A/N: I know this is super late, forgive me, but I've had a real terrible couple of weeks. I'm doing A levels, so I'm busy, but just remember: More reviews makes me update a lot quicker! I hope you like this chapter, please tell me if you do.
I STILL NEED A BETA OKAY.

Chapter 17
Or,
Of Revenge, Licking and Kissing.

You would, if you had been sat in the Gryffindor Common Room at the time, that somebody had cast a charm fixing everybody in place. James, being James Potter, glared at Josh making him even more uncomfortable than he already was.

"What you doing here, Richards?" James said with a lazy smirk on his face.

"What's it to you, Potty?" The Ravenclaw replied with a roll of his eyes.

James glared, standing up to approach Josh. "My common room and don't call me that!"

Lily, who was smirking slightly, rolled her eyes. She knew that Isabelle wasn't dating Josh because A, they were very close friends and B; he was carrying a piece of parchment. Before she could speak however, Josh had laughed.

"I'll call you whatever I like." He shrugged. James was advancing toward Josh with his hand resting on his back pocket.

Lily stood up and grabbed James' hand. "Sit down, Potter. Richards, I'll get Isabelle." James was tugging on Lily's hand the way a child does when their trying to break free from their parents grasp. "POTTER!" She yelled. "Cut it out, right now!"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Or what, Evans?"

She narrowed her eyes back and placed a hand on her hip. "You really want to find out?" She asked her tone light and teasing; she didn't want to fight with James, so she thought she'd play instead. She took a small step closer to him.

"Bring it, midget." He smirked at her and she stepped even closer, she was close enough to kiss him; if she wanted to. She yanked on his tie and looked up at him, her long eyelashes fluttering at him. James swallowed. Oh, Lily is flirting with me. Lily Evans is actually flirting with me- oh my, she's tugging my tie. She's touching me. Shit. Shit. Shit. Calm, James. You can do it. You've wanted her for years. He grinned at her and she stood up on her tip toes, as if she was going to kiss him.

And she licked his face.

"LILY!" He yelled, yanking back from their close encounter.

"Don't be cheeky to me again." She grinned and turned around, winking at him, before trotting upstairs to Isabelle. "You little minx." She said, sitting down on the edge of Isabelle's bed.

The French girl frowned. "What?"

"Josh Richardson is standing in our common room."

"WHAT?!" She screeched.

"Oh, don't sound shocked. I know your secret!" Lily declared.

Isabelle winced. "I'm sorry."

The red haired girl laughed. "Why?"

"He broke your heart." Isabelle replied, looking guilty.

"I don't care, Izzy. Actually, I'm quite happy that you're doing this to him- you don't like him though, do you?"

Isabelle shook her head, smiling. "Hell no, I don't like him; I just wanted him to pay for what he did."

Lily smiled. "Well, thanks. You should have told us though, but anyway, who do you like?"

Isabelle's smiled vanished. "Ah, erm….Nobody…"

Lily's eyes widened. "You're lying to me!"

"I'm not!" She rose gracefully from the bed. "Look, I better go get my payment off Josh." She grinned cheekily.

"When are you going to tell him that it's all a rouse?" Lily asked, smirking slightly.

"Not yet, I'm having fun. But don't worry, you'll be there." And she left, Lily followed quickly behind him, dying to see the look on James' face after their little encounter. She'd really enjoyed it.

"Well, Joshua, we meet again." Isabelle said as she approached the Ravenclaw, who was now standing by the door in the fear that James hexed him.

"Isabelle." He smiled sexily and approached her, handing her the rolled up parchment, kissing her on the lips swiftly. He left immediately afterwards and Isabelle turned around, miming being sick.

"Mint?" Lily asked, holding out a wrapped sweet.

Isabelle laughed. "Thank you."

"Erm, can somebody tell me what's going on?" James asked from the couch.

"No." The girls replied in unison.

"He just kisses Isabelle; your ex-boyfriend just kissed your friend."

"Well spotted, Potter." Lily replied dryly.

"Aren't…" He started, "Aren't you pissed off?" He asked bewildered.

"No." She laughed. "Of course I'm not."

James blinked. "He broke your heart."

She shrugged. "Thanks for reminding me."

"Sorry." He winced, "It just doesn't make sense."

"It doesn't have to make sense." She rolled her eyes, ending their conversation, turned to Isabelle who was reading over the parchment. "Is it any good?"

"It's acceptable, it'll do anyway." She said with a grin.

"Good. Now, who do you like?" The smaller girl asked.

"Lily!" She chastised.

"Isabelle!" Lily mimicked. "Don't try and worm out of it, I want to know."

She sighed and shook her head, taking a seat by the fire. Lily followed her and smiled softly at James who was watching the pair with intense curiosity, but after realising they were having a 'girly chat' he became very interested in his defence against the dark arts book.

