Summary: Sequel to "Time to Fly (Friends Forever)". Lily and James haven't seen each other for seven years. A school reunion rekindles their friendship, but how far will friendship go?

Disclaimer: Basically, anything you don't recognize is mine. The rest is JK's.

Author's Note: Y'all wanted a sequel, so here 'tis! This story was partially inspired by the Bumbling Firefly's Five Year Reunions Suck--or do They? Go read it after you read this. PG-13 for some possible later stuff.

Seven Years

by Lady Wildcat

"You look just like your father." Mrs. Luci Potter, squat, hair graying, more than a foot shorter than her son, tugged at his jacket lapels. "All you Potters look alike."

James rolled his eyes and stood still on the snowy doorstep, letting his mother fuss. "Yes, Mum. I know that I look like Dad. You tell me that every year."

"I mean it this time. Your father looked just like you right now, up to the day he died. You Potters never age beyond twenty-five." She shoved a brown bag into her son's hands and gave a last tug at his jacket. "Those are jelly cookies for you, dear. And you need a new coat, this one's worn to threads. Do you want to borrow money? Your father left too much for an old lady like me."

"No, Mum! I'm an adult now, remember? I need to earn my own way." James peeked into the bag and grimaced. "Really, I don't need these cookies--"

"Too bad." Luci's voice lost its grandmotherly tone and became one of authority, a result of being a military child and later a single mother in a large house full of servants. "Now that I'm without all of those servants I need to learn to cook."

"Please, Mum, take the cookies...even my neighbor's dog won't eat them..."

"No. I baked too many and no one else will take them. When you get yourself married you won't have to take my cookies."

"Mu-um, I don't even have a girlfriend." His mother could be so embarrassing sometimes.

"The right girl will fall for you. Heaven knows I did for your father. You need to learn to pay attention, that's all."

James sighed, then leaned down from his six-foot-two height to kiss his mother's cheek. "Bye."

"Bye, James." His mother shut the door of her comfortable town house, and James set off down the sidewalk.

Maybe she's right, he thought, long legs striding past the shops of London. Maybe I should get a girlfriend. The job's been so busy, though...one more promotion before I'm a real Auror.

Half an hour later James, shivering from the cold, burst into the boardinghouse in a whirl of fluffy snow. He stomped his boots several times on the carpet Mrs. Paxton had set out and trudged upstairs. On the second floor he met his landlady. "'Lo, Mrs. P."

"Hello, James. Oh, you got an owl--it's in your room."

"Thanks." James squeezed past Mrs. Paxton's bulk and took out his keys. Fumbling with the lock for a moment, he entered Apartment 7. James tossed his coat and the cookies down on the sagging couch, kicked the door closed, and ran over to the kitchen table where a familiar shape was sitting.

"Ah, thanks Mitz." The barn owl hooted as James took the letter off her leg, then cocked her head at him.

"Yeah, there's a reply. Here, sit with Ed." James set Mitzy down next to his horned owl Eddie and flopped on the couch (breaking a few rusted springs) to read Lily's letter.

Hey Jamesie,

Brr! January at Hogwarts is the prettiest time of year, even if it is WAY too cold. My delicate redheadedness demands heat. All the kids make fun of me because I'm wearing about five layers around all day. Nasty little buggers. Nick set another Dungbomb off in class today. I took your advice and confiscated all his Filibusters (yeah, I searched his bag. They all WERE in the quill case. How'd you know...wait, stupid question). I'm beginning to LOVE pop quizzes--yes, I know I'm evil. My students tell me all the time. Funny, a DADA prof being evil.

So, enough about me. How's your little Ministry job? What are you again, a Junior Executive Manager for the Auror Department? Ack, I can never keep your job names straight. I still don't know what the hell it means--although I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that raise.

Did you know--our SEVENTH REUNION is coming up! Wow, we haven't seen each other for seven years! Why do they stress the seventh one so much anyway? I mean, for the others, I just got some crappy little invitation, but for this one Dumbledore himself spoke to me. Seems like we have to make a speech and all, written together. Well, that's an aspect that wasn't on the Head Girl résumé: making a speech seven years later! My public speaking skills have improved with teaching, though. How are yours? I will kill you if you mess up the brilliantly written speech we will write.

