AN: I feel like I always end with a bit of fluff in my chapters. However, big step for James in this chapter. I wanted to include a few more scenes but it's over 3000 words and I try to aim for them to be over 2000, but under 3000 as a personal preference, because I hate reading 10,000 word chapters off the computer. Oh, a review noticed that I said Lily couldn't do wandless magic, but she has done it before, I clarified that in this chapter, mainly because I completely forgot that. Please review!

The time passed quickly and Lily never thought she could have more fun. Her friends kept her up late into the night after spending all day doing a variety of activities. She awoke earlier than usual and slipped out of bed, pulling a cotton robe over her nightgown before heading down the stairs. As she stood at the basis of the stairs she saw Agatha kiss James' forehead before giving him a tight hug goodbye. Waiting until she heard the floo she walked over to James who was sitting at the table. "Morning," Lily said.

"When are the girls coming down?" he questioned, grabbing her hand to pull her closer.

"Still sleeping. I feel asleep when Marlene and Athena were still gossiping. The two of them are thicker than thieves now."

"Fun," he muttered. "Want your letter?" He gestured to the pile of Hogwarts Letters that cluttered the normally clean table. They were going to wait for everyone to come over here after they received these letters, but they were unusually delayed this year.

"Did Agatha open yours or were you waiting?" She pointed to the one with his name in the green, swirling script that sat in front of him.

"It's heavy," he whispered. "Like when I got my Captain Badge fifth year."

Lily withdrew hers from the pile as she gave him a perplexed look.

"Captaincy is different from Prefecture, I thought you knew that. Prefect's get badges every year, because they change every year. A Captain's badge is passed down, the badge I wear is the same one that's been worn for decades. It's either revoked and confiscated or passed down, that's the only way someone gets one."

Lily stared at him, her face breaking into a slow smile. "Do you know what that means?"

"No, I…I can't open it."

"Then you open mine, I'll open yours. It's a little like your favorite game." She ruffled his hair before snatching the letter. James snaked an arm around her waist, causing her to fall on his lap. Opening the letter she withdrew one sheet of thin paper. "Congratulations, Mr. Potter on your position as…"

James tore the letter and the envelope from her hand, the metal badge clattering against the table top. "James, aren't you excited?" Lily jumped to her feet, placing her hands on either side of his face and pulling him in for a kiss. Instead of fighting for dominance he just sat there. "James, what's the matter? I know there's a badge in my letter, I don't care if I'm just a prefect and-"

He got to his feet, doing his best to get away from her without using any excess force.

"Talk to me," she pleaded, grabbing his arm. "Please."

"Open yours," he said. "I need some time to think."

Lily watched as he walked away, going down the unlit hallway as she slid a finger underneath the envelope. When she withdrew the badge her heart skipped a beat. She half-expected to see the Gryffindor colors, a "P" and the word 'senior' beneath. Instead, she saw her Head Girl badge with the crest of Hogwarts and her name engraved at the bottom. Tears pricked her eyes as she saw the one thing she wanted since she found out about this position first year. Dumbledore believed in her, all the Professor's did. She set it down and grabbed James', holding to her chest. They believed in him too.

It was a rare night at the Potter house. Both Charles and Agatha were home and they were using the dining room for an informal dinner. It was much too large to use for ordinary occasions, but with eight teenagers they needed the extra space.

"So," Agatha began as she set her wine glass down. "I have errands to run in Diagon Alley and Charles is free this weekend, do you lot want to come with us or wait with your parents?" she questioned.

"I'd rather go with my friends," Marlene said. "Even if Alice keeps me from the clothing stores until the boring stuff is bought."

All of the teens murmured similar agreements. Charles, though, listened to none of them. His eyes zeroed in on Lily and James, both pushing food around their plates and sitting unusually far away for a couple that seemed to be permanently in the lustful teenage honeymoon stage. "Lily, are you Prefect again?"

"No," she answered softly. Heads turned with curious looks. "I'm Head Girl this year."

They all offered hearty congratulations and wondered why she didn't tell them earlier. Lily bit her lip and looked over at James who refused to meet her eyes. "What?" he asked, looking up to see everyone staring at him again. "I didn't get my captaincy revoked, Dumbledore would have to pry it from my lifeless hands."

"Tell them," Lily whispered.

"I got Head Boy," he reluctantly admitted. Around the table everyone looked at him. Sirius was practically choking on his food; Peter stared at him with wide eyes; Remus had a little smirk; and the girls just bit their lips and gripped their forks tightly not knowing how to react. "May I be excused?" he turned to Agatha, already getting to his feet.

Lily reached for her water glass, throat feeling suddenly dry. It didn't help and she forced herself to finish what was on her plate. Desert came and she politely accepted the treacle tart, it got stuck in her throat knowing it was James' favorite. Once the plates were cleared she slipped away from everyone else and Mopsy passed her plate as soon as she entered the kitchen. "Mopsy likes him, make him smile Miss Lily."

"Of course, but drop the Miss, okay? My friends just call me Lily." She gave the house elf a huge smile before heading contemplating going upstairs or the study. With a sigh she turned right and saw her boyfriend sitting on his father's desk, fight dangling and hands tightly gripping the edge.

