Sirius paced the halls under James's Invisibility Cloak, unable to sleep for several reasons. Firstly, he had eaten far too many coffee truffles while Remus helped him with homework. Secondly, he had a brilliant idea for a new joke product while dreaming, but he couldn't remember what it was. Thirdly, he was feeling too warm inside their room that faced the sun during the hottest part of the day, so their dorm was perpetually warm, even with their charms. Fourthly, Sirius was contemplating how on earth to get Lily to give James a chance.
By no means did he dislike Lily in any way. She was certainly a close friend of his, and he respected her a great deal. But the way she treated James just wasn't right. Never giving him the benefit of the doubt, always snapping at him, always shooting him down. She may not see it and James may not admit it, but Sirius always saw how much Lily's repulsion hurt James. He always saw how her words were like a double-edged sword that cut both bone and marrow.
Truth be told, James had given her reason to be hostile in the past. Sirius thought about this as he ascended a flight of stairs to the seventh floor. He couldn't really blame her for not trusting James, what with everything he would do in previous years. Some of it at my urging, Sirius told himself guiltily. I'm the one that suggested the prank involving the bullfrogs, and that's the one that really tripped the circuit breaker. What could he do? Ultimately, it wasn't his business, but since when did Sirius pass up an opportunity to help his best friends? Sirius snorted quietly as he passed snoozing portraits, wondering what opportunities there had been in the first place. That was the problem; there weren't any opportunities for them to get to know each other on a one-on-one basis. Sirius knew that James had matured quite a bit over the summer, but he was still working on ditching his tough-guy act 24/7 and not always putting up a facade. If the two of them were alone together, would James remember to let down his guard and be himself the way he was around Sirius, Remus, Peter, and the other handful of guys and girls he trusted? Sirius couldn't be certain, but he did know that if James was given a chance, he wouldn't blow it.
I need a plan to get them alone together, Sirius thought. I need a plan to somehow put them in a situation where they have no choice but to be together for a prolonged period of time. But where could I find a place like that? And how would I get them to this non-existent place?
Sirius jumped at the sound of grinding stones, nearly tripping over the Cloak. As he turned around, he noted with interest as a door appeared where there were previously stones. Wait a second, he thought. I'm on the seventh floor. Is this what I think it is?
There's only one way to find out. Grinning ear to ear, Sirius walked up to the door without fear, and allowed himself into the Room of Requirement.
XXXXXXXX
Lily sat in her dorm with Alice on Friday afternoon. She had, once again, finished her homework ahead of everyone else, and was lying on her bed lazily.
"I'm so bored," she said randomly.
"Go find something to do. Why don't you study?" Alice suggested.
"I don't want to study."
"Lily Evans doesn't want to study?"
"Shut up. Honestly, what should I do to keep myself entertained?"
"I heard the Marauders are selling cute knickers for a galleon a piece."
"Of course they would be selling women's underwear. Probably James's idea, the little pervert."
"Let him alone, will you? Go find something to do if you're so bored."
"Okay." With that, Lily jumped off her bed and exited the dorm, heading down to the common room to find entertainment, and perhaps she might take a look at the knickers. She found Mary sitting by a window reading a book. She was just about to go up to her and say hello when another voice called her.
"Hey, Flower!" Great, just what I needed, she thought moodily as she turned to face James who was rushing over to where she was standing.
"Hello, my love," he greeted her charmingly. "You look lovely, as usual."
"Well, for a second there I thought you'd never notice me," she retorted as she walked over to sit in an armchair, though she was secretly flattered by his compliment. She was always secretly flattered by his compliments, but she would rather die than tell that to anyone.
"How is your day?" James asked, sitting on the arm of her chair.
"Fine," she said tartly. "Now will you go away?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because you have cast your magical spell over me, and I couldn't leave your side even if I wanted, for you are the loveliest of women." Lily fought to keep from smiling at this, but she couldn't help blushing.
"Right, now get out of my face." She did want to have some peace, as bored as she was, but with James around that was practically impossible.'
"I can't."
"Yes, you can, and you should."
"No."
"Why?"
"I'm waiting to see if my prank works on the chess geeks. Their table was supposed to explode right about now, but I guess it hasn't. Oh well, you can't have it all."
"Chess geeks!" Lily exclaimed. "What a horrible thing to-"
There was a loud bang, several screams and shrieks, and a cloud of dust on the other end of the common room. The entire common room saw the purple 'M' rise in the air and fade away.
"Get over there and apologize this instant!" Lily shouted at James, pointing in the direction of the exploded table.
"Sorry!" James called to the boys in the corner.
"You lazy boy! Walk over there and apologize!" Sighing, James walked over to the group of boys eyeing him distastefully. Satisfied that he had said sorry, she sat down and picked up a nearby magazine off the table next to her.
"I said sorry, Flower."
"And I said go away."
