Chapter 1
"You kiss by the book" William Shakespeare
"My heart is broken Sirius, I won't just bounce back like it was nothing." James Potter said kicking a flower and flopping down next to the tree where his friends sat. The tree lay in the shadow of the Hogwarts castle and looked out over the majestic grounds of the school.
"James if that was true love then I'm a trolls aunty. You went out for a month and you didn't even sleep together. Jesus boy if you weren't my best friend I'd beat you up just for being such a lemon." Sirius Black said pushed his friend on the arm and grinning. James scowled petulantly back but did not disagree.
"I have to admit I didn't think she was the one James," Remus added, the sensible of the group it was unusual for him to agree with Sirius. "She used to talk in a baby voice half the time and the other half she spent flirting with Slytherins. I somehow don't think she was your one true love." James scowled further.
"Fine, fine she wasn't the one but it doesn't mean I liked being dumped!" James said and the boys couldn't help but smirk.
"Look Prongs you know my solution for these things, not that I've ever been in this situation," Sirius said pushing his hair back out of his face and grinning charmingly at some fifth year girls walking passed nearby, who all but fainted at the sight of Sirius Black smiling at them.
"I'm not in the mood for a party Sirius." James said picking at the grass beneath him and staring off into the distance.
"Trust me this isn't just any party. I just happened to have gotten an invite through my connections and it is extended to all of us. I'm not asking you, we're going. On that note I'm going up to the castle to have a meeting with a colleague of mine. I will meet you out here for a few pre-party drinks at 10 o'clock. Laters." Sirius said standing up and swaggering back towards the castle. James rolled his eyes at his best friend but knew he would inevitably go to this party so there was no point arguing so he just sat and sulked with his other friends Remus and Peter for the rest of the afternoon wondering what party Sirius could be dragging them to later.
Lily Evans was not one to give her opinion to man situations as she generally just kept to herself but sometimes she found the people she hung around with an incredibly boring group of people. Severus was constantly defending them and maintained that it was all bravado that led the Slytherins to behave like arrogant idiots but she thought it was a pureblood elitist club and they needed a reality check.
Lily combed her hair and looked at herself in the mirror of her Gryffindor dorm trying to take as long getting ready as she could. Slowly brushing her fiery red head being the best way and then mulling over potential outfit choices. Her make up was done, simple yet effective as she did not like the style of too much make up which so many of her classmates favoured.
She stood to look in her wardrobe for an outfit and her room mate Vanessa walked into the dorm from the bathroom with her hair and make up done and sighed loudly at Lily.
"Lily why aren't you ready yet? We have to leave in five minutes as I told the boys we would help set up a few things for the party." She said slipping into her outfit of a tiny black dress, which showed a little too much leg but she looked fabulous anyway. Her long black hair reach the bottom of her back and was in perfect waves. She looked like sex on legs and she knew it.
Lily picked out her favourite green dress from her wardrobe and placed it on the bed while she took off her robes to change. She heard another sigh from Vanessa's corner.
"Lily you cant wear that." She said bluntly, subtlety not her strong point.
"Why not?" Lily asked. Vanessa walked over and picked it up.
"You wore it to Hogsmeade last month and everyone has already seen it on you a million times. You need to wear something a bit more… new." She said putting the dress back in the wardrobe and walking back over to her own.
"I don't have anything else Ness so its that or my birthday suit." Lily said.
"I know someone who would enjoy that… but no I was thinking you borrow something of mine." Vanessa said peering into her wardrobe.
"I don't think I can pull off anything you have Vanessa. I prefer my ass to be covered no offence." Lily said.
"None taken prude." Vanessa said from in the wardrobe, "And I didn't mean something I would wear but I do have something I think you could work with." She finally appeared and had a small bundle of cream material in her hand. She held it out and a beautiful dress unfolded. Lily's eyes widened surprised at her friends choice as she actually liked it.
"I didn't buy it obviously, my mother insisted I wear it to a wedding last summer. I gave in as it was the week after she caught me sneaking out to meet that guy from the ministry. Anyway put it on, we have to leave." Lily slipped into the dress and put on some pretty pumps then both girls put their school robes over the top so not to attract attention and they headed down the stairs.
The Gryffindor common room was quiet and a few people were studying, Vanessa smirked at Lily as none of these kids had any ideas they were going to the craziest party this school had ever seen.
James threw his burnt out cigarette to the ground, took a sip from his hip flask of fire whisky and looked around for his constantly late friend. He wore a simple suit of black and white and Remus wore a navy version, Peter had bowed out as he had said he had a detention although the boys thought he might just be shy and didn't want to go.
