Tit for Tat!
"Tit for tat, Potter!" eleven years old Lily Evans snarled, throwing her goblet of pumpkin juice right over James Potter's head.
James guffawed, completely drenched in juice. The rest of his friends laughed.
Lily laughed, albeit, a little crazily. She was standing in the middle of the Great Hall, covered in Yorkshire pudding. James had thrown it over her head, as she had accidently (Heh…she actually thinks I'll fall for that? James had thought furiously) splattered his goblet of pumpkin juice, across the table.
"Oh, you're going to pay for that one, Evans!" he snarled at the hysterical red-head.
And with that, he picked up an entire pitcher of pumpkin juice and ran after the petite girl, out of the Great Hall.
The last thing he could be heard saying was, "Ha! Tit for that, Evans!"
With an outraged cry from somewhere ahead of James, Lily scrambled to her feet, looking positively murderous. James ran the other way, with an enraged red-head in his wake.
And, with that, began the infamous "Tit for Tat" Potter-Evans war.
Now seventeen years old, Lily Evans emerged from her dormitory in the Heads' common room, and made her way towards the Head Boy, lounging on the armchair by the fire comfortably.
"'Lo, James"
James smiled at her, "Hey Lily."
Ah yes, James Potter and Lily Evans had finally become friends. It had been coming all along actually, to think about it. All their pranks, their spats, their sneaky glances during classes when they thought no one was looking…any person who noticed them carefully would have said that their relationship had never really been hatred. It had always been something else…
"Done with the essays?"
He groaned. "No! I had to organize a special Quidditch practice today, what with McLaggen being in the hospital and everything. I mean, Sean's good, no doubt, but he just doesn't-" he flashed his arms around wildly, trying to make a gesture,-"but he's just not it, you know?"
"Just not…it?" Lily asked, a little bemused smile on her lips.
He turned towards her. "Yes! See, he's a great keeper and everything, but sometimes, a person, despite being…great at something, just doesn't belong there, you know. It's the same with Sean. His heart really isn't into the game."
Lily looked over at him, and despite herself, smiled a little.
He leaned in a little towards her.
"Between us...I rather think the only reason he's there at all is for Becca Spence."
She laughed, but after a moment looked at him thoughtfully.
"You really do understand people, don't you?"
"Sometimes…but, well, not all people. There…are a few whom…as much as I want to, I can't understand at all, in…some matters." His voice faltered slightly at the last bit, and Lily had a very good idea that they were no longer on the subject of Quidditch.
She got up suddenly.
"Take a walk?" she asked him.
He shrugged, "Sure."
And so they made their way out of the portrait hole. The man in the painting, namely Ivan the Ironic, started in his same deep voice.
"Ha! There you are! Now, who might be up for a little bit of sword fighting, eh?"
"Some other time, I square," Lily said. James chuckled.
So they carried on. The corridors were dark, since it was night time, dimly lit by the lanterns, as they made their way towards the grounds.
James pushed open the oak doors, and steeped out. It was snowing lightly, and the dark sky was giving a rather serene look to the grounds.
He walked a few steps ahead, then realized that Lily hadn't followed him. He turned around, just as a snowball came pelting right towards his face.
He sputtered, removing his glasses to wipe them, when another one made its way towards him.
He smirked. "Oh, you're on Evans!"
She laughed and ran the other way, as he started digging snow out.
SPLASH!
Lily fell down, still laughing. James rushed towards her.
"Merlin, Lils! Are you alright?" he asked, bending towards her. That boy really cared a lot for her.
She rolled her eyes. "I'm perfectly fine, James."
He gave her a hand, and she took it. But instead of pushing herself up, she pulled James down, beside her.
"Oomph!"
She laughed, causing him to smile.
"You're an easy target, Mr. Potter."
"Oh, it's just for your sake, Miss Evans."
She chuckled, and he joined in.
They lay there for a few minutes, looking up at the sky. It was so…peaceful. Lily had a strange feeling…like, their being here like this just felt…right, somehow.
She rolled over a bit so that she was facing James.
"I used to love watching the stars when I was small. I used to sneak out to the garden at night with Tune-Petunia sometimes. We used to lie there for hours, talking. Just talking." She sighed. "We used to like that."
James looked at her sadly.
"You really miss your sister, don't you?"
She met his eyes.
"Yes."
James nodded, and suddenly, he stood up, pulling Lily along with him.
"What?" she asked confusedly.
"Come on," he said, took her hand and ran ahead. They ran and ran, until they reached a corner just before the Black Lake, on one of the far ends of the grounds.
To say that it was absolutely beautiful would be an understatement. They got a full view of the half moon, surrounded by stars so bright that they could have been holes in the palace of heaven themselves. The reflection of the moon was seen on the surface of the lake, clear as crystal, pure as a blanket of snow. The scene was absolutely breathtaking.
"James it's…beautiful." Lily whispered.
He smiled. She looked at him for a few seconds, before suddenly leaning in and kissing his cheek.
"Thank you," she said softly.
He leaned in and planted a kiss on her cheek as well. She looked at him questioningly but he just grinned.
"Tit for tat, Evans!" he said, in a decent attempt at imitating an eleven year old Lily's voice.
And then she laughed. It echoed through the night, and James didn't think anything could have made the moment more magical.
As if on an impulse, he reached down and pecked her lips lightly. Her eyed widened slightly and she turned around. James was about to open his mouth when she turned towards him again.
She had a mischievous glint in her eyes as she looked at him.
And suddenly, she pulled him down and pressed her lips to his. His momentary shock wore down and he threw his arms around her waist, bringing her as close as humanly possible. One of his hands went to her hair, lightly caressing the soft red locks, while the other remained around her, hugging her to him. She cupped his face in her hands, gently stroking his cheeks. Their lips were moving in perfect sync. They stayed in that position until the demand for oxygen could no longer be denied.
"Tit for tat, Potter!" Lily said, in a rather good imitation of her own squeaky first year voice.
James laughed loudly, and Lily joined in.
"That was actually the first hing you said to me, wasn't it?" James asked.
"I guess. You still remember?"
"Yeah..." he smiled down at her.
They were standing by the lake in the middle of the night, with their arms around each other, grinning like fools, and they could not be happier than they were at that very moment.
"Back inside?" Lily asked.
James smiled, placed a quick peck on her forehead, and nodded. He took her hand in his own, and she laced her fingers through it.
So together, hand in hand, they made their way back to the castle, probably to do some homework…probably to talk…probably just to go to sleep.
As they entered the castle, James thought to himself, 'Tit for tat…I could use that one more often…'
Another L/J one-shot. Oh, well...it just randomly popped into my head when I was doing my homework. xD
So I'd love to hear what you guys think.
Constructive criticism and feedback is always appreciated. :)
So I'd request you all to please leave a review. I've been getting mails and checking my stats, people are reading my stories, but very few of you actually leave a review. Honestly, it'll probably just take you a minute or so to tell me how you like it, but it really does make my day.
Well, it's not much...just something I wrote rather suddenly as it came to me. I'd love to know what you guys think! :D
So, here you have it, a short, little Jily one-shot.
Review! ;)
Cheers,
RainHolly