A/N: Sorry this took a bit longer to update; I'm still recovering from surgery so it's been tough. Also, I keep getting distracted by writing chunks of future chapters. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and/or followed! It honestly makes me so happy whenever I get a new notification for this story!

This is the first Lily-POV flashback (takes place during fifth year)! Yay! I have to say, this chapter went in a totally different direction than originally intended and a lot of what I expected to be in here won't happen until next chapter. Oops. Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 4: Of Hogsmeade Trips and Galloping Does

Lily Evans was on a mission. She purposefully made sure she went with Mary and Marlene to Hogsmeade this weekend so Severus wouldn't get annoying and suspicious. They didn't need yet another thing straining their friendship. Besides, they weren't spending very much time in public anymore anyway.

Right now, her mission was failing. She couldn't quite bring herself to tell her friends what she was up to, so she was stuck in Honeydukes, where they had been for the past half an hour.

"Hmm," Mary said, holding two different fudges in her hands. "Which one do you think, Lily?"

"That one," Lily said impatiently, pointing to the box in Mary's left hand. Seriously, did her friends always take this long picking out candy?

"Are you sure? They both look so good."

"So get both!"

"What's wrong with you," Marlene asked.

"I need to go to another store and you two are taking forever!"

"Why? Meeting up with someone?" Marlene wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"No. But I need to buy something and today's my only chance."

"Sorry, we didn't know," Mary apologized. "Why didn't you tell us earlier?"

Lily could feel her face heating up so she looked down at the sugar quills in her hands. "I didn't realize you would take so long."

They made their way to the cash register—Mary had decided to go with both fudges—pushing through the crowd.

"What do you need to buy," Marlene asked. Lily pretended not to hear her, thinking her friend would lose interest and move onto another topic. It didn't work. "Lily?"

"Hmm?"

"What do you need to buy?"

"A present," she said reluctantly.

"Ooh, for who," Mary asked.

Thankfully, it was their turn to the register, so Lily was saved the hassle of responding. It was inevitable that they would find out just who she was buying a present for but she didn't know if she had the courage to tell them to their faces. Some Gryffindor she was.

It wasn't even that big of a deal. If she could just control her damn face from blushing whenever she thought about him, they needn't know it meant anything other than a friendly gesture. That's really all it was, anyway. Maybe if she kept telling herself that, she would finally start to believe it.

When they were done purchasing their sweets, they made their way out of the store and into the chilly March air. It was raining, naturally, and freezing so there weren't many people out on the streets.

"Where do we need to go?"

"Can we try Dominic's," Lily asked. The girls nodded so they made their way over to Dominic Maestro's music shop. The bell dinged when they entered and the man behind the desk greeted them cheerfully. They quickly cast drying spells after being drenched from the walk.

"Anything I can help you with, dears," he asked.

"No thank you," Lily replied. "Just looking."

Lily headed to one of the shelves, fascinated with the way wizard albums looked. She wasn't sure whether getting him an album from his favorite band was a good idea or not. It seemed kind of girlfriend-y, which was not the kind of vibe she was going for at all. Truthfully, it would be in her best interest to tell her friends what she was up to. It might help having two additional opinions. The problem was, Lily was horribly embarrassed and didn't know how to properly explain her situation.

She absent-mindedly hummed along to the song playing from the radio as her fingers trailed along the shelves. It was unfamiliar to her, as most wizard music was, but it had a very repetitive tempo that she picked up on.

"You gonna tell us what we're doing here yet," Marlene demanded.

Lily looked up guiltily. "It's for Potter's birthday," she said, trying to keep her voice even.

"You're buying him music?"

"Yes. No. Maybe?" She looked at both her friends and decided that there was no harm in telling them. "Merlin, I'm so confused. What do you get the bloke you have a crush on when you're pretty sure he fancies you back but you absolutely refuse to like him because he's a horrible bully?"

They looked at her with their mouths and eyes wide open. It would be quite comical if she weren't so desperate.

"Yes, I know," Lily said dryly. "Lily Evans has a crush on James Potter. Call the press. Can we please skip the badgering and teasing and move onto the advice? I could use it."

"I knew it!" Marlene pumped her fist in the air. "We should have made that bet, Mary."

"The only reason we didn't make the bet was because I agreed with you, genius."

"You knew," Lily asked, her mouth dropping open in shock.

"Well, he's been flirting with you since third year. I honestly thought it would have happened closer to when you started tutoring each other but that's not important," Mary said.

