A/N: The beginning of this chapter is from Kristen's POV during the masquerade, when Remus asks her to dance and she leaves Lily at the table. I just wanted to clarify, so we avoid too much confusion ;) Now then, I hope you enjoy the chapter….

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Chapter 19

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Kristen took Remus' hand – for she was sure it was Remus by his demeanor – and allowed him to tug her towards the dance floor, her pale purple dress swirling about her hips. For a moment she turned her head to glance back at Lily, feeling slightly guilty for leaving her friend alone at the table, but then she noticed that the chair was already vacant. Blinking, Kristen strained her head to search for any flashes of red among the sea of masks but was interrupted by Remus' hands at her waist. She turned her brown eyes upon his face and felt herself blush beneath the mask. She was thankful that something was covering her face for the moment; it gave her an extra scrap of confidence. Kristen bit her lip to stop herself from laughing nervously and slowly moved her hands around his neck.

"Are you comfortable?" he asked her softly, pushing at her back to close the distance between them.

"Yes…"

She failed to notice in her nervous state that Remus' hands were shaking and his voice was not altogether steady. The only thing that registered in her mind was the fact that they were standing very close together and she could feel his warm breath on her neck. She took another step forward and sighed at the contact with the whole length of his body. Slowly and carefully, he began to sway to the now softening music. It was nearing midnight; Kristen was sure that it must be. She wished this would never end, but she knew that when they unmasked at midnight the moment would be broken in the inevitable chaos that would follow.

She sighed and leaned her head against his chest, feeling his hands tighten on her waist. Her eyes were just beginning to slide shut when she spotted that flash of red that she had been searching for several minutes ago. Her head snapped up and she turned sharply, causing Remus to move his hands a bit lower on her waist to keep them steady.

Kristen watched as a tallish boy with strands of messy black hair jutting out from behind his mask followed Lily out of the Great Hall. Sighing in exasperation, she quickly turned to look at Remus before realizing that he had also leaned over to look past her and, as a result, their faces were very close. Nervously, she leaned back a few inches and whispered, "Do you suppose we should make sure everything's alright?"

After a long pause, Remus shook his head. "I had a talk with Lily and….well, they're big kids now. I think they can handle this themselves."

Kristen frowned, confused with his sarcasm, "But – I just don't want Lily to be upset tonight and James – has been through enough."

Remus shook his head firmly this time, tightening his hold on her waist when she tried to turn away from him and causing her to stare up at him with wide, searching eyes. "This is their problem, not ours. Is it so wrong for us to want a moment for ourselves? I wanted to talk to you…" he trailed off and stepped back from her slightly. "I'm sorry, I guess I'm being selfish-"

Kristen silenced him by sliding her arms back around his neck and pulling him close to her. She whispered against his mask-concealed cheek, "It's not selfish of you…and I wanted to tell you anyway. I don't care about your condition. I was shocked, is all. And…" she blushed and cleared her throat nervously, "and if you still want me, if you ever did, I-"

"Of course I do!" He said loudly, causing the couple next to them to glance over.

Kristen felt herself beaming despite her best efforts. She had never been so embarrassed and so ecstatic at the same time. The smile still broad across her mouth, she buried her head against his chest and clutched his arm with one hand, the other draped around his neck. They swayed to the music together, neither really caring to get the steps right. After a moment, Remus wrapped his arms protectively around her waist, holding her tight as if she was the only thing keeping his balance.

Dumbledore's voice abruptly cut through the unruffled atmosphere, announcing, "Students, it is now midnight and time for the unmasking to begin. I ask that you do so without any shouting or obscenities of any kind, please. This is meant to be an enjoyable event."

There was a long moment of silence until students began shuffling their feet and a few of them unmasked. Kristen noticed out of her peripheral vision that Sirius Black was one of those students, while he unceremoniously flung his mask off to the side while simultaneously pulling at Selene's. Remus chuckled beside her at the display and pulled his mask off. Kristen followed suit and their eyes met, causing Kristen to realize that it did not matter if their whole faces were covered; they could communicate well enough using only their eyes.

That was when the chaos began to surround them. Kristen felt the energy drain out of her as she watched the tension begin to build. Masks were falling to the floor with some mouths quickly following. It was as if a sheet had been lifted and reality descended upon them all at once, only it was a confined reality; not one that anyone had truly desired to return despite all of their protests. Cavillors dancing with Auscultos! They had touched one another and it was - it had been – the confusion drowned out all thoughts and speech only came a few minutes later.

Kristen had feared that there might be automatic physical conflicts and she was slightly uplifted to see that there were not. A few nasty words were exchanged, but for the most part, everyone was in disbelief; it was like having hundreds of deer caught in the headlights. She laughed silently at the image. She felt Remus' hand on her lower back and when she turned to smile at him, he pointed towards the doors.

James and Lily were standing there, close together with flushed faces. Kristen only smirked and was about to make her way over to them when Remus wrapped his arm around her waist to keep her there.

