It was near dusk when James returned to the common room with a noticeable spring in his step. His footsteps echoed as he walked briskly up to the portrait hole. It seemed that the majority of Hogwarts’ population was still in the Great Hall finishing off their dinner.
He reached his destination and chirpily announced the password to the Fat Lady, who permitted his entrance instantaneously. As the familiar warmth and welcome of the common room hit him, he saw that not everyone was still down in the Great Hall.
“Hello,” he said pleasantly at the sight of Sirius.
Sirius stopped looking towards the girls’ staircase and turned to face him, looking slightly stunned to see someone else in the room. “Evening, Prongs.”
Even though he had promised himself he would keep it quiet for at least another hour, James had the uncontrollably urge to blurt out everything to Sirius, regardless of whether it came out nonsensical or not. “Guess what?” he asked, unable to stop himself from bobbing up and down excitedly.
But before Sirius even got the chance to guess, Kirsty came down from the girls’ dorms, checking her reflection in Emma’s mirror. “Do you really think I look like a Slytherin?”
James looked up sharply at her question and furrowed his brow in confusion, momentarily forgetting his important news.
“I didn’t say you looked like a Slytherin; I said you had Slytherin features,” replied Sirius calmly.
“It’s the same thing,” she countered, stepping down from the last step.
Deciding to investigate their puzzling conversation later, James commanded, “Hey, Kirst, guess what.”
“And anyway, I only said you had Slytherin features in retaliation, since you actually said I looked like a Slytherin,” confessed Sirius.
“Yeah, but you do look like a Slytherin.”
“Humph!” Sirius exclaimed indignantly.
James hopped irritably from foot to foot - trust those two to be having a domestic, today of all days.
Kirsty backtracked. “But of course you’re going to look like a Slytherin. Your whole family’s from Slytherin, whereas I, on the other hand, come from a long line of Gryffindors, so there is no way that I could look like a Slytherin.”
“Au contraire, my dear Kirsty. You are the black sheep of the White family, and, therefore, you are easily susceptible to looking like a Slytherin. I, on the other hand, am the white sheep in the Black family, and, therefore, I am more susceptible to being, and looking like, a Gryffindor,” he finished, looking rather proud of himself.
Kirsty opened and closed her mouth a few times. Either she was searching for the right comeback or extremely flummoxed by Sirius’ odd logic.
“But you don’t look like a Gryffindor, which is what I’m getting at. Now, James,” retorted Kirsty wheeling around to look at him instead. “James looks like a Gryffindor.”
“He does? So what makes him look like one and not me?” asked Sirius, intrigued.
“The glasses, for one thing.”
“How the hell do his glasses make him look like a Gryffindor?”
“Well, no, they don’t make him look like a Gryffindor; they just make him not look like a Slytherin.”
“How?” asked both Sirius and James incredulously.
“Well, how many Slytherins do you know that wear glasses?” Sirius gave her a ‘yeah, I see your point’ look. “Exactly, that’s because glasses are a mark of intelligence”“James grinned proudly. “”and the Slytherins… Well, they’re not so smart.”
“Careful, mate, you’re slagging off your own species there,” quipped James, feeling that he may as well join in with the debate if they weren’t going to listen to his news.
Kirsty glared at him. “Don’t you start taking his side, Potter!”
“I wouldn’t dream of it, Kirst.”
“You said that glasses are a mark of intelligence?” questioned Sirius. Kirsty nodded. “Have you met Emma?” he continued to remark cheekily.
“I’m telling her that you said that!”
“Please do,” answered Sirius with a grin.
“Anyway, guys, now that we’ve verified that I look like a Gryffindor and Sirius doesn’t, I have news!”
Choosing to ignore James for the third time, Sirius continued, “So, what else, besides James’ glasses, makes him look more like a Gryffindor than me? I mean, we both have dark hair - as do you by the way - dark eyes - ditto for you - and are tall and sarcastic, also like you.”
“Well…” Kirsty pondered this for a minute. “I would have to say his bubbly personality and charming smile.”
James grinned stupidly at this praise, even though he was becoming agitated because they weren’t listening to what he had to say.
