Once again, me just splitting To Die by Your Side up. The prompt for this was 'James and Lily in a romantic scene in Hogsmeade'.
December comes in hard and fast, pushing out the weak sunshine they'd been graced with for the past few days and dragging with it temperatures below zero, a never-ending rain and hail. It doesn't deter James from his plans though, and if anything, he gets more insistent on them.
"C'mon, Evans." He says, following his girlfriend of four weeks (and he's never going to get over being able to say that) through the Portrait Hole into the Common Room. She glances over her shoulder as she slings her bag onto the floor next to their usual sofa and raises an eyebrow at him.
"Have you actually looked outside recently, Potter?" She asks, gesturing to the window beside them. The rain outside is so heavy that it's almost impossible to see the trees of the Forbidden Forest in the distance. James glances out of the window and shrugs half-heartedly, the corners of his lips lifting upwards slightly.
"Yes, I have. It's Hufflepuff vs Slytherin on Sunday and I'm working out my chances of winning the cup for the fourth year running." He grins cheekily and Lily bites down a smile of her own, instead frowning lightly at him. "Okay, in all seriousness, I know. But it's the first Hogsmeade trip since… you know." He gestures sheepishly between them.
Lily's look softens and she reaches over to grip James' wrist gently. "Alright," she says quietly, and ignores the butterflies her boyfriend's smile sends to her stomach. "We'll go."
James twists his wrist in Lily's grip until they're holding hands and then he intertwines their fingers slowly. He looks up at her quickly and smiles, his teeth gleaming in the candlelight and her breath catches in her throat. His expression clears and he moves around the sofa so that he can drop down onto the cushion, dragging her down with him.
"Excellent," he smiles. "Glad that's been sorted, Evans." He leans back on the sofa, his head thumping against the back of the cushions. Their hands are still linked and she can feel his thumb stroking across her knuckles.
"What's sorted?" Sirius' voice questions from behind them and a second later, his elbows are either side of James' head. He leans down so that their foreheads are inches apart and snorts lightly when James blows air at him, his hand reaching down to flick him on the arm.
"Hogsmeade." Is James' reply and the two boys grin at each other. They both then turn their heads to look at Lily, identical smiles lighting up their faces and she feels overwhelmingly fond of both of them in that moment.
"Oh yeah?" Sirius laughs, looking back down at James. He knocks their foreheads together lightly and then stands up so he can jump over the back of the sofa. His feet immediately lift to rest in the other boy's lap, and James moves to accommodate him without thinking. Lily used to think it was strange, just how in tune and comfortable they are with each other, but now she finds herself jealous of it more often than not.
"Yeah." James says, his top lip pulling up into a smirk. "Hogsmeade. Without you." He adds meaningfully and Sirius lets out a sudden bark of laughter, his eyes crinkling at the corners. It's a smile Lily has learnt to truly appreciate; not many people ever get to see it, and those that do are people Sirius has decided are worth his time. The fact that she's on this list would have confused and angered her eleven year old self, but at seventeen she knows just how lucky she is. She smiles back, playing with James' fingers and jiggling her foot where they're crossed at the ankles.
"I'm hurt, Prongs." Sirius mock-complains, lifting a hand to his chest and pouting slightly. "We always go to Hogsmeade together."
Lily can tell he's joking, but she can see that there's a part of him that is also worried that he's not wanted anymore. It's a look she knows well and part of her itches to reach out to him; to tell him that he can come on their date and that she honestly wouldn't mind. Because she wouldn't. Lily loves Sirius more than she loves almost anyone and the idea of him being upset by something she does is enough to make her want to call the whole thing off.
But James, beautiful, wonderful James, who rambles when he's nervous and thinks that Muggle cassette tapes are the greatest thing in the world, knows. She can see it in the gentle look he gives his best friend, and she can hear it in his voice when he speaks. "Pads, mate, if you tag along, do you really think my girlfriend's going to want to spend any time with me? We both know she likes you more." He squeezes her hand and she smiles conspiratorially at the wink Sirius sends at her.
"You do have a point. I am far better in every way than you." Sirius concedes, staring at the ceiling, his lips twitching in his effort not to smile. He sits up and rests his head on James' shoulder for a few minutes, the two of them seemingly having a conversation between themselves with nothing but their eyes. He nods against James' shoulder and then gets to his feet, his arms stretching up above his head. He spins on his heel to look at them and the smile he gives them is bright. "See you later then, mates," he says, backing away from them and narrowly avoiding a low coffee table. "I've got detention with McGonagall in half an hour, and if I'm late again, she promised she'd make me scrub the trophy room from top to bottom with nothing but a toothbrush."
