Wow... it's been a while since I posted something... Hopefully this super long oneshot makes up for my inexplicable absence. Note, rated for the dirty mouthed characters. And Sirius. Sirius definitely contributed quite a bit to the rating with his mind.
For the Remus's in my life... you know who you guys are ;)
Disclaimer: Of course I own Harry Potter! How could you ever think otherwise?!
Disclaimer #2: I am a pathological liar.
Enjoy~
:)
Remus Lupin: Matchmaker Extraordinaire
Remus Lupin had garnered many, many titles in his years at Hogwarts. Marauder, Prankster, Prefect, Model Student and Werewolf, just to name a few. But never did he think he'd add the title of matchmaker up there. Nevertheless, despite the thought of it being totally improbable, it happened anyway.
"Arrogant toerag!"
"Insufferable wench!"
"Good for nothing prat!"
"Miss Goody two shoes!"
The sound of screaming and yelling and general unpleasantness filled the air of the Gryffindor common room. The inhabitants of the tower had gathered around the couple who were responsible for that god awful shrieking, forming almost a circle. In the centre was none other than lovely Lily Evans and the wonderful James Potter who were both glaring at each other with such an intensity, that it was a surprise that none of them had turned to ashes as yet. They continued their row, oblivious to growing aggravation of one Remus Lupin.
"Will they ever shut up?" he hissed, harshly turning the page, taking out his frustration on the book that he was reading. Poor book.
"Nah; I doubt it. The moment Evans and Prongs shut up is the moment I dance around the common room wearing my mother's dress robes," said Sirius from his position on the couch, where he was elegantly sprawled. He was casually flipping through the pages of the muggle motorcycle magazine, acting as if his best friend wasn't going on a complete warpath with the little ginger witch.
Remus glared at him. "Why does Prongs have to antagonize her for? You would think he got the hint that she doesn't want to go out with him the last, oh, thirty rejections or so," he said, rolling his eyes.
"It hasn't been thirty as yet," said Sirius offhandedly. "He only got rejected twenty three times. And besides, don't make Evans sound so innocent. She's the one who starts shouting first."
"Because James insists on bothering the girl," replied Remus.
"Yes, but you can argue without shrieking like a bloody banshee," countered Sirius calmly.
"True," Remus acknowledged him. "Why do they have to be so… volatile?"
"It's because of all the UST," said Sirius sagely.
"UST?" asked Remus, raising an eyebrow.
"UST," confirmed Sirius.
"What the hell is UST?"
"Unresolved Sexual Tension," replied Sirius succinctly. He turned to another page and scribbled something on the side.
"Wait," said Remus. "You're telling me that James and Lily have unresolved sexual tension?" Sirius nodded. "James Potter and Lily Evans?" He nodded again. "James and Lily. The same James who forever has messy hair and specs and the same Lily who you've been referring to 'a little pipsqueak with attitude' ever since you and James charmed her robes pink in first year?" Sirius nodded again.
"Yep, Moony old boy."
"Are you out of your mind Sirius?" asked Remus.
"Maybe," he shrugged. "It's debatable."
Remus was about to respond, but was cut off by a loud scream. He and Sirius turned around only to see Lily stomping up the girls' staircase, looking very disgruntled.
He turned to Sirius raising his eyebrow once more, "Unresolved sexual tension, eh?"
"Well, he did manage to make her scream," smirked Sirius.
Remus groaned, covering his face with a pillow. "Thank you for that, Sirius."
"You're welcome," he said as he scribbled something down again in his magazine. "But, I wasn't joking. Just look at them. I mean, we all know James fancies her; the entire bloody school knows that really, but just watch them. I bet that James will end up getting Evans to be his girlfriend."
"Really?" said Remus doubtfully. "We still have a year and a half here. A lot of things could happen in that time. You sure?"
"Yep. All they need is a little push," Sirius replied cheerfully.
"Or a shove… by a hippogriff," he muttered. Then a little louder, "Care to make a wager on it then?"
"On what?"
"If James gets Lily to be his girlfriend by the time we leave," Remus said again.
"Alright then. Ten galleons to the winner?" asked Sirius, sticking his hand out.
"Make it fifteen," replied Remus, grinning. "I'm feeling lucky."
"Deal." The two of them shook on it.
Just then, James came over to where they sat and dropped his deadweight down on the couch.
"Lily Evan is going to be the death of me," he groaned, rubbing his eyes with the pads of his fingers.
"Of course she is," said Sirius disinterestedly as he continued to flip through his magazine.
"Where'd Pete get off to?" he asked.
"He has detention with Slughorn for blowing up his cauldron," Remus replied.
James nodded and leant back, closing his eyes. By now, the crowd that had gathered during his and Lily's row had begun to disperse.
"Hey Prongs, what'd you do this time around to Evans so riled up?" asked Sirius after some time.
"I just told her that her legs looked nice in that skirt," he muttered, eyes still closed. "Don't know why she ballistic for; it was supposed to be a fucking compliment."
