Disclaimer: I don't make money off of this story. I don't own Harry Potter and Co. I just like to play with them.

The Dance of James and Lily

October 31st, 1977

"Where are you taking me, Padfoot? This better not be like second year when you and Remus locked me in that girl bathroom with that girl ghost in it." James shuddered at the memory. They blindfolded him just like they had now, then took his wand as they shoved him in that girls bathroom. That creepy ghost kept moaning about death.

"You'll see, my dear Prongs." Sirius laughed. He tightened the blindfold on his friend and made him keep walking.

"C'mon, lets go to the Halloween feast. Lily will have my arse if I don't show up! Please! This is our last year to prove I'm mature!"

"Oh, please, you're as mature as me! That's plenty enough!" Sirius joked.

"Sirius! I'm serious!" James whiled uncharacteristically.

"No, I'm Sir-"

"Damn it, Padfoot. You know what I mean!" James started to fight off Sirius so he could see. Sirius slapped his hand away.

"It's Halloween- it's time for tricks and treats!" Sirius exclaimed sensually.

"Sirius. You're my friend and all, but I love Lily."

"That hurts." Sirius deadpanned. "If you don't stop fighting, you won't see the surprise!"

"So?"

"Because me and Remus took forever to set this up for your bestest friend." Sirius looked around, checking if anyone was in the dark hallway. Seeing no one, he changed into Padfoot, jumped on James and gave him a nice slobbery kiss all over his face.

"Ew! Padfoot! The first thousand times you've done that were funny. Now it's just gross." James shrieked. Padfoot whined, then changed back, still sitting on James.

"That also hurts, my blind friend. However, you are now in my glorious power, so Petrificus Totalis." James' arms and legs snapped together. Sirius knew that he would get the worst prank of his life after this, but it was worth it. He stood up, flicked his wand on James again and he started floating the frozen seventeen year old down the hallway.

A few minutes later, he saw Remus standing outside a greenhouse that held the Herbology professor's favorite flowers all over, except on the ceiling.

"Is everything ready?"

"Yes. Go on in."

Remus, Sirius, and a floating James, who was slightly dazed. Sirius 'accidentally' hit James head when rounding a few corners. He wasn't bleeding or anything, but there would be a bump developing soon, along with a headache.

"How did you get her here so fast, Moony?" Sirius asked.

"Remus just asked me to come here, and if I would put on the blindfold a few hallways back." Lily answered coming out from behind a row of flowers.

"Oh, I didn't think about asking. I spelled him when he was in the shower. Merlin, I never head him scream like a girl before."

"Figures you wouldn't think about just asking him." Remus said. Sirius dumped James on the stone floor, and he landed hard.

"Sirius!" Remus scolded.

"What?" Sirius asked and grinned innocently. Remus rolled his eyes and cast the spell on the two blindfolds on James and Lily so they would disappear when he and Sirius left the room. They didn't want to be there to the blindfolds came off.

Remus and Sirius pointed their wands at the floor, the ceiling, and the flowers, and started chanting various spells softly. They were set to activate later. Sirius took the body bind off of James, who rolled over and groaned.

"He's going to hate you." Remus whispered as they were leaving.

"If this works, he won't hate me too much." Sirius replied. "Oh wait." He ran back to Lily and gave her a vial of headache potion for James. Remus chuckled. They left out of the room and the blindfolds came off as soon as they shut the door. They locked the door with numerous spells, high-fived each other, then went to the Halloween feast.

-----

The blindfolds came off and the first thing that Lily saw was a room full of flowers. Then she realized where she was, and how they were not to go in here. It was the personal garden of her Herbology professor.

"I'm going to kill that wolf and his pet dog." Lily growled.

"Not before I kill them first. Oh, my head." James reached up and rubbed his temples, carefully avoiding the bump he felt growing.

"Here. Sirius said you would need this." Lily gave him the vial and walked away to look around. She figured that Remus and Sirius locked the door so there was no way to get out till they came back. James drank the potion, grimacing at its taste, then sighing in sweet relief.

"How did you know he was a dog?" He asked.

"He isn't the most tight lipped person, I mean honestly, howling and asking 'How does that compare with Padfoot?' then you and Remus are always calling him 'Padfoot'. It's not difficult to figure out. Now, Potter, is there another way out of here, aside from that door?" Lily asked. James shrugged, but Lily couldn't see because she was examining the walls.

James sat up and looked on a spot on the floor.

"What will it take?" He asked softly. Lily whirled around and looked at him, wondering what on earth he was talking about. He stood up and started caressing a lily flower's petals as if he was caressing Lily's body, as he imagined so many times before.

"What are you talking about?" She asked softly. James sighed and plucked the flower. He turned and locked eyes with her beautiful sparkling eyes. He walked toward her and stopped just in front of her. He kissed the flower and tucked the lily and her shiny red hair behind her ear. He slowly trailed his fingers down her slender neck.

Rain started trickling from the ceiling, but none of it hit them. She figured Remus put a spell on them to repel water. Soft melodic music could be heard in the corners of the room and the flowers seemed to shimmer and glow.

