"Oi, Evans! Where's your drink?"
Lily gave James Potter a reproachful stare and rolled her eyes as her friends collapsed into giggles. Despite the lateness of the hour, the Gryffindor Common Room was alight with celebration; James Potter had (yet again) caught the Snitch in the final Quidditch match of the year, securing them the victory. Somebody (Lily didn't have to think too hard to guess who) had managed to find crates of illicit Butterbeer and even Firewhiskey and sneak them past the Fat Lady, and the whole of the house were taking full advantage.
"In case you'd forgotten, Potter, I am the Head Girl. And you are Head Boy," she added, eyeing the amber liquid in his glass. "We shouldn't be encouraging this." She ignored the snort that came from Marlene behind her; Marlene had no problem making the most of the Firewhiskey available and had already spent five minutes trying to persuade Lily to do the same.
"And in case you'd forgotten, we're off duty tonight," James reminded her smoothly. "Come on, Lils, it's our last year. The last time we'll get to celebrate like this."
Lily considered this. Their last year… almost no time until they were out in the open, having to hide away from the destruction of the war that they all tried to forget was happening in the outside world. Maybe she should make the most of being here while she could. "I suppose one Butterbeer wouldn't hurt…"
"Wow, one Butterbeer. Wild," Marlene said sarcastically. "You know, for once, I think I'm on Potter's side here. Have you ever even tried Firewhiskey?"
"No," Lily admitted. Being Muggle-born, underage (until recently) and a rule-follower, she hadn't had much opportunity.
"Oh, Evans," James moaned lovingly. "You must have some. Sweet, sweet nectar."
"I don't know…"
"It makes you feel so warm inside," Marlene added, a faux-dreamy look in her eyes.
"You loosen up," Alice piped up.
"Come on. It's heavenly," James promised. "You'll love it."
Lily surveyed the pleading looks from James and her two friends and knew she wasn't going to win. She sighed. "Fine. One Firewhiskey," she conceded, shaking her head at the cries of triumph that followed.
"One Firewhiskey for our Head Girl, coming up," James declared, pushing his way past some unsuspecting third-years towards the drinks table.
"Lils," Marlene said in a low voice, "you know that much as I would love to see you get ragingly drunk, Potter just wants to get you pissed so he can ask you out?"
"Hm, he hasn't done that for a while, actually," Lily said absently; she was watching as James dramatically high-fived one of the other members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, then chatted animatedly as he prepared Lily's drink.
"Not since last year," Alice confirmed, to Marlene's astonishment.
"Maybe he has grown up, after all," she shrugged, still looking doubtful.
"Last year? Are you sure?" Lily asked, brought back to her senses. Strangely, she felt almost disappointed. That was such a long time; did it mean that he had lost interest, that she had lost her appeal? She shook the thought off. Being Head Boy and Head Girl, Lily had got closer to James over the year, but he was definitely just a friend. Definitely. And years ago, she would have given anything to be rid of his attention.
"Here you are, Lilyflower!" James said, passing Lily her cup as Marlene mimed vomiting at the nickname.
"Don't call me that," Lily told him, but it was really just for show; she didn't mind it too much.
"Drink up, then," Alice instructed, patting Lily on the shoulder.
"Hang on, not yet – Sirius!" James called to his best friend, who Lily suspected had already consumed quite a bit of Firewhiskey from his lopsided grin. "We've got a momentous occasion over here for you to view. Evans is having her first ever taste of Firewhiskey."
Sirius bounded over. "Excellent!"
"I'm not a performing monkey," Lily chastised, rolling her eyes, but she took a generous sip from her glass.
The burning in her throat was like nothing she had ever felt before. At first it was wholly unpleasant, and she vowed internally to make James pay for making her drink it; she spluttered so much that Marlene started banging her on the back. A few seconds later, however, her body was filled with a warm, tingling feeling, and Lily felt herself grow a few millimetres in stature. It felt good.
"Alright there, Evans?" James asked, obviously struggling not to join in Sirius's hysterical laughter.
Lily simply glared at both of them and drained the rest of her glass. The second glug burned less than the first, and yet the warm tingling intensified; Lily felt her head start to spin slightly, but almost in a nice way.