“Is this your way of breaking it to me that I have a miserable, loner-like personality and a repulsive smile?” asked Sirius in mock distress.
Kirsty laughed. “No, but sometimes you do tend to be a bit loner-like. Not so much anymore, but you used to be that way. It’s just that you tend to give off more of a haughty and mysterious vibe, whereas James is very outgoing and amiable, and you know that you have a very sexy, enticing smile, which is perfect for luring unsuspecting fan girls into your bedroom.”
“Did you just give me a compliment, Miss White?”
“I think I may well have. You were way overdue one.”
“Speaking of luring people into bedrooms, I have news!” exclaimed James, his voice rising an octave higher.
They both looked at him in puzzlement for a moment before turning to look at each other again.
“I’m sorry, Kirst, you don’t look like a Slytherin. You’re a gorgeous Gryffindor girl through and through.”
Kirsty blushed a little from his compliment. “Why thank you, Sirius. You don’t look like a Slytherin either, and even if you did, you’d look like a very sexy Slytherin Sirius at that.”
Sirius grinned.
“Enough with the gushy alliteration talk!” James blurted out in annoyance.
Sirius and Kirsty looked at him slightly shocked.
“Thank you. Now, for the last time, guess what.”
“What?” they both asked in unison, smiles playing across both their faces as if both of them were fully aware of the agitation they had caused him.
“I asked Lily out!”
“Yeah, what else is new?” asked Sirius flippantly.
“You know, maybe we should ask Remus whether we look like Slytherins or not. He’s bound to give us an honest opinion,” pondered Kirsty.
“Good idea!”
“Guys!” whined James.
“Prongs, what in heavens name is wrong with you? You’re like an upset five year old coming down off his sugar high. Look, you already told us your news - you asked Lily out again - yes fantastic, so what are you whining for now?” ranted Sirius.
James took a deep breath. Now that the time was here, he was finding it extremely difficult to get the words out. He cleared his throat. This is it, he thought, and he felt a torrent of excitement and nerves wash over him. He took a final calming breath and looked directly at them both. “I asked Lily out, and she said yes!”
James was sure that his eardrums had been burst by the almighty squeal that erupted from Kirsty upon hearing this news.
“What? Are you serious?” asked Sirius, his face lit up with excitement.
Kirsty was now jumping up and down on various pieces of furniture to release some of her pent-up excitement.
“Deadly serious. We’re going on a date this weekend.” Even as he heard himself say the words, he found himself replaying the entirety of the glorious conversation inside his head.
“Hey, Potter!” Lily called excitedly from inside the door to the Room of Requirement.
James turned in surprise - Lily Evans hiding inside the Room of Requirement? He must be seeing things.
“Lil, what are you”?”
“Quickly, in here.”
“How do you know about the Room of Requirement?” he asked once inside.
“Oh please, James, everybody knows about the Room of Requirement. “
“What, even law-abiding citizens such as yourself?” he teased.
Lily smiled. “Uh-huh.”
“So what’s going on, Lil?” asked James, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand, like he always did when he was nervous.
“I just thought it was about time we had a chat,” she replied. Her voice was riddled with nerves, and a slight red tinge appeared on her cheeks.
“In the Room of Requirement?” questioned James for clarification.
“Yes, in the Room of Requirement,” she replied in exasperation.
“Okay, what did you want to talk about? Because it’s very rare for us to have a one-to-one, even in a room as stunning as this.” James adored the Room of Requirement. An air of mischief surrounded it, and he was pretty sure that no one could fathom its innermost workings. The room held a special place in James’ heart. Not only had the Marauders failed to find it until last year, but when attempting to put it on their map it had turned out to be unplottable. It was definitely a room after his own heart. Though, he was still immensely intrigued as to how Lily could have possibly found out about its existence.
The room in question was filled with bright sunbeams that radiated the last of the autumn heat. A large window was present on the wall to James’ right, and out of it he could see the Quidditch pitch, in all its magnificent glory. Birds chirped merrily outside the window, and it reminded James heart-warmingly of home. Inside the room there was an impressive fireplace, not awfully unlike the one in the Gryffindor common room, but the fire had not yet been lit. A large, dark red, L-shaped sofa was the centrepiece of the room, and various wizarding games were scattered around the assortment of tables and desks. Finally, there was, in James’ opinion, the best part of the whole room: its scent - the smell of freshly mown grass, which he absolutely adored.
