A/N: OK peeps…so this is my first fanfiction and I'm not expecting it to be mind-blowing with feelings and whatnot…this is mainly done to see how much creativity I have at these things. So please be gentle with the reviews (which I would appreciate if you do leave any). Also, I give credits to binini-mochi, since she encouraged me on and helped me think of ideas to get this story flowing.
DISCLAIMER: Sigh...I will never own these characters so they all belong to their rightful owner.
Lily Evans heaved a big sigh as she packed her things in her bag, tucking her wand in her Hogwarts robes as she stood up from her seat at the front of the classroom. It was the end of Transfiguration, which didn't go as well as she had preferred it to be.
Professor McGonagall had them all practice transfiguring a teacup to a turtle, which Lily did but apparently still a white tinge to the turtle's shell, which was so "kindly" pointed out by her best friend Marlene McKinnon, who sat next to her in class. While she had been trying to hide her turtle from view from the curious eyes of her fellow sixth-year students, keeping her face from being the same color as her fiery red hair, and shut off Marlene's giggling at the same time, she heard her professor compliment Potter at the back of the room at how wonderful his results had turned out.
Lily hated it when Potter did something better than her academically because she knows that he hardly puts any effort into anything besides Quidditch and pranks with the rest of the Marauders.
Now, as Lily turned around to grab her bag at the back of her chair, she caught a pair of hazel eyes behind rectangular spectacles staring at her. She pointedly glared at the face of James bleeding Potter, still mad at him, ignoring the fluttering feeling in her chest as James's hand unconsciously reached up to ruffle his wild black hair, making the ends stand out in every direction. She quickly flung her bag on her shoulders and turned around before she can give Potter the satisfaction of him having any kind of an affect on her.
"Come on, Marls" Lily groaned, exasperated at the fact that Marlene is taking her time stretching when her things are still scattered about on her side of the table. "Do you want to be the only person in here while the rest of us go to dinner?"
"All right, all right Lily" the blonde said cheerfully as she stuffed all her things into her bag and grabbed her wand. "Still mad at how your half-teacup-half-turtle walked around with a thousand years old shell?" She smirked a bit and managed to suppress another giggle from her mouth.
Lily can feel the all-too-familiar heat rising to her cheeks and quickly ducked her head to hide her blush from all the people passing by her to go to the Great Hall. "My perfectly fine turtle is not old! The shell just isn't very green because I was distracted...", she mumbled, speaking to the floor. It was a lame excuse but it's true, since she was indeed a bit distracted at the uncomfortable feeling shooting down her spine every time she adjusted her long red hair or when she spun around in her seat to retrieve something from her bag. It was a feeling like she was being watched (or stared at for that matter) every few minutes.
"Oh really, Lils?" Marlene teased, a mischievous glint in her light blue eyes. She hung her bag over her shoulder, adjusting her blond hair so that its over the bag strap. "Hmmmmmmmmm... you were distracted…" She pretended to think, and then suddenly leaned forward so that only her best friend could hear, "Perhaps by Potter?", she finished in a whisper and a sly grin, empathising the last word.
Lily snapped her head back to Marlene, blushing even more furiously than before, and whispered harshly, "What in the name of Merlin gave you that idea?!" Her emerald green eyes flashed at her best friend, letting the words that she just said sink in. She really wanted to kick Marlene in the shins right now, but she reminded herself that she's still in class.
Marlene smirked knowingly and started walking to line up at the end of the line leading to the corridor outside the classroom.
Lily groaned, "Remind me why I'm friends with you again Marls, you know that's not possible. There's just no way in hell that I'll ever fancy Potter" as soon as she reached within earshot of her not-so-friendly friend.
The still-smirking and walking blonde turned her head to address her red faced best friend, "Well, maybe because I'm brilliant, and humorous, and thoughtful, and-" but interrupted by a snort by Lily. This caused her to grin and slyly say, "And marveling at the fact that my Lilykins is still blushing at the thought of James Potter and that I can get her to state that she won't ever fancy him, even though I've never mentioned that."
