Forbidden Ventures

Disclaimer: I lay-th no claim upon these characters, thought up by JKR. In addition, "Dreams" belong-th to Stevie Nicks.

Being an Animagus had its advantages, James thought as he watched a big, black dog creeping up the stairs to the girls' dormitory. Tossing his Invisibility Cloak over himself, he slipped out the portrait hole.

Flashback

The previous week, James, Sirius, and Remus were pouring over their newly-developed Marauder's Map looking for their fourth, Peter. They found him in a most unsuspected place- the girls' dormitory! They stared at the map in morbid fascination trying to figure out how Peter had gotten up there. They saw him leaving, obviously en route to their room. When he entered, Sirius pounced.

"How the hell did you get into the girls' dormitory?" His face was showing obvious amazement with a hint of jealousy.

"Real subtle, Padfoot," Remus said sarcastically. In a curious tone, he continued, "Although… Out with, Worms. How did you get in there?"

Noting James' less than friendly glance, Peter began sheepishly. "Well, you see, I was bored last Tuesday when you lot were in Potions… And and I knew that one Fifth year girl, you know, the McYoung girl, had just taken a shower, and so I-I may have transformed and the stairs let me go up as a rat and…" His voice trailed off as his friends roared with laughter, leaning on to each other for support.

"Why have we been stuck with Slughorn when we could have been perving on McYoung in a towel?!" Sirius could hardly get out sentence because he was laughing so hard.

Still laughing, James managed to say, "As Head Boy, I should give you a detention… But I'll be damned to write up the report for it!" This caused a renewed burst of laughter from both him and Sirius, causing the two to fall over.

"You really shouldn't invade their privacy like that!" Remus accused, but since he was red in the face, he was hardly convincing.

Present

Sirius the dog crept silently up the stairs and down the hallway in the girls' dormitories. He passed six rooms before reaching the room for the Seventh Year girls. Using his muzzle to nudge the already cracked-open door, he gained entrance. Crouching down, he began to sniff. The first whiff he got was a ravishing mix of apples and pumpkin, a scent he associated with his on-again-off-again girlfriend, Marlene McKinnon. While he would have loved to go over, transform, and crawl in bed with her, McKinnon was not on tonight's agenda.

Raising his nose slightly, Padfoot took another sniff. Bingo! He caught the scent he'd been searching for- orchids lightly intertwined with vanilla. Lily Evans.

Meanwhile

James lit the candles on a small, bronze candelabrum. Earlier that day, he had come to this abandoned classroom to set up. With Remus' help, he had bewitched the ceiling to look like a thunderstorm was about to start. He had also managed to capture about 100 fireflies, which he kept near the walls with a clever adaptation of the Bubble-Head charm. He thought they gave off a nice, romantic glow.

James had also gone to the kitchens in his free period after lunch. He'd asked one of the house elves to take some chocolate-covered strawberries to the room. James was surprised when they brought up three silver platters of fist-sized strawberries- a platter for each dark, white, and milk chocolate. James thanked them profusely and declined offers to help set up the room.

"This is something I have to do myself," was the explanation he gave them. James knew that Lily was thinking about breaking up with him and he had to convince her that he wasn't just using her. I'm in love with her, and now I just need to let her know that I'm for real.

Back in Gryffindor Tower

Sirius used his nose to pull aside the curtains surrounding Lily's bed. He woof-ed softly, nudging her with his snout.

"Huh?!" Lily awakened with a start, giving on an, "Eep!" as Sirius began tugging on the hem of her favorite nightgown. He let go, then walked towards the door. Stopping, he turned and gazed at Lily with an expectant look.

Eyeing the dog suspiciously, Lily questioned it. "Do you want me to follow you?"

"Woof!" Sirius replied softly, as to not wake the other girls. Lily put on her bathrobe, snatched up her wand, and followed the dog as he led her out of the dorm towards to the Common Room. Once they got down the stairs, Sirius bounded across the empty room to the portrait hole. He put his front paws up and began to scratch at it and whine.

Lily opened the door and the pair went through the hole. Scratching the dog's head, Lily looked at him and said, "You know, you're lucky I'm Head Girl. Otherwise, I'd probably get in trouble for this." Sirius gave her a doggy-grin and began trotting down the corridor. Heaving a sign, Lily let out a, "Lumos!" and followed the dog into the darkness.

