The Not-Date
Summary: James Potter has become too uptight for his friends' liking, so they enlist the help of Lily Evans to bring him back to reality.
Author notes: I didn't get as far into their not-date in this chapter as I thought I would, so instead of a 3 part story, it might end up being more like 4-5. This is meant to be just a light, silly story, so if it seems to move kind of fast and abruptly that's why. I still hope you enjoy it, though!
James opened his eyes and found himself standing in the middle of a forest that looked very much like the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts.
James instinctively grabbed Lily's arm. "Evans! What the fuck? The Forbidden Forest? Are you bloody insane?"
Lily swatted him away. "Calm the hell down, Potter. I didn't realize you were such a ninny. It's not the Forbidden Forest. We're in Surrey."
"I am not a ninny!" James whispered fiercely. "And what are we doing in Surrey?"
Lily grabbed James's arm and led him down a trail through the trees. "I live in Surrey. Quite near here actually. This was my favorite place to go when I was younger."
"This was your favorite place? A bleeding forest? What are you, a rabbit?"
"No, not the forest, you wanker," Lily replied. She pushed through one last particularly bushy area and they emerged in a clearing. "This was my favorite place."
They were standing by a pool of water surrounded by big, gray boulders. On one side, the creek trailed on for as far as James could see. On the other side was a tall cliff surrounded by trees. The way the moonlight lit up the clearing made him wonder if he was dreaming or not.
Even James had to admit that it was a beautiful spot. He turned to look at Lily and his breath caught in his throat. She looked so pretty standing there. She wasn't even looking around. Her eyes were closed and her head tilted up towards the sky. She was breathing deeply, as thought she was taking in the smell of all her favorite memories.
James cleared his throat. "Have you brought me here to seduce me, Evans?" He joked lightly.
Lily didn't respond. No sharp retort. No quick wit. It took her a few moments to even open her eyes. When she finally turned to look at him, she seemed a little disoriented.
"Sorry, what did you say?" she asked slowly.
"Distracted much?" James asked softly in reply.
Lily chuckled quietly. "I haven't been here in a while." She glanced around the clearing. "This place… it… it reminds me of… ah, well, you know. It's special to me."
"Look at you," James said, "the feisty redhead has feelings and emotions after all."
"Don't get all girly on me, Potter," Lily replied without turning back to him. She turned and began walking towards the cliff.
"Are we leaving already?" James asked.
"No, we're jumping in."
James stopped in alarm. "We're what?"
Lily ignored him.
"Evans? Oh come on, Evans, don't be like that!"
Lily chose not to reply. She led James up the rocks and stopped on a rock under a particularly large tree with a rope hanging from it. Lily turned to face James.
"We are going to swing off this rock into the creek, Potter," Lily said matter-of-factly. "And you are going to love it."
"Uh… no," James replied.
"Uh… yes," Lily said slowly.
"No way. No."
"Yes, Potter, yes," Lily firmly insisted.
"No. I am not doing that. We're out here, alone, who knows what the bloody hell might happen, and plus we don't have suits and…" James rambled.
"Come on, Potter. Don't be a baby!" As she said this, she unbuttoned her cloak and threw it on the rock. She then unbuttoned her jeans and began pulling them off.
James's jaw dropped. "Evans, what the hell are you doing?" he asked slowly, whispering as though someone might hear him.
Lily was now standing on the rock in just her bra and underwear. "I am going to jump into this creek. I suggest you strip down as well. It's bloody miserable walking around in wet clothes."
Lily grabbed the rope and slowly walked backwards and stepped up onto the next highest rock. She turned to look at James and smiled.
"Wish me luck." With that, she kicked off the rocks and swung into the creek, laughing and screaming all the way down.
"EVANS!" James yelled, quickly stepping to the ledge. He looked down and saw Lily bobbing in the water.
"Come on, Potter!" she yelled.
"I'm good here, thanks," he gulped.
"What are you," she taunted, "scared?"
"I'm not scared," James yelled, "I just fancy living. That's all. I'm going to stay up here if it's all the same to you."
"Whatever you want, Potter," she called back.
James turned around and sat down on the rock Lily had kicked herself off of moments before. Despite appearances, he wasn't scared. He was James Potter, after all, and Potters were fearless. And he was a bloody chaser, for Merlin's sake! No, it wasn't fear that kept James from following Lily's lead.
It was a conversation he had had with dad over the summer hols. A conversation that left him quite pensive, to say the least.
It was a pleasant conversation, actually. They spoke of Quidditch and James's new position as Head Boy. They spoke of Sirius and his crazy antics. They spoke of the future. William Potter told his son how proud he was of him, of the friends he had and the life he was living. At the end of the conversation, as William was getting up to leave, he firmly placed his hand on James's shoulder and said, "Enjoy your last year, son. It isn't easy after Hogwarts. Life outside that castle is growing darker and more dismal by the day. You'll be forced to grow up, to stop playing games… to settle down."
James stared up at his father, but William's eyes were in another time. After a moment, he shook out of his reverie and looked down at his son. "Hopefully you'll find someone as amazing as your mother. Still not sure how I managed that one," he said with a smile. The serious tone from just a second before was gone, but James couldn't forget it. To this day he couldn't get his father's words out of his head.
He didn't like the idea of being forced to grow up, so he chose to take his fate into his own hands. From that day forward, James fancied himself to be a man, no longer the pranking, womanizing, insufferable boy he was once so proud to be.
James didn't know how much time had passed since Lily jumped into the creek. He could still hear her swimming so he reckoned it couldn't have been too long. He got up and slowly walked to the ledge of the rocks to sneak down into the water.
She was floating on her back, arms and legs splayed around her. Her long hair was fanned around her head and positively glowing in the moonlight. Her eyes were closed, and for a moment James thought she might be sleeping.
He stared at her. She had a bloody fantastic body. No wonder Sirius kept coming back for more. He wouldn't say she was skinny, but Lily Evans was by no means fat. Her breasts were round and full and while she had a small waist, her hips… Merlin, those hips… James was almost beside himself.
He was getting dizzy just looking at her, and he noticed that his breathing was a little shallow. Why was this blasted girl making him feel so strange? It wasn't just the fact that she was lying half-naked in a pool of water. There was something more to it than that.
Suddenly, Lily opened her eyes. James blushed, realizing that he had been caught staring, but didn't break his gaze.
"Hey," he said quietly.
"Hey," she said back, not changing her position in the water.
Something about the way she was looking at him made him feel daring. Something akin to how he used to feel all the time. "I, uh... I think I want to jump now," he said, a little louder this time.
She smiled up at him, a wide and glorious smile that made his heart skip just a little. "Go for it," she said encouragingly.
James stepped back from the edge and slowly took off his cloak, sweater, and jeans. He folded his clothing and laid them on the rock next to Lily's scattered, carelessly-thrown clothes. James then removed his undershirt, socks, and shoes. He chose to keep his glasses on.
James took one last quick glance over the edge. Lily was sitting on a rock now, with her legs dangling in the water. She seemed to sense his gaze and looked up. There was a look of surprise in her eyes, but she quickly recovered and yelled up at him, "Let's go, Potter! Sometime before the sun rises."
He rolled his eyes and stepped back, grabbing on to the rope. Now or never, he thought. Now or never.
