Lily glanced into her floor-length mirror for the sixth time. Her sixth outfit, a long tan skirt and white blouse with blue jacket, flowed gracefully to the floor. She had been through three pairs of pants, one a hideous green she was sure Petunia had thrown into her bag as a farewell gift, and two other decent skirts before deciding on her outfit.
She was not surprised by the amount of time she took on her wardrobe. Lily and Marlene both knew that if she wanted to allure James she had to do everything right the first time and avoid the bile-colored knickers.
Marlene had set up an intense interrogation with Lily, quizzing her on talking points and different ways to flirt during a date.
Lily was slightly surprised by the experience Marlene appeared to have. She had never taken Marlene for the flirty type, but Lily could not question Marlene, for her advice seemed suitable.
Lily was to meet James beneath the small tree in front of Hogwarts at four o’clock. She glanced down at her watch, noted that it was ten minutes till, and looked back in the mirror. They had deliberated for so long whether to cover up the hear-shaped scar (or ‘love scar’ as Marlene so brilliantly put) or to leave it out in the open, hoping to send James into a guilt trip. They had decided to leave the blemish open. Lily turned her face from side to side and, pleased with herself, smiled. Marlene stood behind her, a gleaming face, proud of her work.
“Oh, Lily, you look wonderful,” Marlene cooed.
“I do, don’t I?” Lily responded. “All due to you, Marlene. Why in the world didn’t you intervene with Dorcas’ plan earlier? I’m sure we would have gotten more done with you on the job.” Lily smiled at Marlene who blushed.
“Well, I should probably head out,” Lily said and she began walking to the door. A thought occurred to her and she turned around. “Marlene, can I ask you a question?”
“Of course. What is it?” Marlene raised her eyebrows and waited.
“Well, you see,” Lily didn’t know how to phrase her question. Marlene and she had never really spoken about things regarding real romance. “What if… well… what if he tries to kiss me. What should I do?”
A small smile crept up Marlene’s cheeks as Lily blushed. “Isn’t it odd that this flipped so much? You and I talking about getting back at James and Dorcas no longer a real friend?”
Lily laughed at Marlene’s comment. It was true, she knew. She had never guessed it would turn out like this. “Well?” Lily asked, leading Marlene to answer her question.
“Let him,” she said matter-of-factly. “I don’t think now’s the time to play hard-to-get. Well, why not? Right?” Marlene began changing her answer as she stared at Lily’s horror-stricken face. “I mean, well, you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
“It’s not that, it’s just-”
“Wait, you want to kiss James?” Marlene leaned toward Lily, one eyebrow slightly raised, not in a judgmental way, but in a way that told Lily that Marlene would accept whatever answer Lily had for her.
But Lily knew the answer to this question. “No,” Lily said firmly. “You see, I’ve never tricked a man into liking me just so I could destroy his ego. It’s my first time. So you must understand that I would question whether or not to kiss the guy. Don’t you think that’s reasonable?” Lily shook her head sarcastically.
Marlene laughed and said, “Of course, Lily. Of course.” Her face became serious as she continued, “But I would indeed kiss him back. The time has come and if we want this to work we’ll have to do whatever it takes to reel him in for good.” Marlene looked at her wrist watch. “And to reel him in for good you probably don’t want to be late to your first date.” Marlene pushed Lily out of the dormitories and shouted “Good luck!” to her as she ran down the stairs.
“Lily!” Marlene shouted to Lily from the top of the staircase and Lily turned around to look up at her. “No more hard-to-get.” Marlene winked at her and Lily smiled. She continued down the last few steps backwards and gave Marlene two thumbs up.
Unfortunately, Lily mistook the last step to be ground level and went plummeting backwards. Her back ricocheted off of some sort of hard object and she flew forward. After catching her balance, she turned around to find Peter staring at her with wide, guilt-ridden eyes.
“Lily,” he sputtered. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there.”
