Disclaimer: I am but a fan of the fantastically talented J.K Rowling.
Checkmate!
"Checkmate!"Lily Evans announced and leaned back in her seat as she gazed up at James Potter's look of incredulity.
"Wha- how... Evans, how come you beat me?" James spluttered, staring at the chessboard where his king lay in ruins in front of Lily's queen.
Lily raised a single eyebrow and straightened herself up. "What? So you think because I'm a girl I can't beat you?" she demanded.
"No! I meant-" "Oh, so since I'm muggleborn, I'm not allowed to beat the almighty James Potter? Because if it is, I swear I'll-"
"Stop talking rubbish Evans! I meant even Moony can't beat me and everyone knows he's the cleverest guy in third year."
They both looked over at Remus Lupin sitting on the sofa who shrugged modestly at them but when James had turned his attention back to the chessboard, Remus sent Lily a wink and grinned mischievously.
Lily furrowed her brows at that. She had been playing chess against Remus since the beginning of the year and had yet to lose a game against him. So last night, he'd suggested that she play against Potter for a change. No, he didn't suggest it; he'd practically begged her to play a game against Potter. So, why didn't he tell him about her winning streak?
She looked at Remus carefully and sure enough saw that Sirius and Remus were exchanging money with Peter Pettigrew; the latter of whom seemed dismayed to be on the losing side of the bet.
She returned her gaze back to Potter who was still muttering under his breath and attempting to figure out how he'd been so brutally beaten at his favourite game (only after Quidditich, of course). And it clicked.
Poor James Potter. Poor, arrogant, naive James Potter, been set up by his mates yet again. The sight of James looking so confused and unsure pulled at her heartstrings for some odd reason and she found herself taking pity on the usually confident boy.
She cleared her throat and called out to Remus. "Hey Remus, how would you like to have a mini chess tournament with me, two-on-two?"
The four boys looked over at her in interest.
"What are you suggesting, Lily?" he asked cautiously.
"Oh y'know, just a chess match between four housemates. Winners take all, losers, well they lose, basically. "
"Take all, as in?" Sirius interrupted, eyes alight with curiosity.
"As in whatever we have in our pockets at the moment. Don't worry Sirius; I doubt we'll find anything worthwhile in your possession in the first place." She supplied cheekily.
"I'm in!" James announced. The others nodded in agreement, although Remus did so with trepidation.
"Brilliant! So Potter and I against Remus and Sirius, yeah?" she clapped her hands and looked at them for affirmation.
Remus' eyes widened in realisation at her intentions but he didn't voice his concerns. Instead he asked, "And what about Peter?"
"Peter will have the most important role in the tournament. He'll referee, of course." She smiled happily and turned to the smaller boy. "Remember Pete, you've got to be completely neutral otherwise this match will be a waste of time."
Peter nodded in understanding and came over to sit on the floor beside the coffee table on which they'd placed the chessboard. James came over and scooted next to her while Remus and Sirius occupied the seats on the opposite end.
The four began their match, each pair putting their heads together and whispering and muttering different tactics and strategies to one another. Lily was pleasantly surprised at how seamlessly Potter and she worked in a team. While on the opposite end, Remus and Sirius ended up arguing in loud whispers about the pros and cons of each move.
Sure enough, merely fifteen minutes later, James made the winning move with a victorious "checkmate!" followed by loud groans from Remus and Sirius.
"We won! We won! HA! Take that you losers!" James exclaimed and proceeded to get up and doing an odd victory jig. Soon he'd pulled Lily up with him and gave her a bear hug and a sloppy kiss on the cheek while swinging her around.
Her delighted laughter mingled with his victory song- that he'd made up on the spot as they danced along- caused people sitting in the vicinity to look over curiously and then shake their heads at the oddities that were Potter and Evans and returned back to their previous tasks.
"Give it a rest mate! Besides, you'll be late for Quidditich practice if you carry on any longer." Sirius scowled at them.
"Ah! Victory is sweet! Evans we should get married, we'll be invincible." And with that, James put Lily back on her feet and with another kiss on the cheek headed towards the portrait hole. "Best be off mates. Evans, make sure these prats give you our full winnings."
Meanwhile Lily stood stock-still at his earlier pronouncement, absently tracing the spot he'd kissed and wondering why her insides had erupted in a thousand butterflies all of a sudden.
"Ooh! Potter and Evans sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes the baby. Then comes the marriage leaving Evans to eat only porridge." Sirius sang in an annoyingly loud, off-tune voice while Remus and Peter howled with laughter.
James on the other hand could've sworn he heard a loud shriek sounding suspiciously like Evans long after he'd left the common room. "For Merlin's sake it's 'first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby, in a baby carriage!', you nitwit! At least get the bloody lyrics right!"
And although in later years Lily and James would find themselves at loggerheads on numerous occasions, hormones would drive them mad, childish jealousies would tear them up, yet for now each one shared a special camaraderie with the other. James, because he'd won a match, and consequently some galleons; Lily, because she could once again see the light in James Potter's eyes and his usual confident self, alight with happiness. And of course, the added bonus of seeing both Remus and Sirius get a taste of their own medicine. The Marauders, Lily decided, were certainly an entertaining bunch, one that she didn't particularly mind much.
fin.
A/N Thank you for reading. Reviews are greatly appreciated. I literally wrote this while waiting for my project meeting to begin, so don't know how I feel about it, to be honest.