James turned to Remus who shrugged at their friend's lateness. It was already quarter past ten and he wasn't there yet. James turned, annoyed and ready to leave, and there appeared Sirius in a shirt and trousers, the shirt slightly untucked with a slight smudge of red lipstick on the collar.
"Boys! Apologies for the tardiness! It was unavoidable." Sirius said walking, somewhat haphazardly, towards them.
"I'm sure she was Padfoot." James said rolling his eyes. Sirius just grinned and reached into his trouser pockets.
"I have something to make up for it though. You know that sweet little sixth year Petranella who is like the best at herbology in the year. Well she got me a little treat for being a good boy and I thought I might share it with you…" Sirius said holding up a tiny vial of sparkling power.
"Is that fairy dusk?" Remus said eyebrows raised.
"It certainly is Moony. I thought we might need a little pick me up before the party." Sirius said opening the bottle and took out a little sprinkle. He sprinkled the powder above his head and it floated down onto his hair glistening as it did. He immediately grinned and his eyes went a bit wonky.
"Man I love this stuff." He said dreamily as he held out the bottle for the others. Remus took it and sprinkled some on himself and then James followed. They all felt like their were floating and Sirius guided them back up towards the castle and into a corridor.
"Before I forget," Sirius said grinning happily, "Wear these." He said pulling two masks out of his back pocket. James raised his eyebrow but complied and put the plain black mask one as did Remus. Sirius also put one on and before James thought to question the masks they followed Sirius further into the castle and into the dungeons. As they weaved round corners, a little wonky from the dusk they could begin to hear the faint sound of music.
They finally arrived at the entrance and they could here music pounding, a man with a mask on stood at the side of a portrait and Sirius whispered something to him and passed him a piece of parchment. The guy looked at it, then nodded and let them all through. The portrait swung wide open and what lay behind it was a world of entertainment and debauchery.
Lily looked down from a balcony over looking the party and sighed. She wasn't that interested in the party scene but Vanessa insisted that she went. The Slytherin clique was extremely elitist but somehow she had come into their radar, partly due to her extremely high grades, and also because Severus Snape took a particular interest in her. They had been friends since childhood and when they came to Hogwarts he made sure she remained with him even though she had been sorted into the Gryffindor house, much to his dismay.
Lily had been lucky to become friends with Vanessa who was in one of the most pureblood families in the wizarding world, her whole family were a mixture of Slytherin and Gryffindor, which was unusual but she explained that these two houses were both still highly regarded as the most pureblood so her parents, who were both Slytherin, had not made too much of a fuss. Vanessa had taken her under her wing and they had grown up together in the Hogwarts castle, and when Vanessa had started dating the younger Malfoy son Draco, Lily's part in the Slytherin social scene was made. Draco's older brother Lucius was the leader of the group and once he had accepted her as a part of the group she was in. She often felt like she was not thought of as highly as Vanessa or other pureblood students, however she ignored this and just carried on as normal whilst not trying to let this bother her. Severus always made sure she was included, and Vanessa would have a few choice words for anyone that talked down to her.
Lily continued to watch over the party, not wanting to join in just yet as the revellers were all below and she sometimes just enjoyed watching. She could see Vanessa sitting on Draco's lap and laughing at something he said, she could see Severus being broody over by the punch bowl whilst Lucius seemed to be lecturing him on something. Severus was nodding in agreement but he didn't look overly enthused over the topic. Lily knew Lucius wasn't a nice person, he was cruel and treated those below his pureblood status as lowly peasants, but she knew it was in her interest to stay under his radar. But she also knew in her heart of hearts that he was an evil person but as she sipped her drink and looked over the group of revellers she knew she was in no place to stand up to a world where she barely belonged herself.
James stumbled through the portrait and his eyes widened.
"This is a Slytherin party Sirius." James said through gritted teeth, the powder was still taking effect and he felt more relaxed than he should for this situation but his mind still knew this was wrong.
"Relax brother," Sirius said to his best friend, "They won't recognise you, and you can enjoy what looks to be the party of the year." Sirius said, whilst straightening his mask and walking into the crowd. He winked at his friends as he slinked his arm around a blonde female who also wore a mask, he whispered something in her ear and she giggled and he looked back at the boys and winked as he disappeared off further into the crowd.
