From First to Last

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

"One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other."

- Jane Austen

'Ah, Mr Potter!'

James whirled around to catch sight of Professor Slughorn joyfully waddling down the hallway toward him, a pile of papers in one hand and a fat briefcase in the other. 'We're missing lunch,' groaned Sirius under his breath.

'Er, hullo, Professor,' said James slowly, as soon as Slughorn was within earshot. 'Did you, er, want something?'

'James, my boy. How are you doing now?'

James and Sirius exchanged glances; Slughorn had never taken the time to speak to them before.

'I... er... am doing great, sir.'

'Very good, very good. I saw your Quidditch game last week, my boy. Excellent flying skills, I must say. Will was quite right to put you on the team for Gryffindor. Not that I'm taking sides or anything. You know, I would sooner root for my own house, Slytherin.'

'Right, sir, of course.'

'Anyway, I just popped along to give you this.'

Slughorn handed an envelope to James, who looked at it doubtfully.

'It's an invitation to a little end-of-the-year gathering I'm having. Thought it'd be fun to get a chance to see a few of my students off.'

'Ah...'

'I've invited a whole group of students, Gwenog Jones from Ravenclaw, Lucius Malfoy from Slytherin,' Sirius made a face, 'ah and you may invite another person with you. So if you'd like,' added Slughorn, with a wink, 'you can bring a lady friend along.'

And with that, Slughorn waddled away.

Sirius gave a loud bark of laughter as he watched Slughorn's silhouette disappear. 'You hear that, James? Bring a lady friend along. I'm thinking of a particular lady, one with dark red hair and bright green eyes? Ring a bell?' said Sirius teasingly.

'Oh, shut it,' snapped James, sounding irritated as he promptly shoved the invitation into his rucksack.

'Lily! Lily!'

Lily slowed her pace to allow Frank to catch up.

'Where - are - you - rushing - to?' panted Frank, adjusting a strap on his rucksack as he carried it over one shoulder.

Lily shot him an apologetic grin. 'I promised Severus I'd study with him today.' She indicated down the hallway toward the Entrance Hall.

'Oh.'

'What's the matter?'

Frank paused miserably before he answered. 'Potions,' he groaned.

Lily scoffed. 'That's rubbish, Frank, you're doing fine in Potions.'

'Only because you help me with every assignment!'

'But you make the potions fine in class,' pointed out Lily, 'and Professor Slughorn likes you.' The last bit was not entirely true; Lily had only added that in for amusement.

Frank wasn't amused. 'Ha, ha, aren't you hilarious. He calls me Pants, Lily.'

Lily bit back a laugh. 'I'm sure Kalah and Marlene are really sorry for spreading that around?'

Frank rolled his eyes. 'Somehow, I doubt it.' Lily shot Frank another grin; he returned it reluctantly before asking, 'so d'you think I can borrow your Potions essay?'

Lily feigned shock and disbelief. 'And here, I just thought you just wanted some help understanding the material!'

Frank grinned cheekily. 'I do. And you can help me by lending me your essay.'

Lily laughed. 'I would, but Alice is borrowing it; she wanted to check some answers.'

Frank's mouth made an 'o' as he considered this. 'D'you think you can get it from her once she's done? I don't see her in any of my classes. In fact, I haven't spoken to either her or even Kalah in ages!'

Lily snorted. 'That's because you're always huddled up in the library, trying to catch up in one class or another.'

Frank looked scandalized. 'Well, not everyone can be Slughorn's-favourite, Potions-Mistress Lily Evans,' he shot back, looking dignified, 'some of us have to work for our grades!'

'Rubbish,' insisted Lily, a reluctant smile on her face.

They had reached the large, oak front doors now.

'Word's out that Slughorn's having a party.'

'Word's right,' said Lily. 'Slughorn likes his get-togethers,' she added, shaking her head and shooting Frank and exasperated look. 'I don't think he realizes that students don't find them fun.'

Frank laughed. 'Yeah, James isn't too thrilled about it either. He's begging Sirius to go with him just so he doesn't get bored.'

Lily paused. 'Ja - wait, Potter's coming?'

'Yeah, apparently Slughorn's impressed with his flying.'

Lily rolled her eyes. 'Of course.'

'Well, at least you won't be alone now,' said Frank, as though hit by an epiphany. 'Shall I tell James you need someone to go with? I'm sure he won't mind going with y - '

'No!' exclaimed Lily, so loud that the students lounging near the outer walls of the castle glanced over at them. 'Er - I mean, that's - I don't think Potter'd be interested, he'll want to take someone else - hey, Frank! Why don't you come with me instead!' asked Lily hastily.

Frank groaned. 'But if Slughorn's parties are as boring as you say, then - '

'They're not,' insisted Lily. 'They're lovely - fantastic, even. It's just that I've always gone alone. And I've already asked Kalah and Alice and Mary. Marlene's been invited too - her great uncle was once a member of the Chudley Cannons back in their winning days - but she's ditching, she told Professor Slughorn she's got a Charms club meeting. Plus, the others don't want to come - oh, please, Frank?'

'Oh, fine, fine, fine,' said Frank, throwing his hands up in defeat and sounding exasperated as he threw Lily a glance of submission. 'I'll come with you.'

Lily threw her hands in the air in celebration, grinning as they reached the edge of the lake where Severus was waiting, several textbooks propped awkwardly under his arm. 'Thanks, Frank! I'll be brilliant. Professor Slughorn's rather engaging once you get to know him, and perhaps we can get him to stop calling you Pants, hm?'

Frank only mumbled something darkly under his breath.

'Invite anyone for Sluggy's party yet, James?' asked a grinning Sirius as he, James, Remus and Peter headed back to their dormitories after supper that night.

'Oh, would you cut it out, Sirius,' said Remus, sounding both exasperated and annoyed; he slipped a small book out from his back pocket, flipped a page open and promptly began to read.

Sirius glanced back at him, his grin impish-looking. 'Oh, come on, Remus, aren't you the least bit interested in whom our dear friend, James, is taking to a party?'

'If I was such a dear friend,' muttered James, 'one of you would come with me instead, you prats.'

Sirius guffawed with laughter and swung an arm around James' shoulder. 'Ah, but perhaps, we, as your dear friends, wish for you to broaden your horizons - '

'- ask Evans -' interjected Peter.

'- meet people-'

'-ask Evans-'

'- and - er - yeah, ask Evans.'

James looked over at Sirius and Peter darkly; even Remus was smiling slightly and James knew it wasn't due to the hilarity of the book he was presently reading.

'I can't ask Evans, you gits - she'll say no.'

'So?' asked Sirius.

'So, I think I'll save myself the embarrassment, thanks.'

Sirius rolled his eyes and muttered to Peter something that sounded like, 'calls himself a Gryffindor'.

'James?'

A blond-haired girl James knew to be Heathcote Barbary had approached them as they walked through the Entrance Hall to their dormitories.

'Er - evening, Heathcote,' said James, looking rather startled because the two had never before conversed.

'I heard you were looking for someone to take to Slughorn's party,' said Heathcote bluntly. James glared at Sirius, whom in response, shrugged innocently.

Heathcote adjusted the end of her plait. 'I could come with you,' she offered.

James blinked. 'Would you? Yeah, that would be great,' he breathed. 'Since none of these prats want to come along,'

'Great,' said Heathcote, with a toothy grin.

Having initially believed that Heathcote had approached them to offer him her sympathies for his lack of finding an invitee, James felt considerably more cheerful as he headed to the Gryffindor Common Room that night.

The following week, James and Heathcote made their way up the marble staircase toward Slughorn's office. Heathcote, it seemed, was a lot more talkative than James remembered, and spent the walk to the party scene informing him about her little sister, Meg, who had just turned eleven and was coming to Hogwarts in September. Needless to say, James was rather relieved when they reached Slughorn's office.

As he entered the office, which appeared quite large indeed, he noticed that the ceilings and walls were draped with decorations that glowed in the light of the pixies floating high above them. There were streamers adorning the walls and translucent, glowing bubbles floating idly in the air. All through the room, students were lounging and conversing with each other, while eating small sandwiches and toffees from the silver platters carried by the house elves whom were running about.

James caught sight of Dirk Cresswell, Ambrosius Flume and Damocles Belby from Hufflepuff lazing about by the fireplace, toasting marshmallows as Flume told a particularly funny joke. At the other end, a seventh-year, Tiberus McLaggen, was asking a house elf for something stronger than a butterbeer. Momentarily, Lily was in the midst of a conversation with Slughorn, her green cloak shimmering in the pixie light. Beside her, looking rather awkward as he shuffled his feet several times and glanced longingly at the food table, was Frank Longbottom.

James started, his stomach jolting oddly at the sight of the two of them together.

