It was one of those mornings where the sun shone brightly, the birds chattered happily, and the world just seemed brighter; it was one of those mornings where it was impossible to be in a bad mood.
James sat at the Gryffindor table, enjoying his breakfast quietly when Sirius and Remus came and sat next to him. Sirius put a hand on his back,
"How are you feeling mate?" A concerned frown was on his face.
Confused, James swallowed his toast and nodded "I'm great, how are you?"
"You're in a good mood" Sirius raised an eyebrow at his friend.
"Why wouldn't I be?" He chuckled and looked at Remus who sat across from him who was already unfolding his morning paper with a stern look aimed at Sirius.
"Sirius let him be, he hasn't heard and it's not even true."
"Hush Moony he has to know this. There's a rumour going around." He scooted closer to James who leaned back uncomfortably.
"Yeah, I heard there was a rumour that you two were secretly shagging but why…is it true?" He looked between Sirius and Remus, eyes wide with horror.
"No not that rumour." Sirius waved him off. Remus facepalmed and threw an apple at his friend. A satisfied grin made its way on his face when the fruit hit Sirius' head before he turned to address James.
"There's a rumour going around that Lily has been seeing someone, but it's just a rumour. I don't know why Sirius is so anxious to tell you even though it's not true." Remus stressed at the last word and James stiffened.
Sirius rubbed his head and glared at Remus. "It could be true," he said defensively "we've all noticed Evans is a lot happier, not paying attention in class, coming in late, and staying out till midnight. I don't know about you guys but this seems like a big issue." Sirius explained with an innocent shrug then reached to scoop some scrambled eggs onto his plate.
"James," Remus's assuring voice pulled James out of this thoughts "this is stupid. Don't stress yourself with pointless talk. If you're worried talk to Lily, but listening to all the chatter people say will drive you mad." James nodded at his friend's wise words. He knew the meaningless things people say weren't always true. But he couldn't stop the heavy feeling in his chest from growing.
Throughout the day, James tried to catch Lily and ask her if what he heard was true. However, that didn't prove to be an easy task, he didn't find her anywhere. To add on top of it, the professors didn't seem to care where she was. They didn't even ask for her.
There was one place where she'd have to show eventually: the heads common room.
That's how James ended up sitting in the common room on the chair that faced the portrait entrance. The only light came from the fireplace to his right illuminating half his face. It was truly a dramatic scene, a scene which would have made Sirius teary-eyed with pride.
It was around 1 a.m. when the sound of the portrait door swinging open echoed off the high ceilings of the old castle walls. Lily stumbled inside with a wide smile pulling on her flushed cheeks. James noticed her dishevelled clothe and was that mud covering her face and uniform?
If James was mad before he was absolutely fuming now.
"Potter" Lily gasped in fright, a hand went up quickly to her chest.
"Good evening, Evans. Mind telling me where you till such a late hour?" His scolding tone rigid and menacing as he crossed his arms, head tilted, awaiting her answer.
She scoffed, "Sorry mother." And stepped forwards to go to her chambers.
"Hold it right there, Lily Evans." He stood up quickly. Lily halted and turned around to be met with his stern frown.
"Can I help you, Potter?" It was her turn now to cross her arms as she raised a challenging brow at him.
"Yes you can, by telling me where you were this fine evening." he took a step towards her.
"That's none of your business." Her answer slapped him across his face as she too took a step towards him.
"You know Evans," another step "there's a rumour going around, that you are shagging some guy." He shrugged innocently, hands buried in his pocket. "And honestly, you coming in at this time looking like that," he motioned at her with one hand, causing her to look down at her state of dress, "the rumours seem true." He finished in a matter-of-factly tone.
Lily looked at him for a couple seconds then chuckled. "Whatever James, I'm too tired for this, I'm going to bed." She was about to leave when James grabbed her arm and pulled her close to him gently but firmly. Their chests were touching and the tension in the room seemed to shift dramatically.
"Lily, I'm serious." He looked directly into her eyes, she swallowed thickly and cleared her throat.
"No you're not, you're James." She tried to lighten the mood, there was a hint of a smile on his lips and he loosened his grip but his gaze on her remained intense.
"Lily, you know what I mean" His tone was much gentler now, not aggressive but not pleased either.
"Why does it even matter that much?" She didn't dare look away from his piercing hazel eyes. Her voice was down to a whisper now, their proximity making it difficult for her think.
"It matters because for the past 6 years I've been practically in love with you while you kept on rejecting me and making fun of me in the cruellest ways." He took a deep breath and looked at her with honest eyes. "Lily if it's true that you're…with someone, then I deserve to hear it from you at least, not from other people." Guilt flooded Lily's system and she looked away.
There goes nothing, Lily thought.
"James for Merlin's sake, it's just a rumour." She smiled up at him. "If I were dating or shagging some guy, trust me you'd know" James let out a breath of relief but didn't move away from her, instead their proximity remained, chest to chest, noses almost brushing, staring into each other's eyes.
"What do you mean I'd know? And where were you?" James's eyebrows knitted in confusion.
She ignored his first question and rolled her eyes instead. "I can't tell you much, but what I can tell you is that I've been with Hagrid and we were in the forest. The reason why we were in the forest is strictly between Dumbledore, Hagrid, and I." She beamed up at him and James had a million questions but decided not to ask.
"So…you're not with someone?" He asked for reassurance
"No, although I do have someone in mind." She said nonchalantly with a shrug of her shoulder.
James stiffened "Who is it?" he realized his tone probably came out as aggressive so he cleared his throat and tried again. "Do I know them?" he hoped he sounded less interested this time, although on the inside he was ready to show this bloke hell.
"Yes you do," Lily took a deep breath and pushed herself closer to him, "he is a little bit of a prat, to be honest, but very caring he's also sweet and kind but he doesn't like to show it." She could practically see steam rising from James' head from jealousy. What an idiot.
"Who is he?" he smiled very much like a murderer.
"You may know him; he has a big head, an ego the size of Great Britain, also a marauder." She hinted hoping he'd finally catch on as she twirled her hair playfully.
"Sirius?" he was very confused now and a bit betrayed.
"Isn't Sirius shagging Remus?" she stopped her actions and frowned up in question.
"Who even knows these days." He seemed to be preoccupied with thinking if Sirius was shagging Remus.
'Oh good God give me the patience to not slap him' Lily thought to herself as she rolled her eyes
"James you idiot, it's you." She told him, a blush creeping up on her cheeks at the boldness of her words. James froze, processing her words and couldn't figure out what to say so he did what he dreamt of doing all these years; he kissed her.
Although surprised, Lily didn't waste time in moving her lips against him. She giggled into the kiss while wrapping her arms around his neck. James growled and pulled her closer towards him, loving the way her body fit against his.
Years of pent up sexual tension threatened to consume them as the kiss deepened and tongues met, their hands roamed over each other desperate to bring the other as close as possible. Everything faded away, they needed nothing but each other…but sadly they needed oxygen too.
They broke apart both gasping for air; he rested his forehead on hers.
"For a second I was ready to kill Sirius" he chuckled and breathed in her scent.
"Well, he is rather sexy." She joked but the thought of anyone taking her away from him when he finally had her in his arms consumed him like fire. Growling, he crushed his lips against hers, this time much harder than the last, hoping he'd erase all thoughts of other men from Lily's mind but little did he know that she couldn't see anyone but him.
A/N: This rewrite goes out to Theodora Snowbird, racheeelll, and Telturwen. I wrote this years ago but your reviews inspired me to reread it (god, it was like torture) and rewrite it (hopefully better and improved.)
Thank you, guys. I hope you all like it!