Much to Sirius' surprise, James met his eyes and grinned. "I think it's brilliant."

"Youwhat?" Sirius' voice cracked.

"You're free! They've been sitting smugly waiting for my parents to get sick of you, which they won't, by the way, and for you to come home with your tail between your legs. Don't you see? You'll never have to ask them for anything ever again!"

Sirius blinked. Well it certainly wasn't the reaction he had expected.

"You know, I don't think we've had such a good feast in a while," Sirius announced happily, making Tibby the house-elf beam with pleasure.

Peter grinned. "Didn't expect anything less," he reassured the elf, scratching his sandy blonde head.

Snape made a noise of displeasure from the ceiling, where he had been levitated and gagged some half hour previously.

"Don't even think of spitting in our food," James told him sternly.

"Well, here's to inheritance," Remus grinned, raising his bottle of butterbeer.

Sirius grinned. "No. Here's to us winning the game tomorrow. That's much more important."

"To Gryffindor!" James echoed, clinking his bottle with relish

James stumbled up to bed, hoping to Merlin that Lily hadn't waited up for him. He had decided during the course of the day that Lily probably wasn't lying: if she said she wanted to go out with him, she probably meant it. Nevertheless, James' parents had brought him up as a gentleman, and if one disregarded the pranks he pulled as a Marauder, he had more or less honoured that upbringing so far. Now was not the time to change.

Lily had indeed not waited up for him, and although James was secretly relieved, he was also a little disappointed. He prepared for bed quietly, and just before he drifted off to sleep, he made a secret resolution: if he was going to woo Lily Evans, he was going to go about it the right way.

When James emerged from his room the next morning, he found Lily waiting for him on the lounge.

"Morning," she smiled brightly, eyeing his messy black hair with what she found to be a surprising amount of fondness.

James grinned. Lily's hair was down, rich red waves cascading over her shoulders. Her cheeks were pink, and her Gryffindor scarf hung loosely around her neck.

"Coming to the match today?" he asked hopefully.

Lily's eyes glittered. "I wouldn't miss it," she said, so sincerely that James' stomach gave an uncomfortable yet pleasant flutter.

"May I walk you to breakfast, Miss Evans?" he asked gallantly, offering his arm to her.

Lily laughed. "You may, Mr. Potter. It would be my pleasure."

"And it's Barrow with the Quaffle – passes to Fletchley – Abbott – Barrow – narrowly avoids Reaser's bludger – Potter intercepts! – Back to- Fletchley intercepts, flies for Wood, and it's Fletchley, Fletchley… Hufflepuff scores! That's 160 – 0 to Hufflepuff."

Lily winced. The Gryffindor team regrouped in mid air, all looking solemn. Peter, next to her, shook his head and loosened his Gryffindor scarf.

"This is just embarrassing," he muttered. "I've never seen Prongs play so badly."

Lily looked at him, startled. "I thought he was doing well!"

Indeed, James had spent the better half of the last hour swooping around the Quidditch pitch in a remarkable display of flying prowess; in fact, Lily concluded that it was very unfortunate that he had not managed to score any goals. For that matter, it really was very unfortunate thatno one on the Gryffindor side had managed to score any goals.

Peter gave her a dark look. "Lily, James is the best chaser Hogwarts has."

"Really?"

"Don't tell me you've never seen him play before," Peter mocked, shaking his head again. "I don't know what's wrong, but he's showing off today and Padfoot looks pissed."

Lily blinked. "Sirius does look rather angry, doesn't he? No, I haven't seen James play before, actually," she countered.

Peter choked. "Good Merlin."

Peter stood. Grabbing Lily's hand, he took off through the stands, and they raced toward ground level, a very confused Head Girl hanging on for her life. What on earth has gotten into him? She wondered, slightly alarmed as she watched him send red sparks into the air to catch Sirius' attention.

The sparks, Lily noted, seemed to do the trick, as Sirius finally noticed the pair approaching the pitch and called for a time out. As one, the Gryffindor team turned and flew downwards, landing on the pitch with a soft "thump."

Lily looked at Peter questioningly.

He nodded at her, looking strangely determined. "James is showing offfor you. Talk to him. I'll take care of the rest."

The Gryffindor team approached Lily and Peter, looking confused. Peter called Sirius forward, and the two of them bent their heads together, talking furiously.

