A/N Hi guys :) just a quick note, for the sake of this story I am saying that Sirius and Regulus are Twins. I know its a break from Canon, but it just worked having them in the same year. Enjoy :)

"James what are you doing here? You haven't had a detention all term?"

As soon as she said it, Lily blushed a bright scarlet. She had been so careful, never making eye contact, never speaking to him first, and certainly never calling him by his first name. All three rules broken in two sentences.

Dammit Lily get a hold on yourself.

"Aw Lily Flower, I didn't know you cared. I had a bit of a run in with a Mandrake after the class which you so delightfully ran out of, dropped the pot as I was moving it aside, very unfortunate really, but at least I get to spend an hour with you."

The smirk in his voice was unmistakeable. He had caught her off guard, and he knew it.

"That's nice for you James."

She moved to sit on the far side of the classroom, away from his handsome face, but just at that moment Professor Alabaster walked in, blocking her path.

"Oh no Miss Evans, you and Mr Potter will be doing some partner work today, since it is so important for you to be on the same page when it comes to your head duties. Both of you are perfectly adept, so I am going to leave you to the assignment on the board while I mark some second year essays. Come get me if anything goes wrong, and I shall return at the end of the hour to dismiss you." With that she walked out of the room.

Lily stood gazing after her, unsure whether or not she could handle being forced to work with Potter while her heart was so full of his praises.

"Come on Lils, no time like the present! Looks fairly simple to me, just some replanting, but some might take an extra pair of hands, lucky for you I'm pretty handsy." He winked at her, making her smile slightly before she caught herself. He had been doing this all term, treating her no differently than he had when they had been friends, even when she didn't reply.

Picking up her bags she went to settle down next to him, although slightly further away than she would have done a year ago.

"Show me what you've got Potter."

It was so quiet he almost missed it, but she had made a witty remark! James' heart leapt at the possibilities. He had known when he had pushed that mandrake pot off the shelf that all he needed to do was get her alone, tonight he was going to find out what was going on.

The started off working in relative silence, just the occasional comment here and there regarding the plants, but it as enough for James, it was more of a conversation than they had had for months! Quickly it progressed back in to the easy comments one would make to a friend, standing over the plants at a safe distance from each other, talking about essays and projects that the pair had undertaken over the last month, and before they knew it the conversation had moved on to how revision for NEWTs was going.

"I can't believe you haven't started already Lils! You started revising for OWLs in Fourth Year! Even Sirius has started looking back over his notes, these are the hugest exams of our lives."

Although there was a teasing note to his words, even James could not hide the worry in his voice. This was not the Lily he knew, who took every single exam, even if it was just an in class test, completely seriously.

"I've just had alot on my plate James, I have had a busy term."

"Oh yeah? Doing what?"

Lily flinched slightly, wanting to steer the conversation away from this.

"It doesn't matter James. So have you done the Transfiguration essay yet? It's due in next week and I have yet to start."

"It does matter Lily. It matters to me."

His voice was so soft she would have missed it if she wasn't sat right next to him.

"Well of course it matters, it's a very important essay, it will give us an indication of how our writing skills are progressing and whether or not they are up to 7th year standards. I really want to get an Outstanding on it, I feel it would give me that boost i need to..."

James cut her off by taking a step closer to her and grabbing the tops of her arms.

"Shut up Evans. I don't care about the stupid essay, I care about you! I care that you are destroying your life here, that essay is due in in a week and you haven't even started it yet, when this time last year you would already have handed it in! I want to help you, I want the old Evans back."

She couldn't look away from his eyes, he was standing so close, his gorgeous hazel eyes.

"So we are back to Evans now?"

She hardly recognised her own voice. It was low and seductive. She wanted him to kiss her again, she wanted to feel that spark. Please James, please. She could feel herself begging him with her eyes.

James was confused. Standing so close to him was the girl he loved, the girl who had been hiding behind a strange mask for the last month and a half. Her green eyes had been brightening throughout the evening, her whole posture relaxing. Where had this beautiful woman been hiding? Why had she been hiding?

And here she was, her eyes gazing up at his, her tongue darting out and wetting her lips in a cruelly inviting manor. Come on James, don't mess this up now, don't lose her again.

"Lily..."

"Yes James?"

They were both whispering, their breath ghosting against the others face. His grip on her upper arms loosened as one of his hands glided across her shoulder to caress her neck, while the other slid down her arm to hold her hand. She did not protest.