"Just because he was flirting doesn't mean I was flirting back," Lily argued even though she knew fully well she had been flirting for at least the past few months.

"You guys have been making eyes at each other all year. Especially ever since you broke up with Henry," Marlene said.

Lily sighed. She was going to bring up Valentine's Day but realized there was really no point in arguing with them when she already admitted to liking the idiot. "Okay, it doesn't matter. The point is, I don't want to date him. He doesn't treat Sev right and he picks on innocent people just because he can. Not to mention he's so full of himself."

"So, why do you like him?" It was a fair enough question. In fact, Lily had asked herself the very same thing multiple times but could never figure it out. He was attractive, sure, but there were plenty of guys Lily found attractive that she was not interested in at all. He always knew what to say or do to make her laugh but that wasn't enough to fancy someone, either.

"I don't know," she sighed. "He's smart and handsome and funny and brave."

"Congratulations, you just described half the Gryffindor house."

Lily rolled her eyes and went back to browsing through the albums. "It doesn't matter why I like him. What matters is I need to get him a present. I want it to be meaningful enough to know that I think he's an okay guy but not overly meaningful so he doesn't get the impression I fancy him. Even though I do."

Eventually they decided that maybe getting a joke present would be a good idea so Lily wound up buying Sleekeazy's Hair Potion so he had something the tame that beautiful hair of his. At first she was concerned that he might take offense to the gift but she knew he could take a joke and if he was offended then it didn't really matter because he was rude to her all the time.

She wanted to send a letter to her parents so she split with her friends, heading to the post office, which could send post the muggle way, while they promised to save her a seat and butterbeer at The Three Broomsticks. When she exited a few minutes later, she was pleasantly surprised to find it had stopped raining.

"Hey, Evans!"

Lily clamped her eyes shut as her heart fluttered in her chest. Checking to make sure the bag containing his present was properly hidden, she slowly turned around to face him.

"Potter."

He grinned and ran up to her. His long nose was red from the cold and his face was slightly flushed. He ran a hand through his already untidy black hair. Lily hated that dumb habit of his. He only did it because he thought it made him look like he just got off a broom, and therefore more appealing. Which, it did but that didn't make it any less annoying.

"How are you," he asked, his hazel eyes sparkling behind his glasses.

"Cold," she said. "I bought your present, you know."

"Did you?" His smile turned into smirk. She wanted nothing more than to remove the smugness from his face, though she was annoyed to find she would find more pleasure using her lips rather than insults to do so. "Mind telling me what it is?"

"No need to be so impatient, Potter. Your birthday's soon enough."

"Too true. And I do love surprises."

"I'm aware."

They stayed like that, him with his stupid smirk and her with her faint smile, looking at each other. They were doing that a lot lately, looking at each other. Lily reckoned she could hardly be blamed, what with the intensity in James' eyes. Anybody would be transfixed by that stare. She realized, belatedly, that perhaps she was being too obvious with her crush and she was giving him the wrong impression.

"Anyway," she said, averting her gaze to somewhere behind him, "I should probably try to find my friends. They'll probably be looking for me."

"Right," he nodded. "Mine too."

Neither of them made a move to part ways.

Lily inwardly cursed herself for being stupid. She really didn't want to give him any false hopes about the nature of their relationship. Close acquaintances, she reminded herself. But there was no fooling herself. That silly term she came up with definitely did not apply to them anymore. Close acquaintances didn't buy each other presents or write to each other on breaks or sleep in their beds to comfort them.

Friends then. They were friends. Nothing more. Lily was a very flirty person by nature, flirting with virtually anything that spoke, so maybe James wouldn't notice any of the extra attention she gave him if she could just stop staring.

"I'll see you later," she said, turning around to finally separate herself from his presence.

"Wait," he said and he grabbed her wrist gently. She swung back around and looked right into his gorgeous hazel eyes.

She thought she was giving him a questioning look but when he didn't continue, she prompted, "yes?"

He blinked once. Twice. Then said, "We're still on for tomorrow night, right? I need all the help I can get."

"Of course," she smiled. "And will you have time for treacle tart after?"

"There is always time for treacle tart."

"Great. Looking forward to it."

"Me too."

"Well, bye."

"See ya, Evans."

She waited a few seconds, giving him time, but when he still didn't realize she said, "Er, Potter. I need my arm to leave."

He looked down, as though surprised to see he was still holding her wrist. "Oh, sorry," he muttered, immediately letting go and bringing his hand back to his hair.

