Rumor News and Racing Brooms
Song stuck in my head: You Sexy Thing – Hot Chocolate
It was the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year, and the pathway was thick with students eager to visit the little village. It was more crowded than usual due to the presence of teachers in front, back, and along the sides of the throngs of students. Extra patrols and extra precautions. There were Aurors in Hogsmeade as well, stationed there as security when students visited.
Though crowded, these security measures didn't dampen the students' spirits at all. The third years were chattering excitedly, it being the first time they were allowed to venture beyond the grounds of Hogwarts. The fourth and fifth years were discussing where they'd go first and what they'd bring back with them since they already knew the routine. The sixth and seventh years were largely doing the same, though some of them were complaining and requesting more freedom since they were of age or close to it.
"I'm less than two months from seventeen," Julia was saying. "I can handle myself."
"It's amazing to me that so many people believe that simply turning of age means they're completely qualified for any situation that could come up," Lily replied, rolling her eyes.
Julia tossed her long blond hair. She looked stunningly pretty. The red blouse she wore had a scooped neck that sat low on her chest, and the jeans she wore fit closely around her hips then flared out at her calves. Lily knew she had dressed to get attention, and she couldn't deny it had worked. Several boys were staring at her with interest while several girls shot her envious glares.
"I don't think I know everything, but I know a bit. I know enough to keep me save on the path to Hogsmeade," she muttered. "Why does Rincewind have to come? Why couldn't McGonagall?"
"McGonagall is up front," Lily said. "And Rincewind was an Auror."
"If you ask me, Rincewind has been hit with a few too many curses in his day," Julia replied.
"I think that's what makes him a good teacher," said Lily fairly.
"I'm not saying he's not a good teacher," Julia insisted. "We've learned loads so far… but he's a bit… paranoid. I mean, why would the Death Eaters come to Hogsmeade?"
"Why wouldn't they come," Lily whispered darkly, looking at the group of Slytherins a few students ahead of them. "The more they can get the word out about ridding the world of Muggles and Mudbloods- "
"Don't say the word," Julia grimaced.
"It's just a word," Lily frowned.
"It's a disgusting word, and it bothers you more than you let on," she said pointedly. "Don't give me that look, I know it does. I know you, Lily."
"Speaking of knowing people," said Lily, changing the subject, "how do you plan on showing Black you're onto his game?"
Julia smirked. "I'm not planning on doing anything. If he thinks I'll just come running for him, he's got another thing coming. I'm just going to let him see how well that plan works out for him."
"Why the dressing up then? Why the lipstick?" asked Lily with a small laugh.
"You said it yourself, he's the one missing out. Why not show him what he's missing out on? Show him if I want to, I'll have no problem finding someone else to snog for a while."
"You like him, though," Lily pointed out. This was all confusing to her: the flirting, the sneaking around, the indecisiveness. Why couldn't people just be honest with one another?
Julia shrugged. "I do…he's handsome enough, and he's a good kisser, but if he's not kissing me I'm not going to wait about. He's got that ego of his to think about as well; he's not the only decent kisser in this castle."
Lily looked confused, but Julia smirked. "Hey Adrien! Max! Wait up!" she shouted, dragging Lily along as she ran to them and began asking what they had planned for the day.
Behind them, James and Sirius were watching curiously and trying to formulate their own plan. All James wanted to do was get Lily's attention, while all Sirius wanted to do was get Julia alone. Peter and Remus lingered behind, talking with Sam Pitchfield and Alexis Sloan.
James couldn't help but wonder if Julia had convinced Lily to dress nicely as well. While Julia had chosen to wear jeans, Lily was wearing knee length dress with long sleeves. It was blue, which emphasized how dark red her hair was, and it hugged her at the waist before flowing out over her hips. James couldn't help but stare. Lily Evans was arguably one of the prettiest girls in school, and it showed today for she was drawing all sorts of looks and James felt a rush of jealousy mingle with the ever-present butterflies in his stomach.
"I want to write a letter," said Sirius, interrupting James' thoughts.