James' Romantic Room

James heard a, "Woof! Woof!" from the hallway. Almost here! James adjusted his glasses and nervously ran his hand through his hair. He turned on the record player he had magicked into working. Knowing his girlfriend's fondness for Muggle music, he had found a song by some band called Fleetwood Mac that he hoped would make Lily see how lonely they both would be without each other.

Lily was escorted in by Sirius' Animagus form as the introduction to a song called "Dreams" began.

Lily gasped. "James! Wh-what's going on?" Her eyes widened as she took in the strawberries and the fireflies.

Giving her a bow, James asked, "May I have this dance, Miss Evans?" Not giving her a chance to reply, James swept her into his arms and pulled her close. Giving a considering look to Sirius, James said, "Thank you, Snuffles. You know the signal?"

Sirius gave a last woof, and left the couple alone.

"What signal?" Lily inquired as James began leading her into a waltz.

"The 'Filch is coming, so go hide' signal. I would hate to blemish your record with a detention." He leaned his head down next to hers and started singing softly in her ear. "Thunder only happens when it's raining. Players only love you when they're playing…" Lily jerked back.

"James, I…"

"No, Lily. Don't." James cut her off. "I know what you're going to say. And I'm going to beg you not to say it." Gazing into her green eyes like a drowning man struggling for the surface, James searched for the words he needed. "I… I love you, Lily Evans. No matter what your friends tell you, I am not playing you." He saw her eyes begin to fill up with tears. "You mean more to me than my very breath and I would never, never, do anything to hurt you. You mean too much to me"

Lily abruptly turned away from him. Wiping away tears, she asked in a measured voice, "Do you truly mean that, Jamie?"

Walking around to stand in front of her, James took a finger and raised Lily's chin so she was looking at him. He tucked a stray strand of red hair behind her ear and replied, "With more than my whole heart."

Lily threw her arms around James' neck with such gusto that she caused him to stagger. Sobbing into his shoulder, she managed to cry out, "Thank you, James. That's just what I've been waiting to hear from you!"

Holding her tightly, James whispered, "There's no need to cry, love." Lily looked up at him.

"I know. I'm being silly and I'm sorry. It's just that… I really needed to hear you say that!" Lily's eyes were radiating with emotion. James leaned down and kissed away some of her tears. Lily let out a laugh and pushed him away. James watched as she walked over to the table with the strawberries, and then followed her over. Carefully selecting a milk chocolate-covered one, James offered it to Lily with a flourish.

"For you, my lady!" he proclaimed. Giggling, Lily accepted it with a, "Thank you, my good sir." She took a bite, closing her eyes to savor the sensation. "Yummm."

In the Hallway

Sirius heard the entire exchange. Although the heartthrob was a secret romantic, James and Lily were so sweet it made him gag. Settling down, he laid in head on his crossed paws. Just as he was closing his eyes, he caught a whiff of something- cat. Grumbling and lifting his head, Sirius saw Mrs. Norris and smiled. Heh heh heh. I've wanted to do this for a loooong time! Getting into a crouch, he silently waited for the feline to walk towards him.

Back in the Room

Lily was feeding a white chocolate strawberry to James.

"MER-OOWWW!!!"

"WOOF! WOOF!"

This was accompanied by what sounded like claws scratching on the stone floors. Lily dropped the strawberry.

CRASH! James winced.

"I think they knocked over a suit of armor. We'd better get out of here before Filch shows up. Help me clean up?"

The two brandished their wands. James gazed with regret at the ceiling and walls. "Finite incantatem!" While he did that, Lily vanished the strawberries and the candles.

James got out his Invisibility Cloak and the young couple disappeared under it. They stealthily crept into the now-empty hallway.

"I hope Snuffles gets back okay," James announced in a soft, worried voice.

"Whose dog is that anyway?" Lily asked.

With a puckish grin, James answered, "Oh, just a lovable stray. He's particularly attached to Sirius."

A/N- I would like to dedicate this one-shot to Rosewood17, whose love for James and Lily served as my inspiration. Review if you would like.