James coughed from behind her, startling Lily. She met his eyes, surprised.

"What's going on?" he whispered into her ear, breath tickling her neck.

Lily shrugged. "I don't know – actually, could I have a word?"

James nodded curiously, and Lily lead him a little further away from the team. He watched her cheeks, smiling. He'd made her blush!

"Peter tells me you're showing off," Lily said flatly. "He says you're the best player this school has, and that you're being an idiot trying to impress me."

Now, it was James' turn to blush. "I – I don't-" he stuttered.

Lily held up a hand. "Prove it. I have faith in you: I think you can win this, James. You just have to believe it."

James bit his lip, sighed, and nodded. "You're probably right," he conceded.

Lily grinned. "Go and prove it to me, James Potter."

She gave his hand a little squeeze, and as if by magic, a sudden resolve seemed to fill him. They could win this match: they had to.

"Did you see that dive?!"

"He just swooped, and scored!"

"Incredible!"

"And how about the dummy goal? Jordan was brilliant!"

"Vance nearly took out their Keeper!"

"Wood's catch, classy as always!"

The Gryffindor Common Room was buzzing with excitement. Peter's banner had been mounted across the wall, along with several duplications, and the Gryffindors were in the middle of their celebratory feast. The portrait hole swung open and James and Sirius returned, their arms once more full of food, to the roars of approval from their fellow house-mates.

James grinned as the roar of the Gryffindor Team song lit on the air:

'Trust in Potter, he's the best!

And Wood can out-fly all the rest!

Williams guards so strong and proud;

And Vance the infallible stuns the crowd!

Reaser will never misjudge his aim;

With Jordan too we'll win the game!

Black, his beater's bat swings true,

Gryffindor are champions through and through!'

"So," said a voice in James' ear. "Can I say I told you so?"

James turned, grinning, to Lily, and picked her up in a hug. Smiling, she hugged him back, feeling that the entire gesture was really quite promising.

"Thanks for believing in me," he told her, setting her down again gently, and taking her hand. His thumb massaged her palm in little circles that Lily found quite distracting.

James' smile broadened as she saluted him. "Never doubted for a minute."

James nodded. "Butterbeer?" he offered. "Shouldn't you be busy celebrating with Vance the infallible?"

"I wanted to see you," she admitted quietly.

James' smile fell, and he frowned at her, suddenly thoughtful. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means… I was serious when I said that… about us."

James sighed, and jerked his head, drawing her away from the party.

"Lily, you know I adore you," he told her quietly. "And I know that you were serious."

Lily bit her lip. "Then what's the problem?"

James pinched her nose fondly. "No problem. I'm just going to go about this the right way, all right? Just… trust me."

Lily nodded, although she couldn't hide the disappointment in her eyes. "I trust you."

James smiled tenderly, and kissed her on the cheek. "Good- gah!"

Lily and James turned to glare at Sirius, who was brandishing a camera and a big grin. "Thought you two might like a happy snap," he grinned. "To celebrate."

Lily glared at him; James, on the other hand, grinned. "Thanks mate. Shall we get back to the party, Lily?" he asked with a pointed look.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'll leave you two to it."

"What does going about it the right way mean, anyway?" Lily muttered darkly to no one in particular as she made her way back to the Head's Wing later that night.

James and Sirius had disappeared from the party some hours earlier, and Lily had the terrible idea that they were up to something again. Even Emmeline's cheerful tipsy-ness and reassurance that James was being romantic hadn't dampened the terrible feeling that something odd was going on.

When Lily entered the Head's Tower, the fire was banked, and the door to James' room was shut. Sighing, Lily cleaned her teeth and went up to bed.

Opening the curtains that hung closed around her four-poster bed, Lily gasped. Rose petals were scattered across her bedspread, and arranged on her pillow was a photo.

Curiously, Lily picked it up. It was the picture that Sirius had taken only that evening: a moving wizard's photograph, where the behaviour of the images reflected their true feelings. Lily hid a smile, watching the photographic likenesses of her and James, and a warm, fuzzy feeling tingled through her chest. The James in the photograph didn't kiss Lily on the cheek: instead he leant in and kissed her long and passionately on the lips. And the Lily in the photograph wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him back.