This was inspired by the Lucas and Peyton scene in the One Tree Hill episode 'Over the Hills and Far Away' (3x21). This is my first fanfiction upload, so please bear with me while I try to get to grips with this site! If you notice any errors, feel free to let me know so I can edit it!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from HP or One Tree Hill!
Hope you enjoy!
"You idiot!" Marlene McKinnon screeched, hands on her hips and eyes flaming. At least Sirius Black had the decency to look a tiny bit remorseful. "Why would you give Mary a sardine flavoured Bertie Bott? You should know that she's allergic to fish. Argh, Black"
"Ah, honest Marl, I had no clue, she looked like she needed a pick me up", Sirius protested feebly with his hands outstretched in case she resorted to projectiles. He pushed his black hair out his eyes and flashed her his signature charming grin.
"Don't you smile at me Black, now who's going to play Alice? The next scene is supposed to begin in 5 minutes and unless you can transfigure yourself to have lady bits or brew up some Polyjuice potion and turn into Alice, you're going to wake up a lot less handsome then you are right now", she snarled back and Sirius choked back a laugh at 'lady bits'
"Handsome eh? I'm sure we can come to some sort of agreement", he winked suggestively at her but Marlene's stance did not weaken. "Okay, okay, we'll fix this! No worries McKinnon" he looked around the classroom where a group of Hogwarts students had gathered to celebrate Frank and Alice's engagement. He had to give it to Marlene; she had pulled out all the stops and not left one inch undecorated. The Transfiguration classroom which Professor McGonagall had begrudgingly allowed them to borrow for the night was an enchanted spectacle. Wreaths of golden ivy with deep red flowers circled the room and the ceiling had been bewitched to a swirling essence of plum coloured vapours. Small beads of silver light floated around and he watched as some of the students reached out and grabbed them, before releasing them to drift away. They had been watching a performance of Frank and Alice's relationship, as recounted right from the start, much to Alice's humour and Frank's deep embarrassment. The room had been filled with jeering and awes and as everyone clinked their glasses of Firewhisky (which had been smuggled in by Peter and Remus from Madame Rosmerta's), there had been a mutual agreement that the show was brilliant. If it managed to end. Sirius really hadn't meant to poison Mary, to use Marlene's exact words, but now they were left without an Alice and James was getting frustrated standing in his Frank get-up. He looked pointedly at Sirius with an expression that said fix it or else you'll find yourself missing a crucial body part.
Gathering his wits, he scanned the room before spotting a flaming swirl of red hair and he smiled was about to kill two birds with one stone.
"Ah, just one moment love", and sidestepping Marlene, he made his way over to Lily Evans who was giggling in an animated exchange with Jessica.
"Lily! My best mate!" Lily stopped laughing to look at her fellow Gryffindor and raise an eyebrow.
"What have you done wrong and what do you need Black?" Jessica edged away to join a conversation with Owen Goldbleak, gazing at him with adoring eyes that he was sure to miss.
"Well…you see…" he recounted the issue and what she could do and he watched her eyes enlarge to the size of tennis balls.
"No. Absolutely not!" Lily looked aghast.
"Come on Evans! Be a good sport, for Frank and Alice! Alice, your BFF!"
"First of all, please don't ever utter the phrase BFF again. Secondly, Black, I am not a performer in anyway. Merlin, when I was 8, I was playing a Lost Boy in Peter Pan and I had one line, just the one. And when it was time for me to deliver it, I froze until the teacher had to come on and scoot me off stage!" she exclaimed slightly frantically.
Pretending he knew what she was talking about, Sirius continued to encourage her.
"Evans, it's just us! Think of how disappointed Alice would be if the performance couldn't continue, just when it was getting to the juicy, sentimental part. And think of how happy it would make Alice to see you step in bravely and continue the good deed"
Her resolution was crumbling, but he had one last blow to make her concede.
"And Prongs needs you! He was so excited about this, he memorised all his lines as well. Merlin, I heard him muttering them in his sleep", it was a stretch far. James had been anything but excited for this when Marlene approached him and it had taken her to threaten missing Quidditch practices for him to concede, but when Lily lightly nodded, he grinned.
"Come along then Evans"
"Ouch, Marlene!" Lily's green eyes gave her best friend a glare as she felt a sharp tug on her hair.
"Stop being a wimp! You didn't let me transfigure your hair, at least let me pin it up. And stop fidgeting with that dress, it looks fine", she stepped back to access her work. She had pinned up Lily's red waves in a half up-do and the gossamer of the green dress, swished around her mid-thigh, making her eyes glow and giving her an ethereal look, "Actually, it looks better than fine, hey you look rather pretty Lils"
"Yeah, nice tone of surprise Marlene. Now you're sure, it's just these few lines right?" she tugged the dress self-consciously. She was already missing the comfort of her checked shirt and jeans.
"Yes, Lily, just one line, you basically just have to stand there and James will do the work okay?"
Lily giggled, "Is this what really happened?"
