Hello everyone! So this is my newest OS (another James/Lily, but what can I say? I just love them :p). It's written for the Ultimate Doctor Who Competition, for the episode The Lodger, the Random Pairing Challenge (James/Lily) and for the Stretch Your Limit Competition, for the level Easy, which was to write about love.
I hope you enjoy, and don't forget to review :p
Shaping Forever
"Will you go out with me Evans?"
"Get lost Potter"
"You know, I find it really impressive how you managed to know it was me without even looking at me or take your eyes off from your toast. I'm jealous."
"Of a toast? And here you almost had me convinced you at least had some standards."
"Hey guys, you heard that? Evans thinks I have standards! Thanks Lily by the way"
Remus' "I don't think it was meant as a compliment" came at the same time as Lily's categorical "No Potter. Go have a date with your toast for all I care, just leave. Me. Alone"
Pouting, James sat at the nearest free place with his three friends and mechanically placed some toasts in his plate. Lily got up, she had finished eating after all, and anyway she didn't want to stay when the Marauders invaded the table. As she passed behind the black-haired wizard, she couldn't help but remark what he was eating.
"You know, when I told you to have a date with a toast, I didn't think you would actually take me seriously. But I don't judge so I'll leave you to it. You seem busy"
Leaving a gaping James and three laughing Marauders behind, she left the Great Hall, ignoring the way Remus had spit his hot chocolate in Sirius' face (something that only seemed to spread the laugh to the entire table and even to other Houses) or the way Peter's eggs had managed to land on his lap.
"I'm gonna marry that girl one day" James exclaimed, staring lovingly as the redhead left the Hall.
"Yeah, we know James. You only told us a thousand times" Sirius didn't seem too convinced by his friend's exclamation though.
"Only a thousand? Shame, I'll have to do better" The worst part was that James was actually serious when he said this.
This scene was very usual at the Gryffindor's table. Every morning, James Potter, the school's star, would ask Lily Evans, the best student in their year, to go out with him, and each morning she would say no. The good part was the way she said no. She never went about it quite the same way and the other Gryffindor's had come to enjoy those little spats between their two star-students. There were even quite a lot of bets going on as to when exactly they would finally end up together and how. Rumor had it that even some professors were participating in those….
They were now in their seventh and last year at Hogwarts and the Head Girl still hadn't accepted one of James' propositions. To Sirius Black, James' brother in everything but blood (though they actually were related) and fellow Marauder, this was unacceptable. It was high time to act. Thus the secret reunion taking place in an abandoned classroom on the third floor.
"My fellow Gryffindors, if we are assembled here today, it's because I have a mission. I have received a message from the Gods and they told me…"
"What this insufferable mutt is trying to say is that we are here to help James and Lily together. Sorry, no divine mission. He must have drunk too much…" Sirius, muted by Remus' Silencio, was looking indignant and was now trying to choke Remus since h for some reason couldn't free himself of the spell. Remus appeared unfazed by his friend's murderous intents and his only reaction was to put a finger on his friend's forehead, something that stopped Sirius from touching him.
The scene was actually quite funny and the "fellow Gryffindors", even though they were by now used to the Marauders' childish behavior, were all on the ground laughing.
Finally Sirius calmed down and realized that he had no chance to choke his friend since he had a werewolf's force and settled for a glare promising retribution. Since Sirius was now calm, Remus lifted the spell.
Also present in the room were Marlene McKinnon (Lily's best friend), Alice Prewett, another of Lily's friends, Peter and Frank Longbottom. The girls were persuaded that Lily was secretly in love with James and refused to admit it while the boys just wanted James to finally stop his lamentations about 'how his future wife was still refusing him'.
"So as I was about to tell you before someone interrupted me, our mission is to get our two friends together. And for this, I have a plan!"
Ignoring his friends' desperate exclamations, Sirius created a small platform and stepped on it, trying (and failing) to give the impression he was dominating his 'subjects'. He then proceeded to explain his plan.
"So here is what we are going to do. Peter and I are going to distract James and tell him to show up here this afternoon. Meanwhile, Frank and Alice, you will prepare this room. It must be clean, with armchairs and one bed. We don't know how long they'll have to stay here but hopefully it won't be for too long. Remus, you will go to the kitchen and ask the House Elves to bring two meals to this room as long as they are in there, and when both of them are in there, you are to charm the door to not let them out until they have kissed.
Marlene you will have the most important task of getting our beloved Head Girl in this room. Use any means necessary, but she must be alive when she gets here. Else this plan would fail, obviously… I will then ward this room so that nobody can hear our two lovebirds inside. As you well know, I'm very skilled at those spells… If you want a demonstration, ladies I'm all yours!"
Sirius was once again silenced by an exasperated Remus and Alice and Frank had to restrain Marlene who wanted to silence him (definitely) for what she considered an 'insult to all women'. Once Sirius recovered once again his voice and that Marlene was calm once again, the plan was actually deemed intelligent enough (a fact that surprised everyone at Sirius' indignation) and adopted.
