Mad. She must be absolutely mad, Lily fumed, as she stared fruitlessly at the contents of her wardrobe. James bloody Potter had asked her on a date and some part of her (the same part of her who thought glue may taste nice when she was seven) said 'yes.'
It was probably going to be a disaster. He was probably going to show up and tell her it was all a joke and collect his 10 galleons from Sirius in front of her. Actually, he probably wasn't going to show up at all.
Despite all of this, Lily couldn't help but be nervous. Butterflies were organizing some sort of tango in her stomach and in spite of her best efforts she was irrationally terrified James would decide he wasn't interested in her after seeing her choice of jumper.
Eventually, after ages of testing earrings against lipstick shades and other embarrassingly girly things, Lily heard the chime of the doorbell.
She peeked down the stairs just in time to catch her father's initial assessment of her date. James smiled politely and made some basic comment on the loveliness of the garden. The sort of niceties, Lily assumed, that were beat into purebloods from birth.
Eventually, just after James had complimented her mother with "I can see where Lily gets her good looks" (Lily almost gagged), he caught her eye and grinned.
Lily's facial muscles reciprocated without consulting her brain.
James relaxed at her reaction, "Hello, Lily. Should we be off then?"
Lily nodded, descending the stairs, "Bye mum and dad. I'll be home by..." she glanced over her father's shoulder as James mouthed something "...midnight."
James opened the front door. Lily shot him a look of surprise, and allowed herself to be led out into the crisp December air.
"So...what now, Potter?"
James beamed and nodded towards an innocuous car.
Lily rounded him incredulously, "You know how to drive a muggle car?"
James smiled sheepishly, "Well...I borrowed this from Arthur Weasley. You remember him? Always tinkering with muggle things, he is. He reckons he can get it to fly one day. Anyway, he gave me a few basic lessons."
Potter had actually bothered to take driving lessons to prepare for the date. Well, that was unexpected. Lily raised an eyebrow and followed him to the car.
"Of course, Weasley's already started experimenting," James pushed a small silver button and Lily gasped, "Invisibility. Cool, right?"
Lily looked down. She, James and the car seemed to have vanished. She felt like just like a pair of eyeballs floating, absolutely panicked, a few feet above the ground.
"Eh...didn't think this through..." James's disembodied voice muttered somewhere to her right, "can't see you...hang on I'll drive into an alley and reappear us."
With a pop James, Lily and the entire vehicle reappeared next to a rubbish bin and a startled cat.
"Sorry, it seemed cool in theory, but no point on being on a date with a beautiful redhead if I can't see her."
Lily was tempted to roll her eyes and make some sort of disparaging comment at this, but something about the matter-of-factness in his voice, as if he was genuinely just thinking aloud instead of trying to flatter her, made her reconsider.
The conversation for the rest of the drive flowed naturally and smoothly. James seemed to have an endless supply of marauder stories, and Lily had a few of her own escapades she couldn't help sharing.
"Well, well...Lily Evans turning Rhonda Crabbe's textbooks into children's coloring books during class. I assume you got old Slughorn to call on her to read a potion ingredient list."
"Naturally. Poor girl looked so frantic. I think Slughorn thinks she's illiterate now," Lily chortled.
James chuckled, "Much subtler than we would have gone for, but impressive all the same, Evans. You are full of surprises."
Lily laughed, strangely pleased with James's praise, "She'd hexed some Hufflepuff first years for no reason! We had to do something."
"Of course, of course, and justice must be served," James said still grinning as he pulled up to an old abandoned factory.
Lily looked around disappointed, hardly the most of romantic of spots. She reprimanded herself for getting her hopes up. The date had been going so well, but James Potter could hardly retain that standard for too long. After all, seventeen-old boys tend to have a strange concept of romance.
"Wait here for a sec," James said as he got out of the car, leaving a bewildered Lily watching as he crossed the road looking around furtively.
As he approached the factory door, James pulled out his wand and tapped the factory door three times. Lily watched as the dingy grey door transformed into a gleaming silver rectangle with gold embellishments. A sign popped up just above it which read "HAVISHAND'S"
James hurried back to the car and opened Lily's door, "Come on."
As Lily approached the door, she couldn't help but be excited. There was something warm and inviting about it and it smelled incredible!
James pushed open the door, "Welcome to Havishand's, Lily, the largest all magical restaurants in Great Britain."
