Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the other characters that are in the Harry Potter books. As everyone already knows, J.K Rowling owns them all.
Author's Note: Thanks to dancechic12345, ameo, JPx3LE, potterchik, Zily, names are overrated, Violetcrumble10391, HarryPotterFreak4Lyf, jka1, Your Authoress, Untamed Loner, lilyfan06, xmushie133x, julies07, RubyBinds, zuska1985, sugur-huny-bun, The all mighty and powerfulM, smurfinator, Miss Myrtle360, jitterbug393, Meggily, siriusforeva, and coffeegirl123 for reviewing! I really appreciate it!
---
James's eyes were open before his alarm went off the next morning. He hardly slept a wink all night. With his eyes plastered open, he forcefully extended his arm toward the loud beeping noise. The loud box continued to make a racket and James felt his eyes open even further, if that was at all possible. He began to thrash his arm around, a desperate search for the small black button that would end the earsplitting sound.
Once the beeping subsided, James brought both his hands to his temples, gently massaging them. It was an effort to release his brain from the night of Hell, but it did no good. His head was still throbbing from the lack of sleep. The situation was made even worse, however, by the fact that his entire week's sleeping patterns were off track.
First, Lily occupied his mind, making it virtually impossible to shut one eye without seeing her face. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but now it was a disaster. He was trying to rid his mind of her, not fall for her even harder.
The next night, he fell asleep with a hangover. Sure, he was able to sleep well, but when he woke the next morning, he felt like absolute shit. As James pondered the situation, he quickly realized that everything appeared to be centered on Lily Evans. She was responsible for his awkward sleeping habits. She was the one that went to the bar with; it was Lily that poisoned his mind.
James couldn't completely blame Lily for his sleeping troubles though. This past night, it was Sirius's fault. Sirius Black and these damn paper-thin walls. He cursed the day he ever allowed Sirius to talk him into getting an apartment where their rooms would be separated by just one wall. His best friend was sweet with words though, convincing James that despite the close proximately of their rooms, everything would work out just peachy.
He was wrong though. In fact, he had never been more wrong about something in his entire life. All night long, James was kept awake by the loud moans and screams from Sirius's latest fling. James was sued to this though; Sirius had many girlfriends that weren't quiet in the bedroom. This particular girl though, sounded more like a screaming banshee than a human throughout sex. To make matters even worse though, Sirius and the banshee woman didn't just shag once, or even twice. They went at it all fucking night. James didn't know how either of them possessed the energy to do it that often; they were like bloody rabbits.
Was the screaming the worst of his problems though? Of course not. James wasn't lucky enough for the love calls to be the worst of it. Apparently, Sirius and the banshee woman found it necessary to travel from the bed to smack against the wall.
One may wonder, how did James know this bit of information? The answer; he could hear crashing noises against the wall directly next to his head. He could only guess exactly what they were doing, but from the sounds, it was likely that Sirius trapped the girl against the wall and began to shag her bloody brains out. The banshee woman didn't mind this though; she enjoyed it more than the sex in the bed. James learned this from her whimpers of delight and the tone at which she screamed out Sirius's name throughout the night.
Could things be any worse? James didn't think so, but he was once again proven wrong. Sirius and the banshee woman's sex life only reminded him of none other than Lily Evans. He kept on imagining that he was in Sirius's position, Lily taking over the banshee woman's form.
He could clearly picture the two of them rambunctiously making love against a firm wall. He envisioned her heaving chest pressing against his sweaty chest as he thrust in and out of body, their hips rocking against each other, supported by the wall. He heard moans release from her lips, begging him to move at a faster pace. He could see it all.
James wanted that image out of his mind, but he couldn't escape from it. Every time he heard a bird chirp, he mistook it for Lily's loud, sharp gasps. Whenever he something touched his lips, he thought it had been Lily's swollen lips against his. Each time he repositioned himself, if he felt the slightest movement of his dick, he was reminded of Lily's fingers brushing against him.
There was no breaking away from from Lily Evans, especially when it involved sex. Ever since he heard his name escape her dreaming lips, he couldn't tear the two topics apart. If he thought of sex, Lily entered his mind. If he thought of Lily, he pictured them shagging.
