THIS IS UN-BETA-ED! More explanations in the AN at the bottom.

Chapter 15: A Night Apart, Part II

I can't believe we've been here for so long, Lily thought as she glanced at her watch. The time has gone by so fast. It was now 8:30, and she, Remus, and Sirius had spent all day in Hogsmeade Village. After leaving Zonko's, each with a fair share of merchandise and a catalogue tucked away, Lily insisted on visiting the local bookstore, The Noble Niche.Sirius protested profusely, but he soon ceased when he noticed the book on display, "1001 Excuses to Tell Your Professor: All Situations Included (fine print: All situations purely hypothetical. Brookhouse publishers are not responsible for any negative response and or outcome of your personal situation). Sirius couldn't resist snapping it up.

"Aw, Sirius, I can't believe you're buying that trash," Remus had bemoaned. "You know we could all come up with anything better in that thing."

"Why not? It's not that much, only eighteen sickles. And you can't afford to run out of excuses, Moony, especially when you're in as much trouble as me and James. I'm sure it'll come in handy when I get into an unexpected fix."

Sirius nearly had the opportunity to put the book to use twenty minutes later when they spotted Professor Veronique emerging from Mystic's Cloud, a store stocked full with divination supplies, the same time the came out of the bookstore which was located right across the way from Mystic's. The professor had briefly looked up from one of her new books and right at Lily, Sirius, and Remus before returning her gaze to her books. They ducked back into the bookstore just in time before Professor Veronique did a double take in their direction. She had stared toward the bookstore for a moment as a perplexed expression took over her features, then shook her head lightly and made her way further down the narrow street.

Lily grimaced and swore, "Damn!"

"Don't worry, Prongs," Remus had assured her, taking a glance out the window. "I'm sure she'll think were each some sort of spiritual apparition, or something."

"Yeah," Sirius had mumbled, frowning down at his product. "Which is too bad, really; I was kind of looking forward to testing the stuff in my book." Later, after a quick snack,the trio opted to check out the newest Quidditch gear at the sports shop (with much feigned interest on Lily's part); while Sirius and Remus inspected the new line of Quidditch Peterson's uniforms Lily buried her nose in Quidditch Pastimes, a magazine with a full spread of photographs featuring the top 100 most talented players in the league. Although to any other customer it would appear that Lily was thoroughly engrossed in the tips from the players, she was focused on a much more superficial aspect aside from their wisdom, namely the photos of young men posing in Quidditch trousers and protection, but without the shirt. Merlin, if all Quidditch players end up like this, maybe I should follow Potter's teaching and become more involved in Gryffindor's team…

"What's that you have, James?"

Lily started as Sirius appeared at her side, seemingly out of no where. "Huh?" she asked, stalling for time.

"What are you looking at?" He looked over Lily's shoulder and down at the magazine. When he saw the shirtless Quidditch players, he furrowed his eyebrows and reared his head back. "What are you looking at, Prongs?"

Thinking quickly on her feet, Lily hastily pointed to the shin pads that one person wore. "These…this protection gear," she told Sirius. "All the arm pads, knee pads, and stuff. I mean, don't they look like they could bounce a bludger right off you? I mean, really, if chasers wore gear like that there'd be no need for you beaters." I barely have any clue about what I just said, she thought to herself.

"Oh!" Sirius exclaimed, satisfied with her answer. "Yeah, I suppose they look pretty durable." Then he laughed lightly and clapped a hand on her shoulder. "Man, James," he chuckled. "I thought you were looking at something completely different."

Now, a little while later they were sitting in The Hog's Head, one last stop before they headed back to school for the evening.

"Hey, check this out," Sirius said, pointing to the small menu. "It says there're two new brands of Firewhiskey, limited time only. You guys up for it?"

Remus leaned in to peer over his friend's shoulder. "What are they?"

"Um…raspberry and kiwi-lime."

"That sounds good," Remus replied. "I'm curious about that kiwi-lime."

Sirius grinned wildly and nodded. "Yeah, me, too. Excuse me, waiter?" He raised his hand up to get the server's attention. "Could we get some ser—hey!" Lily had interrupted him by grabbing his hand and slamming it back on the table.

