A/N: I think we should all just say a collective thank you to me, right now. Okay, one-two-three "Thank You Robin!" I mean, posting twice in one day two days in a row... I think I may just be the nicest author ever. Okay, no, I'm not that conceited, but seriously, both chapters today I've posted have been relatively long. And, you'll forgive me for not really editing this one either? There may be a few run on sentences and mis-wordings, and if you find any that really bother you, just send me a message or tell me in the reviews. Speaking of reviews THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO HAS REVIEWED! It makes me really happy to see we have almost 30 reviews so quickly! Please don't stop though, because your reviews make me want to update twice in one day, and if I get enough telling me you want me to keep doing that, I'll do it tomorrow too!
"Where are we going now?" I ask in a pleading voice, as James grabs my wrist. He only chuckles at my annoyance and pulls me behind him. I sigh and run along, following his lead. His fingers enclosed my wrists are shooting zaps up my arm, the slight contact already affecting me more then I would like it.
The day has slowly grown to night, and the bright streetlights of London are slowly turning on. He drags me into a tight alleyway. "We're going to Side-Along Apparate. Are you ready?"
"How do I know where you're taking me?" I ask, "You aren't supposed to Apparate with someone unless you know where your going, the Ministry has made it a huge thing since You-Know-Who and his followe-" My rambling is cut off by the yanking at my navel and the claustrophobic feeling that occurs with Apparating. I feel dizzy, my head spinning as it always does after Side-Along, and stumble to the side.
James catches me, his hands on my shoulders as he steadies me, before letting go. He seems cautious, touching me and with the things he says, as though I might change my mind about being with him at any second. I don't blame him though; I haven't given him a reason in the past that suggested I wanted to spend any time with him. Today has been the exception, to everything. Before, I'd seen him mature, now, I have actually experienced it.
I take in my surroundings, looking at a tall coliseum-looking building of sorts, the tops of the dome shaped architecture just licking the sky.
"Where are we?" I ask, patiently waiting for his response. He gives me this smirk, this all-knowing smile that I know can't be good. He just nods his head in the direction of the building, and we make our way over to it.
There is a steady stream of people standing at the various doorways and slowly moving inside. James leads us to the back of one of the lines, and we wait as we slowly progress towards the doors. I can tell by the clothing that the people around us our wearing that it's some sort of wizarding event. Some are wearing robes, others are wearing jerseys of sorts...wait a minute.
"James... Are we at a Quidditch match?" His grin grows in response to my question.
"Ms. Evans, I'm surprised it took you this long to figure it out!" he exclaims, mocking me as he says it.
"You're a prat," I tell him, shoving him to the side a bit. "I've never been to a match before, so it's not my fault.
"Well, I know you've never been to a professional match before-" he starts, before I cut him off.
"I've never been to any match before!"
"What?" he gasps, "Not even one at Hogwarts?" I shake my head no, and his jaw drops.
"Well, surely you would know that, have you ever seen me at one?" He ponders this for a moment before speaking again.
"I guess not... but I just assumed you had at least been to one, maybe just in first year."
"Nope," I reply, popping the 'p'. He smiles at me, and we chat about Quidditch until we get to the gates. I expect him to pull out a ticket, but the ticket collector smiles when he sees James.
"Why hello there James," he says jovially. I look at his name tag and sees it reads, Tom Underwood.
"Hello Mr. Underwood, how are you?" James asks him, as if they are old friends.
"I'm great my boy, thanks for asking. You can go on in, I'm trusting to the Potter box?" He clarifies, and James nods. "You and your girlfriend can go right on up," he says, and my face instantly goes warm.
We both shake our heads, mine a bit more furiously then James's, and I stutter, "No-um no.. Just friends."
"Sure," he says with a wink, before ushering us in and taking on the next customer. My face is still flushed with the sickly red color, one that I can't help but be embarrassed by. James is laughing madly by the time we get in, and I give him a glare.
"What?" I enquire. "What are you laughing at?"
"The color of your face!" he chuckles.
"Shut it!" I command, but after a moment start laughing with him. After the giggles are gone, I look around. We are in the vending area, with booths set up all around us, selling jerseys and other merchandise. I read the name on the jerseys and find that the Chudley Cannons are playing Puddlemere United. I have heard of these teams, both from Alice and Marlene, but didn't know anymore then their names.
I glance down at my outfit, and feel utterly out of place in my dress and boots.
"I look ridiculous," I mutter under my breath, yet James still catches it. I look up at him and ask, "Do we have time to run back to my house to let me change?" He shakes his head.
"The match starts in ten minutes, and we won't want to miss any of it. Puddlemere is going to crush!" Though James is also wearing Muggle clothes, he pulls it off better then me, he blends in more. In a pair of loosely fitting jeans (except around the bum, I have noticed. Not that i was staring-no, no I just happened to notice it) and a polo shirt.
He notices the uncomfortable look on my face, and says, "Come over here." I follow him over to one of the vending stations where the jerseys are being sold. "Pick one."