"Of course it was," Sirius said, placating him once again as he continued to go through his magazine. Remus rolled his eyes. 'Yeah right. Unresolved sexual tension my arse,' he thought as he picked back up his book. Sirius didn't know what he was talking about… but maybe he should observe his two friends…just for a little while.
And so he watched. He watched as the two of them gradually learned to put aside their differences, as Lily slowly stopped jumping down James's throat every time he talked to her, and James stopped being, well, a git and asking her out everyday. In fact, at the end of sixth year the two of them began calling each other by their first names, although they both soon admitted that they preferred to use the other's surname, considering that it was habit of theirs since first year.
"I'm so going to win the bet," said Sirius confidently as he and Remus walked down to the carriages the last day of the term.
"Not yet you do," replied Remus. "This is James and Lily we're talking about. They'll definitely find a way to fuck it up somehow for sure."
"You sure sound like you don't want them to get together Remus," said Sirius suspiciously. "Tell me, is it because you may also fancy our little red headed prefect?"
Remus jerked to stop, staring at Sirius in horror.
"Of course not!" he sputtered. "I do not have any- Lily's a nice girl and all but- She- The feelings I have for her are nothing more than platonic Sirius! Lily is like a sister to me."
"Are you sure," said Sirius, grinning like the cat which caught the canary. Remus hit him with his book.
"Shut up Sirius," he ordered. "And don't you dare let James hear you talking like that, lest he rip my arms off."
"Or something else off," said Sirius under his breath.
"What was that?" Remus asked, raising and eyebrow.
"Oh nothing. I was just saying that I wish Wormtail would hurry up and stop walking so slow," he turned around and hollered, "Hurry up Peter! We don't want to have to walk to London!"
"I'm coming! Keep your knickers on!" Peter shouted back.
"Uh huh," Remus replied sarcastically. "Of course you did." It was clear as day to anyone that Remus didn't believe him for a second. They had reached the train at this time. Remus looked back and saw Peter was just a few paces away. A bit further behind him were James and Lily, who were conversing happily. James was helping her carry her trunk.
"Oi Pete!" yelled Sirius, even though he was a few steps away. "We're in the usual compartment. Pass on the message to the pair of lovebirds behind you!"
"I heard you Sirius!" James yelled, while Lily shot a glare at Sirius.
"Well you're not denying it, now are you," he said cheekily. Without waiting for their response, he jumped on the train and grabbed his trunk.
"Mangy mutt," James called after him in jest as Lily stood at is side, laughing at their antics. Remus sighed and shook his head at them as he clambered aboard the train as well. It wasn't that he didn't want them together- Merlin knows that they should be- it was just that when he made the bet with Sirius, he didn't see them ever putting aside their differences to see past the faults in the other. And then there was also the fact that whenever Sirius wins a bet he becomes completely unbearable.
The train ride was fun packed as the Marauders and Lily swapped stories and told each other what they planned on doing over the summer. At one point, Peter's story of the crazy cat lady who lives near him (which involved a stopwatch, a watering can and a bag of catnip) had them laughing so much that James actually fell off of his chair. This caused them, especially Lily, to laugh even harder. James pouted as she roared with laughter above him.
"Lily," he whined, "Stop laughing at me."
"But it's t- too funny," was all she managed to get out through her laughter.
"At least help me up, Lils," begged James, as he continued to lie on the floor. He stretched out his hand towards her.
"Alright you big oaf," she sighed, taking his hand. "I'll help you- ah!" Lily yelled as she was pulled on top of him. He began tickling her sides, making shriek with uncontrollable laughter.
"Now how do you like laughing, Evans?" teased James as he pinned her to the ground.
"Get off me," she gasped, as he continued to tickle her.
"Nah; I prefer you underneath me as a matter fact," James said.
Sirius whistled lowly, and kicked Remus in the shins, causing the latter to curse in pain.
"What do you want, you idiot?" he hissed, as he bent to rub his ankle.
"Looks like certain tensional things are about to get resolved," Sirius snickered as they watched the two of them wrestling on the floor.
"Wha- Sirius!" groaned Remus. "Can you stop?"
"Nope."
After some time, the laughing had subsided and James and Lily were off the floor and once again sitting on the seats like normal people. Lily's hair was mussed and there was a faint blush on her cheeks while James's hair was messier than normal and his glasses were slightly lopsided. Conversation slowly resumed and Remus was thankful that Sirius kept his- ahem- comments to himself for the rest of the train ride. It was only when they pulled in to the station and James made a proposition that they resurfaced again.
"Hey Evans," James said as he pulled down their trunks. "Why don't you come over by my place during the summer? You could stay over."
Sirius elbowed Remus in the ribs and said (ignoring Remus's cursing of him). "I lied before; when she goes over by Prongs, then things'll become resolved."
Remus clocked him over the head with the book again.
"I don't know Potter," said Lily, biting her lip. "I'll have to ask my parents; I'm not sure my mum would want me to stay over by a boy's house."
"Oh!" James' eyes widened and he passed his hand through his hair when he fully realised what she was insinuating. The tips of his ears began to get red. "Er- you can tell her that my parents are going to be there and that nothing would happen."