“I thought you’d like it,” announced Lily, as she too let her gaze wander around the room.
“So… why are we in here?” ventured James, becoming slightly embarrassed by the fact that Lily had thought this room up especially for him.
“Well, um…” Lily cleared her throat as if she was suffering from extreme nerves. “Emma and Sam are talking again, Kirsty and Sirius shared a bed, and Hayley and Remus are both in extreme denial about their feelings for each other, so I thought that maybe it was about time that you and I did something…” She trailed off, her face now ever redder.
James was stunned. Did she mean what he thought she meant? His heart now seemed to be beating somewhere in the region of his Adam’s apple, and he felt slightly nauseous. After being in love with her for the last three years, was this going to be where it finally ended?
“What, you mean stop pretending like you still hate my guts and that I’m still as arrogant as ever?” he asked with forced jokiness.
“I never hated your guts… and you were never really overly arrogant…” She trailed off once again and looked down at her feet. James noted that she looked immensely uncomfortable.
“Who are you kidding? I was the most arrogant git out, besides Padfoot of course. But I’d like to think that I’ve calmed down some over the last few years.”
“You have,” agreed Lily, her voice much quieter.
“Lil, what are we really here for?” asked James, turning serious.
To James’ frustration, she wouldn’t look up to meet his gaze as she answered, “Well... you haven’t asked me out in a while, and I thought “ I thought that maybe you’d lost interest…” She trailed off, her voice wobbling slightly.
James felt as if he had had the wind knocked out of him. She thinks I’m not interested anymore? How could I ever lose interest in her? I love her for God’s sake!
“Lil, I only stopped asking you out to prove how mature I could be in the hope that you’d finally fall for me, and call me arrogant, but I think it may just have worked,” he confessed, slowing down his speech so that she caught every last syllable.
He extended his hand out and gently lifted her chin up to look at him. “Am I right?” he asked, looking deep into her eyes for his answer.
She nodded, and he could see tears glistening in her eyes. “James, Slughorn’s holding one of his parties this Saturday, and I wondered, if you wanted to that is, if you’d like to come”“
That was all James needed to hear. He gently put his finger on her lips, and she looked up at him, startled. “I’m going to stop you right there, Evans.” She continued to look at him, but her expression turned to one of confusion and hurt. “I’ve been waiting three years to do this, and you are not going to take it away from me now.”
She smiled at him, and a few stray tears rolled down her cheeks.
James calmed his nerves, took a deep breath and asked, “Lily Evans, would you allow me to accompany you to professor Slughorn’s party this weekend as your date?”
“Yes.”
James felt his heart soar; after years of trying, he had finally captured the girl of his dreams.
“I would love to go with you, James Potter!”
James picked her effortlessly up off the ground and hugged her tight. Her shrills of laughter reverberated through his entire body. He put her down, saw the wide grin plastered across her face and knew that he must look equally, if not more, ecstatic. Then, for fear that this wonderful scenario would disintegrate before his very eyes, he kissed her.
Words could not describe the sensation he felt when she reciprocated the kiss and allowed her body to arc into his. He could taste the tanginess of her strawberry lip balm and feel the touch of her hand against his lower back, and they spurred him to greater heights. The kiss was becoming more and more passionate, and James allowed his hand to caress the scarlet tendrils at the back of her neck, his other hand coming to rest at the top of her hip. He poured every ounce of three years’ pent up desire for Lily into the kiss, and she accepted it without trepidation.
Her fingers raked through his unkempt mass of black hair, ruffling it up and no doubt making it even messier than it had been before, and it made James break the kiss.
He glanced upwards at Lily’s hand in his hair before bringing his gaze back down to meet hers. Breathlessly, he remarked, “Hypocrite!”
She chuckled softly, her eyes never leaving his.
He snaked both of his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him. His hazel eyes bored into hers, and he revelled in their emerald beauty, knowing that, for now at least, they belonged solely to him.
--------------
Lily buried her face against James’ chest, her cheeks flaming with embarrassment. She had no doubt that the majority of the Gryffindor table were now looking her and James’ way and probably members of the other Houses too.
