"Why didn't we plot any mistletoes on this thing?" said a frustrated James Potter, smacking the Marauder's Map with his wand and shooting Sirius a death glare.
"Keep your knickers on, Prongs." Sirius made his way across the dormitory with those long, relaxed strides of his until he was able to snatch the parchment from James' hands. "Don't be a twat, if you crept around Hogwarts waiting to jump out at Lily whenever she passed a mistletoe you'd be creepier than you ever have been."
James opened his mouth for a weak comeback before Remus cut him off smoothly, his voice irritatingly soft and calming.
"She seems to be warming to you anyway, James, why don't you just carry on the way you have been?"
"That's the thing, though!" said James, his voice rising in pitch, eyebrows shooting up towards his artfully messy hair. "What if I fuck it up, Moony?"
"You won't. You're not as much of a dick as you were before," said Remus. His smile was gentle, but there was a devilish expression masked cleverly underneath, an expression that was only ever present with a Marauder. James tilted his head and shot Remus crossed eyes.
Better to be immature than sincere.
It was true that Lily's attitude towards him had changed significantly – these days she'd strike up conversations with him, or melt into his path on the way to a class. They would just chat, and she'd laugh so much that James was left with an idiotic grin for ages afterwards. He wasn't even trying to get into her pants. She was just bloody brilliant, and her wit left him reeling.
"We can put mistletoes on the Map if you like, James," said Peter, brandishing a green crayon.
"We're not putting crayon on the Map, Wormtail, this is a holy artefact," said Sirius, exasperated.
"Yeah, and where did you even get a crayon from? And why is it green? Are you a bloody Slytherin, Pete?" said James, enjoying the casual banter as Wormtail gave him the middle finger.
"Come on." Sirius put an arm around James, which was odd, as Sirius rarely offered physical affection. "Let's go to the kitchens before my stomach decides to digest itself out of hunger."
"Really? Can't you just die?" said James, smirking.
"I hope you're aware that the moment I die will be the moment I stab you in the face, Prongs. You're not living without me."
"Fair enough." James buried his hands in his pockets as Remus and Peter made their way out of the dormitory, Peter's stomach rumbling audibly despite the fact that they'd stuffed themselves silly at dinner less than an hour before.
The atmosphere in the Common Room was brilliant, due to the fact that the Christmas holidays were two days away and people had already started getting merry with mince pies and Butterbeer smuggled in from The Three Broomsticks (credit where credit was due, the Marauders would never have been able to get that much alcohol into Hogwarts without Sirius' inexplicably smooth flirting with Rosmerta). The heat from the log fire combined with the body warmth of dozens of Gryffindors hit James in the face with a pleasant homely feeling.
Sirius loped forwards, stopping at a group of fellow sixth-years.
"Alright Evans, McKinnon, Thomas?" He nodded at the rest of the cluster of students who were lounging in various positions on the comfortable armchairs, Remus and Peter joining the party. James was half a step behind them, and, well, fuck. The girls had dived into the Christmas spirit with full force, donning Christmas jumpers and props that stuck out awkwardly from their heads – and Lily, for the love of Merlin, was wearing a red miniskirt and baggy jumper patterned with stags. A santa hat was perched innocently atop her long, dark red hair, and those eyes flashed as they looked towards him.
He nodded his head at her, shooting her what he hoped was a confident grin.
"Are you trying to seduce me, Evans?" asked Sirius. James had no idea what vein their conversation had been following, but it made him so anxious that he thought he might soil his underwear, despite the fact that he was 100% sure Sirius would never go there. Sirius was an irritatingly good-looking prick, after all.
"Do you need seducing, Black?" Lily responded playfully, one eyebrow raised. "I'm pretty sure you've fancied me for years."
"Nah, only since you wore that black skirt that one time."
"You're a shallow, misogynistic fuck, Sirius."
"Love you too, Ginge." He went to flick the side of her head but she batted it away, turning towards James.
"Up for a game of Exploding Snap, Potter?" she asked amiably, holding up a deck.
"We're going to the kitchens, we're bloody starving," said Sirius apologetically, but James' mind reeled at the thought of giving up this opportunity. How could he refuse when she was asking him and she was wearing that? He tried valiantly not to look at the vast amount of leg that was dangling off the armchair.
"Nah, mate, I want to play," James responded, avoiding Sirius' eyes. Lily smiled.
"Excellent!" she swivelled around on the armchair so that she was sitting conventionally and began dealing the cards. James took his place opposite her on the other side of the small table, feeling the other Marauders' eyes burning into him. He could hear Sirius internally screaming at him… be cool! It felt like the entire world was focusing in on that moment, when in reality life was passing them by – Peter had started up a conversation with Marlene, whilst Remus and Sirius were making themselves comfortable on a pile of scarlet pillows dumped nearby.
"Let's see if hotshot Potter is any good at Exploding Snap," said Lily, smiling to herself as she finished dealing the cards.
"I'll have you know I'm nothing short of legendary at this game," said James, lying through his teeth. He grinned at her. "Are you sure you don't want to keep your dignity?"
"Wanna make this interesting?"
"In what way? If it involves me and you-"
"Oh, shut up." The tone didn't match the words – Lily was smiling widely at him, amused. "First to winning five games gets a galleon."