"Prongs! Lily!" someone called. Lily and James turned to see Sirius trip on his way into the portrait, his eyes frantic and his face flushed. Lily frowned as she and James stood up and walked over to him.
"What's wrong?" she asked him as they exited the portrait hole at Sirius's beckoning.
"Two kids are dueling downstairs on the fifth floor and they're using some kind of black magic," he said quickly. "I tried to stop them, but they didn't even notice me. You two need to see what's going on."
"Let's go," Lily told James and the two teenagers took off at a run down the hallway.
"Let's go," Lily said, and she and James took off at a run down the hallway in the exact direction he had planned for them to go.
"Accio wands," Sirius said quietly, and two wands came drifting down the hallway out of James's and Lily's robes. Perfect, he thought, entering back into the common room.
"Hurry up! They might've hurt someone by now!" Lily urged to James. When she turned to glance at James, he wasn't there. Confused, she stopped and turned to see him standing a few metres behind her, searching through his robes. "What's the matter with you?"
"We have to go back. I don't have my wand with me," he told her. She shook her head.
"I have my own wand," she said, reaching into her robes. "I can handle-what?" Her fingers grasped nothing as she felt in her pocket for her wand. "How could I-I could have sworn I had my wand with me. We have to go back!" They ran in the opposite direction even more quickly than before.
"I don't get it. How on earth could I forget my wand?" Lily asked as they rushed back up the stairs. God, she was starting to get tired from all of this running!
"I hope we get there before-" Suddenly, the two of them were enveloped in a flash of blue light, much like that of a Portkey. She felt her head spin and she blacked out for a second as she felt her body moving. Then she hit what felt like stone floor, and another object she couldn't place. Whatever it was, it was warm. And it moved under her shoulder. Lily opened her eyes to see James sprawled out underneath her own body.
"Lily?" he said softly, placing a hand gently on her back after pulling it out from underneath himself. She stood up, swaying slightly.
"I'm fine, Potter I'm fine. You?" she asked as he rose along with her. In truth, she could have cared less whether or not he was fine. It simply seemed polite to ask.
"Alright. Where are we?" he wanted to know looking around. They were standing in a completely empty stone room albeit a large, beautiful candelabra hanging from the high ceiling. There were no windows in the room and, most shocking to Lily, no door. Suddenly, James's eyes went wide as he pointed at something behind her. "Look!" Lily turned quickly to see a purple 'M' fade into nothing. Without hesitation, she rounded on James.
"You did this didn't you?" she accused. James looked even more shocked than before.
"Are you-"
"That 'M' has been the Marauder insignia for the last six years, don't try and tell me it wasn't you! You wanted to prank me, and you employed Sirius as well!"
"No! I swear-"
"And then you went and stole my wand! For shame! You probably have your wand in your robes! What on-"
"SHUT UP!" James roared, silencing Lily immediately. She blinked; James had never raised his voice at her, never mind told her to shut up. "Will you listen to yourself? If I had done this why the bloody hell would I have shown you the 'M'? Don't you think I would have been just a bit more tactful than that? Why would I prank you if I'm trying to get on your good side also? Think about the facts before you go and scream your head off at me! I'm not the only Marauder in the group, so don't always assume that I do everything because I don't! And I sure as hell didn't do this!"
Lily simply stared, dumbfounded. She couldn't have been more shocked than if he had slapped her across the face. James had just yelled at her. Yelled at her. She didn't know what to say as he stared angrily at her, his hazel eyes dark like obsidian. She wanted to say something to him, but she didn't know what to say aside from the fact that she was actually scared of James at the moment. Was this the way James felt whenever she finished yelling at him? Shocked, hurt, unsure, scared? She certainly felt that way. Besides, James did have very good points. He wouldn't have been so stupid as to ruin his own prank.
"I'm sorry," she said meekly, and she meant it. "You're right. I should have thought about the facts before I shouted at you. I shouldn't have judged you, and I'm sorry."
"It's fine," James told her, his eyes returning back to their normal shade of hazel.
"So we're trapped in a room with no door," Lily said to change the subject. Then, the realization of the situation hit her. "Oh Merlin, we're trapped in a room with no door! Ah! What do we do? What do we do? There's nothing in here!"
"Calm down, woman!" James implored of her as she began to look around the room frantically. "Now if this is Sirius's doing, which it probably is, this should last no more than two hours."
"Two hours!" Lily cried. She would have to spend two hours alone in a room with James Potter? No, it wouldn't work! She began to pace the walls of the room, looking for loose or faulty stones of any sort. After about ten minutes of searching, Lily gave up on it. James was sitting on the floor, watching her with a serene smile on his face.
"What? What are you staring at?" she asked curiously, walking over to sit within a few metres of him. His smiled widened.
"Nothing. Just the most beautiful witch ever to walk the planet." Lily blushed faintly, but didn't say anything. They sat in silence for a while before James broke it.