"Pardon?"
"I need to write a letter to… Levi Strauss or whoever he is, and thank him."
"What?" asked James with a laugh.
"For jeans," said Sirius, gesturing to Julia in front of him. "Look at that… you can't not look at that."
James laughed. "You might be on to something there," he agreed, looking at Julia then back to Lily. She was shorter than Julia but not by much. Where Julia was almost angular, Lily was slender but soft and her legs were longer than they looked when she wore her cloak. Maybe it was just the dress she was wearing that made them look that way. "Perhaps I'll write a letter too," he mused. "But to Madam Malkin for those skirts. I'll still never understand the dress code here; it begs for impropriety."
"Too right. Do you remember on Friday when she had on that skirt and kept climbing on the benches in Herbology? I think that's why half of us we're getting snagged by those tentaculas." laughed Sirius.
"You still planning on trying to get that show on the road?" asked James.
"If she's willing," Sirius replied quietly as they finally reached where Lily and Julia were walking with Max and Adrien. Lily was laughing as she talked with Max and Julia had interlinked her arm with Adrien's and was talking to him about why Zonko's should come up with a larger sugar quill and that the edible mice were creepy. She flipped her long hair over her shoulder and Sirius clicked his tongue. He shook his head, a broad grin on his face. "And I hope she is. What about you? You and Evans going to do this flying thing?"
"It might take a miracle," James mused.
"I believe in miracles!" sang Sirius loudly as they walked, over the sound of James' laughter. "Where you from? You sexy thing, you sexy thing you…"
He continued singing, much to the amusement of everyone around him. Julia whipped her head around, fighting a grin as she glared at him and Lily looked startled but amused. Adrien was laughing but Max had a mutinous look on his face as he eyed James. James glared back, unashamed as he and Sirius approached them.
"You might not want to quit your day job," Julia teased over Sirius' singing, unhooking her arm from Adrien's as Sirius stepped beside her, half pushing Max out of the way.
"How did you know… I needed you? How did you know… I needed you so badly?" he sang as he slung an arm around her shoulder. "What do you mean? This was my plan for after school."
"You'd better not let Flitwick hear you," Adrien laughed. "He'd be after you to join the choir like he is Bertram."
Sirius scoffed. "I can sing better than Aubrey. I'd join, but I don't feel like carrying the whole choir with my voice."
Julia giggled. "Yes, you're probably better as a one-man show."
Sirius laughed, his eyes dark as he leaned his head into Julia's hair and whispered something no one could hear. When he was done, James saw her look at him with an amused expression. "Perhaps you should buy me a drink first," she murmured.
"I can do that," Sirius grinned. "Prongs, we can do that, right?"
"Most certainly," replied James with a laugh. Sirius grinned and pulled Julia closer, walking ahead with her into the Three Broomsticks. Adrien looked a little perturbed, but tugged at Max's sleeve and headed off in the opposite direction. Max held back a moment, looking from James to Lily.
"We're going to head to Honeydukes first; want to come, Lily?" he asked, holding out his hand.
Lily shook her head. "Nah, I don't want anything in there, and I'd better keep an eye on Julia."
"I'm sure she can handle herself," said Max.
"I'm… not so sure," Lily laughed, grinning when James laughed along with her.
Max pursed his lips. "Save us a seat then," he said, following Adrien into the sweet shop. "I'll grab you some chocolate!" he called back a moment later.
"She doesn't like chocolate!" James shouted after him, stepping up beside Lily who looked at him with a small grin.
"You remembered," she said, surprised.
"I remember a lot more about you than you probably realize," said James, a little sheepishly.
Lily looked amused and shook her head. "Well, that didn't take long."
"What didn't?" he asked. "Did you tell her Sirius was messing her about?"
"No," said Lily honestly. "I only let her come to her own assumptions, then I wholeheartedly supported them."
"And what were those assumptions?"
"That he's playing hard to get," said Lily, walking slowly towards the pub. "That he thinks he's got her wrapped around his finger and she'll come running when he calls."
James smirked. "And that's not the case?"
