“I’m not answering that question again, I’ve answered it a hundred times already,” snarled Sirius, jabbing at the ceiling with his own wand. Bludger-sized hailstones began raining down on his desk.
“A little less force, Mr. Black,” squeaked Professor Flitwick in alarm as students dove for cover, and Lily quickly stopped the hailstorm.
“I’m just saying “” Lily began as Professor Flitwick turned away, but she was interrupted.
“Lay off him,” said James quietly. Lily opened her mouth, saw the look on James’s face, and shut it again.
Jocelyn was absentmindedly flicking her wand at the ceiling, and instead of making it snow had produced a large flock of sparrows, which were fluttering restlessly around her head. She didn’t seem to notice, however. She was looking over her homework planner, a frown etching itself on her face.
“Another Defense Against the Dark Arts essay,” she complained, looking up at the rest of them. “Want to help me with that tonight, Lils?”
“I’d love to, but I have to go to that stupid Slug Club Christmas party,” said Lily, making a face.
“I thought you loved Slughorn,” said Sirius, waving his wand feebly as he looked over at her. A tiny, single snowflake fluttered down on his desk.
“Oh, he’s all right,” Lily agreed, “except for when he hints I ought to have been in Slytherin “”
“WHAT?” shouted James, leaping up at the exact same moment he waved his wand. Rain immediately poured down on him from the ceiling. Remus and Jocelyn, who had both just taken long draughts from goblets Remus had conjured for them under the table, choked mid-swallow; Jocelyn sprayed Sirius with pumpkin juice, and Remus spewed what appeared to be Butterbeer from his nose. Several students had jumped and looked around in alarm, but burst out laughing when they saw James standing at his desk, soaked and rigid with shock.
“Sorry, Professor,” said Lily casually, waving away the rain, and the sparrows for good measure. “It was my fault, it won’t happen again.” She turned back to James, who was drying his clothes with his wand. “It’s not like I agree with him that I should be in Slytherin,” she said, as if there had been no interruption.
“I would hope not,” said James coldly.
“Why don’t you come to the Slug Club, Sirius?” Lily questioned, turning to him, as he wiped pumpkin juice off his front. “Professor Slughorn is always wishing you would. I think he would have loved to have you in Slytherin as well as your brother.”
“You’ve just put your finger on it,” growled Sirius. “I’m not going to some stupid party so I can hear how much I’ve let my family down by landing in Gryffindor. Especially if Regulus is going to be there.”
“Regulus is actually very polite at the meetings,” said Lily fairly. “I’m sure if you just to got to know him “”
“If I couldn’t do that after living in the same house with him for nine years, I don’t think it’s worth any more of my time,” said Sirius coolly.
Lily turned scarlet.
“Sorry,” she mumbled, “I forgot.”
“Wish I could,” said Sirius coldly.
“Don’t go getting any ideas about Regulus Black,” said James warningly.
“As if I’d fancy a runty fifth year,” said Lily scornfully, giving James a withering look. “I only meant “”
“I know what you meant, and I’m still warning you,” said James angrily, “don’t go getting ideas about Regulus Black. He’s an arrogant little “”
“I don’t know why you’re all so fussed about him, really,” interrupted Jocelyn, seeming to take a true interest in the conversation for the first time. “It’s not like he ever does anything to any of us.”
“Except jinx us!” snapped James.
“Ah, the mark of a true Slytherin,” said Jocelyn boredly. “No, Lily, don’t bother defending them,” she added, for Lily had opened her mouth in protest. “They’re really not a pleasant lot. Sirius and I should know, we grew up with about half of them.”
“That’s all very well,” said Sirius. “But what is this sudden defense of my useless brother?”
“Oh, was I defending him?” asked Jocelyn, looking genuinely surprised. “I suppose I was too busy telling Lily to stop doing that to notice.”
“Ha ha,” snapped Sirius.
“Are we supposed to be able to follow this conversation?” asked Remus with a sort of detached curiosity.
