Chapter Twenty- Four - Blurred Boundaries

Kristen felt Remus's hand on her lower back and when she turned to smile at him, he pointed towards the doors. James and Lily were standing there, close together with flushed faces. Kristen only smirked and was about to make her way over to them when Remus wrapped his arm around her waist to keep her there.

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

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

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

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

"Good, then I can do this,"

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

"Selene! I'm trying to breathe!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Password?" Grunted Porthos.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Goodnight, Lily," he replied quietly.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He swallowed and smiled, "You know I'm charming."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Just one punch," Sirius muttered while laughing and biting into a piece of toast.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

James shrugged. "I suppose so." He appeared very dejected and more worried than before. "I guess that means we're both stayed here, mate," he said to Sirius.

"What?" Lily inquired, confused.

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

"Why-"

"No matter," Sirius waved the question away.

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

"Would your parents mind?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

She turned around. "Yes?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

James sighed. "Are you?"

"Of course I – well, okay, maybe I'm a bit different."

James snorted, and then laughed at his friend.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"You could cut the tension with a knife."

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

"Have you noticed the way he watches you? I mean, he's always done that, but – I think your small act of seduction really worked."

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

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

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

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

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

Selene turned towards Kristen. "Speaking of you-"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Peter shook his head from where he was still sitting on the couch. "Oh boy. Merlin help whoever you two decide to prank."

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

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

"You're my friend and I like that you can be pushy. Besides, I needed it."

"You do realize, Lily, that not all of this was your fault? I don't think you should keep blaming yourself."

Lily, not quite sure what to say, pulled Kristen into a hug.

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Watch where you're going, mudblood. I wouldn't want you to bleed on me," Lucius Malfoy hissed in her face.

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

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

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

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

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

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

They found an empty compartment and Lily smiled at that bit of good luck. As she sat down, she informed James, "My parents can't pick us up at the station, so we'll need to take a cab to my house."

"Er – a muggle cab? But-"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Er – yes – you did mention something…"

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

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

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

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

"James-"

He turned back towards her.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Where is Petunia, anyway?"

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

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

Sirius, as if reading her thoughts, slipped into the spot beside her on the couch. "I'm still a bit embarrassed about that leather thing the other night…"

Selene laughed loudly and then turned to look at him. "You hardly need to be embarrassed, my friend. We've already determined that we're almost the same person, and therefore we have many of the same interests and…well, perhaps that includes leather." She winked at him. "I always did like a man in leather."

"I always did like myself in leather."

"And we're both quite sexy in leather…at least, I'm assuming that you are."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "I'm sexy in everything."

Selene shifted to look at him more fully. "Oh, and I'm not?"

"Oh no, you're pretty sexy too."

"Good." After a moment of silence, she added, "But I was thinking – we should have a prank war."

"A what?"

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

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

"That's what you think."

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

Selene smiled, leaning closer. "Tomorrow morning."

"I love your crazy ideas," he murmured.

"I know," she smiled back. Suddenly, she leaned over and hugged him, sighing. He was like a big, Cavillor teddy bear. How could she have ever disliked him?

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

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

"Where are your parents?" He asked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He grinned at her, "Am I?"

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

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

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

"Aha!" He smirked at her.

"On one condition."

"Which is?"

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

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

"Anyone want some hot choco-"

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

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

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

♥♣♠♥♣♠♥♣♠

As they made their way down to breakfast the next morning, Selene grinned at Sirius and pulled something small out of her robes; a little bottle of lotion. She turned to Sirius and said, "Want some? Your face is looking a tad dry, and you wouldn't want your sexy features to becomes old and…er, dry." She scrunched up her nose.

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

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

"Wha-"

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

"Don't worry," Selene smirked, "I charmed him too."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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A/N: I admit this chapter probably would have been out even quicker had it not been for my obsessive reading of the Count of Monte Cristo the past few days…God, I wish I could write like that. If you haven't read it, do. It's quite amazing.

And, yes, for all of you who have been with the story since the first version, you may recognize this cliffhanger. I left you here a long time ago, did I not? Perhaps, if you ask nicely, I'll remedy that soon ;) And it's almost frickin July. And we all know what that means…personally, my sanity is slowly slipping away into excitement.

Shadyday9- Haha, well I'm happy I could enlighten you to censoring habits. And I should say thank you for continuing to review, b/c it makes me feel loved :D

Snazzysnez- Why yes, I actually am capable of updating quickly again. I hope this is satisfying enough!

Paige/ Golden Honey- I understand the not bothering to log in ;) But I'm glad that you liked the chapter!

Until next time,

♥Emily