"Well, it wasn't the case until he started singing," Lily admitted with a laugh. "She likes to think she's strong willed… I think she likes him a bit more than she wants to admit."
"I think Padfoot probably is on the same broom," said James. "Speaking of brooms-"
"You decided to look like one today?" asked Lily with a smirk, gesturing toward James' untidy hair and tall, lanky build.
James grinned, ruffling his hair and biting his lip to stop one of the one-hundred broom related comments in his head from coming out of his mouth. "If it pleases you, yes, I look like a broom."
Lily quirked an eyebrow. "I expected some quip about riding a broomstick or something," she mused. "You disappoint me, Potter."
"Well, I don't want to do that," he laughed. "I was only trying to be respectful. If you'd like, I can come up with a few comments while we have a drink?"
"Yes, lets… Merlin knows we shouldn't leave our friends to their own devices," she said, pushing the door to the pub open.
The Three Broomsticks was especially crowded today, thanks to all the students and aurors and teachers in the village, but James noticed Remus and Peter had beaten them inside and were already at the bar putting in an order. Sirius joined them a few seconds later, having come from a table where Samantha Pitchfield was sitting next to Julia. James nodded to where the girls were, watching as Lily waved and headed across the pub to join them. He went up to the bar towards his friends to order a drink.
"… will be seventeen in less than a month, Rosie… less than a month," Sirius was saying. "Come on, just one little glass of Firewhiskey."
"Sirius Black," Rosmerta replied in an attempt to be stern. "You may have less than a month, but you are not seventeen yet. I could get in so much trouble, so could you."
Sirius scoffed. "There are so many people in here no one is going to notice what you bring me. And you know me, I'm discreet…"
Rosmerta laughed. "I'm sure that is the case when the four of you are not drawing as much attention to yourselves as possible."
"He's got a girl to impress if that makes a difference," said James with a grin.
"Have you?" said Rosmerta with wicked delight. "Where is she? Which one?"
"The blond," Peter said, gesturing towards Julia. "The tall blond in the red shirt."
"Oh yes, I've seen her in here before," she laughed. "And I know the other girl belongs to you, Remus."
"Which other girl?" asked Remus curiously.
"The one with the short hair," she said. "She's been in asking if you were here before, it wasn't about studying either," she added with a wink.
James grinned at Remus, who was blushing and looking rather pleased with himself. He didn't agree nor disagree with Rosmerta's assessment, instead he simply cleared his throat and continued with his order. "It's just a butterbeer for me…"
"Make it two… no, make it five," said James, looking toward where Lily was sitting and talking with Julia and Sam. Adrien and Max had just come in the door and were walking over toward the table. James elbowed Remus, who looked over to the table before elbowing Sirius for the same reason.
"I tell you what, boys," Rosmerta said, watching the table curiously. "Here's your butterbeers, James, your gillywater, Peter, and I'll bring the rest out in a bit," she said, sliding bottles and glasses to whom they were assigned. Sirius looked confused, but Rosmerta just winked nodded at him.
He grinned. "She'll be seventeen soon, too," he added before wandering back to the table to join everyone there.
Max and Adrien had just walked up when Sirius joined them, moving around Adrien to slide in between Sam and Julia. Lily watched Adrien's face curiously, wondering if he had taken Julia's earlier friendliness toward him as an indication something more was going to happen. It wasn't. Lily could see that much. She shook her head passively at Julia, who didn't notice, for her eyes were only on Sirius Black.
"I tried to get a Firewhiskey off her," he explained, gesturing towards Rosmerta the barmaid. "Unsuccessful."
"Seventeen next month though, right," Peter said as he, Remus, and James squeezed their way into the table. James, Lily noticed, moved around Max to get next to her in the same manner that Sirius had done with Julia.
"Then you're buying for all of us, right?" Sam teased.
James and Remus laughed, and Sirius grinned wickedly. "In that case, I'll just be getting a bottle."
"I've never had Firewhiskey," admitted Julia. "I'd like to get in on this bottle."
"Done," said Sirius with a grin.
