Hi everyone! Here's another multichapter story I've come up with. Hope you enjoy it! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 1 – If You Are Lonely

The steam covered platform was filled with students, who stood in front of the scarlet Hogwarts Express, exchanging last minute goodbyes or greeting their parents.

"See you in two weeks, mate," Sirius Black was saying to his best friend James Potter.

"Sorry for not being able to stay with you, Pads," James replied. "I didn't want to go attend this darned wedding in the first place, but I couldn't talk mum and dad out of it."

"It's just fine, Prongs. I need to look over my flat too, and besides, and all of Mum Potter's cooking is fattening me up. Go have fun in there," Sirius said playfully. "Who knows, you might get some pretty birds to see," he added mischievously, despite knowing full well that his friend was going to do nothing of the sort.

"Nah, Lily is good enough to keep my eyes off any other woman for the rest of my life. Hey Lily!" he called to the aforementioned witch, who was talking to her best friend's mother. "Come over and meet my parents."

Lily excused herself from the lady and walked over to the two. She looked very nervous at the prospect of meeting her boyfriend's parents. James steered the two of them to the spot from where Mr. and Mrs. Potter were waving at their son. Mrs. Potter pulled her son into an affectionate hug while Mr. Potter clapped Sirius on the back.

"Mum, dad, this is Lily," James introduced his girlfriend. His mother beamed.

"So you are Lily, my dear. James has told so much about you. I am really glad you two finally got together."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Potter, Mrs. Potter," Lily greeted them shyly.

Mr. Potter, a tall man with messy grey hair, which must have been black in earlier times, smiled down at her.

"So you are the girl whom James has been pining after since eleven," he said, his eyes twinkling. "Nice to meet you. You have got really beautiful hair, by the way."

Lily' cheeks turned pink. "Thank you," she mumbled.

"It's a pity that we have to go to my niece's wedding; otherwise I would have asked you to stay at our place over the holidays. But you must come and stay with us for Easter, dear."

"Thank you, Mrs. Potter. I'd love to," Lily smiled.

"And you," Mrs. Potter turned to Sirius. "Are you perfectly sure you will be all right? You can come with us if you want."

"Oh, mum," Sirius sighed, grinning. "You care too much. I am a big boy now. I will take care of myself."

"Very well, but careful," Mrs. Potter pulled him into a tight hug. "Don't get into trouble."

"Mum!" Sirius feigned hurt. "You know I am the quiet, obedient type. How can I possibly cause trouble? It is beyond my capacity."

Everyone in the little party rolled their eyes at that.

"See you at Hogwarts, then," James said, giving his best friend a brotherly hug and Lily a quick kiss. The three Potters waved and began pushing the trolley out.

"Oi, Moony!" Sirius called to his other best friend, who was standing nearby. "Write to us, okay? You too, Wormtail!"

The said boys nodded and waved, grinning, before walking off with their parents. On cue, Lily and Sirius began walking towards the barrier.

"So, Flower," Sirius grinned at his new best friend. "What are your plans these hols?"

Lily shrugged. "I didn't really want to go home, Sirius. But Petunia is getting married this summer, so mum thought we should get some sisterly bonding done before she goes away to live with Vermin."

"Vermin?" Sirius snorted.

"That's my future brother in law. His real name is Vernon Dursley," Lily grimaced. "He is this big, fat man with no neck and a spectacular moustache. Honestly, he looks like a bloody walrus."

Sirius chuckled. "Sounds like quite a piece of work."

Lily scowled, resembling a thundercloud. "Oh, sure. You wouldn't like to meet him."

"On the contrary, I would like to see this Vernon very much," Sirius said lightly. "He deserves a gift or two from us Marauders. I think a dungbomb or two ought to be more than enough." He looked her in the eyes. "Anyway, Lils, it is clear to me that you didn't want to go home. Why didn't you try to put it off?"

"Oh, I could have put mum off with an excuse, but all of you were leaving, so I didn't try to push it. Who wants to be stuck alone in the castle with a bunch of Slytherins?"

"Aww, Lily Flower, if I had known, I would have stayed back with you," Sirius replied. "Refurnishing the flat was just an excuse to escape boredom and loneliness."

It was true. Sirius could easily have spent Christmas at Hogwarts; in fact, he had been planning to do so. But then James had got an invitation to his cousin's wedding, Remus' parents had planned a holiday trip to the mountains, and Peter simply wanted to spend the holidays with his mother. So, left alone, Sirius had decided to go off to London and decorate (at least try to do so) his new flat, which he had bought with the money his uncle Alphard had left him. He was planning to move in to the apartment after graduating. Maybe Prongs would join him.

"See you, then, Sirius," Lily smiled. "My parents are here."

Sirius nodded. "Have a nice holiday, Lils. Give my love to Petty and Vermin."

He laughed as Lily made a face, and began pushing his trolley outside platform nine and three-quarters. Generally he would be accompanied by James' parents, (his parents had made no effort to communicate with him ever since he ran away in the beginning of his sixth year, and he was rather glad.) but this time he was alone. He sighed, and grabbing hold of his belongings, turned on the spot, only to appear at the doorstep of his flat. He had passed his apparition test last year, so travelling was much easier now.