"So…" Lily prompted "Who is it?"

"What if there is nobody?" Isabelle asked.

"Then there is nobody, but there isn't in this case because I can read you like a book; you're not telling me something." Lily replied with a stern look that reminded Isabelle of her mother.

She sighed. "There is somebody, Lily. But it's just a stupid crush, like the ones that little girls get on celebrities."

"I don't care what kind of crush it is, I want to know who it is you have it on."

Isabelle paused. "Sirius Black"

"WHAT?!" Lily yelled.

James yelped at Lily's shout. "Oi, Evans, tone it down you bloody foghorn!"

"Shove it, Potter." She snapped, turning her attention back to Isabelle. "Please tell me that was a joke."

"No it wasn't, why?"

"I don't want to see you hurt, Izzy."

"Don't call me that!" She whined. "I know which is why I'm avoiding him like the plague."

Lily sighed. "I wouldn't suggest that but I'm no expert on romance…"

"You got that right." Isabelle muttered.

Lily glared. "Shush. Anyway, as I was saying: I wouldn't suggest avoiding him."

"What would you suggest then?"

"Change him."

"There is no way I could do that!"

"Of course you can, just… play hard to get." Lily grinned cheekily.

"Like you with James?" Isabelle asked.

"Shut up! I'm not playing hard to get, we just can't be together." Lily repeated; she'd said that so many times lately she didn't know who she was trying to convince, everybody else or herself. 'Yourself' the little nagging voice in the back of her head said.

"There's nothing stopping you right now, Lils. Yes, there might be a war soon, but the things that keep us together are each other. You and James would be great together and I don't care what you say next, you're making excuses because you're scared."

Lily sighed. "I know I'm scared, I'm not going to deny it. But I don't think I'm deserving of James, I've always said that I'm not good enough for him, ever since he starting pursuing me and I still say that he only wants me because I'm the only person to ever refuse him- but there is nothing I can do, Isabelle, and I'm not going to do anything."

The other girl shook her head. "You're ridiculous, you really are. That guy likes you and you wouldn't notice it if it were Dumbledore dancing in front of you naked wearing a sleeping hat."

Lily grimaced. "Ew, mental image."

"Sorry!"

Lily laughed and looked around the common room. Green eyes met hazel eyes, Lily smiled as a blush crept up her cheeks. Their moment was destroyed by Sirius Black jumping on James.

"Prongsie boy!" The excited boy grinned, "Guess who just scored with that fucking amazing Ravenclaw?"

"NO WAY!" James shouted, "You're bullshitting me!"

Sirius pulled out a mass of lace from his pocket. "The undies don't lie Prongise boy."

"They are hot." James said, "Real hot."

"So is she man, she really is." He paused then grinned, "So, cough up mate"

James groaned. "Aw shit! Dammit!"

"Give." Sirius demanded wearing his trademark smirk. James groaned once more and stalked up to his room returning a few minutes later with a bag of money.

"There. But I'm still going to bed that cute Hufflepuff." He smirked himself.

"Which one?"

"Small, blonde, blue eyes, fine arse…"

"Phoebe thingy mah bob?"

"Isn't Phoebe a lesbian?" Lily asked Isabelle (the pair had been eavesdropping for ages).

Isabelle nodded. "She's a lesbian!" She called to the boys.

"WHAT NO WAY?" James and Sirius yelled as the girls laughed- although their laughter was hollow.

"Oooh, look what just walked in" Sirius said, eying up two girls that had stepped in the common room. James and Sirius slid over to the girls, pulling flowers out from behind their ears and whispering things to them that would make a nun blush. Sirius slapped his girls arse, pushing her toward the dormitory stairs, as James twirled the girl around like they were at the ball. The boys were smooth, they were really good at pulling girls, everybody loved them (but I'm sure you know that) but the two girls that had fallen truly in love with these boys (the girls that were too blind to see that those boys loved them back) sat on the couch with solemn expressions. They hated it.

Lily wished she was the girl which James was twirling around the common room floor. Lily wished she was the girl James was kissing on the cheek. Lily wished she was the girl that was now locked in a passionate embrace with James. Lily wished she'd never listened to her bloody head because now she was never going to be with James.

Isabelle wished, much like Lily with James, that she was the girl with Sirius right now. But Isabelle wished many different things. Isabelle wished she'd never met Sirius Black, despite her flirty nature, she didn't expect to fall in love with a player- with a guy that had slept with more women than she'd spoken French- because now she couldn't stop thinking about him. And she was never going to be with him, either.

It was ten days until Christmas. Only ten days. The snow hadn't stopped falling and the mistletoe hadn't stopped appearing in the halls, either. And the mistletoe had been following Lily Evans around for a week. It was now dinnertime, the final mealtime before people departed for their homes- if they were going back- and a bunch of mistletoe was hanging over Lily's head.

