A/N: This is my fic for the Jily Royalty Fest Hope you guys enjoy it Let smirking boys smirk! :D

"Mother. Can I go now? Sirius and Remus are here already." Prince James looked pleadingly at his mother beside him.

"No. James, the whole purpose of this ball was to find a suitor for you. Your father and I are getting on in age. You'll have to take over some time. The country can't have a king without a queen. Which means you have to stand here and greet our guests." James' mother turned her head, and smiled warmly as the next guest entered the large ballroom.

"MOTHER! I'm not going to find anyone here! I can't believe you are even hosting this 'ball'. It's absolutely ridiculous to believe that I'm going to fall in love with someone in one night! It's impossible." James huffed grumpily and looked over to where his friends were standing, but stayed by the Queen's side.

"I cannot believe we're finally going to meet Prince James!" Petunia squealed directly in Lily's ear. Lily made a face and glared out the window. They were fast approaching the castle and Lily couldn't wait to get there — to escape Petunia and her high pitched gibberish.

"Lily dear, stop growling at the window, it's very unladylike. You are a princess love, and your father and I have let you be yourself and not forced you into princess duties, but you have come of age, Lily. And it's time to start behaving like the royalty that you are." Duchess Evans glared at Lily as she spoke.

Lily's head snapped around and she trained her green eyes on her mother. She clenched her jaw and bit back a sarcastic remark. "I still don't see the point of me going. Petunia is older. She is in line for the crown. She's trying to get James. What does that have to involve me?"

Lily's mother's eyes widened. "PRINCE James, Lily. Respect!"

Lily rolled her eyes. "I think the whole idea of this ball is stupid. How can the King and Queen expect him to fall in love with someone in one night? It's impossible." She huffed grumpily and smoothed out her dress as the car pulled into the castle lawn.

James bowed for what felt like the hundredth time that night. The ball was progressing behind him, but he had not yet joined in the swirling pool of dancers in the ballroom. So far, all the girls had come in with simpering smiles, and bashful eyes, fluttering their eyelashes as they greeted him. The girl in front of him floated off into the ballroom, practically squealing at her mother. James automatically bowed at the next girl, his mind wandering to his mates. He wished that he could join them.

He rose from his bow as the girl in front rose from her curtsy. As she lifted her head, their eyes met, and all thoughts about Remus and Sirius vanished from his mind. Her eyes were a steady, piercing, yet mesmerizing green, and unlike all the other girls, there wasn't anything coquettish about her. Her face was serene, her mouth set firm in a small curving line. She wasn't trying to draw his attention or portray any qualities - giggling and eyelash batting - that all the other girls had seemed to think that he would be drawn to. They stared at each other for a long moment, their faces identically expressionless and their gazes unwavering, before she dropped hers and moved away with her father. James burned to ask his mother her name but resisted, knowing that she would overreact to the question. He did, however, watch her red hair flow gracefully behind her as she merged and vanished in the sea of people. He'd have to find her later. James turned and bowed at the next simpering girl in front of him, his mind focused on the previous girl in the lilac dress.

Lily moved through the crowd of people, looking for a corner where she could stand quietly until she could leave. Her parents were off talking to various Kings and Queens, Dukes and Duchesses and Tuney was already on the dance floor, weaving through the men until she could nab a dance with James. PRINCE! Prince James. She better start remembering, or her mother was going to have her head. As she walked against the edge of the ballroom, Lily couldn't deny that it was beautiful. Large chandeliers hung from the high carved ceiling, casting a golden glow over the graceful dancers. People on the dance floor were spinning and dipping in time, their faces identical expressions of enthrallment.

"Hello love." A rich, deep voice interrupted Lily's musings. She turned to see a young man with shimmering grey eyes standing behind her. "Sirius Black and Remus Lupin to your rescue." he said, indicating the other man next to him.

"Rescue? I don't need rescuing, thanks. And Lily Evans." she made to turn away, but stopped when Sirius continued talking.

"You look like you're having as much fun we are at this fabulously entertaining, not-boring-at-all ball." His voice dripped with sarcasm and he focused his sharp gaze on Lily.

Remus smirked and said "You definitely need rescuing. Everyone needs rescuing from this ball." He grinned and linked arms with her, steering her towards the corner of the room.