"So, you're muggle-born, right?" James asked her. She looked over at him, wondering whether or not she should respond. Well, if she was going to be stuck in this door-less room with James, she might as well talk to him.
"Yes, I am. Sirius says you're pureblooded."
"Yup. You've got a sister, Petunia, right."
"Yes. How do you know all of this?"
"You've mentioned them in previous train rides and conversation with your or my friends." Lily's eyes went wide with surprise. He actually took the time to remember her family background? She couldn't help be anything other than impressed.
"I take it you're an only child."
"Yup. It's just my parents and I. I think it would be kind of weird having a little brother or sister. I mean, I hear my friends say it's worst being the eldest because you always get blamed for the things your younger sibling does." Lily smiled wryly.
"It is kind of true. I'm the second child out of two, and Mum and Dad have always doted on me more than Petunia. I was always the one who got top marks and charmed even the rudest of the rude, so they seemed to favor me over Petunia. Even when I did misbehave, I was almost never blamed. It was always Petunia's fault for not watching me closely enough. I suppose that it is more unfair to the eldest, but I do enjoy being the youngest very much."
"Do you get away with more things than Petunia?"
"Oh, definitely. I was allowed to wear high-heeled shoes when I was eleven, while Petunia wasn't allowed them until she was fourteen. I supposed the age difference had something to do with it, but there are several other things similar to that."
"It's fun to be you then, isn't it?" James stated more than asked. Lily smiled once again at him.
"So. Two hours, huh?"
"Yeah, it's a Marauder rule not to use a time limit exceeding four hours, except on holidays and the like. If we're lucky, though, this might only last for one hour."
"You have rules?"
"Well, yeah. We set rules for ourselves and for what we think about the school. We can't just romp around without standards of any kind. We have class, you know."
"You could've fooled me." James smirked at her the way she hated so vehemently.
"I'm James Potter, I can fool anyone."
"Don't be such a prat. Even you have had your slip-ups. Everyone has had them."
"Not me." Lily rolled her eyes at him.
"Oh, stop it. Come on, you've had to have done something stupid or embarrassing in your lifetime, however short it's been." She hadn't expected herself to say quite that, thought she actually found herself wanting to know.
"Oh Merlin, if I were to tell you the most embarrassing thing that's happen to me, I would die."
"I won't tell a single soul."
"No one?"
"No one." James sighed and closed his eyes for a second, as if he was waiting for someone or something to stop him. He opened his eyes to gaze readily at Lily.
"Okay. I was nine or ten at the time, and I was going to primary school, before I started Hogwarts. We had a graduation ceremony in my primary school, and I was supposed to say a little something along with a few other kids. There was something wrong with the auditorium, so we would have to have our ceremony in the gymnasium. They did a pretty good job at the decorations, and they had some nice music playing. They had a big white and blue cloth backdrop to cover the bleachers that draped across the stage they set up. One of the girls was talking on the microphony, and-"
"The what?" Lily interrupted.
"A microphony. You know, the muggle thing used to make your voice louder?" James told her. "You of all people should know this."
"First of all, it's a microphone, not a microphony," she corrected. "And secondly, how do you know what a microphone even is?"
"Mum and Dad said I should go to muggle primary school," he said with a shrug. "They thought it would be good for me to know how to interact with muggles, just in case."
"Interesting," Lily commented thoughtfully. "Anyhow, go on."
"Well, the girl was talking on the microphone, and I was standing on the stage by the backdrop, waiting for my turn to speak. I was just kind of fiddling with the cloth, I had nothing better to do, and somehow the button on the sleeve of my shirt got caught in the cloth." Lily's lips broke out in a huge grin; she just might see where this was going. "It was almost my turn to speak, and I was getting desperate to free my arm, so I gave a hard jerk, but I lost my balance and fell of the side of the stage." James covered his face in his hands, and Lily erupted in a fit of giggles. "And I ripped the backdrop off when I fell." She could see it now, a little boy of ten or so yanking frantically to free his arm, then tumbling unceremoniously off the stage while ripping the entire backdrop off the wall. Lily burst out in laughter, rocking back and forth to keep her sides from hurting.
"That's brilliant!" she exclaimed. She would never have thought that James would have had such an embarrassing yet interesting story up his sleeve. Lily noticed that James's face was beet red. Was he blushing? James Potter, the hottest thing at Hogwarts and name-giver of the Marauders, was blushing?
"I've never been back since," he said, and he cracked a small smile, as Lily shook her head, still giggling slightly. "So, what's your story?" Lily stopped giggling immediately. Oh God, no. Aside from her family members and her three closest friends, no one knew of the horrible incident…
"No, absolutely not," she answered firmly. "Mine is ten times worse than yours."
"Come on, it can't be that bad."
"Oh, yes it can."