"Or so you think, Prongs," Sirius muttered under his breath.
"Shut up Sirius," Remus, James and Lily told him.
"Jeez, fine. No need to kill me," said Sirius. "C'mon Pete; let's go out onto the platform."
The two of them left, leaving Remus, James and Lily to shuffle around awkwardly in the compartment. After a few minutes of the uncomfortable silence, Remus finally coughed and said, "Well I guess I'll be heading out too," he grabbed his trunk, "Prongs, Lily." And then he too walked out onto the platform, leaving James and Lily behind.
He soon caught up with Sirius and Peter, who were chatting with Mr and Mrs Potter, Mrs Pettigrew and his mum. They all greeted him once they saw him arrive. He hugged his mum and managed to kiss her on the cheek before he was also subjected to the exchange of pleasantries amongst the adults. After a few minutes, Mr Potter asked, frowning, "Has anyone seen James? He isn't here as yet."
"Oh!" said Remus. "I, er, left him the compartment. Said he'd be here in a mo'."
Sirius coughed, which sound suspiciously like "Tensional resolution." Remus inconspicuously stepped back onto his foot, causing Sirius to hiss in pain.
"Shut up Sirius," he whispered.
At that moment, Remus noticed James and Lily stepping off the train. Sirius seemed to have noticed as well, as he yelled out, "What took you so long Prongs? Stopped for some-"
"Sweets!" Remus blurted out, while simultaneously elbowing Sirius in the ribs to get him to shut up. He didn't mind taking the mickey out of James and Lily- Merlin knows he, Sirius and Peter do it often enough- but he didn't want Sirius to unknowingly embarrass Lily in front of the adults. She might curse his mouth shut… although, that necessarily wouldn't be a bad thing…"Stopped the Trolley Woman so you can stock up, right?"
"Er, sure," said James, thoroughly confused. Lily on the other hand seemed to have realised that Sirius was not going to say sweets and seemed to have taken up glaring in the latter's general direction.
"I'll see you James," said Lily, pausing to give him a hug. She then proceeded to give Remus, Peter and Sirius each a hug, squeezing Sirius a bit more than the others.
"Bye Lily," said Peter.
"Bye Lils," nodded Remus.
"Later Red," said Sirius, as he ruffled her hair.
"See you, Evans," said James, one hand in his hair. "You'll ask about it right?"
"What? Oh, yeah, sure. I'll owl you if I could come," said Lily as she began to walk away.
"But," said James, his eyebrows furrowed. "I thought you didn't have an owl."
"Well then," Remus could have sworn that he saw the trace of a smirk playing around her lips. "I guess you'll have to owl me first." And with one last wave, she disapparated.
"Who was that?" asked Mrs Potter amusedly.
"Lily Evans," supplied Peter.
She simply responded with an, "Oh," as she was content with settling for an expression that Remus couldn't place. "Come on boys; let's go."
The adults watched as the Marauders dramatically exchanged goodbyes, with lots of shouting and back thumping and even 'crying' on Sirius's part, as he claimed that he wouldn't see Remus for so long. Although their act was comical, they fooled no one, as everyone knew that the foursome would be at one another's house during the entire break.
"Who the hell is Cara Davies?" exclaimed Remus as he barged into Sirius's room at the Potter's one Wednesday afternoon. It really was a lovely day, nice and sunny with just the right amount of wind. However, Remus seemed not to care for that. Just after lunch, he had gotten a letter from James asking him to come over later that afternoon as opposed to lunch time because he had a date with one Cara Davies. As soon as Remus had gotten the letter, he had immediately flooed over to the Potters'.
"Ravenclaw. Our year. We have nearly all our classes with the bird. Pretty, though a bit shy. I used to call her legs in fourth year," drawled Sirius lazily, as he took another drag of the cigarette. He was sprawled off at window, looking at the garden.
"I know who she is," grumbled Remus angrily, as he began pacing back and forth.
"Then why'd you even bother to-" Sirius began.
"I just meant who the hell she is to James!" he burst.
"Exactly what that damned letter implied she was," snorted Sirius. "She and Prongs are going on a date, Moony. And I'm pretty sure that that has some pretty obvious connotations to it."
Remus let out a strangled cry as he fell down on the bed. "How does he know her? As far as I knew, their paths never crossed at Hogwarts. So why, right out of the blue is he taking on a lunch date?!" asked Remus, his speech muffled by a pillow.
"I would have thought that you'd be ecstatic; this means that your chances of winning the bet have just gotten better," grumbled Sirius as he took another drag of the cig.
Remus laughed without humour. "I had almost forgotten about that," he said. "It looks as though I was right about one thing though; they did find a way to fuck things up."
"Of course they did," said Sirius with a wry smile as he rolled his eyes. "They are James and Lily."
Suddenly, Remus sat up, swearing. "When is Lily coming?"
"Friday. Why?"
"Does she know?"
"Know wha- oh," said Sirius. Then he smirked and said, "Prongs is in for a hell of a lot of trouble."
