By: MissMidnightMischief
In early spring, Hogwarts was constantly being showered by storms. And with the rain, each droplet would bring a new spark of love.
Ooh, the last part of this story has now arrived! I'm sort of sad to see it go, but I'm fairly proud that I actually finished a multi-chapter story. Even though it is only four chapters, it's a start! I hope this is everything you want it to be: Please, read, enjoy, and review!
Special thanks to the reviewers who made me smile...BrazillianPrincess. Thanks again!
Disclaimer: I own nothing you know.
Stormy Nights
Chapter 4
The next morning at breakfast, both Hannah & Remus and Sirius & Edie were snuggled next to each other, feeding each other scones and holding hands and such. Lily and James sat across from each other, both feeling quite awkward.
Lily did everything she could to avoid James' eyes while James merely watched her, hoping everything would work out in the end.
Dumbledore stood at the end of the meal and announced to the students that a Hogsmeade trip was scheduled for the upcoming weekend. Excited murmurs swept through the hall as he dismissed them to their next class.
"So we're all going, right?" Hannah asked excitedly.
"Psh, of course!" Sirius said, grinning, before slinging an arm around Edie and kissing her swiftly on the lips.
As the group began to get up, James started towards Lily. "Hey, Lily, I wanted to – "
Lily, who was pretending not to hear him, hurried off towards Charms. James' face fell as he watched her retreating figure before following his friends out of the Great Hall.
After Charms and a particularly hard Potions class, the Gryffindor's had break. James and Sirius headed to the library to finish up their essay for McGonagall.
They settled into a table in the back, lowering their voice to a whisper to avoid confrontation from the hawk-like Madam Pince.
"Man, Prongs…you have no idea how great it is to finally be with Edie. Properly, I mean. I don't understand why I was so weird before…I guess I was afraid she wouldn't take me. But its so much better being able to snog her all the time rather then – hey, mate, what's bothering you?" Sirius inquired, as James had just slammed his quill down with a huff.
"Nothing, I just don't get what we're supposed to be saying in this essay. C'mon, let's go find Remus," James said swiftly, standing up and grabbing his bag.
A bewildered Sirius followed, wondering why James needed help for his best subject.
They wandered through the corridors casually until they heard a whimper from a round the corner. They turned – and found shock.
The whimper had come from Hannah's mouth, though muffled for Remus had his arms protectively around her as they stood against a wall. They were staring at the scene across from them in horror in disgust.
A group of six large, burly Slytherins formed a half-circle around the wall, their wands out. They were pointing at Edie, who was pinned against the wall by none other then Lucius Malfoy.
Edie desperately cried for help, but her cries were almost unheard for her mouth was covered by Malfoy's lips. He shoved her back into the brick and she punched him in the stomach, but he still kept his body firmly against her.
The fury from Sirius' body was so extreme, James could feel it radiating next to him. He soon felt the same as he noticed Lily sprawled on the ground, unconscious.
Pulling their wands out, the two sprinted forward, cursing at every man they could. By the time they reached Malfoy, only two others remained.
James dove over to Lily and began fussing over her, trying to find what was wrong.
Sirius' eyes were almost black as he hexed the final two men. The Slytherins on the ground looked as if they had seen much better days.
Eyes blazing, Sirius pointed his wand a Lucius, who was now standing in front of Edie, facing Sirius.
"Get away from my girl," Sirius warned in a deadly quiet voice, "Or I can promise that you'll look worse then all of these gits combined."
Malfoy smirked, "Is that what you think?"
Sirius bolted forward, shoving his wand against Malfoy's throat. "That's what I know," he hissed into his ear.
Malfoy looked into Sirius' furious eyes and for a moment, he looked frightened. His cool demeanor returned, however, as he replied smoothly, "You won't be getting away with this."
Malfoy stepped away from Edie, who let out a strangled cry and dove into Sirius' arms. With his wand still pointing at Malfoy, Sirius said, "Go ahead, get me detention – I don't care. Just stay away from Edie and I won't be forced to do my worst."
Malfoy glared one last time at Sirius before turning away and stomping off.
As Edie sobbed into Sirius' chest, he muttered soothing words into her ear, stroking her hair. Remus and Hannah joined them, Hannah looking pale and shaking. James was knelt on the ground, holding Lily in his arms. His expression was unreadable as he muttered, "Ennervate."
Lily's eyes fluttered open and she looked around. She saw Edie crying into Sirius, Remus holding Hannah, and then looked up and saw James. She whimpered slightly before getting up shakily with James' help. As the six walked to the common room, Lily leaned into James' chest and sighed as he wrapped his arms around her.
Remus sighed. "We were just walking to lunch when we heard footsteps behind us. We turned and saw Malfoy with six of his friends. Their wands were out and Malfoy started for Edie. We tried to stop them, which is how Lily got cursed. Hannah and I knew we had to back off otherwise we'd have been in the Hospital Wing for at least a week.