"I think I've had it before," mused Sam.
"How?" asked James curiously. "No, really… how?"
"I think… last year at Slughorn's do- "
"Oh, yes!" agreed Lily, suddenly remembering the tray of small glasses that had been passed around. "Yes, we did. I remember that now."
"Slughorn was giving out Firewhiskey?" asked Remus incredulously.
Sam shrugged. "It was his party, I think he thought it made him look really cool…you know how he likes to impress people."
Sirius laughed loudly, it sounded like a bark. "I'd have thought he would have something a bit classier."
"Firewhiskey's classy," said Max. "He only got it out after some prodding."
"If I remember, it was you doing the prodding," Lily said pointedly as James handed her a butterbeer. "What do I owe you?"
"Nothing," said James.
"Come on."
"No, I said nothing! It's a butterbeer, it's on me. Hang on, I see Robb and I need to catch him about us having the pitch tomorrow," he said, setting down his drink and darting off after Robb Alexander.
"It may have been me doing the prodding for him to let us drink it, but it was his idea to get it out and taunt us with it in the first place," Max mumbled, eyeing the butterbeer in Lily's hand. "You sure you want to drink that, Lils?"
"Yes," Lily replied. "Why not?"
Max shrugged and looked at Adrien. "Potter's always after you… maybe he slipped something in it."
"Oi," protested Sirius, looking at Remus and Peter to back him up. "Prongs isn't like that."
"What are you on about?" asked Sam with a frown. "You jealous again?"
"Jealous," scoffed Max, glaring back at her. "There's nothing for me to be jealous of."
"This table is awfully crowded," Remus mused, looking over his shoulder at Max and Adrien.
"It is," agreed Lily, taking a long, pointed sip of the butterbeer.
Max shrugged, pursing his lips as he watched her drink. "Just haven't seen much of you, Lils… thought we might like to head over to Zonko's or the Shack for a bit. You could come; I could help you with your Transfiguration."
"She doesn't need help," laughed James as he returned to the table.
"Or if I do, I can ask McGonagall," said Lily, with a shrug. "We can catch up some other time."
Max made a face, looking at Adrien who shrugged. "It is crowded. I'll see you later, Julia?"
"Sure," Julia nodded brightly as they walked away. Lily saw her mouth, don't hold your breath, right after they walked away and smirked to herself.
Rosmerta came over then, walking directly to where Julia and Sirius were sitting. Sirius was grinning wildly, and Julia looked confused as the barmaid gave them both a conspiratorially amused look.
"All right, Sirius… but only because I owe you," she said very quietly as she sat down two small glasses of light amber colored liquor in front of them.
Sirius' smile was brilliant. "Thanks, Rosie," he said, looking at Julia for approval.
Julia flushed a little bit. "Thank you," she said quietly to Rosmerta, who gave her a wink before walking away. Julia took a look at the glass in front of her, picking it up and smelling it. She quirked an eyebrow at Sirius who smirked at her. "You said you wanted to try it."
"I did say that," Julia replied, fighting a grin as she clinked her glass against Sirius' and downed the drink in one gulp. She shuddered, coughing a little as Sirius laughed and put his arm around her again. Lily just shook her head at the pair of them.
"What was that?" Remus asked Sam.
"That was Sirius weaseling Firewhiskey out of the barmaid because he's a flirt," she replied with a smirk.
"No, not that," scoffed Remus. "Max… what was that rubbish about a love potion?"
Sam rolled her eyes. "You don't want to know."
"I do," said Lily. "Max has been ridiculous this year. He's not usually like that. What's- "
"I told you on the train; he's started fancying you," Julia said bluntly. "I think he started last year, but something must have happened over the summer that lit a fire under him. I suspect it was Potter's letters."
"I only wrote to him because I figured he'd want Evans back at school and would tell her she belonged," James replied, looking irritated. "I didn't tell him to start stalking her."
"If that's the case, you only have yourself to blame, James. He sees you as competition. I told you all of this on the train," Julia said to Lily. "Before he was just worried Lily would fail Transfiguration, now he's worried Potter is going to slip you a love potion."