Lily nearly choked at that and took a deep breath before replying half-heartedly with both of her hands on her cheeks, "That's rubbish, I'm not, McKinnon". Oh my gosh, why did I just say that, I really need to keep my mouth shut these days, especially around Marlene. Ugh, now she's going to think I'm into Potter now. Behind these thoughts however, she is indeed picturing that stupidly attractive jet black hair, the hazel eyes that lights up at the sight of her, and his careless laugh when he is with his best mates…
"Mmmhmmm, whatever you say Lily…" Marlene murmured, even though she knows otherwise. She doesn't want to ignite the red-haired teen's bad temper and damage their wonderful friendship, in any way, just because of teasing her of James Potter. Nonetheless, Marlene really did wanted to get poor Potter together with her stubborn friend, they will make a very famous and cute couple. The whole Gryffindor House are all practically counting off the days as to when the famous Potter will get the popular Lily Evans to date him, despite all the rejections he received in the process. She is willing to do anything for her goal, as long as it's not damaging her own friendship. The disgruntled blonde turned her head back toward the door at the back of the classroom and tripped over somebody's foot…
Lily took her hands off her face after she is sure that the heat had disappeared and refocused on the path in front of her when her right foot caught someone else's and she began to fall forward. Oh crap…, she thought as the floor started to rush toward her and her hair started to obscure her vision.
Marlene and Lily were both on the brink on slamming their faces on the floor when they both felt strong arms wrap around them and turn them around, pulling them forward.
What the bloody hell just happened?, both ladies thought before Lily found herself nose to nose with James sodding Potter and Marlene found herself staring at a pair of twinkling grey eyes.
"Oh hi Black, thanks for not letting my face be bruised", Marlene quickly rambled as soon as she was back on her feet. "Now, YOU WILL DIE A VERY PAINFUL DEATH IF YOU DON'T LET GO THIS INSTANT!" She pushed at Sirius Black's chest, attempting to show him that she meant what she just claimed.
Sirius grinned, "Alright 'Kinnon, whatever my princess wants, even though I would love to die by your hand, y'know". He winked before quickly letting go of Marlene as she raised her wand in her hand. "By the ways, you look beautiful today dear", he casually commented with a gleaming smile, earning a glare from Marlene.
Meanwhile, just a few inches to the left of the two, James pulled Lily to her feet and nuzzled the nose of the girl of his dreams. "It's a good thing that I play Chaser on the Gryffindor team, huh, Evans? As you can see, I'm chasing after you." A goofy grin appeared on his face. "Also, the reflexes are always needed in everyday life, especially when I'm catching you", he added with a wink. He swiftly pushed his left hand into Lily's wavy and silky red hair, twirling a strand of it around his index finger.
Lily moved her face away from Potter's, looking at his ridiculous grin before replying indifferently, "You know, I appreciate how you went into a lot of trouble from saving me from falling, but that is seriously the worst pun I've ever heard." She tried to steady her heartbeat since it's practically beating about five times every second at the feel of his hand in her hair and tried not to do foolish things at the smell of chocolate in his breath. "And- and- and, can you please get your sodding hands off of me, you prat!"
James reluctantly let Lily go and tried to hide his hurt by plastering a fake smirk on his face. He stared at Lily for a few seconds and then suddenly looked away, messing up his hair as he glanced around. Lily can see the turmoil he is feeling right now in his eyes, the way he furrows his brows, and can feel his nervousness at the way his hands are moving. She instantly felt guilty for insulting Potter since he had really done nothing wrong. She opened her mouth to apologize, "Look Potter, I'm-"
"Ahem".
All four of the teens whipped around toward the sound coming from the front of the classroom that they had all become completely oblivious of, due to their attention for each other. They soon found themselves looking at their slightly amused professor peering at them through the top of her spectacles.
Professor McGonagall walked around her desk to face them with a smile on her face. "I suppose it's a good thing that there isn't an audience for you all?"
A blush colored Lily's cheeks and she looked at her feet while Marlene shot a glare in Sirius's direction and the boys just shrugged and grinned enthusiastically at their Head of House.