In any other circumstance, dreaming of sleeping with a beautiful woman was pure bliss, but not now, not Lily Evans. He needed this to end. He couldn't put himself through the distraught he felt last time she left. Besides, he had Erica now.
James loved Erica. He knew he loved her. Everything about Erica was ideal; her beauty, job, personality, and she was amazing at anything physical. She seemed perfect for him, could please him in every way Lily could. The sole difference being that Erica was here in London, while Lily called Moscow her home. Erica was right for him, Erica was everything he needed.
Suddenly, he bolted upright. He knew exactly what he needed. He needed Erica, right now. James needed her to remind him of everything they shared together. Her lustrous body beating in time with his was exactly what he needed. It was the only way to remove the link his brain had between Lily and sex.
Sprinting to his bureau, James retrieved a piece of parchment, his quill, and a bottle of ink. From his handwriting, he knew Erica would be able to see his urgency. He needed to be with her before his mind exploded.
As soon as he finished his very brief note, he found his owl and sent it out the window. He watched as the bird took to the sky, flapping her brown wings in a distinct rhythm, never missing a beat. Finally, the small owl disappeared out of his sight, but James continued to gaze out his window anyway. The sun was slowly rising, providing the light for the street below. James noticed there were already pedestrians outside, briskly shoving their ways through the crowded sidewalks.
James pressed the tips of his fingers against the window glass, leaving oily marks once his fingers left their place. He sighed as he backed away from the window, turning back to his apartment building, back to reality.
Rummaging through his clothing, James located a pair of sweatpants and a light t-shirt and easily slid into them, concealing his muscular body. Normally, he wouldn't mind leaving his room with just his boxers on, but today Sirius had the banshee woman in his room and he didn't want to risk her seeing him.
He then departed his bedroom and lazily walked down the hall. As he walked passed the bathroom, he heard the sink water running and lightly knocked on the half-open door. "Sirius," he softly called.
The water stopped at once and James heard feet shuffling inside. Soon enough, Sirius appeared at the door, clad in a white towel across his waist. "Hey, James."
"What are you doing?"
"Just getting ready to take a shower," Sirius innocently replied.
"Is she still here?" James asked, putting a great emphasis on "she."
"Yeah, why?"
"Where is she?"
"In my room, waiting for me," he answered, a large grin plastered on his face.
"Where the fuck did you find her? Her bloody screams kept me up all night," James complained.
"Tell me about it," Sirius replied, the grin becoming more mischievous as the morning progressed.
"Shut up," James groaned.
"She's pretty amazing."
"Sounded like it."
"In a few minutes, it'll be four times," Sirius proudly remarked, beating his previous record of three times within twenty-four hours.
"Cleaning up for the banshee?" James wittily asked.
"Nope, just getting everything ready in here."
James let out a noise of displeasure at that comment. Sirius and the banshee woman were going to have sex in the shower… in his shower. Just great. Just bloody great.
"You didn't need it, did you?" Sirius asked.
"No, it's fine… I don't think I'm going to go to work today anyway."
A look of concern replaced Sirius's grin in a matter of seconds. "James, are you okay? You've been slacking off at work all week. Trust me, the bosses really don't like it when you fall asleep, come in late, and skip work altogether."
"Its fine, my boss loves me."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive, it doesn't matter," James replied.
"Are you feeling okay?"
"Yeah, I was thinking about going to see Erica today, that's all," he responded.
"Okay," Sirius slowly said. He stared at his best friend for a few moments, taking in just how exhausted he looked. His eyes were slightly red, an obvious sign of his lack of sleep. His body seemed tense too, very different compared to the casual stride he usually possessed.
"I'll let you get back to the banshee," James stated.
Sirius didn't correct him with the proper name for the girl he was about to shag, but did say, "James, don't forget about tonight. It's a full moon and we're meeting at Moony's spot around seven."
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," James called back, still heading toward the kitchen as he spoke. Once there, James poured himself a steaming mug of coffee, forcing the caffeine into his system. He needed something to get him through the day.
James began to flip through the Daily Prophet, noted that another attack on muggles occurred, and took another sip of the steaming liquid that slid down his throat, warming his stomach. This was nothing far from normal; muggles were attacked left and right. The worst of it all was that most of the murders fled from the crime scene before they were discovered, making it impossible to track down the Dark wizards.