"Are you crazy?" she hissed, fixing Sirius with a glare. "Does the term 'under-aged" mean anything to you? Apparently not!" she added before Sirius could answer.

"James, relax," Remus said, clapping a hand on her shoulder. "A little drink won't hurt at all. Plus, you know The Hog's Head. You can do anything here as long as you pay the bill and don't report them for what goes on."

"Besides," Sirius said with a twinkle in his eyes. "With the tolerance you've built up, one bottle won't affect that much, if at all." He put his hand up again, this time successfully gaining the attention from a nearby waiter. "Hi, could we have two Kiwi-Lime Firewhiskeys and one Raspberry?"

Lily sighed and propped her elbow on the table, leaning her head onto her fist. "Sirius," she said dully. "You have got to be the most unbelievably careless person that I have ever had the misfortune to meet. With all you've done, I surprised you haven't been arrested."

Sirius smirked and raised an eyebrow. "It's the name. Being named after a constellation does have its lucky advantages."

The server returned and plunked three bottles on the table, followed by three tall glasses and small sheet of paper. Sirius and Remus reached immediately for their drinks while Lily just stared warily at her own.

"Mmm," Sirius murmured, staring at his bottle. "This is quite good. Kind of sweet, but tangy at the same time."

Unable to ignore the bit of temptation she felt, Lily fingered the top of the bottle. Well, she thought. If we get caught, it's not like I'd be the one in trouble, technically speaking. And if I ever try drinking it might as well be while someone else could be blamed for it… Lily bit her lip and twisted the cap off. Besides, this will be the only one. The last thought Lily remembered having was, Hmm, this actually tastes really good…

Bang, bang, bang!

From his position on the couch James scowled and shifted, but refused to open his eyes.

Bang, bang, bang!

James sighed in aggravation and rubbed his eyes tiredly. Who the hell could be out at…? He checked the clock above the mantle. 11:30? The loud knocking came again. BANG, BANG, BANG! He was about to yell out the password but a voice outside the portrait called out first.

"Would someone come open this bl-bloody door!"

Dammit, Sirius! James thought, immediately recognizing the voice

"NOT WITHOUT THE PASSWORD!" a female shrilled.

Groaning, James forced himself to move off the couch and stumbled over to the portrait. He opened it to reveal three people; one clutching a bottle, another squinting at James confusedly, and another looking very nearly in his right mind. But there was no denying it—all were very drunk.

"What exactly were you doing in Hogsmeade the entire afternoon?" James asked.

Remus stumbled into the common room, burdened down with Sirius's weight. "It's not what you think, Lily," he replied. James just gave him a look. "Alright, so it is," Remus amended. "But we weren't drinking the entire afternoon."

"And don't be so bitter, Po—Evans!" Lily said cheerfully. She wandered unsteadily over to him and clapped a hand on James's shoulder. "Sir—Sirus brought you back a little something!"

At the sound of his name Sirius held up the bottle in his hand. "I brought the Christmas cheer!"

James yawned and rubbed his eyes. It is way too late to be dealing with this. "Sirius, we're in March," he corrected.

"Minor de-detail."

Lily moaned and put a hand to her temple. Suddenly the room is shifting, she thought dazedly. She staggered over to a nearby chair and slurred, "Ugh…I think I needa lie-down." Lily started to lower herself, but instead ended up tumbling onto the floor with a loud thump because she hadn't realized she was about half a foot away.

Sirius immediately broke in to raucous laughter. "No-no matterr whot you can say 'bout me Prongs, at leeest I can sidown in bleed'n a chair!" James walked over to Lily and hauled her up on her feet. This is something I'd never thought would happen in this lifetime, he thought, biting his lip to keep from laughing. Imagine, Lily Evans, drunk out of her mind!

"Huh," Lily mumbled, glancing behind her. "Coulda sworn it was be'ind me already. Did it move?"

James rolled his eyes and slightly smacked her across the face. "Evans," he murmured, just loudly enough so she could hear. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Lily squinted at his hand, wobbling unsteadily on her feet. "I dunno, eleven?" James glanced at his five fingers, then back at Lily curiously. "Hell, I don' care…"

James turned to Remus, knowing that he was always the one out of the three of them that had the most mental control when intoxicated. "Exactly how much did she have to drink?" Shrugging, he replied dully, "No idea. I was too busy losing count to my own bottles." He looked over his shoulder to check on Sirius, who was draped over the back of the couch, singing Christmas carols under his breath. "Look, I'd better take'im up t'bed before he passes out completely," Remus told James.