"No, I don't have any wizarding money on me," I explain. Rolling his eyes, he points to one of the dark blue Puddlemere ones, with a large 17 on the front.
"Don't be silly," he teases, "I'm paying of course." I automatically notice how he says it, just as Alice always does, as if money doesn't matter. I always knew James was wealthy, but the way he glided through the gates without a ticket and is now offering this means he has much more then I previously thought.
"James, this isn't a date, and I can't let you pay for this," I say, feeling even more awkward then before.
"Look, I'll pay for it now, and you can pay me back later. But I am not going to let you wear that up there, because those are the colors of the Chudley Cannons," he says, pointing to her dress. "I'm only looking out for you, I don't want everyone to think your one of them." I laugh at his competitive words, before finally sighing and nodding, telling him he can buy me one. He picks out that for me, and gets a t-shirt of his own.
He reaches into his pocket (where an obvious extension charm is placed) and places a few galleons on the counter, before waiting for his change. When he gets it back, he hands me over the jersey. I yank my jacket off my arms and pull the shirt over my head. Though I look quite silly, with my dress sticking out beneath the jersey, its better then before.
I look up to see he has put his on too, and is smiling widely. His glasses are quite crooked on his nose, falling down as they always do. I get a peek of his eyes, and notice they are a stunning hazel, though I always just assumed they were brown. They are quite pretty, really, and stand out nicely from his raven hair, which is actually quite tamed today.
"Let's go!" he says excitedly, after I'm finished staring, before leading the way up to the box. Part of me wishes he would grab my wrist like before, but he doesn't. I see a few girls, around our age, goggling at him, and I clench my fist. Here comes the jealousy again. We are almost to the door, labeled 'A' that I'm assuming takes us up to out seats, when I hear something behind me.
"Excuse me," says a high pitched voice, "Can you help me find my seat?" We both turn around, and find a brunette, blue eyed beauty standing there, head tilted to the side. She's wearing a short, navy blue skirt with Quidditch robes over top and lots of leg peaking out. At least I had the dignity to wear tights with mine!
"Yeah, sure!" says James obliviously, before walking over and taking the ticket from her hand. Their talking is too low to hear, and the talking of the crowds around us is blurring it out as well as the pure jealousy ringing through my ears. I do hear one thing, though, and that is the high pitched squeals of her laughter. What is so funny that she has to laugh like that?
I see that James is pointing through the crowd, and motioning with his hands. She is practically clinging onto his arm, and nodding energetically. He looks like he's about done and starts to walk back toward me before I hear her ask him, "Can I owl you sometime?" Her eyes widen, but I don't wait for James to answer. I march over and grab his arm.
"He's with me," I state loudly, giving her a glare.
"He is?" she asks.
"I am?" he mutters, not loud enough for her to hear it though.
"Yes, not come on James, we don't want to miss the game," I squeal, unaware of what I'm doing. Did I just say James was with me? Did I just say that in front of James?i Shit, shit, shit! What the bloody hell was I thinking?
These thoughts don't prevent me from leading him back to the door, and pulling him through. Silence insures between us for just a few seconds, before I break it.
"Lead the way," I mumbled, embarrassment filling my tone.
"What was that?" he asks, starting to climb the stairs in front of me as he says it.
"What?" I ask, pretending I don't know what he is talking about.
"You just..." he stutters, "You just..."
"What are you rambling on about?" I ask him, becoming more confident in my tone. Maybe if I play dumb, he'll leave the subject alone. he now turns of the stairs and into a hallway. At the end of the hallway is a door, with the word 'Potter' engraved on it.
"Don't play stupid, Lily," he says, "We both know your nothing of the sort." I gulp, my throat now feeling clogged up and my breathing ragged. Nervous energy is shooting through my veins.
"It's just... she was... she wouldn't have... she shouldn't have..." I stumble, trying to find the right words, before realizing there are none. I was obviously jealous, and he can see right through my fake little act.
"Jealousy is a very attractive quality on you," he whispers, backing me up into the door. I nod my head in thanks, not sure what else to do. My brain is yelling for me to shove him off of me, to accuse him of flirting with me, but my body is screaming for me to stay put. Safe to say, my body wins. His entire body is now only centimeters apart from mine, almost touching.
"You know," he says, his voice husky, "if we were together, I could do this." He brings his head down, and places a kiss right behind me ear. Zaps shoot through me, and my breathing is uncontrollable. "Or this." He places his lips on my ear, and blows in. Shivers fill my body, and I clench my fists. I must keep control. "Or even this." Warm lips press to my jaw bone, and my head almost lulls back in pleasure.
What am I doing? Why am I letting him control me like this? The pounding in my head gets too loud, and I use all my self control to not just place my lips on his at the very moment. "Or maybe this..." he trails off, and his lips are looming right over mine, barley a centimeter away. One kiss, I tell myself, One kiss and then I will shove him off me. I will tell him that I'm not his girlfriend, that I don't want this. Just after one kiss.