He sighed and lightly brought his fingers to his temples. The world as he knew it was a complete mess. A fierce tapping noise sounded from the window, ripping James's attention from the world's events. Looking out, he saw that it was a scrawny, old, barn owl; it was his owl.
James instantly went to the window, letting the bird into the apartment. He took the note from the owl's leg and flipped him a treat, rewarding the old bird for bringing Erica's response so quickly.
A smile appeared across his face as he read the familiar curves of Erica's handwriting. In her letter, she informed him that now would be an excellent time to visit. "Good," he thought, this was urgent.
---
As soon as James arrived at Erica's apartment door, he heavily knocked on it. His fists pounded onto the wooden door, each knock more forceful than the previous.
After what seemed like an eternity, Erica's face appeared through the small crack of the door. Once she saw the knocking belonged to her boyfriend, a smile of relief spread across her lips. She opened the door at once, beckoning him to come in.
James didn't need any persuasion though. As soon as he was physically in the room, he pressed his lips against hers, harshly sucking on her lower lip. He wrapped his arms around her small form, pressing every curve of her body against him.
For a moment, Erica was stiff beneath his touch, but then she settled down. This wasn't the type of visit that required peaceful conversation; it was purely about passion. James needed to feel her touch on his skin and she wasn't going to deny him of that opportunity.
Somehow, James managed to guide them over to the couch. He stumbled downward, his arms still grasped around her waist, not letting her part from his lips for a single moment. Erica instantly spread her legs around his hips, trapping him beneath her. She felt his hands grasp her ass, pulling it tightly down on him, grinding her body against his. His hands soon slid into her jeans, into her cotton underwear, grasping skin.
Erica's lips parted his for a moment and she began to kiss her way down his chin, stopping at his neck. Meanwhile, she rocked her hips against his, creating a constant rhythm between their bodies. Although she initiated the thrusting movements, she felt James's hands press harder against her bare bottom, forcing her to move faster than she would have otherwise done.
Once her was certain that she could maintain the dry sex action, he removed his hands from her jeans and began to roam her back. His hands slipped under her shirt, feeling her sweating skin beneath his fingertips. He could feel her bra clasped tight against her back, concealing his favorite physical aspect of her body. Expertly, he let the bra fall loose around her chest. His hands roamed to the front of her body and he tightly gripped her left breast as he maneuvered their bodies sideways across the couch.
She made a soft moaning noise as he began to caress her breast, feeling the hard nipple in his sweaty palm. Still, he didn't rip her shirt from her chest, despite his urge to do so. Instead, he kissed at her neck, sucking on her soft flesh. He then kissed a trail back towards her lips, vigorously kissing at her lower lip.
Before he realized it, she was back on top of him. She ripped at his clothing, tearing it from his sweating body. She then sat on his hips, feeling his hardness with his own femininity. She made sure he was watching as she pulled her shirt over her head and let her bra fall to the side. She knew it drove him wild.
Just as Erica wanted, his hips began to thrust into her again and he tried to sit up to reach her breasts with his lips. After a failed attempt, Erica rolled over to she was now on the bottom. He slid up and down the length of her body, kissing at various places, making her clench with desire.
Her legs were spread apart, and she felt something enter her. It wasn't his manhood though, she knew that right away. Still, he was able to pleasure her body, tricking her to believe it was him inside her. She didn't want to come right away, but couldn't help what her body was doing. With one sharp gasp, she finished and his fingers pulled away.
With her chest still heaving, she kissed his bare chest and slid down his body. She positioned herself in-between his legs and began to perform an act that she considered more sacred than sex itself.
James was very surprised by this act. He knew Erica would much rather have true intercourse than do this, but was grateful for her. It felt so good, pleasure similar, yet different than a shag would provide.
As fluids drained from his body, he felt a sudden happiness come over him. Everything was perfect again. Nothing in the world mattered. Everything he needed now was right here, in this room. It was just him and Lily…
His head snapped up. Did he just think of Lily? Shit. He did. He thought of Lily Evans after receiving head from his girlfriend. How could this be? Erica was supposed to clear his mind of Lily, not remind him of her. Fucking, bloody hell. This was just great. He couldn't believe how incredibly awful this was.