'I remind you of whom?' Slughorn was saying, as he laughed merrily with a hand over his large belly. 'Santa Claws? Who is this fellow?'

Lily giggled in response. 'He's a man that Muggles believe to deliver presents on Christmas Day, sir.'

James decided to greet his friend.

'Oi! Frank!'

Frank, Lily and Slughorn turned their heads to the sound. Frank raised a hand in greeting, while Lily turned back to Slughorn, as though there was nothing particularly interesting to look at.

'James, my boy!' exclaimed Slughorn, opening his arms widely in greeting.

'Evening, Professor,' replied James, and Heathcote slipped away to grab a couple of butterbeers.

'Glad you came, James! Miss Evans,' he said, positioning himself so he was facing both of them. 'Did you see Mr Potter's Quidditch match? You've got a keen eye, you must be able to appreciate talent like that!'

James beamed expectantly at Lily, waiting for the praise that did not come. Lily began to cough violently, and James could have sworn he heard a 'yeah, right,' between each individual cough. Then, she straightened up, announced that she needed a cup of water and dashed off.

James raised an eyebrow at Frank, who shrugged in response, looking confused. Then, feeling more awkward in Lily's absence, he excused himself and darted away quickly.

'Well, well, James, I expect you're rather excited about your upcoming match?' asked Slughorn, as Frank departed. 'Gryffindor's in the final with Hufflepuff, I hear.'

'Yes, Professor,' answered James, failing to hide the pride that was seeping through his voice.

'Pity Slytherin lost the last match against Hufflepuff,' continued Slughorn, as though he hadn't even heard James talk. 'I'm sure my house would be your greatest challenge. Ah, well... There's always next year... Hm... What's that?'

And with that, Slughorn absent-mindedly waddled away.

'Toffee?' squeaked a house-elf, donning a large platter over her head.

'Thanks,' said James, taking a green toffee from the tray and popping it into his mouth. He had become rather fond of the colour green...

The next Saturday, James made his way to the Quidditch pitch early with Remus and Peter (Sirius had decided to sleep in for a bit: 'Damn it, James, it's a Saturday! I'll sleep as long as I bloody well feel like!')

By ten o'clock, both the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff teams had changed, and Sirius, who seemed to have managed to get out of bed, had taken his place at the podium, yawning as an irate Professor McGonagall watched him.

Madam Knight blew the whistle and the game began.

James soared through the air, relishing the feeling of flight on his broomstick. He had not been on his broom for a month, when Filch had confiscated it after what he had done in the trophy room. Instead, he'd had to settle for the awful, slow, Hogwarts brooms. It was because of this that he and Sirius had invested a load of intelligence, skill and perfect timing to retrieve (or steal) James' broom back.

The game began with Hufflepuff in possession of the Quaffle, but James stole it easily from Hufflepuff's Chaser and made the first goal of the game. He could hear the deafening screams of the Gryffindor fans, and looked down quickly to scan the audience.

'Gryffindors leading ten to nothing!' boomed Sirius' voice, and James' head snapped up again, as though Sirius were warning him to keep his attention toward the game

James urged his broom toward the center of the stadium and caught sight of Marlene, who was hovering in one place some feet above him looking slightly nervous. James smiled at her assuredly.

For the last few practices, Will had been giving them their instructions for this particular match. Marlene was to only catch the Snitch when Gryffindors were up by fourty points. Otherwise, it would result in a tie between Gryffindor and Slytherin, and as much as he wanted to crush Slytherin, James was quite eager to end the season and win the Quidditch Cup.

James caught the Quaffle again and passed it to Dorcas, who sent it through the middle hoop almost instantly.

The game continued like this, with Gryffindors scoring goals, and Hufflepuff scoring occasional goals as well.

'Gryffindors leading eighty to thirty!'

James looked up and searched for Marlene; her jaw was set and her eyes were focused, a sign that meant she was going to start looking for the Snitch.

Hufflepuff seemed to have sensed the urgency of the situation, because once Gryffindor was forty points ahead, Hufflepuff beaters were starting to target Gryffindor's Seeker, Marlene.

'Whoa, Hufflepuff Beater sends a Bludger to Sanders - bloody hell - there comes another one! Looks like Hufflepuff's going after the Gryffindor Seeker! You - nice, Prewett! Fabian Prewett retaliates the Bludger!'

Fabian and Gideon position themselves in front of Marlene, and knock aside two more Bludger attacks, leaving Marlene free to search for the Snitch. James takes the opportunity to steal the Quaffle from a Hufflepuff Chaser and parries it to Will, who does an impressive manoeuvre to dodge a rebounding Bludger and cleanly scores another goal.

'Gryffindor leading ninety to thirty! Sweet! Take that, you double-teaming -'

'Black!' came McGonagall's loud voice.

'Sorry, Professor... Oh, Gryffindor Seeker's sighted the Snitch! Hufflepuff Seeker's seen it too! Hufflepuff's got the edge with this one, he's closer - Oh! - beautiful Bludger rebound, there, Prewett, there goes Hufflepuff Seeker - perfect opening for Sanders - YES! Gryffindor Seeker's caught the Snitch! Gryffindor wins the cup!'

There was a roar from the crowd that almost drowned out the sound of the whistle that signalled the end of the game. James found himself trapped in the middle of a midair hug with the rest of the team and the Gryffindor crowd began to dance to the rhythm of the loud whooping that was magnified by the magic microphone in front of Sirius Black.

James' euphoria of his Quidditch match had not worn off that week, even with his upcoming exams. He was often found in the common room, giving the play-by-play of the Championship to anyone who would listen, and this was admittedly a large number of people, to Lily's utter annoyance.

Meanwhile, Kalah was stressing out as well; her sister, Neera, was to write her OWLs this year, and Kalah was appointed as her official study assistant. As if that weren't bad enough, when Kalah had refused the appointment, her sister had threatened to tell their parents about Kalah's secret ambition to join the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Their parents were aware of the dangers of Quidditch, and had already forbidden both daughters to even think about playing the sport.

'What are OWLs?' asked Lily.

'Ordinary Wizarding Levels,' explained Alice, crossing out a few lines from her Ancient Runes essay as the three of them worked by the light of the common room fire one night. 'They're examinations Hogwarts students take at fifth year. If you pass according to the professor's standards, you're allowed to take the NEWT classes.'

'What's NEWT?'

'Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests.'

'And I'm sure they are,' said Kalah grimly.

'Oi, Sirius, test me, would you?' asked Remus, tossing a Potions book to him as he sat on his bed. Sirius picked it up from his place on his own bed, looked at the cover and put it down quickly as though it burnt his hand.

'Ugh, it's a book!' he exclaimed.

Remus sighed. 'I realised that. Test me, alright?'

'I'd rather not,' said Sirius, a disgusted look on his face. 'I'm feeling nauseated already.'

'You weren't feeling nauseous when you were reading Animagi: Release the Animal In You,' pointed out Peter.

Sirius contemplated this. 'Yeah, well, that's different.'

'In what way?' inquired James.

Sirius didn't answer the question, but instead asked, 'have you lot finished reading that book anyway?'

'Yes,' said Remus shortly. In the absence of the Potions book he'd tossed to Sirius, he had already picked up his Charms textbook and was immediately immersed in its words.

'Me too,' said Sirius proudly. 'In fact, I've been done for a while. I was waiting for you lot to catch up.'

'Really?' asked James, genuinely shocked. 'I've already begun the practical part.'

'Me too,' said Remus, without looking up from his book. 'Or at least I've begun the minor procedures.'

Sirius looked shocked, and looked from James to Remus. 'What? Seriously?'

'Yep,' said James. 'Sirius-ly.'

'Har, har,' said Sirius. He looked at Peter. 'You too, Pete?'

'Yeah!' answered Peter, looking stunned that he was not last to complete a task.

'W-what?' sputtered Sirius. 'And none of you bothered to tell me?'

'Well, you didn't bother to tell us you were done either,' pointed out Peter.

'And we thought you knew,' said James, as he flopped down onto his bed.

'Yeah, right,' said Sirius indignantly. 'I'm sure you did. You lot only wanted to be ahead of me! That's it, isn't it? Betrayal?'

James snorted. 'Calm down, mate. You've got plenty of time to catch up in the summer.'

'Yeah, but still... I feel deceived!'

'Oh, by the way,' said James, completely ignoring Sirius' outburst. 'Mum said you could come over this Summer. So long as it's after August. We've got dinners lined up with different people from the Ministry all through July and Mum reckons she'd rather deal with one of us 'troublemaking rascals' rather than two while we've got guests over.' Sirius barked out with laughter. 'Plus, she reckons you should spend time with your family too, since you haven't even seen them during the Christmas break.'

Sirius snorted. 'Believe me, I wouldn't mind being without the family bonding this year.'