He opened the door and entered. The first thought that crossed his mind was that he would have done better to stay at school. At least troubling the Slytherins would have been more productive than living alone in this boring apartment. The flat had been furnished to his tastes, but he had failed to add any personal touches to it in the brief visit he had paid it in August. There was a bed and couches and other necessities, as well as a television and a few other muggle contraptions that he was fond of. The walls remained a dull white, and plain dark curtains hung at windows. Groaning, he began dumping his things in his bedroom, preparing himself for the dullest Christmas he had ever spent.

By nightfall, he felt that he would surely die of boredom soon. He had tried talking to James through his mirror, but his best friend had had to run away at his mother's call after a mere ten minutes. He had attempted to watch something on the TV, but neither the soppy romantic movies nor the dull muggle news had roused any interest. Finally, he had taken recluse in bed. After hours of staring at the ceiling, he sat up, and tried to think of a solution. He needed his friends; he desperately needed them. But where were they when you wanted them? James and Remus were off to distant lands, gallivanting away their time. Peter...well... Peter wasn't quite the person with whom Sirius would like to spend his day alone. He went on thinking, all his contemplations coming to naught. Was there no one who could save him?

Suddenly, the image of a girl with flaming red hair and green eyes appeared in his head. Yes, Lily Evans was the perfect person to have fun with. Why, she could even help him with selecting the colours for his walls and taking care of other little details. He remembered the time when James and he were arguing over the colour of the t-shirt they should get Peter for his birthday.

"Red!" Sirius insisted. "It's Gryffindor. Peter will like it."

"Red's too gaudy on Wormtail," James scoffed. "Purple will be better."

"Honestly, James, purple? Ugh!"

Just then, Lily, who was listening in, said, "I think blue would be nice." And then she walked off to her dormitory, smiling slightly.

Both James and Sirius froze for a second, and then turned to each other.

"She is right, you know," Sirius said slowly. "Blue's perfect."

"Absolutely! She is brilliant," James exclaimed.

Back in the present, Sirius jumped up and hurried to his desk, and began writing a letter to Lily. After finishing, he tied it to the leg of his tawny owl.

"Take this to Lily, okay?"

The owl hooted in acknowledgement, and then took flight. Work done, Sirius returned to his bed. All he had to do now was wait for the reply.

Lily did not take long to send her reply. At dinner time, Sirius' owl tapped at his window. He let her in and took the letter attached to its leg.

Dear Sirius, it read,

I'll be happy to join you at Diagon Alley tomorrow. Will ten thirty in the morning do? I will be outside Quality Quidditch Supplies. I am glad you offered to spend the day out with me, actually. It's only one day in Petunia and Vernon's company, but I am already half-mad by now. Can't wait to see you tomorrow.

With love,

Lily.

P.S. Your owl is really funny, rather like you, I think!

Sirius penned down a quick reply agreeing to her terms and sent off his owl with it. He then went to bed, smiling. The next day was much more promising than the one that had just ended.

-o0o-

Sirius hurriedly shoved a piece of toast into his mouth while putting on his jacket. He had spent the last half an hour fending off a rather stubborn salesman who had been incessantly trying to force him to get a 'life insurance' (Merlin knows what that thing is) despite his insistence that he was not interested in the least. Now he was definitely going to be late. Lily would not be pleased; she was a stickler for punctuality. He locked the door of the flat, and turned on the spot, appearing in front of the Leaky Cauldron. He looked at his watch. It was ten thirty five. Thank Merlin; he was only five minutes late. Hopefully Lily won't be too angry.

He tapped the bricks of the wall that led to the entrance of Diagon Alley, his eyes scanning the streets for a glimpse of red hair. He reached the Quality Quidditch Supplies, where a bunch of young boys were ogling the latest model of broomstick. But there was no redhead standing there.

Perhaps she got held up somewhere, he thought nonchalantly.

But as the hands of his watch crossed ten forty five and neared eleven, he began to grow anxious. Where was Lily? Slowly, Sirius began strolling around, trying to locate her somewhere in the crowd. He met nothing unusual, nor anyone he knew, until his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of red in a dark, narrow lane by Eeylops. Puzzled, he turned and squinted into the darkness. Someone lay sprawled in the ground in a corner of the alley. His heartbeat sped up, and he hurried to look at the person. The individual, a female, lay face down, her limbs stuck in an awkward angle. Red hair spread over her back like a coppery cascade. Sirius' spine went cold. Although the person's face wasn't visible, there was no mistaking the striking shade of red hair. His heart hammering in his chest, he turned over the body. It was none other than Lily Evans.

Sirius could feel his head spinning. She couldn't be dead... She must not die...

"Please be alive, Lily. Don't die, please don't die," he prayed fervently as he searched for her heartbeat. He almost cried in relief when he felt the erratic lub-dub of her heart. He brushed her hair back, squinting at her expressionless face.

"Wake up, Lily," he implored, but her head lolled hopelessly in his arms. He needed to get her to a safe place. His frantic brain instantly formed the image of his flat, and he stood up, cradling her frail body, and disapparated to his home.

How's it, then? Tell me. Please review.