“I don’t think so,” Lily answered, her mouth twitching. “I can’t.”
“Regulus might not be as useless as you think, you know,” Jocelyn insisted to Sirius, ignoring Remus and Lily. “You are a little biased.”
“You’d be if you’d lived with him for nine years,” Sirius snapped.
“Yes, yes, we all agree you had a horrible childhood,” said Jocelyn coldly. “But I happen to have had about half of the same childhood you did, and I don’t think you’re exactly the right person to declare Regulus useless or not useless. It’s common knowledge you hate him.”
“It wasn’t possible to live with Regulus and not hate him,” snarled Sirius, flaring up at once. “I’d like to’ve seen you try it!”
“I beg your pardon, I did try it!” said Jocelyn, becoming angry as well. “And I still think “”
Her words were drowned out as the bell rang, but neither she nor Sirius seemed to notice. Remus immediately escaped to use the library, while Peter squeezed out, muttering something about Care of Magical Creatures. James turned to Lily.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s leave them at it.”
“Yes, please,” Lily agreed, and followed James out into the hall, leaving Sirius and Jocelyn still bickering in the classroom.
“I’d forgotten how much those two fight,” said James as he and Lily made their way down to the grounds. “They sort of laid off each other after “ well, you know,” he said uncomfortably.
“After Jocelyn’s mother died,” Lily finished, nodding. “Yes, I’d noticed she was less confrontational. Mind you, I wasn’t complaining at first,” she laughed. “But it got weird after a while. I’m glad she’s getting back to normal.”
“And Sirius seems fine now,” sighed James as they passed through the front doors and onto the lawn. “He seems to be taking the idea of being Voldemort’s rival very well. Wish I could!” he added viciously, kicking a tuft of grass.
“Voldemort knows, and you know, that if you came face to face with him you’d be gone in one Avada Kedavra,” said Lily reasonably. “I don’t believe he thinks you’re any threat to him at all.”
“Gone in one Avada Kedavra?” said James incredulously. “Thanks Lils, that’s very comforting!”
Inwardly he was cursing himself. He’d been pondering her words for three days now, and finally come to the conclusion that he ought to try to ask her out. He’d left Charms with her with that intention, and was not quite sure how they had gotten onto the subject of Voldemort.
“Well, all you have to do is make sure you never come face to face with him and you’re golden,” said Lily brightly. “And you probably don’t want to meet up with that Bellatrix woman either,” she added thoughtfully.
“Yes, I think I’ll pass on that one,” James agreed sarcastically.
“Oh, James, this is stupid!” she snapped. “I thought we agreed we’d rather go down fighting for what we believed in, so who cares if Voldemort is after us or not? I don’t.”
“Voldemort’s not after us,” said James in frustration, “he’s after “ hang on.” He stopped as the full meaning of her words hit him, and turned slowly to look at her. “What did you mean by that?” he asked quietly.
“Nothing,” said Lily quickly, turning scarlet.
“No, you didn’t,” said James in the same quiet voice.
Lily was now blushing so deeply James could feel the heat coming from her.
“It’s just that “ that,” she muttered, avoiding his eyes, “I mean, we’ve been through a few things together “ well, not really together,” she corrected quickly. “I mean, I know I wasn’t there in Hogsmeade, and I didn’t know Vega, or anything like that “ But we were at that funeral together, and when we found out Alphard was dying, and “ you know, after Vega died, there was that night when “ but it’s stupid, I shouldn’t have brought it up, I shouldn’t have “”
But James wasn’t listening anymore. He bent down and caught Lily’s mouth with his own, cutting off her words. There was one horrible moment when he thought he’d misunderstood her. Then, very hesitantly, she began to kiss him back. James pulled back for a moment.
“Does this mean,” he said, very quietly, gazing into her astonishing green eyes, “that after six and a half years you want to give me a chance?”
A shy smile spread slowly over Lily’s face as she nodded. James grinned and kissed her again.