It took them the rest of their Saturday but around six o'clock, the two victims were finally together in the 'Love Room' as Sirius had decided to call it.
Meanwhile, in the 'Love Room' (or the 'Room of Doom' as it was soon to be called)
"Potter! What are you doing here? And where is Marlene?"
"Marlene? Don't you mean where is Sirius?"
In a moment of horrible (for Lily) but beautiful (for James) thought communication, they were both hit by the same realization and ran toward the closing door. They arrived too late of course.
"Black!" "Sirius!" The two now prisoners exclaimed at the same time their displeasure with the pureblood wizard who, there was no doubt, was at the origin of this stupid situation.
"Black, if you don't open that door now I will find you, I will torture you until you die and then I will resurrect you just to kill you again. And you can forget the idea of ever having children!"
On the other side of the door, Sirius Black winced hearing this but decided that she would just forgive him when they got out. Of course they would have fun listening in on them until then. If the original plan had been to charm the door for it to open when the two lovebirds kissed, Remus had been unable to find a spell to do so in such a short time and instead they had settled for listening spells that would allow them to know when it was okay to lift the spells keeping the door closed.
James was laughing. He had been irritated that his friends had actually managed to prank him but now seeing Lily Evans, who while not always calm, had never been this furious. It was quite funny to see when the anger wasn't directed at himself. Her red hair seemed aflame and her bright emerald eyes were glowing with determination as she tried spell after spell on the door. None of them worked and she even tried to kick it (one could never know if Muggle means could succeed where magic failed). James thought she was absolutely beautiful.
Unfortunately his laugh attracted Lily's attention and she turned her patented 'glare of death' on him. Really if he hadn't been exposed to it since his first year he would have been terrified (had been then actually). As it was he only mimicked a cough to hide his laugh. He knew it wasn't convincing, but it seemed to appease her a little.
She turned back toward the door and he couldn't help but notice the way the uniform fit her curves (and that was really strange, because he was pretty sure they weren't meant to do that) and the way her long red hair floated down her back (for once she didn't have them tied and he found that it suited her better. The way she tucked a small strand of hair behind her hair was pretty cute too.
Really, as he always told Sirius, she was perfect.
"Are you going to stand there all day or are you gonna try to help me?" Startled out of his daydreams, James yelped, took a step backward and his feet hit something that made him fall (what was a platform doing her?). Hearing the girl of his dreams laugh however made this little embarrassment more than worth it.
"Well?" She asked rather impatiently (especially considering that he had just gotten up and could have had a concussion or something. Not that he had, but still…).
"Marry me" James asked this very seriously not thinking about what he said (he wanted to ask her, but he'd rather wait for them to be together first… It might help). Maybe he had hit his head harder than he thought after all…
"What?"
As id suddenly realizing what he had just said, James' eyes widened and he gaped for a second before he corrected himself. "I mean… I said that I would help of course. Yes, that's it. I'll help…" He bit back a nervous laugh and as good as run toward the closed door, passing in front of a bewildered Lily.
"Potter?"
Ignoring the voice calling his name, James tried to find a spell able to open the door. Knowing his friends, it was probably some obscure locking spell that had its own unlocking charm. Which meant he almost had no chance to find it, but maybe he knew it (Lily could too, because he could swear she spent more time in the Library than outside of it sometimes).
"Potter? Do you have a hearing problem or what? What did you really say?"
At the tenth time she called his name he snapped.
"Why does it matter to you Evans?" The way he spit her name was far different from the usual (too) sugary way he said her first name and Lily found that she didn't like it. Not at all (not that liked the usual way he talked to her). She was taken aback.
"Well maybe because we are apparently stuck in the same room and that you hit your head and are now spouting nonsense. I don't like you but I'd rather not have you die on me!"
"It wasn't nonsense", James muttered darkly, before glaring at the door like it was the cause for all the bad things happening in his life (well if it hadn't been closed he wouldn't be stuck there with the girl he loved but who for some reason couldn't stand him. And he wouldn't have hit his head).
"There it is again! What did you just said?" So maybe it wasn't really fair on him for her to vent her anger on her fellow Gryffindor prefect, but he was the only one there, she was angry and she was sure this was some sort of plan of his to get her to go out with him.
"I said that it wasn't nonsense! And who do you think you are, really, Lily, to judge me and my friends. You don't know anything about us, about me. I know I'm not perfect but I never pretended to be. Can you say the same? You left a friend because he insulted you and now you refuse to talk to him, not that I complain because it's Snivellus, but personally I don't let a stupid argument separate myself from my friends. You refuse to talk to your sister because she doesn't understand you and you don't even care about others' feelings!"
James had turned to face her and for once it was him who was angry, it was him who said the thing that hurt. Except that it didn't feel good to see the proud girl with tears glistening in her eyes, it didn't change anything that had happened in the last years. In fact seeing Lily so defeated just made him feel bad.
"I'm sorry" He sighed. "I shouldn't have said that."