She smirked at him, loving every second that she could make him uncomfortable. "Later, Potter." With a gracefulness she did not feel, she turned and walked away, making sure to swing her hips more than necessary.

o0o0o0o

They started off in the library, writing their charms papers but somehow ended up alone in a classroom again, practicing patronuses. James wasn't entirely sure how this happened but he couldn't really complain.

Lily was biting down hard on her lip as she concentrated on yet another happy memory. It surprised James that she couldn't think of one happy enough to cast a patronus; she had always struck him as a very happy person. He knew something was going on with her so he chalked it up to that.

"Can you already produce one," she asked after she produced yet another shapeless silver mist. This one looked vaguely animal-like (it looked like it had four legs, maybe) but it still couldn't be considered a corporeal patronus.

"Nope."

"Then why aren't you trying? I thought we agreed we would try together."

"We did. And I will try at some point. But I'm far too amused watching you to try myself." He didn't think it would be a good idea to tell her that her determined, concentrated face was much too distracting for him to try such an advanced spell.

"Jerk." Lily closed her eyes as she thought of another happy memory. "Okay, I got it. Expecto Patronum!"

This time it wasn't mist that shot out of her wand, but a big, silver doe. James' eyes widened in shock as he watched it prance around the room for a bit before fading into nothingness. He didn't even register Lily's squeals of delight or the little jig she was doing. He stood transfixed, staring at the spot the doe was just in.

"Potter, I did it!"

He tore his eyes away and focused on the beaming girl in front of him.

"Congrats!" His voice sounded hoarse but clearing his throat didn't help. "That was amazing!"

She titled her head. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"I just thought… never mind. Aren't you going to try now?"

James swallowed and nodded. When he pulled his wand out, he was gripping it so tightly sparks flew out of it. He swore under his breath and closed his eyes. There was no way he was going to be able to concentrate after learning her patronus was a doe. He knew that patronuses and animagi forms were not always the same. But he had a horrible feeling his patronus would be a stag. What did that mean about them?

It was probably nothing and James was overreacting but he needed more time to recover from the shock of seeing it.

Without bothering to think of a happy memory, James said, "Expecto Patronum."

Nothing happened.

He hadn't decided whether he wanted to know what his patronus was just yet. He definitely didn't want Lily to see it.

"Maybe you need a happier memory," she suggested, not realizing the crisis that was going on in James' head.

James had been able to produce shapeless forms in class; not quite an animal but firmer than the mist that most people created. Naturally, Lily hadn't been paying attention to him in class though so she couldn't know he was better than nothing.

"You know, I just don't think I'm up to it right now. Maybe some other time. Do yours again?"

"Seriously, Potter, is everything okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just… tired. I'm really tired. Try yours."

She gave him a look that plainly told him she didn't believe him but didn't push it. They still weren't friends, after all. It was none of her business.

Lily closed her eyes and then shouted, "Expecto Patronum!" Once again, a beautiful silver doe started trotting around the room. It nuzzled against James' chest before heading back to Lily, where it promptly disappeared.

"Apparently my patronus likes you, Potter," Lily said proudly.

"Probably feels bad that mine is so pathetic."

"You barely even tried."

"Minor detail," he said, waving her off. "Wanna head back?" James was not usually the one to suggest leaving but he needed to think and to talk to his friends and the longer he was with her, the antsier he became.

"Sure."

They didn't speak on their walk back but this wasn't anything new. After they entered the common room and said their goodbyes, James walked up the stairs to his dorm, hoping someone would be up there.

Luckily, they all were. James slumped headfirst onto his bed after discarding his backpack onto the floor.

"What's got your knickers in a twist," Sirius asked.

James lifted his head enough to be heard properly. "Her patronus is a doe."

It took a few seconds for this to sink in. Then—

"A doe?"

"Are you sure, Prongs?"

"Blimey!"

"Look," James said, sitting up. "We don't know what it means. And I don't even know for sure if mine's a stag."

His friends looked at him skeptically. He had the entire walk back to their room to think of a possible alternative explanation for their matching soul animals and could only come up with one thing that made sense.

"Lily and I are very similar in a lot of respects. We're both proud and stubborn and… majestic."

"Prongs—"

"I know. But like I said, I don't even know what my patronus is. I haven't been able to produce a corporeal one yet. I was supposed to try tonight but I got so distracted by Evans' patronus I couldn't."

"So try now," Remus said.

James looked at him. It would certainly clear some things up but he didn't know if he could do it with his mind running circles in his head.