"Why?" scoffed Lily, glancing at James quickly before turning back to Julia. "That's ridiculous."
"Is it?" asked Julia, looking at James. "I mean, the recipe is right in our potions book; it wouldn't be hard to do."
"I reckon he thinks that because Prongs has spent the last year pining after you," said Peter, ignoring the glare James shot in his direction. "Am I wrong? It's been that long, hasn't it?"
"Longer," said Sirius thoughtfully, grinning at the glare James threw him. "Don't you glare at me, everyone knows it's true; there's no use in pretending as though you haven't asked her out in front of throngs of people before."
James continued to glare, then with a quick glance at Lily (who seemed more concerned about why someone thought he'd slip her a love potion) he shrugged in agreement.
"No, not that… but why? Why would he do that? Why would anyone do that?" Lily asked Sam.
"Mary was the one talking about this. Didn't she tell you it was going around?" Sam asked.
Julia and Lily glanced at each other, Julia sitting up straighter in her chair. "No… this is something being talked about? As in, gossiped about around school?" Julia asked. Sam nodded in agreement. "She hasn't told us a thing!" Julia shouted indignantly.
"Oh, where is that girl?" Lily asked, cheeks flushed as she jumped up from her chair. "I saw her come in here..."
"She's over there, by the bar," said Peter, pointing over Sirius' head to where Mary was sitting with Marlene McKinnon and Court Huffton. Lily mumbled angrily under her breath and weaved her way through the crowd over to where Mary was sitting while the rest of them turned back to Sam for more information.
"Let me make sure I have this right," said James. "There's a rumor going about that I'm slipping Evans a love potion… and that's why she's- "
"Being nice to you," finished Sam. "Yes, that's the rumor. Because love potions counter hate, and she just as well hated you last term, or at least that's what everyone thought."
"People are so thick; she didn't hate him. She's never hated him," Julia replied, rolling her eyes. "You piss her right off sometimes with that bullying nonsense- "
"I don't hex anyone that doesn't deserve it," James mumbled.
"What you qualify as 'deserving it' doesn't always mean much," laughed Sam. "Remember that horrible hex you put on Aubrey that made his head swell up? He didn't deserve that," she said disapprovingly. James looked sheepish for a moment until Sam continued. "Anyway, that's the rumor."
"Right. Because Evans could never like me without some help," James grumbled, messing with his hair before folding his arms on the table and resting his chin on them.
Julia looked half amused. "Is this… is… Does that upset you, Potter? That people are spreading rumors about you and they aren't good or funny?" she teased. "Where's all that bravado? Where's that confidence? You know you're not going to use a potion to get her so why's it bother you?"
Sirius chuckled, giving James a knowing look. "How do you feel about Felix Felicis now, Prongs?"
"I think he's a right arse," James muttered.
Sam looked confused. "Lucky potion? What- "
"She didn't tell us because she assumed we knew," Lily explained to Julia, walking back to their table and taking her seat next to James. "She thought we'd heard, was pretty shocked that I hadn't since its about me. Her defense for not telling us was that we told her we didn't like all the gossiping, so she was 'trying to keep it down.'"
Julia laughed. "Only with you! She was more than happy to spread all kinds of rumors about us," she added, gesturing towards Sirius and herself.
Sirius chuckled lightly, looking Julia over again as he leaned back in his chair. "Speaking of that… care to get that show on the road?"
Lily and Sam both laughed, but Julia rolled her eyes. "See this? This is why you're boring," she said flatly, looking sadly at Sirius. "You know damn well I'm not going to snog you here, with McGonagall over there, and Slughorn there, and Sprout by the door, and all these damn Aurors about. It's just like the Library. You bring it up in the weirdest places so you can avoid it."
The legs of Sirius' chair slammed down on the floor as he sat up straight, fixated on Julia with a strange expression. James sniggered. "You're like a pointer dog."
"Hunting down its prey," added Remus.
"I'm prey, now? Are you going to eat me?" asked Julia sarcastically.
