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A Late Breakfast and an Almost Kiss

I followed James through the corridors quietly, not wanting to draw attention to us, even though we had a teacher's permission to be out of class. We were halfway down one of the moving staircases when it started moving and I grabbed James's shoulders to steady myself.

He was a step below me so my eyes were level with his when he turned around and grabbed my waist. My shirt had ridden up and my skin tingled where his fingers gripped me.

Our eyes locked and I found myself remembering this kiss Lizabeth had forced us into. The kiss I couldn't seem to get out of my mind. His face was so close to mine, and again I smelled the grass and broom polish smell mixed with a scent that was purely James. I inhaled and sighed, biting my lip.

James had the most amazing eyes. People always told me they loved mine, but mine we're just plain green, nothing special. But James's, they were beautiful. The green and the gold flecks always seemed to be fighting for dominance in his hazel eyes. Today the gold was winning and as I started into his eyes I saw them darken considerably.

His breath was shallow and my heart started racing. Was he going to kiss me? Was I actually going to let him? I felt him start to lean closer to me and my eyelids began to flutter closed on their own accord.

I felt his warm, minty-smelling breath on my face and closed my eyes all the way. I couldn't think, I could only feel, and I was feeling the strangest combination of feelings ever. James's lips were only a centimeter away from mine when the stairs bumped into place and James and I were jostled apart.

My eyes jostled open and I took a stop back, pulling my shirt down to cover the bare expanse of my stomach that had been exposed when James grabbed my hips, my cheeks on fire.

James cleared his throat and looked to the top of the stairs.

"Erm, we should get going before the stairs move again. I know a way to the kitchens from this floor anyway."

"Oh, okay sure let's go then." I mumbled, embarrassed. Had I been about to kiss James Potter, my friend and fake boyfriend, with no one around? When it was completely unnecessary? What in the name of Merlin's mother was wrong with me? It must be all the chocolate I had last night, I rationalized. Eating excessive amounts of chocolate could really mess a person up.

We ran up the stairs quickly and started down the corridor, James observing the tapestries as we went. I didn't see how he would get us from the fifth floor all the way down to the kitchens this way, but I didn't say anything. I was still embarrassed about what had nearly transpired on the staircase.

"There it is!" James whispered loudly, pointing towards the end of the hallway.

"There what is?" I asked, looking for a door or a staircase maybe.

"You'll see." He replied, speeding up his gait.

I hurried behind him, still not knowing where we were going and a little hurt by the distance in his voice. He had almost kissed me not even five minutes ago, not he was going to be all cold and stony to me? Wonderful.

Being the fake girlfriend to James Potter was more than I had planned for, that was for sure.

We reached the end of the hall and stopped in front of a tapestry depicting some war or another, but when James pulled it back I realized it was covering a secret passageway. Of course James would know about all the secret passageways. I knew most of them, but this was a new one. I made a mental note to remember it, along with all the others.

James held the tapestry for me and after I stepped into the narrow walkway he followed, dropping it back into place.

"Lumos." I said into the pitch black, having grabbed my wand before James dropped the tapestry.

The passageway was suddenly illuminated and I saw that it led down a flight of stairs that were really steep.

"You first." I whispered, glancing back at James, who looked away from me quickly. I rolled my eyes and pressed myself against the wall to let him pass but no matter how much I sucked in every inch of our bodies touched as he slid past me.

We walked down the narrow passage in an uncomfortable silence. The further we went, the more uncomfortable I felt. Why were things so…forced with him now? It wasn't supposed to be like that. This little plan was going to go wrong, I could already tell. James was acting strange, I had almost kissed him, and now it was like we were in the forbidden forest, acting all silent and weird.

There was a wall up ahead, but James pulled out his wand and tapped a couple of the bricks and the wall melted away, opening into the corridor right outside of the kitchens.

James peaked his head out and looked around. "Coast is clear."