His stiffness didn't go unnoticed by Erica, who crawled up next to him, taking in his steaming body. "Are you okay?"
"Fine," he squealed, his voice higher than usual. "Just fine."
"Are you sure?"
"What is this, the fucking inquisition?" he snapped.
Erica looked hurt by his words and she pulled back, letting the cool air touch his bare chest instead of her soft breasts.
"Fuck, I didn't mean it like that," he quietly stated.
"I know you didn't," she replied, brining her body closer to his. "Promise me you're okay though?"
"I promise," he whispered.
---
Later that day, James found himself hand in hand with Erica, wandering the streets of London. He didn't go to work that day, nor did he intend to do so. He needed a break from everything in his life. He needed a day of just him and Erica, which is what he had at that moment.
After the incident in which he thought of Lily Evans after being very intimate with Erica, James was determined to rid his mind of the red-haired beauty. He spent the rest of the day with Erica, reminiscing about wonderful times they shared with each.
This cleared his mind of Lily completely. Not once did he picture her emerald green eyes staring up at him. All he saw was Erica; his precious, beautiful Erica.
"What are you doing tonight?" Erica sweetly asked, lightly swinging her hand as she spoke, forcing James's to along.
"Remus isn't feeling very well tonight, so I thought I would go see him," James casually said.
"Is it just me, or does he get sick at least once a month?" she questioned, a hint of sarcasm in her tone.
James merely laughed at her words, trying his best to conceal his worry. He didn't tell Erica that Remus was a werewolf, nor did he want to. It was Remus's secret to tell, not his. Besides, he knew she would chide him for becoming an illegal Animagi. To be completely honest, he was in no mood to deal with her criticizing words.
"Is he okay though?" she asked.
"He'll be fine," James immediately replied.
"Are you sure you should go over there? I don't want you to get sick too," Erica stated, her blue eyes beating deeply into his skin.
"I'll be fine," he began. "Besides, what kind of friend would I be if I wasn't around when he needed me most?"
"I suppose you're right," Erica heavily replied.
"Of course I am," he answered. There wasn't a single thread of sarcasm in his voice; his words were more factual than anything else.
"Hey isn't that your friend, what's her name? That girl from the pictures," Erica said after a moment of silence. Her eyes were wide as she pointed to a young red-haired woman enter a nearby shop.
Fuck. Just when things were going well, Lily showed up. Was there some sort of curse on him? Did Lily Evans have to ruin every moment of his life?
Hesitantly, James side glanced at Erica, wondering what she was thinking. Nothing about her stance told him that she might be jealous or hateful of Lily. The comment was only made to spark conversation, nothing more.
Perhaps there was a way out of this mess. He could easily lie and persuade Erica that the redhead wasn't Lily. How hard would that be? There were millions of women with red hair in the world. Besides, Erica only saw her picture that one time, the chance of her remembering every detail by memory was slim.
"No, I don't think so," James answered.
"Are you sure? I could have sworn, she looked so familiar," Erica stated.
"I'm sure," he snapped.
"I guess I'll have to take your word for it," she simply replied.
James sighed and his stance loosened as they continued to walk down the street. He managed to get out of that trap with ease. In fact, there wasn't a challenge at all. Erica easily agreed with his words. For once, Lily didn't mess up his afternoon.
James continued to walk the streets with pride, still grinning about his incredible luck. He didn't even notice the shop door open and Lily sneak out. He was too full of himself to notice her presence.
However, as soon as he heard her fateful words, his heart nearly stopped. "James, is that you?"
He had two options; one, stop and talk with her and pray to God that Erica wouldn't find out that he and Lily used to date, or two, pretend he didn't hear her and speed walk down the street. Being the man that he was, he chose option number two.
However, Erica chose option number one. As James tried to keep walking, fiercely grasping onto Erica's hands, Erica stood her ground. With all her might, she stood in place and turned to look at Lily, not allowing James to leave her side.
Sighing, he gave into the situation. He no longer tried to force himself away from the two women. Instead, his master plan was to avoid any conversation that was more in depth than "hello, how're you?" Yes, it was a brilliant plan. He could easily guide the conversation to his liking. Erica would never discover the past the he and Lily shared together.
