"Everything's Okay Again"

"May I cut in?" James asked as politely as he could. Snape looked bewildered, as did Lily.

"Potter..." Snape growled, not letting go of Lily.

"Please," James said shortly. Snape looked at Lily, who looked at him back expectantly.

"Fine," Snape grumbled. "Fine,"

James replaced Snape and took Lily in his arms.

"What are you doing?" she hissed. "I didn't want to make a scene in front of Severus but..."

"I just wanted to let you know, that even though you think it's over between us...I'm not giving up." James told him.

Lily sighed. "James, please, don't make this any harder..."

"I'm telling you Lily. I'm not giving you up. Not now. Not ever." James said firmly. He looked her in the eye, and Lily knew he meant every word he had just said.

"Why?" she asked. "Why?"

"Because I love you too damn much to give up now." James said simply. "And I know, that somewhere in your heart...you love me too."

The song ended, and James headed back to the table where Sirius, Remus, and Peter were seated, leaving behind a very dumbstruck Lily Evans.

The Ball ended shortly after at around midnight, much to the dismay of many.

Matilda yawned as she entered the girl's dormitory. Lily and Felicia were already there.

"What a great night," she mumbled happily. "It went better than I expected it to be,"

"Hmm," Lily couldn't agree.

As Matilda mumbled on about how wonderful it had been, Lily lost herself in her own feelings and thoughts. The Yule Ball hadn't been horrible; no, but it wasn't spectacular either. Her last interaction with James had made her think twice. Did she love him? Had she ever loved him?

Lily shook her head almost violently. Of course she had loved him...somehow, he managed to charm her, and she had indeed, like so many other girls, ended up falling for James Potter. But what about now? Had she ever fallen out of love with him?

James said he wouldn't give up...and Lily knew he wouldn't. James was presistent, determined...but what if one day, he did give up. Would that make her happy? Or, would it just make her feel miserable all over again?

"Are you okay, Lily? You're talking to yourself," Felicia asked her worried.

"I'm fine. I'm just, thinking about something." Lily said, suddenly feeling apologetic for not listening to Matilda. Glancing over at Matilda, Lily saw that she had collapsed onto her bed.

"Did Severus walk you back?" Felicia asked.

"He did, actually. Severus is very charming...I wish more people would realize that," Lily said sadly. "He's a wonderful person,"

"It's sad, it is. How was James this evening?" Felicia asked, pressing on the issue she was eager to discuss. Lily immediately felt defensive.

"I don't know," she said sharply. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh nothing," Felicia said innocently. "It's just you two seemed to have a lot to talk about during the Opening Dance. And during the dance James cut in on..."

"Oh, we were just admiring the decorations. That's all," Lily said quickly. Felicia looked unconvinced.

"Come on, Lily. You might as well stop the act; you miss him."

"I don't miss James. No one can miss James. He's like this annoying little fly that never leaves you alone..."

"He loves you, you know," Felicia told her. "The way he looks at you...the way he holds you..."

"James Potter doesn't know how to love." Lily scoffed. "The only person he loves is himself."

"Lily, you may be the smartest witch in our year... but when it comes to love, you're just plain stupid," Felicia said, before walking into the bathroom.

Another day passed, and then another. And soon, the winter holiday was over. Classes resumed and everything returned to normal; well, almost.

James and Lily had not spoken since the night of the Ball. They weren't avoiding each other, no, they were simply too busy with their classes, friends, homework, and preparing for their N.E.W.T.s.

Occasionally, James would watch Lily in class. It was fairly easy, and Lily hardly ever noticed, since she was too preoccupied with her work. Lily always sat in the front row, and he would watch her copy her notes and pay close attention to Professor McGonagall, or Professor Flitwick.

But in Potions, Lily would sit in the backrow, hoping not to be called on as an experiment from Professor Wilts.

His assignment done, James took out a spare piece of parchment and started doodling. The letters L.E. quickly found their way onto the parchment, and James stole a glance at Lily, who was still working intently on her paper, frowning as she wrote.

"That will be all today. If you did not finish your paper, finish it tonight. I will be collecting it tomorrow!" Professor Wilts called as the class rushed out of the classroom.

