First Date

James Potter was a very, very good actor.

To the untrained eye, he was his usual confident, carefree self on the morning of January 30th, 1977. He stood casually outside the portrait hole of Gryffindor Tower, as if he just happened to be there by chance (he certainly wasn't waiting for anyone in particular. Not at all). His plaid shirt hung neatly on his lanky frame, his hair was in perfect disarray, and he spun his wand through his fingers with great agility.

Yes, James Potter appeared to be having quite the normal, stand-up day.

But, in fact, today was not an ordinary day. James Potter was, in actuality, a complete and under wreck. He had joked easily with his friends that morning about how very long this day had taken to arrive, but now that he was actually faced with what he was about to do, he found he couldn't catch his breath or slow the frantic beating of his heart.

James Potter could face a bloodthirsty werewolf without batting an eyelid. He could fight off a group of angry Slytherins throwing curses at him without breaking a sweat. But the idea of what today could mean, what today could do to change his life—scared him to death.

His heart continued to pound erratically in his chest as he watched students flood by on their way out of the castle. The one face he longed to see was still absent, and he glanced worriedly at his watch. He was starting to think that he probably looked like a fool standing here alone, waiting for her (he knew arriving an hour early was a bit too eager, but honestly, who could blame him?) when all of a sudden, there she was.

It was like a moment out of one of those old Muggle movies. His heart lept at how beautiful she looked as she walked toward him. Everything around him disappeared and it was just her, moving in slow motion. Her smile was so bright it was blinding, and she tossed her glorious mane of red hair over her shoulder like a bloody movie star.

He knew he should be embarrassed by the completely ridiculous effect she had on him, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He gulped and tried to collect himself. If he didn't snap out of it and stop acting like a complete sap, he'd lose her forever.

Then she smiled and slid her hand into his, and he thought he might actually melt into a puddle on the floor. He was smiling like a complete fool, and he knew it. So much for being cool.

But really, how could he be calm right now? This day was years in the making. He felt like it should be a national holiday, announced by official decree on printed stationary. Or, at the very least, he should be permitted to shout it from the Astronomy Tower at the top of his lungs.

James Potter and Lily Evans were finally, finally, going on a date.

They walked slowly through the castle, taking the long way to avoid the throng of chattering younger students hurrying to get to Hogsmeade as soon as possible. James had finally regained the use of his brain (mostly) and remembered just how easy it was being with Lily.

"You're just jealous you aren't ginger," Lily was saying as they rounded a corner and smacked right into none other than Sirius Black.

James groaned. His friends had promised to keep their distance today.

"Padfoot," James hissed. "Don't you have an unsuspecting bird to harass?"

"No need for such hostility, Prongs," Sirius countered. He turned to Lily, "I hope Prongs hasn't been this rude to you today, my dear."

"Surprisingly, no," Lily smirked. "He has been quite charming for the entire ten minutes we were together before you interrupted us."

"Glad to hear it. He was a cranky sod this morning when we reminded him how many times he had to ask you before-"

"OKAY, that's quite enough," James interrupted quickly. "Did you have something to say? Or are you just trying to ruin my day?"

"Now, now Prongs. For your information, McGonagall was looking for the two of you…said one of the Prefects had misplaced the points records for this week and she needed you to find them or else redo them…she said it couldn't wait. So if I were you, I'd get out of the castle quickly before she finds—"

And, as luck would have it, McGonagall chose that exact moment to come hurrying around the corner.

Ten minutes later, James and Lily stood in the Prefect Office, attempting to sort through the mess of parchment piled on the desk.

"We'll never find it in this mess," James grumbled.

"Your dormitory is in a worse state than this," Lily joked. "If you can find all your belongings in that pigpen, surely you feel right at home in here."

"Just because you're freakishly neat doesn't mean you need to make fun of the rest of us normal people," James replied, a small smirk pulling at his lips.

"Is your room at home as messy as your dormitory?" she asked.

"Yes, though my mother always cleans it up as soon as I leave for Hogwarts. She can't stand having a messy room in the house."

"I think your mother and I would get along quite well," Lily said.

"I think you would, too."

They continued to chat as they moved on to the desk drawers, which were stuffed to the brim with various magical objects and even more parchment. He told her more about his mother and father, and she told him about her home in Surrey. He loved learning about her life outside of Hogwarts…her life in the Muggle World…her family.

"Maybe one day I can meet your mother," Lily said.

He couldn't help but smile at her implication that they'd see each other after graduating Hogwarts.

"I'd really like that."

It was comfortably silent for a few moments as they shuffled papers and tossed old quills in the bin.

"This wasn't at all what I imagined our first date would be like," James said quietly. "I had wanted you to have a lovely time…"

"Who says I'm not?" Lily replied gently. She nudged his shoulder playfully. "It's nice, being here with you. We've been here a full hour and we haven't been interrupted once. Everyone is in Hogsmeade." She looked at him, her eyes shining.

James' heart skipped a beat at her words. We're alone. We're completely alone.

Before he could talk himself out of it, he started to lean down towards her, trying to slow the drumming of his heart, imagining the feel of her lips on his…and then…

"Oh, look, I found it!" Lily exclaimed, her voice cracking as she turned away at the last moment, her face flushing spectacularly.

James tried to keep the hurt from his face, but he was devastated. She doesn't want to kiss me.

"Finally," he mumbled. "Let's pass that along to McGonagall and I'll let you be on your way, yeah?"

He started to move toward the door, but he felt her hand on his arm and he turned back toward her, trying desperately not to blush from embarrassment.

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I did that. I just—Why didn't you ever give up on me?" she murmured. "I shot you down time after time. Had heinous public shouting matches with you. Called you names. But you still liked me, after all that." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "Why? I didn't deserve it."

He paused, letting the gravity of what he was about to say fill him up. He took a deep breath.

"How could I give up on you when I feel so at home with you?" his voice wavered, but he didn't care. It felt so good to finally say this out loud to her. "Even when we were fighting. I felt like I was home. It felt so easy. Everything feels so easy with you." He took her hands in his and looked her in the eye, his voice growing stronger and more confident at the way she was looking back at him. "I dated other girls, but you were always there, in the back of my mind. You're everything, Lily. Don't you see that?"

She was completely silent. He needed her to say something, anything,to drown out the sound of his heart pounding in his ears.

But then, before he could die of humiliation, her lips were on his and his mind went blank. It was pure bliss. His hands wound around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She responded with a slight moan and he nearly lost his mind at the sound of it. He couldn't help himself—he lifted her off her feet, not breaking the kiss until her feet found the floor again. He let out an enthusiastic whoop! and she laughed heartily, her hair falling prettily in her face. He pushed the strands behind her ear, and kissed her once more, softly. She sighed so beautifully as his lips met hers. His heart felt so full he thought it might explode.

It was better than Christmas. It was better than flying. It was better than anything he had ever experienced, ever.

It was perfect.