"Just try."

James hopped off his bed, grabbed his wand from his pocket and closed his eyes. He already knew the first time he rode on a broomstick, being sorted into Gryffindor, and becoming an animagus weren't strong enough memories, as he already attempted with those during class.

Finally, he settled on his friendships. No one could make him as happy as his three best mates. "Expecto Patronum," he shouted. The room was not big enough to handle his patronus but they didn't have a choice as a huge stag erupted from his wand.

They clapped and watched it strut around a bit before it disappeared.

The joy from being able to produce a patronus faded quickly as James realized what he just witnessed. He and Lily had matching patronuses. He had a sinking feeling it was going to be a lot more difficult getting over her now.

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When you live in the same room as people for five and a half years, you get to know them pretty well. There comes a point, though, when you need to draw a definitive line. And for years, the marauders all stayed on the right side of the line. That is, a few days before Lily's birthday, where James was becoming a bit too cozy with Sirius' backside and Remus' chest.

Even with Peter transformed as a rat and sitting on Sirius' shoulder, they were too big to fit under the cloak together. Although it was before curfew and they were technically allowed to be walking around, they were planning on sneaking to Hogsmeade and they didn't want to get caught. So, James whipped out his father's trusty invisibility cloak and somehow convinced his friends to get under it with him while they tiptoed through the halls.

"Prongs," Remus whispered. "You're elbow is digging into my ribs again. Keep your arms straight for fuck's sake."

"I can't," he murmured back. "I keep accidentally touching Padfoot's ass."

"Please, we all know that's not an accident."

"Shh someone's coming! Evasive action maneuver 3," James said quickly. The three boys immediately crouched down and shuffled to the wall, pressing themselves against the stone. They were all leaning on each other uncomfortably, crushed between their own bodies and the wall in an attempt to remain completely hidden under the cloak. Remus shifted a bit to clamp a hand over Sirius' mouth who was breathing too loudly for the boy's liking.

Two Ravenclaw girls walked right past them, complaining about the potions homework Slughorn had assigned them. They waited until the girls were completely out of sight before straightening up and continuing down the corridor.

"Okay," Remus said, after being elbowed yet again by James. "Can we switch positions or something? I should not keep getting attacked like this."

"You're better off than I am," Sirius whispered. "You don't have Prongs' crotch permanently against your arse."

"Ew, okay, yeah I'll stay here then."

"You love it, Padfoot," James said, rocking his hips slightly.

Sirius bit back a laugh. "Not with Moony here, Prongs. Have some decency."

"What about Wormtail?"

"Oh, you know he loves to watch."

"There is something seriously wrong with you two," Remus said, but James could tell from his voice that he was also holding back his laughter.

When they reached the mirror, James looked around one more time to make sure there wasn't anyone about before he whispered the password. They slipped in and finally took the cloak off.

"Thank Merlin," Sirius said, swinging his arms around. He placed Peter on the floor who transformed back into a human.

"I do not like watching," he squeaked indignantly. They all laughed and Sirius ruffled Peter's hair.

"We really need to finish that map," Remus said. "Three of us can't fit under there anymore."

"Maybe Padfoot can be a dog. That way people will just wonder what a dog was doing in Hogwarts instead of be suspicious of us," James offered as they started toward Hogsmeade.

"Yeah, that'll go over well. It's not like he looks like the grim or anything."

"Oh yeah."

"We're nearly done with it," Sirius said. "Maybe you can trick Evans into teaching you a few of the thornier charms, Prongs."

"Maybe." James wasn't sure if he liked the idea of Lily finding out about the map and he couldn't think of another reason why he would want to learn such advanced charms. She would get suspicious and ask questions and he was scared he would either tell the truth or pull one of his classic Lily-induced hysteria moments and say something stupid. He wasn't good at tricking her. "Or maybe Moony can get some wisdom from her during prefect rounds."

"Sorry, mate," Remus said. "You're probably the best one to get anything out of her."

"We'll discuss this later. Right now, we need to focus on our main objective."

"Speaking of our main objective," Sirius said with a glint in his grey eyes, "can we make a minor objective?"

"Depends on what it is…"

"Well, we're running low on booze."

"Oh. Yeah, I suppose we could pop by Hogshead if we have time."

When they finally reached Hogsmeade, they cautiously made their way out of the kitchen of the Three Broomsticks, hoping not to draw too much attention to themselves. Since they were the marauders and spent much of their time trying to draw attention, they naturally failed.