James laughed.

After classes finished for the year, after exams and after the end-of-the-year feast, James found himself on the Hogwarts Express. As he left the train, he grasped his trunk tightly in his hand and watched all the students leave; the train sped away and James couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness as it sped away.

Sirius, Remus and Peter had already been collected by their parents, and James was left surveying the platform before him, glancing round at any sign of his parents. James caught sight of a red flash of hair. He called out before his brain registered the identity of the person.

'Evans! Oi, Evans!'

Lily spun around, an expectant smile on her face. As soon as she saw him, however, her smile faded away.

'What, Potter?'

James dragged his trunk with him as he took a step forward.

'Have a good summer, yeah?'

Lily blinked, looking momentarily confused, as though she hadn't expected him to say that. But the moment passed and she finally spoke.

'Er... right... See you...'

She waved an awkward wave, one that was both reluctant and forced, before dashing off toward her parents, who were looking mildly amused at Lily's conversation, and a sulking Petunia.

It was a late July afternoon, and for once, Lily and Severus two had decided to take a break from the summer homework that the professors had piled on them; instead, they swung next to each other on the swings in the playground by Lily's house. Lily pushed herself off the ground toward the sky as she observed the clouds, thinking of Kalah. Kalah loved the clouds, and during the spring in Hogwarts, the she, Lily and Alice would spend their afternoons by the lake, lying on the grass and observing the various shapes the clouds made. Lily had invited Kalah over for the summer holidays, but the latter had vehemently refused--Kalah's parents were incredibly strict. They had rules regarding just about anything, and visiting friends was most certainly prohibited. Still, as Kalah had mentioned before, she had more freedom than her older sister, Neera, who had almost even been banned from attending Hogwarts altogether! Their parents had attended a different school of magic in the old country, one that was relatively nearby and one that did not require students to live on the school grounds.

Lily had fought with her older sister that morning, and in her upset state, had requested Severus to abandon his homework that day to lounge idly with her.

'Ugh, I can't stand her, Sev!' she raved. 'It's as though she wants me to hate her as much as she hates me!'

'Why do you talk to her, then?' asked Severus, wrinkling his nose in distaste. 'She's just a Mug-' he cut off at a look from Lily.

'She's my sister, Severus,' said Lily desperately. 'I don't want her to hate me.'

Severus didn't say anything for a while, but watched her carefully, as though he were reading a puzzle. ''She doesn't hate you,' he said quietly. 'How can she hate you? Everyone loves you.' He said the last bit in a slightly bitter tone, but Lily didn't seem to pick up on it.

Lily shook her head miserably. 'She doesn't like me because I can do magic,' she replied.

There was no response from Severus, and a blanket of silence fell over them for a while.

'Sev?'

'Yeah?'

'Why do you talk to Avery and Mulciber?' Lily screwed up her face in disgust as she said the names of both Slytherin classmates.

Severus didn't answer for a while. Then, he responded slowly with, 'They're in my House. They're my friends.'

'But, they're horrid!' exclaimed Lily. 'And they really upset Mary... They called her a,' Lily paused, lowering her voice before she uttered the curse word, 'Mudblood.'

Severus flinched visibly.

'How can you be friends with them?' persisted Lily.

'They're my friends,' said Severus firmly. 'And we're Slytherins.'

'Even so, Sev... It's not right.'

Severus did not have a reply for this.

'Right, I reckon they're asleep now.' James crept out of his bed and Sirius followed suit. It was an August night and the full moon was shining brightly in the sky.

Sirius stepped on a loose board in the floor and a loud creak followed. James flinched and shot his best friend a glare.

'Shh!'

'Sorry!'

They made their way quietly downstairs and out the back door, where a silvery orb adorned the midst of a canvas of glittering stars. James and Sirius gazed up.

'Poor Remus,' muttered James. Sirius looked up as well.

'Yeah, I know...'

They made their way to the far edge of the yard, where a small, battered shed stood alone. James reached for the doorknob and pulled.

'No good, mate,' said Sirius, scratching his chin thoughtfully. 'She's enchanted it.'

'Bugger - and we can't do magic, either,' muttered James.

There was quiet for a moment, one during which both boys were evidently deep in thought. Then, Sirius' eyes lit up.

'I've got it!'

He reached into the depths of his pyjama pockets, through the various trinkets and wrappers that were always present in each of Sirius' pockets and pulled out a small silver penknife.

'What's that?' asked James curiously.

'It's a penknife,' explained Sirius excitedly. 'It carries enchantments to unlock any lock and undo any knot. And the best part's that the Ministry can't trace it, so we're not doing magic!'

James gawked at the little silver object. 'You had that all this time and you didn't tell me?' he accused.

Sirius shrugged. 'I thought you knew, mate,' he said, grinning madly as he mimicked the same line James had used when they were discussing each of their Animagi progresses. Sirius' eyes twinkled. 'Besides, I only nicked it out of my great-great-grandfather's room last month.'

He grinned and put the knife through the gap between where the door and its frame didn't quite meet; then, he ran it down swiftly. There was a smallclick and door opened instantly.

James moved forward eagerly and peered inside the shed.

'Looking for this?'

Both James and Sirius' heads whipped round at the sound. There stood before them, with dark red hair at her shoulders and a night gown fastened at her waist, with her arms crossed and with James' Nimbus 1500 securely tucked at her elbows, a half-cross, half-amused Mrs. Potter.

James and Sirius looked at each other, both stunned and impressed. Then, as though they had planned it, they both turned to her, precisely at the same time, with sheepish grins plastered upon their faces.

'Why Mum, what a pleasant surprise...'

'Nice try.'

On the morning of September the first, Lily found herself at King's Cross station, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the new school year.

'You be sure to write, Lily,' said Mrs Evans, as she wrapped her daughter in a large bear hug.

'I will, Mum.'

'Even if it's by owl. I rather think I've gotten used to them, now.'

Mr. Evans gave a deep chuckle. 'You still scream when you see them,' he pointed out.

'But I don't run away,' said Mrs Evans firmly. 'That'll suffice.'

Lily laughed.

'Lily!'

Lily's head turned instinctively to the sound; Mary MacDonald was running toward her.

'Hi, Mary!'

'How was your summer?' panted Mary, as she turned and waved goodbye to her parents behind her.

Lily grinned. 'It was great. And yours?'

'Brilliant.' Mary flashed her perfect, white teeth in a grin. 'Are you ready to board yet, then?'

'Yeah, just about.'

Lily turned back to her parents.

'Bye, Mum. Bye Dad.' Mrs Evans gave Lily another hug and Mr Evans responded by rumpling Lily's hair. Finally, Lily turned to Petunia.

'Bye, Tuney...'

Petunia said nothing, but merely nodded her acknowledgement.

Taking a deep breath, Lily turned away, grasped her trunk tightly, and boarded the Hogwarts Express with Mary beside her, who was glancing back nervously at Petunia.

The first day of classes was spent with a double period in Transfiguration, a subject that was not necessarily a favourite of Peter's.

'You are now entering a most important phase of your magical education,' Professor McGonagall was saying, at the start of the class. 'Your Ordinary Wizarding Levels are approaching. In preparation, I will be assigning copious amounts of coursework and I expect you to keep up.'

'OWLS?' whispered Peter to James frantically. 'Bloody hell, I thought those were next year!'

'Some students will need to pick up their work from last year and put in more effort if they wish to achieve an OWL in this class,' continued McGonagall. 'Such students will benefit from paying attention in class instead of making complaints, Mr Pettigrew!'

Peter jumped and turned pink immediate, while James and Sirius sniggered from either side of him.

Professor Slughorn started the new year with his usual greeting.

'Welcome, fourth-years!' he exclaimed, as the fourth year Gryffindors and Slytherins streamed into the dungeon. 'Ah, good afternoon, Miss Evans...'

Slughorn took a low bow that looked somewhat awkward with his shape and size. Kalah, who followed Lily inside, attempted to hide a smile but failed miserably.

Once the class had been seated, Slughorn gestured to the table behind him.

'I thought I'd start off the year by introducing some Potion ingredients. We'll be using some of these ingredients throughout the year, so it's best to familiarize ourselves with them.'

Slughorn made his way to the furthest end of the table.

'Anyone know what this is?' he asked, picking up a ball of slimy, greyish-green seed weed-looking substance. 'Ah, but Miss Evans does!' he exclaimed before Lily had even gotten her hand up.

'It's Gillyweed, Professor,' said Lily brightly.

'Right you are! Take ten points for Gryffindor! Gillyweed is used as a material to help one breathe underwater.'

Slughorn moved over to the next item on the table. He picked it up, revealing to the class a shrivelled up rock.

'And this?'

Several people put their hands up this time.

