The head boy and girl were finishing up their patrol of the seventh floor, and as it was nearing twelve, the head girl wanted nothing more than to head back to her dorms and sleep. She mentally cursed the wretched schedule, conveniently forgetting that the reason why the pair were patrolling said floor at said hour was because of the incredibly large number of secluded alcoves perfect for snogging. Regrettably, it seemed her companion had ideas other than sleep.
Merlin, Jamie, what's gotten into you?" Asked an irate 7th year by the name of Evans.
"Never fear, dearest, I promise you'll enjoy my wonderful surprise!" Smirked James as he continued pulling her down a corridor.
He came to a stop and pulled her into a tight embrace -effectively obscuring her sight- and paced back and forth thrice.
After Lily heard the unmistakable click of a door unlatching, she was swept through said door, followed by James who shut it swiftly.
In front of them was a large feather bed, roughly thrice the size of a bed in the Hogwarts dorms. However, it was obvious that it had been modeled after those comfy dorm room beds -the comforter, pillows, and curtains were all of a Gryffindor hue.
Lily's eyes grew wide. "James? What on earth is-"
"Relax Lils," laughed James with one of those lazy smirks of his that made Lily want to cuddle him to death, while hexing him into oblivion. "Pillow fight!" Yelled the now grinning Marauder, effectively breaking to tension.
Lily grinned back, her only response was to grab one of the gold tasseled throw pillows, cause it to live up to its name, and smack a completely flabbergasted Prongs in the face. It didn't take him long to come out of his shock induced stupor, however, and soon the pair were caught up in a war of red, gold, and soft down feathers.
After a period of time -about ten minutes- Lily realized that she had no more fluffy pouches of destruction in her arsenal, while, to her dismay, her opponent was gleefully swinging a large pillow sham. Thinking furiously, Lily pled for some higher power to grant her assistance in wiping that awful smug look off her nemesis' face. Just as the thought entered her mind, Lo and behold, a pile of dangerous green pillow-weapons appeared in front of her!
Not wasting a single moment to contemplate the serendipitous turn of events, Lily gathered up said pile, and with a gleeful smile of her own, twirled her wand, and banished the Slytherin colored monstrosity toward the gobsmacked James.
"That's cheating!" He cried with indignation. "Magic is against the rules." He finished with a pout.
Lily smiled cheekily "I guess I broke the rules then, Jamiekins."
The raven haired man mock glared at her. "You forget, my darling Lilyflower, that you are baiting a rule breaker of the most fearful sort."
Lilyflower snorted.
That caused James to contort his face into a thunderous scowl. Deftly flicking his wand, he animated a feather from the pillows, and had it flutter about on every uncovered bit of skin Lily sported -which was quite a bit, due to their 'patrolling' earlier that night- and she burst into uncontrollable giggles. It so happened that the fiery redhead was haplessly ticklish, though it was a secret she kept well -meaning that of course James knew.
After what seemed like an eternity -but in reality was only a minute or so- the pair collapsed, laughing, onto the deliciously soft bed.
"I love you, Lily" James murmured.
Lily breathed in sharply. He'd said that before, she thought, why was she getting so worked up about it now? 'But this is different' a voice in her mind berated her 'this isn't like fourth year, when he hung that banner in Great Hall, proclaiming his undying love for you. He's not doing this to show off, or to humiliate you, or make someone laugh. He's putting himself in a vulnerable position for you; James thrives on attention, he knows exactly how to pur on a show in front of a crowd- but now, he's being brutally honest.
That was true, Lily realized with a start. James had no audience, this was not a part of an elaborate prank, and he was just as capable of being humiliated as she was. She'd always thought James had chased after her, because it was entertaining, for him and his followers. But perhaps, perhaps she had been wrong. Perhaps she hadn't wanted to let herself believe it was more than a 'publicity stunt' for fear of having her heart broken -as he always claimed she had his.
With dawning comprehension, Lily whispered in an awed voice, "You know what, Jamiekins? I think I love you too."