Lily sped down the narrow incline leading from the castle to the lake and stopped abruptly, tittering at the edge of the water's depths. She squealed and waved her arms wildly in order to regain her balance instead of topple into the water, when someone's arm caught hers and spun her around.
"Whoa, Evans, the bloody hell are you trying to take a dive for?" It was James Potter, bighead that she had been dealing with for a little over 6 years. Lily huffed, wrenched her arm out of James' hand and turned around to face the Lake again.
"For your information, Potter, I wasn't planning on taking a nosedive into the black lake. Only complete IDIOTS would do that." Lily of course was referring to last month when James and his posse "The Marauders" took a dive from a dare by Frank Longbottom.
James snorted and shuffled beside Lily while she stared across the shoreline at the sun slowly drifting down. "Come off it, Evans. You didn't appreciate my half naked body, splashing into the crystal water, my hair-" at this point James' had was stretched out gesturing to the lake while flipping his hair spastically- "glistening in the sunlight?"
"From what i remember, you, Sirius and Peter nearly drowned in a stretch of seaweed. The Giant Squid had to dump you on shore while Remus led Madame Pomfrey to you."
"Details, details."
Lily sighed and turned around, slowly trekking up the hill back to the castle. James followed her and posed a question her. "Leaving already on my accord? Guess whatever you were doing was not so important. What WERE you even doing?"
Lily glanced at him, scrutinizing his curious expression, and replied "Trying to get a glimpse at the lakeside sunset. Marlene was raving about it at dinner, so I thought I'd take a look. But then I nearly drowned, and then you came bugging me. Weather's too chilly today, anyway."
James laughed and Lily glared at him before trudging up the hill as fast as she could. James however sped up to her quickly, and saw that he had been dragging his broom with him the entire time. "Oy, Evans, don't get a hissy fit with me. I've seen the sunset plenty of times; I know for a fact that the best view you get isn't on the beach, but is actually-" he paused and flew up the incline faster than Lily could ever imagine.
"-the top of this hill."
James at that point flew back to Lily, grabbed her hand and dragged her to the top while flying his broomstick. Lily yelped as her legs desperately tried not to topple from being dragged at such a fast speed. when they reached the top, the first thing Lily did was smack the back of James' head as he got off the broom.
"Oy, what was that fo-"
"Don't do that again!" Lily half-shouted, half-gasped. She bent down,trying to regain her breath, then shot up and revolved toward the lake.
This had better have been worth that, thought Lily, crossing her arms tightly across her chest and slowing her breath. Then she saw it.
Absolutely amazing.
The sun had turned a soft, glowing orange, and the sky looked as if it had been painted with every shade of blue in existence. Colours reflected off of the lake, from a rosy pink to a hazy yellow. Coupled with the water's incessant quality of sparkling like jewels, the sheer beauty of it made Lily shed a tear. Wait, what?
Lily quickly wiped her face and smudged the moisture onto her robes. She snuck a look at James, who must have thought she was mad. After all, she had nearly drowned in a lake and nearly passed out unwittingly chasing a broom. All she needed was some horrid old glasses and Lily would become a professor Trelawney.
James however, was still staring at the sunset. Although thankfully not sobbing, he was obviously enraptured by it. Confusion entered Lily's mind.
"Uh James... how frequently you watch the sunset, really?"
He shot her a look. "Did you just ask if I came here often?" He deadpanned, brow raised.
Lily blushed furiously and rephrased it. "I mean, you said you obviously knew what way looking at the sunset was best, so you've obviously been here before, but it's just- the way you looked at it-that could NOT have been a real reaction-" she stopped suddenly as a new thought dawned on her. "You're just ACTING, AREN'T YOU. You probably take girls out here, and pretend you're sensitive and faff, when really you're just looking for a SNOG! Ugh! And you stalked me on your stupid broom, or- or - MARLENE SET ME UP AND-and- wait, DID YOU SNOG MARLENE he-"
Suddenly, James pressed a finger to Lily's mouth and grimaced. His expression throughout Lily's rant and gone from shocked to angry to disbelieving. "Geez, Evans, will you quit blathering and let a man talk? I assure you I'm not acting, and I didn't stalk you." At this, James smirked. "Don't flatter yourself, Evans. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is you're being paranoid. Oh and just letting this be clear, I don't snog birds that have other blokes." Lily in turn raised a brow.
"What? It's part of the James Potter Code of Conduct. Another thing is that we always watch the sunset after James Broom Alone Time."
"I didn't realize you had a relationship with your broom."
"Baby I would ride it ALL night if I wished it."
"Careful, your idiocy is showing."
"Maybe my sheer beauty is clouding up your pretty little eyes."
"Maybe you hit yourself with a broomstick one too many times."
"That's what us quidditch players do."
"Let's just go back to the castle."
