Days in Avalon

Chapter Twenty-seven: Finding a Way

The next morning seemed to drag on for the sixth years as they dreaded giving their presentations in McGonagall's class. But to everyone's surprise they, each did a wonderful job with their projects, save for Felicia and Peter. He had been so nervous that instead of casting his spell on a muggle picture to make it into a Wizarding one, he ended up casting the spell on Professor McGonagall. For nearly a full five minutes she could not stop saying and doing the same thing over and over again.

"MR. PETTIGREW!" she said as she stomped her foot and placed her hands on her hips. "NEVER IN ALL MY YEARS AS A TEACHER HAVE I SEEN SUCH CARELESS AIMING! CLASS SETTLE DOWN! WILL SOMEONE PLEASE GET PROFESSOR…MR. PETTIGREW!"

The class could not stop laughing at their teacher's actions. But in the end it was Lily who ended the display by finding the countercurse in Felicia's book.

As the weekend neared, everyone was looking forward to a nice relaxing time before their finals were upon them. It was on Thursday afternoon that Andy received a letter from her sister telling her when was the best night to go out partying in Paris. She sent a school owl to Sirius telling him to get their ride ready for early Saturday morning.

While she planned her secret escape from Hogwarts, Lily began to notice that her friend's thoughts were else where, and confronted her on it a number of times.

"It's nothing Lil. I've just got a lot on my mind, what with finals coming up an all," stated Andy.

"Yeah but you never get like this unless you're planning something big. Are you planning some sort of prank?" Lily asked.

"No I'm not planning a prank. I haven't pulled a prank in almost a year."

"Then what is up with you?"

"Nothing! Like I said, I've just got a lot on my mind and I'm trying to sort it all out. Relax Evans; there is nothing to worry about. I'm fine so can we drop this now please?"

Lily decided it was best to just leave things alone after her talk with Andy. 'Maybe I'm just reading to much into things.'

(Saturday morning)

Lily woke up later than she usually does on a Saturday morning to the sounds of some students playing on the grounds. Apparently it had snowed a bit the previous night. There wasn't enough to have stick around for a while, but it was good enough for a few snowballs.

She looked around her room and found all her friends gone. According to her alarm clock it read 11:15 in the morning. But what also caught her eye was a note with her name on it next to her favorite book.

Lily-

Off to Paris for the day to visit my family and pick up a few things. I'll be back late, so don't worry about me. I'll tell you everything that happened when I get back. Don't cause too much trouble while I'm gone.

Later!

Your friend,

Andy.

"Why would she leave now? There really isn't anyone there this time of year. How is she getting there and back in one day without getting caught?" Lily asked herself. She pondered this for a few more moments as she got up and dressed for the day.

When Lily finally came down to the common room, she saw a couple of third years standing over by the couch looking down at someone with snowballs in their hands.

'Children!' she thought as she rolled her eyes and sighed at the display before her.

"And just what do you two think you are doing?" she asked the young delinquents as she walked up behind them. Both of the boys froze when they heard her words and turned slowly to face her.

"Uh…nothing. We're just standing here," said one of them with dark brown hair.

"With snowballs? Aren't those a little cold?" she asked with her arms folded.

"Yes," said the other boy with reddish blonde hair.

"So then why are you holding them inside and not out on the grounds?" she asked in her officious voice.

"Because of him," said the dark haired boy pointing over at the couch. Lily looked over the side of the couch and found a passed out James resting comfortably. She couldn't help but think how adorable this boy looked…even if it was James Potter.

"I don't think that would be such a good idea. You shouldn't really mess with someone while they are sleeping or can come up with paybacks better than you dream up." She then looked them both directly in the eyes and asked them to hand over the snowballs before they got into something they would regret later.

The two boys reluctantly handed over their perfect snowballs and quickly ran up the stairs to avoid any other punishment. As she stood there holding the perfectly made weapons, a sudden idea popped into her head. She didn't know if the thought came to her due to spending so much time with Andy and Felicia, or if it was the face that the scene before her was too good to be true.

James had woken up early this morning when he thought he heard the sound of the door opening and closing. When he looked around the room he found Remus and Peter sleeping soundly in their beds. But when he looked over at his left, he found Sirius's bed empty.