He returned his hand to his side before he let it linger too long and it scare Lily, then looked around the room.

"What did you mean?" She asked again. He flicked his eyes to her.

"What will it take for me to run my fingers through your hair?" He reached out and grabbed a lock of her hair and weaved it through his fingers before dropping it. It fell back onto her shoulder.

"What will it take for me to intertwine my fingers with yours everyday as we walk to class?" He took a few steps closer and took her hand in his and kissed her fingertips gently. James figured it was a good sign that she didn't draw her hand back quickly as she usually did. He held onto her hand as if it was a dove. He did not want to crush it lest it would die-but not too softly so he would not let it go.

"What will it take for me to see a smile on your lips for me instead of a smirk when I get in trouble?" He touched her lips with his other hand just as he caressed the flower earlier. James felt her trembling so he moved back and dropped his hand to his side, but did not give up her hand.

Lily was shaking because this was different for her. No guy had ever made her so warm inside, and she was nervous. She didn't think James could actually be serious. In all honesty, she thought his continuous 'attempts' to be with her were just jokes with his friends, but here he was, proving her wrong. His soft touches were making her melt. His eyes held a sincerity that she had seen on the many occasions when he looked at her.

When he pulled back, she tried to figure out what she did wrong. James was looking at her worriedly, and she had no idea why. She looked down at her hands and saw it shaking. Ah.

She pulled him closer to her, and he had his normal smile on, not the 'charming' one, which he tried to seduce her with. It worked for all of the other girls, but not her. She hated it, and it grated her nerves. But this one. This one she liked. This side of him she liked.

He leaned over and whispered somberly in her ear, "What will it take for you to dance with me? This will be the only chance I have and I want to make it perfect for you and me."

Lily smiled softly and lifted his and her hand up and spun once under it. When she stopped, James put his other hand on her waist and pulled her flush with his body. Lily put her hand on his shoulder. They danced slowly, never letting each other go. He twirled her around in the rain. Lily's eyes sparkled with happiness and James had an extremely contented smile on his face.

Lily let go of James' hand and put her arms around his neck; James stroked down her sides before wrapping his arms around her waist and they continued till the song ended.

"I'm not sure if it was perfect for you because you only deserve perfection, but it was beyond perfection for me. Thank you, my beautiful Lily flower. I will never forget this." He kissed her cheek softly, looked at her sadly, thinking it would only be the time he would ever hold her or kiss her. He turned and started to leave.

"James, wait." He stopped. "Why all of this for me, even after how I've treated you?" She asked. James chuckled then sighed.

"All of this for you? I didn't know they were going to do this, but I'm glad they did. I would never have come up with this for you. I could never be what you want, so this night probably means more to me than it would ever to you, but this means the world to me. As for the 'even after how I've treated you' part, I deserved it. I was cruel to people just for our entertainment. Given when we were younger, they were just pranks, but as we grew older, we just got cruel. I deserve your words and your smirks and your pushes for me to get out of your way." James stroked the side of her face and brushed his thumb over her cheek.

"I really do love you, Lily. I may show it in a different way than I am in here, but I do. I know I'm immature, but I have been trying to change, especially this year."

"Yes, you have been different this year." Lily agreed. She leaned into his hand.

"I'll see you around." James leaned in and pecked her lips, then slipped out of the now unlocked door.

-----

October 31st, 1981

The warm glow of the fire flickered throughout the library. James was rolling around on the floor with their year and a half year old baby, Harry, and Lily was watching her big, tough men. She started to reflect on that dance she had with James four years ago. Sirius and Remus both were heavily pranked for about a month by James and herself, but it was well worth it. She never really answered his questions, but she thought about them about once a day. A shrill scream mixed with a giggle from her baby made her turn back to James and Harry.

She walked over and picked up Harry, then waited for James to stand up. The look in his eyes were still full of love as they had been that Halloween

"'What will it take?' I believe you asked," She said softly. He smiled, also remembering they day he finally caught his flower.

"'What will it take for me to run my fingers through your hair?'" She ran her fingers through Harry's hair, then James'.

"'What will it take for me to intertwine my fingers with yours everyday as we walk to class?'" She took a few steps closer and took his hand in her and kissed his fingertips gently just as he did.

"'What will it take for me to see a smile on your lips for me instead of a smirk when I get in trouble?'" She touched his lips with her hand.

She stood on her toes and whispered in his ear, "'What will it take for you to dance with me? This will be the only chance I have and I want to make it perfect for you and me.' I never had answers for your questions, because you answered your own four years ago."

"I know." He winked.

Lily smiled softly and lifted his and her hand up and spun once under it, just as she did years ago. When she and Harry stopped, James put his other hand on her waist and pulled her as close to his body as he could with Harry being there on her hip. They danced slowly, never letting each other go. Harry giggled and clapped his tiny hands. Lily's eyes sparkled and reflected the fire that crackled and popped musically. James had smile on his face, that suddenly turned into a frown.

"I will dance with you forever in heaven, my flower. Take Harry and run."

-Fin-