"I am slightly concerned that the fact that you all are still in a classroom has seemed to disappear from your minds and that our supposedly two brilliant ladies have forgotten that they tripped over the feet of these two gentlemen in the first place."
This comment shocked the girls speechless because she was always so...strict and never gave a response like that to anyone, at least as far as they know. Lily lifted her head and, together with Marlene, checked their professor's face, finding nothing but amusement behind the spectacles. The redhead opened her mouth, trying to find an appropriate response. "I...well...uh…"
Professor McGonagall chuckled. "Yes, Miss Evans? Are you trying to say something?"
The two boys grinned at Lily, enjoying the way at how she squirms at being in the center of attention. Marlene crossed the space between the two gits to stand by her friend, who's nervousness was felt by the both of them.
"Oh, it's just that… I was...expecting a less cheerful response from you professor, seeing as how we're all here arguing after class is over instead of being in the Great Hall eating dinner", she finished with a shy little smile and a glance at the floor. Oh god, this is so embarrassing. Thank Merlin that the rest of the students are already gone.
Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow at Lily and then changed her attention to James, who was staring at the redhead with a dreamy look on his face. "Mister Potter," James snapped out of his daze, "Make sure to win the Quidditch match tomorrow with Mister Black against the Slytherins."
The two Gryffindor quidditch players smiled and nodded. "Of course, Professor, you know we always win against those damn Slytherins." Marlene snorted and tried to cover it with a hasty cough. Lily pointed at James's direction with her eyes, rolled them at her friend, and mouthed, "Arrogant conceited prat."
"Alright, but I just want to make it clear that if we lose the Quidditch Cup to the Slytherins, I won't be this cheerful", the Head of Gryffindor warned, with a competitive glint in her eyes. "Now, I think you all should have dinner in the Great Hall."
The small group tried to suppress their laughter at how competitive their professor is as they all walked toward the exit of the room again.
As soon as they are in the corridor and out of earshot from Professor McGonagall, Lily and Marlene whipped their wands out and pointed it at James and Sirius's throat before either boy can process what happened in a second.
"So, Black, did you and Potter planned to trip me and Lily and decided to just show off your stupid Quidditch skills?", Marlene asked Sirius with a deadly sweet tone and a humorless smile. Sirius gulped a bit, causing Marlene to congratulate herself of being brilliant with "conversation starters".
Sirius offered a weak grin and eyed the wand at his throat warily, "Ahem, why the bloody hell will I do that? You know as well as I do that I won't do anything to hurt a girl, especially you 'Kinnon".
A snort came out of the blonde and she rolled her eyes. "Well, I don't know, who the heck knows what your stupid obnoxious mind is thinking all the time? All I know is that you think everything you do is a big fat joke and a great-"
"Shut up Marly…", Sirius replied in a detached way, a look in his eyes that Marlene has never seen before.
Marlene blinked and opened her mouth, "Uh...what the hell did you just call me? Never mind, I don't want to know…." She faltered and took a moment to process the way Sirius pronounced Marly. She kind of likes it...Oh crap, I did not just admit that, she thought hastily. Marlene turned her head away from Black, in order to hide the blush that is rapidly forming on her cheeks, causing her wand to not be very dangerous to Sirius. She twists her hand in her hair and said as nonchalantly as possible, "Make me, you can't tell me what to do…"
Sirius laughed quietly to himself. So...she likes it when someone calls her that...She looks so cute when she's all red. This is the first time I've seen her this embarrassed before. He can't help it, he just loved it when Marlene blurts out witty comebacks at the top of her head to tell someone off just so she can have the last word. He likes every bit of her, from her nice, brilliant personality that she often uses to amuse her friends to the tips of her long blonde hair. He's marveling at how beautiful she looks now, the way the puffs out her pink left cheek a bit, the way her eyes reflect the light of the corridor, and the way she twirls her hair nervously.
Sirius gently pushed Marlene's wand out of the way and leaned in. "Sure Marly?", he gently asked with a mischievous grin. He saw her turn her head to face him and opened her mouth again, no doubt going to blurt out some clever response, and leaned in the rest of the way to kiss her.