James felt tense, his friend had drawn him into a dangerous situation, his family was as pureblood as they came, dating back so far the history books had lost track, so purity of blood was not the issue. The issue was that the Potters, his parents and grandparents to be specific, were aurors, well known specifically for catching wizards consorting with dark magic, which Slytherin had a certain affinity for breeding. Many of the Slytherins who James went to school with had relatives, who were in Azkaban due to his family's skills in catching dark magic in practice and this made James a target within the Slytherin world. Luckily from the Gryffindor tower he had had little correspondence with anyone who could cause him real harm apart from a few scraps over the years. All of which were broken up by Sirius who came from a family whose history in Slytherin house dated back as practically as far as Salazar himself (at least this is the story Sirius' mother likes to project). Sirius was able to flit between the two houses, quite easily, although James knew that secretly at home it was not quite so peaceful as his parents were extremely disappointed and angry he had not been placed in Slytherin. However Sirius brushed this off and carried on in his usual jovial way either partying or using girls for distraction.
Remus sighed at his friend and said he was going to get a drink and James looked around for his next move. James knew that if his mask slipped and a Slytherin pureblood fanatic saw his face he was due to have his face kicked in. But he also knew this party was the perfect distraction to his current pattern of break ups and bad moods. He walked through the crowd and came to a staircase, which led to a balcony over looking the party. He climbed the stairs, happy to have a moment away from the crowd. As he reached the top of the stairs he paused as he saw a girl leaning over the banister and watching the party too. Her long flowing hair was a beautiful red and ran down her back and her cream dress made her look like an angel. He assumed it was the fairy dust making him feel this way but he felt drawn to her like a moth to a flame. She hadn't noticed him and continued to look over the party and he took the last few steps towards her until he was stood next to her on the balcony.
Lily suddenly realised someone was next to her and thinking it was Severus she slowly turned to look at him. But it wasn't him, it was a tall man who she didn't recognise, he was wearing a mask as per the masquerade theme and he looked down at her with a smile. She had a white lace mask on her face so she assumed he didn't recognise her, not many Slytherin men gave her a lot of time. She blinked up at him waiting for him to say anything, he just looked at her though and put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a packet of muggle cigarettes. She frowned, surprised that a Slytherin would have a muggle habit like smoking tobacco. He saw her frown and shrugged before finally speaking.
"Bad habit I picked up last summer," He said pulling a cigarette out and going to light it. She paused then replied.
"I wasn't disapproving, just surprised." Lily said reaching over and taking the packet from him before helping herself to one of his cigarettes. He looked surprised by both her confidence and that she was going to smoke. He lit her cigarette and she inhaled deeply and looked back over the party.
"Enjoying yourself?" James asked looking at her sigh at the partygoers below.
"Is it that obvious?" Lily said taking another drag. "This isn't exactly my kind of thing." James nodded and leaned against the banister next to her so he was more her level from his six foot 4 height.
"I wasn't exactly keen on the idea myself, I'm coming around to the idea though." He said looking to his right and peering at the girl next to him. She looked down and blushed slightly realising his meaning. He grinned at her blush and moved a little bit closer to her. She felt herself stiffen a little bit and looked around to see if anyone was watching them. Sure enough Severus had spotted her and was walking towards her with a slight scowl on his face. Lily straightened up and smoothed out her dress anxiously.
"You better go, my friend is coming over and he can be… you should just go." She said trying to hurriedly get him to move.
"Your boyfriend?" He asked taking the last drag of his cigarette.
"No, he's just… protective. You should go." Lily repeated. James nodded then leaned down to whisper in her ear; Lily could see Severus at the bottom of the staircase.
"See you later Lily Evans." James whispered in her ear making the hair stand up on the back of her neck.
"How did you know…" Lily began asking him before he disappeared down the staircase on the other side of the balcony. Severus appeared shortly afterwards next to her. He seemed to be quite drunk and he stumbled over the last step and walked over to her.
"Who was that?" He asked slurring slightly.
"No one Severus. Just a guy giving me a cigarette," Lily said a bit annoyed at her drunken friend.
"You know I hate you smoking Lily." He said frowning, which made her sigh.
"And I told you that I am free to partake in whatever bad habits I choose Severus. You look like you're been hitting the whisky hard this evening so you're one to talk." She snapped back.
"Hey, I never said I was the boss of you. I just want the best for you Lily," Severus said moving forward, sloppy with his movements, and rested his hand on her arm gently. She felt uncomfortable immediately, their friendship had always been platonic however she knew Severus yearned for more, which she was unable to give him.
