Chapter 25: Heart to Hearts

"Well, I'm glad that's finally over…" James muttered as we walked up to his front door.

"Yeah, I know. That was just plain torture." I agreed, remembering the marks on my feet and feeling the pain of those heels.

"But you know, seeing you in that gorgeous dress was worth it." He turned to me and gave me a kiss. I blushed.

"You didn't look too bad yourself." I told him. His black tux made his eyes really stand out and actually made his glasses, dare I say it, look sexy on him.

"I know." He replied with an easy smirk.

"I need to remind myself to lay off the compliments on you. Soon, your broom won't be able to lift you off the ground." I said teasingly. He stuck his tongue out at me.

"You know," he started, his facing all of a sudden becoming serious, "For someone who seemed so opposed to this marriage, you're really happy right now." He observed. I crinkled my nose a bit. I hated when people pointed this out to me. I shrugged it off.

"It'll hit me soon. It always does. Things like this have always been slow for me to realize what's happening. I couldn't even believe I was going to Hogwarts until I actually arrived there, even though Snape had been telling me stories since I was ten. So I think I'll be happy while I'm blissfully unaware, and let it hit me when it does." I replied, realizing that my voice sounded oddly optimistic right now. With any luck, it wouldn't hit me at al…But knowing me, it was going to happen. James raised an eyebrow at me.

"Uh..ahh…suit yourself?" He asked, probably more confused about me than ever. I laughed and hit him on the arm. "You know, since you're so happy right now, why don't we go play some Quidditch?" He suggested.

"Okay!" I said, once again realizing, way more enthusiastic than I intended it to be. Why was I so happy right now? Why was I so…carefree and smiling like an idiot? "James Potter, you didn't!" I gasped, coming to the realization that seemed most obvious. It also explained the bitter taste in my mouth.

"Lily, I haven't done a lot of things in my lifetime, which would you be talking about right now?" He asked, a little too innocently. I hit him on the arm.

"You know what I'm talking about! What'd you slip into my drink?" I asked accusingly. He cracked a small smile.

"Now, before you get mad at me,"

"It's already too late for that!" I muttered, glaring at him.

"In my defense, it wasn't on purpose! See, while I was drinking mine, someone knocked into me and slipped a lot of my drink into yours. And you didn't notice, so I wanted to see how you'd act under the influence of wine, isn't that what they call it?"

"Yeah, it is. But honestly. We're under age in the Muggle world!" I pointed out to him. He simply shrugged.

"Guys, are you coming inside or what?" Sirius' annoyed voice came from the door. James and I laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, we're coming." I told him, hitting him on the head. He raised an eyebrow at me, then looked at James, and then back at me. He looked at James for a long time, and then starting looking at me very intensely. I felt like I was being analyzed.

"Padfoot, what are you doing?" James asked, interrupting Sirius' analyzing. He slowly turned to James.

"You two did it, didn't you?" Sirius asked. James and I exchanged a glance.

"Did what?" We asked suspiciously. He raised an eyebrow.

"I knew you guys would have sex at Lily's house! Remus owes me!" He said happily. James and I exchanged another glance, a blush creeping up on both of our faces. We hit him on the head.

"No, Sirius, we didn't do it." I told him.

"And I assure you, if we did, I think we have more decency than to do it at Lily's parents' house, where her dad could come in at any moment and chase after me with a bat." James pointed out.

"Ohhhhhh….." Sirius said, comprehension dawning on his face. Yet, I still had the feeling he didn't get it. "So you're going to do it here instead?" He asked. I shook my head.

"No, Sirius, we aren't doing it here either. Now that we're done with that conversation,"

"Wait, who says we're done?" Sirius asked me.

"I do." James interrupted, turning red. "Here, let me take our bags upstairs, Lily, you'll be staying in the guest room across from my room, okay?" He told me. I nodded. He took my bag from me and went upstairs.

"So how's it been?" I asked Sirius. He tilted his head. "I mean like with James' parents." I clarified. He bit his lip.

"They're not in as a good state as they used to be. They sleep in for over half the day. They're still their jolly selves, don't get me wrong, but they're weaker. St. Mungo's says they can't do anything about it." He said, all in a low whisper. I looked upstairs. James still hadn't come down yet. He was probably visiting them. I looked back at Sirius. All I could see was hurt in his eyes.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked softly, pointing to the couches in the room next to us. He only looked at me, which was all I needed to go to the couches. We sat down in silence and it was a while before he spoke up.

"I came here that day, you would know, since you were here, but anyway, when I came here, they accepted me with open arms, which is more than what I can say for my own parents. They let me live here, they treated me like their own. They clothed me, fed me, gave me a home, they did everything for me. And seeing them, on those beds, so helpless, it just pains me, especially since I can't do anything for them. It's so difficult, you know, seeing people you love like that, and knowing you can't do anything to help them." He said softly, his eyes tearing up just the slightest. He was showing more emotion than I've ever seen him show. It was so sad, what he was saying, how he was saying it. "I can't lose another set of parents, Lily, I can't." He whispered, his voice cracking. My throat was starting to get all dry and I bit my lip, struggling to hold back tears. I didn't know what to say, I never went through this. Both my sets of grandparents died before I was born, and my parents didn't have any siblings. But, looking back at him, I realized, maybe I didn't need to say anything. Maybe he just needed to get this off his chest, and it wasn't something he was going to tell James. I hugged him closer to me.