Lily turned her back to the now darkening sky, and James chased behind her on his broom again. "C;mon, Lily, it's prime flying hour! We can go over the lake! Maybe get eaten by the squid! It'll be fun!" James said this to Lily without the usual snarky tone, but instead full of optimism and earnest. Lily hesitated and replied, "No thanks." James' face fell. "Lily. Just give it a try. What's the harm? Don't worry, I won't drown you or anything..." He winked and Lily gave a small laugh. However, she cut it off in the middle and blurted out , "I've never ridden a broomstick though." James' reaction to this was not as supportive as Lily had hoped.
"You've WHAT? How did this happen? Not even 1st YEAR? Evans, get on this broom NOW! No wonder you're such a stick; bloody hell Eva-" He cut off when he saw her pout and turn back to the castle in annoyance. He sighed and quickly a plan came into his head. A crazy, misguided most likely disastrous plan, but a plan all the same. Without hesitating or thinking, James grabbed Lily's arm again and swiftly shoved her ontop of his broomstick. He grabbed it, hoisted himself behind Lily and pushed off into the sky.
Then she went insane.
"JAMMMEEES! YOU PRICK GET ME OFF THIS THING AHH, AHHH, AHHHH!" Any other quidditch player would have found Lily's shrieking distracting, but not James. He smoothly glided the broomstick over the lake, and Lily's already hysterical pitch grew higher and more chaotic.
"NOT THE LAKE WE'RE GOING TO CRASH, WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU POMPOUS IDIOTIC ARSE MOTHERFU-"
"Whoa whoa whoa, Evans, mind your language, we are in school!"
"NO WE AREN'T WE ARE ON SKIMMING ON TOP OF THE LAKE I ALMOST FELL IN TODAY SO TURN THIS BLOODY BROOM AROUND OR I WILL KICK YOUR ARSE JAMES POTTER YOU HEAR ME-"
"Lily! Will you shut up for a second and look at the sunset! Merlin, women!"
"I WILL NOT-"
"Lily! Please!"
Lily pouted and momentarily forgot the fact that she was on a flying broom and looked at the sunset. Catching her breath, Lily saw that the sun, although dipping extremely low now, sent rushes of colour onto the lake water underneath her dangling.
When will that damn star cease to amaze me, she thought in both awe and irritation. There was no way Potter hadn't done THIS before, that was for sure.
Lily was now painfully aware that she had been clinging to James' waist and pressing her cheek into his back the entire time, but Lily's fear of tumbling into the giant squid's arms overcame hers around James' waist. James was oblivious to her clinging, thankfully, but he was still speeding the bloody broomstick to the end of the lake.
"Turn around, Potter. You've had your fun abducting me, but turn this broom around RIGHT NOW." James only dipped the broom slightly closer to the lake's watery depths, and Lily shrieked. He merely smirked and gripped the wooden handle of his broom tighter, then shouted to Lily, "Oy Evans, I learnt this trick in bloody first year!" James then spun the broom upside down, causing James and Lily's heads to skim the top of the lake. Lily felt her dark red hair get soaked in the lake and yelled to James a death threat that he laughed off in reply.
Finally, James slowed to a stop on top of the hill where they had watched the now gone sunset. Lily smacked James' shoulder while she tried to dry her soaking hair. She huffed and shivered as the cold water dripped down into her neck, and silently swore and Marlene for causing her to endure this madness. Stupid Marlene and her stupid gorgeous sunset. Stupid Potter and his stupid broom. James ruffled his dark hair to get rid of the lake water, and glanced at the shivering Lily. Slightly humbled by this sight, James took off his extra quidditch robe and tossed it to Lily. "Er, sorry 'bout that Lily. If I knew you'd get hypothermia, I might not've done the trick."
"Trick? More like devil's playtime. But thanks for your sweaty quidditch robe. Who knew something this disgusting could be so warm?"
"My pleasure. Want me to walk you to the Head dorm?"
"No thanks, James."
"Your loss."
Lily watched at James yet again flew to the castle on his broom (he was simply looking for reasons to ride it, wasn't he?) and she shivered and clung deeper to the robe covering her. All in all, that evening wasn't so bad, Lily thought grudgingly. After all, she had seen that sunset, and finally ridden a broomstick. Well, Lily thought as she started walking to the castle. I'm never doing THAT ever again. Not for a thousand bags of her favourite Bertie Botts Flavour Beans.
Meanwhile, James stepped into the castle, fully aware that Filch or Ms. Norris could be lurking around the corner. James grinned back at the thought of Lily wearing his quidditch robe, knowing full well that she would have to come up to him and give it back. "I look forward to that," he mumbled, swinging his broomstick in one hand and grinning like he had won a million galleons.
A/N: thanks for reading, and please tell me everything I did write or wrong in this fanfiction as I am in desperate need of jumping from this base fanfic, seeing as it is my first. R&R and I will like you, dear reader. ;) (and thanks for clicking on this just because you disregarded the cheesy title. Chocolate snitches for you.)