Lily pointed her wand directly at James's throat, her anger almost to the point of spilling. "POTTER, YOU BIG-HEADED, OBNOXIOUS IDIOT, MCGONAGALL ALMOST PUT ME IN DETENTION!", she practically exploded in his face the moment they were out of McGonagall's hearing range. The guilt that she felt before in the classroom was long gone, replaced by a rage that was always there whenever Potter does something stupid, usually involving trouble. She can feel her face heat up with her unreasonable anger but she hardly cares at that particular moment.
James grinned, completely oblivious to the fact that he can be knocked out by a single spell. "You really need to calm down Evans, you KNOW that McGonagall wasn't even mad so she obviously wasn't going to put the wonderful, 'never been in trouble once', Lily Evans in detention." He leaned against the wall in a relaxed posture, still grinning idiotically at the flustered face of the red-head.
"UGH," Lily removed her wand from Potter's throat to wring her arms around out of frustration, "Even IF she wasn't dead mad, I was embarrassed to death in there, all because of you, you and Black's naive and ignorant plans to show off."
James smirked, trying to remain calm, but his eyes blazed fiercely. "I am aware that you were a bit nervous in there Evans, but I, or Sirius, would never do anything of the sort involving you getting hurt." He stood upright and crossed his arms over his chest, looking at Lily with an expressionless face.
Lily stared at James, furrowing her eyebrows and then snorted. "Hmpth, arrogant prat, I bet you just thought that at the top of your head to prevent me from cursing your arse out of Hogwarts."
A laugh emitted out of James, clearing both of their anger and the tension in the air. James leaned in a bit, shoving his hands into his pockets and grinning at the glare attempted from Lily. "Yes and no, Evans," he replied playfully, "I actually did think of that at the top of my head but it's not mainly used to avoid a visit to the Hospital Wing, it's just a fact that you should know by now."
The heat has returned to Lily's face, this time out of embarrassment. She is now aware of how close they are together, just a few inches apart, just close enough for her to take in the scent of him. She can smell mint, chocolate, and pine trees (for some reason) and she can feel her legs start to shake, causing her to clench her fists to resist the urge to just grab his face and wipe that grin off his face with a snog right then and there in the middle of a corridor. Oh god, am I that crazy for him? Calm down Lily, don't do anything stupid, you don't fancy Potter, you do NOT….. "Don't try to flatter me Potter, I do not know anything that you consider to be-"
But she stopped short at the smug smirk that appeared at James face. "What?"
"I love how you try to sound cool and collected when your face is practically the color of a tomato, Evans", James responded softly, grinning even more wider as Lily's face deepened color, "Care to tell me who 'flattered' you?"
"Certainly not by you".
"Oh really? I thought I'm the only other person in the corridor now, other than you?"
"ARRRRGGGGHHHHH!" Lily turned on her heel and proceeded to walk back to Gryffindor Tower, planning to skip dinner since she's not in the mood to eat right now.
A hand suddenly enclosed on her wrist, causing her to stop and whirl around. "Geroff, what do you want now?"
Hurt flashed across James's face again the second time that day as he released Lily's hand. "Look Evans, I'm sorry about… everything. Even though it's not my fault, I'll take the blame for everything if it makes you happy, alright?" Hazel eyes met emeralds' and Lily can feel her heart flutter once again at how much he care about her and her happiness.
"James...no...I'm the one who should be sorry...I put you through all the trouble that you have no fault for...I'm really sorry alright? It's just that… I don't like to get into trouble and so...I kind of just blow up at the first person I feel like getting angry at…" Lily stuttered, staring at the floor and blushing like mad. She wish that she can just disappear into thin air at that moment.
James raised his eyebrows as he watched Lily fiddle with her fingers and stare at the floor. Blimey, she's so sweet, so cute, so beautiful, so...AMAZING… A million thoughts of the wonderful Lily Evans raced through his mind, confirming his belief that he will never, ever, give up of her. SHE CALLED HIM BY HIS NAME FOR MERLIN'S SAKE! WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME SHE DID THAT? NOT ONE TIME. He had to use every nerve in his body to resist the temptation to just snog her senseless in the middle of nowhere, not that he will care about the whole school gossiping about them if they find out, but about what he will get Lily into.