"Yep."
"Hey, wait. Isn't that the same day that he's bringing that Davies bird over?"
"He's what?" asked Remus incredulously.
"You didn't know?" said Sirius.
"Padfoot, I just found out about the Davies bird," said Remus as he lay back down.
Sirius gave a low whistle. "Evans and Prongs' new… whatever in the same place at the same time and neither one knows that the other is going to be here. Brilliant," he groaned. "How long do you think James is going to last?"
At that moment, Peter walked into the room.
"Hey guys," he said. "Someone mind telling me who this Cara bird is and why I seem to have no recollection of her at all?"
"Take a seat Wormtail," said Sirius. Remus patted a spot on the bed. "It's a long story…"
Soon, it was Friday morning in the Potter household and everything was tense; at least it was for Sirius and Remus. The two of them along with Peter had decided it was best not to tell James about his mistake because, most likely, he would do something that would only result in making things worst. And plus, Sirius thought it would be funny to se his reaction when he did realise what happened.
James was pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace in the sitting room, waiting for Lily to floo in. The other three Marauders were sitting on the couch playing exploding snap. Suddenly, the fireplace blazed alive and then a little redhead tumbled out of it, coughing and spluttering.
"Lily!" said James brightly, as he helped her up. Once she was standing again, he gave a hug. "Er- hi."
"Hi James," she said, smiling brightly as she tried to wipe the soot off of her face.
"Red!" said Sirius, as he grabbed her from behind in a bone crushing hug, eliciting a squeak from her.
"Sirius! Put me down!" laughed Lily as she swatted his shoulder.
"Alright, alright; no need to resort to violence, Red," said Sirius as he put her down. He ruffled her hair, ignoring the playful glare that she gave him.
"Hi Remus," said Lily as she came forward to give him a hug. "You're not going to try and crush me too, are you?"
"'Course not Lily," he said as he returned her hug. "Unlike that oaf," he jerked his thumb in Sirius's general direction, eliciting and angry 'Oi!' from him which neither of them paid attention to. "I actually know how to behave."
"Of course you do, Remus," giggled Lily. "Hi Peter." She gave him a hug as well.
"Where're your parents?" she asked.
"They were called over to the Ministry to do something or the other," said James.
"And you told me that they were going to be here!" she laughed.
"Well look on the bright side," said Sirius, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Prongs won't have to worry getting caught if-"
Remus elbowed him in the ribs. "Don't mind him; he's mentally addled."
"Rude," grumbled Sirius as he rubbed his side. The others laughed at him.
"So how's summer been so far, Red?" asked Sirius as he swung an arm around her shoulders, leading her up the stairs.
"Fine," she shrugged. "A bit boring really. Mum had me lock away all things magic since Petunia's friends practically live there now. She said that she didn't want any teacups biting anyone's noses off."
"But where's the fun that?" asked Peter, smiling.
"Exactly what I thought, but mum didn't seem to find it that amusing the first time around," Lily replied, stifling a grin.
"You didn't," James gasped, his eyes filled with mirth.
"Oh I did."
"I reckon we've become a bad influence on you Red," said Sirius, pinching her arm painlessly. "Maybe we should lay off when the school term starts."
"Psh; that 'prank' could never compare to something that the infamous Marauders would manage to pull off," she said, rolling her eyes, though she was smiling.
"Of course not," said Remus solemnly his eyes twinkling. "But it's a start. Don't worry Lily; hang around this lot and soon enough you'll be giving them a run for their money."
They continued on talking about the workings of pulling the perfect prank all the way up to Sirius's room. Then, they moved onto coming up with plans for 'the perfect prank,' plans which involved Lily. Remus kept a close eye on Lily and James, watching as they interacted. She laughed at all his jokes, playfully shoved him and even allowed him to place his hand on her leg. And- and was she flirting? Those sassy remarks and using every chance she got to touch some part of him. No, Remus shook his head. He must be imagining things. Although, one look at Sirius told him that he wasn't, and those things were in fact happening.
Around lunch time a house elf appeared, bearing a platter of sandwiches and a pitcher of pumpkin juice. When they finished eating, they played numerous rounds of Snap and then, due to Sirius's incessant begging, one of his made up games that no one understood and had to be illegal in some parts of the world. They came back inside a bit after four and headed in to the kitchen for some ice cream.
The five of them were currently sitting at the table eating their ice cream when came the tell tale sign of someone flooing in.
"Now who could that be?' asked Sirius overdramatically, pretending to stroke his imaginary beard, while Remus groaned and Peter dropped his head on the table.
"What are you on-" James began, before it clicked. He froze. "Shit!" he yelled as he scrambled out of the kitchen.
Lily on the other hand remained confused. "What- what's going on? What happened?"
"Nothing," the remaining three Marauders responded in unison.
She fixed each of them with a suspicious look. "Right," she said sarcastically as she hopped down from her stool. She placed her bowl in the sink and washed her hands. "Well if it's 'nothing' then you wouldn't mind if I checked it out, yeah."