'Huh. That's odd. Padfoot's usually the last to wake up. Probably off to plan a prank.'

Coming to that conclusion, James turned over to go back to sleep. But for some reason he couldn't fall back to sleep. He stayed there in his bed with his eyes closed for nearly three hours. When he looked at his clock he saw that is was just a little after eight in the morning. Deciding to give up on trying to sleep, he got up and dressed to get an early breakfast. Once that was taken care with, he wondered what else he could do until his best mates decided to show their faces. Coming up empty with ideas, he headed back to the common room to catch up on the latest Quidditch news and a book he started to read before school started.

As he laid on the couch, sleep finally took hold of him and carried him off to the land of dreams. He began to have a wonderful dream in which he was flying high in the air. He saw Sirius as well flying with some blonde on his broomstick. It wasn't until he looked down that he noticed a pair of hands around his waist. He began to turn around to see who was on his broom when all of a sudden…

SPLAT!

"What the…?" sputtered James as he wiped away the cold slush off his face and chest. He heard someone laughing loudly and saw Lily standing next to him.

"Rise and shine, Jamie. It's a beautiful day," grinned Lily.

"Lily? What are you doing!" growled James as he shot up from the couch.

"Giving you a wake up call," she giggled as she took the other snowball and threw it at him. James ducked out of the way and the snowball landed into the hearth.

"Would you lay off it a bit, please!" yelled James as he stared daggers at her.

"Sorry. What's got you in a mood?" asked Lily taken back by his reaction.

"Padfoot. Heard him leaving the room before dawn and then I couldn't get back to sleep," said James as he began to calm down.

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't know," she said truthfully.

James could see that she was truly sorry and knew that he did over react a bit. "Ah, it's okay. Better you than some punk first years or something like that," he said jokingly. Lily couldn't help but smile at the irony.

"So what are you up to today, Evans?"

"Nothing really," said Lily as she took a seat on the couch. "Kinda hate to admit this, but I miss my friend's outbursts."

"And just where is your crew today?" chuckled James as he took a seat across from her on the coffee table.

"Kelly and Karen are off with Remus working on their Herbology homework. Felicia I guess is with her boyfriend. And Andy is currently in Paris…or near it anyway," she said as she fell back more into the couch.

"Paris, France?" asked James not sure if he heard her correctly.

"No Paris, Italy. Yes of course Paris, France. Is there any other Paris in Europe?" she said jokingly.

"What is she doing there?" he asked with his face turned up a bit.

"Visiting family I guess. She's not going home for break, and she doesn't really trust the post to deliver her gifts in one piece."

"I see. So you're all alone today?"

"Yeah it seems that way. What about you?"

"Free as a bird. I was planning on heading down to Hogsmeade. You're welcome to join me if you like," he said with a smile.

"But it's not a Hogsmeade weekend," she responded.

"Lily, to me every weekend is a Hogsmeade weekend. Whether the school says so or not," James said in a matter of fact tone. "Don't tell me you never been there when you weren't 'suppose' to be there."

Lily looked at him and felt like wiping that smirk off his face. "Once, with Andy and Felicia," said Lily in the same manner of tone as James.

James got the message that he was beginning to sound like a prat so he quickly changed his tone in order to avoid a fight. "Ah, you naughty little girl! And you didn't get caught or punished?" he said in a fake shocked tone.

Lily couldn't help but laugh at his actions. "Shut up," she laughed.

"Okay okay. So do you want to go or not?" he asked as he got up from the coffee table.

"Hmm…maybe some other time," she said after a few moments of thinking.

"Suit yourself," he said with a shrug. With that he left the common room through the portrait leaving Lily alone. She then got up from her seat and headed upstairs to get some homework done.

When she got up to the room she sat down on her bed with her school bag and began to look for her assignments.

"And what do you think you are doing Ms. Evans?" said a voice from out of nowhere. Lily jumped a bit and looked around her room to see who was there with her. It wasn't until her eyes fell upon the mirror across the room that she knew who was speaking to her.