"Let's talk to them tomorrow," he whispered, "They're probably confused." He grinned.

She leaned against him, thrilled that she could. "Does this mean that we're…"

"Involved? I would say so." He squeezed his hand on her waist and when he spoke again his voice was not as confident, "Unless you don't want to be of course…"

"Of course I do!" Again a few people turned to look at them and Kristen blushed. Quietly she added, "I mean – yes I want to be."

"Good, then I can do this,"

"Wha-" she began to ask but her eyes grew large in surprise before sliding shut as his lips molded themselves to hers. She stepped closer and wrapped her arms around him, sighing into his mouth as he deepened the kiss, neither of them wanting to break it but feeling the necessity in order to breathe properly. As she broke away dizzily, she felt arms from behind giving her a tight hug.

"Selene! I'm trying to breathe!"

"Well after a kiss like that, I'd say you need to," Selene pulled away from Kristen, grinning maniacally. "But can't a girl hug one of her best friends?" She paused as Kristen watched her in amusement, clearing believing that she had had too much "punch". "Speaking of which – where's Lily gone off too?"

Kristen turned to look at the doors, wondering that herself, only to notice that Lily and James were no longer there. She turned back to Selene and shrugged.

Sirius was staring around them, noticing that they were really the only happy people around; the rest of the Hall held an air of solemnity and most of the students were slowly filtering out in silence. It was like someone had died and only the four of them had failed to notice. "I think," Sirius said to the other three, "we can probably go back to the Tower now. There's no reason to stay here, everyone probably just needs time."

Selene smiled at him as if he had just said something very profound. As the four of them, all in agreement, made their way out, Sirius suddenly stopped andstared towards the corner where Levent was walking towards two boys, clearly Slytherins, who were still masked and talking quietly to one another.

"Hold that thought," Sirius grunted as he ambled away.

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Thoughts buzzed through Lily's head as she and James walked towards the Heads common room, presumably attached at the hip. She was worried. They had not shared many words since he said – oh what had he said? Had he told her he loved her? She wasn't altogether sure. Had that just been in the moment? She didn't want him to be rethinking this right now, as she was sure he was, and she desperately tried to think of something to say to cut into his thoughts.

She loved him. She knew that now. She loved him and if he would have her back, she was never going to let him go. "James, I-"

"Well, you two look as if you've come from a ball," Aramis called out to them from the portrait of the Three Musketeers.

Lily sighed and nodded, smiling at Aramis. "We did. But I'm a bit tired, if you wouldn't mind letting us through," she replied apologetically.

"Password?" grunted Porthos.

James spoke the word softly and the portrait swung forward and allowed them into the Heads common room, where they both stopped and stared into the blazing fire, unsure what to say.

Lily suddenly turned towards him. "I'm sorry James."

He glanced at her and nodded. "I know."

"I don't expect you to be able to forgive me, what I did was – I don't know what I was thinking." She looked down at ground, deflated.

"I said I forgave you, but-" He stopped, staring at her.

"It will take awhile to trust me again, right?"

"Yes," he replied, and they continued to stare at one another.

Lily suddenly walked towards him and pulled him into a hug, just wanting to feel him against her. "Take all of the time you need James, I don't deserve you and I never did. But hopefully – one day I will." She felt her skin tingling at the contact between them. She had never been so aware of his presence, at least not in its entirety.

"I think the masquerade worked brilliantly," his voice tickled her neck. "They'll have the Christmas holidays to think it over, and I think when we get back, things will slowly be different…" He smiled, pulling her tighter against him. "It was a brilliant idea, Lily."

"I hope you're right," she said, pulling back to look into his dark eyes. Suddenly she felt very tired. "Goodnight, James," she said, leaning over to kiss him softly on the cheek, feeling as if she wanted nothing more than to pull him into a better kiss. But she respected the fact that she should give him time. She was so very lucky that he was giving her another chance in the first place.

He watched silently, a little disappointed, as she pulled away from him, their eyes still attached, and walked slowly into her room.

"Goodnight, Lily," he replied quietly.

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James awoke the next morning yawning. He ruffled his hair and slid out of bed, grunting at the sudden loss of heat. Glancing into the mirror, he noticed the dark circles under his eyes and shook his head. When had he ever been a worrier? Since when did he stop and think about things? Not only was he a Cavillor, he was a Marauder. He thought he had set out to teach Lily how to have a good time, and now look at him.

James sighed and, after pulling on some robes that he was pretty sure were clean, stepped out into the Heads common room. He immediately noticed that Lily's door was still shut and frowned; she was almost always up long before him. He padded towards her room and slowly nudged the door open, peeking inside. His breath caught; she was still sleeping. She looked so carefree when she was asleep with her dark auburn hair spread across her pillow and the sheets hugging her body tightly. He tried to stop his eyes roaming and noticed that his stomach was growling. As softly as possible, he shut her door and decided that he would wait for her at breakfast.