Standing up and collecting his things, James kept a close watch on Lily, careful to not make it seem obvious. Lily remained seated, still frowning at her paper. She bit her lip again, then wrote something down. Reading it again, she frowned almost sadly, and erased the bit she had just written.

The classroom was nearly empty. Except for Lily, who was still focused on her paper, and James, who was watching her.

"Need some help?" James asked gently. Lily looked up for the first time.

"Huh?" Lily asked, unaware that class had ended.

"Class is over," James said lightly. Lily looked around, and sure enough, the class had ended.

"Oh!" Lily cried. "I'm sorry. I've just been so stressed and I can't write this essay and..." Lily caught herself before she could continue. "Thank you,"

"Anytime," James said, trying to sound casual. This was their first conversation since the night of the Ball, and he wasn't about to ruin it.

"I really should get going. I have Ancient Runes next..." Lily stood up.

"I know," James said simply. "Can I walk you to class?"

"Err, no. I don't think that's such a good idea," Lily confessed. "Bye James," Lily said quietly as she left the classroom.

James rubbed his eyes and yawned widely. It was nearly 1 AM in the morning, and he had just returned from the library, exhausted from his homework. Entering the Gryffindor common room, he didn't expect anyone to still be awake. How wrong he was.

A head lay on the table closest to the fire. Flaming red hair lay rested on deserted parchment. A quill was in her hand. James smiled to herself. He didn't want to disturb her; Lily looked angelic. So innocent. So pure.

"Lily," he shook her softly, gently.

Lily groaned, but didn't wake up.

"Lily," James tried again.

"Another minute, Mum," Lily whined.

"Lily," James laughed, shaking her harder. Lily's head popped up.

"Oh! James!" Lily cried. "What are you doing in my room!"

"You're not in your room. Your at Hogwarts...Gryffindor Common Room..." James reminded her.

Lily looked confused for a moment, then looked down at her long piece of parchment and the quill in her hand. The 3 books in the corner lay open.

"Oh, James," Lily ran her hand through her thick red hair, making it even messier, "I'm sorry. I'm just so tired. And I just...I can't concentrate." Lily felt like she was going to cry.

Although James too was extremely tired, he wanted to cheer Lily up a bit. What was so demanding that would tear Lily's concentration away from her studies? A sudden reason formed in James's head, but he quickly chased it away.

James peered over at her parchment and saw that she was still working on the Potions essay she had been having trouble with in class.

"You need help?" James asked. Lily blushed and snatched her Potions essay away from James's prying eyes.

"No," she stuttered. "I'm nearly finished. I just dozed off..."

"Come on Lily. Head up to bed...you're going to need your sleep. Finish it in the morning,"

"Finish it in the morning?" Lily looked scandalized. "I couldn't...I would never get a good night's sleep if the homework wasn't complete. Honestly James, just head up to bed...I'll go to sleep as soon as I finish all my assignments," Lily promised.

James looked doubtful; among the books, he also saw that Lily hadn't completed the Transfiguration homework either or her Ancient Runes essay.

"Give me your potions essay," James requested. Lily, too tired to argue, handed it over. James read over it.

"For one thing, you could elaborate a bit more about the ingredients. The dragon's tail can also be used for the Remedy Potion, which explains why it's a successful ingredient for the Mare's Potion." James explained.

Lily looked at him for a moment. Then grabbing her quill, she copied down the information James had just explained.

"Now, the rat's tail..."

Lily did get some sleep that night; which allowed her have the energy for another day of classes. Lily caught James right before he entered transfiguration.

"Thank you, James," she said, meeting his eye.

"What for?"

"For helping me with my homework last night. I know I never would have finished without your help..."

"Well then, your welcome," James said shyly. He smiled at her. "I was happy to,"

Lily just smiled back and walked into the classroom.

Authors Note:

So, I have made a return! School is out for the summer and I have suddenly found myself with a lot more time! I read my story from the beginning last night, and I realized how many "inaccurate" things I have written....things I said happened in beginning chapters but didn't happen in later chapters....I apologize.

I should have planned it out more carefully, but this is my first real successful story. So, please bear with me...

Thank you all so much for your constant support and reviews! Thanks!