"You're so adorable Evans," James blurted out, running his hand through his hair.
"I'm not." Lily pouted a bit and brushed her hair out of her eyes to see him better.
"You are, and please don't make me argue with you about that just because you're modest," James chuckled.
Lily tilted her head a bit to the side, amused. She's about to say, "But, I'm not…" again, but then she heard the sound of faint footsteps coming from the Great Hall, probably caused by the students who just finished dinner. She sighed, feeling reluctant to leave James for once. "As much as I would like to continue, I should better leave, before...you know…," Lily soon found out that she doesn't know how to finish her sentence.
Understanding, James nodded and smiled. "Alright Evans, it's been nice to have a conversation with you without you firing a curse at me." He laughed at the mock glare he received.
"Goodnight Potter."
"I would prefer James", James replied with a sly wink and a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.
Lily laughed softly and reached forward to adjust James's glasses, which had been at the end of his nose at that point. "Goodnight James." She quickly pecked James on his left cheek and turned away quickly to leave before they can get any farther. She was halfway through the corridor when James finally found his voice, "Uh...ahem…'night Lily."
Lily laughed and turned around, raising her eyebrows and smirking at the still shocked face of James before continuing her way to Gryffindor Tower to complete all her assignments for the day.
"Where were you Marlene?", Lily asked when her friend finally came in the girl's dorm that they both share with two other girls, which is empty except for her. She looked up from the book that she is reading on her bed to see a slightly breathless and disheveled blonde. "I've been looking for you for hours, it's long past ten!"
Marlene dropped her bag on her bedside table and walked over to plop down on Lily's bed. "UGH, I can't believe what happened today." She closed her eyes and tried to steady her breath.
"What? Why? I haven't seen you and Black since the end of transfiguration…" Lily suddenly stopped as the realization dawned on her. "Oohhhhh...are you with Black?" She laughed as she watched Marlene's face turn a pleasant pink. She closed her book and cast it aside before smiling down at Marlene. "I take that as a yes."
Marlene groaned and sat up. "I really don't like the fact that you're very brilliant Lily." She ignored another giggle from her friend and covered her face. "And please don't tease any farther, I really don't want to relive the events and details."
"Ooooooooooooo", Lily gloated playfully, enjoying teasing her best friend for once.
"Enough about me, what happened after I left?"
"Nothing," Lily answered a little too quickly. "Me and James talked for a while, that's all".
Marlene whipped her head around to stare intently at the redhead, her blue eyes narrowing slightly in amazement. "Since when did Potter turn into James?", she questioned slowly, emphasizing on each word.
Lily blushed and looked away. "Since this evening I guess".
Marlene's eyes widened and she grinned enthusiastically at her new discovery. "Blimey Lils, DID YOU AND POTTER KISS?"
"Bloody hell, Marls…, you're making this way more awkward than it already is…"
"SO IT'S A YES?", Marlene seems like she can't stop yelling at that point.
"Um...I kind of kissed him…?"
The blonde's face falls a bit, but her eyes are still dancing with excitement like a four year old. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN LILY? IT'S EITHER A YES OR A NO!"
Lily seems like she's about to faint of embarrassment. "Can you please stop yelling Marlene?" She glared at her friend until she calmed down a bit. "I didn't exactly kiss him, like, you know… all I did was say goodnight and give him a peck on his cheek."
Then, she was practically squashed as Marlene threw her weight on her in a major hug. "YEEESSS LILY, I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT!"
"Uh...what? Get off...me...I can't….breathe…", the still embarrassed redhead spluttered breathlessly.