He was still very tired because he had stayed up late, mostly thinking about Lily. At first he was slightly annoyed over the fact that he had given in to her – forgiven her just like that when it had never been his intention – but that feeling was eventually suppressed by the thought that he had Lily back, as his. She had promised him and he liked to think that Levent had no chance of getting her back now. He snorted. The pretty-boy had never really had her in the first place.

When James arrived at his usual table in the Great Hall, four faces turned towards him.

"Where's Lily?" Kristen asked after glancing behind him to see nobody there.

"Did you wear her out last night?" Selene inquired with a smirk.

James reddened slightly. "Er – no. She just needs rest…"

Selene smiled softly at him. "Don't worry, I'm just teasing. I certainly don't need all the details. At least not right now…"

Sirius turned to her and said with a full mouth, "Not while you have me, right?"

Selene made a mock-disgusted face and handed him a napkin.

He swallowed and smiled, "You know you love me."

Kristen cleared her throat, causing Remus to realize that he had been staring at her, although she hadn't noticed. She was busy fingering the deep red rose in her lap.

"You should ask Sirius why he's in such a good mood," Remus directed at James, just as Peter joined them. "Oh, hello Pete," Remus greeted him with a smile.

"Hullo," he said back, nervously piling food onto his plate.

Remus turned back to James, who swallowed what he had been chewing and glanced suspiciously at his best friend, who was smiling broadly and looking like a dog who expected a treat.

"I punched Levent for you, my old pal. No man messes with my friends and gets away with it. And get this, the one punch landed him in the Hospital Wing." The smirk on his face grew wider.

Selene snorted, "You had too much punch yourself, that's why."

"What?" James exclaimed, his mouth having fallen open. He swallowed and a sinking feeling landed in his stomach. "But – Lily's going to kill me. She'll think I put you up to it and we – damn it, Sirius, we just got back together!" Just as James finished, Lily slipped into the seat beside him, yawning into her hand. "What's that?" she asked, turning to James.

He glanced at her fearfully. "Er – well, you see, Sirius here," he said the name gratingly, "thought it would be a good idea to beat up Levent-"

"Just one punch," Sirius muttered laughingly, biting into a piece of toast.

James, feeling his normal voice leave him, fell silent as Lily's eyes scanned his face. After a long moment, she burst out laughing. "Oh James – your face." She put a hand on his cheek, exactly where she had kissed him the night before. "I'm not mad. Truly…it's a little funny. And in all honesty, I think…even if you had put him up to it I would have no right to be angry at you." Their eyes locked in understanding.

James broke into a nervous grin. Sirius smirked, "See Prongs, I am the know-all extraordinaire man."

Selene, who had been listening to something Kristen was saying, suddenly turned back to Sirius. She scanned his hands and the table in front of him. Then her eyes abruptly flashed and she said to him loudly, "Damn it, Black. I knew you'd forget it!"

Sirius stared at her, looking like a fish with his mouth open.

James laughed mockingly, "Yes Sirius. You sure are."

Lily smiled and found his hand under the table, giving it a squeeze. She wondered what she would do without him during Christmas holiday. They would be leaving for home the next morning, after all. Which reminded her that she still hadn't packed…

The sudden whizzing of owls around their heads announced that the mail had arrived. A letter fell in front of James and he only stared at it, causing the other six at the table to stare at him.

"Why don't you open it?" Peter asked, and Sirius nodded.

James sighed, knowing it was from his parents, and began to read, holding it away from everyone so that only he could see it. After a moment, he looked up.

"I can't go home during break," he muttered, fitting the letter back into its envelope and stuffing it into his robes. "They're going into hiding."

"Is this about that Daily Prophet article a few days ago?" Sirius asked. "The one about the big-name aurors being targeted?"

James shrugged. "I suppose so." He appeared very dejected, more worried if anything. "I guess that means we're both staying here, mate." He said to Sirius.

"What?" Lily inquired, confused.

"Oh – er – Sirius moved in with my family last summer. He's been living with us since then."

"Why-"

"No matter," Sirius waved the question away.

Lily, after a long moment of silence between the seven students, spoke softly. "James, I suppose – well maybe you could come stay with me during holiday." Everyone stared at her. She didn't notice, as she was looking at James questioningly. "Unless you wouldn't want to, of course."

"Would your parents mind?"

"Well – I'd have to ask, but – I don't think so." Her eyes were pleading with him and he suddenly nodded, grinning at her.

"That would be great." But then his grin faded and he turned to Sirius. "But I-"

Sirius held up a hand. "Don't worry about it, mate. I can stay here alone. Besides, rumor has it that both Snape and Malfoy are staying during break, so I can have a bit of fun…"

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After breakfast, Lily went to the owlery and quickly sent a note to her parents, hoping that they wouldn't be busy and could reply to her soon, otherwise she might have to just show up with James. As awkward as she realized it might be, she was really attracted to the idea of being able to spend time with James – time that would be unobstructed by homework, Head duties, and especially Levent.