I'm going to be there, and you BETTER be there. I need to see how different you look. Last time I saw you, you were pimply. Tee hee, not too pimply though. You were actually quite dashing for seventeen. Now, Snape had pimples. Gag, can you believe that at the age of twenty-four the man still has acne problems? Unbelievable. It's like he never heard of SHAMPOO.

Well, I'll see you around. Oh, by the way, thanks for the Christmas present! Wow, it was so pretty...

Love,

Lily

James smiled and dug some parchment and a quill out of the couch pillows. He squinted at Lily's letter, switched on the dilapidated lamp, and wrote. Finishing his letter--which was splattered with several interesting ink shapes, a result of writing lying down--he tied it to Eddie's leg and launched him out of the window. He watched his owl soar over the snow-capped roofs of London, then sighed and closed the window.

* * *

"Nick," Lily sighed at her unruly student, "please give me that Dungbomb."

The small third year scowled. "Yes, Professor Evans." He held out the small, manure-colored blob.

Fortunately, Lily saw the Electric Handshake buzzer as well. "I'll take that, too," she said, touching the almost invisible red switch that turned the buzzer off. She flipped the small metal device up and caught it neatly in her hand. Nick, scowling all the more that his prank didn't work, trudged back to his seat.

"And now, let's get back to boggarts." Lily put her hands behind her back and began to walk slowly across the width of the classroom. She liked to do this while teaching; over her brief year as sub Charms professor and six years as DADA teacher it had become known as the "Evans Ramble". "Boggarts live in small, enclosed places. They turn into your worst fear. Nick, put that down."

"Aaw," Nick said, laying down the sugar quill. "Professor--how'd you know? It works on all the other teachers."

"I'm not stupid," Lily said wryly. "I didn't spend seven years in the same class as James and Sirius before learning a few tricks."

Suddenly all eyes were on her. "James and Sirius?" The voice was Kellie's, one of Nick's cronies. Her normally mischievous gray eyes were shining with respect and awe. "You knew James Potter and Sirius Black? The ones who set the detention record?"

"Yeah. We used to..." Lily, seeing the eager faces turned towards her, all attention focused, sighed. Anecdotes would take up the rest of the lesson. "Well, those days are over now."

A chorus of moans resounded from the class. "Aww, come on, Professor!" "Yeah, tell us!" "Please?" "Please?"

Lily sighed yet again. Puppy faces were her one weak point. She glanced at the clock; the lesson was almost over anyway.

"All right, we'll stop for today and I'll tell you about James and Sirius." Cheers arose, and Lily tapped the blackboard with her wand, clearing it. "Why do you guys want to hear about them anyway?"

"They're the best," said Nick. "They broke 97% of the school rules, and snuck out at night at least every week, and once they conjured up a sombrero and made Snape wear it for a month!"

"Professor Snape," Lily corrected automatically, smiling inside. She remembered the sombrero. "I can't probably tell you more than you know. James and Sirius were in my House and my classes. I was pals with Sirius and really good friends with James. In fact, we even..."

All of Lily's students, watching her like a hawk, noticed her pause and the hand fly up to the necklace she wore. She twiddled with the charm, a simple Celtic knot engraved on a small silver square, and took a few breaths. Then, in a slightly normal tone, she continued. "We even dated for a year, then we broke up."

"What happened?" Kellie asked.

Lily swallowed. "Well..."

Just then, the clock chimed the hour. "I'll see you guys soon, goodbye." Lily gathered her bag and books, walking out of the room. Third year Gryffindors were her last class on Tuesdays, and she had a whole hour to herself before dinner.

She headed up the stairs that led to the faculty dorms. Coming to the portrait of Headmaster Griggs, she greeted the white-haired man who had died several centuries before. "Hello, Griggs. Tumblebumpkin."

"Ah, hello Lily," said Griggs, smiling as his frame swung forward. "Tired?"

"You have no idea." Lily climbed through the portrait hole into the faculty common room. No one was here; she had the whole dorm to herself for this hour on Tuesdays. Heading down the womens' wing, she turned into her room, number five. Number five was furnished in a simplistic country style, with whitewashed walls, light yellow curtains, linen drapes on the bedframe, a homemade quilt. It was Lily's favorite room in the castle: the heavy medieval air of Hogwarts was not her taste.