"You know, you and James are more similar than I thought." I told him. It made sense why those two were the closest in the group.

"He's my brother; of course he's similar to me." Sirius stated matter-of-factly. It made me want to cry, it really did. Someone like Sirius shouldn't have to go through all this.

"You know, I'll always be here, Sirius, and I'm not just saying that because you're my boyfriend's best friend." I told him sincerely.

"Thanks, Lily-flower, it means a lot." He said, and I could tell he meant it. We stayed like that, letting ourselves think about this new turn in our friendship. "You know," He started, pulling away from me, "You and James are really alike, too. I mean besides the fact that he's a lot more out there than you are, you guys are really similar." He said. I tilted my head. I never really thought about that.

"How so?" I asked, interested in how he came to this conclusion.

"Well, you guys have horrible tempers, that's for sure." he snickered. "But, you'll do anything for the people you love, you both stand up for what you believe in, you don't take any shit from anyone, you're observant, you go out of your way to help other, you're fairly compassionate, you hate the Slytherins, you're both annoyingly smart, you're both natural leaders,"

"Okay, I get it." I told him, trying to get him to be quiet. I felt like such an open book.

"Hey, who says you two are the only observant ones?" He asked, feigning hurt.

"Cause loud people aren't known for being observant." I pointed out. "Besides, I didn't know James had a bad temper. He usually took what I threw at him without that much argument."

"Because deep down, he knew you were right. Why do you think he changed so much over the course of last year?" He reminded me. I eyed him skeptically.

"You were like that, too." I told him.

"Well, I was…but I guess the increasing tension with my parents, the finishing of the animagi transformation, and the finishing of the Marauder's Map kinda made me realize there was more to life than what I was doing." He told me, fidgeting uncomfortably. I looked him over.

"You haven't told anyone else this, have you?" I asked.

"Why do you need to be so bloody observant?" He grumbled. He met my eyes. "No, I haven't." I shrugged.

"There's something about me that tends to make people spill." I told him. I didn't know what it was, but it was nice to know people could trust me that easily. "Still, you haven't told me about the times James had a bad temper." I reminded him eagerly. He raised an eyebrow.

"Well, he get's really physical when he's angry, as in he takes it out by punching things, throwing things, doing violent things in general." He shrugged. I laughed.

"That's exactly what I do." He raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" He asked, a smile creeping up on his face. He was probably trying to imagine that.

"Yeah, remember that thing that happened in January? I was throwing flasks all over Myrtle's bathroom. And I enjoy playing with fire. It calms me down for some reason." I shrugged. "I mean I'm not a pyromanic per se, but the fire does calm me down. It comes from my dad. His uncle was apparently a pyromaniac." I rambled. Sirius just laughed out loud. "What?" I asked, feeling slightly uncomfortable, and confused about why he was laughing.

"I just find it funny, that you and your dad both like fire, and happen to have red hair?" He said after calming down a bit. I tilted my head. I didn't really think about that. "Bet you didn't think of that, did you, Lily-flower?" He asked cheekily. I hit him.

"No, I didn't. What would you like? A pat on the back and a speech about how genius you are? Or maybe we should put a pointed hat on your head and call you Merlin!" I said sarcastically. His eyes lit up.

"That would be nice!" I laughed and rolled my eyes.

"Not a chance." I stopped, realizing something, "Have you officially changed my name from Lily, to Red, back to Lily, and then to Lily-flower?" I asked. He thought for a moment.

"That sounds just about right." He nodded.

"Whatever floats your boat, Sirius." I laughed. He smiled and stared at me, as analyzing-ly as he did before, but this time, he seemed more serious about it. His smile was wiped off his face.

"Thanks." He told me. Before I could ask for what, he continued. "For just being there even when you didn't have to. When James and I had that fight last September, you were there, and helped me realize what I was doing. And, out of all of my friends, you're the only one who seems to understand what I'm going, rather went through. They all have ideal, almost perfect families that love them no matter what. I'm just glad I have someone I can relate to, finally. And I'm glad I never asked James to give up on you, no matter how many times I wanted him to. I guess it just shows that I knew, when you'd come around, that you'd be a good help to all of us, and that you'd be the best for James." He told me, not looking breaking eye contact with me. It only showed me how much he wanted to say this and how long he was holding it in. I couldn't help but break into a wide grin.

"Thanks. It really means a lot." I told, sincerely as I hugged him.

"Wooaaaahhhh…..what'd I miss? Padfoot, what'd I say about the three second rule?" James drawled. We broke away, laughing.

"Jealous?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. He put his arms around my waist and pulled me closer.