As the name crossed her mind, she realized that she was close to the hospital wing and she really needed to talk to Levent. As much as she was dreading it, she needed to make sure Levent understood that whatever had happened between them was completely finished. She owed that much to James – and to Levent.

Lily walked into the hospital wing staring about her and noticed that Madame Pomfrey wasn't around. She sighed in relief and spotted Levent in a bed near the window, his blonde hair framing a face that looked very pale against the pillow – except for the giant bruise around his left eye.

She winced and tip-toed over to his bed, thinking he was asleep. But about a foot away, his eyes slid open and he looked over at her. He smiled softly, almost regretfully at her, as if he already knew why she was there. She immediately felt guilty and stood there shifting her feet.

"You never cared for me," Levent said, his voice slightly raspy from being in the hospital wing all day with no company.

"That's not true- I mean, I cared about you."

He nodded, tearing his eyes away from her face. "Perhaps. But you were only confused. I respect that, I should never have – you'll have to forgive me."

She stepped closer and he sat up in the bed. "I do, and you'll have to forgive me. I've been horrible to both of you."

"No, not to me." He smiled. "You were wonderful to me, always. I've never met someone so kind."

"Surely you have," she protested, "I'm not very kind, at least I haven't been lately. I've been selfish…"

Levent smiled. "Maybe, but so have I. James cares about you, I can tell and you know it, and I should never have stepped in between. In fact, I can't really remember why I ever did – Ow!" He suddenly rubbed his head.

She leaned forward and put a hand on his arm. "What? Are you okay?"

Madame Pomfrey came bustling in and stopped when she saw Lily. "Who gave you permission to be in here? My, you students just love bothering my patients."

"She's not bothering me," Levent protested, but Madame Pomfrey was already fussing over him, handing him a potion to drink.

"It's alright, I need to be going anyway." Lily said, giving Levent a grateful look before she turned to leave.

"Oh, and Lily?" Levent called after her.

She turned around. "Yes?"

"I can't remember much, maybe it's because of the punch, but I needed to tell you something, I just – can't remember." His forehead wrinkled in thought and then smoothed over again as he remembered. Then he frowned. "Oh yeah – stay away from Malfoy and Snape, okay?"

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That evening, Lily sat on the floor in front of the Gryffindor common room fire, her back resting against the couch where James sat behind her. Their friends surrounded them, talking quietly. The atmosphere around them was strained – it had been since the masquerade ball. Lily hoped that after the holidays everyone would be more likely to mingle. Right now, the groups were still segregating themselves, but everything was subdued; she could see in their faces that they were thinking things over.

Sirius suddenly spoke from his place on the couch between James and Selene. "D'you suppose Voldemort is really after your parents, mate?" he spoke quietly, facing James.

James shrugged, his eyes partly covered by his messy hair. He twisted his hands in his lap. "I dunno. Probably. We've always been vocal about…things. He was bound to dislike us, especially if the Malfoys are in league with him – they've always hated us."

"But that article – do you think he's after all of the top aurors?"

James shrugged again and finally turned to face Sirius, "Honestly, Padfoot, I think he's after everyone who disagrees with him. And I'd really rather not dwell on it."

Sirius made a face. "Not exactly the talkative and carefree Marauder you were this summer, eh?"

James sighed. "Are you?"

"Of course I am! I was only trying to get you to say something, maybe stop thinking about your parents going into hiding."

James snorted, and then laughed at his friend. "Great way to go about it mate."

Sirius grinned. "I told you, I know everything."

Suddenly, a younger girl tentatively stepped in front of Lily, blocking her view of the fire. "Er," she said, "an owl just tapped on the window and I tied this off his leg – it's for you." She handed Lily a small envelope.

Lily took it and smiled. "Thanks, Susan."

The girl left, smiling at the use of her name.

Lily quickly unfolded the letter and perused it. James leaned over her head from his spot on the couch and tried to read, but she was already folding it up again. She suddenly got on her knees and twisted around so that she could look at him. She grinned, "They said it's fine if you stay with us."

James smiled at her. "In that case, I'd better go pack. Er – I think I'm going to stay in the Tower tonight."

Lily nodded, "Me too. I have a few last minute things to pack in here anyway."

As they got up from their seats, the rest of their friends followed, stretching and walking towards the stairs. At the bottom of the boys' staircase, Lily smiled when James turned back towards her. "G'night, James," she said softly and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek.

He stared at her, saying, "Goodnight Lily," as she made her way up to the girls' dorm.

Lily climbed the stairs quickly, feeling Kristen and Selene follow her. When all three were inside the dorm, Selene shut the door.

"You could cut the tension with a knife."

Lily frowned as she stuffed a few things into her trunk. "I'm just trying to stay back and take it slow. It's my fault he doesn't trust me, after all."

"Have you not noticed the way he watches you? I mean, he's always done it, but – I think your small act of seduction really worked."