"I'm sure it could be arranged," Sirius said.
She smirked. "Then arrange it."
"Done," he nodded, as though they'd just decided on something. He and Julia continued to stare each other down, with James and Remus sniggering at them and Peter looking between the two as though he was trying to decide who would strike first.
"Sam," Lily continued, ignoring the pair of them. "Where did you first hear this love potion rumor?"
"Just around," Sam admitted. "Everyone has been whispering about it… I'm really no better than anyone else."
"Yes, you are," replied three voices at once. Lily looked up at Remus first, smiling when she saw the concern in his face, then at James, who seemed incredulous at the thought of Sam thinking she was no better than anyone else.
Sam looked pleased, her cheeks flushed a little and she looked up at Remus with a smile. He blushed and turned away. Lily pressed on. "When I asked Mary about it, Court interrupted me and he said he didn't hear it was Potter specifically; he just heard someone was planning to do it."
Sam frowned. "Well, now that I think about it, it wasn't specific. I'm sure Max just assumed it would be James because… well, you know. Plus, like I said, he's jealous."
"What's he got to be jealous of?" scoffed James.
"Yeah, Potter and I have barely spoken for a month," Lily agreed, giving James a pointed look. To her pleasure, he looked a little sheepish when she pointed it out.
"Yeah, what was going on there?" asked Julia, breaking the staring contest with Sirius. "The lot of you went from being normal to barely speaking to her after the first week. What gives?"
Sirius' eyes moved from James, to Remus, to Peter, to Lily in a matter of seconds. James even glanced at Lily a little uncomfortably. Remus began to go pale, but Lily spoke before Julia noticed any of this.
"I think they were still hacked off I tried to give them a detention," she replied. "I told you this."
"Oh, that's right, because they were sneaking about by the kitchen again," Julia remembered. "Why'd you get so upset about that?"
"It's just food," grumbled Sirius, jumping into ease with the story. "I was the one leading the charge against her, remember?" he admitted, giving Lily a slightly guilty smile. "Prongs was all for forgiving her right away… but I told him she needed to learn a lesson."
Peter laughed, and James smiled a bit while Remus rolled his eyes. Lily's eyes narrowed. "A lesson, eh?"
"Yes, did you learn it? Moony's never given us detentions because he's our friend. This is a perk of being friends with The Marauders: you don't give us detentions, we won't hex you."
"I'm not the least bit afraid of your hexes," Lily replied haughtily. "I can hold my own."
"Speaking of holding your own," James interjected, draining the rest of his butterbeer, "and teaching you a lesson, care to join me on the Quidditch pitch, Evans? I can show you my broomstick."
Lily choked on her butterbeer, having completely forgotten her earlier comment to James about all the broomstick references he could make. She swallowed hard, looking over to see him gleefully staring at her.
Julia laughed out loud. "Did she ask to see it?"
"More or less," said James. "She told me I looked like one, so I figure she should see a proper one to be able to tell the difference."
"I've never asked to be shown your broomstick," Lily said, fighting a laugh.
"But you agreed that you can't fly well. So how 'bout it? I did promise you flying lessons."
"Now?" asked Lily, looking a little wary.
"Sure, now. I mean… we've cleared my name of trying to slip you a love potion. I've fulfilled your expectation for a cheeky comment. I think now is as good a time as- "
"It's windy," said Lily looking towards the door. Her face was slightly pale and she'd begun tapping the table nervously with her fingers. "It's kind of windy, and it's a bit chilly so- "
"I've got a cloak you can borrow," James offered. "And it's not that windy. I've flown in much worse."
"Yes, but you're a good flyer."
"Evans," Sirius laughed, taking the cap from his butterbeer and flicking it in her direction. Without a single flinch she caught it in one hand, shooting Julia a worried look before setting it down. "It's just a little wind."
"C'mon," said James, taking Lily by the hand and pulling her towards the door. They had just gotten outside when James' friends queued up behind them, Julia alongside Sirius. "What happened to Pitchfield?" James asked Remus when he noticed he was alone.