Despite herself, Lily smiled. "I do find it slightly pointless".

Sirius linked his arm with Lily's free one. "I like you already. We're going to be best friends. And we're actually going to enjoy this waste of a
night." Lily laughed and allowed herself to be pulled along by the two boys.

James spun the girl in his arms, his eyes focused on a corner of the room. She had joined Sirius and Remus and the three of them were laughing together. Even from a distance, James could tell that her whole face lit up when she laughed. She was beautiful and possibly even more intriguing than she was at the start of the night. He burned to know her name, to ask her for a dance, but he couldn't. Not without insulting the other royals. James reluctantly tore his gaze away from the trio to bow at the curtsying lady and accept a new one into his arms.

Lily smiled and bit her lip to prevent a laugh from escaping. Remus and Sirius had certainly brightened her evening, with jokes and hilarious stories about them growing up with James. PrinceJames. She threw yet another glance at the dance floor. She didn't quite know why, but seeing him dancing in the crowd brought a slight blush to her cheeks. There was nothing really to blush about, but throughout the night, the thought of him was niggling at the back of her mind. She kept replaying their meeting in her head. His eyes had been so intense, deep pools of hazel that only seemed to emphasize the sharp lines of his face. He was rather good looking actually, Lily had to admit. And maybe it was her imagination, but he seemed to be throwing glances her way. She chastised herself for letting her mind wander to him - he was probably looking at his friends after all - and turned back to face Sirius. He was watching her with an odd expression, but he smiled and offered her his hand.

"Dance with me Lady Lily? I've run out of witty comments."

"I'm sure you haven't, but of course." Lily glided across the floor coming to stop across from Sirius.

She curtsied and he bowed before taking each others' hands and stepping towards each other. They began to dance – Sirius was quite an impressive dancer – and Lily realized that they were dancing quite close to Prince James. The tempo of the song picked up and before Lily realized what was happening, Sirius had called out, "Prongs! Switch partners!"

Lily's eyes widened as Sirius and James, in perfect synchrony, rolled their dance partner out and into the waiting arms of the other and if Lily had been looking, she would have noticed the smirk play across Sirius' features as she twirled into Prince James' arms.

Lily looked up to see him smiling down at her. "James." She breathed, before catching herself. "Prince! James. Oh my I'm so sorry. No disrespect intended."

She blushed deeply, but he only chuckled lightly. "James is perfectly fine. I honestly hate it when people address me by my title. You are?" he inquired, moving her in time to the music.

"I'm Lily. Lily Evans. So I guess, 'Your Royal Highness' is out of the question?" she grinned at him as he twirled her around.

"Most definitely out of the question. Petunia's sister? You're nothing alike."

"We get that a lot. In perfect honesty, I'm rather glad that we're not similar."

Lily enjoyed how easily the conversation was flowing between them, and she could not for a second deny the fact that her heart was racing and thudding hard against her chest.

"I'm glad too." James paused, and for a moment, they gazed at each other, both certain that their erratic breathing wasn't from the dancing alone. "You were with Sirius and Remus. Do you know them?"

Lily could feel the swish of her dress around her knees as she waltzed with the messy haired boy. "No. Not until tonight. We shared the same opinions about the ball."

Lily grimaced. She shouldn't have said that. Not to James.

"It's alright. I'm with you guys on this. I don't know. Mum wouldn't listen. But to me it seems pointless. For me to fall in love with someone in one night, it's…"

"Impossible." Lily finished his sentence and he nodded imperceptibly.

They were silent again, their hearts thudding in synchrony. James broke the silence first.

"What did they tell you? Sirius and Remus? You were laughing earlier." He had narrowed his eyes, a suspicious look crossing over his handsome features.

Lily could feel the blood rush to her cheeks. He had been looking at her. She averted her eyes and bit back a smile. "Just some stuff. Stories about growing up with you. Some concerning forks and prongs." She couldn't help it, she grinned.

James cringed and let out a groan. "They LIE. They always lie. It's never my fault."

Lily looked at him. "What about the frying pan then?"

James grinned. "Okay. THAT was me."

Lily smiled "Do you talk by rule then, while you are dancing?"

