Lily frustratingly turned over in her bed. If she didn't get some sleep soon, she'd look like a banshee in the morning. But no matter how hard she tried, sleep would just not come that night.
She threw off the covers and got up to get a drink of water. She looked over at Alice and Ophelia's beds. Through the drapes of their four- posters, Lily saw Ophelia's long and narrow feet dangling over and could hear Alice's gentle snores. She laughed and decided she wasn't thirsty.
If she was home, Lily would have turned on the TV and watched some late-night chat shows until she drifted off into dreamland. But this was Hogwarts, and most of the student body didn’t know a television from a telephone. She paced around the dorm, glancing at her snoozing roommates. 'What's there to do in this place for an insomniac witch?' she thought to herself. Maybe she could finish some homework... nah, she didn't feel much like studying. Or maybe she could write a letter home... no, she felt too antsy to stay seated. So she quietly tip- toed to the door and headed down to the Common Room. Maybe there would be something there.
The fire was still going, but it had little light left in it, and the room was dark. With her wand, she ignited a few of the torches around the room until it became bright enough to see.
Lily sank down into an armchair and watched the fire crackle. This was boring, but she didn’t feel the least bit sleepy.
She wished it was morning so she would at least have something to do. Usually, Lily wasn’t this restless. She wondered what had come over her.
"All right, Evans?"
Lily gasped and instinctively jumped out of her seat.
James Potter cracked his boyish grin at her from the big, scarlet couch next to her.
"Merlin, Potter, you scared me!" Lily exclaimed, her heart rate slowing down. "What are you doing down here at this hour of the night?”
"I should ask the same of you," he said. "Couldn't sleep?"
"Nope," Lily sighed, sitting back down.
"Same," James agreed, rumpling his hair in the way that Lily found so incredibly annoying.
For a few minutes, they silently watched the sputtering fire without looking at each other.
"Hey- are you hungry?" James asked suddenly.
"Starving," Lily confessed as her stomach began to rumble at the thought of food. She hadn't had much at dinner, but there was nothing to eat until breakfast in the morning.
James smiled again. "Don't move. I'll be right back."
Lily turned to look at him and began to ask, "Where are you going?", but he was halfway out the door.
***
A quarter of an hour later, James returned carrying a silver platter and wearing a smile.
"What's all this?" Lily asked, gaping at the assortment of cakes and scones that he presented her.
"A little late-night snack," he said proudly. "I got them from the kitchens."
"The kitchens?" Lily repeated incredulously. "But how did you--"
"I have my ways," he answered mysteriously. "Help yourself."
Lily grabbed a scone and bit into it delicately. "What's that?" she asked through a full mouth as she watched James unwrapping something that he was carrying.
He held up a dark, dusty bottle that looked like it was at least a hundred years old. The dark, murky liquid inside was splashing around. "Fire whiskey," he said, smirking.
Lily practically choked. "Fire whiskey!?" she whisper- yelled. Her face became very rosy. "We can't have fire whiskey in here! We'll get caught, we'll get in trouble!"
James just laughed. "Don't worry about it. I've nicked this stuff up here loads of times. Besides, who's going to find out?"
Lily frowned disapprovingly. "We're Head Boy and Girl!" she answered. She spoke the words, but she knew that they would have little effect.
"Your point is?" James took a swig from the bottle and smacked his lips. He then held it out, offering it to Lily.
"No, thank you," she said firmly, reaching for another scone.
"Come on, don't you like it?"
Lily blushed. "No... I... I don't like the taste," she said.
James stared at her intently, as if trying to see through her. "Oh my," he said simply. "You've never had it before."
She blushed harder and began to fidget with her fingernails. "Don't be silly, of course I have."
James leaned in close to her face, his hazel eyes twinkling with delight. "You've never had it," he repeated.
Lily looked at his stupid grin, and then looked away. "All right, you win. I've never tried it before. Happy now?" For some reason, it embarrassed her to admit to James what a goody-two-shoes she was.
"You've never even tried it!? A little sip?" he asked incredulously. Apparently, the thought that someone might actually follow the rules was a concept that he just didn't understand.
Lily blushed deeper. "No, I haven't."
“Well, you've got to!" he smiled. "Come on, just a sip," He teased her, waving the bottle in front of her face.
Something deep down inside of Lily that she never knew existed came up and took hold of her. Whatever it was made her to take the bottle from James. With one last apprehensive look at him, she put her lips to the rim and took a swig.
She immediately began coughing and spitting. It really did taste like liquid fire- it burned her throat and insides as it went down.
"Are you okay?" James laughed. "I remember the first time I tried it," he sighed, as a dreamy sort of reminiscent air came over him. "I remember it fondly. It was the end of second year, and I puked for nearly a quarter of an hour- Sirius nearly went and got Madam Pomfrey." He looked proud.
Lily handed him the bottle. "It's all yours," she choked out.
James shrugged. "Well, if you can't handle it..."
She frowned. "It's not that I can't handle it!" she stated defensively.
James grinned menacingly. "Then what is it?"
Lily stared hard at the bottle and then at James, and then at the bottle again. She grabbed it out of his hands. "Cheers," she said, and took a bigger gulp this time.
***
"You know what, this stuff is good," Lily giggled twenty minutes later. She and James were sitting cross-legged on the floor.
"Yeah... really good..." James mumbled as he drank and then passed the bottle to her.
She chuckled and grabbed it from him. "Cheers!" she yelled, swinging the bottle above her head and splashing some of the whiskey on the floor.
"You know what, Potter," Lily said to James. "This is fun. I like having fun with you."
