Disclaimer: I own nada of what you regonise

Summary: Sirius and Nickie locked Lily and James in a broom closet, and they can't come out until they...er...settle things... Includes chess!

By the way: Nickie is my original character. I use her in most my MWPP fics, so ignore all of the randomness.

PG13 to be safe...

Locked In


"This is all your fault Potter," I said, looking at the scum ball before me. I mean, it was his fault. It couldn't have been mine, because I had no idea about this whole stinking mess before it actually happened. And I mean, there I was, minding my own bussiness, thinking about going to the Library to grab a few books so I could study for my Transfiguration test this coming Friday, when all of a sudden, Sirius Black, Potter's best friend, and oddly, my best friend as well, Nickie Madden, came out of nowhere and threw me into this damn broom closet! And to top it all off, James Potter just happened to be in here as well. I heard the confounded click of the door being locked, and had my worst fears confirmed; James Potter had Black and bribed Nickie into locking be in here so he could either make a move on me or ask be out. Again. When is he going to give up? It's said in simple enough words to penetrate that ever so thick skull of his: I do not, whatsoever, under no circumstances, like him! But does he listen? Well, that should be obvious.

"How is this my fault? I'm as lost as you are, Evans, so don't go jumping to conclusions." He said smartly, though even know it was completely dark in this cursed closet, I knew he was grinning like a maniac.

"Oh, don't go pulling all of this rubbish on me Potter, I know you had to have something to do with this! Why else would your little sidekick be throwing me into a flipping broom closet with you of all people in it? There are atleast a thousand students in this school, how did I so happenly become the one to be randomly tossed in here?" I asked. Ha! I would just like to see him squirm under the pressure! There is just no way he is going to get out of this!

"Why else would Madden be with him?" he asked without hesitation. Damn! Even I couldn't answer that. I mean, I can come up with the answers to all of my classes without hesitation, and when it comes to most common logic, I have more then the teaspoon amount as most students here, but in this case, I was just as lost as anyone else. Damn!

"I thought so." he said firmly. Oh, what I would give to be able to punch that son of a gun right here and now. I mean, what's holding me back? We're in a freaking closet, and he's being his usual smart-ass self. I could punch him now and no body else would know. But I don't want to give him the pleasure of knowing that I willingly touched that nose of his.

"Don't talk to me. Do you atleast have you're wand so we can get out of here? I don't have mine." I asked this, slinking down the side of the wall. You see, I may have been asking for a way out, but I am figuring one thing here: I'm in this mess with Potter, so we ain't getting out of here any time soon.

"No. I was walking back from a detention with Filch and he made it perfectly clear I wouldn't need my wand for what I needed to do, so I left it in the Common Room." I almost burst into laughter at the absuridy of this. What were the chances of James Oh-look-a-first-year-let's-prank-them Potter would leave without his wand? But I did snort.

"Oh please, I could listen to a toad croak and it would be more believable then that load of crap!" He stared at me knowingly.

"Then where's your wand?" I just glared. He had me there. Why would I go without my wand? I always brought it with me. Dangit, this man was so frustrating!

"Well, Mr. Potter, I don't find it necessary to curse everyone that pisses me off. So sorry if I didn't have mine for an actual good reason." I snapped back at him. I mean, true, I didn't curse those who ticked me off—I gave them detention. I mean, being Head Girl has it's props. And unfortunatly, Potter was Head Boy, but this also meant that he didn't need to curse those who upset him. He could give them a detention, but does he do that? Well, my rant would be utterly useless if he did, so the answer is: No.

"Oh, that's just a cover up. You forgot it. Don't jump down my back. Want to play chess?" he asked. I just stared. Who wouldn't stare? I mean, here he is, telling me off for not having my wand, and then all of a sudden, he asks if I want to play chess. Chess! God, Bloody, Freaking, Bloody, Annoying, Bloody Chess!

"Why would I want to play chess?" I asked. Oh, smart come back.

"Because we're probably going to be in here a while, and I have a set that enlarges when one wishes to play it." Oh god, did he really think I was that thick? Who just has a set of Enlarging Wizards chess with them? Who? Who, God dammit, who!?

"Fine." I snapped back. Under normal circumstances, I would have rejected, but it was very hot in here and I had nothing better to do, so I'm shunting all of my current sanity to the bloody winds. He just grinned like the mad-man he is. He pulled out a small box like thingy ka-bobber and through it on the ground. I expected to hear it make a loud THUD! But it didn't. Under most occasions I would be right about the THUD! But right now I'm in a broom closet, in the dark, with James Potter. I think I have an excuse for my stupidity. But instead, the box exploded soundlessly into a chessboard. I just stared at it. Potter, noticing this, raked up the meter on the Ego- Scale. "Yes, it's wonderful, isn't it? Me and Sirius invented it." "Oh my god!" I said in a false I'm-discovering-something voice. "What?" he asked seriously. Wait, is that tone of voice possible with James Potter? "This is the farthest you've ever gotten without talking about yourself! A new record!" I said breathlessly. I really am a brilliant actress. He relaxed a bit, then just stared at me. He wore an expression I'd never seen before: It was a look of—of—it was like he was looking into my soul. It was just scary. James Potter was being serious!

