Their hotel room was definitely comfortable for two guests -- maybe not two guests of no relation and different gender, under normal circumstances, of course. But it was beautiful and comfortable, with a high ceiling, a small golden chandelier of candles, hard polished oak furniture, a kitchenette, a spacy bathroom, and two queen-sized beds with blankets as soft as down. There was a lovely outside balcony through some French doors at the end of the room, framed by golden curtains. The first thing Lily did was take out her wand and conjure a barrier between the two beds, separating the room equally in half by a conjured curtain; as she did this, swiftly and muttering to herself, James decided to steer clear of her for a while. He made some tea in the kitchenette, and soon they were both sitting at the little countertop, sipping it.

After a few minutes of silence, James felt he had to say something. Lily was not calming down very easily, and he did feel badly about striking up her temper.

"I'm sorry," he said truthfully. To his surprise, Lily smiled a bit into her tea.

"It's all right. I mean, as long as Dumbledore knows your here . . ." She looked at him questioningly and James nodded. "It wasn't your fault," Lily continued.

James winced. "Actually . . ."

Lily raised her eyebrows; then -- "Oh. Yeah, I guess it was your fault, wasn't it."

He nodded grimly. Lily finished off her tea. "Who's the fun-leech now, huh?"

"I am sorry, Evans. I'll be on my best -- Hel-lo, is that liquor?" He moved his chair back and crossed the room to a cabinet full of bottles.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Congratulations, you kept a promise for a tenth of a second."

"Damn, it's locked," James muttered. He took out his wand.

"James," Lily said warningly. He groaned and stuffed his wand back in his pocket.

"Anyway, Evans, you might just find I'm not a bad person to live with," James said, going over to the counter and plucking some grapes out of a decorative bowl.

"Yes, I'm sure we'll bond and leave here being bestest-best friends," Lily said mockingly. James raised his eyebrows, indicating that was not exactly what he'd meant, but Lily ignored him. "Now I am going to bed on my side of the curtain and you are going to be quiet on your side of the curtain. We get up at five o'clock."

"Five?!" James panicked. "Five o'clock!"

"Ellen Bones must be so happy back at the castle, knowing you're the sucker who has to get up at the break of dawn."

James pulled the curtains closed between them. "Good night," he said bitterly.