I followed him out of the passage, watching as the wall popped back into place a second later. We continued down the corridor to the huge doors leading into the kitchens. James tapped the large pear statue and the doors swung open, revealing a sight that I had never thought I would see in my life.

The kitchens were huge, to say the least, and every surface was sparkling. There were hundreds of houseelves bustling around, some cooking, some cleaning, others rushing food to the cooking elves and back into the pantry.

I looked at James, eye wide. "This is unbelievable. I had no idea there were so many houseelves here. "

He laughed, some of the usual gleam back in his eyes, replacing the unfamiliar stony expression.

"Well, with as many students as Hogwarts has, they're all needed."

"Obviously, I just had no idea." I retorted amusedly.

Before he replied a loud pop sounded and I jumped a little, looking around to see what the sound was from. There was a tiny little houseelf standing in front of us, her eyes big and round and adorable. Some people thought the little creatures were ugly, and granted, some of them were, but a lot of them were cute. This one included.

"'Ello Mr. Potter, sir. And Miss. How can Dorey help you?" she asked, bowing graciously.

"Dorey, I told you, call me James. We're friends here." James smiled down at the little elf warmly and she smiled back up at him.

"Sorry Mr. James. Now, what can Dorey get for you today, sir?"

James shook his head, laughing quietly. "What do you fancy having?" he asked, looking over at me.

I pondered the question. I didn't really care, I was just hungry. "You pick. You've been down here before, I haven't."

Dorey watched the exchange with wide eyes and nodded understandingly. "Is this Miss Lily, Mr. James?" she questioned.

I laughed. How in the world did she know my name? I looked over at James, who seemed to be blushing a little bit. "Yes, this is Lily Dorey."

"How did you know who I was?" I asked, seriously curious. Dorey looked from James to me.

"Oh, a houseelf hears things, that's all miss."

For some reason I didn't believe her. Maybe it was the look of relief that crossed James's face, or the fact that he had blushed when she ask if I was Lily. Something just didn't add up to her innocent response.

Before I could question her further, James turned to me.

"Are you feeling more like breakfast or lunch right now?" he asked.

"Well, lunch is after our next class, so we'll be able to catch that. A light breakfast sounds good to me."

"Okay, Dorey I think we'll have some pancakes and bacon. Oh, and some pumpkin juice please."

Mmmm pancakes and bacon sounded so good. It was my favorite breakfast at home, and my mom would always make the pancakes especially for me when I was home. Petunia wouldn't eat them because of her diet-she probably thought she had to be a stick to balance out her relationship with a walrus-so mom didn't get to make them unless I was home.

I sighed, remembering, and James raised an eyebrow questioningly. I shook my head.

"Just remembering home." Was all I said.

He nodded in understanding and walked over to a little table that was set up in the middle of the room. I followed and took a seat across from him, crossing my arms and setting them on the table.

"Lily, what happened on the stairs…what was that exactly?" he asked after a minute, staring down at the table as he ran a hand through his hair.

That's what I wanted to know too….I sighed. "I don't know James. Why don't we just forget about it, like it never happened? That makes everything easier." I lied. I knew that I, at least, wouldn't be forgetting the scene on the stairs for a long time, no matter how much I wanted to I knew it would be burned into my brain, just like the kiss.

"Erm….okay. Right, just forget about it, yeah." James said, tugging on his hair some more. He looked really uncomfortable, and I felt that way too. This was becoming too awkward. I just hoped this whole fake girlfriend thing didn't ruin my friendship with him. I didn't want things to go back to the way they had been before fifth year.

Before anything could make the situation more awkward, Dorey popped up again, her hands stacked with plates and two goblets of pumpkin juice. She set it all down on the table between James and me and smiled at me.

"I hope you enjoy the food Miss Lily. And I hope that your first trip to the kitchens was worth your while." she said, twisting the bottom of her cloth dress in her hands nervously.