The secret had been kept for a grand total of thirty minutes, before Kirsty had flounced into the Great Hall and rained magnificently on Lily’s parade.
Trust James to tell the only two in the group who couldn’t keep a secret.
Lily had been enjoying her sausage and mash, when Kirsty had sped into the hall, Sirius tailing not far behind her, demanding, “Is it true? Is it true?” at the top of her lungs.
Lily had feared that she knew exactly to what Kirsty was referring, but she waited until a loitering James entered the hall before receiving her confirmation. Upon his arrival, he grinned sheepishly at her, and she knew he had been unable to contain it any longer.
She shook her head at him, but a smile played across her lips. She could hardly stay mad at him when he had waited for this exact scenario for over three years.
He had walked over and sat on the bench beside her, snaking his arm protectively around her waist in order to help defend against the group’s excited babbling and questioning.
“You know that you’re just giving them more ammunition, don’t you?” James leaned his head down to whisper in her ear.
Her skin prickled pleasantly at his closeness.
“When did it happen?”
“Where did it happen?”
“How did it happen?”
“Have you kissed yet?”
“When did you start liking him?”
“Who initiated it?”
The questions rolled in at top speed, each of their friends seeming eager for answers.
Lily lifted her head up and met James’ gaze. He shrugged and gave her an easy smile, before looking over at the group whose faces were shining with anticipation. “About half an hour ago, in the Room of Requirement, Lily pounced on me, more times than you can count. Personally I’ve always thought I was quite a catch, and surprisingly Lily did and about bloody time too.”
Lily looked at him in exasperation. She was so going to get him for those last four answers later. The excited chatter didn’t break out again like Lily had expected it to, but rather they all pinned their questioning gazes upon her instead. Clearly, they weren’t going to give in until they had gleaned every tiny detail.
“You initiated it?” gasped Emma. “Seriously?”
“Seriously,” replied Lily with a smile.
The group looked stunned.
“But just to clarify, I was the one who did the asking out,” piped up James.
“Only because you stopped me from doing it!” Lily laughed, prodding him playfully in the side.
“So when did you decide that arrogance was most definitely the way to your heart?” enquired Sirius.
James reached across the table and clipped him around the back of the head. Sirius gave him a rueful smile.
Lily thought hard. When had she actually fallen for the illustrious James Potter?
Fifth year had marked the turning point in their relationship, she knew that for definite, but what was it that had made her fall for him?
She had informed Hayley during the summer that, on occasion, she found James to be infuriatingly loveable and cute, but she had never told Hayley that her feelings had actually progressed a lot further and that actually towards the end of sixth year she had started receiving an uncomfortable flip in her stomach every time she was in close proximity to him.
The beginning of this year had been hell. Having to spend most evenings on her own with James whilst she was doing her Head Girl duties had been an obstacle that she had never expected to face.
You could have cut the tension between them on those evenings with a knife. She and James always forced polite conversation, but the awkwardness between them was always there, not helped along by the fact that every time James touched her or smiled at her the beating of her heart went into overdrive.
The spat with the Slytherins on the first day of term had been the real eye opener. For the first time in her six years at Hogwarts, Lily had been on the side of James Potter, not Severus Snape. During the confrontation, James had refrained from uttering a single hex, curse or jinx, his sole focus being on protecting and rescuing his friends.
James’ choice of reaction had resulted in inner turmoil for Lily, for she could no longer pretend that he was the same arrogant James Potter whom she had so openly despised back in fifth year.
Waking up next to James on the common room sofa after Quidditch practice that night had definitely been one of the best moments she could ever recall having at Hogwarts. The feel of his body so close to hers, the smell of him ensnaring her senses, the weight of him pressing down on her and the lust and love in his eyes had all very nearly driven her over the edge. She had found herself wondering whether or not he would kiss her, and the fluttering in her stomach told her that she hoped he would. But, being the sensible person that she was, she had put a stop to it. She could have had James Potter then and there, but a niggling voice in the back of her head had been telling her that it was far too soon.
The way James had taken it all in his stride had surprised her and made her forever grateful. When he kissed her sweetly on the nose, her heart had swelled with even more love for him, and watching him walk away from her had been sheer torture.