"Oi! What d'yeh think you're doing in here," an angry cook yelled. He had no hair on the top of his head but he made up for it with a rather thick beard, which was being restrained by a hair net. The four boys froze.

"No need to yell," James said smoothly. "We're a friend of Rosie. Is she around?"

The man looked at them skeptically before sending another cook to fetch the woman. A moment later, a very curvy lady made her way through.

"You know these boys?" the cook asked.

She looked at the four and they all grinned sheepishly at her. She rolled her eyes and responded, "Yes, I do. Some of our best customers. Come with me, boys."

They followed her out of the kitchen and into the pub of The Three Broomsticks.

"Did you sneak into here again," Madame Rosmerta whispered.

"Important marauder business, ma'am," Sirius replied with a wink. "You know how it is."

She sighed. "You four are going to get me in trouble with Professor Dumbledore one of these day. Off you go."

They made their way through the town, passing shop after shop until they finally reached the jeweler they were headed for.

It was James' idea to get Lily the necklace. Since she was a muggleborn, he figured her parents wouldn't realize how important a witch's seventeenth birthday was. He knew Marlene and Mary would probably get her something nice and possibly even Alice would mail something to her but no one else had the money to spend like he did. And it didn't seem fair that the world's most magnificent witch should go without an equally magnificent seventeenth birthday present.

The problem was, James didn't consider himself to be on good enough terms with Lily to warrant such a gift. So, when he mentioned his dilemma to his friends, they responded valiantly. Instead of it merely being a present from James, they would pass it off as a present from all four of them (the three other boys were even chipping in a portion of the price so they didn't have to lie about it). They hoped she would then be able to take the present in pride instead of straight up rejecting it.

"I'm here to pick up for 'Potter,'" James said to a lady behind one of the counters. She looked suspiciously at the boys.

"What's the order for?" she asked, her voice gravelly.

"A necklace."

The lady nodded and then shuffled to the back. The four marauders all looked at each other anxiously while they waited.

"This it," she asked when she returned. She held out an opened box but wouldn't let them touch it, only look. In the box was a beautiful golden necklace with a golden doe pendant galloping happily in place.

"Yeah, it's perfect," James said. He reached into his pocket and took out a small bagful of galleons. "This should cover it."

The witch carefully counted out the full price, nodded, and handed the box over to James. "The chain is regular gold but the doe is goblin-made. It must be some special lady you're getting that for."

James looked straight in the shopkeeper's beady black eyes and replied, "She is."

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It was well into the evening and James hadn't seen Lily once. He hadn't really expected her to seek him out or anything but he didn't think she would be this elusive. After he woke up, he only ever left the common room for meals or to use the loo. But he never saw her pass by once.

"And then he told me there wasn't ever going to be another girl..."

James perked up. He recognized that voice as belonging to one Felicity Jones, a sixth year who happened to share a dorm with the very girl he's been waiting for. Clutching the box in his pocket, as though making sure it was definitely still there, he rushed toward the girl.

"Felicity! Sarah!"

They peered at him apprehensively. It wasn't that they weren't on friendly terms, it was just that James so rarely had a reason to approach either of them unless they were in class or he was trying to pull a prank.

"Have you seen Lily?"

Comprehension dawned on their faces. "I haven't really seen her all day," Felicity said. "Why?"

Of course Felicity would ask why, the nosy bugger.

"It's her birthday," he said as though it should have been obvious. "Just wanted to wish her a happy 17th before it's over."

"Sorry, we don't know where she is." They turned around, done with the conversation, and went up to their room.

Frustrated, James plopped back down in his seat and tugged at his hair. Giving the gift to her was going to be complicated enough. He didn't expect it to be just as difficult finding the damn girl. James had been with Lily just yesterday and asked if she had any plans for her birthday, to which she replied 'I'm treating myself to avoiding the library.' He thought that meant she didn't really have any plans but apparently he was wrong.

The portrait hole swung open and James looked up excitedly. It was only Sirius, though, swaggering over to take a seat next to James.

"Where've you been?" James asked even though he had an inkling.

"Detention. Give Evans the necklace yet?"

"No. You didn't happen to see her at all today, did you?"

"Can't say I have. Sorry, mate."

"It's no matter. If I can't find her I'll just give it to her in class tomorrow."

Sirius glanced around the room then nudged James, his eyes fixed on a pair of 4th years in the corner. "Those two. Blonde bloke just confessed to being in love with the other fellow but they both already have girlfriends."

