Chapter nine – Awkward moments

Lily headed up to the prefects' bathroom to take a shower once the snowball fight officially ended. She heard someone enter behind her; James, laughing with Remus. James' decorations were still adorning the room.

Lily stepped out of the shower, thankfully warm again, and wrapped herself in her towel and then her dressing gown.

Once she was dry and dressed she headed back towards the Tower. She rounded a corner and came face to face with Remus.

"Oops. Sorry." They each murmured as they bumped into each other.

They tried to step back, but found something holding them. A few whispers grew into more as Lily and Remus looked up simultaneously.

"Oh, dear."

"Damn it!"

Sirius was giggling like a drain and James looked fit to break something. Several wolf whistles rose from the surrounding crowd that had gathered.

"How do we get out of this?" Lily asked, being muggleborn.

"It's magic mistletoe – you have to kiss to get out." Sirius replied gleefully. A few first years giggled.

"No." Moaned Lily, her face like a tomato.

"No way out of it."

"Fine." Lily leant forwards, kissed Remus on the cheek and stepped away, only to be forced back to Remus' side.

"What?" She demanded of the mistletoe, which wheezed mocking laughter at the situation.

"Doesn't work like that, I'm afraid." Sirius called and then made kissy faces at the two of them, completely oblivious to his best mate beside him.

Lily sighed, looked at Remus and leaned in. Her lips met his. The strange thing was Lily found herself comparing them to James' and she knew which ones she preferred. She pulled back and nervously took a step away. She could.

"That seems to have done it." Sirius said, seemingly disappointed. "We'll have to get some stronger stuff for next year." He turned and winked at James, who's face lit up with a brilliant, yet probably catastrophic idea for next Christmas.

…

Lily lay in her bed, contemplating the dream she had just woken from. It was New Year's Eve and about six in the morning. School was restarting on the 2nd of January and the train arrived tomorrow.

The six remaining fifth year Griffindors had enjoyed their holiday, though the exams were starting to loom on the horizon.

Lily had been dreaming about a certain black haired boy, but not the one with glasses. Lily had found herself talking to Severus and then kissing him, which was bizarre enough in itself, seeing as she had never seen him as anything more than a friend. Then, Severus had changed into a snake. Lily had screamed. She had screamed for her friends, for James, but no one had come. Then Remus had appeared carrying mistletoe and said to use that on the snake.

Lily shook her head to clear her thoughts and headed down to the common room. There she immersed herself in the book Remus had bought her.

"Enjoying it?" Remus asked.

"Yeah." Lily looked up to see Remus in his pyjamas had snuck down without her noticing.

"I've been wanting to talk to you since…the decorations went up in the prefects' bathroom." Remus sighed. Lily knew where this was headed.

"He loves you Lily, he admitted it after that kiss. When I walked in it didn't seem like you were protesting all that much." So he had seen. Lily blushed. "Do you like him back or not?"

"I don't know, Remus. He's so sweet sometimes and I think he's growing up and everything and then he just does something stupid like pranking with you and the other Marauders or bulling some first year or just being plain conceited." Lily garbled.

"Well, there's one way to find out how you feel about him." Remus suggested and then he left, headed down to breakfast. Lily laid her book aside and pondered his words. Kissing James had been nowhere near as bad as she had ever expected. She had liked it in fact. Should she ask him out, or even accept him when he next asked her out?

She headed down to breakfast.

…

"Five, four, three, two, one…" The crowd shouted. Some of the older years had gathered outside where a firework display was being held. Lily stood awkwardly as couples kissed all around her. Sirius was kissing Marlene and even Remus and Harriet had each other. Lily stood beside James, both of them looking away awkwardly (most unlike James). Lily wondered if this was the moment she should tell James her decision on what Remus had said?

But the moment was gone.