Author’s note: Hello! Just a few quick comments on this chapter:

- I like this chapter ;)

- Some of you are going to hate it.

- I went back and forth with this chapter a lot, because I realized what you’d all think -- However, let it suffice to say that this is what I’ve been planning since the beginning.

- You should review. ;)

Disclaimer: All HP stuff is copyrighted JKR.

“Lily?” Two very shocked faces met her as she tumbled out of the fire. Familiar faces. Too familiar. Lily bit her lip. This was where her mind took her, was it? Well…too late to change it now. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. Instead, she just looked at the two boys in front of her, who were looking stunned and a bit shaken. She closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them again. They were still there.

James Potter and Sirius Black were sitting at a table across from the fireplace, staring at her.

After a moment’s silence, James Potter started talking. “What are you doing here?” he asked. “Is everything okay? Were you…attacked…?”

Of course. He was fearing the worst. That wasn’t surprising, given the circumstances of her first visit to the Potter household. “No,” Lily said quickly, feeling very embarrassed. “No, no, it’s nothing like that….”

“So…why are you here, then?” His voice wasn’t judging, merely curious. She felt herself redden more.

“I…ran away,” she said delicately.

“Ran away? From what?”

Lily gave them a rather sardonic smile. They’d love this. “Marlene.”

James and Sirius exchanged glances. Then Sirius spoke: “Well, while completely understandable, any particular reason?”

“We had a …fight, this morning. We were yelling, and she said some things I…well, we just had a fight. And I lost my temper and left.” Why was she telling them this? She should just grab some Floo Powder and go. “Look, I’m sorry. This was stupid. I shouldn’t have come…I don’t know why I came here, I just…I should go…” She was heading back for the fireplace, but Sirius grabbed her arm.

“Whoa, Lily, calm down,” he said. “Don’t worry, James’s house is practically an asylum for a runaways by now. You can see the beacon from miles away.” He chuckled.

“What do you mean?”

“Me, for one,” said Sirius. “I ran away from home last summer. Came here. Then there’s Remus; he more or less lives here for a while after…well, after he’s visited with his parents some, and of course --”

“Why did you run away?” asked Lily curiously, forgetting herself.

“Ah, well, you’ve met my younger brother, Regulus, right?” Lily nodded slightly, trying not to make a face. She knew Regulus Black. He was a Slytherin a few years below them, and a right unpleasant person. Sirius laughed, though it was rather hollow, she noticed. “Well, imagine about five of him twenty times worse, and you get the picture.”

“Hang on,” said James suddenly. “You left Marlene’s in the morning, you said. So where’ve you been until now?”

Not that it was his business, but…“I went home.”

“Lily--”

“I couldn’t stay there,” she continued, unsure of why she was telling him this. Maybe it was the fact that she had, uninvited, tumbled through his fireplace and was now standing in his house, or maybe it was something else. She couldn’t say. “I couldn’t stay there…I would’ve gone crazy. I -- I didn’t know where to go…I’m sorry.” She couldn’t meet his eyes.

“There’s no reason to be sorry,” said James, sounding rather shocked. “You’re welcome here, of course, I --”

“No, listen. This isn’t …I mean, I should go, really. I’ll go back to Hogwarts, or something.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” said James gruffly, already beginning to haul her trunk out of the room. She followed him, rather flustered. “You can stay here. School is no place for Christmas,” he added with a grin. “Besides, how would you get there? Sirius, give me a hand with this.”

Lily didn’t respond, but instead watched in silence as Sirius rolled his eyes at James, pulled out his wand, and levitated the trunk up the stairs.

“Right,” said James, nodding at Sirius. “That works too.”

Sirius snorted and James motioned for Lily to follow him up the stairs. Lily did, with some misgivings. Down another hallway they went, another turn, another hallway…

“Your house is…huge,” said Lily, gazing in quiet awe as they passed door after door.

Sirius winked. “We often use Floo Powder to get around quickly, but recently James’s mum got a bit irritated with having to buy more Powder every week, so she told us, what was it?”

“Use our bloody legs and walk a little,” said James, laughing. “It’s not that big,” he added, shrugging. “We’re just lazy.”

