Author Notes: This one shot was written for a Yule fanfic competition on Hogwarts Castle a couple of years ago. Some of the words might seem random because there were a few you had to include, so my apologies if it seems to jump in certain places. Hope you enjoy!
The knot in her stomach tightened as she watched him walk past her, throwing a smirk at his two lackeys. They s******ed and continued to swagger down the rest of the corridor, knocking into a bunch of First Years, and sending a Third Year flying headfirst into a wall. Why he had that impact on her, she didn't know, as she remained rooted to the spot outside the office, awaiting Professor Slughorn. Having had to stay back at Hogwarts for Christmas, despite her intentions to return home for the holidays, Lily had decided to make the most of her time, and had offered to take some extra classes. Sadly, she thought, averting her gaze once more, so had he!
Brushing a strand of errant red behind her ear, the green eyed girl clutched onto her roll of parchment, and repressed a slight smile at the thought of him, his mop of hair adding to the general impression of unruliness, and yet the badge that gleamed from his robes told another tale. Lily knew that to ask for James to be nice to her was going too far, but was it too much to ask for him to be civil towards her?
Not that I care about the likes of James Potter, she thought defiantly, pushing aside the hurt she felt at being practically unacknowledged by the Gryffindor Head Boy. It wasn't a case of being power hungry, or that she was attracted to that aspect of his status, because she herself was Head Girl, and so claimed the same rights as he had. So what is it about him…?
Bang! A fluttering of parchment rolls alerted Lily to the fact that she had knocked into someone, and grasping desperately at as many as she could reach, she gazed upwards into the face of the male she so coveted. Straightening up, she smoothed down her cloak, the faint smile that had graced her small red lips vanished.
"James…" she began weakly. "….I thought you were with Remus and Sirius?"
The Gryffindor Head Boy smirked slightly at the redhead beauty. "Oh, I was with them…now I'm not! I figured that since you're so desperate to be with me, I might as well rescue you from whatever hell you're in, and we can be on our way! Plus, it's Christmas time…makes sense, right?"
Was he being serious? He must have been playing around! She didn't look desperate…she didn't! Masking her confusion, Lily turned her head towards him, tilting it slightly as she did so. "James, my dear boy, whatever makes you think that?! I'm merely awaiting Professor Slughorn, for…"
"Oh Sluggie….yeah, you always were a favourite of his! How does it feel to have reached Seventh Year to learn you're still a favourite?" he interrupted rudely, a scowl etched itself onto his handsome features. "Don't forget to make that meeting later to greet the new Prefects."
Her eyes pricked as he spoke so bitingly of her scholarliness - the fact that she happened to be good at Potions was not her fault! But then as he moved onto the meeting they were both scheduled to go to later that day, her face hardened. If this was how he wanted to play things, then fine! She wasn't going to indulge him his fantasies of being able to make a girl cry.
"I'll be there, don't worry about that!" she answered coolly, moving firmly away from the dark haired male that had already taken over her mind and every waking thought. "You should probably catch up with the others… If you're meant to be the clever one, I dread to think what they're up to right now!"
James's face fell as he realised she'd moved away, and he began to sulk. "Later, Evans."
His quickened pace, finally resulting in emptiness in the corridor, left Lily stood there alone, and allowed her to gather her thoughts once more, and to breath deeply again. Regardless of what Slughorn had said about the possibility of her taking extra Potions classes due to her affinity with the subject, she wasn't prepared to wait indefinitely for him, and anyway, this encounter with James had thrown her…she needed to think straight once again!
Grabbing her book bag, Lily swung it onto her shoulder, and headed off towards the Gryffindor Common Room, with only one thought rotating in her mind: What was James doing there?
**********
James slunk into the Common Room, unsuccessful in his bid to re-locate his two friends, and wondering whether he really cared for their company at that moment in time anyway. He had done it again…been as ass with her! Groaning slightly, he threw his weight against the comfortable armchair that invited him into it, a mass of Christmas trees that had adorned the room stood deftly behind it. Why does she make me do that?! It's only ever around Lily that I act like a pain in the ass! She has that effect on me, even though I'm trying to impress her! Desperate to distract himself, James' eyes flew around the large room. His gaze met with a woolly item that he instantly recognised as one of Arthur's mothers. Mrs Weasley's been sending in the sweaters, eh? Guess he didn't think much of it….
Suddenly a pair of arms flew around his neck from behind, and a head lowered itself to whisper into his ear. "Oh James…you're so horrible! I hate you so much….but no, now I love you, and…"
Instantly knowing who it was, the Gryffindor stood up and whirled himself around, letting a small defeated laugh escape his lips. "Padfoot….it's a good job you're like a brother to me, or I would kill you!"
His friend stared at him intently, before sighing, and claiming a nearby sofa, lying flat against it. "What happened this time? She turn you down again?"
James sighed, too, and collapsed into the chair again. "She didn't get the chance to. I played the 'I know you want me, so let's get started already' card…she wasn't impressed! Then I acted like a fool when she mentioned she was waiting for Slughorn…" Turning suddenly towards his best friend, James asked, "Tell me, Sirius, why do I do it? Why? It's always been Lily…and yet the instant we exchange words, I turn to mush! What is it about her? And anyway, she doesn't love me… I used to think that one day she would, but she never will...not whilst I can't behave when I speak to her!"