"Oh! Hello Chris," she said to the reflection of her best friend.

"You didn't answer my question," said Chris in her mirror with her arms crossed.

" Nothing. Just relaxing. Probably finish up some homework."

"Oh a day like today! Seems like a waste. You should head out and enjoy the day with someone."

"Like who?" inquired Lily.

"How should I know? I'm just a mirror. I only give advise when needed and to those who ask, and speak the truth when no one else will," replied Chris.

"Well I guess you're right. I should head out to get some fresh air," said Lily more to herself. 'Hmm…maybe I should see if I can catch up with James. No. No, I was right the first time.'

"You're hiding something," said Chris.

"I am not," chuckled Lily.

"What is it, Ms. Evans?"

"Well, James just asked me to go to Hogsmeade with him."

"So? Why didn't you go with him?" said Chris, not really seeing what she was getting at.

"Because it's James Potter. That's why!" stated Lily. Chris could see she was in distressed, and knew it would normally be one of her best mates telling her something to help her out.

"Would you like some advise?" she asked.

"Sure," replied Lily.

"Okay. Yes, it is true that Mr. Potter can do some mean and, at times, down right cruel things. But the boy does have some good in him. He just needs someone to tell him that, and bring it out more often."

"Well whoever that brave soul is or will be, I give them my highest regards and sympathies," stated Lily.

"You like him don't you?" said Chris with an eyebrow raised.

Lily couldn't believe what this mirror just said. She nearly fell off the bed as she went over to the mirror to look at it properly in the eye.

"EXCUSE ME! You've got to be kidding me!" exasperated Lily.

"Lily, I'm a mirror. I don't kid around. I don't even lie, unlike my idiot cousins in those stupid carnivals," said Chris as she rolled her eyes at the mention of her mirror cousins.

"Well then if you are so smart, then why don't you tell me what I feel?" said Lily.

"Because I already know, it's you that needs to say it. Besides I couldn't tell you even if you asked."

"And why not?"

"You're not of Miranda's family line," said Chris in a matter of fact tone with a smirk.

Lily could just shake her head in frustration. She now began to understand why Andy has so many fights with her mirror.

"So do you think I should go?" asked Lily.

"I can't make your decisions for you, Ms. Evans. That choice belongs to you and you alone," replied Chris. With that she disappeared back into the mirror leaving Lily staring at her own reflection.

'She's right, I can't let a mirror make my own decisions for me,' thought Lily to herself. 'But spending the day with someone the likes of James Potter? I don't think I'll survive. But on the other hand, I do spend quite a bit of time with him as is, and I could always use the fresh air. Also I do need to pick up a few more gifts for Christmas, and Everett's to busy as is…besides it's not he's going to find out or anything…'

Before she could stop herself, Lily was flying out of the common room with her cloak in hand trying to catch up with James. 'Where did he go? I know he was heading into town. But which passage would he use? Andy told me about the mirror and the one-eyed witch passage. But which would he use?'

Lily was about to forget the idea of heading to Hogsmeade until she caught a glimpse of a rumpled raven-haired boy as she looked down a hallway. She chased after the image, hoping to catch up with him. When she realized where she was, she knew where he was heading.

James stealthily walked down the hall toward the statue of the one-eyed crone, glancing behind him every now and then to make sure no one was following him…especially Severus Snape. For some reason now, Severus had been tailing the Marauders more often than usual.

'Let's see…where should I go to this weekend? Hmm…need some more dungbombs since Sirius used them up on the Slytherins last week. Could stay in the sweet shop for a bit and get some more chocolate frogs and sugar quills.' he thought as he muttered the password to the tunnel.

As he squeezed his way through the tight passage, suddenly heard someone calling to him. When he turned around, he felt a hard blow in his chest. The next thing he knew, James was falling down the slide faster and faster.

When he finally hit bottom, he felt yet another blow to his body. This time someone fell on him.

"OW!"

"OW! Oh, I'm so sorry!" said a female voice. James recognized it instantly.

"Lil?" he asked he tried to get up. Sure enough, Lily Evans was getting up off the floor right next to him. "Evans what are you doing?"