In a flash, the three boys scrambled off their stools in order to stop the redhead from going in to the sitting room.
Meanwhile, in the sitting room, James stood there staring at the girl which popped out of his fireplace in shock.
"Cara!" he squeaked. He flushed and cleared his throat. "I mean- um- Cara, what are you doing here?"
"You invited me over…" the brunette said, furrowing her eyebrows. Cara Davies was rather pretty, with large brown eyes and caramel coloured hair. She was tall and had porcelain coloured skin. Maybe her nose was a bit too long and maybe she wasn't overly curvy, but James thought that she was rather pretty.
"I did?" he said, confused. "I mean yeah! I did! I invited you over… to my house…today…"
"James, are you okay?" asked Cara concernedly. "If it's a bad time I can always come back later."
"Yes! I mean yeah, it is a bad time. Very bad time. Maybe you should come back tomorrow," said James as he placed a hand on her back, leading her back to the fireplace with a charming smile. She was about to step in to the emerald green flames when Lily and the other three Marauders burst into the room in a tangle of limbs and shouting. James cursed and leant back against the mantle over the fireplace with his eyes closed. He was so close to getting her out of there without her running into Lily and vice versus. So close.
The four of them continued on yelling, with James wishing he could sink in to the wall and Cara watching the entire scene confusedly. They stopped yelling once Lily caught a glimpse of Cara.
"Oh," she said, surprised. "Hello Cara."
"Cara?" said Sirius as he scrambled in front of Lily, blocking Cara from her view. "I don't see Cara anywhere Evans. Maybe you hit your head a bit too hard on the doorframe."
"I'm not an idiot Sirius," snapped Lily. "I know that that's Cara Davies standing right there. And I did not hit my head. You pushed me into the bloody thing!" Lily glared at Sirius before taking a deep breath and turning once more to where Cara and James stood. "Hello Cara," she said once more with an overly bright smile.
"Erm…Hi Lily," replied Cara.
"What are you doing here?" asked Lily politely, pointedly ignoring Sirius, Peter and Remus's attempt to remove her from the room. "Behave you three," she ordered them. "Or else I'll hex you."
"James invited me over," she replied. "What are you doing here?"
"Same, I guess," said Lily, shrugging, her gaze now dropped to her shoes. "I was just leaving though."
"You were?" blurted the Marauders.
"Yeah; I told my mum I'd be home in time for dinner," said Lily, her eyes dutifully trained on the rug. "Bye Sirius, Remus, Peter," she hesitated before she added, "James."
And with that, Lily walked outside. Everyone in the room stared after her, no one daring to break the awkward silence.
Eventually, Remus said, "I'll just go and make sure she got out alright." And he too disappeared after her.
"Hey Lily! Lily!" he shouted, running after the red spot that was quickly becoming just a blur. "Lily! Oi Evans!"
"What?" she yelled as she whipped around. Remus quickly hurried to catch up with her. For someone so short she managed to cover a lot of distance in such a small amount of time.
"I'm just… going to… show you the apparition site," wheezed Remus. Her face softened a bit, though it did not do anything to quench the fire in her eyes and with a terse nod, she allowed him to accompany her.
After a few minutes of silence, Remus cleared his throat and said, "Sorry… about what happened in there, I mean."
She shrugged. "It's fine."
"Lily," Remus began cautiously. "Do you- do you fancy James?"
She came to a stop so suddenly that Remus continued on walking for several paces after before he realised that she was no longer at his side. He jogged back to her side.
"Lily? Are you-"
"I'm fine Remus," replied Lily brusquely.
"Okay. And my other question; do you-"
"No," she replied abruptly. "No I don't." She began walking again and Remus dared not to further press the subject. He had come to the conclusion that her answer wasn't entirely true, but neither was it entirely false. He shook his head, his lips curved upwards into a wry smile, as he led her to the apparition site.
"So will you be coming back here again or…?" He let the sentence drag out.
Lily shook her head. "I'll see you on the train Remus," said Lily. And then with a pop, she was gone. Remus laughed. His two friends… They were a source of entertainment for everyone with their soap opera-esque romantic lives. Just when Lily realised that she may like James as something more than a friend she finds out that he has a girlfriend. Although, Remus couldn't see them lasting longer than the end of the summer. He laughed again. Maybe Cara should be nicknamed the Iceberg.
Laughing to himself again (perhaps he is going a bit mad) he realised just how oblivious the two of them were. Ah well, he thought as he begun to walk back to the house, all good things take time, don't they?
It was the first week of the school term. The first week in which James and Lily served as Head Boy and Head Girl together. Remus wouldn't deny it; when James got the badge in the mail, he, along with Sirius, Remus and Peter, were positive that Dumbledore had finally gone mad. Even James thought so himself and it took a full week for them to finally convince him that yes, he was in fact Head Boy, and no, it was not indeed an elaborate prank that the three of them planned.