"Really, Lily?" he answered, his eyes widening.
"Yeah. I never have fun with Aaron anymore."
James paused and listened closely.
"We used to have fun," she continued without reservations. "But we‘re sort of hitting a rough patch right now, I guess you would call it. Between his Quidditch, and me being Head Girl, we just don't have time for each other." She took another gulp. “I don’t think he really likes me anymore."
James felt awful. He was pretty drunk, but not drunk enough to forget about what had been plaguing his mind for the past couple of weeks.
"Lily, I need to tell you something."
Lily looked up. James couldn't help but stop and marvel at just how green her eyes truly were. The emerald colors danced in the light of the fire, and they were unlike anything he had ever seen before. He knew he had to tell her about Aaron. Sitting with her there, for longer than they had ever been alone together before, he knew that he loved her. He wasn't expecting anything, but he couldn't go on waiting for her to get hurt. He opened his mouth to speak, and then... he burst out laughing. It was so sudden that neither he nor Lily had any idea what had happened. A few seconds later, James had lost all composure and was on the floor in a fit of hysterics.
"What?" Lily asked, watching curiously as tears began to roll down his eyes.
"Your pajamas," James cried, massaging his ribs.
"What about them?" she smirked.
"They're funny."
Lily looked down at her T-shirt and flannel bottoms. "What's funny about them?"
James could hardly contain himself. "You look like a muggle."
Lily watched him laugh for a moment, and then began to join in. The giggles spread throughout her body like a plague until she was writhing around, pounding her fists on the floor. Her laughter made him laugh even harder and vise versa, until they finally stopped who knows how long later.
"We're funny," Lily finally stated, wiping the tears from her eyes..
"Yes. Funny we is," James mumbled.
Lily stopped. She looked pensive. "I should go to bed," she stated.
But when she tried to get up, but her legs collapsed from under her and her head began to spin. She grabbed onto the arm of the couch for support and laughed.
"Can't hold your alcohol, can you, Evans?" James teased as he attempted the same thing, but failed as well. He grabbed onto Lily for balance, then collapsed onto the couch and brought her down with him. Lily was on top of James, unable to move or stop laughing.
Lily sighed and rested her head on James' shoulder. Her vision was blurry, and when she tried to move a limb, her muscles protested. James put his arm around her and settled into the couch. He felt Lily's petite body clasp onto his.
"Fire Whiskey is good, good stuff," he muttered under his breath, his eyes closed and the empty bottle dangling from his limp hand. They both passed out.
***
James heard voices whispering and mumbling all around him. 'I must be dreaming', he told himself as he approached conciousness, but the voices only got louder. He decided that it must be Remus, Sirius, and Peter, but he didn’t want to get up just yet. He needed some more sleep, so he tried to turn over onto his side and get more comfortable. When he did, however, he was stopped by something warm and solid.
He opened his eyes and saw that he was on the couch in the Common Room, Lily Evans lying next to him, his arm around her body. She was drooling onto his shoulder and in a deep sleep. Lily wasn’t the only one with him, though. At least a dozen pairs of eyeballs were staring at him, and James realized where he was.
He jumped up and noticed that he had an empty bottle in his hand. He dropped it and it landed with a thud on the carpet, the faces of the Gryffindors around him watching with interest.
“AAAHH!”
Lily soared off the couch with a scream. She looked from face to face and then to James, her eyes wide and her expression one of deep horror.
James noticed Remus as one of the faces, and he was smiling.
“Had a rough night?” he asked James.
James didn’t know what to do. He looked over at Lily, who was standing awkwardly in her pajamas as the early risers of Gryffindor House stared at her. Her hair was frazzled and she looked absolutely appalled.
“All right, all right, nothing to see here,” James told them all, and they began to walk away smirking. James rubbed his head. It felt like there was an elephant standing on it.
“Breakfast in an hour,” Remus said simply, as if he had just walked in on Lily and James playing chess, and walked back up towards the dormitories.
Lily didn’t say anything for a moment, and didn‘t dare look at James. She just sat on the arm of the couch, frowning into the floor. “I’ve never been more embarrassed in my life,” she finally said slowly.
He smiled weakly. “Do you remember anything from last night?”
Lily’s eyes darted to the empty bottle on the floor. “Vaguely.”
James didn't remember much either, but he knew that any night that allowed him to wake up next to Lily Evans must have been a good one. “I think we drank a bit too much.”
Lily laughed sarcastically. "That's an understatement."
James stretched his long arms over his head and let out a yawn. "Guess we should go get dressed, then," he said, looking at his watch.
Lily suddenly stood up angrily and looked at James with beady eyes. "I'm mad at you, James Potter, d`you know that?" she stated.
James looked at her with his brow furrowed. "For what?"
"You got me..." she paused and leaned in to him so no one could hear her, "... drunk last night! My head hurts, and I feel achy all over, and..." she didn't finish her sentence, but stomped the ground with her foot, crossed her arms, and trudged up to her dormitory.
As James watched her, he couldn’t help but smile. “Your first hangover, Evans. I’m so proud!” he called after her.
All Right, Evans? by anglophile
Chapter Notes: Okay. I've been getting a few complaints about the length (or lackthereof) of my chapters. So I'm posting this absolute monstrosity to shut you all up!! It really is a tad too long, but I simply couldn't cut it down- I think this is my favorite chapter ever. I've had it written for about a year, since the idea of starting a fan fic was conceived, and it was one of the first things I had ever written for this! I'm proud to see my little chappie finally get posted. Review!!