"Making a cake. What does it look like I'm doing?" said Lily as she brushed off some dirt on her jeans and cloak.

"I meant what are you doing here?" said James chuckling a bit.

"Changed my mind," she said with a shrug. "I thought maybe I'd take you up on that offer to go to Hogsmeade."

James couldn't help but smile at the realization that she wanted to spend the day with him instead of doing her homework, or spending time with her boyfriend. Thinking that she might catch on to what he was thinking, he quickly decided to play it cool.

"The great Lily Evans a rule breaker? This is definitely a shock. Especially since you want to spend it with a known rule breaker. What a scandal!" joked James.

"Don't let it get out to much alright? I still have a credibility to uphold," teased Lily.

"My my…another snazzy come back. Didn't know you had it in you, Lily," he said as he lit his wand to light the way a bit better.

"You try living with three of the most sarcastic girls in all of Gryffindor," chuckled Lily.

"You should try living with Sirius Black," replied James, as he picked up his bag that had fallen off.

The two of them quickly made there way through the cramped tunnel silently. When the ground began to climb upward, they slowed their pace down, and soon found themselves at the entrance of the basement of Honeydukes.

"Wait a second, Evans," whispered James as he began to search through his bag.

Before Lily could as why, he quickly slipped the Invisibility cloak over both of them. Lily gave him an odd look as he crept closer to her. She couldn't help but noticed that for some reason, he smelled really good today.

"Just in case we run into one of the owners," he whispered back with his warm breath running past her ear, sending a slight tingling sensation down her back.

"Okay," she replied in a low voice. Lily began to notice that James's closeness was causing her heart to beat a little faster, and that weird fuzzy feeling she felt in the pit of her stomach began to creep up.

As they made there way up the stairs of Honeydukes and found a spot where they could pull off the cloak without anyone seeing them, Lily began to contemplate why she was having these feelings all of a sudden.

'Why does he have this effect on me? It's not like I fancy him or anything. I have a boyfriend for Merlin sakes! Get a hold of yourself, Evans. It's just arrogant conceded Potter after all.'

"Lily. Lily! Are you okay?" asked James.

Lily blinked back to reality and saw James standing before her with a look of concern on his face. "Yes, I'm fine. Why do you ask?" she croaked.

"Because I asked you a question and you didn't say anything."

"Oh sorry. I didn't hear you. Um…what was your question again?"

"I asked you what you where did you want to go? I assume you don't want to spend all day here at the sweet shop now do you?" he said with a slight smile.

"Oh…uh…where ever. It doesn't really matter to me. Although I do need to pick up a few more Christmas gifts," said Lily as she began to go over in her head what else did she need to buy and for whom.

"Well then let's get going," James said happily.

After the two of them bought a few sweets at the shop, they headed off into the rest of town. It started to snow a bit more, but to Lily it just made the scene all lovelier. Wizards and witches were busily going about the small village getting their Christmas shopping done under a light dusting of snow. James couldn't help but smile at the look on Lily's face as they walked down the street admiring all the displays as they window shopped a bit. The two of them went into a few stores such as the joke shop, the animal care emporium, and few vintage like shops. They also stopped by The Three Broomsticks to get a couple of butterbeers to warm up. All the while, the two of them talked about a number of things such as their Christmas plans, Christmas stories of the past, and poking fun at a few of the patrons at the pub.

Before they knew it, they saw that it was starting to get late. James quickly paid for their drinks and the two of them quickly made their way over to the sweet shop before it closed. They ducked down the ally a few blocks away from the shop so James could pull out his cloak again. With in a few minutes, the two were climbing down the hole in the floor of the basement that led back to Hogwarts.

Once they got back, James led Lily to where the kitchens were, so they could get a bit to eat. The house elves were more than happy to serve them, and Lily had to admit that it might not be too much of a bad idea to have a house elf in one's life. After they both had their fill of food, they thanked the elves and slowly made their way back to Gryffindor tower.

James continued telling Lily about the time they got a hold of some of Andy's magic powder and used it on Sirius, causing him to do whatever they wanted.

"So then Remus and I grabbed a hold of him and threw him into the lake," laughed James wholeheartedly.