“Your parents -- they won’t mind me staying … really, I don’t want to be a nuisance -- I’m --”

“They won’t mind at all,” answered James briskly.

“Honestly, Lily. Give up. We’re never letting you leave, now,” laughed Sirius. “Really though, James’s parents love having people over. Secretly, they’re upset that they only have one son and that they got stuck with a prick like James.” James, on cue, punched Sirius on the shoulder. Sirius, grinning, added, “And that’s why they more-or-less adopted me!”

“Here we are,” said James, opening a door. “This is the guest suite…the bedroom’s there, see, and the bathroom,” he pointed his wand and a door swung open, “is there.”

Lily stuttered her thanks, feeling very embarrassed.

“Don’t worry about it,” said James laughing.

“The Potter residence: Offering refuge and shelter from any and all McKinnon’s.”

Lily frowned at Sirius. “I feel really guilty about that. They were so very nice in letting me stay with them…I just couldn’t …well. Marlene. You know.”

“Oh, do we know,” said Sirius. “My dear Lily, you’ve finally seen the light.”

Lily just stared across the room, feeling incredibly awkward.

“You must be hungry,” said James, “if you left in the morning.”

It was only then that Lily realized she hadn’t eaten all day. “Oh,” she said, a little surprised by his hospitality, “well, yes, a little, but --”

“I’m sure we have something I can heat up in the kitchen,” said James, making for the door.

“He may be a brute at school, but his mother did teach him some manners. He’s a right little gentlemen at home!”

“Shut up, Sirius,” laughed James. “Just because you grew up a barbarian…”

“Too true,” agreed Sirius, following James out the door with a grin.

Lily knew she should follow, but despite the fact that she had slept all day (if being practically comatose counts as sleeping), she felt remarkably tired. Her legs were weak from traveling (Flooing was supposed to be very convenient, but she always felt it took quite a lot out of a person), and before she knew it, she was lying down on the bed, her eyes closing unexpectedly.

A little later, she heard, though she was not conscious enough to respond, someone saying her name, very quietly. “Lily?”

And though she wasn’t sure how long it had been, when she woke there was a tray of hot soup and tea, presumably kept warm by a heating charm.

Well, Marlene should be satisfied. She had run to Potter. And, she thought as she sipped the tea, for something her friend said with such disgust, it wasn’t so bad. Not at all.

James poked his head into the guest suite a few minutes after realizing Lily was no longer behind him. Of course, he knocked first. She might’ve been changing or something, and that would’ve awkward. But he got no response, so he called, “Lily?” When no response came again, he slowly opened the door and peeked in. She was lying on the bed and appeared to be fast asleep. “Lily?” he asked, quieter this time, so as not to wake her up if she was indeed asleep.

No response. He took that as a yes, she was sleeping. She looked as though she had just fallen there and not bothered to get up. He closed the door very softly, and went back down the hallway.

Downstairs, Sirius was rummaging through the kitchen. As James walked in, he gave him a glance that asked quite plainly, ‘So? She didn’t apparate away, or something?’

“She’s sleeping,” said James, very softly.

“Right. Well, food wise, there’s plenty of stuff to cook with, but not much in the way of leftovers.”

“Not with you eating here.”

“And we both know neither of us can cook. Especially you. You might poison her.”

“Unfortunately, very true.”

“But there is some quiche --”

“No,” said James, “It’s broccoli, right? Lily hates broccoli.”

Sirius raised his eyebrows.

“Alright,” said James chuckling, raising his hands in a guilty fashion. “So I more or less stalked her in fifth year. We’ve gotten past this, remember?”

Sirius just shook his head. “You know, not five months ago Lily would have rather taken on a herd of angry hippogriffs than come here.”

“I’m as shocked as you are.”

Sirius cocked his head. “I don’t think you are. You two have definitely…come closer this year.”

“Well, we’ve been working together a lot, I guess.”

Sirius considered him for a moment. “Well, anyways, there’s some potato soup here, too.”