"I guess they forgot about us, cause they didn't even look our way as we stood aside. Malfoy pinned Edie against the wall and the other gits surrounded them with their wands out. Hannah and I didn't know what they were going to do. That's when he tried to kiss her. Edie pushed him away but he hit her across the face and kissed her again, pinning her arms back. With six other guys, who, by the way, weren't as stupid as they looked, and Lily unconscious, we didn't know what to do. We were afraid to take them on by ourselves," Remus finished quietly.
"But we weren't," whispered James hoarsely, glancing over at Lily.
"But you weren't. We're lucky you guys came when you did," Remus told him, nodding.
Suddenly Edie stood up. "I'm starving. Let's go to lunch."
Sirius, who had been holding her, looked up at Edie. She gave him a look before turning to the girls.
Lily and Hannah stood up as well. As Hannah and Edie left, Lily turned around.
"You coming?" Lily inquired, looking at James.
Sirius made to stand, but James pulled him back down. "We'll come down later," he said, sharing a glance with his friends.
Lily's face fell, but she nodded lightly. "Yeah," she added softly.
As she left the portrait hole, Remus and Sirius turned to James in mild shock.
"Lily just basically asked you to have lunch with her, and you say, "We'll come down later"! What is wrong with you?" Sirius said in disbelief.
"Just come with me," James replied, before leading his friends to the library.
As the Marauders neared the back of the vast expanse of books, Remus and Sirius assumed they were going to the restricted section. That's why they were surprised once more as James turned a sharp left.
"Flowers Advanced; Scents of the World…." Sirius read the titles of books they passed before looking at James in repulsion. "What on earth are you on about?"
Remus snickered as James slowed.
James nervous wrung his fingers together. "I, uh…" he paused, taking a breath. "I'm in love with Lily."
Remus and Sirius just stared.
After a minute of nervous silence, Sirius said simply, "We know."
James laughed. "No, you see, before I didn't know I was in love with her. I just figured I was intrigued, you know, since she never had any interest in me. But after…well, I suppose I should tell you something."
James filled them in on how he'd been visiting Lily as a stag whenever it rained.
"So last night, when I came, Lily just comes running over to me and tells me that she loves James – me. So then I, being the prat that I am, go running into the forest, not believing its real. Plus, I'm pretty sure I would've tried to snog her right then and there if I hadn't left, I was so bloody excited. Then when I came back, Lily was gone.
"It was then that I realized that I had to show her I loved her. And that's why we're here."
Remus and Sirius were simply grinning at him.
"What?" James asked, smiling nervously. They just shook their heads and began to research…
James sat on his bed, his head in his hands, pondering over his plan. Moonlight and the sound of Sirius' snores filled the dormitory.
The quiet was interrupted by the alarm on James' watch going off. He sighed and stood up.
"I'll take that as a sign to go," he muttered before going over to his wardrobe.
He pulled on a pair of khaki shorts and a navy blue button up. He decided the shirt looked too dressy so he threw on a white tee under and rolled up the sleeves slightly, leaving the top few buttons undone.
"Here goes nothing," said James, mussing up his hair and straightening his glasses before heading out of the dorm.
Lily leaned against the wall of the Astronomy Tower rooftop, breathing in the sweet air. She could tell that a storm was coming. She'd decided to come up to the roof to wait for it to rain before heading down to the tree.
I wonder where my stag is now, Lily thought as she looked over the indigo-bathed grounds. The silence was calming, and there was a slight bite to the air. She pulled her white jacket tighter around her yellow sundress (which she had thrown on in the thought that it'd be a balmier night) before she found herself drifting into a daydream…
Lily was standing on a balcony in a white halter dress, her long hair brushing her back in the cool ocean breeze. She looked out over the sunset and the waves, a content smile on her face.
A pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist from behind. She grinned and leaned back into his toned chest, feeling him nestle into her hair. Lily turned around in his arms and looked up into his deep hazel eyes, reaching up to tousle his jet-black hair.
"You came," she said simply, smiling.
"Of course," James replied, pulling Lily closer.
"I can't leave a pretty lady waiting," he murmured softly as he tipped up her chin and pressed his lips against hers.
After a moment, he pulled away. "I love you, L – "
" – Lily!"
Lily whipped around and felt her breath catch in her throat as she saw James standing in the doorway to the roof.
"James…what are you doing here?" she asked, secretly admiring the way his navy shirt and khaki shorts contrasted with his gorgeous eyes and tousled hair.
"I…I have to tell you something," he said, walking slowly towards her.
Lily's eyes followed his every movement before he stopped before her.
"I think you need to see something to understand this," he said, staring intently at Lily with –
his hazel eyes.
Those hazel eyes!
Lily gasped.
"It's been you?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper, even though she already knew the answer.
James looked down at her, smiling slightly. "Yeah, I'm the stag."
Her eyes brimming with tears, Lily asked, "But why?"
James leaned against the wall next to Lily and sighed. "Well, you know how Remus is a werewolf, right?"
Lily nodded. Of course, he told me in fifth year. But what does that have to do with James?
"Well, we knew that he was beating himself up over it. And we knew we had to do something to make it better. So in fifth year, we learned how to be Anamagi. Sirius turns into a big, black dog, and I become a stag. We're unregistered, obviously, but every full moon we go with Remus. Apparently it sort of…tames him. It's been a lot easier for him since we can go with him.
