The Most Embarrassing Thing

Disclaimer: I don't own nothin' of J. K. Rowling…but I do wish I did.

Lily picked up her yellow towel and wrapped it around her. She felt lovely and warm after that hot shower.

Lily walked out into her dormitory from the bathroom and flopped on her bed. She reached to her right for her clothes, but found that there was nothing there. Lily's eyes widened.

She got up from her bed and tied her towel more tightly around her. She opened her trunk and began pulling out everything in a desperate rush to find her clothes, any clothes.

After half an hour, she found nothing.

"Oh no!" she squealed. She couldn't go to downstairs looking like this.

"Jasmine?" she called. But her dormitory mate wasn't there. She must be downstairs, Lily thought.

Lily sat on her bed for a moment. She could run to the bottom of the stairs, call for Jasmine and no-one would know the difference. Yes, that would be what she would do.

Lily stood up and opened her door. She poked her head out to check if anyone was there.

The coast was clear, so she stepped carefully down the spiral staircase, still holding her towel to her, her still wet red hair clinging to her back.

Lily peeked around the corner into the common room. She could see her friend's short chestnut hair over the side of an armchair.

"Jasmine!" she whispered desperately. "Jasmine?"

Jasmine didn't appear to hear her.

Lily soon knew why. She saw a glimpse of Sirius Black's hair as well, on the same armchair as Jasmine.

"Damn it!" Lily cursed.

Then the portrait hole opened and Lily went as white as white can be.

James Potter had just entered the common room.

Lily hid around the corner quick smart.

"Sirius. Sirius. Mate. Sirius, stop!"

Sirius stopped kissing Jasmine and looked up at James. "Yes?" he said in a tone that suggested that James had interrupted something important. Which he had…

"Have you or Jasmine here seen Lily?"

"Umm…I think I saw her by the stairs just a second ago…she was calling me but I was doing something…else," replied Jasmine.

Lily cursed her friend silently. Now she had told James where she was. Most likely, he was going to come find her now…

Lily heard footsteps approaching.

"No…damn…no…damn," she kept muttering. At this point she realized she should have run up the stairs. But then her towel might have fallen down. She didn't want to risk it.

James poked his bespectacled face around the corner. "Lily! Fancy seeing you here…wearing a towel…" he trailed off as he looked down.

"If you don't mind Potter, stop looking please. Now, unless you have any clothes for me…"

"Wanna borrow some of my old robes?" he asked eagerly.

Lily sighed. She shouldn't have given him that opening. "I suppose I have to."

"Oh goody. Wait right there and I'll be back with some in a second." James raced off in the direction of the boys' dormitories.

Lily was inwardly kicking herself. Now she was going to have to wear James' robes. Why had she given him that opening?

James came back, holding an armful of robes. "Here you are Lily," he said, dumping them into her reluctantly outstretched arms. "Hope they fit."

Lily smiled grimly then carefully climbed up the staircase to her dormitory. She pulled the handle on her door and found it was…

"Locked? What the…" Lily knocked hard on the heavy door. "Alice? Are you in there? Open the door! It's Lily."

There was no reply from Lily's other dormitory mate, Alice.

Lily swore. Trust Alice to be out with Frank at a time like this.

Lily thought carefully. She must have locked the door accidentally when she left. Sometimes she did the most stupid things…

"Lily?" came James' voice up the stairs. "Do they fit? Are you ok?"

"No Potter, I am not. I locked myself outside of my own dormitory and…my wand's in there," Lily realized and she banged her head on the door.

James heard the thud downstairs. "Well, there's no need to bash yourself up about it. Come up to my dormitory and change up there."

Lily groaned quietly. Now she had to go into his dormitory…what next?

Lily carefully went down the spiral staircase, holding up her towel and James' robes.

James smiled at her when she reached the bottom of the stairs in the common room.

Lily smiled weakly. She followed James up the boys' spiral staircase. Luckily, there were no other boys on the stairs.

James opened the door of his dormitory grandly for Lily. She entered the messiest dormitory she had ever seen.

"Just let me check if anyone's in here," James told her. "Marauders! OUT!"

A rat ran out the door.

Lily was startled. She screamed and grabbed onto the closest thing she could find.

Which, sadly, was James.

James looked at Lily questioningly as she hung on to him tightly.

Lily bit her lower lip and let go of James. She took a step back and looked at her feet.

"Don't like rats, Evans?" James asked her quietly.

"No, Potter, I don't like them. Not when they run out at me like that."

"I can't say they're my favourites, either. But sometimes they are helpful." He gave Lily a meaningful look that she didn't understand.

"So, Potter, where am I to get changed?" Lily asked.

"Umm, in the bathroom and I can stay out here or here and I can stay outside."

"I'll take the second option."

"Good choice," said James and he walked outside and closed the door.

Lily dropped James' robes to the ground. One problem she had was that she had no underwear.

"Well," she said to herself, "I'll just have to put this stuff on and then steal Jazzy's wand to get my own."

Lily dropped her towel and pulled on James' robes. They were, as she suspected at least five sizes too big for her. She looked at herself in a mirror. Boy, did James have broad shoulders or what?

Lily looked around the room. It was so messy. Except for Remus' bed. She could pick that out easily.

She spotted a book on James' bed. It was leather bound. She looked at it carefully then opened it to the first page. "Dear Diary," she read. "Another school year at Hogwarts. Another chance to make Lily mine!"

Lily was taken aback by his words. She put the book back onto James' bed.

"Lily? Are you ok in there?"

Lily opened the door and found James facing her. "I'm fine, Potter."

James looked at Lily for a moment. Then he leaned in and kissed her.

Lily didn't know what to do or what was happening.

Then James put his arms around her.

Lily was still surprised by what he was doing. But she knew he had to stop. But did she want him to?

"James…" Lily murmured, trying to pull away.

James pulled back and searched her green eyes.

Lily didn't know what to say.

"Don't say you didn't enjoy that, Lily," James said quietly.

Lily didn't say anything. She hitched up the extra long robes and stepped down the stairs.

James watched her go.

He looked in his dormitory. Her towel still lay on the ground.