"I brought you a treacle tart." She handed him the plate and said no more as she pulled the chair that was sat next to the coffee table to sit in front of him. He said nothing, just cut off a large piece and popped it in his mouth, obviously still hungry. "Want to talk?"

"Don't patronize me."

"Just treating you like you treat me. Remember that conversation we had after the Boggart incident? We're a team, you and me. This year we'll have to work together even more as Head Boy and Girl."

James still wasn't responding, by now he had finished and his elbows were propped up on his knees, head cradled in his hands.

"How about I make you a deal? I let you get away with the over-protective tough guy act in public, as long as you-"

"I what? Let you? Tell you how I feel? What crap line are you going to say to me Lily?" he asked. "Listen, I just don't feel right about taking the position. It should be David or Remus. No one is going to take me seriously." He looked her straight in the eye. "Don't feed some line like that people will listen to me because I've been in their situation. They'll tell me sod off, that I've done worse and ask for a little leniency."

"You're the one who's feeding me the bull shit lines, Potter." Lily crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, eyeing him carefully. "Remember the night of the wedding? What you told me?" The smugness left her expression and she leaned forward. "You said that I was the first person to believe in you, to really trust you...I had a hard time accepting that, I've seen Charles and Agatha, the Marauders...but it's not just that. It's what you said about everyone just expecting you to mess up, then writing it off as something that's inevitable." She looked up at him, reached for his hand, but he pulled away. "You said that I was the only one that held you accountable and you loved me and it terrified you. Do you want to hear a secret?" she asked. James still didn't budge. "I'm terrified of loving you too. At first I thought it was because I wasn't good enough, but that's ridiculous, you tell me that every single time I bring up blood. Then, I thought it was because I couldn't handle the thought of losing you and that's partially it. But the real reason?" She forced a laugh out, in attempt to stave off the emotions she felt.

"Lily…" James spoke, lifting his head to look her in the eye.

"Let me continue. I expect you to own up, be responsible for your actions, but you don't expect anything from me." She saw the look of objection on her face and held up a hand to pause him. "What I mean is, when you look at me you see Lily. You see the girl-"

"If you're going to describe any of our escapades, spare me please," James groaned, but gave her his signature smirk as he ran a hand through his hair.

"You've been given a gift. Don't you see that this is your destiny? Dumbledore and all the professors trust you, believe in you. It's proof that you changed, that you're not that dreadful boy that delighted in malicious pranks, you're the man I love." Lily got to her feet went to sit beside James, throwing an arm over his shoulders like he normally did for her. She felt even better when his hand slid under her arm and enclosed around her waist bringing them closer together. Closing her eyes she rested her head on his shoulder.

"What about you?" he inquired.

"I came to talk about you, I didn't want to make this about me."

"It's true what you said about me, but what about you?" James maneuvered his head, the position may have been awkward, but he could kiss the top of Lily's head this. "The only reason I don't expect so much from you, is because you expect perfection from yourself. You don't need someone else to tell you when you need to get your act together, well most of the time." He thought back to before they were dating, when he found her before the sun was up in the common room trying to do homework, but was so frazzled she couldn't think straight.

"I had a plan for myself, you know. It was going perfectly until fifth year. I wasn't going to get into a committed relationship, become attached to a person that might only be temporary. Once I finished school I was going to train to become a Healer, then meet a nice man. We would eventually get married, wait a year or two and then have kids." Lily pulled closer to his side. "Then you came along. You had always been there antagonizing, but my parents died and you were there and you weren't the same." She took a deep breath and steeled herself for his reaction at what she had to say next. "I don't know if this is going to last forever, but right now it feels perfect."

"It'll last forever," James said.

"How can you be sure?"

"I need you," he told her, pulling his arms away and spinning around to face her, one leg folded on the desk. With a light hand he caressed her jaw and then pulled her in for kiss. "I'd like to think you need me, because we're a team."

"We are," she murmured, fingers resting on his jawline. "I don't know what I'm meant to do with my life James. I may have a year of school, but it seems like everything's just…" She blinked slowly, tears gathering. "I just get so distracted and I haven't…my magic. Since my parents died I don't trust it anymore. That day with the Boggart, when I saw the Death Eater, I thought I couldn't do that spell because it shocked me and I couldn't think of anything...I doubted myself. When I was younger, before I even went to Hogwarts, I used to do this trick with a flower...or at least I called it a trick back then, I could make the petals open and close. Now, I can't even turn off the lights without my wand."

"You were tired and that day in class doesn't count. For some reason you always psyche yourself out in Dark Arts."

"I guess you're right."

"Lily, I don't know if I believe in destiny and fate. Maybe, you don't know what life has planned for you. All I know is that you are brilliant, beautiful, stubborn and quite possibly the most compassionate person I've ever met. I do know that I like loving you and that you like loving me, have you ever thought-"

"If you say that my destiny is loving you or something even close to that I swear-"

James put his hands on her shoulders. "No, I'm saying that you're meant to care for people, help them. I don't know how you're going to do that, but you're pretty damn good at getting me to talk to you. So, maybe being a Healer is the best job for you." His hands drifted to her lower back and pulled her in for a hug. "I really want to go to bed."

Lily laughed and pushed off his chest. "It's only seven."

"I know," he said, speaking very slowly. "It's been a few days."

"And it will be a few days more." She gave him a kiss on cheek and a little wink. "I'm going upstairs. See you tomorrow."