James Potter and the Sofa of Reasonable Comfort

She walked quietly down into the common room, not wanting to wake anyone up. She reached room, to be greeted with the orange glow of the dying embers of the fire. She headed over to the couch in front of the fire, planning to sit gazing into it and organise her thoughts.

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"Are you planning to go to bed anytime soon?" Remus asked, shooting one last look at James as he left the common room. James didn't reply, just continued staring into the fire, thinking about her. His fingers brushed through his dishevelled, black hair, unconsciously, as the dark red shades of the burning embers reminded him of her hair.

Her image burning in his mind. If only, if only he could convince her.

He continued staring into the fire, not even noticing as the hours past by. He was preoccupied with memories of her, the smile she gave freely, the spring in her step as she walked making her beautiful dark red hair bounce, the twist of her wrist as she hexed him for asking her out once again in front of the entire school.

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She walked towards the couch. A metre away from it, she suddenly realised that there was someone seated on it already. She approached silently, not wanting to disturb them.

She almost gave a start when she realised who it was. "James?" she whispered, immediately mentally slapping herself for referring to him by his first name.

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"James?" her angelic voice came from behind him. He almost jumped. Turning quickly, he hoped he wasn't dreaming it.

She was standing just behind the couch, looking at him startled. "Why… why are you still up?" she asked, adding as an afterthought "Potter"

----

She hoped he hadn't heard the tremble in her voice, or noticed the tone in which the words were uttered.

He smirked. "I could ask you the same thing, Lily."

She sighed, "I couldn't sleep. I thought looking at the fire would soothe me."

His smirk became a genuine smile. "I guess I could say the same thing. Though I didn't really try to sleep." A laugh came abruptly from his mouth.

Her eyes widened. "You've been down here all this time? It's 5 am Potter!"

He shrugged. "Had a lot on my mind."

She shook her head. "We have class tomorrow. It's just like you to spend all night out of bed" she frowned. "I really do wonder why Dumbledore made you Head Boy."

He gave a slight grimace, wondering whether she knew how much that blasé comment had hurt him. She suddenly reached up to brush away a solitary strand of hair from her face, making him notice abruptly that she was only wearing a nightgown.

"Evans" he started, wondering how to say the words "do you really think you should be in the common room wearing that?"

She looked startled, and glanced down at what she was wearing. "What's wrong with it?" she asked, sounding perplexed.

He gave an embarrassed cough. "It's… a little…. revealing."

She shot him a dirty look. "Well it's not like I was expecting to meet a perverted teenage boy down here, now was I, Potter?"

Once again, he wondered whether she knew how much her comments wounded him. "You… shouldn't take the chance. There are some guys who… who…" he struggled to find the words.

"Spit it out Potter" there was venom in her words as she waited impatiently for him to finish.

"Who wouldn't hesitate to… to take advantage of you, because you're wearing something like that." He said, not sure his explanation was coherent enough.

She glared. "Oh… and I'm supposed to thank you for warning me, and believe you're a gentleman because you haven't 'tried to take advantage of me'?" she asked, disdainfully.

He stuttered out his reply. "No! That's… that's n-not it at… at all! I just…" he broke off, realising that it didn't matter what he said.

The glare on her face faded quickly. "Forget it. I just… maybe I should go back to bed." She said, suddenly feeling awkward.

He stood up quickly. "No! Don't let me make you leave! I… I could quite as easily go if you want to be alone."

A small smile broke over her face. "No, I'm sure I can tolerate your presence for a little while." A chuckle broke out of her mouth.

He grinned. "Join me on the sofa of reasonable comfort?" he suggested, playfully.

She laughed. "I don't know… if it's only reasonably comfortable, I don't know that's its worth it."

He joined in on her laughing, replying "When I said reasonable, I of course meant remarkable. It really is quite comfortable."

She smirked. "Well… I'm just going to have to try it then, wont I?"

His eyes lit up with hope, as she sat down next to him. Close, so close. She didn't look at him, but kept her eyes on the fire, the embers of which were almost extinguished.

"Didn't think to keep the fire alit?" she asked, a ghost of a laugh in her voice.

He gave an embarrassed chuckle. "Um… no, I was a little distracted"

She shot a questioning look at him. "What so important that you're up at 5 am thinking about it, and makes you so oblivious to the world around you?"

He looked down at his knees. "You" he answered shortly.

Her body froze and she blinked, stunned. "M-me?" she stuttered.

He gave a short laugh. "You know I'm in love with you, Lily. How many times do I have to tell you before you realise it's the truth?"

"I… I…" the words were stuck in her throat. What was she supposed to say to him? She couldn't tell him that when he said that her heart leapt to her throat, her pulse quickened, her stomach clenched and butterflies started to dance around in it.

The silence dragged on, as she tried to find the words, and he waited for some kind of response from her.

"I can't do this Lily. I…" he shook his head as if to shake away an image. "I can't be around you and not want to be closer to you, to put my arms around you and hold you tight. To wake up in the night and be able to look over and see your face and know you're with me. I can't be around you and not want to propose to you and make you mine forever." His voice caught as a sob broke through. "I speak to you, and every comment you make shows me over and over again that my feelings for you will never be reciprocated. That my dreams of you, of us together, will never come true. I just… I can't do this anymore."

He got up to leave, only to feel a hand on his wrist.

"James…" she whispered, as she pulled herself up to stand next to him.

She was standing close to him. Too close. She could feel the air move around her as he fidgeted slightly, so that he was facing her.

A smile appeared on her face, as she raised her head towards him.

Her lips pressed against his. Her arms snaked around his neck as she pulled his body towards hers, needing to feel him.

After a second of shock, he slid his arms around her waist, pulling her even closer. She pulled her lips from his, letting out a sigh as they broke apart. She leant her forehead against his, whispering to him.

"James…" she whispered her voice filled with emotion. " James… I love you. I have for ages. I just had to grow up enough not to be scared of loving a prat like you." She laughed at the end.

He smiled. "Lily… my dearest Lily, I love you. I always have. Do you finally believe me?"

She chuckled. "I do indeed. You know I do."

He beamed. "Took you long enough…"

And he placed his lips back on hers.