A/N: Fairly insubstantial, this chapter, but sets things up nicely for the next one, which will be posted soon. Beta is still computer-less, so please be tolerant with any mistakes there are! ^_^

I did my best not to think about James in the first week or so of the summer holidays. I didn't mention anything about him to my father that evening when regaling him with the tales of what had happened at Hogwarts this term; I didn't say anything more about him to Mum; and obviously I couldn't say anything to Tuney, who by now detested Hogwarts, magic and anything to do with either of them, including me. This was a constant source of distress for me over the holidays, but it turned out that it wasn't going to be as much of a problem this summer. Mum and Dad told me that Tuney was going out with a boy from Smeltings, the boarding school in the countryside a couple of miles out from our village. It appeared that she was spending most of her time with him, and not at our house; no doubt she was afraid of what he might think of me if he found out that I was a witch. Whilst in some small part happy for her, my overwhelming feelings were hurt and anger that she was so embarrassed of me.

Mum and Dad had indeed planned a short holiday in the countryside near the beginning of the holidays; about a week after term had finished, we set off for the Forest of Dean, where we camped for three nights. I brought some schoolwork with me, partly to keep myself occupied, and partly to keep myself distracted from Tuney's endless prattling about her boyfriend Vernon during the short time she was separated from him. Mainly, however, my work kept me from dwelling overly on James. This had proved an effective strategy so far, but it had two large flaws. Firstly, I could not work all the time, and so I was still prone to thinking about him for large periods of time, if ever I got distracted, or when I was lying awake at night, staring at the canvas of the tent. Secondly, this tactic was being over-used, and I was running out of homework.

I did not know why I was so keen on avoiding thinking about James at first, but shortly after I completed my final holiday assignment, two and a half weeks into the holidays, I found out. I couldn't stop thinking about him, and this was extremely frustrating. Though I hated to admit it, I missed him more than I thought possible; I missed the shy little grins we occasionally shared, and how I would catch him looking at me and vice versa across the Gryffindor Common Room. I missed hearing his laugh, and how he could make me laugh. I also felt slightly guilty, as I missed him more than anything else, even my best friends.

It was reflecting on this that I realised just how obvious my behaviour had been to any casual observer. The number of times James and I could catch each other's gaze across a crowded room could not be called coincidental. I could see now why Alice, Emmeline, and even Remus had hinted at my feelings for James for weeks before I myself realised it. My main concern, however, was that if everyone else had noticed, surely James might have done as well? Did he know I fancied him?

After a week of brooding in my room and being distant with my family, I woke up one morning to the sound of tapping on my bedroom window. Turning over to look, I saw Alice's owl, Marty, sitting on the window ledge. I climbed laboriously out of bed and let him in. He fluttered into the room and perched himself on the back of my desk chair. Stroking his beak absently, I untied the letter and sat down on my bed to read it.

Lily,

Why don't you stop brooding over James for a bit and come over to my place for a week?

I paused here, frowning; mostly I was annoyed because it was true. Sometimes, Alice's ability to know exactly what I was thinking could be very irritating sometimes.

Em's coming too; she's arriving this Saturday and staying the week. Come on, it'll be fun! We can talk about all our usual topics… like boys… and you can bore us all about how much you love James and we can mercilessly take the mickey.

You know you want to. Send Marty back with response.

Look forward to seeing you on Saturday,

Alice xxx

My frown had turned into a smile as I read the letter. Alice's sense of humour never failed to cheer me up. Picking up a quill and a piece of parchment from the stack on my desk, I scrawled back my response.

Alice,

Come on, I've hardly been thinking about him at all!

… I may as well have put an invisibility cloak over that, cause you're going to see right through it.

Oh all right then, I've been brooding A TINY LITTLE BIT. Not much, I swear.

I'd love to come to yours for the week though. I'll tell you all about my brooding then, if you really want.

See you Saturday!

Love,

Lily xxx

I walked across the room to my trunk, took an Owl Treat out of a bag in my trunk, and fed it to Marty, who swallowed it and hooted happily. I did not have my own owl, but kept a bag in my room. Both Marty and Emmeline's owl Uxor visited frequently enough over the holidays that the treats were never wasted. Tying my response to Marty's length, I carried him to the window and he took off. I watched him flying over the rooftops until he disappeared from view, then went downstairs to tell Mum the arrangements. I found her in the kitchen, chopping up vegetables for lunch. She looked around as I entered.

"Hello, Lily, dear," she said, looking at me searchingly. "Everything alright?"

She had been very concerned for my welfare so far this summer, probably because I spent so much time in my room, generally avoiding contact with anyone else. Usually the only times I left were to use the bathroom and at mealtimes. Even then, when eating lunch or dinner with the rest of the family, I was quiet, only speaking when directly spoken to.

I smiled at her in response. "Fine, thanks, Mum. Is it okay if I go to Alice's on Saturday? She's asked if I can stay the week."

"Yes, of course," Mum smiled back. I imagined she was so quick to agree because she hoped it would cheer me up. As she turned back to the carrots she was chopping, she said, "Tuney will be staying at a friend's for some of that week too, so your father and I will have the house to ourselves." Even from this angle I could see a mischievous smile on her face and a glint in her eye.

I hurriedly thanked her and left the room, deciding it was better for my sanity if the conversation ended there.

A/N: Please keep the reviews coming, they make me happy. :D