'Go ahead, Mr Potter,' said Slughorn.

'It's a Bezoar,' said James, smirking, 'It's an antidote for all sorts of poisons.'

'Excellent! Ten more points to Gryffindor!'

And so, Slughorn, continued down the table, pointing to various ingredients and challenging the class of each of its name and purpose, the result of which gave Gryffindor an additional thirty points and Slytherin an additional fourty-five.

'And finally,' said Slughorn, moving to a cauldron at a corner of the room. 'We won't be using it this year, but I thought it'd interest you anyway. Who knows what this is?'

Slughorn carried the small cauldron to the middle of the room, and James could see it clearly. It was a potion with a gleaming surface; steam was rising from it in spirals at a three-beat rhythm that started to engrave itself into James' head.

But there was something else about the potion that caught James' attention. A scent was wafting through the room - a wonderful scent of vanilla and lilies that suddenly filled the air. James sensed a familiarity about it, but was unable to place the scent.

'Well? Any guesses?' asked Slughorn.

'It's Amortentia,' came Lily's voice, cracking slightly. James' eyes snapped up to look at her. 'It's... the strongest love potion in the world. It has a scent that's different for each of us, depending on what attracts us,' continued Lily; there was a pink tinge on either of her cheeks and she was looking firmly at the ground.

James almost choked on his breath at this new information. He glanced about the room, where students were leaning in for a closer sniff, and Sirius next to him was breathing deeply with his eyes closed and a great, stupid grin on his face.

'Quidditch tryouts are this Saturday,' said James to Sirius after lunch, as they strolled along the corridor that lead to Potions.

'I know, mate,' responded Sirius wearily. 'You've told me that about a million times already.' Sirius paused at the edge of a wall between two portraits and crouched to fix the laces on his trainers.

'You reckon I'll still be on the team?' asked James, looking down at Sirius.

'Oh, come off it,' scoffed Sirius. 'You know very well you're still on the team.' He stood up and stretched widely.

James grinned. 'Well, in any case, we'll need new Beaters. Arthur Weasley and Prewett brothers have left Hogwarts.'

'Oh, right, I've forgotten about that,' said Sirius, bringing his arms down slowly. Then, in the silence, there was a sudden giggle. Sirius whipped round toward the portrait-covered wall, his eyes wide and his mouth in a perfect, comical 'o'.

'What the -'

The pear in the portrait of the fruit bowl was giggling. James and Sirius exchanged bewildered glances. Then, the portrait swung open.

'Hello, sirs! What may Kimmy get you?'

And then, in the course of ten seconds, the bewildered gazes became stupid grins, as James and Sirius realised that they've accidentally discovered the location of Hogwarts' kitchens.

'Kalah's thinking about trying out for the Quidditch team,' said Lily to Severus, as they had breakfast together one morning.

Severus made a face. 'Quidditch? What a waste of time.'

Lily shrugged, a furrow appearing between her eyebrows. 'I think it's a brilliant sport,' she said. 'I mean, considering that I'm a Muggle-born. Compared to the sports I've grown up watching and playing, Quidditch is a lot more interesting.'

'But Potter plays on the team,' spat Severus, cringing with disgust as he said the name.

Lily shrugged. 'Yes, so? Of course he's a prat, but you've got to admit, Sev, he plays well... Marlene's also on Gryffindor's team and perhaps Kalah will be too now. I think it's brilliant.'

Severus paused thoughtfully as he watched Lily, wondering whether he ought to try out for the Quidditch team as well.

'What are you doing here, Snape?' asked a Marissa Higgs, in her shrill voice. 'You do realise these are Quidditch tryouts!'

Severus went pale. 'I know,' he muttered. 'I thought I'd - I thought I'd try out...'

There was a jeering coming from the crowd, which succeeding in making Severus paler.

Avery patted him on the back encouragingly. 'What position are you trying out for, mate?' he asked.

'Chaser,' mumbled Severus, insisting to himself that this was not because of James Potter.

Travers, who had become the Slytherin team's new captain, approached Severus, a short clipboard in one hand and wand in the other.

'Right,' he said, surveying Severus. 'Let's see you fly, then.'

There was a laugh from the stands. Severus did not turn to discover its origin. Many of his peers have seen him fly before, or at least seen his unsuccessful attempt at flying back in first year.

But Severus was determined for success this time. He took the broom in Avery's hand and held it in front of him.

But something was wrong. The broom jerked out of his hand and started to vibrate. Severus looked around and saw that many of the Slytherins were laughing - at him. It was clear that he was rather unpopular, even among his fellow House members.

Snape attempted to mount the bucking broomstick and tried to block out the sound of the girl with the shrill voice laughing at him...

'Right,' said Will Johnson, surveying the crowd before him, 'now, we just need two Beaters and we're set.'

James grinned as he joined Will to face the crowd of hopefuls. After a short trial, he and the others from last year were asked to remain on the team. James panned the crowd and recognized a familiar face, grinning broadly.

'Sirius!'

Sirius raised his broom in greeting. He was attempting to try out for the team that year.

None of the first five applicants, James noticed, had the talent of Gideon and Fabian Prewett. Will had decided to hold the Beater try-outs in pairs, having the applicants pair off and take flight, parrying a Bludger between them.

James cheered as he saw Sirius whack a Bludger at his partner, Caradoc Dearborn, who had to later be carried away to the Hospital Wing.

After choosing a few finalists, Will called upon the last two applicants.

'Tia Richards and Kalah Ramnath.'

There was a particularly loud and isolated cheering coming from one corner of the stands where James noticed two Gryffindor girls in his year cheering madly. Lily and Alice seemed rather oblivious to the odd glances they were receiving.

There was a loud cheering coming from the stands which James noticed to have originated from three sources: Lily, Alice and Mary.

Will blinked twice, examining the names on his clipboard. In his experience, girls did not try out for the position of Beater. All the same, he gave a jerk of the head, as though urging the girls to begin their trial. Tia Richards was a rather small fifth year and group of her friends around her wished her well as she mounted her broom next to Kalah: 'Good luck, Titchy!' James caught Sirius' eye and grinned; the two of them prepared themselves for what was going to be an amusing trial.

But it did not come. To everyone's astonishment, the two managed to do rather well. A stunned James noted that they seemed to work well with each other, and Sirius groaned miserably beside him. When both Tia and Kalah had finished their trial, Lily and her friends were not the only ones cheering; the rest of the crowd had joined them.

Will turned to his Beater finalists and told them that he had found his two Beaters.

This did not go over too well.

'They were going easy on each other!' complained a tall, broad-shouldered boy James guessed was in sixth year. 'They're not even strong enough!'

Tia, who seemed to be performing back flips on her still afloat broomstick to the cheers of her particularly shrill-voiced friends, spun round sharply at the comment, brandishing her new Beaters' bat.

'They went easy on each other!'

Will scoffed. 'You prat, that's the point. What d'you expect, for the Beaters to kill each other? They work well together and that's why I picked them.'

Behind, him, both Kalah and Titchy had raised their brooms over their head and were performing a ridiculously amusing, albeit gloating dance.

James clapped a hand over Sirius' back. 'Bad luck, mate.'

Sirius looked stunned for a moment, but then shrugged, as though he had already forgotten about the ordeal. 'I just needed something to do. Besides, like commentary better.' He held up an invisible microphone. 'What's this? Yes, you've seen it, folks! Slytherin Captain Travers has crashed into dungagain!'

James laughed.

'Get out of my way or I'll hex you!'

Will was now holding out his wand and pointing it at the crowd of rejected Beaters who looked as they were going to attack him.

They backed away instantly.

'Welcome to the first Quidditch match of the season!' boomed Sirius' voice throughout the Quidditch stadium. 'Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw!'

Lily cheered excitedly as both Quidditch teams flew out onto the pitch, soaring through the air in a wide circle. Each member of the Gryffindor team zoomed past her: Johnson, Meadowes, Potter ('ugh...'), Kalah ('woo!'), Titchy...

A loud whistle blew from Madam Knight and then the game started.

'Excellent! James Potter with the Quaffle already,' boomed Sirius' voice, magnified by the magical microphone. 'He dodges a Bludger attack by - what's his name again? Darn, I forget - any ideas, Professor?'

Lily fought back a smile as she glanced up at the podium at a frustrated Professor McGonagall, who was glaring at Sirius.

'It's Corner, Black, and you'd better start learning these names if you want to continue in this position -'

'Right, right... sorry, Professor.' He turned his attention back to the game. 'Right... Ravenclaw Chaser gets a hold of the Quaffle and - OUCH - that's got to hurt. Nice attack, Ramnath - though I still say I should've been made Beater instead.'

Lily cheered as she saw Kalah turn round and grin at Sirius, holding up her bat in a gesture to suggest she was about to throw it at him.

