There was a knock at the door, but whoever was out there just broke it down. Splinters flew around her, seeming to slow down in midair as they flew. A man stepped in. He was pale and wore dark clothing; he pulled out a wand and grinned devilishly. Lily screamed and put herself between her son and the man, trying to protect him from the intruder. "JAMES! Oh, God, JAMES! HELP!" Yours truly rushed down the stairs, but was intercepted by a green flash of light. The life drained out of her only true love, and she fell to her knees both in grief and to cover as much of their son as she could. She defiantly faced the man, because she would rather die than watch their child die. Then green light enveloped her.
Lily's eyes flew open, and she bolted out of bed, her forehead shiny with sweat. James. She needed to see that he was alright. She flew down the stairs into the Heads' Common, and flew up another flight to his dorm. His door burst open at the exact moment she reached it. James ran headlong into her. He quickly disengaged himself from her, and ran his hand through his hair, making it stick up in downy, raven black tufts. He cleared his throat, an interruption of their awkward silence. "Er, Lily, what are you..."
Now it was her turn to clear her throat. "Uh, I was just... Uh, I had a..."
"Bad dream?"
"Yes, actually. Did you have one too?" She blew a bit of her fiery red hair out of her face, and realized that she had drool on her chin. Doing her best to be discreet, she wiped it off.
"Yeah. It was about... you. Voldemort, he, uh... killed you. I needed to see for myself that you were okay." Taking a step back in shock, Lily suggested that they just go to the common room and try to relax.
Lily lead the way, trying to hold on to the last shred of her resolve. To no avail. "James, I... my dream... you..." She couldn't stanch the flow of tears that seeped out of her.
"Hey, hey, it's okay. It's alright." He guided her to a love seat and sat her down.
"This is so embarrassing. I didn't mean, well, we've just become friends, and, and I don't want to..."
James' face softened. "Ruin it?" Lily nodded a yes. She collapsed onto his chest in sobs. The rhythm of his heart increased as he pulled her in close and buried his nose in her hair. "You smell like strawberries."
Glancing up at him, she tried to manage a weak smile. "Strawberries?"
"Yep. And your eyes are so beautiful when you cry. Lily, I can't stand to be friends with you. I will go bloody mad." He sighed and messed up his hair. "I've fancied you since the day I first saw you."
Staring at him like a deer in the headlights, she found herself playing flashbacks of him. The time he accidentally covered himself in slime because he had stirred his potion for too long, when he smirked at her because she had let her skirt ride up a little further than intended, when he... "Lils? You okay?" She couldn't take it any longer. She bolted back up to her room and locked the door, slouching down to the floor and cradling her head in her hands.
Avoiding James proved difficult, but not impossible. Plus, she was Lily Evans, Head Student, top of all of her classes, and she could do anything. This was how she managed to avoid Potter for an astonishing week.
But all good things must end. He finally caught her when they were coming out of double Potions. All throughout the the class, Lily had felt his gaze burning holes into the back of her neck. Knowing that he would try to catch her now, she had positively fled the classroom. And yet, here she was.
"Lily Evans, you cannot run away from me forever!" She snorted over her shoulder.
"I thought I was doing a bloody magnificent job," She wove in and out of streams of witches and wizards as quickly as possible. Ducking into a deserted hallway, she hoped he wouldn't find her. So, of course, he did.
As he entered, she tried to run, but he caught her arm, spun her to face him, and pushed her against the wall. "Lily! Why are you being so sodding stubborn? Stop running away from me!" That earned him a scowl.
He was clearly not happy. His hair was messier than ever, his tie was crooked, his glasses were resting askew on the bridge of his nose. Those perfect lips were pressed into a thin, firm line of determination. "You are not going anywhere until you swear to stop running and ADMIT YOUR BLOODY FEELINGS!" His bottom lip quivered in anger.
But all she could focus on were his lips, drawing closer, inch by painstaking inch. The odd yearning that twisted in her gut snapped her out of the Potter-induced trance. "Potter, let me go. Now," her voice was deadly calm.
"Absolutely not. Not until you come to terms with your feelings." Elbowing him in the side, she tried to slip out of his grasp. "Stop bloody fighting it! I know you fancy me. It's not that complicated!"
Exasperated, Lily sighed. "But it is! It is so complicated! I'm supposed to be friends with you. But you drive me insane! I'm just trying to be honest with myself, and when I am, I tell myself that I am unsure. And I am! I want you. I fancy you. But I just can't..." For the second time, she collapsed into his arms and cried.
"Then let me show you." He tilted her face up towards him, and brought his lips to hers. His fingers threaded through her hair as his lips journeyed across her face to softly kiss her jaw. But she needed him now. She brought his lips back to hers, and they met in fervent, desperate passion. Lips parting slightly, Lily let James' tongue explore her mouth. Then he was shoving her against the wall for an entirely different reason. Legs wrapped around him, Lily finally ran her fingers through his messy hair. They were both time bombs, and now was their time to explode. Their tongues wrestled, and Lily melted against him. It was as if their bodies had been made to mesh together perfectly. Finally, she relaxed.
Lily pulled away slightly, so that she could feel his hot breath against her cheek. "James Potter, I am at a loss for words. You certainly are an amazing snogger." He leaned in for another short kiss, and smiled against her lips.
"Lily Evans, you aren't so bad yourself."
Her voice was barely audible, and it came out as a tiny squeak. "I love you."
He gave her a look like he had just won the lottery. Then he gave her a trademark Potter smirk. "I love you too."
And then they were caught up in their fiery dance of passion again.
The next morning, Lily and James walked hand in hand into the Great Hall for breakfast. Everyone spotted them immediately. Marlene looked positively ecstatic, Chelsea had half of a bite of waffle hanging out of her mouth, syrup dribbling down her chin, and Alice, Dorcas, and Hestia were grinning like idiots. The Marauders looked just as surprised, but Sirius broke out into a smile. As James took a seat beside Lily, Sirius slapped him on the back. "Well, finally! Looks like Prongs here was just too much for you to be 'friends' with, Lilykins! I'll guess that you finally played some tonsil tennis." He winked at James. Lily gave him a murderous look.
"Oh, come off it, Padfoot. I just got her. Don't scare her away!"
"Yeah, he's not going to be able to scare me away too easily," she gave a small smile.
Sirius smirked at James. "So then, you wouldn't mind if I told you that, say, James still sleeps with a blanket like a ickle toddler? And that he sings about you in the shower? And-" By this point, James had pushed Sirius off of his chair.
James muttered down at him, "And that Sirius might be dead by the end of breakfast?"
Lily smiled.