Bea! You chose Sirius and Lily as a favourite pairing, so I hope you enjoy this fic! You're part of the reason I signed up as captain—your confidence and faith in me helped me decide to be a captain! You were also the first person to join this team! (You're the Bella to my Tom!) It's been a pleasure to have you with me for this season!! I will always be there to calm you down from panicking :P Never change.

OoO

Lily was in trouble. And it was her fault. But technically, this was all James's fault, too. She thought back to the talk that got her into this promise in the first place.

"Is there a reason you won't go out with me? I thought with us being so close this year, both being Headboy and Headgirl, that we had a chance. I thought there were mixed signals and I deserve to know, Lilyflower," James intertwined their hands together, sad eyes staring into hers.

She could feel her heart breaking into so many pieces, James could have been the one. He would have been the one she would happily spend the rest of her life with. Only… there was another. And she had to follow her heart.

No matter how painful.

"I'm sorry, there is a reason. I… I've kept this hidden for a while but I have to tell someone. You're the one person who will understand, even if… even if you hate me. But you can't hate him, he's… he's your best friend."

She watched as he slowly realised why she kept turning him down. It was killing him. "I'm so sorry, James. I—"

"No, it's… it's okay. I asked. You answered. You're sure he's the one for you?" he asked, his voice just above a whisper as he squeezed her hand for one last time before letting go.

Lily nodded, tears falling down her cheeks.

"Hey, hey. You're okay, Lilyflower," he wiped away some of the tears, holding her close.

"We could have been perfect." She said, sniffing into his shoulder.

"I'll need time to adjust, Lilyflower, but once I have, I'm going to help you."

How did she get to be so lucky? She glanced at him, her head turning to face his.

"Why? I've just broken your heart, why would you help me?"

"Because I love you. But you love him more. And he deserves to be happy."

"Oi, Lilyflower, stop daydreaming and start walking!"

James's voice brought her out of her thoughts. She groaned as she remembered why they were in the Great Hall in the first place. Sirius was there, sitting by himself, studying, looking as handsome as he always does.

She couldn't do this.

"No, no, no. I'm not doing this, James, I'm going." She stated, turning around and starting to walk out. She, unfortunately, didn't get very far as James grabbed her and pulled her back.

"We agreed. You promised! Today was the day you'd ask him out. You've spent so much time with him recently, and I know he likes you back. So ask!" James demanded, pushing her forward.

Lily stepped back again.

"What about tomorrow? Tomorrow is a perfectly good day. Let's do it then!"

"You've said that every day the past week, Lilyflower. This is the last time. We graduate soon. Do you want to have regrets? No. So, go!"

She hated to admit that he had a point, so she reluctantly walked to Sirius, glancing back at James who had both of his thumbs up and nodded at her. Lily smiled, relaxing as she sat down next to Sirius.

He glanced at her with a bright smile.

"Hiya, Lils. Decided to keep me company? Tell me, is this a word? I've been staring at it for so long that it doesn't seem like a word anymore…" he trailed off as he showed her his essay.

She chuckled and nodded, with a fond smile.

"Yes, Sirius, Dittany is a word."

"Are you sure?"

"I am."

"Good, what about this one?"

"'but' is definitely a word. Sirius, can I ask you something?" She asked, before she could stop herself.

"You just did—"

At the look on her face, he stopped and nodded, looking at her with curiosity, and a hint of something Lily couldn't quite place.

"Would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend? As a date? I was thinking of the Ice Cream Parlour and then The Three Broomsticks, or the other way round, or something else, whatever you would like. Uh, I'm, yeah." She stopped babbling and blushed a dark shade of red at the surprised but pleased look on Sirius's face.

It happened in slow motion as he started packing away his things. His eyes were wide as he stood up, he looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn't. Instead, he ran away.

She was left there, with tears filling her eyes.

James had been wrong.

Sirius didn't like her.

How could she have been so stupid?

OoO

Sirius ran into the common room, finding James instantly. He couldn't believe what just happened, though, he wasn't going to do anything without James's permission.

He was feeling giddy the whole time he ran there.

When he sat down, James gave him a knowing grin.

"Well? Did you say yes?" He asked, clearly wanting to know everything.

That confused Sirius slightly.

"How did you know? Never mind. I didn't say anything, I came straight here. She's the love of your life, I can't do that to you—"

"We talked about this, Siri. You can do it, you deserve to be happy. I'm not going to get in the way of that. Wait, you left her? Did you say yes, at least? Oh, Pads, please tell me you weren't that stupid?" James said all at once.

It took him a few seconds to register what James had told him and when he did, he cursed.

"I… oh, Merlin's balls!"

"I love that you came to me. I'm okay, honestly, Sirius. I am. Before you go after Lily, how would you feel if I took your brother out on a date?"

He was just standing up as James finished speaking and then he sat back down again in shock. His brother and his best friend? He knew they had been spending time together recently but he hadn't realised… oh, but Lily. His Lily. He had to sort out things with her first.

Hopefully she forgives him.

"Hurt him and you'll have me to answer to," he replied, thinking quickly as he ran back out of the common room.

OoO

Lily was hiding in an alcove in one of the corridors. She didn't want to face anyone. Her heart was shattered and she didn't know what to do anymore.

She didn't realise she'd feel this low after attempting to ask Sirius out. They had spent a lot of time studying together, a lot of time just hanging out and enjoying each other's company…this is why she didn't want to do it in the first place. Rejection hit hard, and now she understood what James felt. How could he still talk to her after this?

"Lils, there you are, I've been looking everywhere!" Sirius's voice made her jump slightly as he joined her, sitting opposite her on the alcove.

"It's fine, Sirius, you don't have to explain, please, just… go…" she trailed off, hiding her face on her knees, wrapping them close to her chest.

"No, I want to explain. I had to ask James if it was okay." He told her, placing a hand on her knee, stroking it soothingly. "I just forgot to say yes, Lils. Of course I would go out with you, I've had a crush on you for a while now and I wanted to ask you to go on a date but you beat me to it. I'm really sorry I made you think otherwise, but I really do like you. I like you so much!" He was babbling, too, now.

Lily's heart warmed and she leaned in and hugged him tightly. She felt his arms wrap around her and she knew she was safe, and in the arms of someone who cared deeply for her.

She couldn't wait to see what their journey would bring.