Nearly two weeks had passed since that fateful night, and neither she nor James had bought the subject up again. It had been two weeks in which Lily had to endure the frantic fluttering in her stomach and excited beating of her heart at the very sight of him, two weeks in which she had realised that she wanted James Potter more than she had ever dared to want him before.
Scared that she had missed her chance, she began to put her plan into action, and in doing so, she did something that she had never in a million years envisaged herself doing: she asked James Potter out. His turning the tables and beating her to it had been so hopelessly romantic that she had nearly swooned there and then.
As for the kiss, she felt deliriously happy just thinking about it. She had felt him put all the need and desire for her that he had harboured for three years into that kiss, and it had very nearly overwhelmed her. When he broke the kiss to inform her that she was a hypocrite she couldn’t help but grin inanely, for in a strange way, at that precise moment in time, they had come full circle.
Coming out of her reverie, she looked up to address her friends once again. “Well, I think I started liking him near the end of sixth year. To be honest, I don’t think it could have been long after the time he helped that young, second year girl out of the trick step hole in the staircase.” She turned to James. “You were so kind to her, and it was then that I realised how much you’d matured.”
His eyes crinkled at the corners, and he kept his intense gaze pinned on her.
The group were all exchanging glances and smiling happily at each other.
“But surely you must have fancied him before then?” protested Kirsty.
Lily furrowed her brow. “I think I began to fancy him back in third year.”
James’ face lit up like a child who had just been told that Christmas would be coming early this year. “Seriously?” he asked, elated.
Lily rolled her eyes in fond disbelief. “Yes, but it didn’t mean that I liked you; it just meant that I recognised the fact that you were very good-looking.”
“Oh,” James replied, looking slightly crestfallen.
“To be fair though, Prongs, you were an arrogant little git,” supplied Sirius.
“Hark who’s talking,” said James with a laugh.
“Touché,” replied Sirius with a grin.
“So that’s why you got so much rattier with him during fourth year, because you were furious with yourself for fancying him!” exclaimed Kirsty, giving Lily a slightly disapproving look.
“Just like you then really, Kirst.”
“What?” she cried, looking immensely alarmed.
“Well, you fancied Sirius in the second year, and you were angry at yourself for finding a Black good-looking.”
Sirius gave Kirsty a smug look.
“Yeah, well,” she mumbled.
“So where are you two going on your first date?” asked Peter.
James looked mildly uncomfortable for a moment before answering, “To the Slug Club party this weekend.”
“What?” asked Remus in disbelief.
“But you hate everything about the Slug Club,” protested Sirius. “And you swore that you’d never become a member!”
“Yes, I know, but I’m not going as a member, am I? I’m going as a guest.”
Sirius folded his arms huffily and looked away from his best friend. “You said that the only way that you’d attend one of old Sluggy’s parties was if he invited us three along too, so that we could cause some Marauder-type havoc.”
“But I didn’t foresee this situation then, did I? I think I should be allowed to make an exception considering the fortuitous circumstances,” countered James.
“So what you’re really saying is that you’re ditching us for a girl?”
“Not a girl, my girl - this is Lily we’re talking about, Padfoot… Lily.” He enunciated her name clearly.
“That’s not the point! The point is that you’re breaking the second rule of the Marauders: never let girls get in the way of our friendship.”
“I thought that was the third rule,” chipped in Emma.
“Oh, not this again,” groaned Hayley, rolling her eyes.
“You know, anyone would think you were jealous, Sirius,” remarked Kirsty.
“Yeah, is there something you’d like to tell me, Padfoot?” enquired James with a grin.
Sirius looked immensely perplexed.
“Don’t tell me you’ve started batting for the other side!” exclaimed Emma in mock horror.
“Huh? Batting for whose side? Slytherin’s?” he queried, his brow furrowed.
Lily squealed with laughter along with the others.
“What’s so funny?” he demanded.
“They’re enquiring as to whether or not you’re gay, Padfoot,” Remus informed him helpfully.
“What?” yelped Sirius. “Sirius Black, gay? That’s an abomination; that’s what it is! Prongs, you go ahead and go on your stupid date. See if I care!”