"I'll have another, thanks," Lily announced, shoving her glass back towards a bewildered James; Alice sniggered as Sirius's laughter stopped abruptly.
"Not bad at all for a first-timer," he said, great respect in his voice.
"I'm offended that you expected any less of me," Lily said haughtily.
"Let's get you that refill," James said once he had recovered. "I'll be right back." His finger brushed Lily's as he took her glass; she felt her breath catch in her throat. It's the alcohol, she told herself firmly. Nothing else.
And yet she couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment when, after providing her with her second drink, James made his excuses and rejoined his teammates in their celebrations on the other side of the room.
Several hours and as many glasses of Firewhiskey later, the throat-burning was gone – the warm tingling, on the other hand, was ever-present, as was the head-spinning.
"Who needs a top down – no – top-up?!" Lily cried, and Marlene and Alice – both as tipsy as she was – cheered.
She stumbled towards the drinks table, feeling empowered by her new-found confidence from the alcohol. Fortunately, the common room had emptied out enough to allow her a clear path to the table – that was, until she reached it. She collided with the back of someone and the three glasses tumbled to the floor, smashing in their wake; someone behind her gave a tiny scream.
The figure turned around. "Lilyflower!" James exclaimed, with what sounded like genuine delight; Lily's stomach did a little flip. "Looks like the Firewhiskey has been quite a hit," he said with a wink.
Lily scowled at him as he repaired the glasses with his wand. "This is your fault, Potter."
"My fault? How could it be my fault when I simply provided the one requested glass of Firewhiskey?" James asked innocently.
"Two," she corrected. James's grin was swaying in front of her eyes.
"Nevertheless, how many glasses have you consumed now? Five? Six?"
Lily muttered something unintelligible; James tapped his ear with a grin. "Seven," she admitted, looking at the floor.
"Oh Lily, naughty girl!" James said with elation. "Well, unfortunately there's no Firewhiskey left for your refill, so you'll have to come with me to restock," he told her, dragging her towards the portrait hole by the hand.
"James!" she protested, snatching her hand away. "I knew you were behind this! What if we get caught?"
"Well, all I'll say is, I have a little secret that I'm willing to let you into," he said mysteriously. "How do you think I managed to become Head Boy despite all the trouble I cause? I don't get caught."
Lily hesitated. She didn't want to get caught in the corridors after hours, especially as Head Girl, but James had a point. Besides, the common room was getting rather stifling. Maybe a walk would take the edge off her drunkenness, stop the room from spinning.
"Come on. Don't you trust me?"
For some reason, she did. She took James's hand back and he led her out of the common room. Lily's heart raced from knowing that they shouldn't be there – but she was tipsy and the confidence from the Firewhiskey remained. Instead of feeling scared, she felt exhilarated. Somehow, she just knew that they wouldn't get caught.
James was removing a piece of long, silvery material from his pocket, shaking out the creases. Lily couldn't hold back a gasp: she had read about these, but never seen one in the flesh.
"That is not an Invisibility Cloak."
"Told you I had a secret to tell you," James said with a grin. "I'd appreciate it if it stayed between us."
"Sure," Lily agreed as James stepped under the cloak, beckoning for her to follow.
It wasn't exactly made for two: she had to stay close to James so that their feet didn't show. They had never been in such close proximity before, and Lily couldn't help noticing that James smelled nice. Several times, their arms brushed together. The sensation in Lily's stomach each time it happened was so pleasant that after a while, her drunken self began doing it on purpose. She was definitely still tipsy; they were not walking in a straight line, but James seemed to have the presence of mind to follow Lily's zig-zag along the corridor.
"Here we are," James said, slipping out of the Invisibility Cloak and tapping his wand on the wall, revealing a hidden alcove full of lots of different bottles.
"Woah – how did you know that was there?" Lily asked, genuinely impressed.
James tapped his nose, smirking. "Not going to tell you all of my secrets in one night, am I, Lilyflower?"
"What if I found a way to make you tell?" Lily challenged, the alcohol taking hold of her once more. She stepped out from underneath the Cloak – breaking rules was liberating, and since she probably wouldn't do it again after that night, she didn't want it to end. She came very close to James, close as she dared, until their lips almost touched… then, just as suddenly, she pulled away, giggling at James's expression.