This was one of those moments, like her first time in Diagon Alley or the Great Hall, when Lily wished she had more sets of eyes.
They appeared to be in the foyer of a large, cavernous hall with a two sided grand staircase leading to a balcony area. Tabletops floated, unsupported throughout the room. Bottles of glistening liquids bobbed through the air, automatically filling empty goblets. Wreaths and holly hung from every sconce and the entire restaurant glistened with a thin layer of soft snow. They approached a young, stately looking wizard who stood at the front behind a small podium.
Upon seeing them, he smiled warmly, "Mr. Potter, so good to see you. The usual table, I assume?"
"Yes, please, Cheevers. Thank you."
Lily looked up at James' face. He had adopted an easy confidence and seemed completely comfortable in this grandiose environment. She figured this was likely a normal weekend eatery for him. She and her parents would visit a diner and an ice cream shop when her mother did not want to cook. How different their lives were.
Cheevers led Lily and James to a booth not far from the goblin quartet then politely bowed and excused himself.
"Ever been to a magical restaurant?" James asked, watching bemused as she attempted to drink in all the sights.
Lily shook her head, distracted by the hag and vampire who appeared to be on a date as well.
"Ah, well, then I'm glad I get to share your first experience with you. First things first: what is the most different, Lily?"
Lily glared at him. Pedantic idiot. What wasn't different? Snow that fell by itself, goblins, bottles serving themselves…oh!
"Waiters! There aren't any waiters!"
James laughed, "Yeah, there aren't waiters. Don't need 'em. You just have to tell your plate what you've ordered."
"So all this…the food appearing on its own, the maître d'who knows you on sight all this is normal for you?"
James frowned, "Yeah…a bit I suppose. I mean it's how I grew up. My dad's pretty well known in the Ministry and the Potters are an old wizarding family, so yeah I grew up with house elves and stuffy parties and knowing which side the fork goes on. Boring stuff. Maybe pretty, but boring."
Lily was surprised at this side of Potter. Normally one to show off at the drop of a hat, he seemed completely uninterested in flaunting his opulent lifestyle. James pressed on.
"You, on the other hand, Evans. You grew up with a television and you went to those amusement parks and stuff right?"
Lily was taken aback at the eager glint in James's eye, "Yeah…"
"That's so brilliant!" James said, genuinely appearing to be excited, "Have you ever been in one of those metal bird things…aero-what is it?"
They easily ate through four beautifully constructed courses as Lily explained everything from hairdryers to muggle football. James made a very satisfying audience, interested, curious and easily excited.
Lily found that she was pleased when he smiled because she told a story she was particularly excited about. She noticed that when he was confused, a cute V would form between his eyes. Her stomach jumped slightly when he laughed unexpectedly at something she'd said. James Potter was so expressive and so lovely to watch.
Somewhere in between the steamed lobster and chocolate torte, as James asked about how movie theaters worked, Lily realized it wasn't that she just liked his smile, or his laugh, or the little V. Lily realized that she may in fact, like James Potter.
Lily blushed at the thought and averted her eyes from his excited face. She fumbled with her napkin, losing her train of thought (she was in the middle of explaining how film made moving pictures).
How did this happen? She'd agreed to go on the date, partially to shut him up and partially because he'd been nice enough lately. Sure, she'd had some sort of crush on him and appreciated his attention more and more of late, but this was a wholly different feeling. This was…she hoped to spend evenings talking to him under the stars. She hoped her parents would like him. She wanted to see that pointed nose and those eyes and that hopeless messy hair every day.
She was overwhelmed by the suddenness and intensity of it all.
She felt a large, warm palm pressed against her cheek, slowing her rushing mind. She looked up vulnerably, every bit of her wit and sarcasm had deserted her.
"You ok?" James asked quietly, sounding concerned.
Lily swallowed, yes, no? Neither seemed quite accurate. She wanted to run and think, but her mouth had a different idea.
"Kiss me, James."
His hand cupped her face and gently caressed her soft hair as he leaned in. His lips covered hers, kissing her gently. His lips were soft against hers and her heartbeat quickened. Almost too soon, he broke the kiss slowly, and Lily rested her forehead against his. She realized that their fingers had intertwined and that her heart had become entangled as well.
Merry Christmas, Lily Evans, you may have just gotten yourself a boyfriend this year.