"POTTER!" She snapped (not for the first time that week) "If you do not get rid of that bloody mistletoe, I'll shove this-"she held up the fork in her hand aggressively "-where the sun doesn't shine!"

"The mistletoe will disappear if you kiss me." He replied with a smirk.

Lily rolled her eyes, "It's disappear whether I kiss you or not."

"Nuh-uh, not a chance."

"Go bother somebody else!" She groaned.

"Nuh-uh, not a chance." He repeated.

"I bet you're glad you're going home, Lily?" Remus smiled politely at Lily from the top of his book, which he had been reading for the past week; you could say he was like a dog with a bone.

She laughed softly, "Yes, Remus, yes I am."

"I'll still be here when you get back, my lovely Lily."

"Pity." She muttered, flapping pointlessly at the mistletoe- which was now singing at Lily- above her head.

"LILY, LILY, LILY."

"Potter, stop it, please." She begged.

"KISS ME LIKE YOU WANNA BE LOVED, LILY LILY LILY!"

"James please."

"JUST KISS ME, LILY."

Lily, who was now ready to punch James in the face, stood up from her seat with an angry smirk on her face. She grabbed James roughly by his tie yanking him forward to her and she crashed her lips against passionately. James was taken by ultimate surprise, but after a few seconds of being stunned motionless, he responded with just as much passion.

The Great Hall fell silent.

Until Sirius wolf whistled, of course. Lily, gaining her senses, pulled back immediately wide eyed and speechless. She couldn't believe she'd just kissed James Potter passionately in the middle of the Great Hall at dinner time.

Popping a piece of cake into her mouth, Lily got ready to leave the hall. "You coming, Isabelle?" She asked as if she hadn't just snogged James Potter. Isabelle only nodded, she was speechless- she couldn't believe that Lily had just done what she had.

"I am going to have mistletoe follow Lily Evans for the rest of the year." James declared.

Remus chuckled, "I'm sure that'll go down well, Prongs."

"Valentines mistletoe!" James yelled, "Oooh, Easter mistletoe, summer mistletoe! Halloween mistletoe! ALL YEAR ROUND KISSES FROM LILY EVANS FOR ME!" He shouted with a grin.

Lily, who was halfway out of the hall, heard him and turned around to call back, "Never."

The Hogwarts express ride home was boring due to the fact it was so late at night. Remus spent most of the train ride with some Ravenclaws having discussion about the book he'd just read; he'd become friends with a particular group of Ravenclaws whom he shared a charms class with. Peter wasn't going home for Christmas, despite the fact his friends were all going home for two weeks, he stayed; he didn't care about going home, and he had a lot of work to catch up on anyway. So the trolley lady didn't sell much food due to his absence. Sirius was occasionally noticed by his friends passing by their compartment, usually with a giggling brunette or a smirking blonde; he was never noticed alone (much to Isabelle's dismay). James, Lily and Isabelle were sat together. Marlene and Hestia had joined them later, giggling and laughing about some hot Slytherin guy.

"Thank god, we're here." Isabelle said, smiling slightly as the train pulled into the station. She was going back to France to visit her family, she'd really missed them and she was looking forward to seeing her home again. Although, she was scared too; she'd never been home since the Death Eaters attacked, and she was scared. Concern had obviously flickered in Isabelle's eyes because Lily noticed, despite the fact she was reading a book bigger than her.

"Isabelle?" She asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm just nervous about going home." She confessed with a forced smile.

Lily hugged her friend, "You'll be alright, you better write to me!"

Isabelle returned the hug, "I'll see you in two weeks, Lils. Bye James." She smiled slightly before leaving the compartment as well as the train, running into the arms of a tall, tanned, boy. They started chatting in rapid French, the boy making wild hand gestures, while Isabelle laughed and linked arms.

"And then there were two." James said.

Lily nodded, "We better get going."

"I guess we better." James got up, gesturing for Lily to leave the compartment ahead of her; he followed and they arrived on the platform with the rest of the students. "Have a nice holiday, Lily; I hope the Muggle sis isn't too much of a bitch."

Lily laughed, "She won't be, James. Have a nice Christmas!" She smiled up at him, watching him run his hand through his unruly hair- it made the butterflies flutter madly in the pit of her stomach; he grinned at her and turned around, walking toward the stoned wall which would lead him into Muggle London.

Lily didn't know what made her do it, but she ran after him. "James!" She called, grabbing his hand before he ran through the barrier.

He turned around, "Yeah, Evans?"

Lily smiled up at James, "I just wanted to give you an early Christmas present, Potter."

James sighed, "I…I haven't got you any-"

James' apology was cut off by Lily kissing him for the second that day. She weaved her hands into his head, tugging on the hair she'd wanted to play with for months. "Merry Christmas, James." She said before vanishing into Muggle London.