"Alright, fine. But if I were you I'd perform a silencing charm around his bed, and yours, for that matter, so that when you wake up tomorrow afternoon your head doesn't pound too much from the noises around you."

"Okay, g'night." Hauling Sirius to his feet and slinging his arm over his shoulder, Remus began dragging him over to the staircase. "Oh, hey Lily?" he asked.

"Yeah?" James called back, preoccupied with carefully lowering Lily into a chair.

"Which staircase leads upstairs? The right or the left?"

James looked at Remus blankly. He must be seeing double, he thought. "Um…the left…"

Remus raised his hand in thanks, and then carefully made his way up the steps, holding Sirius' arm in one hand, and firmly grasping the banister with the other.

James sighed and turned back to Lily. "Okay, Evans," he said seriously. "We need to get you in bed."

Lily started giggly madly and thumped her head forward on the tabletop. "Mr. Potter," she managed through laughter and snorts. "Tha'snot very 'propriate, is it? Shouldn' we wait at least until the first date?" Then she gasped and clapped a hand to her mouth. "Oh my gosh," she said, looking extremely shocked. "That is so cool!" Lily looked at James, pointing to herself excitedly. "Did you hear that? I just rhymed! I'm a know it and I didn't even poet!" Lily burst out into a fresh round of laughter. "There I go again! Hey, wanna here a joke?" James started to open his mouth but Lily interrupted. "Of course you do! Okay, why did the pineapple fall out of the tree?"

James heaved a sigh. Let me just humor her, he decided. "I don't know, Evans," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Why did the pineapple fall out of the tree?"

Lily paused dramatically before saying, "Tofu!" James quirked his eyebrow in surprise. I don't get it, he thought bewilderedly. "Get it?" Lily was saying, looking extremely proud. "Tofu!" She threw her head back and laughed loudly, as if it was the funniest thing she ever said.

James rolled his eyes heaven-ward and rubbed the bridge of his nose. She's drunker than I thought, he thought wearily. "Yes, Evans, that was very funny," he said, grabbing Lily by the hands and trying to pull her to her feet. "But let's be serious, now."

"I don' thinkI cn'do tha'" she said, slurring heavily. "Sirius'is a boy, and I…well, I'm a…a…" She trailed off and blinked, looking confused. "Wait, what was I sayin'?"

"It isn't important," James said dismissively. He grabbed her arms again, this time succeeding in bringing her to stand up. Unable to have full control of her muscles, Lily leaned limply against James, who nearly toppled over in result. "C'mon, Evans," he pleaded. "I can't carry you myself! You need to stand up!"

"Isn'tha what I'm doin?" Lily mumbled, rubbing her forehead. Gritting his teeth, James dragged her over the couch and deposited her onto it. "Ya know, Potter," Lily babbled as she heavily sank into the couch. "I've just gotta tell you…"

"Tell me what?" James replied wearily.

Lily scrunched her face, trying to focus on James. "You," she declared heavily, pointing at him with an unsteady arm. "Are completely stunning without a shirt on."

James blinked in surprise. That was probably the last thing he ever expected to hear, and yet he still couldn't believe he had. "Excuse me?" he said stupidly.

Holding her arm up must have made Lily feel a bit wobbly, because her body slowly slid to the side to a point where she was nearly laying down. "I mean serusly…" Lily continued, after taking a moment to sit up again. "You have…the best damn looking stomach…that I have ever seen in my entire life."

James shifted uncomfortably. "Um…Evans—?"

"I mean my whole life!" Lily exclaimed. She was waving her arms around wildly to emphasize her point. "Le'me tell ya, Quidditch has certainly done your body good. It looks like it's been carved out'a bloody marble or somethin'…Hell, Michlangeelo couldn' pull of a piece of artwork like your stomach, it's that gorgeous."