"Severus I think you need to go and get some water." Lily said quietly turning to walk away. His grip grew tighter on her arm.
"Let me go Severus." Lily said, her voice tight with nerves. Severus just looked down at her earnestly.
"You… you just don't get it. I need you to see…" He was stumbling over his words and just as she was about to yank her arm out of his grip a voice sounded out behind Severus.
"What have we got here?" The voice gave Lily a chill and she knew immediately it was Lucius Malfoy.
"Nothing," Severus quickly said dropping Lily's arm where she rubbed it as a mark was appearing on her fair skin.
"I think it looks like Miss Evans is being her usual tease. Why don't you just give in and let Severus have what he's been waiting for all these years?" Lucius said lecherously taking a sip from his drink and eyeing her like a piece of meat.
"No… I…" Severus opened his mouth to disagree with what Lucius was saying and Lily could see he was embarrassed but she also knew there was some truth behind his eyes in how he wanted Lily.
"I need some air." Lily said, her heart pounding with fury at Lucius' remarks, but she knew better than to talk back to him as he had a habit of making people who disagreed with him disappear, especially lowly "mudbloods".
Lily walked away from this situation, her heart pounding, and her head banging with the thoughts running through it. She walked down the stairs and Vanessa just happened to catch her eye and she got off of Draco's lap and come over to her.
"What's happened? You look even paler than normal." Vanessa said using her usual tact. Lily just rolled her eyes and took a deep breath and explained what had just happened.
"Lily, I mean this as your friend. But wake the fuck up. Snape has been in love with you for years and just between you and me Draco told me Lucius has been discussing you a lot and saying that you should stop playing him for a fool and be with him. So you either need to tell him its never going to happen or just give in and give him what he wants." Vanessa said. Lily frowned, knowing her friend was right, she had known deep down Severus wanted more than friendship, but Lily ignored it as she didn't want to lose her oldest friend, which ultimately is what would happen if she broke his heart.
"Don't stress about it now Lily, you're at a party. Just have fun!" Vanessa said as Draco came up behind her and kissed her on the neck making her giggle, she turned and kissed him passionately which Lily took as her dismissal. She looked around the room and the party was getting rowdier as the students got drunker. She grabbed a drink off the side, she downed it and grabbed another before looking around and she could see Severus had come down the stairs and was looking frantically around for Lily. She quickly ducked round the corner and slipped through a door at the back of the party. It led to the balcony, which overlooked the grounds. She sighed knowing she could hide out of here for a while then make a quiet get away without being seen. Severus had a habit of passing out after too much to drink so she knew she just had to wait before making her getaway. She took a sip from the second drink and sighed at her predicament.
James looked around the party; he spotted Remus talking to a pretty Ravenclaw who he recognised. Remus was not really a party animal like Sirius but he had charm in his own quieter way. James turned and spotted his very different and extrovert friend atop a table singing a quidditch chant. He had a butterbeer in his hand and was sloshing it around as he bellowed out the words. Girls around him giggled and the men either laughed or scowled at his antics. Sirius was in a unique position of both being hated for his Gryffindor house and also envied for his pureblood family. James stumbled over to Sirius, another bump of the fairy dust and he was feeling quite wonky and the music was pounding in his ears like a bumblebee whilst the colours of the dancing bodies around him blending into a sort of rainbow.
"Prongs!" Sirius shouted, James knew he referred to him by his nickname because James would reveal his identity to the Slytherin crowd. "Come here boy and enjoy the frivolity!" Sirius proclaimed brandishing his hand and pouring more butterbeer on the crowd around him.
"Come here, I want you to meet these twins called Sophia and Selena. They love quidditch players Prongs and I mentioned you are great at finding the snitch. They seemed to find this extremely interesting." Sirius said grinning naughtily, which made James laugh and roll his eyes. Sirius grasped James' hand and tried to pull him up to the table but James pushed him off laughing and stumbling away from Sirius. He moved through the crowds and pushed through a door and he suddenly felt a gust of air. He walked out onto the balcony and heard a small gasp from the corner to his left and his eyes fell upon the sight of the angel from earlier.
"Well what do we have here," He said deeply walking out further and closing the door behind him so the music was muffled. Lily turned to him and her shoulder went down in relief. "You seem surprised to see me?" James said.
"I thought you were… someone else." Lily said turning back to look out of the beautiful view of the grounds. The moon was out and glistening over the lake, if Lily knew nothing of the magical world she would have said it was a magical sight.
