I really can't stay - Baby, its cold outside
Lily Evans would never have thought she would find herself in such a position. A blizzard in the seventh floor corridor. Had this happened every winter holiday, or just this, her last Christmas at Hogwarts? Maybe it was because her parents were caught up in wedding plans for Petunia that she had decided to stay at the school this year. Something more, however, insisted that it was because she would miss the place dreadfully when she was forced to leave. But aside from all that, there were more important matters at hand. Namely, a blizzard raging in the seventh floor corridor.
There would be no possible way to make it to the common room in this predicament. She was starting to really feel the cold, as well as... a wall. At least there was something to guide her. She followed it along, hopefully towards the common room (it seemed as though she had changed direction three or four times), until her nearly numb fingers found themselves wrapped around a door knob. Without stopping to think, she turned the handle and pushed the door open... into a room that looked like the Gryffindor commons, but could not be so. The dead give away was the lack of staircases leading to the dormitories, and the fact that the room was completely empty, save for a lone figure sitting in an arm chair beside the fireplace.
"...Potter?"
I've got to go away - Baby, its cold outside
James Potter had holed himself up in the Room of Requirements that night, begging of his fellow Marauders to make sure he wasn't disturbed. The other three had hold of the map, and he had faith that they would keep people from passing the secret door thrice times over.
The boy needed time to think. Things weren't working out the way he had planned - for one; he seemed no where near wining the heart of Lily Evans. He could remember clearly seven years ago having just met Sirius on the train. They had become fast friends, and upon arriving at Hogwarts, sat together during the feast (they had, fortunately, been sorted into the same house). A redheaded girl he had never seen before had come up to ask if they were through with the treacle tart, and that was when he had known. Watching her walk back to her place, he had turned to eleven-year-old Sirius and said, "You see that girl? I'm going to marry her."
One would think a boy would lose heart on such a quest after seven years, and still James could not deny there was something about the redheaded firecracker that was Lily Evans. He'd even become Head Boy, and still she was unimpressed, insisting that he was immature and arrogant. Mind you, he'd been trying to change. Even buckled down a bit in his studies, and lay off of Snape for the most part. And yet; half of his last year was past, and Lily seemed as insulted by his affection as she had seven years ago.
"Potter?"
Could it really be?
"...Evans?"
This evening has been - Been hoping that you'd drop in
So very nice - I'll hold your hands, they're just like ice
He had stood from his chair, and she remained near the door, her cloak wrapped around her tightly. It was the first days of holidays, and as Head Boy and Girl, the two were dressed in their uniforms.
"You're shivering," he said, making his was over slowly. It seemed that he was cautious of frightening her, lest she open the door again and leave. It seemed, however, that she wasn't going to move, so he wrapped around her a thick blanket that appeared on the table which had appeared next to the door.
"Yes. There's a blizzard outside," she said plainly, as though it were an everyday occurrence. He raised a questioning eyebrow towards her, but tugged the blanket securely around her. He hadn't wanted to be disturbed… and he had told the Marauders to make sure of that by any means necessary…
He should've known, though, that Lily Evans would be one to try and get through a blizzard to reach the common room.
"Sorry about that… I told Sirius and Remus… well, I asked them to make sure that no one came down the corridor…"
"So this is your doing, Potter?! I should've known! You can't just have your friends cause a blizzard in the middle of the corridor because you want some peace and quiet! When are you going to learn that the world doesn't revolve around you, Potter? True, your head is big enough to have its own gravitation, but that doesn't –"
He had taken her hands in his. They were large… rough, and warm.
"Just the way you'd expect his hands to be, eh Lils?"
Her mind was playing tricks on her, she decided, and shook the thoughts away quickly. But it was what she would've expected… he was a boy after all, and Quidditch didn't exactly leave way for baby-smooth skin.
"I didn't know they'd go that far," he said, looking down on her. He wasn't trying to defend himself, she realized. Just stating a fact. "I am sorry about this… your hands are so cold. Come sit by the fire."
And just like that, James Potter wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and she was powerless to refuse as he led her to sit on the loveseat directly in front of the fire. To her surprise (and a surprise to her – slight disappointment), he didn't sit beside her.