Lily grunted. "Yeah, right. I felt so un-sexy it's not even funny. I think he seduced me more that I did him. Speaking of which, I have clothes to give back to you."

Selene waved a hand, "No, keep them." She smirked. "You might need them over the holidays."

"Uh, in my house, with my parents there…I don't think so."

Selene shrugged. "Why not? That just makes things more exciting." She paused. "Why can't you kiss him – I mean, it doesn't have to be a makeout session but the cheek thing is pathetic. It's not your first kiss or anything."

Kristen cut in after setting her rose inside her trunk. "Well I'm very proud of Lily for thinking this over."

Selene turned towards Kristen. "Speaking of you-"

"Oh no you don't," Kristen cut her off, laughing. She crawled into her bed and tried to pull the covers over herself, but Selene was too quick.

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The next morning, the three girls made their way downstairs. Lily suddenly noted that only she and Kristen were carrying trunks, and Selene was grinning happily between them.

"Er – Selene? Why have you not packed?" Lily asked, trying to shift her trunk into a more manageable position.

"Packed? Why, because I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying here."

"But-"

They reached the bottom of the stairs and found the four boys sitting there, waiting for them.

"What's that?" Sirius asked, walking up to Selene with a smile. "Hey – where's your trunk? I was going to be a gentleman and help you with it."

Selene continued to smirk. "You have two whole weeks to be a gentleman. I'm staying here, with you."

Sirius' eyes widened, and then his lips curled into a smile. "I see. Well that's certainly an interesting new development."

Peter shook his head from where he was still sitting on the couch. "Oh boy."

Thinking by the way they were looking at one another, Lily was not likely to see either Kristen or Remus on the train, she walked over to Kristen and said softly, "Thanks for everything."

Kristen smiled shyly. "I'm sorry if I was a bit pushy at times. I know I can be annoying."

"You're my friend and I like that you can be pushy." Lily pulled Kristen into a hug.

Selene came over and exclaimed, "What's this? A hug without me?"

Lily grinned and made a move to hug Selene, but she moved back.

"Not until you promise to tell me all about your holiday with James." Selene raised her eyebrows suggestively as Lily glanced at James, who was grinning, and back to Selene.

Kristen drew them both into a hug. "I'm glad to have such…normal friends," she coughed.

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Lily smiled at James as he helped her onto the train. She had lost Kristen amidst the crowd of students stumbling to stow their luggage and find a compartment, but she was sure Kristen was with Remus and not alone.

Lily's thoughts came to an abrupt end as she ran into a hard object. "Ow." And it just happened to be one of her least favorite people.

"Watch where you're going, mudblood. I wouldn't want you to bleed on me," Lucius Malfoy hissed in her face, while Snape stared out from the shadow behind him.

James made a move towards Malfoy but Lily grabbed his arm. "No, it's not worth it, James."

Malfoy laughed coolly. "You'll be singing a different tune soon. Watch yourself, Evans."

"What are you on about, Malfoy?" James sneered. "Trying to be sneaky and cruel again?"

Malfoy turned his icy blue gaze to James. "I'm sure you'd love to know, Potter. But you should watch yourself too. The Dark Lord doesn't take well to blood traitors. And there's nothing you can do about your little girlfriend."

With one last smirk, he spun around and disappeared into an adjacent compartment.

"Oh, of all the lowly-" Lily growled, "I hate him," she curled her fingers tighter around James' arm and tugged him in the opposite direction, although he was staring after Malfoy and Snape as if he wanted to go after them. Reluctantly, he followed her.

They found an empty compartment and Lily smiled at that bit of good luck. As she sat down, she informed James,

"My parents can't pick us up at the station, so we'll need to take a cab to my house."

"Er – a muggle cab? But-"

Lily grinned. "Don't worry James. I'll take care of it."

He frowned, but finally began to look content as she settled against him, kissing his jawbone. It was the most physical content they had had since getting back together, she realized. She very much wanted more, but she wondered if he felt the same. Her doubts were silenced as he lowered his head and pressed his lips against hers, a jolt as the train began to move pressing them more firmly together.

He marveled at the way their bodies molded together so well as his hand wandered to her waist. James began to realize that although she had been holding back, she seemed to be much more open to him since they got back together. She no longer pulled away when his hands wandered. In fact, she encouraged it. Just then, her hand covered his and moved it a tad lower, so that it was on her upper thigh. She moved closer to him, but before she could get situated, her mouth left his and they both looked towards the door, where Remus and Kristen were standing.

Lily, her face flushed, said to Kristen, "I figured I wouldn't be seeing you again, it's so crowded…"

"Er – the rest of the train's full. I'm not sure where Peter disappeared to either," Remus said apologetically, glancing between Lily and James.

It seemed that all four of them blushed, but at long last, they were all sitting down contentedly. Lily removed herself to James' side, entwining his hand simply in hers. Kristen and Remus sat opposite them, close enough for their arms to touch. Kristen shot Remus a grin and the werewolf looked at the Head Boy and Girl. "Up for a game of exploding snap?"