"Bet he was a little mad about the whole situation once the powder washed off him. Especially when you dressed him up in that bright pink dress," chuckled Lily.

"Mad? Nah, I wouldn't use that word to describe his reaction. It was more like he was down right pissed at us," stated James. Lily laughed until both of her sides hurt, as they reached the portrait of the fat lady. James muttered the password through his own laughter, causing the fat lady to roll her eyes at their own amusement.

Lily made it over to the couch with all her bags and continued to laugh a bit more until she could catch her breath. She then noticed that the common room was empty, which was a little strange for this time of night, seeing that it was only about eleven o'clock

"So this was a highly productive day wasn't it?" said James offhandedly.

Lily nodded in agreement. "Yes it was."

"So what did you get everyone?" asked James as he tried to peek into some of the bags Lily had.

"A few little bits and things," said Lily coyly.

James raised an eyebrow at her response. "Uh huh…so what's in this bag?" he asked as he grabbed a hold of a little green bag nearest to the chair he was sitting in. He reached in and pulled out a purple and black covered journal.

"That's for Andy," said Lily. "She's been writing like crazy lately."

"Just make sure none of her enemies get a hold of it," chuckled James, remembering how the hold feud with Sirius and Andy started.

"Have it covered. Anyone who tries to read it with out her permission will get boils and a pig's snout that won't come off for weeks," chimed Lily.

"Nice one," marveled James.

"Yes, plus knowing her, she'll add a little more security to it."

James nodded in agreement as he put the journal back into the bag and grabbed another one. "And this one?" This time he pulled out a small black corset like shirt with a low neckline.

"A shirt that's Felicia's been looking at for weeks," said Lily noticing the surprise look on James's face.

"Can see why. This is definitely in Figg's taste," stated James as he picked Felicia in it. But he also couldn't help but wonder what Lily would look like wearing a top like this as he put it back in the bag. He grabbed a red bag with gold writing on it.

"Don't open that one!" said Lily noticing what bag he had now.

"Why? Is it going to explode or something?" asked James a little startled by Lily's reaction.

"No…it's just something I don't want you to see," said ripped the bag out of his hands and placed it among her other bags.

"Oh. Alright then," said a now highly curious James. When he saw her back turn a bit, he began to reach for the bag again, but was quickly stopped by Lily grabbing a hold of his wrist.

"Don't you understand the meaning 'don't look'?" she asked as she let go of his wrist.

"Yes I do. But you have me intrigued," said James as he wiggled his eyebrows. Lily couldn't help but laugh at his dopey like look of his.

"Ever heard the phrase curiosity killed the cat?" she said with an eyebrow raised.

"Yes, but I'm not of the feline nature," he said smoothly.

"You are one of the strangest individuals I've ever met," she said as she shook her head in amusement.

"I'm honored," said James putting a hand on his heart and bowing his head to her.

"You would be," said Lily smoothly. James grinned at her remark and admired the smile that was on her face. He liked seeing her smile like that.

"How about some hot chocolate to warm us up a bit, before we head off to bed?" suggested James.

"Sure. Just let me go put these things upstairs," said Lily as she grabbed a hold of her bags and headed up the stairs to her room. She stashed her things in her closet and under her bed quickly and quietly. She saw that Kelly had fallen asleep while reading a book, while Felicia and Andy's beds were empty.

Lily changed out of her clothes and into her pink and white pajamas with a snowflake print to relax in. When she returned to the common room, she found James was sitting on the floor in a white t-shirt and blue pajama bottoms, with a couple of mugs of hot chocolate.

"Here you go, Lily," said James as he handed her one of the mugs.

"Thanks," she said. She took a sip of the drink and began to feel it's warming effects immediately. "So…how are you and that girl you were telling me about doing?"

"Abby?" coughed James. He was a little surprise that Lily would want to get on the subject of his some-what-girlfriend.

"Is that her name?" asked Lily.

"Yeah, her name is Abby. She's okay I guess. I…haven't really talk to her in a couple of days," he said shyly.

"Why's that?"

"Well…because I've been a little busy working with my partner on our project," he said in a matter of fact tone. It took Lily a moment to realize what he was really saying. The reason why he hadn't talk to the Abby girl was because he had been spending his time talking to her.