My mother will start to worry - Beautiful, what's your hurry
My father will be pacing the floor - Listen to the fireplace roar
So really I'd better scurry - Beautiful, please don't hurry
well Maybe just a half a drink more - Put some music on while I pour
James remained standing, hardly able to believe his luck. Here was Lily Evans, the girl he couldn't get out of his mind. The reason he had needed peace and quiet. He had just been about to call the whole thing off, and had been intent on taking that night to forget her.
"I've got to go… all that homework the professor's gave us to do during the holidays—"
"Stay," he said, sitting himself on the arm of a chair next to the couch. "You can do the homework later, Lily. It's the first day of holiday; you deserve a break."
She looked up at him, and he could almost see the loathing looks coming out of her eyes. They didn't seem quite so threatening today though, so maybe she was coming out of this aversion to him.
"Unlike you, Potter, I do not have the choice of slacking off. Not all of us are born into this lifestyle. Some of us actually have to work to succeed." She pushed the heavy blanket off her shoulders and stood. "So, if you don't mind –"
"Oh but I do, Lily," he said, standing as well. She froze, like a dear in headlights, and as he walked towards her, sank lower and lower until she was once again sitting on the couch. "I do mind if you leave, because there is a blizzard out there, and you are in no condition to be going out in such weather." He failed to mention that if she so wished for the clothes they would appear in the room, but that suited him just fine. His arms were placed on the couch, one on either side of her head, and he seemed to loom over her in the most possessive way. A moment's tension, then –
"You want a drink?"
He pushed himself away, a rakish grin atop his face, and turned to the wall next to the fireplace, where a wood cupboard sprung into place. Opening the polished doors, he pulled out two glasses and a bottle, which he placed on a table before pouring. In the background, soft, classical music played, seemingly to come out of nowhere.
"A drink… Potter!"
"Come off it, Lily. It's only butterbeer. Wonderfully warming drink, don't you know? It looks as though you could use some, coming through that storm."
The neighbors might think - Baby, it's bad out there
Say, what's in this drink - No cabs to be had out there
I wish I knew how - Your eyes are like starlight now
To break this spell - I'll take your hat, your hair looks swell
I ought to say no, no, no, sir - Mind if I move a little closer
She watched him pour the drinks, a slight smile still on his face from when he had laughed at her. Well, what was she supposed to think? After all, in the world, a drink meant something with alcohol…
She pulled the blanket over her, sitting sideways on the couch, leaning back and watching. He was quite a figure to watch, and it saddened her slightly to know that she had missed watching him become such a man. Because he wasn't a boy anymore, was he? He wasn't the constant shadow over her shoulder, and he wasn't the bothersome boy causing trouble in the halls and picking on the younger students. He had grown up, and she had missed it. Why, he was even slightly tolerable, one could say.
"Slightly tolerable? You know that's complete bullocks, Lily. He's turned into a man, and a damn good looking one at that. You can't sit there and tell me you're not even remotely attracted to him."
Damn that bothersome mind again. She could not get it to just shut up.
Equipped with the two glasses, James turned and walked back towards the couch. However, instead of taking a seat in the chair, he came to stand before her, holding one of the drinks out to her.
"Mind if I take a seat, Lily?"
Wordlessly, she shook her head, taking the glass and budging up a bit so he could sit on the other side of the miniature couch.
"Why a blizzard?" she asked, after a moment's silence in which they had both taken sips of their drinks. He nearly choked on his, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand before placing his glass on yet another magically appearing table in the room.
"I guess they thought it fit the season," he replied, chuckling slightly. She couldn't help but smile.
"I guess I'd expect such of Black… but not Remus. He's such a sweetheart…"
"…And loyal, to boot." James was trying to forget that she had called him sweet. He knew Remus was the only one of them she really liked, but that didn't mean he'd like it, even though he was sure the boy was not to blame.
Lily smiled slightly into her drink. His interruption had been short, as though to cut her off from saying anything else that would put Remus Lupin in a good light. He was jealous, she was sure. And though she was sure he had always been jealous when it came to her… it was different now. Not annoying or bothersome, but… touching.
At least I'm gonna say that I tried - What's the sense in hurting my pride C'mon baby
I really can't stay - Baby don't hold out
Ahh, but it's cold outside
"If I didn't know any better, Potter, I'd say you were jealous of Remus." Lily had placed her drink beside his on the table, and was sitting back contently, watching him carefully. James shot her an exasperated look.