"Yeah, I wheedled it out of Alice. She was pretty much frozen while Frank declared his feelings for her. Apparently, he was even worried that she'd gone into shock and it was only after he mentioned 's that she snapped out of it"
She gave Lily a reassuring squeeze on her arm and pushed her towards the entrance to the stage. Gulping, she heard James mutter something on stage and recognising her cue, she walked on. The stage was filled with an amber glow and she did her best to avoid the faces of her peers staring up at her. She caught Alice's face who gave her a thumbs up and Lily turned around to face James, she could do this. It was only James. Just James. She had spent months alone with him this year, chairing Prefect meetings, patrolling the corridors, organizing the end of year ball, getting to know a side of him that she had refused to acknowledge before. She knew that his favourite colour was green and that he supported Puddlemere United. He had told her about his likes and dislikes, his dreams and his family, how he missed his father and his concern for his mother. He had expressed his vitriol against the pure blood prejudice and was quick to hand out punishments to any student who expressed discrimination against another's blood status. And more importantly, she had allowed him to get to know her. She let him closer; let him see her soft sides and her sharp angles and her messy sides. She showed him bits of her soul, told him about her past and her wishes and fears for the future. And sometimes, she let her hand graze gently over his and she saw deep in his eyes, that he wanted more than anything for her to let him hold it, but she pulled away before he could. These moments had brought them closer into a relationship that she hadn't realised she had wanted all along. Being with James was like breathing and she had found herself falling.
On stage, her green eyes met his hazel ones and she saw the shock register in his eyes as his hands ruffled his hair, ruining Marlene's attempt to tidy it to resemble Frank's. She liked it better this way, it was so James and it calmed her. He was dressed in jeans and a muggle band t-shirt (Frank's standard attire) and his voice stumbled for a moment as he registered her presence across from him, before he continued confidently.
"Look Alice, I know you're scared. I was scared, believe me. There's a war going on and nothing's certain. I could die tomorrow or the day after. But the one thing, the only thing I'm certain of is how I feel about you. If I die in the next 5 minutes, after hearing you say those words back to me and feeling you in my arms, that's okay with me"
"Don't say that Ja-Frank. You don't mean that" her voice came out, soft but clear.
"I do. Well, I'd rather not die within 5 minutes, but don't you get it?" his voice came out urgently as he strode closer to her. "I want you more than anything else in the world. Screw the war and screw what people are saying about you. Forget your worries. You are my person, you are it for me"
"How can you say that? Being with me, it could hurt you. I'll endanger you, or worse, get you killed. Don't you understand how that would make me feel? I can't imagine a world without you; it wouldn't be my world without you living in it because you're my person too. What makes you even think I would accept putting you in danger?" her voice was almost a whisper now as she breathed the words that had been embedded in her mind. She was briefly aware of her friends staring at her slightly confusedly from the audience and of Marlene's wide eyes and open mouth as she glanced at the script for an indication of where Lily was getting her lines, but Lily found that she no longer cared.
"Oh, haven't you figured it out yet? I was in danger from the moment I saw you", he was inches away from her now. He reached out to tuck in a curl that had come undone and she could feel the warmth radiating off his hand as it grazed against her cheek. The smell of wood, rain and green apples filled her senses.
"I love you. You know that, don't you?" his voice was soft now and his shoulders slackened vulnerably but his dark eyes never left hers. She knew that he wasn't acting anymore. He wasn't playing Frank; he was James, just James. Her James.
She paused for a moment, looking up at him as green eyes met hazel ones until it was just them.
"Yes", it was a relief to say what had been daring to burst from her heart all this time. "I love you too" and she closed the gap between them, putting one hand around his neck and one on his broad chest. Her eyes fluttered close as one of his hands held her waist and the other made its way into her hair. His lips moved softly against hers but his eyes remained open, focused on her. He never wanted to stop seeing her or holding her. She had held his heart in her hands for so long and he was glad that now she was giving him a chance to do the same. Closing his eyes to Lily Evans' pale skin, he tasted the strawberry and chocolate on her lips as he felt his heart finally loosen and his breathing ease. They were finally were they were always meant to be.
As they broke apart to cheering and a standing ovation, James gripped her hand and gave her a smile which she returned. She nudged him playfully and they turned around to their audience, blushing slightly at the sight. Remus was at the front smiling knowingly at her and Peter was whooping. Alice was resting her head on Frank's shoulder and she nodded at her with approval while Frank gave her a wink.
Backstage, Sirius found Marlene as she continued flicking through her pages.
"What? Where did all of that come from? I didn't write those lines and I certainly didn't write in that kiss! James said he'd feel uncomfortable even pretending to kiss Mary"
Amusedly, Sirius yanked the script out of her hand and put an arm around her waist.
"Come on Marlene. Wasn't it you that said love will always find a way?"
As it finally dawned on Marlene, she gasped and looked at Sirius, glee in her eyes.
"I knew it. Finally, they found each other"
And indeed they had.