James and Cara had also broken up after few days after the whole fiasco with Lily. Remus would be lying if he said that James was cut up about it. In fact, it seemed that James didn't really care about the break up at all, as all he could focus on is why Lily acted so strangely and why Lily hasn't been writing to him and if Lily was okay… because she hasn't been writing him. Lily, Lily, Lily.
Remus was rather tempted to clock him over the head with a textbook, but resisted as he wasn't sure if Lily had moved from the 'I like you more than I should like a friend,' to the, what Sirius deemed, 'I would like you to be my face sucking partner.' Remus had hit him with a book for that one.
But now, after Lily had gotten the news that James and Cara were done, Remus was almost one hundred percent sure that she fancied James. And James being James, well, he was, as per usual, being an oblivious idiot to all of her advances.
"Hey James, can you help me with the Transfiguration homework?" asked Lily one evening in the common room. "I don't quite understand it."
"Sorry Evans; I've got quidditch practice," replied James as he was leaving the common room. "Sirius could help you though, right Padfoot?"
"Sure thing James," grinned Sirius as he scooted nearer to Lily on the couch. "What do you need help with Red?"
"Never mind Sirius," sighed Lily, frustrated, as she packed up her things. "I understand everything perfectly well."
Sirius gasped dramatically. "So why did you tell Prongs that you needed help?" asked Sirius innocently.
Lily pierced him with a glare. "Why do you think you twat?"
"Maybe because you don't want James's help with transfiguration; you want it with something else," he said lewdly.
Lily hit him with a roll of parchment before going back upstairs to girls' dormitories.
"Morning James," said Lily as she sat next to him in the Great Hall, opposite Remus and Peter. Sirius sat on the other side of James.
"Morning Lily," he said through a mouthful of toast.
"Well that's charming," she said derisively as she poured out some juice in her goblet.
"Of course I am, love," replied James, winking at her. No one saw this as anything out of the ordinary. James took every opportunity possible to flirt with Lily, but in the end he swears that it never implies anything. And besides, he tried not to get his hopes up whenever she reciprocated.
"Sure," said Lily, rolling her eyes, though she couldn't help smiling. "Your tie is loose by the way." She bent over and untied it, before tying it back precisely and properly. Remus noticed how her hands lingered on his neck a few seconds longer than needed before she pulled away.
"Thanks Lil," he smiled. He picked up his bag and said, "Come one Padfoot; I've got a bag of dungbombs begging to be thrown at the Slytherins during Binns class upstairs."
"Sure thing Prongs," said Sirius through his laughter. "Later mates, Red." He dropped a hand on Lily's shoulder and shot a wink at her before sauntering out of the Hall.
Lily dropped her head on the table, groaning.
"Don't worry Lils; James is just blind, even with the glasses," said Remus consolingly.
She just groaned in response.
It was the Saturday night after the first full moon of the term, coming down to the end of September. The Marauders along with Lily were sitting in the common room drinking hot chocolate.
"Do you know what this is missing?" said Lily after some time, as she blew on the scalding hot liquid to cool it.
"What?" asked James, who was sitting next to her on the couch.
She grinned at him. "Marshmallows. Do you want to come with me in to the kitchens to get some?"
Remus heard Sirius's supposedly silent laughter.
"Why don't you ask Sirius instead? I'm too comfortable here. I don't want to move," he said, looking at her with pleading eyes.
Remus noticed her face fall a bit. "Fine," she grumbled as she untangled herself from the mass of blankets on the couch. "Come on, Sirius."
Both of them walked out of the common room. As soon as the portrait slammed shut, Lily released a strangled cry. Sirius laughed, causing her to whip around and glare at him. "Not a word," she snarled at the snickering fool, before stalking off down the corridor.
The first quidditch match of the term was carded for the third week of October and it was Gryffindor against Ravenclaw. Last term, the two teams faced each other in the finals. Unfortunately, Gryffindor were pounded and lost 110 to 360 as their keeper took a bludger to his chest in the first five minutes of the game leaving the goals wide open for the rest of the game. James had locked himself in his room for the entire evening and part of the next day. Needless to say, the Gryffindor team was out for blood.
"You'll do good Prongs," said Sirius, clapping his best friend on his back at breakfast right before he had to leave.
"Thanks Padfoot," he replied. He made announcement, telling the rest of the team that it was time to head down to the pitch, not noticing the secret smile shared between Remus and Sirius. He slid out of the bench and led them out of the great hall, amidst cheers and boos from all the houses. They were just about to walk out on to the courtyard when he heard Lily calling his name.
He turned around, arms crossed across his chest with an eyebrow risen. "Can I help you Evans," he asked as a smirk played around the corners of his mouth as he took in her appearance. She was wearing a simple black skirt with stockings and a red Gryffindor practice shirt that- wait…was that- was that his shirt?
"Evans," began James as he circled her, noting the name 'Potter' printed on the back. He tried not to over think things. "Is that my old practice shirt?"
"Yeah," she said airily. "I think it looks rather good on me, no?"
"How'd you get it? And how in Merlin's name did you manage to get it to fit you?" he asked, completely ignoring her previous statement.
"I shall not disclose the secret to my success."