"You know I'm jealous, Lily. I'm always jealous when it comes to you. And my name is James. Not Potter and not the bane of your existence."
In that moment, she felt bad. She had known the boy for seven odd years now, even though it had been reluctantly for the most part. Maybe she had been too hard on him in the past. Boys will be boys, they said. And despite whether he thought so or not, she had noticed the change in his behavior. He was growing up from boy to man, and not only in the physical sense of the term.
Talk about an awkward silence.
"I should go." She moved to get up again, but he placed a hand on her shoulder without looking to where she was.
"Stay."
I simply must go - Baby, it's cold outside
The answer is no - Ooh baby, it's cold outside
This welcome has been - I'm lucky that you dropped in
So nice and warm -- Look out the window at that storm
My sister will be suspicious - Man, your lips look so delicious
"I can't, James. It's getting late… and I wanted to make a break on all that work. –"
At least she was using his name. She would stay. He knew somewhere in the back of his mind that she couldn't refuse him anymore. Ah, fate. What a fickle mind you have. The night he was prepared to give up on the girl of his dreams was the very night she would finally see the light.
"Let it sit, Lily. You've a brilliant mind, you know. It's not as though you'll forget everything if you take one night off."
"But I want to get it all done now, so I have the rest of the holiday –"
"You and I both know what bollocks that is. You'll get it all done within the first week, and then spend the rest of the vacation crammed up in the Library trying to read through the place before school starts again." He paused for a breath, and then continued. "You're number one in our class, Lily. You can afford to give some slack in the education department."
She was blushing lightly by now, almost afraid to look directly at him. With the fire making her features soft and warm, James could not think of a time he had seen her in a more beautiful light.
"Stop that."
"Stop what?"
"Looking at me like that, James. You're making me blush."
"Good."
My brother will be there at the door - Waves upon a tropical shore
My maiden aunt's mind is vicious - Gosh your lips look delicious
Well maybe just a half a drink more - Never such a blizzard before
Picking up the rest of her drink, she downed what was left, shaking her head before setting the empty glass on the table. Grinning slightly, James drank the rest of his as well.
"Can I get you another?"
She nodded, and he stood up, taking the glasses back to the table by the fire. In a moment of what she might later call delusion, Lily silently got up, folding the blanket neatly.
"You must admit, they deserve some sort of credit. Remus and Sirius, that is, for the blizzard. It's a fairly respectable piece of magic."
"James."
The boy nearly jumped at the sound of her soft voice. It sounded as though she were directly behind him, and upon turning, he realized she was.
This was it. She knew it, and he knew it. After this there really would be no turning back.
His hand came up, brushing hair back from her face, tucking behind her ear, then down, holding her neck in place and still able to draw small circles near her ear with his thumb. She turned into the warmth, brushing her lips gently across the base of his thumb. His other had found the curve of her waist, and in a moment he had found her, lips pressing gently against each other.
Lily's hands placed themselves gently on his shoulders. She had never noticed before, but it seemed that they fit together; pieces of two different puzzles that seemed to belong together in spite of their differences. His hand moved up into her hair and hers around his neck in an almost timid motion before she pulled away, but not far enough so that she could still feel his breath on her face.
"I should go."
"Stay."
I've got to go home - Oh, baby, you'll freeze out there
Say, lend me your comb - It's up to your knees out there
You've really been grand - Your eyes are like starlight now
But don't you see - How can you do this thing to me
They were seated on the couch again, the two glasses half full on the table before a roaring fire. Their shoes were lined up next to each other on the floor, and they were both covered by the big blue blanket, she leaning on he and his arm curved around her.
"I should go."
"Stay."
There's bound to be talk tomorrow - Making my life long sorrow
At least there will be plenty implied - If you caught pneumonia and died
I really can't stay - Get over that old out
Ahh, but it's cold outside
"People will say that I've finally given into you, you know."
James smiled into the fire with the thought. "I'm sure that won't suit you at all. You're far too headstrong to ever give in to anyone."
"They'll say that I've come to my senses then."
"What's the use of having sense in a senseless emotion? That's what love is, after all."
"Is this love, James?"
"For as long as I've known it."
Baby it's cold outside