Lily and the others exchanged smirks.
Kirsty took a deep breath, but Sirius cut her off before she addressed him. “If you dare say another word, Kirst, I will make it my life purpose to prove to you that I’m not gay.”
Kirsty looked slightly startled before asking, “How?”
“Use your imagination.” replied Sirius in a low growl. Lily and Hayley raised their eyebrows at each other as Emma tittered over in the corner. “Oh, stuff the lot of you!” exclaimed Sirius dislodging himself from the bench. “I’m going to get some homework done.”
And with that, he stormed out of the Hall.
“Time of the month,” Emma informed them all knowledgeably.
--------------
“How do I look?” James asked Remus nervously.
“Rather dashing, if I’m honest,” replied Remus with a smile.
“Tuh, and I’m the gay one!” exclaimed Sirius indignantly.
“Will you let it go already?” cried Peter in exasperation.
Sirius took on a sulky disposition.
James honestly couldn’t remember being more nervous in his life. Pre-Quidditch nerves were nothing compared to this.
“Do I look like a man worthy of Lily Evans?”
“Oh, I’d say so,” replied Remus reassuringly.
“What time is it?” asked James for what must have been the tenth time.
“Ten to eight.”
James nodded. “This is killing me; I’m far too excited to wait!”
“Why can’t I have that?” wailed Sirius.
“Have what?” asked Peter with a mischievous grin. “James? Or what James has got?”
Sirius threw a pillow at his head. “For the last time, I’m not gay! What I meant was: why can’t I fall in love with somebody? I don’t ever remember counting down the minutes and waiting with anticipation to meet up with one of my dates, and I want it.”
“Do you have anyone in particular in mind who you’d like to get excited about meeting?” asked James with a knowing smile.
“No,” lied Sirius, looking uncomfortable.
Remus smirked.
“And you’re just as bad.” James rounded on him. “You’re in extreme denial, my friend.”
Remus glared at him.
“I think you should go down there a bit earlier, Prongs,” suggested Peter, possibly to stop the outbreak of a war.
“Seven minutes to eight,” supplied Remus. “Alright, off you go and good luck!”
James entered the common room with his heart thumping madly against his ribcage. He smoothed out the creases in his dress robes and made one last desperate attempt to flatten down his hair.
At bang on eight o’clock, when James was watching the rain fall past the window, Lily emerged from her dorm. He heard her gentle footsteps before he actually saw her. Straightening up from his leaning position beside the window, he turned around.
She was quite simply a vision. She wore a dark green dress, which complimented her emerald eyes beautifully. It tightly hugged her hips tightly and showed off her slim waist and hourglass figure. It was cut low at the neck displaying a subtle hint of cleavage. Her shimmering red hair cascaded over her shoulders, and she greeted him with a timid smile.
James exhaled and took a few tentative steps towards her. “Wow,” he declared, “you look… gorgeous.”
Lily visibly relaxed. “Thank you. I must say you look rather dapper yourself.”
“I aim to please.” The sound of tittering emanated from the top of the girls’ staircase. James raised his eyebrows questioningly at Lily.
“I think we’re being watched,” she informed him.
James removed his wand from his pocket. He waved it in the direction of the entrance to the girls’ dorms and the door slammed shut.
“Aww!” cried the disappointed voice of Kirsty.
He turned once again to Lily and produced an orchid from the end of his wand.
“Wow,” she exclaimed, “you certainly do know how to make a girl swoon.”
“Yeah, Moony briefed me before I came down,” he confessed with an easy smile.
“Really? I would have thought that making girls swoon was Sirius’ forte.”
“No, Padfoot is surprisingly useless.”
“Which again adds to our theory,” she pointed out. She and James both laughed.
“Shall we go?” he asked her as he presented her with the flower.
She smiled radiantly, before linking her arm through his and allowing him to lead her through the portrait hole.
--------------
“Oh, and over there is Archie Pace, the Head of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes,” James informed her, pointing over at a small, balding fellow.
“Oooh, and look there’s the captain of the Moose Jaw Meteorites, Dante Benenaté!” exclaimed James excitedly.
“You just made that name up,” replied Lily with a sceptical look.