She gave a chocked up laugh that strangely sounded more like a sob than anything else and he winced. "You're right, you shouldn't have. But maybe I shouldn't have begun then… So I guess I'm sorry too."
As Lily wiped discreetly her tears, a deep silence settled in the room and the door that kept them locked up was forgotten for a moment.
"So…" Lily took a deep breath and extended her hand to the young man who was looking everywhere but at her. "I'm Lily Evans. Who are you?"
James blinked hard. "Are you sure you're okay Evans? You haven't hit your head or something? Maybe my hypothetical headache was transmitted to you…"
If glares could kill, well let's just say James' wouldn't be here anymore. Lily pinched her nose, counted to ten and took a deep breath.
"This is me, giving you a chance to prove you're not a complete idiot. Don't blow it." As Lily glared seriously at him, James' eyes widened as he understood that he may just actually have a chance this once.
"Then I'm James Potter. I like Transfiguration, pranking people, my friends and Lily Evans." He said the last part with a roguish wink. "Nice to meet you" He took her hand and shook it.
Had it been with someone else or in another situation, James would have laughed. As it was he only smiled a little. Actually, had it been someone else stuck in this room with him, he would probably have ignored them. If that person had acted the way Lily just did, he would have thought her crazy and he wouldn't even have answered. But this was Lily, the dark red-haired girl he had been in love with for years and if she finally was giving him a chance, well he would take it, even if the way she went about it gave him the impression she was absolutely crazy.
Lily flushed and immediately cursed herself for it. She thought she had a better self-control than that. She may not have been able to stand the guy, but that didn't mean she hadn't noticed he was very fit. She was a girl after all.
"I prefer Charms. And I'd really wish you'd stop playing those stupid pranks"
"But, Lily-dear, (really, the way he said her name should be forbidden. Was he trying to seduce her again and miraculously not being an ass about it?) if I don't do it, then who would?"
"Why would there be a need for pranks? Seriously, Hogwarts is a school, we are here to learn. Not to play pranks and ridicule other students."
"But they keep the students happy and distracted from their studies. They'd go mad if all they did was study. You know, we can't be all like you or Remus and be in love with the Library. Some of us have to do other things…"
"But why pranks? Especially since your little group is always targeting one person or House. How does it make them feel good? If they're supposed to have fun at Hogwarts too, how pranking them over and over again will make them feel happy? Some of them are terrified that you would target them. Have you thought about that?"
Truth was, he hadn't. Remus tried to tell him sometimes, that maybe what they did wasn't all that good and they should perhaps change their ways, but he always said it in such a way that you thought it didn't really matter. But now that Lily said it, it actually seemed true. Maybe their pranks were a bit too harsh. He winced.
"Maybe you're right." He sighed, running a hand through his messy dark hair. "I'll talk to the guys, okay, see what we can do." He couldn't keep doing what he did now that he knew how people truly felt about their actions. He had a conscience after all, not like those slimy Slytherins who like to hurt others.
Lily was gaping openly. Was James Potter actually listening to her for once? What a change! But it was a very nice one. Maybe he wasn't as bad as she thought Of course, she had already met the nicer side of him, when they patrolled at night, for example, but it never lasted long enough for her to know if he truly was sincere or if it was an act. Now though… She understood him better she guessed. Maybe this (whatever it actually was that was between them) could work in the end. But for that there was one thing she needed to know.
"Where you actually serious earlier?"
"About what?" James blinked owlishly at her and if the situation hadn't been so serious to Lily, his perplexed expression would have made her laugh.
"Well, you know… What you said but said you didn't…"
"Ah that…"
"Yeah that."
"Well… I guess I was. Except if it sort of freaks you out, in which case I absolutely wasn't and you don't have to worry it was just a side-effect of me falling and hitting my head…" It was way too funny to see him panic that way when he was usually so collected and calm (especially whenever he tried to seduce her). She couldn't help herself, she laughed.
"Well, if you actually were serious, then that mean there's only one thing left to do…" With mischievous eyes, she took a step forward and closed the gap between them. She was shorter than he was, not by much but enough for it to be noticed when they stood side by side, or in that case one in front of the other. James looked especially intrigued and opened his mouth to ask her what she was about to do.
She stood on the tip of her toes and kissed him. It was the worst first kiss ever. Their teeth clashed, she was a bit inexperienced and not really thinking about what she was doing and he was too surprised to react. As she pulled away, the door clicked but it went unheard as the only thing that filled their world was each other presence.
"So… I'm pretty sure this was supposed to be better than that"
James snapped out of his stunned state and nodded faintly, still not really believing what just happened had been real.
"I guess that just mean we'll have to have more practice then?" James asked with his roguish smile.
"Well, I wouldn't be against it…"
They kissed again and this time it was just perfect. Well, except for the 'clic' of the camera. And for Sirius' smirking face who told them he had witnessed everything.
Lily and James shared a look. No need to move for now. Let him think he was safe… Revenge would come latter, much later, when he would have forgotten he had to be cautious…