He leans in just a bit more, and I'm about to push mine into his when I hear a voice.
"Hey guys!" cries a deep voice, and both James and I jump back away from each other. I see not only Sirius, but Peter, Remus, Alice, and someone I don't quite recognise walking towards us. "Did you all get locked out or something?" Alice, knowing what was about to happen, buries her head in her hands.
"Yeah, Sirius, let's go with that," she says, and he nods, congratulating himself on his great detective skills. And when I say congratulating, I'm not even joking. I hear him say to himself, "Nice job, Sirius, you could be like that Muggle, Sherlook Humes!"
James reaches into his pocket and fumbles with the key, his hands shaking. Mine are too, and I can't believe what had just happened. I, Lily Evans, almost kissed James Potter!
The game is amazing, though I was still a little reluctant to be up so high. As James predicted, Puddlemere crushed the Cannons. Though it was nice to see Remus, he obviously had picked up on the same hint as Alice. Every time I would glance over at James, Remus would give me this knowing smile. After the match had finished, James spoke up.
"I hear there is an after-party of sorts in the Three-Broomsticks. Are you all up for it?" Sirius, and Peter cheer. Remus and I both stayed quiet. Alice claps her hands along with the stranger, who I had learned was named Brigette Bernard. She is a student at Beauxbatons Academy, and is a visiting cousin of Remus.
"You know," I say, "I am quite tired, I think I'll hit the hay." James face lights up.
"I'll accompany you home before I go over there, you know, because of the danger of the Death Eaters and stuff," he offers. Before I answer, Remus interjects.
"That's fine Prongs, I know you want to get over there. I'll take her home, because I'm not going to Hogsmeade." I can see why Remus would like to go home, for his eyes are sunken and he seems quite tired and weak today.
"No, really Moony, I can take her," says James, and looks at Remus, almost sizing him up.
"James, it's fine, Remus can take me." The box is in complete silence, all listening to the spat that the three of us are having.
"Whatever," grumbled James, before motioning for the others to come on. Remus and I lag behind, and talk between ourselves.
"It's great to see you Remus, how are you?" I ask, and he can tell I've noticed his state.
"I've been better," he explains, "Full moon is coming up." Remus, however sweet and gentle, was bitten as a werewolf as a child. Now, every full moon, he is transformed into a wild beast, one who can't be contained.
"God Remus, I'm sorry, I know how hard it is for you." Back in fourth year, I confronted him, telling him I knew of his problem. He confided in me, and told me the whole story. I promised never to tell, and I'd never broken it. We make lighter conversation until we are out of the stadium.
"Why don't you apparate, since I'm not quite sure where you live."
"Good thinking," I compliment, before grabbing his hand, and disapparating. When we arrive at the front of my house, we meander up to my porch. "So, why did you insist on taking me tonight?"
"Well," he starts, "I'm obviously not an idiot," he coughs, and mumbles a name sounding like Sirius, "And know what was happening back there. I think it would be good for James to... mull it over a bit before he does something he will regret in the morning." I laugh.
"You always know the right thing to do, Remus," I say.
"Yeah, well we don't need any more drama in the Marauders at the moment. Gosh, I already have Sirius owling me every other hour about his love predicaments with Alice. I swear, James and Sirius are more like ten year old girls then seventeen year old blokes." I stop in my tracks when I hear him mention Alice and Sirius.
"Alice and Sirius?" I ask, trying to pry into what he said just moments ago.
"You know, the fling they had back in December?" asks Remus. I stare at him with wide eyes, taking in the thing he said. "Oh shit Lily, did she not tell you?" I shake my head no. "Please, can you just keep this to yourself? I'm sure she has a rational reason for keeping this from you!"
"I..." I trail off, not knowing what to say. On one hand, I want to rush up to my room, and owl Alice this very moment. On the other, I want her to tell me on her own time. "I promise I won't say anything."
"Thanks Lily. God, I'm such an idiot sometimes."
"Your not, we all slip up," I reply. "Hey, I should go get some sleep. Goodnight." I lean in, and give him a hug.
"Good luck with James, Lily. He really does care about you, please give him a chance," he says. I think about it before replying.
I respond, "You know, I think I will." A grin grows upon each of our faces, before I walk inside, content with the day. Maybe I will give him a chance.
A/N: Okay, so PLEASE REVIEW! REVIEWS MAKE ME UPDATE FASTER AND TWICE IN ONE DAY! REVIEWS MAKE LILY AND JAMES FALL IN LOVE! REVIEWS MAKE JAMES AND LILY SNOG! Oh, and I would love to hear your thoughts about the developing Sirius/Alice storyline, it's something I'm really excited about.
*Spoiler for the next chapter* There's some asking out and some full moon action going on in that chapter! Review and say "I want more!" for me to send you a few hundred word sneak peak of the chapter!
SORRY FOR ANY SPELLING ERRORS AND MY CONTINUOUSLY LONG AUTHOR NOTES!