"So Sirius gave it to you then?"
"Maybe."
James shook his head, smiling at her antics. She did look adorable in it, and it definitely helped her show her team spirit. Well, that along with the golden bows in her fiery hair.
"You didn't answer my previous question, Potter," she said, taking a step closer. "How do I look?"
"Cute, Evans," he snorted. "Cute. I expect my shirt back after the game. Preferably returned back to its normal size."
"No. Mine," she said pouting, pulling the shirt tight against her, and causing James to laugh.
"You, Lily Evans, are something else," said James, still laughing. "I'm going down to pitch now. I'll see you later."
He turned and began walking away when Lily called him once more.
He turned back around only to be thrown off guard by the redhead throwing her arms around him in a fleeting hug.
"Good Luck James," said Lily, a faint blush on her cheeks. "Score a goal or two for me, yeah?"
"You can have all of them Evans," said James, smirking while his ruffled his hair. With a slight wave, he left the castle and headed towards the pitch. Once he was out of sight, Lily dropped her smile and crossed her arms over her chest and stalked angrily in to the Great Hall, sitting down in James's recently vacated seat.
"Did it work?" asked Sirius eagerly.
"No."
"What did he say?" asked Remus, watching her as she stabbed her pancakes viciously.
"He said, and I quote, 'Cute Evans. Cute'," she snorted, imitating James's voice. Sirius, Remus and even Peter all winced sympathetically.
"Maybe Moony should attack him with those bloody books of his," said Sirius, trying to make Lily laugh. He didn't succeed, but there was a slight twitch in her lips.
"Is that all he said?" inquired Remus, covering her hand with his.
"He also said he wanted his bloody shirt back after the match."
"Maybe you should tell him that he should take his shirt back himself," said Sirius, waggling his eyebrows.
Lily flicked a piece of pancake at him while Peter roared with laughter. Remus simply whacked him in the face with his newspaper.
The match lasted for about three and a half hours before Gryffindor Seeker caught the snitch. It wouldn't have mattered if he did or didn't, as Gryffindor were at 210 as opposed to Ravenclaw's 50, James scoring 9 out of Gryffindor's 21 goals. The crowd went wild once the seeker's hand clasped over it, everyone running out to congratulate the Gryffindor team. Lily only managed to give James a quick hug and yell 'You were bloody amazing before the crowd swallowed him up.
Up in the common room, the party was already in full swing when Lily and Remus walked in. Sirius was nowhere in sight and Peter had been sent down to Hogsmeade for drinks. The crowd roared when the team walked in, clapping and screaming for each of the players. James smirked as he made his way through them, heading towards where Lily and Remus, now joined by Sirius were standing.
"Congrats Captain," said Lily when she saw him coming over.
"You're still wearing my shirt," he pointed out as he neared them.
She rolled her eyes. "Well you want it back then?" she huffed.
He waved his hand. "Nah. Keep it. It reeks of you femininity now."
"Gee thanks. You're so kind."
"Aren't I just," he said sweetly, throwing an arm around her shoulders.
"Whatever," said Lily, rolling her eyes. "Congratulations on kicking Ravenclaw's arse." She hesitated a bit before leaning in and kissing him on the cheek. James froze with his eyes opened wide in shock and slowly retracted his arm.
Lily blushed. "Oh god," she said. "I'm sorry- I shouldn't have- I'll be going now." She turned and ran into the crowd.
Remus had had enough. He hit the back of James's head with his hand, wishing he had a harder object.
"Ow!" he yelped, snapping out of his stupor.
"You idiot!" hissed Remus, hitting his head again. What he wouldn't give to have a book right about now.
"What the bloody hell did I do?" yelled James, ducking as Remus attempted to clout him once more.
"Lily fancies you, you gigantic oaf! She's fancied you since we've come back to school!" yelled Remus. "Merlin knows why considering you've been an oblivious twat!"
"She- what?" said James, wide eyed once more.
"Lily. Fancies. You," enunciated Sirius. "Lily likes James. Evans fancies Potter. Red likes Prongs!"
"Wha- and why didn't you tell me this before I went ahead and made a fool of myself?!" asked James, as he swiped an agitated hand through his hair.
"Because it was obvious!" chorused Remus and Sirius.
"No it wasn't!" countered James. "Look! There's Wormtail! Let's ask him if Lily was being obvious. Oi Peter!" Peter looked up from where he was levitating several boxes of Firewhiskey and Butterbeer. "Come here for a mo'!"
Peter gently settled the boxes on a clear table and jogged over.
"Yeah?"
"You know that Lily fancied Prongs, right?" asked Remus.
"Yeah," said Peter, thoroughly confused. "Everyone knows that. She was nearly as obvious as him with all the laughing and hair flipping and… all that other girly stuff."
"See!" Remus and Sirius said. James groaned and swiped a hand across his face.
"I have to go and apologise," he muttered as he stepped in to the crowd and disappeared amongst the bodies of his fellow students.
"You do know that you may have just cost yourself the bet," said Sirius, as he turned to face Remus, crossing his arms across his chest.