James shares a consolatory shudder with him and waves as he leaves through the Portrait Hole. He sighs when Sirius is out of sight and she nudges him with her shoulder, smiling slightly when he startles. He offers her a smile of his own and lets go of her hand so that he can wrap an arm over her shoulders, his chin resting on the top of her head.
"He's fine." He whispers against her hairline, and she believes him. She reaches across his legs for his other hand and clasps it tightly between her own, burrowing her head further into him.
"I know." She whispers back, staring into the fire in front of them. She feels him smile against her hair and tilts her head so she can kiss his jaw, quickly settling back down to where she had been.
James stretches his legs out in front of him and although he had socks on, she can see him wiggling his toes. "So," he begins, the hand around her shoulders curling on itself so he can play with the ends of her hair, "where do you want to go first on Saturday?"
-xoxo-
Saturday arrives in a flurry of snow that despite the previous rain, has coated the school grounds in a blanket of white that has sent the students into a frenzy of excitement. The third years and up are allowed to leave the grounds, and dart out of the gate amidst laughter from the younger children, who have set up a barricade of snowballs.
James and Lily have managed to escape from the other Marauders, although they're under no illusions that they'll catch up at some point during the day. They pick their way down the path leading to the village at the bottom of the hill, their hands interlinked.
"Where to first, Evans?" James asks with a smile, swinging their hands exaggeratedly in between them.
Lily pretends to think for a minute, turning her head to hide her smile and staring up at the Shrieking Shack. "Where would you get in the least amount to trouble?"
James pulls her closer by their joined hands and wraps his arm around her shoulder without letting go so that her arm is crossed over her chest. "Honeydukes." He says without hesitation, grinning at her when she turns to look at him with her eyebrows raised.
"Not Zonko's?" She smiles up at him, her nose crinkling slightly and James feels his breath hitch. He gives himself an internal shake and then shakes his head slowly and scoffs.
"If I went to Zonko's without the lads, they'd murder me in my sleep." James says solemnly and Lily laughs.
"How do you know that isn't my plan?" She asks, tucking her head into James' shoulder and breathing him in. James always smells like cinnamon, old leather and cigarette smoke and she inhales deeply. He glances down at her, his mouth twitching.
"Rude, Evans. Nice to know you wish death upon your loved ones." She elbows him in the ribs and he tries to dodge out of the way, laughing when he almost trips over his own feet.
Lily pulls him back in and reasserts herself where she'd been, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "Alright, so, Honeydukes?" He nods and pulls her in the direction of the sweet shop, childlike glee lighting up his eyes.
.
James has an odd love for cinnamon flavoured anything, and so as soon as they get to Honeydukes, he releases her hand and hurries over to the sugar quills. Lily watches him go with a fond smile and then makes her way over to the large array of chocolates; she still hadn't got her mother a Christmas present, and Mrs Evans was always going on about how much she enjoyed the sweets Lily took home.
She scans the shelves quickly, selecting a small box of mint flavoured chocolate wands and tucks it under her arm. A few feet down she spots the next thing she wants and reaches for it. Her hand bumps into someone else's and she immediately apologises.
"Out of the way, Mudblood." A cold voice sneers at her and she blinks in shock. Avery stands behind her, hatred seeping out of him in waves and he shoulders her out of the way, making her stumble back a few steps.
"I think you'll find I was here first." She snaps back, ducking in between him and the shelf and snatching the box they'd both been reaching for out from under his nose. Avery snarls at her, but before he can do anything (not that it would be much considering where they are), James is there. He looks furious and he firmly places himself in between them, and although they'll be having words later about his saving people in need complex, right now she's incredibly relieved.
Avery knows that if he starts anything here it won't end well for him, growls at them and storms passed. "Watch yourself, Mudblood." He leaves them with and James sighs heavily, placing a hand on Lily's shoulder. It's more for himself than for her, she knows, but she appreciates it all the same. She lifts her own hand up to his and brushes her fingers over his reassuringly.
James has a box of cinnamon flavoured sugar quills tucked under his arm, a packet of glacial snow flakes trapped between his stomach and his forearm and a brown paper bag full of sour apple bites in the other hand. He looks at the box Lily and Avery fought over and despite what's just happened, his lips pull upwards. "All of that over a box of chocoballs." He shakes his head. "Only you, Evans." He jerks his head at the till and then looks back down at her. "What do you say we get out of here?"
She nods. "Sounds like an excellent idea, Potter." She follows him over to the queue for the till and lets out a long breath.
.
They meet the other Marauders in The Three Broomsticks, completely by accident. James had suggested they find somewhere to sit down and wait to see if they could spot them before they went to Zonko's. The other three boys, plus Dorcas and Alice, were sitting at a table near the door, a small collection of butterbeer bottles sitting in the middle of the table.