'OK, OK, I'm sorry,' came his reply through the microphone. 'James has the Quaffle again - he's headed for the goal - oh, bugger, is that a Bludger - watch out, James - oh, SWEET - nice deflection, Titchy -!'

'Black!'

'What, Professor?' exclaimed Sirius defensively. 'It's a nickname! - Whoa, yes, nice, Johnson! Gryffindor leading ten to zero!'

The game continued until the score was fourty to thirty for Ravenclaw. Dorcas Meadowes had been knocked off her broom at one point when she had tried to reach for the Quaffle, though there was no lasting damage done.

Finally, when another half hour had passed, Marlene succeeded in catching the Snitch. The Gryffindor Quidditch team was huddled on the midst of the pitch and the usual after-game crowd had gathered. James called to his teammates through the loud cheering.

'Oi! Ramnath! Richards!' Two heads whipped round to look at him. 'Good game, you lot! You played well!'

'Cheers!' called Titchy immediately, a broad infectious grin spread across her face.

Kalah cracked her own grin as someone passed around celebratory toffees. 'Good game, Potter! You didn't play so bad yourself!'

'Oof - ouch -!'

Lily collapsed to the ground after bumping into someone. Rubbing her head gingerly, she gazed up.

'Sorry, I -'

Lily cut off, transfixed. She was looking at what could only be one of the Greek gods Lily had read about back in Muggle school. He had golden blond hair and deep blue eyes and had an apologetic grin on his face.

'No, no,' he insisted. 'It was my fault. I should've watched where I was going.'

He bent down and in one swift motion, picked up the books that had fallen out of Lily's hands, and then held out his own hand to help her up.

Lily did not take her eyes off him for a minute.

'I'm Bertram Aubrey,' said the golden-haired boy. 'Hufflepuff.'

'L-Lily Evans... Gryffindor.'

Bertram smiled at her, flashing his white teeth, which somehow seemed to make Lily melt...

'Lily! Oi, Lily, can you hear me?'

'Huh? What?'

She turned to a frustrated Kalah.

'I've been trying to get your attention for five minutes now, that's what!'

'Oh... sorry, I was just -'

'Busy ogling at Aubrey?' interjected Kalah.

Lily blushed a deep crimson that seemed to match the shade of her hair. 'No, I -'

'Come on, we have Transfiguration,' said Kalah, grinning impishly.

As Kalah dragged Lily through the crowd, all Lily could see was the smile of Bertram Aubrey.

'So, Sirius,' said James, as they ate an early breakfast at the far end of the almost-empty Gryffindor table. 'Have you finally started the practical yet?'

'Of course!' said Sirius, in a mock dignified voice.

Peter laughed. 'Did you pick an animal yet?' he asked.

'I still say a pig's perfect for you,' added James. Remus smiled at the remark.

'No,' scoffed Sirius. 'If you must know, I've chosen to be a black dog.'

'A dog?' asked Remus. 'Why's that?'

'Well, see, when we were doing Astronomy last year, I noticed that there's a constellation called Sirius.'

James snorted. 'Seriously?'

'Sirius-ly,' said Sirius, effectively making Remus roll his eyes. 'And the constellation's a black dog. Plus, with my last name being Black, I've decided to settle for a black dog. Perfect, eh?'

James didn't speak for a bit as he thought this through. 'Yeah, that could come in handy,' he said finally. 'We're going to need big animals to control this one's furry little problem,' he added, jerking a thumb toward Remus.

Remus shot James a look that was both annoyed and bored; this was only met by a cheeky grin.

'What about you, Pete?' asked Sirius. Peter began to cough violently.

'He's going to be a rat,' announced James, with a broad grin on his face. 'Isn't it brilliant?'

Sirius burst out laughing. 'A rat?'

'Oi!' said Peter indignantly. 'James said we'd need a small animal!'

'Yeah,' agreed James, looking rather insulted himself. 'Someone's got to,' he lowered his voice and glanced about the Great Hall, where only about six students in total were having breakfast early that morning, 'prod that knot to freeze the Whomping Willow, you know. We can't always use twigs.'

'Yeah, OK. But still... a rat? Oi, what about you, James? What's your animal?'

James straightened up in a proud gesture. 'I've chosen a stag,' he announced in a deep voice.

There was a moment of silence. Then everyone burst out in laughter.

'W-what? What's wrong with that?' sputtered James.

'A stag?' choked Sirius.

'Yeah, a stag!' said James defiantly.

Even Remus was laughing.

'James, you're supposed to choose an animal that's like you,' he said between fits of laughter.

James turned red. 'Yeah, I know! I'm completely stag-like! You know, majestic and all that stuff!'

Sirius, who, for a moment, appeared as though he were about to stop laughing, burst to another fit of hilarity.

'Yeah, well, just see,' said James in a dignified voice. 'My transformation will be a lot better than anything you lot come up with.'

Sirius clapped a shaky hand over James' back. 'Sure, James, sure.'

James slowly clicked the Fat Lady's portrait shut behind him as he sneaked back into the Gryffindor Common Room. He had taken an excursion outside his dormitory that night with the help of his Invisibility Cloak. James decided that, to improve his Animagi, and to ensure that his would be the best, he had to practice daily... or nightly.

He turned from the door, and headed for his dormitory, but halfway to the foot of the staircase, he froze.

Curled up on the one-seat couch near the fireplace, fast-asleep, was Lily Evans. James took a deep breath. How long had she been there?

You're invisible, he told himself. She can't see you. And she's asleep. She doesn't know you're here.

Unconsciously, as though he were checking whether or not she was actually asleep, James took a step toward her.

This, it seemed, was a rather big mistake. As soon as his foot hit the ground, a large creak followed. Lily's eyes snapped open.

James took a sharp intake of breath.

Lily sat up quickly and looked around her. James stayed completely still.

Come on, he prayed frantically. You imagined the sound. It wasn't real. Go back to sleep.

Lily seemed to believe she imagined the sound, because she leaned back on the couch again.

Cheering inwardly, James turned carefully and made to go the opposite direction.

CREAK.

James cringed and Lily sat up again. This time, she was quite sure she hadn't imagined the sound.

'W-Who's there?' she demanded into the darkness.

No response.

'Who's there,' she repeated, a bit firmer now.

Still no response.

James clutched his Invisibility Cloak tight around him, hoping with all his might that it still worked. It was moments like these that make him doubt the power of the Cloak.

Lily pulled out her wand slowly.

'I know someone's there,' she said loudly, glancing up at the girls' dormitories and hoping that someone would possibly hear her. Perhaps it was because she'd read so much about this You-Know-Who all through the Daily Prophet this week, but Lily found herself feeling rather paranoid around sudden noises, as though she were going to be attacked by You-Know-Who any minute (Lily felt rather silly calling a grown man by the name of 'You-Know-Who', but Kalah and Alice had refused to tell her what his real name was. Mary had attempted to spell it before Marlene told her that she'd read somewhere that writing the name was a curse on its own - this had Mary scratching out her attempt furiously enough times that she snapped her quill in the process).

'You'd better show yourself!' insisted Lily, sounding braver than she felt', '- or - or I'll start throwing jinxes at random. I know some good ones, I swear -!'

'OK, OK, don't attack!'

Lily blinked, stunned. She paused for a moment, and then called out.

'P-Potter?'

'Yeah.'

'Where are you? How come I can't see you?'

There was a loud sigh, and then Potter appeared, a mere few feet in front of her.

'Ahh -!'

Lily fell out of her chair, startled.

'Shh! Someone'll hear you!'

'Potter! How did you -!' hissed Lily.

'With this.'

And he thrust in front of her a shining, silvery cloth. Lily gasped and crawled forward to take it from his hands.

'This... this is an Invisibility Cloak,' she whispered, running it through her fingers. James stuffed his hands into his pockets as he watched her.

'Yeah, it is,' he replied, shuffling his feet.

Lily gaped at James disbelievingly.

'But they're - they're really rare. Where'd you get this?'

James shrugged. 'My dad gave it to me,' he said quietly. 'It's been in our family for a long time.'

'Wow...'

She examined it again, running it through her fingers once more.

'Er... Evans?'

'Hmm?'

'Can I... er... have it back?'

Lily's eyes snapped up to his face again.

'Oh... er... yeah,' she said, her voice suddenly business-like. 'Here.'

'Er... Evans?' said James, as Lily got up.

'What now?'

'Don't tell, okay?'

'Don't tell what?'

'That I have this. And that I was out.'

Lily glanced at the cloak again and her eyes narrowed. 'What were you doing out so late, anyway? Curfew passed a long time ago.'

'I was hungry,' James lied easily. 'I was going to the kitchen.'

Lily rolled her eyes.