♥♣♠♥♣♠♥♣♠

As promised, Lily took care of the cab situation and before long, Lily and James were standing on the doorstep in front of her home. She glanced up and sighed. It was a clear night and she had always loved the stars; they were calming. Taking a deep breath, sherang the doorbell. James jumped at the sound and turned to stare at her, bewildered. The door swung open to reveal a red-haired man with dark eyes that were at once comforting and intimidating. He beamed at Lily, and then his gaze fixed on James' fingers, which were curled protectively around Lily's waist. James dropped his arm quickly, awkwardly smiling. Lily glanced sideways at him and then looked back at her dad. She broke out into a large grin as he engulfed her in a hug.

Mrs. Evans appeared in the side of the doorway, her green eyes sparkling at her husband and youngest daughter. "Well – I would like a hug too, if you please."

Lily broke away from her dad and put her arms around her mother. "Mum – I have a lot to tell you!"

Lily's dad had fixed his gaze on James, who was standing with his hands in his pocket, looking like he was trying not to stare and instead was very interested in the leafless plant next to the front steps.

Mr. Evans turned to his wife and said in his deep voice, "You didn't tell me Lily was bringing someone along."

All eyes turned to James, who looked startled and tried to smile politely. Lily, sensing his discomfort, grasped his sleeve and pulled him inside, brushing a bit of snow off his shoulder.

Lily's mum smiled softly at her husband. "Must have slipped my mind – much like you and the orange juice I asked you to pick up."

Mr. Evans, startled, opened his mouth to respond, but thought better of it as his wife ushered the two seventeen-year-olds into the living room.

Lily turned to her parents and gestured towards James as she said, "This is James Potter. He's er – he's Head Boy." She might have described him as something different, if doubt had not resurfaced in her mind. These last few days had not been eventless between them and she wasn't sure how far their reconciliation went.

Their eyes met and he seemed to understand. James extended his hand and though sill looking a bit peaky, said steadily enough, "It's very nice to meet you, and I really do appreciate you allowing me to stay here."

Mr. Evans shook his hand and smiled, while Mrs. Evans said, "Dear, it's no trouble at all, especially with the trouble regarding your parents – I'm so sorry about that."

"What's this?" Mr. Evans was gazing steadily at James.

Lily spoke up, "Dad, let's not talk about it right now, I'm still quite cold and I'm willing to bet James is as well."

Her dad glanced between Lily and James carefully and after taking a deep breath, nodded. "Well, let's get you warmed up then. We have a whole holiday break to spend talking."

Lily heard James swallow loudly at her side and she grasped his hand and squeezed it.

After a few minutes in front of the fire, Lily left James in the living room with her father and went to find her mum in the kitchen. She wanted to see if she could help with dinner and make sure her mum was okay with the fact that Lily had left the minor detail of her friend being a boy out of her letter.

Smiling to herself, Lily walked into the kitchen and spotted her mum chopping some onions, her eyes watery. When she saw Lily, she dropped the knife and turned towards her, dabbing at her eyes with the dish towel.

"Oh Lily – he's really handsome. And I can tell you two are close…are you sure you're just friends?"

Lily avoided the question and frowned, "You mean you're not mad that I didn't tell you I was bringing a boy home?"

Mrs. Evans chuckled. "You said he was 'a friend in need'. Boy or not, how could I refuse? Besides, I was beginning to wonder why my daughter hasn't been writing me many letters lately…"

Lily sighed and sat down at the kitchen table, her mother quickly joining her. She smiled at the flour in her mum's dark brown hair; she tended to be a bit of a messy person. "Well – James and I have been trying to get the school back together. You remember how I told you about the Cavillors and Auscultos?"

"Er – yes – you did mention something…"

"Well that's what I've been really busy doing."

Mr. Evans suddenly walked into the kitchen, James following him warily but with a small smile on his face.

Mr. Evans grinned at his wife. "James was just explaining to me the game of Quidditch."

After dinner that evening, Lily showed James to the guestroom, which was down the hall from her bedroom and her parents' room. She flipped the light switch on and he smiled. "I like electricity."

"James-"

He turned back towards her.

"I'm sorry about the train. I didn't mean to err-"

He said nothing, and she fell silent, knowing that he knew what she meant. She figured he had probably only been obliging her insistence that they do more than snog on the cheek. He certainly had not given her much encouragement to snog; he was still acting distant. She sighed, hoping that he wouldn't take forever to trust her again.

She took a step forward and reached up to kiss him on the cheek while whispering her goodnight. But he moved his head to the side and their lips met instead. Lily felt herself melting against his body and James' hands moved around her waist to keep her steady. Lily reached her hands into his hair, loving how it fell over her fingers messily. He deepened the kiss and she responded eagerly, abruptly wondering when he had pressed her back against the wall but not caring.

"James…" she whispered against his lips, before deepening the kiss again. There were footsteps on the stairs. With a groan, Lily pulled back, softly pushing James away from her and straightening her hair.