I grinned at her. "Thank you very much Dorey. This little adventure was more than worthwhile, and it was very nice meeting you."

She beamed and James grinned at me. When Dorey went back to doing whatever she was supposed to be doing, he said, "That was really great of you. They love getting compliments, and it's not very often that they get them. You probably just made her day right now."

"Well, I was just speaking the truth. It was great getting to meet her." I replied, picking up a piece of bacon and taking a bite. Oh my Merlin it was delicious.

James chuckled as he watched me. "Good?"

I nodded. "Go on, eat. If you don't, I will." I teased.

James obliged, picking up his fork and taking a huge bite out of a pancake.

"You didn't even put syrup on it!" I exclaimed.

James looked at me, confused. "Why does it matter if I eat it with syrup or not?"

I gwaffed. What did it matter? He couldn't be serious. "James, you have to have syrup with your pancakes, its practically a law. It tastes so much better than just plain pancakes!"

"Okay okay, I'll try it." He laughed, picking up the syrup pitcher and pouring some onto his plate. I shook my head. Who ate pancakes without syrup?

I watched as James took another bite, this time with the heavenly substance.

"You were right Lily. This is so much better. I've been missing out."

I grinned. "I know I was right. But now you know."

He chuckled and we ate our late breakfasts in silence. I savored the taste of the warm food sliding down my throat and the wonderful smells of the kitchen. The hustle and bustle reminded me of my mom during family holidays.

When we finished eating, James stood and I pushed myself up from the table. Merlin I was stuffed.

"It's about time for class. We have just enough time to get to our new dorm, get our bags, and go." He said, ruffling his hair again.

"That was so good James. Thank you for bringing me here."

He smirked. "No problem Lils."

Dorey popped up again, out of nowhere, and asked if we were finished. We nodded and she snapped her fingers, our empty plates disappearing instantly.

"Thank you very much Dorey." I said.

She curtsied and smiled at me and James.

"It was my pleasure Miss Lily, Mr. James."

"I'll see you again soon Dorey." James grinned, patting the little elf on the head kindly.

She giggled and blinked her wide eyes, smiling toothily up at him. Merlin, he even had the houseelves falling at his feet.

We left the kitchens and headed back to the dormitory we now shared, talking about our next class. James had Divination, I had Herbology. I really wasn't looking forward to re-potting the Mandrakes, but there wasn't really anything I could do about it.

We turned the second to last corner leading to the Head's dorm and came face to face with Severus. I groaned. He was the last person I wanted to see, especially when James and I were alone together.

James reached over and grabbed my hand, pulling me closer into his side and Severus glared, his nostrils flaringly menacingly.

"Potter." He spat.

"Snape." James replied, his tone even.

I rolled my eyes. Snape was avoiding looking at me, and James was being over-protective. I wasn't some fragile little girl that couldn't stand up for herself.

"If you'll excuse us, we have somewhere to be." I said hotly, my hands clenched into fists. It was still really hard for me to see Snape after what he had said to me, but each time it got a little easier. I found myself caring less and less each time.

He ignored me, instead focusing all his attention on James. It was like I wasn't even there.

"What are you doing out of class Potter?" he sneered.

"I could ask you the same question, seeing how I'm Head Boy and you aren't even a prefect." James retorted.

Snape froze, looking down to see the Head boy badge pinned on James's chest. He snapped his mouth shut. If looks could kill, James would be laying on the floor, not breathing.

"Just what I thought. Twenty points from Slytherin. Now run along to class Snape, or it'll be twenty more."

Severus turned on his heel, storming down the corridor until he turned the corner, out of sight. James released my hand and turned to me.

"Are you okay Lily? You look really pale." He asked, looking concerned.

"I…I'm fine James, thanks." I said quietly. So sue me, I wasn't completely over losing my best childhood friend just yet.

I calmed myself down and we continued on to our dorm, entering and grabbing our things quickly. When we came back out of the dorm, students were pouring out of the classrooms, heading towards their next class.