Sirius was clearly lost for words, but could see his friend needed some sympathy right then. Mocking the Head Boy seemed rather inappropriate when he was acting so dejectedly. "Look, Prongs, just apologise to her…I'm sure she'll forgive you! You've got a lot on your plate right now! Head Boy duties, trying to keep up with all the classes, worrying about Remus's health month in, month out…it's bound to affect you!" the shaggy haired male stated, heartily moving his head, and subsequently mane of hair in James' general direction. Noting the portrait hole suddenly open, he tilted his head, and added, "Speak of the devil…"
James followed Sirius' gaze – it was her…but what could he say to her? How could he explain himself away? He'd been jealous of her seeing a teacher!? Oh that'd go down a treat! Turning to see his best friend's encouraging face, the Gryffindor male got up silently from his seated position, and stalked over to the red haired female. "Lily…" he croaked hoarsely.
The Gryffindor female didn't even need to tilt her head to know who it was, but refused to allow him to think he meant something to her. If he wanted to play games, she was willing to play along. Juggling the stack of books that rested in the grasp of her dainty porcelain hands, Lily shifted her gaze til her eyes fell onto his. "James. Can we hurry this up? I have a terribly important meeting to go to very soon, and only stopped off long enough to drop these books off!" she replied curtly, the words causing her eyes to drop to the floor, as she hardly dared to look him in the eye.
James shifted uncomfortably, his feet shuffling from side to side. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he noted Sirius leave to take refuge in their dormitory from what could potentially be the worst moment in James' Hogwarts' life. If Lily rejected him… Sighing, and steeling himself, the words seemed to jumble together as he decided on what he wanted to say, his own eyes lowered, and staring at the cold and murky floor. "Lily I'm sorryandIdon'tknowwhatcameovermebefore! I was reallystressedout, and Iknowthatthat'snoexcuse, butIreallylikeyou, and ! Whatdoyousay?"
Her green eyes flickered up the instant James began speaking, suddenly very curious as to what else he could want to say to her that he hadn't already said. It wasn't a simple task trying to distinguish the words he had uttered, but Lily's sharp ears managed to figure them out, and she nodded her head as her mind processed them. He liked her? But how…? Since when? And why? Every time they spoke he had something horrible to say to her! "I don't understand…I thought you hated me!" she said softly, her expression softened as she tried to become less baffled by the circumstances. "Every time I've tried to speak to you, all I got was grunts, and laughter, if not some form of ridicule! Do you know how hard that is to take?"
James turned to her shocked. "You were always too good for me. I have nothing to offer you, other than loyalty, and support!" Lowering his head, he admitted, "I knew you liked me…so I tried to play up to the image of me being a buffoon…someone who likes to have a laugh, in the hopes that it would turn you away from me!"
Lily edged nearer to him, her hands resting gently on his arms. "What makes you think I ever want anything more than loyalty and support? James, I like you…for you! There are parts of your personality I hate, of course there are! You're stubborn, you play tricks, you tease a lot, your hair drives me insane with it's wildness, and you never seem to have neatly pressed robes!" His arms reached up and snaked around her waist as she continued speaking. "But there's something about you that makes me feel safe, loved and attractive. I know that when you're talking to me, that I'm the only person you care about!"
James gazed into her jade orbs. Was this a dream? How long had he longed to hold the redhead in his arms, and know that she was there because she wanted to be, and not because he had manipulated events to occur that way?! Not knowing what to say, and the reminder from Sirius clear in his mind, James swooped his head down, and pulled Lily into a kiss, his rough lips rubbing gently against her softer ones, as he marked her as his own.
There was something so right as they stood there, tightly compressed, the outside world an oblivious factor to the two of them as they clung to one another fiercely, as though defying anyone or anything to part them from their passionate embrace. The sound of the bell running throughout the Castle, and the subsequent jostling from the flurry of students entering and leaving the Common Room brought it to an end, and breaking apart, Lily grinned ruefully at James. Having run her fingers playfully through his hair, as they had lost themselves within their encounter, James now greater resembled a muggle lion, and she was hard pressed to repress the smile from invading her facial features.
Mistaking her expression for something else, James suddenly looked alarmed. "Oh god…it was terrible wasn't it? I haven't really had much practice lately, and never much wanted to kiss those girls before anyway! I'm really sorry, and if you want to leave right now…"
Lily giggled, and then pressed herself firmly against his chest, crushing her lips against his own, her jaw biting playfully on his lower lip as they became one once more, and her arms entwined with his own as her body melted into his stance. After what felt like an eternity, she moved back, and smiled at the Gryffindor male. "Do you really think I'd want to re-experience something like that if it was that bad? James…for all my desire to not inflate your ego even more, it was wonderful! Everything I'd desired and more…"
The second kiss had been totally unexpected, but James was not going to complain. He had long wanted such an event to occur, and now that it was, he was going with the moment. Not expecting Lily to kiss him, he wasn't prepared for her red lips coming towards him, but he was hardly one to not make the most of the moment, and responded readily to her affection, slightly disappointed when she moved away. However, her words encouraged him, and he gazed adoringly at her, longing to hold her again. His eyes scanned over the room, knowing that they had been sighted by at least a dozen Gryffindors, though he wasn't especially bothered by that fact. They fell on a branch that came down from the ceiling, and James focused on Lily once more, his expression excited. "Mistletoe!" he said gleefully, pointing to it.
Lily smirked, but noted the time on the clock hanging behind him. "James, we've got Transfigurations! If McGonagall catches us late we're dead! I'll wait here whilst you get your books…" James's face fell as he whirled around to stare at the clock, realising they didn't have time. Hearing Lily's words he nodded sharply, then raced off up the staircase, taking to them two at a time, and thundering around whatever he was doing. Moments later he returned, the books in one arm as he held the other out merrily to Lily.
Leaving the Common Room, in a state of bliss all the Gryffindor Head Girl could think about was how very happy she felt, and how right it felt to have James' hand wrapped around her own. After all, there are worse things I could do…