“It’s all right, Peter. No worries,” Lily replied. But Peter’s guilt did not leave his now cherry face. His eyes darted to her love scar.
“What happened?” he asked, gesturing to the scar.
“Birds. But, really, it’s nothing. I must be off!” Lily waved quickly to Peter and ran past him out the Common Room.
_________________________________
Lily and James walked down the streets of Hogsmeade side-by-side. But the silence that surrounded them was not awkward, as Lily had thought it would be. Instead, it was peaceful.
“So, where are we headed to?” Lily asked, genuinely interested.
“You’ll see,” James replied. Lily was not much for surprises. She usually badgered her family members until they told her what she was receiving for Christmas or for her birthday. But she had never been surprised before in this manner.
Lily, mesmerized by the almost clear sky above her, did not notice when James suddenly turned. She did however, with a jolt up her spine, feel his warm hand grasp hers as he laughed. “This way, Lily. Let’s not dawdle and waste the day away.” He flashed a bright smile and began dragging her to the left.
With disappointment, Lily looked up to the sign of the building they were about to enter: The Three Broomsticks. So much for surprises, Lily thought dejectedly. She couldn’t keep herself from feeling just a little sad about the ordinary place James was taking her to. Of course she loved The Three Broomsticks, it was, after all, one of the nicest pubs in Hogsmeade, but she was hoping for something just a little more special.
Lily spotted a cozy table by the fireplace with just enough room for two, but was surprised as James dragged her straight through the pub. He gave a hearty wave to the bartender (who everyone called Beard for the five foot long trail of hair that hung from his chin) who waved back, gesturing toward the back door.
Lily assumed they were being kicked out, but didn’t understand why. Instead Beard walked around and led the couple towards an unusually small door. With a flick of his wand, Beard revealed an invisible door to their right. He opened it and pushed James and Lily through it.
Lily gasped at the sight on the other side. A small garden sat in front of her, filled with tulips, lilies, roses, dandelions, carnations, baby’s breath, and every other flower imaginable.
“James, it’s… it’s….” Lily became speechless. Suddenly her plan didn’t seem so bad. She was certainly was getting a lot of perks.
“Beautiful? Charming? Nice smelling? Go on, I’d love for you to finish.” James winked at her.
“It’s lovely,” Lily finished. She grinned as disappointment flashed over his face. She couldn’t help but under exaggerate. It would be too obvious and out-of-character for Lily to swoon over the makeshift Wonderland, but she couldn’t say she didn’t want to.
Lily studied the small table that sat in the middle of the garden. It was covered in a crisp white tablecloth and carried two sets of floral dishes, shimmering silverware, and crystal wine glasses.
James placed his hand on the small of Lily’s back and led her to her seat. Once again, Lily’s skin shivered at James’ touch and Lily scrunched up her face in frustration. If I didn’t have such sensitive skin, I wouldn’t be shivering every time he touched me, she reasoned with herself.
James pulled out the wire, cushioned chair and said, “M’lady.” He bowed slightly and gestured toward the seat.
“Thank you, sir,” Lily responded, plopping down into the soft cushion. “And what, may I ask, do you have in mind for these?” Lily grabbed her wine glass by the stem and shook it slightly at James as he sat down.
“Decoration.” James smiled. As if pre-planned, Beard walked outside at that exact moment and placed two butterbeers on the table.
“What might ye be havin’ today?” Beard looked at Lily, waiting for her order. Lily ordered from memory and James did the same. Beard turned around and walked back through the secret door, leaving the two of them alone.
Lily noted James’ uncomfortable shifting. He’s nervous, she realized.
“So…” Lily tried to think of a conversation topic. “How exactly did you find out about this little room? James looked up at her and she watched one side of his lips move up into a half smile.
“Now that’s a story I’m not quite sure you’re prepared to hear. Perhaps once you’ve learned to accept the fact that I’m a flawed man.” James smiled at her and continued, “Sirius Black being my biggest flaw.” Lily understood what he meant and knew she did not want to hear this story.
