1978 – Seventh Year

There was absolutely no way to explain how Lily Evans felt about James Potter. She was in love, not that she'd tell anyone, let alone him. But if she'd ever been in love, it was definitely now.

As she patrolled the corridors with Remus, she was struck with the fact that she could talk to him about James, but he beat her to it.

"How are you and James?" he asked, obviously not wanting to offend. Only the Marauders and Marlene knew about her relationship with James, but that wasn't going to be for very long.

"Good. Great, actually, he asked me to Hogsmeade," said Lily, smiling at the idea.

"Hogsmeade? I thought you guys were keeping it quiet?"

"We were, but he just asked me and I said 'yes'. We've been together for almost two years. I want people to know what he means to me," said Lily, far too quickly for her liking.

"And what does he mean to you?" inquired Remus.

"I love him," said Lily, before slapping her hand across her mouth in shock. Her eyes had gone wide and they had both stopped in their tracks. "I didn't mean that."

"Yes, you did. You wouldn't have said it if there was no truth to it," said Remus, being logical as always.

"I don't want him to know," pleaded Lily, hoping Remus wouldn't tell. Remus was a good friend. He wouldn't tell, right?

"He needs to. You don't want to leave it until it's too late." Lily sighed.

"I'm scared, Remus," she confessed, wiping the tears that were beginning to fall.

"Don't be. He feels the same way."

The next day, Lily woke to loud banging on her door.

"WHAT?" she yelled, shielding her eyes from the sun pouring through the window.

"We need to talk. Now," came James' demanding voice. It sounded very serious, so Lily quickly got out of bed and chased after him.

He was sitting on the sofa in their Heads' common room, waiting for her to be ready. His hair was dishevelled, his clothes were a mess, and everything about him just screamed 'I'm stressed'.

"What's wrong, love?" asked Lily, sitting next to him and placing her hand over his. He snatched it away, before she could squeeze tighter.

"Where were you last night?" he asked, anger evident in his voice.

"I was out patrolling," she quickly explained.

"Don't lie to me, Lily. You said you'd only ever patrol with me. I know you were with Remus. What were you really doing?" he asked, even angrier than before.

"Patrolling, I swear. We were only talking, that's all that happened," said Lily, unsure as to why or how he knew she was with Remus.

"Are you sure? You weren't rostered to patrol with Remus last night. So, again, I ask you, what were you doing with Remus last night?" he demanded.

"We were patrolling! How many times do I have to tell you?" she yelled, but not so loud that anyone outside would hear.

"Fine. What were you talking about, hm?" he asked, never giving up.

"You, actually," said Lily, completely calm.

"Oh, really? Coming up with ways to ditch me?"

"No, I was telling him that I'm bloody scared, okay? I'm scared that you're going to leave me when someone better comes along, –"

"There's no one better," he cut across, but she ignored it.

"– I'm scared you're going to get bored of me and give up, –"

"I wouldn't ever do that," he tried to say, but, again, was ignored.

"– But mostly I'm scare about how I feel," finished Lily. James immediately knew what he had to ask.

"Why are you so scared, Lily?"

"BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!"

Silence. Her words fell on deaf ears, she knew it. She about to leave when James softly cleared his throat.

"What – what did you say?" he asked quietly, his eyes filled with tears that would not fall.

"I love you. I have for a long time. I just didn't know how to tell you, and I'd never told anyone until last night. I accidently told Remus that I loved you and I regretted it instantly. I wanted to tell you first, before anyone else. I just didn't know how," said Lily, tears falling as she spoke.

"Why now?" James spoke.

"Are you not even going to say it back? Is this really how you feel? I'm not good enough to love?" Lily yelled aggressively. James grabbed her forcefully and pulled her towards him, ensnaring her in his arms. "Get off me, you pig."

"Say it again," begged James, pleading desperately with his beautiful brown eyes.

"Why should I?" demanded Lily.

"Because I ruined the moment before and I didn't say it back, but –"

Before James could say any more, Lily had launched herself at him. Lips were on lips and hands were everywhere, but Lily nor James could not care less. Everything about them was full of love, passion, desire, and lust. In that moment, Lily knew that James was it. James was all she'd ever wanted and all she'd ever need. So only needed to hear,

"I love you, Lily Evans."