"Well I'm glad to know I'm the lesser of two evils." James said stepping towards her, he offered her a cigarette and she declined, he then put the packet away without taking one himself. She looked up at him and frowned.
"How did you know who I was earlier? Not many people know who I am without the mask but you did…" She asked trying to look at him and recognise him But his mask covered a lot of his face and it was dark outside and which the amount of alcohol she had now consumed her eyesight wasn't getting any better. James smiled, he placed one hand on the balcony wall and the other touched the bottom of her back ever so gently before he whispered in her ear again so gently.
"I know you Lily Evans." Her breathe hitched and a shivered ran down her spine. She didn't say anything as first but she did pull back slightly which just made James grin further.
"You… you don't know me. No one really knows me." Lily said and he continued to smile.
"I bet you I know you Lily Evans. I bet you anything I can tell you three things about you that you wouldn't think anyone had noticed." James said cockily which made her raise an eyebrow.
"I never gamble, but I have a feeling you won't surprise me so I'll take your bet." Lily said crossing her arms. James leant back against the balcony casually and looked at her so intensely she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, she almost wanted to hide as she felt like he was looking right through her.
"One time when you were in fifth year you saw a first year being bullied by Lucius Malfoy and you stunned him and made him forget the whole incident then took the first year to the nurses office." James started with earning a gasp from Lily.
"But no one knows…" Lily tried to get out but James hushed her and held up one finger to signify the number one. She paused and waited for his next admission with nerves as he was proving he knew too much already.
"You had a pet owl called Cosmea, and Cosmea was an old owl who you had adopted from one of the professors who left Hogwarts to travel, and when Cosmea died you buried him under the big oak by the lake." James said and Lily nodded, she didn't say anything this time but smiled at the memory as she had loved that owl and knew that Cosmea's favourite spot was down by the lake and had buried him there for that reason.
"And thirdly, I know that deep down, you hate everything the Slytherin's stand for, but you are too terrified to walk away and risk not being a part of a group, even if that group does things to muggles, or muggle borns that makes your skin crawl." James said this quietly and Lily tensed further and took a step back from him and scowled.
"Your wrong," She said stubbornly. James just looked at her and waited. "They're my friends, why would I stay friends with them if I didn't like them." She added.
"Because… you think it's better to tolerate something you hate that fight against it." James said and Lily immediately felt angry.
"Who gives you the right to talk to me like this… you know a few stories about me and you think you can just make these judgements. I don't think you know me at all." Lily said pulling her mask off in frustration and finally revealing her face in full. James took in a slight breath as her face was revealed, her green eyes glistening in the moonlight.
"I'm sorry, I just… I feel like you aren't happy in there Lily. If I'm wrong then I apologise. If you are happy, with those people in that room," He pointed at the door, "Then I apologise." James finished. Lily paused and ran a hand through her hair. She looked back out onto the lake and thought about that story with Malfoy and Cosmea, and she knew he must have watched her for some time. She had never told anyone those stories. However instead of feeling creeped out she felt… happy. Happy, that someone knew the real her.
"So…" She said looking back at James who was a few steps away from her. "What was your prize for winning the bet?" James eyebrows raised, and without even thinking about it, without taking a moment to consider his options, he took a step forward, tugged Lily to being fully stood up position, reached one hand into her hair and the other on her waist and he leant in and planted a kiss directly on her lips.
Lily froze and just felt his lips on hers for a moment, her heart was racing and she felt like it might pound out of her chest. His lips moved slightly against hers and he pulled her gently further into his body. She felt something inside of her snap and her hands reached up around his neck and pulled him further into the kiss as she moved with him and opened her mouth to him.
James had never felt so alive, his lips felt like they were on fire as they moulded against Lily's and he felt like no moment had even been so perfect. He could blame it on the fairy dust but he knew that it wasn't that. He stroked his hand up her back as he kissed her and she moaned slightly as his hand grazed her bum slightly. He immediately wanted to touch her more and pushed her slightly and they walked backwards, all the whilst kissing, until her back hit the castle wall. He used the wall to lean on as he kiss her deeply and used the other hand to run it up and down her body. Her hands moved from around his neck to run down his arms feeling his muscles and stopping at his waist. At this they both stopped for a minute to catch a breath, James looked down at Lily and she stared back up at James' masked face. She reached up to take off his mask and he suddenly froze, knowing this could be something to ruin this perfect moment. So instead he leant in to kiss her again and just as he did the door to the balcony burst open and Sirius stumbled through shouting.
