The Epic Journey
Chapter 7: Do you ever feel scared?
Recap:
Later, when it had grown dark and they had snuck back to the Gryffindor Common Room (now deserted) they exchanged one last swift, sweet kiss before racing up their respective staircase. At least, they thought so until James slid back down onto the Common Room floor. Giggling, Lily helped him up and he used the opportunity for one last kiss (a little more – hem, hem – involved) before going to bed, each with a silly smile on their face.
And when James finally got to the seventh year dormitories, he was greeted with several funny looks and the question:
"Eh – James? Did you know you have a, err, quill in your hair?"
Do you ever feel scared? Not of spiders or ghouls, but of something deeper, more profound? A primordial instinct, if you will. But you're still drawn to it, like a moth to a flame…
Lily sighed. Well that wouldn't work; sappy; boring, predictable… It was early Saturday morning and the Great Hall was just about deserted, aside from a handful of Ravenclaws frantically studying on the next table. Absentmindedly, Lily reached out her hand and snagged another piece of toast. Chewing thoughtfully, she turned her eyes away from the dishevelled piece of paper before her and gazed instead at Hogwarts' famous enchanted ceiling.
Simply to be ironic and irritating, the weather consisted of a cheery blue sky and the occasional fluffy white cloud floating gaily by. Lily – in contrast – sat with such a fierce expression that several second years further down the Gryffindor table wouldn't be surprised if a dark cloud physically appeared above her head and began shooting lightening bolts. It was just that sort of day.
Hastily folding up the paper and forcing it into her pocket, Lily grabbed another handful of toast and headed out of the Great Hall, through the front doors and out into the grounds. Lily scrunched up her face as the wind – so cleverly hidden inside – hit her with its full force. Autumn was definitely coming to a close and winter seemed to have set in a lot faster than Lily remembered.
Wandering down to the lake, she looked dreamily over its vast depths. Why did things have to be so confusing? She mused. Lily knew it was rationally ridiculous to ask questions of oneself and expect an answer, but she could think of nothing else. The flip of a tentacle from the water startled out of her reverie. It happened again and Lily giggled – despite herself – as ripples crashed along the edge of the lake. Clearly the Giant Squid was flamboyant. Feeling indulgent, Lily flung the now stone cold toast out over the lake, where they were snatched from the air and drawn into the murky depths.
James Potter woke on that particular Saturday morning with an
enormous grin spread across his handsome features. It was early, at a
time that the majority of the other Marauders would see as
unreasonable to be awake: through any great stretch of imagination.
Placing his glasses upon his face, he was instantly greeted with the
unusual occurrence of a quill lying on his bedside cabinet. His look
of delight grew at the reassurance that his memory was more than a
longing dream, and so – bounding out of bed – he raced to get
ready for the day and sprinted down to the Gryffindor Common Room,
waking a very befuddled Peter in the process.
Making his way to
the Great Hall, he scanned the Gryffindor table but saw no familiar
flash of red hair, and so decided that she must either not be up yet
or have already finished and gone on to her day's activities.
Knowing Lily Evans was ever the early and conscientious riser, James
opted for the latter. Without further ado, he made to stride out into
the grounds but instead collided with a bleary eyed Frank Longbottom,
who attempted to engage him on the subject of just how long
McGonagall's essay on human transfiguration was supposed to be.
Hurriedly muttering something about three feet, James dashed past him
and out into the wind swept grounds in search of a vivacious red
head.
Alice had already decided that this Saturday was important. Not that she had important essays due in on Monday (none of which she had even remotely considered starting) and most certainly not because she knew that Frank Longbottom had asked to talk to her after breakfast. No, it was because today she – Alice, 7th year Gryffindor, best friend of Lily Evans – was going to be the force that finally got the infamous couple together. But it was also an added bonus that she could classify this as more important than her two foot essay on goblin rebellions for Professor Binns. And Lily was not going to be able to say anything to argue against it.
"Hey."
It was this simple and informal greeting that caused Lily to just about bolt out of her skin and nearly hex the person now standing before her.
"Hey to you back."
James
looked at his feet, and then once again gazed at her eyes with a
rueful smile.
"So…"
"So what?"
"Listen, about yesterday -"
"What about yesterday?"
"Well, you remember."
"No. Enlighten me."
James gave a small laugh and decided to concede.
"At the Quidditch pitch, when we kissed."
"I wasn't aware of that."
"What!?" James started. Last night couldn't have been a dream, it was so real… Just like so many others. He ran his hand distractedly through his already messy hair.
"I'm so sorry Lily, my mistake. I'll just be going then -"
Laughing, Lily grabbed his arm and an unexpected electric pulse ran through the both of them. They stared at each other in shock.
Lily mumbled,
"I was just going to say I was teasing. I remember last night. I mean, I remember last night."
She lifted frightened eyes to meet warm hazel ones now staring at her. At first, all she could see in them was shock. Lily attempted to swallow the large lump now forming in her throat. She had made a complete and utter fool of herself, and there appeared to be no way of redeeming the situation or – indeed – their friendship.
"I'll just be going back then."
And she turned…
Only to find that a warm, gentle hand was gripping her arm. Swinging back around, she saw an amused smile forming on James' face.
"You really think I'd let you go," he murmured, and Lily gave a watery laugh and buried her head in his chest as his arms closed around her and softly stroked her hair.
"You gave me quite a scare, you know," James said with a chuckle, pulling Lily's head away from his chest and gently wiping a few stray tears away with his thumb.
"Will things be alright now?" Lily asked with trepidation.
"Different, but always well."
And with that he lent down and gently kissed her. As her hands sank into his hair, he wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her up from the ground. Both of them angled their heads and only finally came up for air several minutes later when they could kiss no longer. Resting her forehead against James' Lily kept her eyes closed and smiled happily as she listened to the sound of laboured breath. Yes, she thought, definitely different but so much better.
AN – I'm sorry that this took so long everyone (I think it's been three months…) but I couldn't find any inspiration until late last night. Plus I've been swamped with homework, assignments and exams; as well as trying to get used to some new medications. Embarrassingly, I also forgot just where in the story I was but now all is sorted and I hope you enjoyed the above. I don't know when the next update should be as it isn't fully outlined in my mind yet but feel free to express a preference as to where you now want this to go.
Until next time!
Elizabeth