"She says she has Charms work and needed to find Flitwick," Remus explained as they walked. "Said she'd see us later maybe."
"We're all going?" asked Lily. "Oh, this is just grand."
"I'm curious to see if this is going to go as bad as you make it sound, Evans," Sirius admitted.
"She's awful," laughed Julia. "Seriously… I don't think you've been on a broom since first year, have you?"
"I have… in third year. Max dragged me out here to- "
James scoffed, still holding on to Lily's hand, which he was surprised she hadn't pulled from his grasp. "Linghold is not who you want to be taking lessons from."
"He flies well enough during Quidditch," Lily replied defensively.
James pursed his lips, thinking that before this year Lily and Linghold had always been friendly. And he was the one who was worried about James slipping something in her drink. It was obvious that he had started fancying her, Julia was right about that. He grimaced, stomach knotting uncomfortably. "He flies well for a beater," he muttered. "Watch him on the pitch, do you?"
"No more than I watch you," she said. "Why the tone? What've you got to be jealous of? You're the one out here holding my hand."
James fought back a grin. "Nothing. Not jealous."
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Lily asked, finally pulling her hand from this. "I'm awful, Julia's right."
"Flying is an important skill, Evans," James asserted. "Being able to hop on a broom and just fly out the window could save your life someday. Besides, we won't learn apparition 'till spring and if you want to visit me over Holiday- "
"I can't even afford an owl, what makes you think I'm going to go run off and buy a broomstick?" asked Lily with a laugh. "Aside from the fact that I can't have one since I'm am underage muggle-born-"
"You'll be of age in January," said James, waving her off.
It took them less than ten minutes to walk from Hogsmeade to the Quidditch Pitch. James half wondered if another team would be having practice, but since it was the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year the pitch was completely empty.
"Here we are!" he announced, tapping the lock on the broom shed with his wand and digging around for his broom. He pulled out his Nimbus 1700, it was the latest model Lily knew that much. Peter stared at in in awe when James held it up for Lily's inspection.
"It says 'racing broom'" she muttered.
"Of course, it does," laughed James. "What else would it say?"
"There aren't any … normal brooms?" she asked as Julia and Sirius came forward to grab some out of the shed. Remus and Peter were right behind them. Lily shuffled to the side to allow them past.
James followed her, tilting his head. "You're really scared of this, aren't you? I thought you were joking."
"I'm not scared," Lily said defensively. "Not scared… It's just… last time I literally kicked off, then lost my balance right away and fell over. When I tried again, I think I made it once around the pitch before I lost it." She looked up at James, who was looking at her with a bewildered expression. "Max couldn't help but laugh, so I hexed him and left and now everyone's here and it's just going to happen again… I can't fly!"
Lily chewed her lip and folded her arms over her chest, scuffing at the ground with her shoe. James looked up, watching the rest of their friends circle the pitch. Julia was laughing as Sirius tried to balance standing on his broom while Remus dived at him. Peter was just hovering close by watching. James looked back at Lily who was also watching, her expression fretful.
He threw his leg over the broom, circled the shed once very low to the ground, then came up beside her. "Come here," he said, taking her hand again and pulling her on the broom on front of him. "Put your hands here, I'm going to help you steer."
"This is a bad idea," she muttered, allowing him to put his hands over hers. He rested his chin on her shoulder, draping himself over her like a blanket. His chest was pressed warmly against her back and Lily realized she was shaking. She didn't know whether it was from closeness or from nerves. Potter smelled like the woods – earthy, sweet, and warm.
"Evans, I'm not going to let anything happen to you," he promised in a low voice against her ear. She shuddered again. "Don't you trust me?"
Lily looked over her shoulder at him. His hair fluttered in the wind and his eyes were soft and sincere. Her heart made a swooping noise in her chest, but she caught it before she escaped. "Yes," she breathed after a beat of silence.
She recognized this feeling, though she'd never felt it like this before. Petunia said it was like butterflies, Julia said it was a pull. Lily felt it as a swoop down to the pit of her stomach than a huge lift.