'So, er... don't tell okay?' asked James, looking slightly nervous.

'Yeah, fine, whatever,' said Lily, picking up her book from the couch she had been sitting on. 'I'm going to bed,' she said, yawning.

James caught sight of the title of the book she was reading before she made her way up to the stairs to her dormitory.

'Good night,' he called after her.

'Hmm...'

James grinned, stowed his Invisibility Cloak into his robes and made his way up to his own dormitory.

'Lily? Lily!'

'Hm?'

Kalah and Alice exchanged knowing glances. 'Care to tell us about whom you were daydreaming?' said Alice, always in her grammatically structured phrases.

Lily blinked and turned to her. The three of them were lounging in their dormitories before on a late November night.

'Oh... er...'

'Perhaps a certain blond named... I don't know... Bertram Aubrey?' asked Kalah, eyes twinkling.

Lily blushed a deep crimson. Alice looked from Lily to Kalah.

'Aubrey?' repeated Alice.

'A bloke in Hufflepuff,' said Kalah airily.

'Oh, right! Aubrey, huh... hold on, isn't he in fifth year?' pondered Alice.

'Is he really?' asked Lily, intrigued by this new information.

'Yes, he is. D'you like him, then?'

Lily, who had not been expecting such a direct question, shrugged indifferently. 'I don't know,' she answered honestly. 'He seems nice is all - in the few times I've spoken to him at breakfast.'

'Just nice?' asked Kalah, wiggling her eyebrows in her suggestive sing-song voice.

Lily promptly threw a pillow at her.

'What's L.E.'

James jumped, hastily shoving his parchment out of sight. But it was too late. Sirius had appeared beside him, grinning mockingly.

'N-Nothing,' said James quickly, getting up.

Sirius put a hand to his chin thoughtfully. 'Hm... 'L.E'... whatever could that possibly mean? I am utterly befuddled. What do you think, Remus?'

Remus wore an expression of mock confusion.

'L.E. eh? I haven't a clue... Absolutely no clue at all. Peter?'

'Peter scratched his chin in the same mock attitude. 'Well, it could stand for those lemon éclairs Dumbledore likes so much...'

'Oi...' said James, his voice low and threatening.

'- or -' interjected Sirius, 'or perhaps it stands for Leonard Edwardson from Slytherin! I knew I saw James eyeing that big bloke a couple of times during Potions!'

Remus and Peter burst into laughter.

'Or-' began Remus.

'Shut up, you lot, you know perfectly well what it stands for,' said James, a pink tinge on either of his cheeks despite the defiant expression on his face.

'Oh!' exclaimed Peter, slapping a hand to his forehead in understanding. 'Or it could stand for Lily Evans! After all, James has fancied her only since first yea -'

'No, I haven't!' exclaimed James indignantly.

'What are you talking about, James?' cut in Sirius. 'Of course you liked Evans since first year. It only took you until last year to actually tell us.'

James opened his mouth to retort, but then shut it again.

'How's your Animagus coming along?' asked Remus quickly, effectively changing the subject. Sirius and Peter grinned to each other at James' lack of denial.

'Really well, actually,' said James, his eyes brightening as he spoke. 'I can transform a bit, but just the hooves. I've got a feeling that the antlers are going to be tricky, though... ah, well... I'll have time to work on it during the Christmas break.'

Remus nodded approvingly. 'Now if only you lot would spend as much time and effort writing your History of Magic essays,' he said.

Sirius snorted.

'Look! There's Aubrey!'

'Where?' Lily spun around immediately but saw no golden hair, no entrancing blue eyes, no perfect, pearly teeth

Kalah burst into laughter. 'I'm kidding!' she said, between bursts of laughter as she wiped the mirth from her eyes. 'Aha, you should have seen the look on your face, Lily, it was so - OW - what was that for?'

'That was not funny,' said Lily in a dignified voice.

The large oak doors opened at that moment, sending a large, cold breeze into the castle.

'Hagrid!'

Hagrid blinked and his large face broke into a grin.

'Ah, look who it is!'

Hagrid was carrying an extremely large pine tree, no doubt meant for the coming Christmas season.

'How have you been Hagrid?' asked Lily, falling into step beside him. 'It's been so long since we spoke with you!'

'Yeah, well I've been righ' busy. Importan' stuff fer Dumbledore, yeh know. And yeh three never visit me in me hut no more,' said Hagrid. 'Yeh can hardly blame me fer not seeing yeh, can yeh?'

'I'm so sorry, Hagrid!' apologised Lily immediately, 'you see, we haven't had -'

Hagrid gave a deep chuckle.

'I'm jus' kiddin', Lily! Don't worry abou' it.'

'Are you going anywhere for the break, Hagrid?' asked Kalah.

Hagrid shook his great head. 'Nah. I don' need to go nowhere. Wha' does a person like me need to go places fer? I'm perfectly happy here at Hogwarts.'

'On the bright side, Hagrid,' said Lily, 'Potter and his friends probably won't be around for the break; you can hope for a quiet Christmas at least.'

Hagrid chuckled. 'Yeh're right,' he said, his eyes twinkling as he looked down at them. 'They tol' me the other day. That'll be easier fer me, eh?'

Lily wrinkled her nose, and the scowl that was usually reserved for whenever Potter's name came up, appeared. After all, she still hadn't forgotten about the dung bomb that Potter had let out right in front of the Slytherins' Defence Against the Dark Arts class just as Severus was entering the classroom.

Some few, short weeks later, the end of first term arrived, and Lily's fascination with the Hufflepuff, Bertram Aubrey, had not dissipated. The two had not come very far along since their first meeting, and the most Lily had spoken to Bertram was their short but frequent conversations in the library. After this sort of friendly interaction, Lily found herself in the library more often, half studying and half staring at the bookshelf opposite to her where the Care of Magical Creatures books were glaring back at her. It wasn't until the last day before the holidays did the conversation Lily was looking forward to most, take place.

'Oi, Lily!'

Lily recognized the voice immediately and turned around, grinning broadly in greeting. Aubrey ran to catch up with her, so that they were both now standing near the large oak doors at the Entrance Hall.

'Hi, Bertram!' said Lily, smiling at him.

'Hi, Lily!' he responded, flashing her with his white-teethed smile again. 'Er... I just wanted to... er, wish you a Happy Christmas.'

Lily's smile fell a fraction of a centimetre, but she returned the greeting all the same. 'Happy Christmas!'

There was an awkward silence that followed, one Lily took as an indication of the end of the conversation. As a result, she began to turn and walk away.

'Wait! Lily!'

Bertram caught up to her quickly and cleared his throat.

'Lily - er - I was wondering... if, after the break - if you'd maybe - I dunno - go to Hogsmeade with me or something -'

'Yes!'

'- I suppose I really - what?'

'Yes, I'll go with you, Bertram.'

Bertram's face cracked into a grin. 'Really? That's great! So - so I'll see you then?'

'Yeah, I'll see you.'

Bertram hurried off then, leaving Lily feeling light-headed through the entire train ride home; she was even able withstand without complaint, Kalah and Alice's constant nudges and sly grins.

'So this is the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, eh?'

James looked around at the inside of the mansion; it was large, with old-fashioned gas lamps along the walls, portraits hung neatly along the walls and a brilliant chandelier, shaped like a serpent, hanging above the stairs. The floor was shiny and waxed, and a grand circular stair case led upstairs, with old-fashioned banisters that must have been made from the most expensive of wood.

'Yep, this is it,' said Sirius, holding out his arms in a grand gesture

This time, for Christmas holidays, it was James that was visiting Sirius; incidentally, it was his first visit to his best mate's home.

'Come on, let's go up to my room,' said Sirius. 'Before we run into my mum and have to listen to her ramblings. You've got no idea how hard it was to get the woman to agree letting you, Peter and Remus come over. Asked about a million questions about all your lot's family tree.'

Sirius rolled his eyes.

'Are Remus and Peter here already?' asked James.

'Yeah, we are,' said Remus, from the top of the nearest staircase.

James peered up and greened at the faces of Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.

'Oi, Sirius!' called Peter, several floors up and gazing down at them with a sloppy grin, through the circular gap in the middle of the spiral staircase. 'I think I found your room. And your brother's too. It's got the words 'Do Not Enter' plastered all over the door!'

Sirius made a face. 'That's Reg all right,' he muttered. 'He's gotten snobby in his old age.'

James snorted with laughter.

Lily's elation did not go unnoticed at home.

'Who's Bertram Aubrey?' sneered Petunia, sneaking up on Lily at her desk.

Lily jumped and attempted to hide her sheet of paper. But it was too late; Petunia was standing behind her with a raised eyebrow expectantly.

'Who's Aubrey?' she repeated. 'One of your sort?'

Lily's face turned into a deep shade of red.

