Eyes of gold.
Chapter 1: A burning quill.
I dragged my sleepy, saggy self up the spiral staircase that led to the Head's dorm. "Lily." a voice called. I turned around. Just my luck. It was James-bloody idiot-Potter. I knew it before he opened his mouth so I saved him the effort. As it was, I was not even remotely in the mood. "Please Potter. Just because you too are a head doesn't mean that you suddenly are allowed to snog mine. Okay? So knock it off. I'm not even going to bother cursing you this time." I gave him a piercing look and started turning back, but he quickly reached up and took my hand. Furious, I was about to break my own vow and curse him when he stepped back and ruffled his hair saying, "Sorry Lily. I wasn't going to ask you out. You just dropped your quill. Good night." he raised his hand half-way to wave goodbye, but then just sighed and walked off, most probably to roam around at night. I looked at my hand. He had slipped a quill into it. The eagle feather one, which I liked so much. I stared at the closed door behind which he'd disappeared.
Before I slept, I kept the quill with unusual care on my bedside table. Suddenly I heard a knock at the window."Carol! Oh, boy, where you been?" I babbled rushing over to the window and letting my dear little spotted owlet in. I opened the letter which had no address and no name on it save a scrabbled 'Lily' which looked so damp and crumpled that if that 'Lily' had really been me, I could be sure of having bathed in the sea first. The letter was from Alice Prewett, my best friend and substitute, much better substitute for an elder sister.
Dearest Lily!
Guess what? I'm engaged! I know, I know. Your eyes have got to be bulging out, right?
It was so sweet, you know. We'd just finished Auror training and Frank was taking me on a date. We never made it because of what happened in Diagon Alley, of course. We had to go help. Don't worry, everything's fine. Everyone's okay, barring Lestrange, I think. Frank got her right in the stomach with an impedimenta spell and I stupified her at the same time. Then, after it was all over, Frank side-along apparated me on his street and right there, under that street lamp he said that he couldn't see me in that kind of danger and not know if I belonged to him. I asked him what he was talking about and he produced the ring asking me to marry him. I said yes, of course. It made sense, you know and I do love Frank. He was going to ask me at our date, but then he thought better late than never.
Oh, Lily, it's your last year at Hogwarts, you're gonna be studying so hard! So, I'm enclosing a little gift for you. It's a suger quill. Suck on it in class instead of sulking on studies! No, just kidding. I wanted to give you something sweet to go with the news.
Send me a reply!
Hugs and kisses, and tarts and puddings,
Alice :)
I grinned, feeling blissfully happy for my friend as I gave her my congrats and spared her one of my precious chocoballs to go with the news. Still smiling I tossed a few treats to Carol to persuade him to deliver the letter. I closed the window starring at the small speck that flew towards my dear friend. Yawning, I went to the bed to find it occupied. I picked the sugar quill that had fallen out before. It didn't look like a suger quill to me. Maybe it was a new kind. I placed it on my bedside table anyway and prepared to go into Slumberland, when the 'suger quill' burst into flames. Half-asleep as I was, I staggered back and tried to grab my wand, which unfotunately was beside the two quills. When the fire did not stop, I knew it was some sort of spell, but knowledge was not useful right now. I had to reach my wand, but it was already burning and shooting off sparks. Suddenly, a jet of water doused both me and my table and all it had on it and it put the fire out. My wand unhurt and unburning lay on the little scorched table. My favourite quill too lay with all it's feathers intact. And behind me stood James Potter with his wand out. How did he get here? I asked myself, eyeing him with the corner of my eye. "What happened?" he asked. I'm not sure myself, I thought, but turned and said,"You got me drenched. What are you doing here?" He looked at me confusion clear on his face,"You screamed. Like, as loud as Merlin himself could. So I came to see what the matter was." That had been me screaming? " I screamed?" I put my doubt into words. "Yes. Loudly." James answered. He was being cautious, like he was afraid I might lash out at him again. It was true. I did it every time I saw him. But that was my only vent out for the NEWTs and Head duties stress. "Who gave that to you?" he asked pointing at a lump of burned feathers of the quill Alice had sent. "It came with a letter from a friend. It must have been a mistake. You never know these days what they sell in Diagon Alley." I said, remembering with a jolt what Alice had said. James looked at me with an expression I had never seen before. "The room's smokey. You wanna go get some air?" Yes, the room was definitely smokey. And I was suffocating. But outside...''Alright." I said, following him out. After all, he wasn't really asking me out, was he? Plus, his head was now deflated enough that I actually had started tolerating him and if he tried anything, I always had my wand.
Sitting in the astronomy tower, right on the railing, I felt like I was flying. Not on a broomstick, just flying. The wind whipped all around me and blew my hair back. My feet were firmly planted on the ledge but now, I freed my hands from the railing and stretched one out to touch the breeze. Even with everything going wrong in the world outside, this was one moment that gave me a break from it all. All the hideous things happening outside Hogwarts and the tests and stress and tension within it. I had found a break, A laspe just as Alice had. James was silent beside me. Watching me. Not discreetly like he usually did out of fear I would hex him, but openly. Just looking at me, observing me. And then, sudden as the gust of wind that hit me then, kissing me. His lips were soft and gentle against mine, not at all the fiery passion that I would have expected. For a long time I did not do anything but grip the railing with both hands. I didn't even close my eyes. I could feel somehow, that this was the last time he was ever going to try. That, after this he would just give up asking me out. His lips started to draw away from mine. They finally did. He jumped down onto the floor and said,"Lily, I love you. I just wanted you to know. I wanted to do that just once. Throw any hex you want at me, but just remember that I love you." He just stood there with his eyes closed, posture relaxed except for the creases of worry on his temple. I turned on the railing, not caring that I was turning my back on an eagle's eye view and shot a spell at him that would pull him towards me. Then I put my wand back in my pocket and put my lips to his. He sighed in wonder, surprise and estacity. When we finally pulled apart he chuckled,"And I wanted you to do that to me forever." and then kissed me again pulling me down.
A/N:
Hello, readers! This is my first James and Lily fan fiction story so I would like any suggestions or any criticism if you could give me any. Praise, of course, I would not deny. So please review and tell.
-Phoenix