"You know, I really have changed. I'm not an arrogant toerag as you call me. Why can't you just except that?" he looked at me pleadingly. He looked into my eyes. His hazel eyes, looked into my green eyes.

I looked at him, hardly daring to believe what I was seeing in his eyes. "I'm white. You can go first." I said, starting to set up the pieces. He sighed. James Potter sighed. No Emoitions Potter sighed. Dear God, this world is going to the dogs. "Okay...." He moved one of his pawns forward. Atleast I think he did; it's hard to tell in pitch black. That's when it happened. All of a sudden, a candle and a few matchs rolled in from under the door. "Hey! Can you let us out?" I called. They laughed. The person out there bloody laughed. Wait, I know that laugh. I know those laughs. As in more then one!

"BLACK! NICKIE! LET US OUT OF HERE NOW!" I yelled through the door. I really wold not be surprised if the door broke right now, I really wouldn't.

"Don't get your knickers in a bunch! We'll let you out soon enough...." Rang Black's voice. Note to self: Kill Sirius Black. Brutally. Yep, that ought to cover it.... "I'm sorry, Lily, but I had to. It's for the best!" called Nickie. Oh... she is going down.

"Nickie, I'll never talk to you again!" I rang sharply. I could tell from the tension that she thought I was serious. Unfortunatly, Sirius knew better.

"That's a false threat, Evans. Nick, don't worry." Dangit! Leave it to Black to mess this up!

"When are you going to let us out?" asked Potter calmly. Wait, calmly? Potter? Is that possible?

"Soon enough, Prongsy. You shouldn't have a problem with your part. Evans, though...." he left it hanging there. Note to self: Make Black suffer before killing him. Brutally.

"I'm going to die in here, then I'm going to ressurect myself and fish out your guts and feed them to the Giant Sqiud, then take all your brains, trample on them, cover them in Butterbeer, then feed them to a bunch of stupid Slytherin First Years!" I bellowed at them. Yes, I am good with imagery.

"Ugh... Evans, get a grip! Don't plant those thoughts into my mind!" said Black. "THEN LET US OUT OF HERE YOU IGNARAMUS!" I bellowed louder then ever.

"Ah! Evans, Evans, I don't want a hearing aid before I turn eighteen!" said Potter.

"Oh, shut up you great brute." I said, staring at where I thought he was. "Play nice now! We'll be back in a few hours! And we'll be putting a silencing charm on here, so don't get any ideas of yelling for help! It won't work!" yelled Black. Note to self: Humiliate Black, before making him suffer and killing him. Brutally.

"Well, it's obvius what these are for," said Potter, picking up the candle and a match. He swiped the match, and lit the candle, and set it standing in its holder.

"My turn." I said scornfully, staring at him in the candlelight. Note to self: Obliviate his memory so he can't brag. I moved up my pawn, and he swiped it with his pawn; I never really was all that good at this stupid game.

Fifteen minutes later.... This is getting ridiculous. Right now, all the pieces that I have left are one of my little horeses, two pawns, and my king. What do I have of his? One of those things that go diagonal, and three pawns. I told you, I stink at this game! I'm horrible at it!

"Check." He said, sliding his horse thing in position to take my king. I moved my king side ways. "Check." He said again, moving his pawn up. I moved my king backwards. "Check." He said again, moving his queen to a position to take in three up to the left. "Um...." I said, looking for a way out. I was a goner. He started chuckling. James Potter was chuckling. Oh my god... James Potter was chuckling. I glared at him. He looked at me innocently at first, then his face burst into this weird little grin that even I couldn't stop myself, so I.... I burst out into laughter, I couldn't help it. He saw this and he started laughing. I laughed even more, and soon enough, I had to hold at my side because my ribcage was starting to hurt. This went on for about five minutes before either of us could stop. Finally, I got enough breath to say: "Stop—my—my—ribs—are—are—are—hurting!" and that took just about as much breath as I had. He did stop, but it took about three minutes for it to die away completely. I leaned back against the wall and so did he, and we were catching out breath. Then, ever so suddenly, he moved his queen and took my king. "Checkmate." He said, and we both started laughing a bit. Then I calmed down.

