The third door on this corridor James tried to open was locked, just as the first two had been. "Alohomora," he muttered, tapping the door handle a little too aggressively with his wand, but the door didn't budge.

"Where's an unlocked, empty classroom when you need one?" he asked.

"Maybe McGonagall's on to us," Lily suggested. "Either that or she's worried about more school property being damaged. Between Remus melting cauldrons and the rest of you blowing things up, you're probably halfway to destroying the school."

"Me, blow things up?" he replied innocently. "I would never."

Lily made a sceptical noise. James grinned and grabbed her hand, dragging her towards a portrait that swung open when he reached it. They stepped through the gap it revealed into a narrow, dim corridor. "I would suggest we stay in here, but there was a spider the size of my head on the wall once. I swear it nearly killed Padfoot."

"I don't think I fancy being attacked by giant spiders," Lily said sensibly as she followed James down the corridor. "I'll never know how you managed to find all these places. Where are we anyway?"

They came to a dead end and James prodded what appeared to be a stone wall with his wand. The stone disappeared, and on the other side of it was the bottom of a winding staircase. "Near the Slytherin common room. They're so unadventurous I bet none of them ever found this passage even though it's right under their noses - extremely long noses, in certain cases. Anyway, just past these stairs should be…aha!"

A large cupboard made of dark wood was set into the wall, and when James opened it there was nothing inside. "No idea why this is here, but it's always a useful hiding place."

"Good for things other than hiding I hope," Lily grinned. She took James' hand and led him towards the cupboard, tugging him inside after her.

"Cozy," she said as the door clicked shut behind them. "A little bit creepy but I can live with it."

"Better than having half the common room wolf-whistling at us." James took a step towards Lily and reached blindly for her waist. "Merlin, it's dark in here. I'll need a sixth sense just to find your lips."

"Shut up," Lily whispered, reaching up to James and wrapping her arms around his neck. "I believe we have unfinished business to attend to."

James smiled, letting Lily tilt his head down slightly until he could feel the tickle of her eyelids against his cheeks.

"Ah yes," he said. "We're supposed to be having a moment – I remember now."

Giggling, Lily closed the few inches between their lips, smiling as she felt James pull her closer.

The moment their lips met, the cupboard door was yanked open with a groan of its hinges. James felt Lily jump with surprise and they pulled apart, expecting a teacher. As light spilled over them, he blinked, his eyes taking a second to adjust and for the figure in front of him to be resolved into a person.

"What are you doing?!" Lily demanded before James even realised who was on the other side of the door.

"What am I doing?" Snape spat back. "What are you doing? This is disgusting." He waved his hand at them as if he couldn't quite process what he was seeing. "You know you're probably going to catch something from him?"

"Snivellus," James said, his voice full of exasperation, "The concept of kissing is almost certainly one you're not familiar with, but people generally like to be left alone while they're doing it. Just because slimy creatures like you are accustomed to small dark places doesn't mean you get to barge in on us."

"And why are you in here, Potter?" Snape sneered. "Is it because she doesn't want to be seen kissing you of all people?"

"SHE can speak for herself," Lily said, stepping in front of James furiously and edging towards Snape. "Surprisingly, I'm perfectly happy kissing my boyfriend in front of other people. If I recall, the only person here who was ashamed of the company he kept was you. Now if you'll excuse us, we were in the middle of something."

Turning around, Lily put a flat hand against James' chest, gently pushing him back into the supply cupboard and slamming the door in Snape's face. They were both silent for a minute, listening as Snape muttered something to himself then stalked away, his footsteps echoing along the stone floor of the corridor.

"That was brilliant," James grinned, finding Lily's hands and linking their fingers together. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." she replied, "good actually. That was surprisingly therapeutic."

"You're telling me!"

Lily smiled in the dark, reaching up towards James' collar and pulling him down to her level.

"I'm going to kiss you now," she whispered.

James smirked. "Well, if you insist."