'Is he your boyfriend?'

Lily's turned redder, if that were possible. 'He asked me to Hogsmeade with him is all,' she muttered.

Petunia burst into a fit of giggles. 'Who, Bertram Aubrey? That's a funny name,' she said critically.

Lily paused, considering this. 'Perhaps, but he's also real nice and smart and -'

'- Yeah, yeah... blah, blah, blah... And I expect he's a freak, as well?'

Lily blinked, stung.

'Yeah,' she said quietly. 'He's a freak, just like me. But that's OK because I like him anyway! Besides, it doesn't matter what you think.'

Petunia stood there looking stunned at Lily's sudden outburst. Then, deciding that she had nothing more to say, she turned on her heel and stormed out.

Quite soon, the Christmas break had finished and the news had spread like wildfire - that Lily Evans was going out with Bertram Aubrey.

'Oooh, Aubrey?' exclaimed an excited Claudia Crawford, who was in Ravenclaw. She caught Lily in the Great Hall during every meal. 'He's rather fit! And a fifth year too!'

Lily, on the other hand, who had never had a boyfriend before, didn't quite know what to do with herself. Marlene had suggested she ought to start behaving like a proper girlfriend and Alice insisted that Lily should take more care in dressing herself, much like the models in her favourite magazine, Witch Weekly.

Apart from those who were buzzing excitedly about the news of Lily Evans' new boyfriend was James. Sirius, Remus and Peter found him in the most rotten of moods the days following the announcement.

'What's so great about Aubrey, anyway?' said James moodily one day in the Common Room while the four of them worked on their Potions essay.

Sirius considered the matter.

'Well, I suppose he's older...'

James' left eye twitched. 'He's only in fifth year! That's only one year!'

'OK, OK, don't bite my head off...'

'I reckon it's because he's smart,' said Remus thoughtfully. 'Top in all his classes, you know.'

Another twitch. 'I'm smart!' exclaimed James, puncturing a hole on his parchment with his quill. 'I'm top in... most classes!' James could not forget the disaster that was last term's History of Magic exam.

Sirius grinned at him. 'Looks like someone's been attacked by the green-eyed troll...'

'What's that?' asked James.

'It means you're jealous,' said Remus matter-of-factly.

'I'm not jealous!' said James hotly. 'I merely want to know what Evans sees in that Aubrey bloke.'

'Maybe it's because he's good-looking,' suggested Peter. 'He's got shiny blond hair and clear blue eyes.'

They all stared at him.

The next week meant the next visit to Hogsmeade for elder students. Lily, who was both nervous and excited, was looking forward to the trip more so than her friends; that day would be her first date with Bertram Aubrey.

Lily spent that morning telling Kalah and Alice about the events of the previous night as Alice rummaged through her trunk for something nice for Lily to wear.

'Last night I told Severus about my date with Bertram,' said Lily as she picked up one article of clothing after another that Alice was tossing onto the floor in her mad search for something worthy of Witch Weekly.

Alice paused in her hunt and Kalah stopped making faces at the ridiculously dressed witch on the cover of the issue of Witch Weekly that was currently on Alice's bed.

'... And...?' asked Kalah slowly.

Lily hesitated. 'I think he's worried about me.'

'What makes you say that?' asked Alice, in her soft, delicate voice.

'He was a bit upset,' replied Lily. 'I'm not sure he likes Bertram very much. And I'm not quite sure why.'

Kalah and Alice exchanged glances.

'I think he's trying to protect me,' continued Lily tentatively, pacing about. 'He doesn't want me to get hurt...'

'Perhaps...' echoed Kalah, throwing Alice a meaningful glance. After the last year, during which she and Alice had attempted fruitlessly to inform Lily of Severus' obsession toward her, and had received only laughter of denial in return, the two had decided to leave the matter alone.

'I found something,' chimed Alice, holding up a simple, green V-neck sweater and a pair of dark blue jeans. 'Honestly, Lily,' she continued, shaking her head at the clothes in her hands. 'You've got to update your wardrobe.'

Kalah commenced imitating the poses of the witch in the magazine cover in front of her; a feat that had Lily in peals of laughter.

'Oi, Lily!'

Aubrey was waiting in the Entrance Hall when Lily arrived.

'Morning, Bertram!'

'Shall we go, then?' asked Bertram, glancing about the Entrance Hall, where students were lining up to leave.

'Oh - yes...'

They joined the queue of people being signed out by Filch. Lily caught sight of Potter and Black, giving Filch trouble as usual, and looked away pointedly.

Out on the grounds, the weather was warm and a fresh breeze was blowing from the lake. Bertram had commenced telling Lily about his family. He was the youngest and his brothers and sisters had already graduated Hogwarts. During the summer, they'd play Quidditch on their backyard.

'Do you play Quidditch?' asked Lily.

'Ah, no,' said Bertram, shaking his head. 'It's a dangerous sport, that Quidditch. And I try to stay away from anything that risks my health.'

Lily nodded slowly. 'I see...'

They were entering Hogsmeade, where the High Street was full of students hustling and bustling about.

'So... where d'you want to go?' asked Aubrey, tossing her a casual glance.

'Oh - I don't mind, really.'

'Er - how about the Three Broomsticks?'

Lily grinned. 'Sure; I discovered Butterbeer this year and now I can't stay away,' she said, laughing.

Bertram made a face. 'Butterbeer? Oh, Lily, don't you know how unhealthy that stuff is? The sugar content and fat and - sweet Merlin, it's enough to cause a heart attack, it is!'

Lily frowned. 'Er, Bertram - well, it's not that bad. I've had it loads of times. Kalah, Alice and I have bought a whole stock that we keep in our dormitory - we don't come to Hogsmeade often enough -'

'Well, then, no wonder you're looking rounder!'

Lily raised an eyebrow. 'Excuse me?'

'I - never mind - I'm sorry, who am I to suggest what you should have?' said Bertram, as they both entered The Three Broomsticks. 'Butterbeer's a lovely choice of drink, Lily. Though, I think it'll be some nice, old water for me. I try to stay away from anything that -'

'-risks your health,' finished Lily, unenthusiastically.

Bertram chuckled lightly and pointed at her with his index finger and thumb extended in an 'L'. 'You got it,' he said, flicking his hand upward and winking.

After about fifteen minutes, once Bertram had finished his water and Lily had grown tired of watching Bertram throw disappointed glance after disappointed glance at her sipping Butterbeer, Bertram paid for the drinks and the two prepared to depart.

'I've got to go to the loo,' said Lily, tossing a glance behind her shoulder at Bertram. 'I'll see you outside, yeah?'

Bertram pulled out his L-shaped hand again, and flicked it in her direction and winking once more. 'You got it.'

Lily paused awkwardly. 'Right...' she muttered, before rushing toward the loo.

A voice called him as soon as Bertram stepped outside the Three Broomsticks.

'Oi, Aubrey!'

Bertrum spun round to catch sight of James and Sirius approaching him.

'Potter,' said Bertram, looking rather surprised to see the two of them.

'Aubrey,' said James curtly, with a bit of a swagger.

'How are y - '

'We heard you're going out with Evans,' interjected Sirius.

Aubrey blinked, and glanced at James.

'You heard right,' he said, his voice light and conversational.

James' left eye twitched.

'Yeah, well, we don't think that's such great news,' said Sirius, still grinning pleasantly.

Aubrey's eyes narrowed. He quickly glanced behind him at the Three Broomsticks, where Lily was still nowhere in sight.

'And why may I ask is this?' asked Aubrey, a frown slowly forming itself on his face.

James and Sirius pretended to consider this.

'Well... we just don't,' said Sirius simply after awhile.

'That's too bad.'

'It is,' agreed James.

'So we came up with an idea,' said Sirius. 'James here's going to duel you. And should he win, you're going to break up with Evans.'

Bertram looked bewildered. 'Duel! Why, that's absurd! I assure you, Black, I do not duel. I try to stay away with anything that risks my health! In any case, why would I break up with Lily?'

'Because that's the terms of the duel,' said James lazily.

'Listen here, Potter,' said Bertram. 'I've been hearing some rather disturbing rumours around Hogwarts. About your fancying Lily. And let me tell you something! Just because you're on the Quidditch team doesn't give you any right to -'

'Are you going to duel James or not?' asked Sirius impatiently.

'Of course not!'

'Fine,' said James coldly. 'Then we'll just settle with a hex.'

Bertram's eyes went round as he fumbled for his wand. But he was too slow. James and Sirius had whipped out their own wands and before Aubrey could blink, there was a loud bang.

'Potter!'

The door to the Three Broomsticks swung open and Lily came dashing out. Her eyes darted to James and Sirius, who were grinning maliciously, then to Bertram, who was knelt and bent forward on the ground of Hogsmeade, clutching his head frantically.

