Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Lily and James. Even though they are my favorite fanfic couple! But I do own my plot... and no I did not write the following quote either. And "China Roses" is by Enya... great song, listen to it if you haven't already!
"Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction."
- Antoine De Saint-Exupéry
Of Birch Trees and Autumn Leaves
By: Snow and Spindrift
Autumn was Lily's favorite season.
It must have been the trees. All during summer and spring, they were a nice fresh green, and in winter, snow drifted lazily over their bare branches and blanketed everything in a pure, shining white. But somehow the brilliant yellows and ambers and reds of the fall trees seemed so much more alive to Lily, echoing simultaneously the pensiveness of winter and the life and laughter of summer and spring.
It was for this reason, the simple reason of watching the trees, that when she awoke in her comfortable four-poster bed at 6:00 AM, she did not snuggle back beneath the covers. Instead she got up, stretched, threw on a sweatshirt, t-shirt and jeans, and, leaving her hair down and uncombed, walked out of the girls dormitories on her way out of the castle.
She had her hand on the back of the Fat Lady's portrait to push it open, when a sound behind her made her turn. Soft snoring was coming from a couch near the fire. Deciding she wasn't in a rush to be anywhere, she walked carefully toward it. Sprawled across the cushions was James Potter.
He was stretched out across the couch, with his head resting on one armrest, and his feet propped up on the other. A book was open flat against his chest, and upon closer inspection, Lily saw the words "Transfiguration, Year 6" printed in curvy letters on the cover. She couldn't help smiling to herself, as she remembered how many times her friends had found her just like this, lying on her back in their dorm with an open book, snoring away. She always had to read before she went to sleep, whether it was 9:00 in the evening or 2:00 in the morning.
Letting her gaze drift upward to James's face, she marveled at how much younger he looked when he was asleep. His ebony hair was in complete disarray. But then, it always looked like that, whether he was asleep or not.
A particularly loud snore from James brought Lily's thoughts back to the common room. Blinking, she wondered vaguely how long she had been standing there watching him sleep. She turned and walked to the portrait. Just as she placed one foot outside, the sleeve of her sweatshirt hooked on the side of the painting. With a small cry and a much larger crash,she tumbled outside. The Fat Lady, who had been snoozing quietly, awoke with an indignant cry as her portrait slammed shut.
"Really!" she scolded, as Lily picked herself up from the ground. "All I ask is one word from you students, and I always open when you give it, but do I ever get so much as a 'thank you'? Do I? I don't think so! Absolutely no respect..."
"I'm sorry," Lily said hurriedly, "I didn't mean to slam your portrait, my sweatshirt caught." And she took off at a quick walk down the corridor, leaving the Fat Lady muttering something about excuses. I hope I didn't wake James up, Lily thought distractedly.
Slipping out through the doors, Lily took a breath of thecrisp autumn air. She turned east and headed up a small hill to her favorite spot on the grounds. Atop the hill were two tall birch trees, dusted with sunshine as Lily crested the hilltop and looked through them toward the rising sun. Wandering over to one of them, she sat at its base, leaned her back against it, and looked out over the forest.
It was as if the trees had been in cocoons all during the other three seasons, and at the arrival of autumn, escaped in a brilliant flash of red and gold and spread their new wings over the surrounding grounds.
A loud crash brought James back to consciousness. He sat up, looking wildly around. Unable to find the source of the noise, he massaged the back of his neck. He had a terrible crick in it from sleeping like that all night...
His Transfiguration book had fallen to the ground as he started awake, and he picked it up and set it on the table. What time was it anyway? He checked his watch, then groaned. 6:15 AM? When was the last time he had woken up this early? For a moment he sat and stared at the book on the table, trying to will himself into picking it up and reading some more. You're going to regret it... you've got to read 100 more pages and you haven't even begun to think about Slughorn's essay.
But glancing up at the window that faced the grounds, he saw the red and golden treetops of the forest, and he knew he would never be able to concentrate...
Leaning her head back against the trunk also, Lily's thoughts wandered back to James. She wasn't sure what she thought of him. Last year he had been such an idiot, pulling pranks on innocent first years, and cursing Snape every time they met. He had seemed so pompous and full of himself, that the two of them had argued almost daily, usually over some prank James and the other Marauders had pulled. Unfortunately, more and more of these pranks began to be directed at Lily as she grew more and more annoyed at the boys over the year.
She had returned this year, fully expecting their level of maturity to have dropped yet another notch, but finding instead that, at least in James's case, it had actually risen. They haven't pulled nearly as many pranks, and none on me yet, Lily mused, reaching behind her and knocking on the tall white trunk. And his sense of humor, which seemed like it was so often at other people's (Slytherin's, mainly) expense last year, had recently caused her to burst out laughing on numerous occasions.