I looked at him with a grin on my face—and don't even think about asking why. "I suck at this game." I said. He grinned and looked at me, then his face faltered. "What?" I asked. He looked away and stared at the wall. "Why do you hate me?" he asked. I looked at the wall too. Why did I hate him? I didn't like him before because he was big-headed, and had the arrogance to fill a watertower. But this year, he didn't have that. He didn't play random pranks on people, and he acted a whole lot more normal. So how could I answer that?

"I don't hate you." I answered slowly. He laughed a small bit at that, though it was bitterly.

"Could have fooled me. You are always calling me names and I never do anything to deserve them. Not this year at least." He did have a point. And I pointed out that he had a point. "You have a point." I said. How lame was that.

"So why do you hate me? If it isn't because of the arrogance and bigheadness, why?" He said that and I couldn't stop myself from hearing the sincerity/pleadiness in his voice. I'm not even going to be a smart-ass about his tone of voice.

"I don't know. I guess because that's all I've ever done, that I'm just used to it." I said thoughtfully. He grinned and looked at me. "So you don't hate me?"

"I guess not."

That's when he did something I would have never believed possible. He leaped over and hugged me.

"Potter!?" I said confused. He just smiled. "You don't hate me!" he said happily. I hesitantly grinned. You know those smiles that suggest that the other's stupid? That's what I had on my face. "I'm so happy!" he yelled. I raised my eyebrows, in addition to the you're-an-idiot smile. "Um... okaaaay," I said slowly.

"Now that we've got that settled...." he said slowly, pulling back and leaning against the wall. "What?" I asked. God, am I stupid or what?

"I wanted to ask you something. And I thought your answer might be d- different then l-last time. Now t-that we've d-determined you don't h-hate me." He said, stuttering here and there.

"Go on then!" I said, looking at him, waiting for the question that was sure enough to come. And come it did.

"Would you want to go out. Go out with me. Sometime?" he said. "No." I said automatically, like it was a habit. Which, come to think of it, it was.

"Oh, come on! We've established that I'm not that comlpete git you knew before, and that you don't hate me! Why not?" I smiled to myself. Why? Even I didn't know the answer to that. He was right, he had changed, and he was right again, I didn't hate him. "Oh.... I...." I said, stuttering to myself. His smile was widening a bit, but not in a snarky sort of way, no, in a happy sort of way.

"Oh. Fine. Alright. I'll go with you." I said, smiling to myself. "YES!" he bellowed, jumping up. "James! Calm down!" I said, realising tha I called him by his first name in God-knows-how-long.

He noticed. Hell, did he notice. "Y-you. You called me James." "No dip, sherlock." I said obviously. "You called me by my first name!" he said again. "I did? Interesting...." I said. Hey, if you can't beat them, join them.

Then he looked at me confused. "Why?" he asked slyly. "I—I don't know. I just felt like it." I said simply. He nodded. Then, he inched over a bit. I noticed, and what did you think I did?

If you answered any of the following: Kicked, cursed, hexed, shoved, punched, or in anyway inflicting pain on him, guess what?

You're wrong. I sat there, just grinning like the idiot I am. And he inched over more. And more. And finally, he was right next to me.

I turned my head over and looked at him, and looked into those stunning hazel eyes.

"Hi." I said stupidly. "Hullo." He said. We both burst into laughter again. Hilarious giggles. Chuckles. Mad laughs. You name it, we laughed it.

But then, he did something that surprised not only him for his braveness, but mine as well. He leaned over, and planted a nice smooch right then and there.

I was bewildered. I wasn't bewildered because he did, he does that lots of times (only he never got very far.) What surprised me, was that I didn't reject it.

I actually, kissed him back. He had good breath. Now he was confused.

We broke apart finally, and heard a click. We looked at the door, and there it was, an inch open.

"It must have been a spell, or something. Nobody's out there." I said, looking at him, he nodded. "C'mon. Let's go." So we both got up and walked out of the closet (after, of course, the candle had been extuingished and the chessboard was put back.)

We left the room, and shut the door and stood there for a moment.

"So, I'll um, I'll um... see you later?" he asked. "Yeah!" I said a bit too quickly. We both grinned, and I headed left, and he headed right.

That, is how Me and James Potter started out. And you know what I missed when we left that closet?

As I turned the hall, Nickie and Black suddenly appeared out of thin air (literally) with Black holding some kind of cloak.

"Okay, Sirius, cough it up. Ten sickles. It took less then two hours. C'mon! I'm not getting any younger!" said Nickie, staring at Black amusedly.

Black grudgingly gave her the money. "I thought it would take longer then that." Said Black. Nickie barked out a laugh and turned and walked down the hall I was down, while Black went after James.

Note to self: Thank Sirius Black greatly before my day of death.