can't you let me in? I wasn't at the feast, and I don't know the damn password."

"I cannot let you in without the password," she replied.

"Oh, come on," he groaned. "You've seen me for the past five bloody years!"

She folded her arms across her large chest defiantly. James swore again. He looked around, making sure no one was near. James had no problem with breaking curfew—he did it quite often, in fact—but he wasn't fond of the idea of doing it without his invisibility cloak. He knew everyone in the Common Room would be going to bed early after the feast, but he hoped he'd catch a break and someone would still be up.

He rapped hard on the portrait (the woman protested quite heavily) and winced at the loud noise that echoed through the corridor as a result.

No one answered.

He knocked again, and this time, the portrait swung open. There in front of him stood a very tired and sad-looking Lily Evans.

(Lily)

Lily had not felt like going to bed with everyone else. She had an empty stomach and a full mind, which didn't exactly make for a great sleeping combination.

"Coming to bed, Lily?" Mary had asked.

"No," she had replied, rummaging through her trunk. "Just came up to get a book."

She now sat curled up on a couch in front of the fire. She had the Common Room all to herself, but the quiet did nothing to help her focus. She'd read the same paragraph about seven times, but hadn't yet comprehended a word of it. Every attempt brought a new thought of Severus. What right did he have to ask her to forgive him? Sure, she felt bad for him; he was unpopular, even in his own house. But she didn't have to—didn't want to— forgive him. Even if he was teased constantly by Potter.

Oh, Merlin, James Potter. She didn't even know what to think on that front. Lily felt terrible about the corridor incident last year. She couldn't believe she still hadn't apologized. He hadn't deserved her anger, but every time she tried to tell him she was sorry, he looked at her with those hazel eyes that held so much hurt. It just didn't feel fair to ask him to forgive her after she'd been so horrible to him.

Her thoughts were cut off by a knock at the door. Who could be coming this late? she wondered. The knocks began once again. She walked to the portrait hold and pushed open the entrance to see James Potter himself.

"Er—hi," she said uncomfortably.

"Hello," he said.

It dawned on her that he had never returned to the feast.

"Where have you been?" she asked curiously.

He hesitated before answering.

"Long story," he told her. There was an awkward silence before he spoke again. "Can I—er—can I come in?"

"Oh, sure."

She opened the door wider and walked back to the couch.

"Why are you still up?" he asked. "I'd have thought you'd have gone to bed by now."

"Couldn't sleep. Too many thoughts buzzing around in my head."

Lily thought she saw his jaw clench. He turned to go to his dormitory.

"I'm going to bed," he said, yawning. "'Night, Evans."

She couldn't take it anymore. She didn't want him always being angry with her.

"Er, actually, Potter, can I talk to you?"

He faced her, a look of surprise on his face.

"Sure," he said, sitting down in the armchair across from her.

She took a deep, shaky breath.

"Listen, I keep trying to think of a way to say this, but I can't think of a better way than to just come out and say it," she began. She knew she was rambling, but she also knew that if she stopped now, she'd lose her nerve. "About what happened in June, you didn't deserve that. I didn't mean it. Any of it. I was just angry and hurt about what Severus said, and I took it out on you. It wasn't fair to you. So what I'm trying to say is...I'm sorry. I'm really, truly sorry."

James looked as though she'd just put on a clown nose and started dancing.

"W—what?"

"I'm sorry."

"No," he said, shaking his head slowly. "No, I heard you. My question is...why? I deserved every bit of what you said. I was rude, and arrogant, and—"

"No, you weren't," she said. "Really."

He sat in what seemed to be shock for a moment.

"Potter?" Lily said. He looked up at her. "Do you think...do you think maybe we could try being friends?"

He smiled at her.

"I'd like that," he answered.

She smiled back.

"Well, we'd better get to bed," Lily said.

James smirked at her.

"Well, if you want to be those kinds of friends..."

She smacked his arm playfully.

"Not what I meant."

He laughed and helped her up from the couch.

"Evans, can I ask you something?"

"Ask away," she said.

"Why would you want to be friends with me?" he asked. "I thought—I thought you hated me."

Lily shook her head.

"I don't hate you, Potter. Were you conceited? Sure. Are you an arse sometimes? Yeah. Where there times I wanted to sock you in the nose? Hell yes." James laughed. "But I never hated you."

He smiled.

"You have no idea how glad I am to hear that," he said. He walked her to the staircase of her dormitory. "Goodnight, Evans."

"'Night."

With that, Lily made her way up to her dormitory and laid down her bed. She smiled as she thought about James. One less problem to worry about.

He doesn't hate me, she thought. Thank Merlin, he doesn't hate me.

(James)

James couldn't wipe the grin off his face all the way up to the sixth year dormitory. He entered the room to find that all of his friends were sound asleep. Good. He'd deal with them in the morning. He climbed into bed even more when he thought about Lily.

She doesn't hate me, he thought. Thank Merlin, she doesn't hate me.

A/N: YAY, JILY! I'm sooooo happy with this chapter. It's about gosh darn time they made up. I promise the next chapters will hold a lot of captivating moments between these two. So you see the little box below this that says 'Review?' Yeah, type some stuff in that box. If you loved it, review. If you hated it, review. Just REVIEW! Thanks! :)