"Oh. Right," she said. Lily didn't know why, but she began to feel a sense of pride in knowing this little bit of information.

"Yeah, I'm going to see if I can find her tomorrow and hang out with her a bit. What about guy? How's Everett these days?" asked James. Hearing James say her boyfriend's name caused her slight happiness high to disappear.

"Oh…uh…he's fine," said Lily.

"Well that's good. I'm glad to hear that you two are still together," lied James. 'Even if he's all wrong for you.'

"Yeah. Um…actually I haven't really had a chance to talk to him recently. What with the whole project thing, and he's been really busy as well," confessed Lily.

"Oh. I see. Guess that's happing a lot lately," joked James. Deep down he was jumping up and down learning of the fact that Lily's been too busy spending all her time with him than with her boyfriend.

"Yeah I guess so," said Lily. Suddenly she noticed a book under the couch. She reached under and grabbed a hold of the dark brown book. The title of it was slightly faded but she could still make it out, Gulliver's Travels.

"Hmmm…wonder who's this belongs too?" she said as she began to look on the inside cover to see if their was a name.

"Uh…actually that belongs to me," said James noticing the book in her hands.

"I didn't know you read stories like this?"

"Yeah, I started reading it before school started. Have you read it?" asked James as Lily handed it over to him.

"Once when I was little. Well actually my father read it to me before I went to bed. I use to fall asleep after about ten minutes of listening to him read," chuckled Lily.

"Aww…how cute. Of course I really can't complain since I use to do the same thing when my mom read to me when I was little," said James.

"Would you read some of it to me?" asked Lily. James's was taken back a bit, but once he looked into Lily's bright green eyes, he couldn't refuse.

"Sure," he said in a low voice. He began to read aloud from where he left off. Lily listened to James's voice as he read about the many adventures, and soon she found herself finding it hard to keep her eyes open. With in a few minutes, Lily was fast asleep. James's looked up from his book and noticed that she had fallen asleep on the floor. He then grabbed a hold of a blanket that was off the back of the couch and laid it over Lily. He then went back to reading his book silently and soon fell asleep as well.

James woke up about an hour and half later to the feeling of something on his shoulder. He saw that Lily's head was now on his shoulder as they laid there on the floor. She felt him stir and work up a bit as well. When she opened her eyes, they both stared at each other, each with an expression the other couldn't figure out. James then lifted a hand to her face and brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. His fingers lingered on her cheek, slowly stroking her face with a gentle touch.

She slowly closed her eyes as he began to move closer and closer to her mouth. He hovered over her lips a few centimeters away taking in her intoxicating aroma. She could feel his warm breath on her lips and wanted to feel them on hers desperately. Not being able to withstand the torment any more, she began to move ever so slightly to close the gap. James was about to make the final move…until…his seeker like instincts kicked in and heard something move near the entrance causing James to pull away from her. Lily blinked a few times still in a daze and sat up more looking over where James was looking at.

"What is it?" she said sleepily.

"I thought I heard something," he said looking back at her. "Probably just the wind or one of the ghosts."

Lily nodded in agreement and noticed the time on the clock. "I guess wee should say goodnight then. It's almost three."

"Yeah, we should," said James softly looking at Lily again. He started to feel that overpowering pull take over again, but knew he couldn't give into it.

"Goodnight James. Thanks again for letting me tag along," said Lily softly looking up at him.

"The pleasure was all mine…Lily," he said in a strange voice. With that said, Lily's cheeks flushed a bit and she then felt his lips on top of her forehead, not the way a friend would kiss her…but in another kind of way.

"Goodnight Lily. Sweet dreams," he said softly. Lily nodded still stunned slightly at his actions. Both of them got up and began to straighten the room. Lily had extinguished the fire in the hearth, while James cleaned up the floor a bit. The two of them departed to their rooms thinking about what almost happened a few moments ago. As they left, neither of them noticed that the Invisibility cloak James had thrown on the nearby chair was not there anymore.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any other characters that are in the books. I only own this story idea and the characters I made up. Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling.