Joy Ride

The shining lights and thunderous applause hit James Potter like a shot to the chest as he led the Gryffindor team onto the quidditch pitch. He had walked this path hundreds of times before, and certainly wasn't one to be shy, but the feeling of unconditional support and pride radiating from the stands always gave him shivers - especially before such an important game. The last match of James' Hogwarts quidditch career would start in just a few minutes, the game that would decide which house won the Cup - Gryffindor or their bitter rivals, Slytherin house. The brunette flashed his always radiating smile back at the rest of his team, the team that he had spent all year training and transforming into the best quidditch team in their house's history. Sirius and Marlene were right behind him, clearly also feeling nostalgic and overwhelmingly excited for their final match. Of course none of them would go onto being professional players, what with the war looming over the wizarding world like a stormy cloud threatening to engulf them all in eternal darkness. But right now, they had to focus on the game ahead of them, their last game, the most important game of their lives.

He gazed up to the crowd of students, cheering and whooping for their houses, and saw a sight of brilliant red dominating the stands. It didn't take him long to find the love of his life, Lily Evans, in the stands alongside his best mates Moony and Wormtail. Lily's hair was shining in the mid-day sun, seeming redder than he had ever seen it and matching one of the many Gryffindor quidditch jerseys that she had stolen from him in their months of dating. Remus, who was evidently still reading the muggle book that he had been unable to put down for the last few days, seemed slightly annoyed by the roaring screams coming from the rat and the ginger beside him, yet put it down immediately when he saw the team clad in red approaching the center of the pitch. James locked eyes with Lily for as long as he could before she blew him a kiss from the stands above him. How was he supposed to focus on the game when she was out there looking as adorable as she did today?

"Oy, Prongs," Sirius nudged his shoulder, bringing him back to reality. "Try not to take another bludger to the head this game okay? We might actually need you, and as much fun as it was to see dear sweet Lilykins worry over you in the hospital wing after we played Hufflepuff, I actually do want to win this one."

"Don't worry Padfoot, I plan on winning. Just imagine the celebratory blow job I could get!" James retorted immediately with a smirk as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, gaining a laugh from his best mate. "But seriously, there's no way in hell I'm letting Slytherin win the cup in our seventh year. We're behind by 100 points, and Merlin it's not going to be easy, but we will win." James was confident, saying the latter part of his statement loud enough for the rest of his team to hear, as their last pep talk of the season.

James approached the Slytherin captain to reluctantly shake hands, both boys staring daggers at each other and eager to win, and with that the two teams took off into the air in one swoop. The referee threw the quaffle into the air as the bludgers and the golden snitch were released from their bindings, and Marlene caught it effortlessly and tossed it to James who was already halfway across the pitch nearing the Slytherin goal posts. Though he was a tad far from her to be able to catch it on a normal day, his adrenaline was pumping fast already and he swiftly caught it, and quickly scored the first ten points of the game for Gryffindor.

Although he may have had all the energy in the world at the beginning of the match, when the game started nearing the one hour mark, James was running on fumes. They had to win this game by at least 100 points, but it took everything he had to keep the Slytherin chasers at bay. Every strategy he had meticulously created, every technique and formation he had drilled into his team for the last year were just barely making dents in Slytherin's intense offence. And after an hour of game play, the two teams were tied at 300-300.

Just as a stray bludger zoomed past James' head, nearly knocking his glasses off in the process, time seemed to slow down around the Gryffindor captain. The stadium erupted in cheers and screams, whoops and hollers. James was seeing red all around him, and the Gryffindor seeker, a sixth year named Murray, was in the center of the pitch - holding a round, walnut sized, golden orb. It took a few seconds for James' head to catch up to what had happened.

Gryffindor won.
Gryffindor won 450-300.
Gryffindor won the Cup.