"The only arms that'll ever be around you are mine." He told me teasingly as he leaned in more. I closed the distance between us with a passionate kiss. He put his hands on my face and caressed my cheek. I put my hands on his hips and pulled him even closer. I could feel both of our hearts beating rapidly and it was making me even crazier. He could feel it too, because he moved his hand down to my hip and started playing with the hem of my shirt. I let out a small gasp when his surprisingly warm hand slipped under my shirt. He moved it over my stomach and slowly caressed it.

"AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!" We heard Sirius scream. We broke apart, both blushing furiously. He was a bit red in the face, too. "Okay, so I go into the kitchen, you know, to leave you guys some privacy. And after a good five minutes, when I figure it's safe to come back in, I find James' hair all messed up," At this, James attempted to flatten it, "And Lily-flower's shirt all ruffled and halfway up her stomach." Sirius smirked. I turned even redder and pulled it down, trying to smoothen it.

"Yeah that's nice, Padfoot." James muttered, completely embarrassed.

"Moving along, and trying to get that image out of my head - which I'll hopefully never ever have to see again – why don't we go play Quidditch?" He suggested.

"Sure!" I said almost instantly, which earned me an amused smile from Sirius. But James shook his head.

"My parents want to talk to you, Lily. Then you can join us. Meanwhile, we'll be setting everything up." James said and started ruffling his hair again. I sighed. Time to get this over with. I walked upstairs and stopped in front of their door. It wasn't open all the way, so I knocked. I could see Mr. Potter move a little as he spoke.

"Lily, dear, please come in!" He said politely. I opened the door wider and stepped in. They were both skinnier and paler than I'd seen them previously. Looking closer, I noticed their eyes had dark bags under them, and that their skin seemed a bit drier than usual. Other than that, Mr. Potter resembled James as much as I remembered. Except for the eyes. He had Mrs. Potter's eyes.

"Please sit!" Mrs. Potter told me, gesturing the seat at the foot of the bed. I was glad to hear that their personalities seemed unaffected; they were as jovial as they were when I saw them last. I obeyed her invitation to sit, but I had no idea what to say.

"How are you?" I found myself blurting out. I felt my cheeks redden. Where did that even come from? Instead, they burst out laughing. I bit my lip. This was getting slightly awkward…

"We're fine, Lily." They assured me in unison, still smiling brightly.

"How's school?" Mrs. Potter asked, but I felt it was only to carry on a conversation.

"It's great." I stammered.

"Taking care of James? Hasn't done anything stupid lately?" Mr. Potter asked, laughing. I nodded.

"Nope. He's tame." I confirmed, but I could feel myself turning redder. They exchanged a glance.

"We called you up for a reason other than to make small talk with you, Lily." started Mrs. Potter.

"It's about James."

"But that's obvious." Mrs. Potter told me, but mostly directing it towards Mr. Potter's previous statement.

"To be frank, Lily, we don't have much time left." Mr. Potter told me solemnly. I opened my mouth to say something, but Mrs. Potter cut me off.

"Please, don't. We got the Healers to tell us how much time we had left, and they said that at our age, we only really have another seven, and maximum eight months left." She added. Mr. Potter nodded. I really wanted to say something at this point, but I found myself speechless.

"We know it's time to go, we've served all we could here, and we don't regret that. What we do regret is leaving James behind." He told me, with sorrow in his eyes that almost made me cry. I bit lip to keep from tearing up. "And we know, even without us saying anything, you're going to help him."

"We've known since James sent his first letter home, honey, that he was going to fall in love with you. And we knew, that when he brought you home, you return those feelings." Mrs. Potter told me, staring into my eyes. Of course I was. I couldn't imagine not being by his side, now that they were spelling it out for me. Now, I was really trying not to cry and my lip was starting to bleed.

"So we're asking, even though we know you will, to please look out for him. And I have a feeling that you already know this, but he's more vulnerable and emotional than he comes off as." Mr. Potter added. At this, Mrs. Potter was actually starting to cry. "We know you two are meant for each other, and as creepy as that may sound, it's true. I've never seen two people connect like you two do, despite your past. Believe me; we've heard a lot of stories from Sirius." He let out a small chuckle. There was so much truth in his words, even more than I originally thought. "You need each other, because soon, there's going to be a time where he'll only have you and the boys." He told me sadly. I bit down on my lip harder. I didn't want to think of that time. His parents were being crazily sincere, and it was plain scary. Just as bad as when James went through his moments like this. "Well, I'm going to stop making you uncomfortable. I hope we can see you again over summer!" He ended, as though the morose conversation did not take place. I took this as an invitation to leave, so I got up.

"Thanks, Mr. and Mrs. Potter. I hope we can meet again soon." I walked towards the door, but then turned around. "And you don't need to worry about James, he's in good hands, I promise." I told them sincerely. And I'd do everything in my power to make sure he was.

A/N: I'm feeling VERY sentimental today. Hence my new oneshot- This Is What You Fought For

Anyway, HAPPY NEW YEAR (EVE)! And I guess, Happy Birthday Voldemort? But yeah.

So thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter! I'm SOOO happy, we've almost hit 100! It's a great feeling. And I apologize for not replying to the reviews from last chapter! I only just realized!

Please review!

Love,

SAM :)