Anyone who knew Sirius knew that he got bored very easily. While this sometimes ended with interesting mishaps and adventures, most of the time it just meant his mates had to endure his whining and bitching about how he had nothing to do. That was why in third year Peter came up with a game they could play in public places. One of them would choose a person or group of people and provide a prompt. Then, the boys would act out how they expected the conversation was going (or what the person was thinking about if the target was alone). Sometimes they would get into fake philosophical debates but most of the time it was highly immature and they almost always got strange looks from any eavesdroppers.

At first the boys thought it was dumb and made fun of Peter for even suggesting it. But then one day Sirius was being more irritating than usual and Remus burst out, 'Those three girls are thinking of starting a club. Go!' They wound up spending nearly half an hour talking in falsettos about the horse-grooming club they were going to start and for some reason they thought it was the funniest thing ever and so it became a staple in their keep-Sirius-entertained time.

Thankful for the distraction, James started. "You have to understand, Bob," James always used Bob for names, even if they were a girl, "I'm not saying this to make you uncomfortable. I just had to get it off my chest."

"More like out of your pants," Sirius said in a voice much deeper than his natural one.

"That too. Say you'll leave your girl for me and I'll leave mine. We can get married and adopt little Bob Juniors and spend the rest of our lives together."

"Sorry, babe. I love her too much. We'll just have to have a giant four-way. What do you say?"

"I say the more the merrier." James grabbed Sirius' hand. The both of them were grinning widely at each other, thinking they were the kings of comedy. "Now kiss me, you fool!"

"Didn't know you swung that way, Potter." That was definitely not Sirius.

James dropped Sirius' hand and leapt off the couch, turning to face her. "Evans!"

"Do I even want to know what I just walked in on?" she asked, a smirk playing on her lips.

"We were playing a game! I swear I'm not gay!" he said, running a hand through his hair.

A short laugh escaped her mouth before she clamped it shut. This made James go on a long rant about the rules of the game and how he was completely straight and only liked girls.

"Sure, Potter. Whatever helps you sleep at night," Lily said when she finally collected herself enough to speak.

"Happy birthday," he said, needing desperately to change the subject.

"Thank you."

"I bought you a present." He reached into his pocket and took out the neatly wrapped box. "Well, we—that is to say, the marauders—bought you a present. Here."

"You really didn't have to get me anything," she said, turning a bit pink.

"Nonsense," Sirius said, joining in the conversation only after the embarrassing part ended. "We couldn't let you get away empty-handed on such a big milestone."

"I got a lot of presents," she objected. It was two-against-one, though, so she had no choice but to open the gift.

Lily gasped and picked the necklace up gently, transfixed with the running doe.

"This… is too much," she whispered.

"No it's not," James said. "It's not a big deal or anything. We just wanted to get you something nice."

"I didn't even get you a present on you birthday, Black," Lily said. "And now I'll have to get all of you guys gifts and—"

"Don't be ridiculous, Evans," James interjected. "You don't owe anyone anything. It's not about that. This is just four blokes, trying to do something nice for a great witch on her special 17th."

"This must have cost a fortune. Even with it split four ways it couldn't have been cheap."

"Look, don't worry about the money. Do you like it?"

"I mean, objectively, yes, but—"

"Well, there you go."

"Just keep it, yeah?" Sirius asked. "Haven't you ever heard the expression don't look in the mouth of a gift… and something about a horse. Sorry, it's been a while since muggle studies."

James nodded enthusiastically. "I know what you're talking about! We learned about it third year!"

"Look, I know what you're getting at but I don't care. This is too much." Lily tried to offer the necklace back to James but he pushed her hand back.

"It's non-refundable. And as much as I would love to wear it, I think it suits you better, no?"

She looked down at it and smiled. "I can't believe you got the doe. You only just saw my patronus a week ago!"

James shrugged. "I have connections."

"Alright." She paused, looked at the necklace once more, then gazed back up at James. Her eyes seemed even more impossibly green than usual.

"Alright," she repeated. "I'll keep it but only because my birthday hadn't been as good as I wanted it to be. Thank you Potter, Sirius." Sirius winked. "Don't think this means I'm okay with it. It's just… well, it is gorgeous."

James smirked as he watched her walk clumsily up the stairs to the girls' dorm, glad that he had finally done something right when it came to Lily Evans.

A/N: I feel like the ending was kind of abrupt but it's currently five in the morning and at this point I can't think. Please leave a review telling me what you thought and if there's anything you'd like to see! Thanks for reading!