As the Slytherins began to dismount their brooms in bitter defeat, James floated in the air taking in the sounds of his fellow housemates and supporters chanting victory rhymes for his house, for Murray, and for James himself. Sirius zoomed almost immediately to where the young stag was hovering and nearly tackled him mid-air in celebration, before flying over to Marlene to plant a sloppy kiss on her, inciting even more cheers from the stands. The team assembled in a line and flew around the stadium victoriously, taking in their moment in the spotlight, whooping and hollering with the crowd in their victory. As James flew, he kept his gaze solely on the sparkling green eyes of a certain Lily Evans, who he could see was shaking Remus and Peter in celebration. Suddenly their eyes met and locked onto one another's gaze as they had done before the match, but instead of blowing kisses, Lily could not will her mouth to do anything but smile one of the most genuine, proud, happy smiles he had ever seen her magical lips produce. It only competed with the smile four months prior when the two finally confessed to one another, and the lustful, loving smile she flashed when they made love for the first time. James could never tire of one of Lily Evans smiles - even when they were caused by a bought of her relentless teasing towards him.

The students began to file out of the stands, likely to continue their exam revisions or to simply lay back and enjoy the beauty that is Hogwarts in the summer months, and the Gryffindor team circled around the stadium one last time before hovering to the ground and dismounting. James watched as Lily and the two Marauders with her were the last to leave, before departing himself with the rest of the team to the Gryffindor change room and showers.

After a bought of congratulations and praises among the team, James began to change out of his sweaty, red, quidditch uniform. He peeled it off piece by piece, pausing halfway through to enjoy how the cool air tickled and engulfed his overheated body. He always found that it was only after the game that he would realize just how much he worked, and how sore he was from flying for over an hour. James took off his glasses and placed them with the rest of his clothing before making his way to the shower cubicles. He hung a large red towel embroidered with a golden lion and the word Gryffindor on a hook, before entering the shower to turn on the water. Within a second of turning the faucet on he jumped back from the water instinctively, not wanting to relive the experience he had had in his fifth year when a sudden plethora of ice cold water had nearly flash frozen his body. Thankfully the water was perfectly hot today, and James relaxed as he was consumed by the steady flow of warmth around him. As he washed his body, massaging any muscles that seemed particularly sore, his mind wandered back to the euphoric win he had just experienced. The rush of wind on his cheeks as he flew through the skies, the rush of adrenaline that came when the crowd cheered especially loud after a nail biting goal, the pride that he felt for his team and all that they had accomplished throughout the year. No matter how hectic his schedules were, between the Marauders infamous pranks, to pining over the girl he loved all year in head meetings, or even the sudden and deep love affair between the two in the last few months, James had dedicated so much time and care to his team that winning the cup together felt like being on top of the world. The only thing that could make James feel even better than he did at this moment was the love that Lily Evans shared with him when they were together, and James' mind wandered from quidditch to only thoughts of Lily quickly. The way her ginger hair flowed in the breeze, the cute way her face would scrunch up when she couldn't get a potion to work just right in class, the way she curled into a ball on the couches in the Common Room when engulfed in a good book. He loved Lily when she was teasing him, when she intertwined her legs with his when cuddling, when she got involved with the Marauders mischief, and when he gazed into her eyes and saw acceptance, love, and home.

When James made his way out of the Gryffindor change room, he was rightfully surprised to find the object of his affections waiting patiently at the door, with her nose buried in a book and a basket placed at her side. James stood in the doorway, still slightly damp from his shower, staring at her for a good minute before alerting her to his presence.

"Well hello, Love." he said as he swooped down upon her and placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head. James could feel Lily shiver slightly from the surprise contact, and as he lifted his lips slowly off of her hair, she quickly tilted her head all the way up to steal a proper kiss from him. Lily Evans' lips tasted like fresh strawberries and were as soft as silk, drawing him into her as love seeped through them in their embrace. James slowly bent his knees to kneel beside her, the grass tickling his legs, as they continued to kiss one another, each becoming more and more drawn into the other. They opened their eyes and James found himself lost in her green abyss once more. Their lips slowly broke apart and they tilted their heads forward to rest their foreheads on each others, smiling at each other like the giddy, love struck puppies that they were. James took Lily's hand and absentmindedly drew circles in her palm with his thumb, just barely touching her, and he broke his head away from hers to look at her head on.

"Congratulations, Quidditch Cup winning Team Captain," she praised him, throwing her arms around him for a hug. "I have to say, I was a little bit scared Slytherin was going to make a comeback in the second half, but you actually managed to pull it off! I mean, I knew there was no way in hell you were going to let Slytherin win in our seventh year, mainly because for the last week you've been muttering "there's no way in hell I'm letting Slytherin win in our seventh year" and frankly it was getting really annoying so I'm glad its over," she teased. "But I'm really proud of you, James." She snuggled closer into him, each of them resting their chins on the other's shoulder and talking without actually needing to look at each other's faces. He could feel her breathing in and out slowly, and tried to match his excited rate to her soothing one.

"So I take it you enjoyed the game?" he chuckled. He felt Lily's head nod into his shoulder as she exhaled into him, and took that as all the answer he needed. "So what's up with the basket?" he said, gesturing with his head toward the large basket seated next to her.

Lilly laughed to herself and broke away from the hug to grab and open said basket, revealing it to be filled to the brim with assorted food. "I thought we could have a little bit of a celebratory picnic!" she explained excitedly. "I snuck down to the kitchen this morning and the house elves helped me put it together. I figured you'd likely be starving after the game, so I packed as much as I could fit. The guys said that they want you to relax before the party, seeing as how obsessed you got before the game with strategy and practice, so we've got a few hours to burn together."

James released himself from their embrace and got to his feet, towering over her. "That sounds bloody perfect, Lil." he grinned, as he extended one of his long arms down to her, helping her to her feet and then clasping their hands together. Lily took her wand out with her other hand as she stood and enchanted the basket to float alongside them as they walked through the Hogwarts grounds, excitedly discussing details of the match. James had not noticed many things that had taken place from inside the game, and Lily had not seen the small things that James could notice up close, so going over the events of the game together gave new depth to their perspectives. They walked through the grounds hand in hand, so completely lost in their conversation that they only remembered to eventually stop to enjoy their feast once James stomach started to make very audible grumbles.

Lily took a large, red Gryffindor blanket out of the bewitched basket and laid it down on the grass underneath them. Looking around, James saw that they had picked one of the most scenic locations on the entire Hogwarts grounds. They were situated at the top of a hill, sloping downward toward the lake that shined and sparkled in the summer sun. There were a fair number of fully bloomed trees in their midst, allowing them the comfort of shade to lie down in, after walking for ages in the hot sun. As James lied down upon the blanket, he peered up through the canopy of brilliantly green leaves and saw an endless sea of blue above him, with a single white cloud gently making its way across the sky. The Hogwarts castle behind them created an unequaled backdrop of magic, wonder and whimsy that was perfectly encapsulated in the couple. And at the center of it all, the main attraction - Lily Evans. James admired her above all else, and no amount of trees swaying in the breeze, glittering lakes, or angelic castles could rival her perfection in the brunette's eyes. James sat up again as Lily started unpacking their food, revealing sandwiches, salads, mashed potatoes, macaroni salad, chicken, brownies, two pieces of cherry pie, and a jug filled to the brim with pumpkin juice. James' mouth started to water immediately as he gazed upon their feast and as Lily held a sandwich out for him to take, he swooped down and bit it directly from her hand. He smirked and chewed boastfully as his girlfriend rolled her eyes and continued to feed him, shaking her head in disbelief. The bread of the sandwich was incredibly fluffy in texture, but had a resounding crunch at first impact, and was the ideal size to keep the lettuce, cheese, tomato, and bacon inside its boundaries with every bite. James had not actually noticed how hungry he was until he started eating, and he wolfed down the sandwich at lightning speed, finishing the last bite and ending with a final kiss to Lily's fingers. He kissed each finger delicately, treating them like the sacred instruments they were, and then made his way up her palm to her wrist and then to her forearm, leaving a thankful, loving kiss at each destination. Before he reached Lily's elbow, he tilted his head up to hers and placed an equally delicate kiss on her strawberry lips.

"Eat your food, you git," Lily teased him, gently shoving him off of her and handing him a paper plate. "I know I'm utterly irresistible, but I packed a lot of food and I know you're still starving. I promise I'll still be here after we eat." She pecked him on the cheek before helping herself to a plateful of food and started to eat. One thing that James was definitely going to miss about Hogwarts once they graduate would be the food he'd been spoiled on for years. The thought of moving out on his own to make himself food was a daunting one, and he hoped that one day he might still have Lily at his side to share the responsibility with. Having to make his own meals would be a million times better if she was there with him, as would essentially everything in his life. Even though they'd only been together for a few months, Lily Evans felt like forever, and he wanted to share everything with her.

Thump. Whack. Swphoosh.

James and Lily turned their heads immediately to the sudden noise, and discovered it to be coming from the Whomping Willow nearby. A couple of first years seemed to have made a game of running around the violent tree, trying to avoid being hit by one of its thrashing branches. Both he and Lily had warned the Gryffindor first years against it numerous times, but it hadn't deterred them from the rush of adrenaline and bravery that their game brought out in them. James remembered himself being the exact same way when he was younger and hadn't known the secret to keeping the tree still. The marauders used to tempt the tree too, and it wasn't until Remus showed them the passageway to the Shrieking Shack that they stopped treating the tree as a toy and as a commitment to their friend.

"Ugh, they never learn do they?" Lily moaned as she started to get up to stop them, but stopped once she saw that Professor Mcgonagall had beat her to it. James continued to stare at the scene, motionless, transfixed in thought. "They're going to get hurt one of these days, and then they'll be complaining that we didn't stop them! I mean, I'm all for Gryffindor bravery, but there comes a point when bravery becomes stupidity. Not that you and your Marauders really cared much about it either," she concluded, lying down next to James on the blanket and intertwining their legs. James wanted to be able to share everything with Lily, but he didn't want her to be worried for him every full moon if she knew the truth about where the four of them disappeared to every month. If it weren't for Mcgonagall, they never would have been able to become Animagi in the time it took them, and he hated the fact that he was still hiding it from Lily. As he stared out at the Whomping Willow, he remembered every time they passed through that tunnel to spend the night playing with a werewolf in the Shrieking Shack. The four of them always considered it the utmost of bravery, but would Lily be scared for him if she knew the truth? Would she try to stop him? Would she think he crossed the line at which bravery became stupidity?

"So the full moon's coming up... It's just a few days from now isn't it?" Lily stated with a slight inflection in her voice. James snapped his head back to look at her immediately, shaken from his trance, and she cocked her eyebrows at him. She knew. But how could she? The marauders guarded that secret with their lives; no one could ever find out that among them were one werewolf and three illegal animagi. Lily Evans was a smart girl, and James knew that, but how could she possibly know something they had tried for years to conceal from everyone?

"Oh...is it?" James asked nervously, trying to keep his cool. "I haven't really paid much attention to the moon cycles since I dropped astrology." He had to at least act like he didn't know what she was trying to imply.

"Like hell you haven't. James... did you honestly think that I wasn't going to notice when my boyfriend and his three best mates just up and disappear once every month - twice actually in March when there was a blue moon. What? Do you four have a special knitting club that I'm not invited to?" she teased, but in her voice was an air of known truth. She let out a breath and her face softened. "Look...I understand if you don't want to tell me..." she hesitated, "but I'm fairly sure I have a pretty good idea of what's going on and I want to be able to help if I can. If you'll let me." Her facial expression changed, and what was a teasing glint in her eye had turned to masked insecurity and hurt he had not known existed and had never meant to cause.

James had never wanted her to think that he didn't trust her, he trusted her with all his heart, but it had never felt like the right time to tell her. How do you even begin to explain that his best mate, the reserved, polite, well meaning Remus Lupin, was a monster? How could he explain that the three of them did something as dangerous and reckless as becoming animagi at such a young age, and then proceeding to put their lives at risk constantly? He thought through the last year and remembered how close Lily had gotten to all of the Marauders. Although he liked to pretend that she only hung out with them in the first place because she was simply madly in love with James the whole time, he knew that she had made really close connections to all four of them over the last two years. He remembered how hard it had been on Remus to have to hide it from her, as they could never talk plainly about it when she was around - which was almost always, now. Remus had entrusted his biggest secret to James six years ago, and told him that he could tell Lily when he felt the time was right. He knew Remus trusted her, he knew that all the Marauders trusted her with their secret, but he had never known when the right time would present itself. James looked around him, at the beautiful scene surrounding them, and at the girl he loved waiting patiently for him to answer, their legs intertwined in the summer sun and her arms draping over him, her head buried into his shoulder. James Potter was in love with Lily Evans. James Potter trusted Lily Evans. Now was finally the time for him to reveal his last secret to her, and hope that it could only bring them closer to each other, and her closer to the other three Marauders as well.

Lily stared at James with doe-wide eyes for what felt like an eternity after he finished his ramble. Trying to explain the precarious secret that held the Marauders together had actually been harder than James had thought it would be, and he had had to restart the story three times before it started to resemble a chronological truth. The first time around, the brunette had somehow managed to forget to mention the fact that he, Sirius and Peter were animagi, and Lily had been under the impression that the three of them would go into the Shrieking Shack with Remus in their human forms. The second time, James realized he hadn't explained how Moony had become a werewolf in the first place, leaving Lily to think that he had either been born as one or somehow got attacked in the Forbidden Forrest. His third attempt at the tale detailed almost every moment in the boys history together, starting from when Remus was attacked by Fenir Greyback when he was young, to the four of them becoming friends at the opening feast in their first year, to Remus revealing his secret to them, the entire process of the boys' transformation to become illegal animagi with the subtle help of Mcgonagall, multiple detailed accounts of full moons spent together, and essentially everything else leading up to the very moment he was telling her. He knew most of what he was saying had almost no relevance to a thoughtful explanation of the boys actions, but he knew if he wasn't overly detailed, he might leave out important information. The longer Lily remained silent, the more James' worry increased. He knew he had just dumped a lot of information on her but neither of them were ones to keep quiet for very long, especially when they were together.

"You're an idiot you know" she finally broke her silence with a breathy laugh and a jab to his ribs with her elbow. James was about to defend himself but she raised her finger to his lips, silencing him with a raise of her eyebrows and a smile. "But..." she started as she slowly climbed on top of him, straddling his hips and hovering her face above his, "I knew that when I fell in love with you. You're an idiot and I love you so bloody much, James Potter." She lowered herself on top of him and kissed him passionately, their lips dancing together in rhythmic harmony. James wrapped his arms around her small waist, and lifted his chest slightly off of the ground to consume more of Lily's kiss. The two broke apart to breathe and, as the witch went down for another kiss, James raised his finger to his lips, cocking his eyebrows at her. He wanted more than anything for their lips to collide once again, but he needed a few answers himself.

"How long have you known?" he asked, looking at the girl on top of him softly but inquisitively. The Marauders had been so careful to keep their secret safe all these years, yet Lily didn't seem to be very surprised by any of the information he had loaded onto her in such a short time. He expected so many questions to be flying out of her mouth the second he stopped speaking - and instead he was met with a kiss. Not that James could ever complain about the magic that is kissing Lily Evans, but he had to know where they had gone wrong as to let an outsider figure them out.

Lily let out an exhale and bit her lip, clearly wishing they could continue their embrace, but since she had made him spill his guts it was the least she could do to answer his question. "I guess I started noticing the four of you acting particularly on edge around the full moon about three quarters of the way through our sixth year. And then one month the full moon was on a Saturday night - the night that we agreed we would always take off to relax and hang out instead of studying - and you all just disappeared without a word. And then one day a couple months ago, I was studying our Defence Against the Dark Arts book and I stumbled upon page 394, on werewolves, and I remembered how incredibly good Remus was at creating the Wolfsbane potion when we first learned it in Potions. Why would he know how it's made and all of its properties by heart if he didn't need it? That and...I mean you guys do literally call him Moony..." she added with a smirk.

"I told Padfoot that 'Moony' was too obvious for a werewolf, but he insisted no one would figure it out," James explained with a roll of his eyes. The Marauders had always known that Sirius wasn't the greatest at creating code names, but the only other option was "Wolfie", which Remus had been less than enthusiastic about. Still, regardless of the naming decisions, James was still baffled by the fact that his girlfriend could be so smart as to figure it out from that little evidence. He knew that Lily had been part of the so called 'Slug Club' for a while now - regardless of the fact that she was muggle born - and she had always placed at the top of their year, but somehow Lily Evans kept managing to surprise him. He started to twirl her hair slowly, allowing the moment to become quiet and soft, just taking in all of her. She was the smartest person he knew, and the most beautiful, kind, funny, and sweet. He had loved her for so long from afar, that being able to share a tender, quiet moment was all he could ever want.

"I'm really proud of you, you know," Lily admitted, quietly breaking their silence, tracing a line down his chest with her index finger lovingly. "And I'm not going to lie and say I'm not scared for you, because the thought of you getting hurt...the thought of losing you, James, is terrifying. But you're so brave...and caring, and compassionate, and loving...and sexy...and perfec-"

"I'm not perfect, Lily," James interrupted, shaking his head with his eyes closed peacefully. Even James knew he had made mistakes in his past, but Lily made him feel like a new man. Being with Lily made James feel like anything was possible, because she was all he really ever needed. "I'm not perfect" he restated opening his eyes again, taking in the world around him and letting his eyes softly focus on the love of his life. "But I'm yours" he added, as he looked her directly in her never ending green eyes and stroked her cheek delicately with his finger, "forever."

"Forever?"

"Forever."

Time stood still for a couple seconds as they both took in what they had just promised each other. Forever was more than just idle words, it was a commitment, and one that they both knew they could keep. James loved Lily more than he thought a person could love another and, by the way that Lily was looking at him in that very moment, he knew that she felt exactly the same. Words of love and life and happiness were ones that they had used for a while, but forever felt different. Forever felt right. Forever felt like home.

The next thing James knew, time sped up rapidly and their faces were pressed flush against each other's. Lily's velvet soft, strawberry lips were upon his once more, connecting together like jigsaw pieces. He kissed Lily Evans like there was no tomorrow, like this kiss had to last them for their promised forever. As they attacked the others mouth in a fit of love and passion, James slipped his tongue between her lips and fought for dominance as their tongues intertwined and danced inside her mouth. James could feel Lily's hands wandering across his body, feeling everything she could and tickling James in all the right places. His hands were lost in her waterfall of silky, fire-red hair, and as he played and pulled it, he elicited moans and squeaks from the beauty on top of him. He started to migrate his hands downward, leaving her hair, trailing down her spine slowly and wistfully, and eventually reaching their final destination on her perfectly round arse. He grabbed each cheek, massaging and goosing his girlfriend, and in one swift motion flipped their position, leaving him straddling her on the ground. James plunged his tongue even further into Lily's mouth and pressed his entire body on top of her, wanting to be as close as humanly possible. As Lily's hands moved up towards James' head, starting to ruffle and tug at his short, brown hair, James began to feel his jeans becoming tighter and tighter with every second that passed. The young wizard began to rock his hips slightly against Lily, his hands still beneath her arse, lifting her up towards his touch. Just as suddenly as their fit of passion for each other started, it ended just as quickly from a sound that resonated through the air around them -

A wolf whistle.

They both immediately stiffened their entire bodies like boards, and James practically flew off from on top of Lily, who's eyes were as wide as an owls and cheeks as red as her hair. James looked around them and for the first time since they started eating, became very aware of the students surrounding them on the hill. He could feel the eyes glaring down on them, as he realized that the people who had been cheering for him not an hour ago had just witnessed him attempting to dry hump his head-girl girlfriend. James jumped to his feet immediately, grabbing Lily's hand and dragging her to her feet just as fast. He started running the second she was standing, pulling her along behind him before she started to race along with him, completely deserting their basket and blanket and laughing as they went.

"WHERE ARE WE GOING?" Lily squealed as they sprinted hand in hand through the Hogwarts grounds. They couldn't go back to Gryffindor Tower without being dragged into setting up for the Quidditch Cup party, but neither of the two could leave it as they had, the tightness in James' pants only growing stronger as he ran, the wind and summer air hitting his face. He looked to his left at the girl dashing beside him, not a care in the world other than to be alone with him, and he made up his mind.

"I have an idea."