Remus shrugged, a mysterious smile playing around his lips. "Maybe," he said furtively.
"What's that supposed to-"
"Shush Sirius," Remus said as he handed him a cup of Firewhiskey. He still has the chance to win, just not in the way that Sirius was thinking.
Meanwhile, James was searching through the crowd for Lily. "Lily! Oi Evans! Where are you?"
After a few minutes, he found her sitting in the corner nursing a Butterbeer.
"Lily," he said, as he stepped out of the shadows, causing her to jump.
"Look, James, I'm sorry. I'm not sure what got a hold of me. I'm sorry," said Lily, tripping over her words in her haste to get them out. She was getting up from the chair but James stopped her.
"You talk too much Evans," he said, before smashing his lips against hers. She was unresponsive for a few seconds before she finally caught a hold of herself and wrapped her arms around his neck, reciprocating the kiss.
"Looks like I won the bet," said Sirius smugly, looking at something behind Remus's shoulder. Remus turned around, only to find his two friends locked in a heated kiss.
"About bloody time," he grumbled.
"Pay up Moony," said Sirius proudly, holding out his hand.
"You have to wait another eight months or so to collect mate," said Remus.
"If you wanted time to save your pocket money you just had to ask, mate. No need to make up things now," smirked Sirius.
Remus simply rolled his eyes, smiling.
The last day of seventh year came quickly. James had asked Lily out as soon as Sirius pulled them apart, claiming that they were starting to scar the children. They've been going out ever since, and were so disgustingly in love that the remaining three Marauders had begun to gag when placed in their presence. It was all out of jest though, as they knew that the two of them would not have been happier. At that moment, it was just Sirius and Remus alone in the seventh year boys' dorm, packing up a few more things.
"Seemed like just yesterday James was sticking up those posters," said Remus, who was pulling down said quidditch posters from his best mate's wall.
"I can't believe your pulling down the posters for him," scoffed Sirius who was lounging on his now bare bed while eating a chocolate frog. "The lazy sod should be doing that himself."
"He had some things to do this morning," Remus said shrewdly, shrugging. Sirius simply snorted. "What?" asked Remus.
"Some things to do, eh? More like he just wanted to snog Lily some more so that he boast about covering every inch of the castle."
"What are you on about?" asked Remus, getting off of James's bed, coming to stand by Sirius, who was looking out the window. Sirius just nodded towards the window where one could see very clearly two figures, belonging to James Potter and Lily Evans.
"Where are you taking me, James?" Lily giggled as her boyfriend pulled her towards the large tree by the lake.
"Keep your knickers on… or off," he added as an after thought, smirking when she hit him.
"James Potter you fiend," she said grinning.
"Yep, that's me, love," he said, turning around and kissing her. She happily responded, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Wait," James said, pulling back after some time. His cheeks were flushed and his hair was messier than normal. "I have something to ask you." He rummaged around his pockets for something, finally succeeding in pulling out a little velvet black box. He shakily knelt to the ground. Lily's hand flew to cover her mouth.
"Wha- Is James doing what I think he's doing?" asked Sirius, his eyes bulging out of his head.
"Depends on what you think he's doing," said Remus offhandedly as he kept his eyes trained on the pair.
"Lily Evans," James began. He hesitated. "Do you want some long sort of declaration of love filled with all the mushy things like I wouldn't know what was the meaning of my pathetic existence if it weren't for you, or shall I just cut to the chase?"
"Get on with it you big oaf!" said Lily, who wanted nothing more than to hit him for delaying like that.
"No need to be so pushy," he said. Smirking at her, James said, "Marry me Evans?"
She threw he arms around him. "What do you think?" she whispered.
"I think," he pulled the ring out of its slot, "That it's a yes." He slid the ring on her finger, looking up at her and grinning that lopsided grin of his that made her heart beat a bit faster. She couldn't help herself; Lily leant in and caught his mouth with hers.
"Pay up Padfoot," Remus said smugly, holding out his hands.
"What?"
"I won the bet. Lily and James won't be leaving here as boyfriend and girlfriend; they're leaving as fiancé and fiancée," said Remus, struggling to hold back his smirk.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," grumbled Sirius, as he searched his pockets. Eventually he managed to scrap up fifteen galleons and gave them to Remus. "From now on I'll be calling you Matchmaker Moony."
Remus said nothing as he took the money. James and Lily were still lying in the grass, kissing.
Matchmaker Moony, eh? It had a ring to it.
Et voila. Cookies if anyone caught the 'First Times' reference. Sorry if anyone seems a bit OC for you. I appreciate reviews. They're what keeps me writing. So drop line in doobly doo (more cookies if you catch that reference) even if it's to tell me that it sucked (please don't do that though; I'll understand if you say it sucks, just tell me why you thought it sucked) So yeah, review! I need them more than food, water and oxygen.
Why yes, I do realise that that was some shameless begging on my part. Oh well. What can I say? I'm a review whore.
Thanks for reading!
:)
~twilightstargazar