James smirked and replied. "Sometimes. One must speak a little, you know." He laughed at Lily's stricken expression. "Serves you right, didn't think I would get the reference did you?"

"No. I never. What. Why, in heavens name, would you have read that book?" she replied, utterly stunned.

"Mum made me. Said everyone should. It was quite nice, I liked it. Never thought it would come in handy though. But for the expression on your face, I would read it all over again." James winked at her. "To answer the original question, not really. Haven't spoken to anyone else tonight. Just you. I like it though. It's a refreshing change from the silence."

The fast dance came to end, and a slow one began. James and Lily stepped away from each other to bow and curtsy.

"Do you want to switch partners?" James asked tentatively.

"No. Do you?"

"No. One more dance?" Lily agreed, and she stepped into his arms. James placed a hand on her waist and she rested her head against his shoulder. They slow danced to the music, their minds thinking the same thing – impossible.

Remus tumbled off the dance floor towards Lily, a young girl with spunky pink hair in tow. Both of them were smiling, pink in the face.

"Lily. I've finally started enjoying this ball!", he exclaimed.

The pink haired girl laughed. "Hi! I'm Dora." she extended her hand, which Lily promptly took.

"Lily." and to Remus she added, "That's nice Remus. Me too, actually."

Remus smirked again, "Oh I bet."

Before Lily could respond, Remus turned to Dora, "Drinks?" She responded with an enthusiastic "Hell, yes!", and they both made their way to the nearest waiter.

Lily blinked after them and once again looked for James on the dance floor. She couldn't spot him. Was she being ridiculous? Didn't she just tell herself that it wasn't possible to fall in love in one night? But that was before she had danced with James. Did he feel the same way? Lily longed to know. She longed to talk to him and find out. But she couldn't even see him. She craned her neck just as an arm draped over her shoulders. She turned to see Sirius, smiling like a child given too much candy.

"Looking for someone?"

"No." Lily replied defensively.

"Liar. You two couldn't take your eyes off each other."

Lily blushed despite herself and felt a tug at the pit of her stomach.

Sirius smirked and took her hand. "Come with me love. Try not to draw anyone's attention."

Lily arched her eyebrows, but followed Sirius through the crowd. They slipped through the curtains into a large living room.

"Go out through the glass door onto the balcony. I'll keep watch here. Just go." Sirius said in response to Lily's puzzled expression.

She crossed the room and slid the glass doors open, stepping into the cool night air. The balcony was lined with plants, and James stood at the edge of the balcony, leaning on the banister, looking out over the garden illuminated in the moonlight. Lily's pulse raced as she caught sight of him and she made her way to him. Once she arrived next to him, James turned to face her and smiled.

"Hey." he whispered softly, reaching a hand up to cup her face. He stroked a thumb across her cheek. "I haven't stopped thinking about you all night. And remember how I – we both — said that it was impossible to fall in love in one night? I've changed my mind, because, Lily, I think that I may have fallen in love with you."

Lily breath hitched as he continued, "I'm not asking you to marry me, not yet anyway, but if you, too, want to try and give us a shot, I think that we would work. Hell, we'll be spectacular." James paused, and smiled down at Lily. "My affections and wishes are and will be unchanged, but one word from you will silence me on this subject forever." His eyes twinkled, hoping that Lily would catch the reference.

Lily's faced broke out in a smile as the palpable tension dissipated, making everything seem possible. She stepped closer to James, placing her hands behind his neck. "Did you go and look that up?"

James grinned down at her. "Straight to my mother's library."

Lily smiled up at him, threading her fingers through his soft hair. She stood on her tiptoes and he brought his head down, meeting her lips with his. He kissed her softly and she responded enthusiastically until they were both slightly out of breath. She pulled away and he rested his forehead against hers.

She looked up into his eyes and murmured, "Definitely possible.", before pulling him down for another kiss under the moonlight.

Pretzels to all you lovely readers! Double pretzels to the ones that recognized the Pride And Prejudice reference. (It was very not subtle.) I did mess around with the ages slightly, just because i wanted to stick Tonks in. Cause she's amazing.

xx

Update (26/8) : Tweaked certain things before uploading this here, so its just a tiny bit different from the one on tumblr. (: