The weather was quite depressing this last week. The sky was painted with a dull, dark grey color, a bit lighter on the parts where the sun was fighting to shine through, but no sunbeam seemed to be able to penetrate the thick, grey veil that had covered the sky that was supposed to be blue and clear now that summer was finally approaching. Lily Evans found the weather to weight down on her positive mood. She should be happy that classes were drawing to an end, but the weather wasn't helping. It was a constant reminder that classes were still as demanding as ever, especially now that N.E.W.T's were approaching. The redhead just wanted to smell the sweet and so dearly missed scent of summer, but she couldn't do that with the autumn sky right above her head!

Her, boyfriend, James Potter did not seem to share the same thoughts with her. Grey skies were apparently not enough to bring down James' spirits. The boy had convinced her to spend her evening in the quidditch pitch with him instead of her usual spot in the library. He claimed that fresh air would do her good. Lily didn't feel any better though, she was sitting on the gryffindor seats all by herself with a scarf around her freezing neck while James was flying all around the pitch on his broomstick. The nerve of that boy! He had only dragged her out here so she could watch him showing off on his bloody broomstick!

Lily hugged herself tightly; her thin jumper was not enough to stop the cold from penetrating her body. The girl's eyes followed the red figure of her boyfriend, moving faster than a fly. He looked like a bird, with his Gryffindor scarf flying behind him and his robes whipping his calves as he flew. How could he not be cold? He should turn into an ice statue by now! Not shouting with joy!

With a graceful and rapid turn of his broomstick, James flew towards Lily, slowing down when he reached the angry-looking redhead.

"What's with that grumpy-looking face of yours, Lily?" James asked cheerfully when he jumped down from his broomstick. His black, untidy hair was even messier and flying in every possible direction. His glasses were ready to slide off his nose but his eyes were shining with bliss as if he had just had the world's greatest time. The idiot even dared grin with that boyish, one-sided grin of his that made a cute, tiny dimple appear on his right cheek.

"You idiotic show-off!" Lily spat, her green eyes narrowing. "You've interrupted me from my studies to drag me out here in the cold so you can show off! You are unbearable!"

Lily's words did not seem to have much impact on James since the boy maintained the grin on his face.

"Lily, if I hadn't saved you from the library, I would had come the next day and find your pretty face plastered on a book's page. You spend your whole day in that bloody library and I am certain that you would sleep in there if you were allowed" said James calmly. "The fresh air will make you fill better!"

"The only thing the fresh air has managed is to make me bloody cold!" replied Lily grumpily through gritted teeth.

"Then, come fly with me!" James suggested playfully

"What?" Lily questioned in confusion.

"Come and fly with me, Evans!" James repeated mockingly "The adrenaline of a broomstick ride will warm you up! It's even better than hot chocolate!"

"James" Lily started, trying to restrain her nerves. "We've discussed this. I and broomsticks don't get along. Besides, I like the ground. The ground is nice and steady, flying…not so much. Most importantly, if I fall, the ground won't be that nice. You were worried about my face being plastered on a book, but if I fall from a broomstick my whole body will be plastered on the ground!"

"Lily, I assure you, you are absolutely safe with me" James assured her in a serious tone. "I am one of the best flyers in Hogwarts. There's no way you are falling on my watch!"

"No" Lily insisted

"Oh, come on! It'll be fun!" James begged loudly

"No"

"Lily, if you would only just.."

"NO!"

"Don't be so stubborn! At least make this last hour worth-while! Flying is one of the best experiences you'll ever have in your life!" James exclaimed passionately, hoping to pique his girlfriend's interest.

Lily sighed; her patience was wearing thin. This little trip in the quidditch pitch was one of James' worst ideas. "James, I am going to get back to my studying. I'll see you at dinner"

Lily stood up and straightened her jumper, she was ready to walk away when she heard James' mocking and highly annoying voice calling her one of the worst things he could have ever called her.

"Chicken!" James cried behind her. Lily slowly turned around, her green eyes shining dangerously.

"How did you call me?" Lily asked in a slow, threatening tone of voice. This tone could only mean one thing; Lily would take no more nonsense. Whenever she used this tone, it meant that the person she was talking with should probably back away slowly and get out of her sight.

"Chicken!" James dared to repeat, unaware of the fact that he was swimming in deep waters and Lily was the most blood-thirsty white shark of all. "Wait until I tell Sirius. He'll mock you for the rest of the decade!" James added.

Lily stomped furiously back to James, muttering curses and several insults through her teeth. The redhead whose face currently was as red as her hair pushed her way past her boyfriend and gripped his broomstick from the wooden floor of the seats. She was going to make him regret the very second he had called her a chicken.

"Are you coming or what?" Lily drawled, glancing expectantly at her boyfriend.

James tried hard to wipe the smirk off his face as he took his broomstick from Lily's hands. The Gryffindor Quidditch captain climbed smoothly on his broomstick and offered Lily his hand. The girl pushed his hand away though and clumsily climbed onto the broomstick, wrapping her arms around James' torso a bit more tightly than it was necessary when she finally settled on the thin, hard wood of the broomstick.

"I promise you are going to love this" James said. Lily might have mumbled something in return, but James never heard it, he had already taken off, flying several feet above the seats. The boy welcomed the wind that blew against his face, pulling his hair backwards. It was so refreshing. Flying was truly the best feeling and he wanted to share that feeling with Lily before they left their last careless year in Hogwarts. Circumstances would be very different with this war going on, things would get much more serious.

Those grim thoughts were instantly pushed at the back of his mind as James started flying in circles around the pitch. He couldn't accelerate much; he didn't want to scare Lily off.

"You alright there, Lily?" James asked loudly trying to be heard over the sound of the whipping wind. "You are not going to enjoy the sight if you keep your head buried in my back!" James felt Lily slowly lifting her head that she kept nestled on his back since the time they started flying , the boy smiled.

"That's my girl" he muttered and started flying higher. While it was quite tricky for him to fly without forcing his broomstick to its speed limit, he was trying his best to turn this into some romantic sort of flight.

Lily loosened her tight grip on James' waist and let the wind blow against her face. She got the chills, as if ants were crawling down her spine, but she got used to it quite soon. The wind was pleasant, a bit cold but pleasant. It blew her troubles away, the stress of the exams, the fear of the upcoming troubles of life. Everything just seemed to disappear, float with the wind.

The redhead took a deep breath and unable to resist she looked down, the seat she had been sitting a few minutes ago seemed like a black dot in the grey scenery and Lily started panicking, she had never been that high above the ground before. She tightened her grip on James, the anger she felt for being called a 'chicken' washed away.

"Don't look down!" James shouted and Lily tried her best to drift her eyes away.

They were flying over the Hogwarts grounds when Lily finally relaxed again and allowed the wind to blow away her fear. This wasn't that bad after all. It was so peaceful up there; James wasn't going fast so the wind wasn't blowing against her ears, bothering the peace.

Lily could see all of Hogwarts from where she was, the herbology greenhouse, Hagrid's hut, the lake of the giant squid, everything. It felt as if she was watching a film, she was the spectator and everything beneath her was the show. Now she understood why James liked flying so much. Being that high, you felt like you were the freest person in the whole world; all your worries were stuck on the ground while you were flying higher and higher. It was like a dream, a dream no one could wake you from. Flying was indeed one of the greatest experiences, and she didn't feel that cold anymore. James was right, this was better than hot chocolate.

"This is not quite that bad after all" Lily muttered, hugging James' torso as she rested her head gently on his back. Her boyfriend was not that stupid after all. "Thank you" she added. "You were right, I needed the fresh air, and the view is just lovely"

The redhead couldn't see the boy's face but he knew he was grinning with that stupid one-sided boyish grin of his again.

"You should fly with me more often, Evans"