A Reason in Madness

"There is always some madness in love. But there is also some reason in madness."

Chapter Ten: The Light of a Candle

The day went by slowly. Each class crawled by lethargically. Everywhere Lily went James was there. She was anxious, in such a way that it felt as if she was being followed or stared at. Turning around in a crowded hallway, the Head Boy was merely paces behind her. Sitting in the back of each class (that way she knew no one was staring at her), he always seemed to be a seat or two in front of her. Apparently, her eyes were burning holes in the back of his head, because James turned around periodically.

Even later, while doing homework in the Head Lounge formerly known as the Head Study Room (which had an extraordinary view of the Quidditch pitch, where the Gryffindor team was practicing) she couldn't help searching for James, even though the field was too distant to make out his wind-swept black hair, black glasses that framed those gorgeous hazel eyes...Wait a second. His eyes were not gorgeous!

Around an hour and a half later, when Lily had finished working for the night, it was dark enough outside so that the Pitch was no longer visible. The night, along with the candlelight by which she had been working, had caused the window to become a mirror. As she gathered her books, quills, and parchments, she caught sight of her reflection. Her eyes were red from lack of sleep, her hair was tangled from running her hands through it, and her clothes were slightly wrinkled from sitting, fidgeting, and simply being worn. Lily sighed and closed her eyes briefly before trekking back to Gryffindor Tower.

It took approximately 8.73 minutes to get to the Tower from the Lounge. It was about halfway in between that Lily noticed how cramped her arms were becoming from carrying her books- her bag! She had left it in the Head Lounge.

In the five minutes it took to go back, Lily was nearly falling asleep as she walked. It was extremely tempting to sleep on the couch...in front of the cozy fire...curled up under that cloak...wait. Whose cloak was that? It was too large to be hers. Setting her books back on the desk, she walked over and picked it up. It hadn't been there when she had left. The scent of the cloak reached her nostrils. That scent could only belong to one person- James Potter. Feeling slightly ashamed, she pressed her face into the fabric and breathed in deeply. Feeling even more guilty, but unable to stop herself, Lily sat on the couch, kicked off her shoes, and curled up on the sofa using James's cloak as a blanket. She almost instantly fell asleep.

Hidden under an invisibility cloak in the corner of the room, James smiled to himself. Lily, the girl who had perked his interest at the age of eleven, was asleep under his cloak.

A few minutes later, James walked over to the desk where Lily had left her candle burning. Looking back to the object of his affections, he noticed the light bounced off her auburn curls and seemed to make them glow. He blew it out and cautiously went to the couch lifted Lily's sleeping form. He carried her over to the all and swung a painting of a unicorn to the side as if it were a door so he could walk through. In less than a minute, James reached the end of the short tunnel. He pushed against what appeared to be a wall with his foot. As he did so, the Head Girl's dorm was revealed. He gently laid her down on the bed without bothering to turn down the blanket; instead, he placed his cloak over her. James stood and stared at his little redhead. He grinned slightly at his memory of the nickname his friends had given Lily so long ago.

*~¤~*

"Mind if we sit here?" Eleven-year-old Sirius Black asked a boy with brown hair. He looked up from the book he had been reading when Sirius spoke and said, "Sure- I mean no, I don't mind...go ahead." Sirius walked in, followed by James.

Before sitting, as James did, Sirius walked over to the boy and extended his hand, "I'm Sirius Black, and I'd like to congratulate you."

With an expression of confusion, the addressed replied, "For what?"

"One day when I'm famous, you can tell people you shook my hand, and, not only that, but I actually spoke to you."

"What are you going to famous for?" the brown-haired boy questioned. Sirius opened his mouth but then closed it in contemplation.

"Sirius, sit down and stop thinking before you hurt yourself," James said. "James Potter." He nodded at the other boy.

"Remus Lupin," he nodded back.

"Don't bother with this one," James told Remus, pointing at Sirius, "and be careful around him; he just knocked a red-headed girl on her face in the muggle station."

A few minutes later, the very same petite redhead knocked on the compartment door and slid it open. "Oh, hello again. I'm sorry, I'll see you later." She disappeared down the corridor.

Sirius bounded over to slide the door shut. After he did so, he turned around and raised her eyebrows at Remus. "That's James's little redhead," he informed him.

*~¤~*

James sighed. If he stared at her for much longer, he may curl up next to her and fall asleep. Thinking that that probably wouldn't go over very well, he leaned over and kissed Lily on the forehead. "Goodnight, Lily flower." And with one last glance at her, James left the way he had entered.

*~¤~*

Lily had woken as she was being laid down on her bed. Being slightly frightened at the thought of someone carrying her off and her not even noticing, she kept her eyes closed. Suddenly another fear overtook her. She didn't know where she was! She could be anywhere! Abruptly, she felt a pair of lips press to her forehead and heard someone whisper, "Goodnight, Lily flower." After six years of knowing him, she recognized James's voice. She relaxed slightly. James wouldn't harm her. She heard something click and then silence. Opening her eyes, she saw that she was in her own dormitory. Surely, she would have woken sooner if James had carried her up Merlin-knows-how-many-flights of stairs. But that meant that there was another way to get to her room. It wasn't impossible-Hogwarts was filled with secret passageways, tunnels, and rooms- that she know. But why hadn't she been informed of it? And how did James know of it?

Lily swung her feet over the side of the bed with the intention of finding out how James got to her room. But when she stood up, something fell to the floor- James's cloak. He had re-covered her with it. She suddenly became horrified; that meant that he had seen her asleep with his cloak. This realization made her remember something else- her books and bag were still in the Head Lounge. Making the decision to retrieve her belongings in the morning, Lily picked up the cloak and let sleep overtake her once more. But before all consciousness was lost, she had one last thought: If only she hadn't forgotten her bag!