'P-Potter, what did you do!' she exclaimed, gaping as Bertram's head began to swell up.

James and Sirius straightened quickly and deposited their wands into his robes at precisely the same time with extremely convincing innocent looks on their faces; James ran a hand through his hair slowly.

'All right, Evans?' said James, casually stuffing his hands into the pockets of his robes.

'How d'you like your date now, Evans?' asked Sirius, contradicting his innocent-looking face as he wiggled his eyebrows up and down in delight.

But Lily wasn't listening. Her eyes were fixed upon Bertram, round with fear as his head continued to swell, until it was double its original size. Sirius had taken a step back and was admiring the effect with an amused and appreciative gaze, murmuring, 'brilliant', over and over again.

Lily rushed to Bertram's side, horrified, as a loud, authoritative voice called.

'Potter! Black!'

James jumped and turned round slowly to find an irate Professor McGonagall marching towards them in top speed.

James turned back to Aubrey, who was looking up at him fearfully now, and Lily, who was glaring at him as though she had never seen anything so vile; behind him, he could hear Sirius' voice welcoming Professor McGonagall.

'Ah, Professor! What a wonderful surpri-'

'Double detention!'

'What a ridiculous day,' said Lily, as she collapsed onto her bed that night.

'That bad?' asked Alice conversationally.

'Is he a prat?' asked Kalah excitedly.

'Yes, Potter's a prat,' said Lily, sounding annoyed.

'Potter?' asked Marlene, as she emerged from the loo and trekked toward her bed. 'I thought you went out with Bertram Aubrey.'

'I did,' said Lily, sounding tired. 'And he was... tolerable. But our date got cut off by a visit from Potter and his idiot mate, Black.'

'What'd they do?' asked Kalah.

'They hexed Bertram!' exclaimed Lily, sitting up and waving her arms hysterically. 'And I don't understand why, he's done nothing wrong!' She fell back on her bed again. 'And that's why they're prats.'

'That sounds like them, all right,' echoed Kalah.

'What did Bertram do?' asked Alice.

Lily sat up again, and on her face was a look of utmost annoyance.

'He broke up with me.'

Marlene's jaw dropped immediately. 'Did he really? Why?'

'He said he didn't think we were very much suited.'

Kalah laughed. 'I bet it was more that he got scared of Potter and Black.'

'Isn't he a fifth year?' asked Alice.

'Yes, Alice, he is,' replied Lily.

'Surely he can hold his own in a duel?'

'Ah, I'm not so sure... After all, Bertram Aubrey tries to stay away from anything that risks his health.'

The news that James Potter and Sirius Black hexed Bertram Aubrey had spread throughout the school within a number of short hours. Everyone had their own version of the story, the most popular being that James Potter had hexed the two-timing Bertram Aubrey in his utmost passion for Lily. Needless to say, Lily was quick to deny this.

'Ow -'

'Something the matter, Miss Evans?' asked McGonagall, in the middle of a double period of Transfiguration.

'No, Professor,' muttered Lily, sinking slightly in her seat as her face turned red.

She glanced down at the parchment that had been thrown unceremoniously at her head moments earlier. Sighing deeply, she turned in her seat to catch glimpse of a grinning James Potter.

Lily crumpled up the parchment immediately, and a disappointed sigh issued from behind her, no doubt from Potter.

Moments later, another parchment arrived; this time, cleanly landing on her desk. Lily stared at it in annoyance for a few moments before rolling her eyes and opening it this time.

- Pst! Evans! I have a question for you. - JP.

Lily scowled, picked up her quill and began to scribble furiously.

- And I have a request for you, prat: leave me alone! - LE.

Lily waited until Professor McGonagall turned back toward the blackboard, before whipping around and violently hurling the crumpled parchment at Potter's head. He looked stunned for a moment, until he spotted the ball of parchment that had bounced off his head and landed on the floor next to his chair. He shot a fleeting glance at Lily, who had whipped back around in her seat and was giving McGonagall her undivided attention, and then his face broke into an impish grin.

A minute later, another parchment landed cleanly on Lily's desk. Lily opened it with another scowl.

- Touchy, touchy, Evans. What's the matter, Aubrey got you upset or something?

Lily replied again with a furious quill.

- You're a rotten, vile prat, you know that, Potter? You had no right hurting Bertram. No right at all.

- Would it help if I apologized?

- No, it would not help, you git! Because of you and Black, Bertram broke up with me.

A loud laugh originated from several seats behind Lily and she scribbled furiously again, glaring at her parchment.

- You think it's funny do you, my misfortune?

Potter stopped laughing immediately; Lily supposed this was because Professor McGonagall was staring at him sternly. The reply came quick.

- No, no. Blimey, Evans, I wasn't laughing at you. It's just - I can't believe we scared the wanker off! And Aubrey's a fifth year, isn't he? Don't you find that the least bit amusing?

- No, I don't.

There was a bit of a pause before Potter's inevitable reply.

- Well, alright... Back to my question, then. What are you doing this Saturday?

- Why?

- I'm having a bit of trouble with the Charms assignment due next week. I was hoping we could get together and you could help me with it?

This time, Lily burst into laughter, earning a glare from Professor McGonagall.

- Here's your answer, Potter: no, no, and no.

- Aw, why not?

- I believe one of your best mates is brilliant at Charms; I'm sure Remus'll be thrilled to help you.

- But Remus is busy helping Sirius with his assignment! Besides, you're better at Charms than anybody in our year!

- Ask McGonagall.

- Don't be like that, Evans. If it helps any, I'm sorry I hexed Aubrey.

- It doesn't help.

- Well, I tried. So how about that study dat session?

- Evans?

- Oh, come on, quit ignoring me.

- Wait, why are you putting your hand up? You can't possibly have a question about the material!

'Professor McGonagall?'

Professor McGonagall turned to Lily from the blackboard. 'Yes, Miss Evans?'

'Potter seems to be hurling balls of parchment at me, Professor. It's rather uncomfortable.'

McGonagall glanced from Lily to James, to Lily, and then back to James. 'Detention, Potter.'

James put his head on his desk, groaning loudly. Sirius sniggered from beside him.

'What's that?'

James sat up straight on his bed, folding his hands onto his lap neatly and blinking at Sirius innocently. 'What's what?'

'That,' said Sirius, glancing at James' pillow pointedly as Remus and Peter entered the boys' dormitory behind him.

'Nothing,' said James.

'Another L.E.?' asked Peter. 'Not another L.E.'

'It's not an L.E.,' said James hotly.

'Then what, pray tell, are you hiding under your pillow?' asked Sirius.

'I'm not hiding anything!' insisted James, leaning back on his bed, so that his back was leaning over his pillow.

'Yes, you are,' maintained Sirius.

'You're delusional.'

'I am no -'

'Sirius, just leave him alone,' said Remus, rolling his eyes and taking a seat on his own bed, situated to the left of James'. But Sirius and Peter maintained their position next to James on his right, hovering suspiciously. 'If it were important, he'd tell us.'

Sirius huffed, but turned all the same, making to collapse on his own bed, to the right of James'.

'By the way, James,' said Remus suddenly, pulling out a book - Animagi: Release the Animal In You - and flipping it open to a page. 'I want you to look at something.' Remus flipped through a few pages before leaning forward and holding the book open for James.

'What is it?' James leaned toward Remus, holding his arm out.

'Just that - quick, Pete, check his pillow!'

'Wha -?' James sat up and whipped his head round quickly, leaning back over his pillow instinctively. But it was too late. In his distraction, Peter had already whipped his hand under James' pillow and had pulled out a short, thick book. Sirius had jumped up, grinning like a Cheshire cat and Remus made it around James' bed and to the other two in an amazingly quick speed that James just stared, lost for words. Sirius, Remus and Peter huddled around the book that James had guarded so carefully.

'Pride and Prejudice,' read Sirius slowly. 'by Jane Austen.' He looked up and James inquisitively. 'What is this?'

James sighed, running a hand through his hair in distraction. 'A book,' he said simply.

'We know that,' said Sirius, sounding annoyed now. 'But why are you hiding this particular book?'

'Isn't this -' Remus took the book from Peter's hands and began to inspect it. 'Isn't this a Muggle book?'

'A Muggle book?' exclaimed Peter, his eyes going round.

'Yeah, so what?' said James defiantly. 'It's just a book I saw Evans reading a while ago!'

'Did you steal it from her?' asked Remus quietly.

James scoffed. 'Of course not. I ordered it from - well, I forget where it's from - there's a Muggle book shop somewhere in -'

But Sirius, Remus and Peter had already started laughing at him.

'This -' panted Peter, between fits of laughter, 'this is funnier than that time Bertha Jorkins caught Sirius snogging Florence Finnigan!'