"You don't tell mine, I don't tell yours. Apart from my parents and the other Marauders, and of course you, no one knows about what I've just told you." Lily considered this. If he ever did tell her story, couldn't she turn right back around and tell his? Besides, he probably wouldn't tell anyone in the first place, so what had she to lose?
My pride and dignity, she reminded herself before giving a huge sigh, preparing herself to reveal one of her deepest secrets. "I peed in a church in front of the altar." James blinked, making a sound in between a laugh and a huff.
"Sorry?" he asked as a huge smile spread across his face. Lily felt herself blushing like mad, but she forced herself to recount.
"I was five at the time, so I was not even in school yet! Before I came to Hogwarts, my family and I went to church. My parents are Roman Catholic and we always went to church on Sundays. Petunia and I were acolytes when we were still friends-"
"What's an acolyte?" James interrupted her.
"An altar server, someone who assists the priest saying mass," she explained. "Anyhow, Petunia and I were sitting on the side of the altar, and I needed to use the bog very badly, but Petunia told me not to. After all we were serving in the middle of a mass, and it would be rude to walk out to use the bog. So I was sitting there praying for time to go quickly, and I needed to pee so badly, it wasn't even funny. Then Petunia and I had to stand up at the foot of the altar in front of all the people in the church. I told her that I really needed to go to the toilet, but she said I had to wait. Then, I had to pour holy water to wash Father Paul's hands, and that was the last straw."
James made no effort to hide his amusement, and burst out in loud, hysterical laughter. Lily couldn't help laughing along with him; after all, it was very funny.
"You-you-pissed in-in a church!" he gasped, shaking his head furiously as he broke out in fresh peals of laughter. Lily covered her face with her hands.
"I was five!" she said defensively. "Everybody saw the puddle on the floor, and Father Paul himself cleaned it up. Oh, it was horrible!" She couldn't believe that she had told him that, her most embarrassing moment ever. Hell she couldn't believe that she was sitting here, laughing with James Potter over things that others weren't supposed to know.
"Promise you'll never tell?" she demanded.
"Promise, Flower. Honestly, in a church?" he asked disbelievingly.
"Will you stop? I'm embarrassed whenever I think about it, nevermind tell it to someone, and I've done that only once, with Alice, Marlene, and Dorcas." There was a moment of slightly awkward silence. Searching for something to say, she chose something random.
"What do you plan to be when you leave Hogwarts?" she inquired.
"Well, I've always wanted to be an Auror, ever since I knew what they were."
"I want to be one as well. First you steal my wedding colors, then you steal my job idea."
"You still don't understand it, do you? It's our wedding, you dolt."
"I doubt that."
"Why won't you date me?" This question caught Lily by surprise. She looked at him, thinking about it. Why did she not like him?
"I don't want to date you because I think you are nosy, annoying, arrogant, conceited, and sometimes cruel," she said honestly. Was it just her imagination, or was she feeling a bit of guilt right now? She watched James sigh heavily.
"If I changed, would you give me a chance?" he wanted to know quietly. Lily's first impulse was to say no, but something stopped her from saying it. What if he became mature and kind, and stopped being cruel to his inferiors? Would she like him if he wasn't recklessly mean?
"I think so," she said hesitantly, then added quickly, "But don't get your hopes up."
"So I do have a chance? Not a very large one, but a chance nevertheless?"
"If you want to say that. Whatever makes you feel better." Suddenly, the stones on the opposite side of the room began shifting. The two Heads jumped up from their seats on the ground, and gasped as a door appeared.
"DOOR!" Lily shrieked, rushing at it with all possible speed. It opened, and she found herself in the middle of a hallway in the castle. "Yes! We're back!"
"Oh Merlin, for a second I thought some mad animal was going to jump out and eat us," James said. "It looks like we're on the seventh floor." Lily turned to look at the oak doors, but they weren't there. She pointed this out to James, who simply shrugged, grabbing her hand and pulling her down the corridor.
"Goodbye and good riddance!" he growled. Lily pulled her hand out of his, but didn't snap at him. Lily had actually learned something new about James Potter. And not only was it new, it was interesting. She had actually had a real conversation with him. What did that mean? Was this the apocalypse?
And even more strange was the fact that she had enjoyed it. It was fun, lively, spirited, the way she spoke with friends.
"Potter?" she asked as they reached the Fat Lady.
"Lily?" he responded, glancing down at the redhead.
"Let's keep this between you and me, alright?" she requested quietly, then turned to the painting. "Worglenacks." James grinned brightly at her.
"I won't tell if you don't," he replied, helping her into the common room.
Wow, Lily thought as she took his hand as he pulled her in. This is an afternoon I will never forget.
A/N: The part where Lily had her church incident actually happened to me. Yes, I peed on a church altar when I was five years old, and I can't believe I've just posted this on the Web.