“That’ll do,” said James, happy to move away from the subject of Lily. He placed the soup and a mug of tea on a tray and cast a quick heat-retaining charm, then took the tray up to her room. He knocked again, very softly, in case she had woken up. She hadn’t, apparently, so he went in and very quietly set the tray next to her bed. As he left the room, however, he couldn’t help but stand for a few moments at the doorway and watch her lying there. She was so beautiful, with her dark red hair spread over the pillow…her breathing was slow; she looked so peaceful.

Stop, James, he told himself. Just because she and Marlene had a fight doesn’t mean she’s through with Mick. And even if she was, that wouldn’t make her automatically his. He had to stop this. He had to…

With that thought he turned around and stopped. Sirius was standing at the end of the hallway, watching him.

“Padfoot,” said James, “what are you doing?”

His friend shrugged. “Just came up to see what was taking so long.” James said nothing, but started back down the staircase. “You really like her, don’t you.”

“Caught on, have you?”

“Well,” Sirius said, following James down the stairs, “I knew you liked her, but…I guess I always just thought it was a crush, like with Sandy Dunston.”

“So did I.”

“And it’s not, then?”

James didn’t reply at first. Then he said, “Well, it doesn’t even matter. Because I’m through.”

“You’re through?”

“Yes. I give up. I’m not going to try to -- We’re nothing more than friends, and that’s all it will ever be.”

“But Prongs --”

“She already has bloody McKinnon. She needs a friend, right now. Not another boyfriend. And, well, if I can give her that, then I should be happy.”

“James --”

James let himself fall onto the couch. “Enough is enough,” he said, unsure if he was still talking to Sirius or himself. “If she’s rejected me for this long, there’s no reason for her to change her mind now. We’re friends, at least, and that should be enough.”

Sirius said nothing, just sat on the chair across from James.

“How ‘bout a game of chess?” suggested James lightly.

Sirius agreed and the two began a heated game of chess. Playing chess with Sirius was always amusing because he had charmed his set to shout creative insults at whoever he was playing against. Much, James mused, like the Marauder’s Map.

“Oi, you four-eyed fiend!” cried his knight. “Maybe if you brushed that despicable mop you call hair out of your eyes, you might be able to see enough to put up at least a somewhat decent fight!”

James promptly ordered his queen to smash the offending piece.

“Oh, you’re playing that ghastly game again, are you?” James’s mum was standing in the doorway, smiling at the pair of them. James’s mum adored Sirius, and had been delighted when he had come to stay for good. Though he had few qualms that she would react any other way with Lily, he felt a little awkward as he prepared himself to explain.

“Hello, mum,” said James. “Dad’s staying late again?”

His mother nodded rather gravely. His father was rarely home for dinner anymore; he often came in late at night, even morning. But, that’s what came with working in Magical Law Enforcement during Voldemort’s reign of power. His mother, who had once worked in a greenhouse with magical plants and herbs, had recently taken up a minor job in the Department of International Magic Cooperation. She hated it, James knew, but with all the disappearances and deaths, jobs in the Ministry needed to be filled. She took a small job because she insisted (to both her family and the Ministry), that if they were going to keep her husband that late, it was absolutely necessary that she be home over holidays. She would not allow two teenage boys to be home alone all day long. Especially two teenage boys who could not cook, at all.

“I’m starving, work was positively dreadful today. So, what would you two like for dinner? It’s just the three of us again tonight.”

“Actually, mum -- er the four of us. We have a guest for the holidays,” said James.

“A guest?” His mother looked surprised.

“You remember Lily Evans, er, from this summer?” said Sirius.

His mother’s face softened. “That poor dear whose parents were killed,” she said.

“Yeah,” said James, rather uncomfortably. “Well, she showed up just a little while ago --”

“Is everything okay?” asked his mother, rather worriedly.

“Yes, yes, well, she had a bit of a fall out with her friend she was staying with --”

“Knowing the friend, she probably said some pretty nasty things --”

“And she left the house where she was staying and needed somewhere to go --”

“And she really must have had no where to go, because she rather detests us at school --”

“Well, not so much anymore,” said James fairly, “but that’s besides the point. She needed somewhere to stay --”

“So we told her it was fine and she could stay here --”

“It is fine, isn’t it?”