"And, well, I knew you always go out during a storm, and I wanted to be with you, so I came down as a stag and stayed with you. Every time it stormed since the first night, I had to come down," James told her, his voice cracking slightly. He ran a hand through his hair, messing it up even more.
Lily looked away, her face glistening slightly with tears. "But why?" she whispered again.
James sighed. "No matter where I went, you were there. I couldn't get you out of my head. I felt like I already knew you, even though we never got along well and didn't talk much. Ever since that first night, I realized that there was so much more to you…and I wanted to know it. Since then, I began to notice that I spent a lot of time with you. I learned that it wasn't enough. I didn't know how much being around you was affecting me…until I noticed that I couldn't bare it when you were away. I always wished that we were together. You became a part of me, Lils. I started to sleep, dream, think, breath – you." James stopped and stepped in front of Lily. He put his hands on her waist and smiled.
"Lily, even if it took me forever to realize it, I know its true."
Lily's heart stopped.
"I love you."
And James kissed her.
Lily pulled him closer, running her fingers through his deliciously soft hair, his hands caressing her back. They wound together, deepening the kiss. How could I have lived without this, Lily wondered. He kissed her breathless until she couldn't think straight, before pulling gently away.
"James…." she said, whispering into his ear, "I love you, too."
James felt like his heart was exploding. He grinned from ear to ear and lifted Lily up, holding her tight and swinging her around.
He slowed down and she wrapped her legs around his waist, grinning at him. James felt woozy at the sight of her beauty. He pulled her closer. "I have to show you something," he murmured, breathing in the minty-spice smell of her hair.
He felt Lily nod against his chest and she dropped down, grabbing his hand.
James led her to the west wall of the tower and tapped it with his wand. At the touch, a stream of shimmering, white crystals (though they seemed like they were clouds) poured from the wall, twisting down faintly to the ground. Lily gasped in amazement as she walked towards it.
"What is it?" she breathed in wonder.
James smirked. "It's a slide."
Lily turned to James in surprise. "What's it made of?"
James laughed, pulling her close again. "That's my girl, so curious."
Lily blushed, smiling into his chest.
"Well, let's go!" James exclaimed, stepping away from Lily and dropping onto the start of the slide.
"Huh?" she cried, laughing.
"Come on!" James grinned. Lily shook her head, but smiled and sat down behind James.
James pushed off the rood and began to glide swiftly down the slide. Lily's laughter trailed behind him as she too made her way to the bottom. He waited patiently as Lily slide down before touching the plush grass.
"Just a second," James told her before transforming into his Anamagi form.
Lily smiled softly and walked over to him. She stroked his head softy before telling him, "You know, I don't think I'll be allowed to see you anymore. My boyfriend won't allow it."
James' eyes lit up before he tried to tell her to get on. Lily seemed to get the message as she climbed onto his back.
James galloped off into the forest swiftly, Lily clinging to his neck, her deep red hair blowing behind her. After several minutes of silent riding into the night, James slowed down. Lily slid off of him and James transformed back.
"Alright, now close your eyes," he told her. Lily obliged, and James took her hand before walking forward.
As they walked, Lily felt very curious as to walking forward. Suddenly the smell of rain, early morning, and freshly cut grass filled her nose. The ground beneath her felt softer and she could hear –
– running water?
"Can I please open my eyes now?" Lily asked, bouncing on her toes. She heard James laugh.
"Yeah," he said.
Lily opened her eyes and gasped in amazement. They were standing a beautiful clearing. The trees around it were like willows, with gorgeous white flowers hanging from them. The air seemed to have a vibrant glow to it. Tiny fairies flew around in the air above them, illuminating the clearing. The ground was covered with white and yellow lilies, red roses, and indigo daffodils. A small stone path led to a little open space in the flowers. Next to the open area was a medium sized pond, and pouring into that was a beautiful waterfall.
"James, what is all this?" Lily asked, stepping slowly down the path to the little clearing.
James came up behind her and joined her in the clearing. "I did it for you, so you never forget that I love you."
Lily turned to him, her face positively glowing. "That is the nicest, sweetest, sappiest and most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me!" she cried, before jumping onto him. She kissed him swiftly, and he grinned against her lips. She pulled away and slid down, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"But next time, just kiss me!" Lily laughed.
James grinned and pecked her on the lips.
"Will do, love. Will do."
As James captured Lily's lips with his own, the rain began to fall all around them. Lily wrapped her legs around James once more and kissed him feverishly as the rain fell faster.
It was just as she had said.
The biggest things always happened on those wonderful, stormy nights.
Fin.
authors note.
Yay! It's finally finished! I'm so totally pleased with how this turned out. I hope you enjoyed it; I'm sort of sad to see it go! I may write an epilogue or sequel, depending on how much time and interest I have. I'm going to try to write some more stories as well, probably doing the same thing where I finish it first and then post it every week. I have a few ideas in mind, so you should be hearing from me again soon. For now, thank you. –Kaelei
Peace.
Love.
Hapiness.