Sometimes, you want so badly for something to be "perfect", that you forget what "perfect" is. Is it a walk on the beach at sunset? Is it holding your newborn child in your arms for the first time? Is it a ten layer chocolate cake? It's all of those things – and none of them. What makes something "perfect" is that you can look back on it, years later, and find nothing wrong with it. My first kiss… definitely wasn't perfect, but I wouldn't change a single thing about it.

FLASHBACK

"James Ambrose Potter, if you don't tell me where you're taking me right now, I swear I'll kiss Sirius faster than you can say 'betrayal,'" I said as I stumbled over a rock. Blindfolds definitely didn't do anything for my coordination.

"Now, Lily-petal, we both know you wouldn't do that. And what fun would it be to kiss your boyfriend's best mate before you even kiss your boyfriend?" James Potter, my boyfriend of exactly one week, certainly wasn't helping to cure my annoyed demeanor.

"You have a point there, you persistent toerag."

"That didn't sound like affection, Lily dearest."

"Maybe because it isn't." This was getting irritating, and fast. All I know is, I'd been reading a collection of Shakespeare's sonnets on the couch in the Heads common room, when James dropped in, way too excited to have anything non-troublesome on his mind, and asking me to follow him. And, like the naïve fool I am, I followed him, the knacker. About five seconds later, I'd lost my vision, and I was being taken on a journey to somewhere on the Hogwarts grounds – which, by the way, is quite hard to maneuver around when your eyes are covered by an old Quidditch jersey.

"Just a few more steps… we're almost there, Lily-petal."

"James, you've said that fifteen times in the past nine minutes."

"Duly noted… but this time I actually mean it." I felt his strong hands gently remove my blindfold, and after my eyes adjusted to the sudden change in light, I gasped. In front of us was a magnificent courtyard, with a fountain, and trees and bushes and flowers in so many colors that even the most creative imagination wouldn't do the place justice. I approached the fountain, and felt tears well up in my eyes when I read the engraving on it: It doesn't matter if nobody else loves me, because yours is the only love I need. It basically summed up how James felt about me, and, as I was beginning to realize, how I felt about him.

"James…how did you find this place?" I asked after several moments. After all, it isn't every day that the boy you couldn't stand to be around for six years takes your breath away without saying a word.

"It was after Quidditch practice a couple of weeks ago. I needed some time to go over a few possible new strategies in my head, and I wasn't paying any attention to where I was going. I practically tripped over that bench over there, and after wondering where I was for about a second, I realized I was in the most incredible place I'd ever seen. Everything in here reminded me of you, from the sapphire tree leaves that contain only a millionth of the beauty I see in your eyes, to the scarlet roses, which will never truly compare to how your cheeks redden whenever you get embarrassed. And, well I immediately knew that it was the perfect place for… never mind," he rambled, suddenly looking embarrassed at the end of his little monologue.

"It's the perfect place for what, James?" There was no away he could take me to this amazing courtyard, say the most romantic thing I'd ever heard, and then just drop the subject.

"It's… it's not important," he replied, as his cheeks flushed to the exact color of my hair, give or take a few shades, and his eyes stayed focused on the ground, as if a spell was keeping him from changing his position.

"James, we lived in the same house for six years, and now our bedrooms are just a few feet away from each other. I wouldn't want anybody else so close to me. I'm yours, ok? You finally got me." At this point, his head snapped up, and his hazel eyes glowed with delight. "You can hold my hand whenever you fancy, and I won't chastise you for it. I know that after years of our cat and mouse game it might be hard to accept, but I fancy you… a lot." Those words caused me to blush, and James gifted me with the biggest smile I'd ever seen, including when I agreed to be his girlfriend. "Whatever you were thinking, you can tell me. I'm all ears. So you can tell me. It's the perfect place for what, James?"

He sighed, knowing that telling me was his only next move. His bottomless eyes locked onto mine, causing a sea of butterflies to erupt in my stomach. "I was thinking," he started, cautiously, as if to not upset me, "that maybe it was the perfect spot for our…first kiss?" He ended with a questioning tone in his voice, as if he thought he'd done something wrong. He stepped closer to me, and wrapped his hand around my waist. His eyes bore into mine, and it took all of my strength not to faint from giddiness. He leaned ever closer, gently cupping the side of my face with his hand. Slowly, acting on their own accord, my arms snaked around his neck. He looked down at me with the most endearing expression I'd ever seen on a face, and closed his eyes. My own fluttered shut as he brushed his lips against mine. I felt his cool breath leave my face, indicating that he'd pulled back. Reluctantly, I opened my eyes to find him gazing at me, a look of intense happiness overpowering his face. I smiled, and closed the small gap between us, not caring if anybody witnessed the embrace. His lips gently moved with mine, and we pulled apart simultaneously, both of us resting our foreheads against the other's and marveling in how wonderful it felt to just hold each other. It was a sweet first kiss – not only my first kiss with James, but my first kiss, ever. It was perfect, until –

"HA. Moony SO owes me 5 Galleons... oh... was I, uh, interrupting something?" The voice of Sirius Black emerged from a nearby bush, and both James and I jumped, startled by the hindrance of the romantic moment. Sirius, the tosser, had been there the whole time. I surveyed James' expression, which showed that he clearly had no idea his mate was even there. He gave Sirius a glare, and then proceeded to say to me, "Sorry, Lily-petal, but the Marauders are a package deal; you get one of us, you get the rest for free."

I giggled, mentally slapping myself for not realizing such an obvious fact earlier. "Well, Mr. Potter, I don't think I'll mind… so long as this," I used my index finger to draw an invisible line between me and Sirius, "doesn't happen again."

"Your wish is my command, Miss Evans." With that, he offered me his arm, which I gladly took, and escorted me back to the Heads common room, where my Shakespeare book lay forgotten, seeing as how James and I now had better things to do with each other.

END FLASHBACK

"Lil? What are you thinking about?" The voice of my husband halted my reverie.

I smiled at him, before placing a kiss on the forehead of Harry, our two-month old son. "Nothing," I whispered with a smile. "Nothing at all. Just… perfection. James grinned, ruffled his hair, and pulled me into his arm, giving me a small kiss. "And how would you define it?" he inquired. One word was all I needed: "You," I said in a hushed tone, so as to not wake up our sleeping child. "You are perfection… and your love is the only one I need."