Her heart was thumping so loudly she could hardly hear the careful short raps against the door of the Head Boy's room. Pulling her hand away from the door she gazed at it for a moment, stark white against the darkness. Lily shivered slightly and tucked her quilt firmly around her shoulders.
The door was opened by what looked like a large black mop with eyes.
"Yeah?" Sirius Black muttered sleepily.
Lily sucked in a deep breathe and tossed her crimson ponytail over her shoulder. "I'd like to speak to James, please."
Sirius peered at her suspiciously around the door. "Why aren't you yelling at me for being in the Head's room? Huh? I bet this is some trick," he continued. "I just bet Filch is hiding behind you or something-"
"Sirius? Wha?"
Another mop appeared next to the first one, rubbing its eyes sleepily. "Oh, Lily," it said.
Lily felt her stomach drop to her knees. Why am I doing this? Bloody last time I ever do something I thought of at four in the morning.
"It's all part of a conspiracy, James!" Sirius mumbled urgently. "Don't fall for their tricks, don't fall for their tricks!"
"Go back to sleep," James said, pushing Sirius away from the door. He shut it carefully and looked at Lily sleepily for a few moments, shuffling his feet awkwardly.
Her hand twitched because he looked so sweet and vulnerable, with his hair in more of a mess than it normally was and she ached to straighten it.
Patience, she thought firmly. I know what I'm doing. Oh, wait, I don't! The panic was rising now, but she squared her chin and squished it down.
"Um…" She finally said, after much careful thought.
Way to go. So articulate.
It's four in the morning. Give me a break.
It's your own fault you're up this early.
"Oh shut up," Lily said, slapping her forehead.
Bloody hell. I just said that out loud.
James looked at her oddly. "Lily, are you sleepwalking? Come here." He wrapped an arm around her and she very nearly swooned, giving in for the first time to the butterflies in her stomach.
"Yes, definitely sleepwalking," he said softly, steadying her.
He was half carrying her and half hugging her and it just felt so nice and he looked so adorable when he was sleepy…
Lily wasn't quite sure how it happened but suddenly her face was moving awkwardly towards James's.
The lips, the lips! Not the…chin.
Lily's lips spectacularly missed James's and instead, as she opened her mouth to say something, her teeth sunk into his chin.
Oh crap oh crap oh crap RUN!
She squirmed out of James's arms and began to run back to her room door. There was a tugging between her shoulder blades as he grabbed the back of her quilt.
Suddenly her feet were not on wood anymore, but tangled up in her quilt and she was not standing up anymore, but sprawled on her back with a very large squishy lump on top of her.
The lump shifted, propped itself up, and suddenly she was looking up into a pair of very amused hazel eyes.
Lily felt the blood rush to her face as she desperately tried to find a piece of blanket to hide it in. All logic had fled.
Hands cupped her flaming cheeks gently and James Potter was laughing at her.
"Shut up," she hissed fiercely. "I've never tried to do that before, alright?"
He bent down but he was grinning so widely that his teeth were brushing against Lily's lips and that tickled.
Lily began laughing. She was laughing because she was on a floor at four o'clock in the morning in the middle of winter with James Potter on top of her trying to kiss her because she had bitten his chin.
And then James was laughing and he was lying next to Lily. They were laughing so hard that they were crying with their faces pressed against each other so the tears rolled down and swirled together.
He raised his hand to her face and brushed her tears away with his thumb and suddenly his lips were against hers and Oh my goodness, Lily thought, this feels wonderful.