"Nope, still not telling," James said, recovering remarkably quickly. His expression was unreadable. "And I bet your friends are wondering where their drinks are."
"And what if I don't want to share?" Lily asked, picking up a bottle of Firewhiskey and clutching it to her chest. "I bet you know somewhere we can go."
James seemed uneasy now. "Go? Why?"
"Just to talk," Lily said truthfully. "It's nicer out here. Quiet." All of the voices in the common room had been overwhelming when the room was spinning around her.
"But… it's after curfew." James really did seem flabbergasted, and even more so when Lily giggled at him.
"So, do you know somewhere or not?"
"Naturally. Follow me."
"You know what, James, I think you might be the best Gryffindor in the world." Lily collapsed into giggles as James shook his head in disbelief. They were drinking from the bottle now, so it was very hard for Lily to keep track of how much alcohol she had actually had. All she knew now was that everything was hilarious.
"If only you'd had that opinion of me three years ago," James said, pretending to be offended. "Exactly when did you stop hating me, Lilyflower?"
"No, listen!" Lily demanded, pouting and putting her hands on her hips. "You've won the Quidditch Cup for Gryffindor how many times now?"
"Four."
"Yes, and you're the Head Boy, and you could be top of the class if you wanted to be but you're too cool for that of course."
"Top of the class?" James laughed. "I could never top you."
Lily giggled again, and then became aware that for the second time that night, their faces were drawing nearer. Who had started it? It didn't matter now; they were so close that Lily could smell the same scent that she had noticed under the Invisibility Cloak all that time ago – it was musky but almost sweet. Now she could feel his hot breath on her, and something possessed her: she pulled his body towards her and their lips crashed together.
It was better than she had even imagined. The kiss was warm and passionate, and when their tongues collided or when James moved his hands down her back, her belly jolted like she'd had lots of tiny electric shocks. She responded in kind: her hands roamed in his tousled hair; down his muscular forearms; under his t-shirt. The faint taste of Firewhiskey on his tongue only heightened her senses even further.
They broke apart, gasping for breath. For once, Lily didn't feel any humour in the situation; she didn't feel drunk anymore.
"Lily?"
As they locked eyes, Lily realised that it was the first time she had seem James Potter look remotely vulnerable. She decided it was time to stop playing games.
"James… Believe me, I've tried to stop it, but I've wanted to do that all night."
James looked astonished; whatever he had expected her to say, it wasn't that. He looked so disbelieving that Lily thought the only way to prove that she was genuine was to kiss him again, so she did. (Without hesitation – her first taste of James Potter was almost as good as her first taste of Firewhiskey. Better, even.)
The second kiss left James grinning. "So you really don't hate me?"
"Not anymore."
"Since when?"
"I don't know," Lily admitted; she had been asking herself the same question. "This year, I think. But it's been creeping up on me."
She didn't know it was even possible, but James's grin got wider. "Does that mean I can ask you out again?"
Lily rolled her eyes. "Ask me when I'm sober."
"Fair enough."
There was a pause. Then Lily said, "James, I'm scared."
"Of what?"
"Letting someone in. I've always been so independent. And we're leaving school soon, and… there's a war out there," she said, remembering the pang she had when James had pointed out that it was their last ever Quidditch Cup. "It's so dangerous."
James took Lily's hands in his. "You never crept up on me," he said, looking her right in the eyes. "You hit me like a double-decker bus. Right in the beginning. And I hope that tells you that I'm going to look after you, you know, if we…"
Lily smiled, gently pulling her hands away. "Tomorrow," she whispered, keeping the eye contact. "We'll talk tomorrow."
"Tomorrow," James agreed.
They shared one last kiss in the quiet of the night, but this kiss was different – gentler. They savoured it.
A/N: Not the best thing I've ever written as I'm not very experienced at writing the Marauders, but a bit of fluffy fun that I hope you enjoyed!
Just a note to say that I've deviated from book!canon in one way and it is deliberate. JKR has said that James was a Chaser, but I've always thought of him as a Seeker because he plays with the Snitch so much, and movie!canon states that he was a Seeker like Harry. So for a change I decided to go with that interpretation.