Marlene lets go of her panting best friend and runs a hand through her hair. She's grinning in a smug way and her cheeks are flushed with excitement. She can feel her heart beating wildly, partly because of the joy of finding out that James and Lily are a kiss away from dating and partly because of the "sweet time" she had with Sirius. Half of her brain is thinking, MERLIN'S BEARD, LILY ACTUALLY MADE A MOVE ON POTTER, and the other half of her brain is reliving her time with Sirius, His hands rubbing, the feel of his lips on hers…
"Um, Marlene?" Lily waved her hand in front of McKinnon's face, smirking slightly as she snapped out of her dreamy daze. "I said, why were you so thrilled at the idea of me and James together doing anything?"
"Hmmm? Oh, no reason…" Marlene smiled unconvincingly and studied her nails, determined for a distraction so she wouldn't have to look at Lily, who, knowing her, can see right through her soul if she wanted to, if they made eye contact.
A pillow was then thrown onto her face, catching her off balance from the sudden force and knocking her backward onto the bed. She laughed, "What was that for Lily?", voice muffled a bit by the pillow half on her face.
"Hmmm...I don't know McKinnon, it's either for how cute you look, why you avoided my question, or how you've been staring off into space, daydreaming about Blac- oomph," Lily was interrupted by her pillow as it flew from Marlene's hands, who had quickly sat up and aimed at her face as soon as she mentioned Sirius (or attempted to).
"First off Lils, I was not 'daydreaming' since it's already nighttime, and second off, you should know by now that you and Potter are like, a natural match," Marlene replied airily, like it's the most logical thing in the world.
Lily aimed to fling her pillow in Marlene's face, biting back a smile as she watch her dodge out of the pillow's way. "Well, I highly doubt that since I believe that you and Black make the most adorable couple."
Marlene laughed and tossed the pillow back. "You and Potter."
"You and Black." The pillow flew the other way.
"Potter." It hit Lily's chin.
"Black." The pillow slammed onto Marlene's face.
"POTTER." It missed Lily's face and landed promptly on her right shoulder.
"BLACK, FOR MERLIN'S SAKE!" Lily grabbed the pillow and jumped off her bed aiming at her friend as she danced away from her.
Just like that, the two best friends plunged into a pillow fight, laughing and yelling and dodging and flinging pillows everywhere for a long time, to the point where they forgot why they are attacking each other in the first place….
Somehow, sometime, they grew tired and were sprawled out on Marlene's bed, catching their breath and relaxing in the peace and quiet of the moment at hand. Lily sighed in content and closed her eyes, feeling her heart beat wildly and letting her mind wander off aimlessly. She started to doze off when…
"Hey, Lily, we better wake up early tomorrow since there's a Quidditch match, against the Slytherins specifically, so we can't afford to miss James and Sirius's 'outstanding' performance and let them gloat when we don't even know what happened, do we?", Marlene reminded her cheekily, nudging her friend's shoulder.
Lily shot up. "Oh crap, yeah, I almost forgot." She lifted herself off Marlene's bed and darted to her bed, quickly changing into her pajamas before dashing into the bathroom to brush her teeth.
"LILY, REMEMBER THE TURTLE THAT YOU ATTEMPTED TO 'TRANSFIGURE' TODAY? I RECKON THAT THE POOR CREATURE IS JUST LIKE AN ANIMAL VERSION OF YOU. ASIDE FROM THE FACT THAT THE PHYSICAL APPEARANCE OF THE TURTLE RESEMBLES AMD SYMBOLIZES MY RED HAIRED, GREEN EYED, AND CUTE NAMED LILYKINS, IT IS JUST AS STUBBORN AS IT'S 'PARTNER' TO FULLY 'CHANGE' AND GET TO WHERE IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE ALREADY!" Marlene shouted, so that Lily can hear her all the way in the bathroom. She laughed quietly to herself, proud at her awesome observation skills and how she can still sprout something so random at any moment.
"What the bloody hell- SHUT UP, MARLENE MCKINNON!" A toothpaste cap flew out of the bathroom doorway, hitting a now-laughing-openly Marlene squarely in the forehead.
A/N: What do you think? Sorry is it's too long for you people to read but... you know, I just thought that it wouldn't be right if I split this into multi-chapters since it all happened in one day. This actually came out weirder than what I intended it to be. Oh well, first try I guess... Anyways…since you had gone this far, why not leave a review to make my day? Thx a lot!