Sirius spots them first, his face lighting up in a grin that they can't help but return. "The hapless wanderers return!" He exclaims with a laugh as James sinks down on the seat next to him. Lily lowers herself into the chair next to Dorcas and drops her bags onto the floor with a relieved sigh. She puts her head on Dorcas' shoulder and tiredly returns the smile Remus offers her.
"Have you been to Zonko's yet?" James asks, reaching over and stealing Sirius' butterbeer, looking completely unapologetic when the other boy squawks at him in protest.
"Not yet." Peter answers, patting Lily on the knee when she stifles a yawn behind her hand. She turns her smile on him and he nods back. "We didn't know if we needed anything."
James and Sirius share a look and then shake their heads at the same time. "Not that I can think of." James says thoughtfully, tapping a finger to his chin as he thinks. "We got a fresh batch of dungbombs in last week and we haven't used any of the belch powder Peter got in a few months ago."
Lily watches them sceptically. She doesn't believe for a minute that they don't have something planned. They're the Marauders; they always have something planned. But, after spending the past year spending time with them, she also knows that in order to pull a successful prank off, they only need themselves and their wands. Sometimes not even that. It's amazing what a person can achieve with nothing but a paperclip.
They unanimously decide that they don't need to go to Zonko's, and agree that they're done for the day. After four years of going to Hogsmeade (with permission, at least), the novelty of it has long since worn off. James orders another round in and they spend a few hours simply enjoying being together.
Lily looks around the table at the people she's come to consider her best friends, and the people she loves most in the world with a small smile. These people have no idea what they mean to her, and she silently promises herself that she'll try to show it more. Especially Sirius. Sirius, who mumbles to himself when he thinks no one else can hear him, and who's willing to make a kitchen run without a second's notice when she's feeling upset. Sirius, who has become her closest confidant, who knows pretty much everything there is to know about her, and who has told her everything in return. James catches her eye and grins, raising his butterbeer in silent toast and slapping Sirius' hand away as he reaches to steal the bottle.
.
The walk back to the castle is pleasant. James walks between Sirius and Lily, an arm wrapped around each of them and holding them close. Behind his back, Sirius and Lily have linked hands and play with each other's fingers as they walk. In front of them, Dorcas and Peter have begun a game of 'I Spy' and their laughter startles a group of fourth years into virtually sprinting away from them. Avery stalks passed them, Wilkes and Snape in his wake and he turns to scowl at them when Sirius laughs at something James whispers in his ear, too low for Lily to hear. Instead, she shakes her Honeyduke's bag at him with an innocent smile and ignores the bitter 'Mudblood!' he sends her way. James tightens the arm he was around her, and Sirius squeezes her hand and she doesn't feel as angry as she usually does when that word is used against her.
It starts snowing again just as they reach the castle gates and James presses a kiss to her forehead before sprinting off after Sirius, a fistful of snow clenched in his hand as he runs. Remus takes up the position next to her and offers her the crook of his elbow, which she accepts with a small smile and plants a light kiss on his cheek. They turn to watch James and Sirius gang up on Peter, all three of them laughing hysterically as they pelt each other with snowballs. James has ice caught in the corner of his glasses and his cheeks are flushed. Next to him, Sirius is bent in half, his hands braced on his knees as he tries to get his breath back and there's snow melting in his hair. Peter is lying in the snow behind them, his chest heaving as he laughs, and when James offers him a hand up he takes it with a grin. James lets go and turns to her with a smile so wide it takes up his whole face. He approaches her slowly, and claps Remus on the shoulder when he takes a step to the side. He wraps his arms around Lily's neck and pulls her close enough that her nose is buried in his the collar of his jacket. Her arms go around his waist loosely, and she pulls back enough to smile up at him happily.
"Happy first date, Evans." He says quietly, bending down to gently press his lips against hers. It's not the best kiss they've ever had; their lips are too chapped from the cold and his breath comes out in a stream of steam through his nose, blowing into her face and making her giggle as it brushes across her cheeks.
"Happy first date, Potter." She echoes. He smiles again, bright and eager and brings a hand up to cup her cheek, his thumb barely tracing her cheekbone as he strokes it. He brings his other hand up and she sees the mischief enter his eyes moments before he slams a freezing cold snowball against her hair. Behind her, Sirius is howling with laughter and James joins in as he quickly turns and sprints away, his laughter bouncing off the snow and echoing back to her. She grins, brushing a hand through wet hair, before chasing after him, shouting his name and conjuring a fist of snow for herself.
It's the most fun she's had in a long time.