Smiling, he said, "Hello, Lily. Fancy seeing you here… This is Erica, my girlfriend." He pointed to Erica as he spoke and she gave a small wave. He then gestured toward Lily and explained to Erica, "This is Lily Evans, the one who is staying in town for just a few days."
"It's so nice to finally meet you," Lily exclaimed at once, her right hand extended to meet Erica's with a firm shake. "James has told me so much about you."
"Well, it's nice to meet you too," Erica replied, a smile across her face. "To be completely honest, it's kind of a relief to discover that he actually had friends in high school other than Sirius, Remus, and Peter. They're all great people, and I love them to death, but I'm glad he had other human contact."
Lily laughed, not picking up on the fact that Erica didn't realize she used to date James.
"Out shopping for the day?" Erica questioned.
"Yeah. My sister is getting married this weekend so I was sent out to grab a few things before the wedding," Lily explained. "It feels so nice just to get out of that house… my sister's a muggle, so she doesn't quite understand everything in our world."
"I know what you mean, my roommate at school was muggleborn and she despised her entire family because they believed she was an oddball for being a witch," Erica replied.
James glanced between both women. Things were going just great. He didn't need to worry at all. Erica would never know he lied about being with Lily.
"Oh, did you go to Hogwarts?" Lily asked.
"No, I moved to England only a year ago," Erica replied.
"I was going to say, I didn't remember you from school," Lily laughed.
There was a small awkward pause and both women glanced down at their shoes, wondering what to say next. Erica bit at her lower lip for a moment before looking up and asking, "Is your entire family like your sister, not understanding of our world, or just your sister?" By the tone of Erica's voice, it was obvious that she was just making small talk. She wasn't trying to insult Lily's family at all.
"Just my sister," Lily answered. "But she probably is one of the biggest muggles around. She completely despises anything magical at all. Once, after seventh year, James stopped by my house via floo powder… do you remember that James?"
Shit. No, this was not going well anymore. He needed a way out of this. It could possibly lead to the discussion of him and Lily together. He could feel his heart racing and he nervously looked from side to side, meeting each girl's face once. "Um, no," he squeaked out.
"Well, it was the one time that James decided to stop by using floo powder, instead of apparating there," Lily began. "And my sister nearly flipped a shit; she wouldn't come near either one of us for two weeks. In fact, now that I remember it, she left the house completely, leaving me and James alone while my parents were out of town."
"That's right, I remember now," James cut in. "I was staying with you while your folks were away, just making sure that nothing bad happened to one of my dearest friends while they were gone."
"James, what are you talking about?" Lily questioned. "Petunia told my parents that you came to visit while they were away and they were furious with both of us. They wouldn't let you come over for three weeks, and I wasn't allowed to go to your house either."
"Why did they care so much? You guys were only friends," Erica asked.
Shit. This was it. James knew it from the moment Erica opened her mouth. There was nothing he could do now except wait for the truth to arise.
"Well, we were dating at the time," Lily laughed, "So I can understand where they were coming from."
"You were dating?" Erica asked. Her blue eyes opened up wide and she took a small step back, amazed to learn this information.
"Yeah, didn't James tell you? We dated for almost all of seventh year at Hogwarts and into the summer… then we broke up when I left for Moscow," Lily replied.
"That's right, I remember him telling me that now," Erica calmly lied. Her face was turning slightly red, but she bit back her anger in order to seem calm. She didn't want complete strangers to see her reaction towards this news.
Still, it was obvious that she was mad. The tension between James, Lily, and Erica could have been cut with a knife. All three of them were taking quick glances at one another, not wanting to say anything at all.
Finally, Lily took a deep breath and announced, "Well, I guess I should be getting back to my parent's house now… Erica, it was really nice meeting you, and James, I'll see you around."
Once Lily was out of sight, Erica turned toward James and snapped, "What the fuck is your problem?"
"Erica, I can explain," he replied, holding his hands up in front of him, as if it was the only way to defend him from her glare.
"Fine, explain," she shot back.
"Well, you see," he began. He didn't expect her to actually allow him to attempt to explain himself. He thought she would yell at him longer, which would have given him the opportunity to think of a good excuse.