"Fine with me, Evans," said James. "Although I'm not sure I can take money off a girl."
Ten minutes and three burns later, James realised that he had dramatically risen in competency, having won two games against Lily's three. The game had switched from pleasant to utterly competitive – Lily's face was flushed red from the heat of the explosions, her shiny hair starting to frizz. The santa hat had fallen off somewhere in the second game, but nobody had cared as it dropped to the floor – the whirling arms and crackling bursts of flame were so energetic and fast-paced that it was hard enough for the competitors to keep up.
Aaaaand on top of all that, Lily had a smudge of ash on her nose. Not only was it ridiculously endearing but also incredibly distracting – he was glad when she called a timeout, blowing on the burn at the tip of his index finger.
"You're good, Potter, I'll give you that." Lily was leaning back against the chair, wearing a tired smirk.
"That's not all I'm good at."
"Oh, I'm sure Sirius can attest to that."
"Nah, Sirius isn't interested in me. He likes to cuddle with Peter in the late hours of the night."
"Hey! Peter likes to cuddle me!"
Lily wasn't entirely sure if they were joking.
The game resumed, and James could see determination etched into each of Lily's features. It only took five minutes for her to flatten him completely – she hit five wins before he even got three, raising her pale arms and yelling in glee.
"Alright, alright," said James in a slightly sulky voice. His Quidditch Captain traits kicked in, scolding him for losing – at the same time, another part of him congratulated him on making Lily so happy that she was now doing ridiculous dance moves in front of a group of flustered first-years. James dug in his pocket for a Galleon, chucking it at her. She laughed as the coin bounced off her midriff.
"I don't want your money. The victory's enough." She chucked it back.
"I'm a man of principle, Evans. Take the Galleon!"
"No! I don't take people's money."
"I won't take it."
"I'll have it!" Peter pocketed the coin. James shot him a look. Peter shrugged.
"Good game, Potter." Lily was standing over him, holding out a hand. He reluctantly took it and let Lily pull him up.
"Yeah, good. You're… good." Now that he was standing with her face to face, seeing those green eyes burning into his, he felt jittery. She looked contemplative, as if she were stuck making a decision, her eyebrows furrowing slightly. She was too close. So close, he could see her eyelashes in almost painful detail, dark mascara contrasting against the green of her irises. He'd never noticed the light sprinkling of freckles over her nose before. Her lips looked a little dry.
It was uncomfortable and he felt as if his bowels would let loose at any moment and he inched forwards just a fraction of a centimetre, his lips parting a tiny, tiny, immeasurable amount –
"Prongs," came Sirius' voice, whiny like a child. "Kitchens. Food."
Something changed in Lily's eyes and she stepped back slightly.
"We'll have to play again, James." With a last smile, she made her way towards Marlene, dropping easily into her conversation with Benjy Fenwick. The moment, if it had ever truly been a moment, fizzled out, leaving James feeling oddly empty.
"Sirius, you utter twat!" James could hear Remus hissing into Sirius' ear. Peter helped with a smack around the back of the head.
"Shit, shit, were you…? You were gonna…?" Sirius' eyes went wide as he rubbed his head, not denying that he had deserved it. "Shit, Prongs, I'm sorry, I didn't realise, I'm just so damn hungry…"
"It's okay. I don't know… I don't know if anything would have happened, anyway." James was certain that all three of them could see straight through his façade, the shrugging shoulders paired with the small smile, but none of them said a word.
"I swear, I would've socked that little shit if I hadn't been holding that pavlova."
"Couldn't you help yourself from swearing at a second year? Merlin, Sirius-"
"Ravenclaws, I'm telling you, they can be pretentious shits when they want to."
"I agree with Padfoot."
"Thank you, Wormtail."
"Bezoar."
The Fat Lady swung open and the Marauders clambered into the Common Room, arms laden with food. James had stocked up on chicken drumsticks, holding them in the crook of his left arm whilst balancing a tray of chocolate puddings on his right hand. He almost dropped the tray as he strode over the portrait's edge, wobbling precariously before a pair of hands steadied him, saving the puddings from a tragic death. He opened his mouth to thank Sirius before realising that Lily was standing before him, not only looking bloody attractive in a Christmas jumper of all things but also nicking one of his drumsticks.
"Evans?"
"Hey, Potter, I just wanted to tell you something, so I'm just gonna say it."
"Uh, sure."
"Um, about earlier, right, I just…" She took a deep breath. "Okay, fuck it."
"Huh?"
"I can't believe I'm doing this."
James' next response was forming in his brain when Lily's lips were suddenly on his, the kiss as fleeting as a desert wind. He barely had any time to register it – the food fell to the floor with dull thuds, but before he could even think of putting his arms around her, her lips were gone. He opened his eyes, slightly dazed, tasting cinnamon.
"Did you… did you just kiss me, Evans?"
"And there I was, thinking you were smart," she responded, turning on her heel and sauntering away.
"Hey, Evans… Evans!" She stopped and looked back over her shoulder, eyebrow raised questioningly.
"Was I good?"
She scrunched up her nose.
"You tasted like chicken."
"So I was good?"
"Yeah. I like chicken." And with that, she clattered up the stairs to her dormitory, taking the stolen drumstick with her.