"Why can't your parents know?" James whispered, slightly annoyed.

"It's not that, I just don't want my dad to witness us making out. And I doubt they would have let you come had they known that we were-"

"That we were what?" He insisted, but her answer was cut off by Lily's mother and father stopping in front of the open door.

"Is everything okay for you, James?" Mrs. Evans asked kindly while looking from Lily to James.

"It's very nice, Mrs. Evans. And again, thanks very much for letting me stay here, I really appreciate it."

Mr. Evans smiled at his daughter. "Lily normally has good taste in her friends, at least better than her sister Petunia-"

"Where is Petunia, anyway?"

"Oh, your father didn't mention? Petunia is coming home tomorrow with her fiancé, Vernon Dursley."

♥♣♠♥♣♠♥♣♠

Selene was thrilled to have Sirius all to herself. Between everything going on and schoolwork (though she generally tried to avoid that), they hadn't been able to spend much time together. She enjoyed Sirius, she really did. Not only was he dead sexy, he had the same sense of humor that she did, and that was hard to come by.

Sirius, as if reading her thoughts, slipped into the spot beside her on the couch, leaning over to brush her long black hair out of her face. "You are the most attractive woman ever," Sirius said with a large grin on his face.

Selene rolled her eyes. "You're just trying to get me to willingly take my robes off, aren't you?"

Sirius shrugged. "Hey – I never asked for that. I am a man of mystery, anyway. I never reveal my intentions."

"Hmm…well I am not a woman who gives in easily, so you'll have to work for my attentions." Selene smirked at him.

Sirius' smile left, "What do you mean by that?"

"I'm not really sure," Selene admitted. "But I was thinking – we should have a prank war."

"A what?"

"A – prank – war. You know, with pranks?"

Sirius shook his head at her, "I'm not stupid, I know what that is…but are you sure you're up to it? I mean, I am the master of pranks after all. Even better than James."

"That's what you think."

"Oh really? Well then, you're on. When do we begin?"

Selene smiled, leaning closer to him to kiss just left of his mouth. "Tomorrow morning." She kissed carefully on the right side of his mouth and then pulled away, still smiling. Sirius put his hands on her shoulders and pulled down on them so that he could kiss her properly.

"I love you and your crazy ideas," he mumbled against her lips.

"I know," she whispered back, sighing as she wrapped her arms around him. He was like a big, Cavillor teddy bear. How could she have ever resisted?

♥♣♠♥♣♠♥♣♠

When James woke up the next morning, it took him several moments before he realized why he was surrounded by creamy white walls and red sheets. Oh yeah, Lily's house. He smiled at the thought of her. He suddenly wondered what she had worn to bed. Certainly not that – No, I will not think of that now. Not in her house, with her parents…

When he did find Lily, she was wearing flannel pants and a t-shirt, to both his dismay and relief. He sat down with her at the kitchen table, smiling when she looked up at him. She smiled back and handed him the plate of pancakes.

"Where are your parents?" He asked.

"In the other room decorating the Christmas tree. Seeing as how we've already done that once this year, I decided to eat instead. I thought maybe we'd go outside after breakfast."

James glanced out the window and realized for the first time that morning that it had snowed, and quite a bit too. His mood lifted considerably, he replied, "That's a wonderful idea." He ate his pancakes quickly, not leaving room for much breathing, all the while staring at Lily over his fork.

Eventually she looked up at him, "You don't have to eat so fast, you know. We have time." She laughed at him.

He stared at her. "Oh – right. I'm just so used to trying to eat fast before classes."

She nodded, feeling the slight tension between them. Last night had gone partly unresolved, as she had disappeared into her room after her mother told her about Petunia coming that day – thankfully not until dinnertime. She and Petunia, to say the least, did not get along. She didn't want James to be exposed to all that, but there was no way around it now.

After he had drained his glass of orange juice, Lily tugged on his sleeve and walked towards the stairs. "I'll meet you down here after I get dressed." He nodded and followed her up the stairs and into his room, where he rummaged through his trunk for something to wear in the snow. He felt he should probably wear Muggle clothes, since he was staying with Muggles and Lily hadn't been wearing her robes.

After finding something suitable, he made his way downstairs and found that Lily was waiting for him in the kitchen. She grabbed his gloved hand and pulled him out into the backyard, which he had not seen in the daylight yet. He smiled at the snow crunching under his boots and she looked back at him.

"You're looking very sharp in those clothes."

He grinned at her, "Am I?"

"Yes," she paused, her hands behind her back. "But I think you'd look better with a bit of snow on them." And with that, she threw the snowball she had been holding behind her back at his chest and fled, causing him to chase after her.

They began a game of running about and hiding behind trees, getting in a throw every once in a while but mostly missing. Eventually, he caught up to her and pulled her down onto the ground, breathing heavily.

She smiled at him, dropping the snow ball in her hand. "Alright, I admit defeat, but only for today."