Of course, the feeling could have come from James deciding that that was the perfect moment to kick off into the air. The broom rose fast; ten, twenty, thirty feet up. Lily squeezed her eyes shut, ignoring James' light laugh as they rose. The wind whipped around them, and he looped an arm around her waist. She opened her eyes to see him looking at her with an expression so intense she blushed.
James thought to himself that this couldn't have been a more perfect moment for a kiss. She was so warm against him, flowery smelling hair whipping around his face. He fought against the urge to press his mouth against hers like he'd wanted too for so long, his father's words coming unbidden to his mind. "Never kiss someone that doesn't want it just as much as you."
Lily's expression was soft, but wary, and James had no way of telling if she wanted him to kiss her… save for asking. He wasn't going to ask thirty feet in the air and risk getting smacked off his broom.
"You all right?" he did ask after a minute, jolting her out of the reverie she had apparently drifted into.
"Yeah," she said with a nod. "I think… this feels a lot steadier than I remember."
"Were you on Max's broom?" he asked. James grinned when she nodded. "He's got a Cleansweep. They're not bad, but they can be unsteady. This one is better. Lean forward, you'll see."
Lily did as she was bidden, leaning forward and inhaling sharply as the broom began to speed up. James chuckled, removing his hands from overtop hers to rest them on her waist. "Shift your weight this way to turn," he said, putting pressure on one hip to get her to lean into the curve of the pitch as they approached it.
"Told you he was a good flyer!" Sirius shouted as they approached. He launched another butterbeer cap in their direction, expecting James to catch it but Lily grabbed it instead. She threw it back at him and sped up as they flew passed.
"What was that?" asked James with a laugh as they went around another curve.
"He's the one who threw it," Lily replied, her eyes fixed ahead of her as she leaned forward to go a bit faster.
"You caught that!" he shouted. "You caught that - straight out of the air - and threw it back at him." Lily shrugged as though this was not some stupendous feat. "You know… I still need a backup Seeker. Parsons left last year and not many people tried out for it."
Lily roared with laughter, the sound made James grin uncontrollably. "I'm not trying out for Quidditch… I can't even fly a broom by myself."
"You're flying," said James. "I haven't done anything to help you the last three laps. I think in fact I'm going to get off and let you do it alone."
"That doesn't sound like much fun."
"What?" asked James incredulously. She stifled a laugh, her cheeks flushing pink. "Your cheek is going to get you in trouble one of these days."
"It already has," she replied darkly, scrunching up her face. "Do you want to get off?"
"Well… if you're offering," James teased, laughing when she glowered back at him, red faced and fighting a laugh. "Sit up a bit to brake and push down to bring us lower."
Lily did as she was told and James hopped off the broom, still keeping a hand at her back. She moved to get off as well, but he stopped her. "What're you doing?"
Lily stammered. "I was going to… I'll grab one from the- "
"Rubbish, use this. I'll grab one from the shed," he said, pushing her forward and grabbing a broom that was just behind him.
"But his one's yours," Lily called as he jumped on the other broom and raced off. She stayed still as he flipped around suddenly, looping in a fancy pattern as he made his way back to her.
"Show off," she muttered.
"What's mine is yours, Evans," James replied back. "Always has been!" And with that he flipped over and raced towards a laughing Sirius. Lily shook her head, feeling herself shake on the broom again, but she gathered her confidence and kicked off, leaning forward to fly in a straight line towards where Julia was hovering next to Peter.
"You didn't fall off!" she laughed excitedly. "Congratulations!"
"Shut up!" Lily laughed, leaning to turn and feeling a little more comfortable – at last – on the seat of a broom.
A/N Sorry this chapter took a bit to get uploaded, busy day. Thanks for the reviews again and the birthday wishes! Someone mentioned making a playlist, as if I didn't have one already. I add to it as I write but here's what I have so far for everything I have written.
user/r9rezlbbgjryovdldbc0qo8xa/playlist/1y0OGSm7K6emRsLA4NMvRQ