"Well, see you at lunch then?" James asked, shrugging his bag onto his shoulder.

"Yeah, see you at lunch. Have fun in Divination." I teased, knowing James hated that class, but he and Sirius took it because they could bluff their way through it the entire year.

"Hey, it's better than full-grown Mandrakes!" he laughed and I winced. That was very true.

After a quick hug and a peck on the cheek to keep up relationship pretenses, I turned, walking the opposite way from James, hurrying to get to class on time.

I walked back up to the castle from the greenhouses with Alice, describing the Heads dormitory to her in detail.

"You are so lucky Lily! Marlene and I are going to miss you though." She said, curling her arm through my elbow and leaning her head on my shoulder.

I laughed. "Ali, it's not like we won't ever see each other again, and you can come visit me in the Heads dorm too."

"Okay good." She laughed.

We walked into the castle and down the corridor into the Great Hall. Even though I had just eaten pancakes and bacon with James, I was hungry from all the work Professor Sprout had made us do in Herbology. Mandrakes were feisty and unpleasant to deal with, and they took a lot of effort.

I saw James and the other Marauders already seated at the end of the Gryffindor table, and Alice spotted Frank at the other end.

"Lily, I'm going to go eat with Frank okay?" she said quietly.

I nodded. "Sure Alice. Why don't you invite him to sit with us though? That way we can spend some more time together."

"I would but, I kind of wanted to have some alone time with him. We haven't really hung out since we've been at school, and I miss him."

I chuckled. "Go on Alice. Go spend some time with Frank. I think I can manage without you for a day."

She smiled at me and skipped away. I watched as Frank beamed brightly when he saw her heading his way. They were so cute together.

I walked over to where the boys were seated and took my place next to James. They were all in the middle of the heated discussion that I couldn't follow so I just grabbed a sandwich off of the platter in front of me and began eating.

"Prongs you have to let us. This is like….fate!"

"I'm not supposed to Padfoot, I already got a warning."

"Sirius, if he'll get in trouble for it we shouldn't do it." Remus added, having been quiet most of the conversation.

Deciding I should probably involve myself, I spoke up. "What are you guys arguing about?"

"Sirius wants to throw a party in your new Heads common room." Remus explained, shrugging.

"But I told him that you probably wouldn't be okay with that, because McGonagal already warned us about it." James added.

I scoffed. Did they really think I was that much of a goody two shoes that I would stop a small party being thrown? Sure, maybe I would have last year, but I had changed. I had loosened up. I mean, I had to have, pretending to be James's girlfriend.

"Let's have a party. McGonagal won't know about it. It's not like she'll be checking in on us or something. There is a reason we are Head Boy and Girl, they trust us. It's not going to be wild or anything." I said, rather proud of myself. Sometimes I just needed to let my hair down and not worry so much, and doing so felt pretty good.

The four Marauders looked at me as though I had grown another head or something.

"Lily I bloody love you." Sirius shouted, jumping up and pumping his fist into the air. He turned and looked at James. "Prongs your girl is more outgoing than you. What's that all about?"

I laughed. Sirius was crazy. Remus and James were still looking at me with their mouths open.

"What?" I asked. They closed their mouths and shook their heads.

"Lily are you sure about this?" James asked.

"You have no idea how wild Sirius's parties can get, Lily. You might want to think this through." Remus added, raising his eyebrows.

I shook my head. "Nope, I've already agreed to it, and the more I think about it, the better it sounds." I turned to look at Sirius who was surveying the tables of students, probably searching for a girl to invite so he would have a designated snog. "When will this party be taking place then?"

"Tomorrow night." Sirius replied.

I grinned. Tomorrow night. I couldn't wait.

A/N: Ohhhh there's gonna be a Marauder party! Will Lizabeth be invited? ;) Guess you'll just have to wait for the next chapter!

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