"Aha!" He smirked at her.

"On one condition."

"Which is?"

"Oh, just that I get to snog you." And she pushed him back into the snow, moving her body halfway on top of his and lowering her mouth to his. "Is that condition fair?"

"I would say so," he mumbled, moving his head up just enough for their lips to meet. She moved so that she was lying fully on top of him and deepened the kiss as he had the night before. They snogged with abandon, not caring or thinking about anything that had happened at school since their seventh year had started. They were so engrossed in one another that they failed to hear Mr. Evans as he came out the back door.

"Anyone want some hot choco-"

He broke off as he saw them lying in the snow.

Lily and James broke apart, her face turning red quickly. She felt her body freeze and stared guiltily up at her father.

Mr. Evans paused,a strange expression on his face. "Am I correct in assuming that you two are more than just friends?" His tone was not altogether pleased, but his voice was completely steady.

♥♣♠♥♣♠♥♣♠

As they made their way down to breakfast the next morning, Selene grinned at Sirius and pulled something small out of her robes; a little bottle of lotion. She turned to Sirius and said, "Want some? Your face is kind of dry, and I wouldn't want to be snogging you later if you're scratchy," she scrunched her nose.

Sirius rolled his eyes and took the lotion, rubbing it over his face without thought and thrusting the bottle back into her hands, failing to notice that she was smirking and looking quite content.

They walked into the Great Hall, which only held the few students who had decided to stay at Hogwarts over Christmas. As they passed by the staff table, the potions master, Professor Jenkins, spoke and caused them to halt. "What lovely boxers, Mr. Black," he commented in all seriousness, nodding his head in approval and taking his seat next to McGonagall, who was pursing her lips.

"Wha-"

Sirius looked down and saw that his boxers were outside his robes, instead of underneath where they should be. He turned to Selene, who burst out laughing. And then he turned back to Jenkins in bewilderment – why the hell had he commented?

"Don't worry," Selene whispered in his ear, "I charmed him too."

Looking slightly relieved, Sirius proceeded to walk proudly with his boxers over his robes and seated himself down at their usual table, pulling Selene down next to him. "That was good – but a bit clichéd if you don't mind me saying."

"Well yes, perhaps." She smiled over at him and took a bite of her eggs, "But I still have one over you."

Suddenly she burst out laughing, almost spitting out her eggs.

"What now?" Sirius asked suspiciously, glancing down at himself.

"Oh, nothing," she replied, trying to hold back her laughter as she sipped her juice. "I just thought of something…"

He continued to squint suspiciously at her throughout breakfast, and was still watching her when they left the Great Hall awhile later. He had to think of a prank quickly – he had meant to last night.

Breaking his thoughts, one of the portraits they passed suddenly said, "Nice moose-tache, Mr. Black." He stared at the portrait as if it had gone crazy.

Selene pulled the bottle of lotion out from her robes and laughed loudly, "Form-changing lotion. Got it from the same catalogue as my dress robes."

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A/N: I'm in an exceptionally good mood. Why, you ask? Not because I have someone to spend Valentine's Day with lol (I wish I did!)…and damn, I have to find a date for prom too. But Happy Valentine's Day to all of you who do have a valentine (and those who don't – free candy anyways!) But, I'm in a good mood because my parents and my little brother and sister have left until next Sunday and I have the house to myself. It's certainly not the first time they've left me alone, but it's the first time since I've had my license and can go anywhere I want.

On a different note, I'm really very very (as usual) sorry that it has been taking me so long to update. I really am very busy, and I mean that. I'll forget to eat sometimes because I'm so busy. There aren't enough hours in the day to do all of the reading and studying I need to for these classes I'm taking (Argh! I'm such an idiot for signing up for all these college-credit courses, but hopefully I'll thank myself when I do go to college), and pile going to work on top of that (car insurance is so expensive! And regular car payments, and gas, and my cell phone…) and…let's just say I don't really sleep anymore. Thankfully I only look like a living zombie on some days lol.

Anyway, I know it's not really an excuse, but I sincerely apologize for keeping you all waiting. I'm sure many of you have given up completely, but that's totally my fault. I WILL finish this story. I am not dead, I do not plan on dying for a long time (lol), and you need not plan my funeral anytime soon. So if I don't update it's because I'm really overwhelmed, as I usually am, but I AM writing. I actually started this chapter a long time ago in one of my random writing notebooks that I just scribble parts of chapters in. But yes, the majority of it I wrote today. Okay, I had better go because I still have a large stack of homework (mostly reading boring chapters for biology and Hemingway – enough said) waiting for me on the counter downstairs. I love you all for reading!

I promise I'll put review replies back up next chapter – for both chapters! I just have no more time left today if I want to go to sleep after doing my homework lol. Oh yes, and the count:

Ausculto: 61

Cavillor: 69

Undecided: 18

Slytherin: 6

You all are so so great to me, the reviews always make my day. I just wanted to thank all of you as a whole before I write the replies next time.

Emily