“Of course!” said his mother. James exhaled in relief. “The more the merrier! I’m caught rather ill prepared -- the house is a disaster -- but that’s alright, I hope she won’t mind too much. I do have to get it cleaned up for the Christmas Eve party though …”

About a half-hour later his mum had finished making dinner, and James was knocking once more on Lily’s door.

“Come in,” said a very small voice.

James opened the door. Lily was sitting on the bed, holding her knees up against her chest, her face buried.

“My mum’s made some dinner, if you’re hungry,” he started tentatively. “Lily.” James walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. “You okay?”

Lily looked up at him. Her face showed no sign of tears, but it was somber nonetheless. She gave him a rather feeble smile. “I was just thinking,” she said.

“A dangerous thing.”

She laughed weakly. “Entirely.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

She considered. “Oh, there’s not much to talk about it. I was just thinking about …what Marlene said.”

James said nothing, but waited for her to continue.

“Have I changed, James? Am I a different person since…since my parents were murdered? Am I really that insufferable? The way she goes on…you’d think she should get paid to put up with me.”

“I’m sure Marlene said a lot of things she didn’t mean.”

“But she did mean them! I’ve known Marlene for seven years, and she says what she means, no matter what.”

“Well, Marlene’s a bit of an idiot. Sorry, but it had to be said. You can’t seriously tell me you haven’t noticed that a little by now?”

Lily gave him a half-smile. “Well, yeah. But she’s also my best friend. She knows me better than anyone -- there has to be some truth in what she says.”

James thought for a moment. “You’re probably right about that. Sure, you’ve changed some this year. We’ve all changed. I’ve changed, Sirius has changed, Marlene, I’m sure, has changed. Change isn’t always a bad thing. You’ve been through something horrific, and that can and does change a person. I don’t think Marlene grasps just what you’ve had to deal with.

“But one thing, Lily. You are not insufferable. You are an amazing person who’s fun and has a sense of humor. That’s why people love you. That’s why Mick loves you, that’s why Marlene loves you -- even if she may not act like it all that time -- that’s why I love you. I love you how you are, how you have been for as long as I’ve known you. Of course we’ve all changed. If I still acted like I did when I first came to Hogwarts, I’d have some major issues.”

Lily laughed. “Thank you, James. You’ve been such an amazing friend to me this year. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Well, you’d probably shout a lot less.”

“Laugh a lot less.”

“Curse a lot less.”

“Smile a lot less,” she said softly. “Thank you, James.”

And they made their way down to dinner.

It was only after Lily had met James’s mum, spent a surprisingly enjoyable evening with two boys she had once despised, and was lying in bed mulling over a perfectly bizarre day, that Lily realized the importance of what James had said. That’s why I love you.

A/N Hey guys, thanks for the reviews so far, you made my day. I'd love to be able to respond to you all individually right now (and I will, later), but I really haven't got the time. I'm leaving for a two-week vacation, which, if I do say so myself, I really really need. I plan to write while I'm there, but there won't be any updates in that time. A thousand apologies, but I know you all have the best intentions for me and realize that some time at the sea will do a lot for my health. *wink wink* I can't write if I'm terribly ill, can I? Well, yeah, I guess I can, but you guys wouldn't wish that on me. :)

So, hugs and kiss, see you in two weeks, hopefully with Chapter 13 (ooh, Chapter 13! Something big *always* happens in Chapter 13!), as a new and revived human being!!

love, chloe.

Vacation Update: Hey y'all. I've just spent a lovely week at the beach and am now hanging out in the place of my birth (where, sadly, I no longer live), the good old south.

I jumped online at the first chance to check my mail, and all the reviews positively made my day. I thought I'd leave you all a little message here, letting you know that I have been working on Chapter thirteen all vacation. I've written over ten pages (written notebook pages, so not equivilent to typed pages), and it's definately my favorite chapter I've ever written, I think. I hope you'll enjoy it too, but sadly, I'm not able to type it up here, (considering a few paragraphs are still stuck at home on my dying computer). Oh well, I promise i'll try to get it up ASAP when I get home! Mucho love, Chloe.


Chapter 13 is IN QUEUE, folks! Sorry for the delay, but there you are.