"That's what I thought," she shouted, throwing her hands toward the air as she spoke. "You lied to me James."
"Erica, I'm sorry," he pleaded. "I really am, I don't know why I didn't tell you that Lily and I used to date. I'm really sorry though."
"Did you think I would have been mad if you said you were seeing an ex-girlfriend while she was in town?" Erica suddenly asked, looking him straight in the eye. "Do you really think that if you told me that Lily was your ex-girlfriend, and only in town for a week, that I would have been mad?"
"Yes," he weakly responded.
"God, what is wrong with you?' she exclaimed. "James, of course I wouldn't be mad. Do you know why?"
"Why?"
"Because I know you care about me," she shouted. "I know you wouldn't do anything… For God's sake, why didn't you just tell me you used to date?"
"I'm sorry."
"You said that already," she angrily snapped. "But sorry doesn't erase the humiliation I felt when she told me you used to date… Bloody hell, James, from what she said, it sounds like you dated for nearly a year."
"We did," he painfully answered.
"Why haven't you ever mentioned her before?" Erica asked, her angry eyes softening.
"I don't know," he began. "I guess I just wanted to keep her in the past… I don't like thinking about her."
"Why did you guys break up?"
"She moved to Moscow," he instantly replied, "Just like she said."
"And she broke your heart by leaving, right?"
"No," he snapped. He knew he shouldn't lie to Erica anymore, especially about this, but he didn't want to admit the truth. Only his three closest friends and his parents knew the true effect that Lily had on him once she left, and he didn't want the image of him being weak spreading any further.
"Then why didn't you mention her at all?" Erica insisted.
"Because, well, because I don't like to talk about ex-girlfriends," he answered. It was a plausible excuse. James knew that Remus hated talking about his ex-girlfriends, even when nothing awful happened between them. He just preferred to keep them in the past and move on with his life. Who says James couldn't be the same way?
"Still you shouldn't have lied about Lily," she snapped, bringing them back to the initial argument.
"And I told you that I'm sorry," he shot back, blood rising to his face.
"James, to make a relationship work, we need to be honest with each other," she began. "That's why I'm so angry about this. I don't care that you used to date her, but I hate it that you felt you needed to lie to me… Don't you want our relationship to work?"
Fuck. He was really in the deep end of the swimming pool now. Whenever Erica mentioned their relationship and its future, she was trying to guilt trip him. James always tried to resist the sadness of her voice, but never could. Last time she approached an argument like this, he ended up sending four dozen roses to her apartment the next morning. Attached to each rose, he handwrote a little note stating a reason why he cared about her.
"Of course I want our relationship to work," he replied.
"I thought you did, until you lied to me." Her eyes showed no sympathy.
"Listen, sweetheart, I don't know what I was thinking. I should have told you the truth from the very beginning, and I swear, it'll never happen again," he said.
"How do I know that?" she questioned, her blue eyes piercing into his skin.
"Do you want to move in with me?" he blurted out. He didn't intend to let the words leave his lips, nor did he know his reason for saying them. He didn't want to move in with Erica. Besides, he didn't even ask Sirius if it was okay. It was the tone of her voice, and the harshness in her eyes that drove him to it though. He was willing to do anything to escape from that look. Deep in his heart, he knew that asking that question was the easy way out.
"Are you serious?" she asked, her expression softening at once. She seemed to melt into her stance, one much more casual than her previous attack posture.
"Of course I am," he replied. His heart was beating ten times its normal rate and he could feel a bead of sweat run down the back of his neck. He wasn't serious. He didn't want to be serious.
"James, you are amazing," she squealed, wrapping her arms around his back.
The only bright side to this was that she wasn't mad at him anymore. The fact that he lied to her seemed to escape her mind, as if it never happened at all.
"Tomorrow afternoon, after you get home from work we can move my stuff into your apartment," Erica said. "I'm not working tomorrow night, so if we need extra time, it's the perfect opportunity."
"Great," he weakly replied. Just great. This was a disaster waiting to happen, he could tell already.
---
Author's Note 2: Hi all! Thanks for reading this chapter! At first, I was going to make this chapter last the entire day, but seeing as its 14 word pages right now, and I could probably write another 14, I decided to make this day into two separate chapters. I hope that's okay with you guys! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review!