“I did not! They’re a Canadian Quidditch team!” he retorted defensively. She gave him a tantalising smile. “Drink?” James enquired, wrapping his arm fully around her waist, where it had been slowly inching towards for the last five minutes.
She nodded in affirmation, and James proceeded to lead her around the edge of the room. They passed a group of girls conversing in hushed whispers, and as they did so, Lily could not ignore the smouldering looks of hatred and jealousy that were radiating her way.
As she and James reached the drinks table, Lily saw a large protruding stomach emerge from the mass of students, past and present, gathered in the middle of the room, and Professor Slughorn made a beeline for her, his silver walrus-like moustache billowing madly.
“Slug alert,” she whispered in James ear.
Lily saw James watch the approaching professor out of the corner of his eye, and removing his hand from where it had been ladling punch into glasses, he allowed it to again stake its claim around her waist.
“Ah, Mr Potter, finally come to your senses I see. I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist the lure of my little club forever.”
“Actually, Sir,” replied James, plastering on his most charming smile, “I’m here as a guest.”
He tightened the grip around Lily’s waist and pulled her even closer toward him.
Slughorn’s small eyes flitted between the couple before him and, looking completely flabbergasted, he announced, “Well, I must say this really is a turn up for the books. Well, I offer you my congratulations and wish the two of you the best of luck.”
“Thank you, Sir,” replied Lily graciously, smiling up at James, who was beaming back.
“Now, Mr Potter, there is someone here that I really think you should talk to… ah there he is - Perrin! Wait there, old boy!” He turned back to James, “Perrin Quigley, works over in the Portkey office. I’ll have a word and see if there’s anything he can do for you.” With a conspiratorial wink at James, Slughorn departed in the direction of his contact.
“Do I really look like someone who should work in the Portkey office?” James asked her, appalled.
Lily simply couldn’t help but laugh at the horrified look on his face. “Don’t worry, he tried to get me a job as a member of the Pest Advisory Board last year,” she replied with a grimace.
“Oooh, fun,” he stated sarcastically.
“Oh, no, he’s coming back!” exclaimed Lily in dismay.
“Quick, this way!” instructed James, removing his hand from around her waist and taking a hold of her hand instead.
They dodged in and out of the mingling guests, and Lily found herself out of breath from laughing so much. Eventually, they came to halt beside the door of Slughorn’s office.
“What now?” asked Lily, taking deep, calming breaths. “We won’t be able to avoid him all night.”
“Well, we could leave,” proposed James with a devilish glint in his eye.
Torn between her obligation to remain at the party and her desire to be alone with James, Lily anxiously chewed the inside of her lip.
“But only if you want to of course,” he hastily amended upon seeing her reaction.
Surveying the crowd, Lily saw them part to allow Slughorn to waddle through; he surveyed the room every which way, evidently looking for them. In the end though, it was the last resounding jealous glare from a passing fifth year Ravenclaw girl that made Lily’s mind up.
She turned back to James. “Let’s go.”
*
James crushed her up against the wall as Filch hobbled past the alcove, in which they were hiding. His body pinned her in place, and his right arm rested on the wall just above her head. She had the uncontrollable urge to giggle, and James, seeming to sense this, bought his hand down over her mouth. Looking up at him, she saw that he too had an amused grin plastered on his face. As she listened intently, Filch’s shuffling footsteps began to fade away. James’ gaze now remained fixed on what Lily supposed was the caretaker’s retreating back.
“Come on!” he instructed her in a hurried whisper as he took her firmly by the hand once more.
As they raced across the Entrance Hall, Lily’s giggles finally erupted.
“Shhh,” James scolded her, although he too looked like he was trying hard not to laugh. “Hurry up!”
He dragged her through the door and into the chilly grounds. Goosebumps immediately rose up on her bare arms, and involuntarily, she shivered.
“Where now?” she asked, trying desperately to stop her teeth from chattering.
“This way,” answered James as he began to lead her once again.
“Hang on,” requested Lily, bending down and slipping off one of her silver sandals.”
“Women!” exclaimed James exasperatedly as she managed to ease the second one off as well.
“Now we can go.”