"Lily please, don't disappear."

Her eyes flickered to his lips before meeting his gaze once more.

"What do you mean, disappear?"

"I want to kiss you again Lily, I want to so badly, but last time I did, I almost lost you. But I have found you again, you are here with me right now. Please, don't disappear again. I can't live like this, I can't go back to you hating me, please Lily, be mine." Throughout his speech his hand that had been on the back of her neck had drifted round to cup her cheek tenderly, and Lily found herself leaning in in it oh so slightly, as his fingers started tracing the smallest of patterns on her skin, setting her nerves on fire.

I can't live like this...That is what he had said. But Edmund would kill him. He would find out, most of the Slytherin boys were his spies, word would get out and then James would know everything, before Edmund killed him. She had tried to hard to keep him safe for her to stuff it up now. Looking up at the clock on the wall, she saw her escape.

"Alabaster must have forgotten we were here, we are 15 minutes over-run! I've got so much work to do I had better get back to the Heads Dorm!" she pulled away from him, forgetting in her grief what she had arranged with Regulus Black for 7pm, 15 minutes ago.

"Lily wait..."

"You know what its like, all this work! I don't know how I am ever going to pass this year, I'm running far behind. Are you coming?"

Within 30 seconds she had packed away the bench and collected her cloak, and started walking towards the door. He merely watched her for a few seconds, his heart aching as he wished he was holding her once more, before gathering his stuff also and walking out the door after her, staying 5 or 6 paces behind. Her pace was quick as she headed for the Heads Dorm, but while he had no desire to be left behind, he also was careful not to stand to close to her, for fear that she would push him away once more.

They walked to the portrait of the Lion that held the heads door in complete silence, a silence that was only broken by Lily stating the password. They stepped inside, and then went their separate ways in to their rooms, not meeting each others eyes. Lily glanced back one last time just before she closer her door, and James did the same, but their mismatched timing meant their eyes did not meet. They both sighed and closed their doors, ready for a disturbed nights sleep.

An hour later, James was woken by an angry conversation outside. The participants were obviously trying to keep their voices quiet, but he could hear every word.

"I forgot ok! I had a detention and it over-ran, for gods sake its not like I did this deliberately."

"We had an arrangement Evans! How dare you turn your back on it you disgusting little whore, I was waiting there for an hour! Where were you really? No one loses track of time in detentions, you spend the whole time watching the clock!"

James recognised that voice, Regulus Black. What was he talking about, he had no business talking to Lily at all, the pair had never exchanged words before. How dare he call Lily a whore. James started to get up and pull on some trousers. If he was going to beat Black to pieces, he wasn't going to do it in his boxers.

"I told you I was in detention! Alabaster caught me out on that essay that YOU distracted me from last night!"

James stopped. What? She had been spending time with Black last night. He had tried to find her everywhere, following her as he always did, but she had slipped away once again, slipped away in to his arms.

"How dare you suggest that this was my fault! " A sharp smacking sound filled the air as Lily cried out, followed by the sound of wood shattering. "You mark my words, whore, Edmund will hear about this." Forgetting his confusion, James ran from his room. No one was going to be hitting Lily Evans while he was around.

"Get out you disgusting Slytherin shit! This is a private dormitory and you are not welcome here." In James' anger he had forgotten the magic of the Heads Dorm, but was pleasantly surprised when the room ejected Regulus quite forcibly, sending him sprawling out on to the floor in the corridor outside. James could hear him shouting at the door and bashing the portrait, but there was no way he was getting back in.

James quickly turned back towards Lily, running to where she was sprawled on the floor clutching the back of her head. The desk behind her was cracked, where her head had hit it with such force.

Crouching down beside her, James tried to get her to focus on him.

"Lily, come on flower, look at me. Open your eyes angel, look at me."

She groaned, trying to turn her head away from him.

"Go away Potter, I don't need your help."

"So shall I just go let your boyfriend back in? Would you prefer that, for me to let him hurt you again? No way, now come on, let me see your head."

"He's not my boyfriend. James please, you have to leave me alone now, you can't be here, he's going to be so angry."

Lily pulled herself up off the floor, wincing slightly as she saw the blood on her hand.

"Oh no flower, you're not going anywhere with your head bleeding like that. Stay sat down, I'm gonna go get a healing potion, and then you are going to tell me whats going on."

A/N: Please review, honestly it makes me write faster.