"Prongs time to leave!" Sirius said with some urgency. James broke away from Lily, feeling cold immediately from not touching her. Lily looked to Sirius confused then to James.
"Prongs, come on we seriously need to depart, some less than favourable characters have discovered you're the guest of honour and want to give you a special present, which I'm pretty sure includes you getting the shit kicked out of you." Sirius said looking over his shoulder. James realised what he meant and went to run with his friend out of this party but stopped first. He turned and looked at Lily, her lips swollen and pouting from kissing and her hair ruffled from their tryst. He took her hand and kissed it before giving her his most charming smile.
"You can't seriously be leaving… you haven't even told me your name!" Lily called as he took leave and darted out of the balcony. She tried to make chase and went back into the party. She looked around tried to see but he and Sirius has disappeared into the crowd. Lily sighed with frustration and tried to find Vanessa, instead she found someone slightly less desirable.
"Have you seen him?" Snape said storming over to her, obviously forgetting their earlier awkward moment.
"Potter!" He spat, and Lily froze. "Black snuck him into the fucking party." Lily suddenly felt her body freeze.
"Potter... As in James Potter?" She asked quietly.
"Yes Lily, as in the little Gryffindor prick who thinks he's gods gift to the wizarding world." Snape before realised Lily obviously knew nothing and storming off into the crowd. Lily knew, it had to be him. He wouldn't take his mask off, he was best friends with Sirius Black… she was so stupid. She has just been kissing James Potter! She suddenly felt the need to get out of this party immediately, as the most worrying part of this whole situation was not that she had kissed James Potter, but how much she had enjoyed it.
James ran through the corridors of Hogwarts laughing with Sirius and Remus. They had made it out without a scuffle and all in all it had been an amazing night on all accounts. They slowed as they had made good distance from the dungeons; Remus peered at the marauders map and could see no one had followed them. They walked down the corridor towards the Gryffindor tower and James had a dreamy look on his face, Sirius glanced at his friend and immediately grabbed him in a headlock.
"What's this… is my best friend… smiling… over a girl? Is this possible? After such a terrible heart ache just earlier today!" Sirius said with sarcasm as he ruffled James' hair.
"What's this about James?" Remus asked. James just shrugged and pushed Sirius off of him.
"Our dear James, when I found him to make our swift exit, was in quite the little tryst with a lovely lady out on the balcony." Sirius said with his usual flourish.
"It wasn't… it was…" James stumbled over words, which just made Sirius laugh more.
"Who was it Prongs," Remus asked eyebrows raised. James just shrugged, obviously not willing to tell. Sirius looked at Remus eyebrows raised and cocked his head at James. Remus just grinned and then suddenly both boys launched at James and pinned him down while Sirius inflicted a tickling curse so evil on James that James finally gave in.
"It was Evans…. Lily Evans!" He finally barked out after he thought his insides would explode from the tickling. His friends immediately stopped and back up.
"Lily… Are you serious?" Sirius said his shock evident on his face.
"Severus Snape is definitely going to kill you now." Remus said very matter of fact and Sirius barked out a laugh. James just lay on the floor after his friends attack and sighed, both worried and yet somehow uncaring as he still felt the buzz of kissing her on his lips. He got up and brushed himself off while the boys mulled over this information.
"So let me get this straight, Lily Evans of her own free will, kissed you, James Potter?" Sirius asked as if needing full clarification.
"Yes… well… not exactly. She didn't exactly know it was me… I had a mask on." James said. His friends took this in then looked at their friend disparagingly.
"I was wrong, Snape isn't going to kill you… Evans is." Remus said.
"Thanks for that Moony." James said as they began walking back to the common room.
"I'm just saying, she doesn't exactly like you bro. She's made that pretty clear over the years." Remus said.
"Anyway," Sirius piped up. "What confused me the most here is I thought you had declared yourself over the Lily Evans love spell back in fifth year after that incident with Snape?" Sirius asked. He shrugged and this made it clear that the intense crush he had had one her had never really run its course. Since he had first set eyes on her step on the train aged 11 and look so nervous yet excited to be part of the world of magic, he knew there was something about her. He had tried to deny it but tonight had proven that it was stronger now than ever before.
"So then," Sirius said as they reached the portrait, "What's your next move?" James looked at his friends and smiled.
"Sleep, then construct a plan that means I can kiss Lily Evans again and not get killed by Slytherins." James said grinning. His friends groaned and followed him into the common room.
"I think what you're looking for is a miracle." Remus said, always the voice of reason.