James shook his head and reached for her hand. He led her over to the far edge of the lake and stopped to survey the area.
“If Filch comes out here, he’s going to find us for sure,” worried Lily.
James, seemingly happy with their location, replied, “Ah, but, Lil, you are forgetting that the first rule of the Marauders is to always be prepared.”
“Not another rule,” scoffed Lily. “You sound like the bloody boy scouts!”
“Look, do you want to stay out of trouble or not?” James retorted.
“I’m sorry,” replied Lily with an amused smile. “I bow down to the superiority that is the Marauders.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” replied James a mischievous glint present in his eye. “Now, sit.” Lily gave him a sceptical look before complying.
She adjusted her dress, whilst James began to rummage in the pockets of his dress robes for something. She heard a clinking noise and two Butterbeer bottles emerged from the small inside pocket.
“Wha”?” The question died on her lips as James passed the bottles over to her.
“Hold these a minute.”
Lily watched as James pulled something fluid and silvery-grey out of the pocket.
She recognised it instantly. Even though she had had only seen it once before - on the night that she, Kirsty and Emma had found out that Remus was a werewolf - she had never forgotten about it.
James pulled the shining, silvery cloth through his hands, and Lily marvelled at how the material cascaded like water over his fingers. He came and sat down beside her, and Lily raised her eyebrows questioningly at him.
“Undetectable Extension Charm,” he informed her.
“Ah, the perks of dating a Marauder,” sighed Lily jokingly with a roll of her eyes.
James gave her a fleeting smile, before he shook out the cloak and placed it like a blanket over the top of them both. He popped the tops of the two bottles with his wand, before taking one from her.
“There ain’t nothing better,” he informed her with a grin. “Cheers.”
“Cheers,” she echoed, chinking her bottle against his.
James stretched his legs out in front of him and leaned back, propping himself up with his left arm as his right kept a firm grip on his drink. The front of his shoulder rested against Lily’s shoulder blade, and at his touch, she too relaxed and stretched out her legs.
James took a long swig of his Butterbeer, before pointing up at the cloudless sky and asking, “Do you know which constellation that one is?”
“Ursa Major,” she replied without hesitation.
“Oh, very good, someone obviously paid attention in Astronomy. How about that one?” he asked again.
She studied the cluster of stars closely before answering, “Ara.”
Was it just Lily’s imagination or did James keep pointing at constellations that were nearing her side of the sky?
“Okay then, clever clogs, show me which star is Sirius’ star,” requested James, looking smug.
Lily furrowed her brow and feigned puzzlement. “Is it that one?” she queried, pointing over to the far end of James’ stretch of sky.
“Wrong. It’s that one,” he replied, pointing to a star far away in the distance in Lily’s sky. By doing so, he managed to lean so close towards her that his face was inches away from her own.
“Oops, silly me,” she replied merrily.
James’ mouth twitched, and his gaze shifted from her eyes to her lips and back again. Lily swallowed hard as James discarded his Butterbeer and bought his hand down to rest on her thigh, just above the knee.
His lips softly touched hers then withdrew. She exhaled; she hadn’t even been aware that she had been holding her breath. Seeing as though he had received no objections James reinitiated the kiss.
If their first kiss had been full of all the desire that James had harboured for her for three years, then this one definitely encompassed all the love.
Things became more heated, and Lily wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down to the ground along with her.
Butterbeer bottles lay forgotten on the ground by their feet, and if Lily strained her ears, she could just hear the sound of Filch cursing wayward students somewhere way off in the distance.
Things Aren't Always Black and White by padfootsgirl1981
Chapter Notes: Woot! Update! Now, this could be the last you'll hear of me for while because as of August 5th I am in Australia for just over three months!!! *is bouncing up and down with excitement* so this is actually going to be the last update until early September, sorry! But the next chapter is a long one so yay! However, I am going to try and get some writing done whilst away so never fear! Huge thanks go to my two beta readers h_vic and star_falling13! I hope you enjoy this everyone, teehee!
Chapter Endnotes: *sits back and lets the squealing commence* Happy now? Will that suffice do you think ? :p I hope I did it justice for you all, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Thanks so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed it and please review and let me know what you thought! I'll see you in September, guys! xx