And now that she was able to look past the old James, whom, last year, she had cast out of her mind without a second thought, she was able to see someone else. And lately he had been creeping into her idle mind more and more often. She had found her self watching him in classes, had picked up on many of his quirky habits, like how he bit his lower lip when he was concentrating particularly hard, or how ruffling up his hair was becoming more of a reflex to anything that moved than a habit.
The sound of soft footsteps on the leaves made her open her eyes and peer around the tree. With the morning sun streaming through the branches, it would have been impossible to tell who the figure was, if she hadn't recognized the person's hair, sticking up in every direction possible.
James appeared not to have seen her, but made his way over to her same tree, sat down on the opposite side, and leaned his head back. Lily was drifting between whether to say something to him or not, when he started to hum a song in a slow, lazy tone. Lily stopped wondering about talking to him, in fact, she stopped thinking at all. The tune made her think of the leaves above her, and the morning sun, reaching its rays out across the earth, and lighting up all that had before been dark.
The song seemed to her to go on forever, or at least much longer than it actually did. As it ended, and echoed away into the sky, Lily sighed and closed her eyes. Forgetting that James didn't know she was there, she asked softly, "What song is that?"
James jumped and spun around. "Lily?" he said, upon recognizing her. "I... I didn't see you."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." She smiled contentedly at him. The song had left her feeling light and airy, like she could fall asleep right here under the trees, but at the same time wanted to jump up and run circles around them, just for the heck of it.
Her smile was slowly reflected in his eyes, and he grinned back at her. "To answer your question, it's called 'China Roses'. It's a Muggle song." He scooted around the tree so he could talk to her without having to crane his neck around.
Lily smiled and looked out at the amber treetops. "It's beautiful."
James said nothing. She could see him watching her out of the corner of her eye, and turned to meet his eyes.
She had never really noticed how many colors they held. From a distance, she would have dismissed them as "brown", but this close she saw they had patches of green and gold in them too. They had a certain pensiveness, but also a joyous look of life in them.
They were all the seasons in one.
"Yes." he said quietly, "Beautiful."
She was held for a moment more by those striking eyes, and searched for the truth in them. What she found made her stomach flip, and at loss for anything to do, she looked back at the forest in front of them. I don't know what I feel about him... he was so stupid last year! But this year... this year...
"Lily," he said, and then paused, searching for the right words. She looked back at him, and saw a question in those coppery eyes. "Lily," he started again, with the tone of someone who had decided that directness was the best way to go, "I know I've been a prat in the past, and I've tried, harder than you may ever know, to change it. And do you know why?"
Looking at him then, she thought she had a feeling "why". But she took it as a rhetorical question, and said nothing.
James's voice grew quieter, as he whispered, "It was for you, Lily." He took a small breath, and continuing, said, "I've tried to tell whether it's changed anything between us, but you're too good at hiding you feelings. I'm just going to ask you straight: What do you think of me?"
And looking into his eyes, she saw reflected the lingering notes of that song, and knew exactly what she felt.
"I think you're a nice, funny guy who can make me laugh at just about anything... and who's outgoing and relaxed around his friends, but who I think is shyer than he lets on... and who apparently has a wonderful singing voice... and... and who is... just a really nice guy overall," she finished in a rush and a small grin.
His eyes were smiling as he bent his head to her slightly. The small flecks of gold flitted through the surrounding green and brown in his eyes. Whether they were a reflection of the leaves above or if they had always been there, she didn't know. "Just a really nice guy..." he echoed.
Her smile widened as she lifted her chin and went on, "A really nice guy who doesn't realize just how cute he is."
"Cute?" he repeated, with an expression that suggested he associated "cute" with teddy bears.
She tilted her head back and laughed then. Her untamed auburn hair fell down her back and she looked up into the splash of orange and gold above. Closing her eyes and smiling, she said, "Cute, handsome, attractive, better-looking... what do you want from me, James?" Bringing her gaze back to him, she realized he had moved closer still. Some of the laughter had gone from his eyes, to be replaced with a look of distinct seriousness and something else she couldn't name.
"This," he said simply, and closed the small remaining space between their lips.
Warmth flooded her body as their lips met, and the light feeling that had possessed her while James had been singing now engulfed her, and she slid her arms around his neck and kissed him back, so as to not float away into the sky.
After a moment, they broke apart, and James brought his hand up to her cheek and brushed a loose strand of hair away from her face. She leaned into his touch, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. With her head resting lightly on his chest, Lily and James gazed out at a bright new sky, lit by a rising sun that spread its warmth and comfort out over the glowing trees. Its brilliance was mirrored in the eyes of the two sitting at the base of a tall birch.
Above it all, the notes of the drifting song floated on a breeze. And whether it emanated from the sun, the lovers, or the trees themselves, it was impossible to tell.