“Ah, so now Black is merely a flaw of yours. Not to mention the fact that you two are almost one-in-the-same, entirely inseparable.” She knew James loved Sirius. They were probably the closest in his group of friends.
Beard brought their food out and they both began to eat.
“We just think on the same wavelength, you know? Remus Lupin happens to be one of my greatest strengths.”
Lily laughed and couldn’t help but to agree. “I do fear he is the only one that has the power to bring out the good in you.”
“That’s not true! Many people bring out the best in me,” James argued.
“Oh, and who would that be?” Lily asked with raised eyebrows.
“You.” Lily sputtered a little, but then looked at James’ face. She discerned that he was not joking and neither of them smiled nor laughed. She quickly looked down at her food and began prodding it as red flushed her cheeks.
The rest of the dinner consisted of lighter conversations. Lily didn’t want to tread in any more emotional territory.
As their plates emptied Beard returned to clear them. “Interested in any dessert?” He asked.
James looked at Lily. “It’s your call.”
Lily looked down at the tablecloth in thought. She tried to remember what Marlene had said. Is it better to stay longer? Or should I cut it off now? I do have double potions tomorrow. I should prepare. “I think it might be best not to have dessert. Lots of work to do for tomorrow.” Lily smiled at Beard who turned and walked back into the bar. She then looked at James. He was pulling money out of his pocket and putting it on the table.
“Shall we split the bill, James? I mean, it’s not like we agreed to anything earlier,” Lily asked.
James looked up from the coins in his hands, incredulous. “Are you joking?” he asked with wide eyes. “I asked you on this date and you said yes. Automatically I get to pay. My goodness, Lily, I’m glad you decided to come. You deserve to have someone treat you for once.”
Though slightly frustrated at James’ insinuations that her friends or old boyfriends had never treated her to things, she couldn’t help but feel cared for with him. “I have had people treat me to things. I was just being polite,” Lily responded.
James ignored her comment and said, “Shall we?”
They walked side-by-side back to the castle, not speaking very much, just enjoying the pleasant evening. As the castle gate came into view, panic overtook Lily’s body. The end of the date. This is it. The end. Dates end in a typical manner! Lily’s mind screamed at her. What are you going to do? Lily’s pace slowed as they approached the front doors of the castle, her mind still in a frenzy.
“Thank you for a very pleasant evening, James. It was wonderful,” Lily said, hiding her worry with a smile.
“Thank you for your company, Lily,” James responded. They had reached the tree right outside the castle. A small yet full tree with low hanging branches that they had met under earlier that day.
James stopped walking and turned toward her. Lily turned slowly, eyebrows knit and lips contorted as if she had just eaten an entire lemon and washed it down with a glass of freezing salt water. Luckily, the dark of the night and the shadow of the tree hid her features. She could barely see James’ eyes.
Apparently, James could judge Lily’s outline well, for he raised his hand and placed his warm palm on the side of Lily’s face. She stood, frozen from by his touch. Marlene had not prepared her for this. She needed time. More time!
He leaned toward her. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the inevitable. Just before their lips touched, James stopped moving, merely placing his forehead against hers. Their lips were inches away. “Good night, Lily,” he murmured and slowly backed away, running his hand down her check until his fingertips brushed her jaw.
Lily stared at him and watched as he turned around and walked into the castle. Her stomach began to fill with two emotions, one which she expected and another that astonished her: relief and disappointment. Shocked and weakened by the mixed feelings, she leaned backwards, meaning to press her back into the bark of the tree. She instead grazed the edge of the tree and flew past it, landing on the ground.
“Brilliant,” she mumbled, her back immersed in the overgrown, damp grass. “Just brilliant.”
OAF: Operation April Fools by The REAL Weasley Twins
Chapter Notes: We hope you enjoy!
(Note to mod: corrected problems, thank you!)
Chapter Endnotes: Thanks for reading and reviewing if you choose to. :)
~F&G