James' eyebrows shot up in shock and he felt his face turn many shades of red. "Um…right," he mumbled awkwardly, shoving his hands into the pockets of his pajamas and avoiding Lily's gaze. "It's definitely time for you to go to sleep. I don't think you'd be very happy with what you were saying if you were in your right mind. You're supposed to hate me, remember?"

Lily snorted and waved an impatient, unsteady arm in his direction. "Oh, bull," she said vehemently. "Whether or not I like you, I can see. I'd have to be damn-near blind not to notice your body without a shirt on, since have to shower with it an'everythin'." Lily paused suddenly, staring off into space. "Actully," she continued, becoming more incoherent by the second. "Bet even a bline' person…would be able to sense it or somefin…tha's how bu-bootiful your stomach is." Lily stopped and put a finger to her chin, scowling deeply in thought. "Han' on, tha's not how it'said. Bu…bootif…butifoll…oh, screw it. Ya know what I'm talkin' about Po'er."

But do you? James wondered, crossing his arms and studying her intently. Aloud he said, "Of course, I do, Evans. Okay, it's time to get some sleep now. You can get a head start on dozing off the hangover you'll have tomorrow. Sapora." In an instant Lily's wrinkled clothes were replaced by clean sleepwear. Lily looked down at her form curiously.

"Tha's cool," she wondered aloud. "How'dja do it? Magic?"

"Yes," James told her patiently, while trying to prop her legs on the couch. "Yes, it was. Would you like to see some more?" Lily nodded as much as being intoxicated could allow, which really wasn't more than a twitch of the head. "Right, then." James pointed his wand straight at her face and said, "Dormius" Lily yawned widely, and her eyes began to droop. "Well, tha' wasn't very impressive…" She trailed off and fell into a deep sleep. Relieved, James put his hands over eyes and rubbed them vigorously. He grabbed a blanket that was draped over that arm of the couch and covered Lily. Then he took off the glasses and placed them on the table. "Sleep well," he muttered. "You'll definitely need it for the mood you'll be in for tomorrow."

The next day, the hustle and bustle of the Common Room was louder than Lily ever remembered. Every single voice that spoke above a whisper seemed to penetrate her skull. She brought her fingers to her temples and rubbed them in circles. "Ugh…" was all that she seemed capable of saying, since her tongue felt like lead. She winced at the pounding sensation in her head, which her so bad that Lily was certain any thinking would cause her discomfort. What did I do deserve this?

A/n: I am SOOOO sorry, guys! I really didn't meant to wait this long. I hadn't realized it had been nearly six months since my last update. Here are my reasons (they might not be good ones, but at least I'm attempting to explain): Junior year has been unfairly hectic. My grades have gone down slightly, mainly just because I've been burned out. I've been studying my ass off for finals (biology is the devil's spawn), and just hanging on until the end of the year. But to be honest, those reasons aren't the ones that have kept me from writing. It's that damned WRITER'S BLOCK,and it was only for this situation.Seriously. I had no clue what else to write about Lily's outing with Sirius and Remus. I needed to think of how they could entertain themselves for the next…10 hours or so. Very difficult. I had tried time and time again to think of something, but no luck. So, I had a brainstorm. Why not just fast forward to where I needed to be? I hope you guys don't mind using your imagination to think of how they filled the time at Hogsmeade. But it was either that, or waiting another bunch of months for me to think of something, which I thought would be rather cruel. If I think of something later, I'll just go back and enter it into this chapter or something, but I doubt that'll happen. If you have any ideas of how Lily, Remus, and Sirius spend their time up until the beginning of this chapter, PLEASE tell me. I'll be sure to give you credit.

I can't be sure when I can next update. Don't be surprised if it isn't until, like, September because school's out and that's where I the best access, since internet kind of sucks at my house. DON'T BE MAD, THOUGH! If I don't update, just take solace in the fact that I'll be writing other chapters and then when I do update, it shouldn't be that long of a wait in between.

Look for news on my author's page.

Next Chapter: Aftermath

Includes: Lily's hangover, her confrontation with Derek, and a VERY important talk with James.

Thanks to each and every person who reviewed, and also to those who just simply like to read without the burden of reviewing. I'm glad you enjoy the story!

Until next time,

Spirit