She bustled over to the hot plate on the counter and set about to boiling water for tea. She liked to eat alone sometimes, away from the noise of the Great Hall, and had saved to purchase a small fridge, sink, and hot plate.

A tapping at the window alerted Lily away from her tea. It was Eddie, carrying a letter. Smiling, Lily opened the window and took the letter. "Thanks, Ed." The owl flew to Mitzy's empty cage and began to drink the water. Lily rolled her eyes. "Sure, make yourself at home." Seating herself on the large blue paisley armchair, Lily grabbed her tea and set about to reading James' letter.

Dear Lily,

Seven years?!?? Seven YEARS?!?? Wow, it doesn't feel like seven! Don't worry, I will be at the reunion. Actually, I'm rather curious as to how Hogwarts has changed over the years, so I'm coming on May 22nd. That's, let's see, fourteen days before the reunion, so we'll get two weeks to catch up before all the other people come. Don't worry, Dumbledore has okayed this--he says that I can stay in an extra faculty room. I'm going to attend your classes, okay? Please? I'll sit in the back and not make any noise, I promise. Dumbledore and I just assumed you'd be my guide, but I know how much you hate assumptions so I'm asking you now. Please be my guide? Pleasepleaseplease? It'll be really fun! Plus, we'll have some time to write that speech. I'm afraid my public speaking skills are shameful. I shake and stutter when I have to read something prepared in front of a crowd. Maybe you can coach me.

I think the reason they stress the seventh is because of seven years at Hogwarts. Seven years later, celebrating the seven years? You know? Just a guess. We could ask Dumbledore.

I'm looking forward to seeing you again, too. And excuse me, but I was not pimply! Maybe a few red spots, but never anything like Snape's. How have you changed? Last time I saw you you were as thin as a stick. There was actually a rumor going around that you were anorexic or bulimic or something. Bullshit, I said. That's not the Lily I know.

Your students sound just like me! What did I tell you about becoming a teacher? You brought this upon yourself, remember...I want to meet that Nick kid when I come! Sounds like me. Pop quizzes--Lil, I'm ashamed of you. Didn't you learn anything in school? Shame, shame, putting those poor children through pop quizzes. Remember how McGonagall gave them to us as a way of keeping me and Sirius under control?

I actually got the raise--I am now Junior Manager for the Second Auror Department. Ooh, aah. Basically, I went from being the guy who mopped the floor and took out the trash to the guy who sorts papers and brings everyone coffee. Well, at least I get paid more.

Glad you liked your present. It seems like a good present for a lovely little Irishwoman.

I'll see you soon!

Love,

James

PS. Sorry this is so messy; I'm writing this on the couch, lying down.

Lily smiled. Trust James to forget to use a desk. She leaned close to the paper and breathed deeply, smelling the James smell of light coffee and clean clothes. Her eyes strayed to the word "bullshit", and she laughed. Anorexia! What would the gossips think of next?

Lily headed over to her bookcase and removed a small wooden box, into which she tucked James' letter. She kept all of his letters, and just to reassure herself that she wasn't dependent on him anymore she kept Laura's and Chris' letters as well. Just keeping my best friends' letters to read for later. It has nothing to do with James and me. It was a lie, but Lily didn't care.

She paused as she put the box back, and her hand brushed a small leather-bound book. Picking it up, she returned to her armchair and leafed through the pages until she came to James' entry. Lily knew every single word of his graduation note, and her fingers touched the words "time to fly" ever so lightly. Her smile turned into a thoughtful frown. James hadn't mentioned their relationship after the graduation. Was he scared? Did he still feel the same way about her? Did--

Stop it, Lily, she told herself sternly. You are too dependent on this man. You're an adult now. As she put the yearbook away, however, she couldn't help but steal a last glance at James' letter. Maybe, maybe, when she saw him again, he'd tell her what he really meant.

***

Author's Note: See that little blue button? Yes. Press it and review.

I really didn't mean to make Lily sound like a pathetic loser, it's just the way it came out. She'll get tougher in the next chapters.

Best,

Lady Wildcat