Closer
"Sparks" Coldplay / "Realize" Colby Caillat
Six o'clock arrived, and Lily wandered down the stairs to Slughorn's office. She'd been to his party last year, and assumed the room would, again, be magically enlarged, and contain not only students, but also powerful members of the magical community. Horace Slughorn loved to brag about getting students a leg up into their careers; he never refrained from telling anyone if a pupil of his secured a position of power or prestige with his help. She half wondered if he had invited Damocles Belby to come, since Lily had successfully brewed his experimental potion three times now.
"Woah… you look nice, Lily," said Max happily as she approached. He was dressed as a bat and examined her curiously, tugging at parts of her costume and letting his eyes rove over her figure. "What… what are you supposed to be, though?"
Lily looked down at herself; perhaps her costume wasn't as obvious as she thought it was. The golden dress she wore hung to her calves and was fitted through the waist to emphasize the curve between her ribs and her hips. The neckline hung off her shoulders, but the dress had long sleeves to which she had attached a silvery, white material that ran from her shoulders to a pair of rings around her third finger on each hand. She held her arms out wide to imitate wings. "I'm a snitch," she said.
"A snitch?" asked Max, looking her over again. "A Snitch!" he laughed, finally understanding the costume. "That's clever, Lily. Very clever. Let's head inside and make an appearance," he said, stepping aside and opening the door for her.
As soon as they entered, Max wrapped his arm tightly around Lily's waist. It bothered her; even though she had been friends with Max much longer than James or Sirius, his touch was still unwelcome. Last year, when Sirius had danced with her, his hold on her had been gentlemanly and full of respect; James' arms always wrapped around her tenderly, like she was something breakable. Max's grip was possessive, almost greedy; his hand was much to low on her hip for her to relax. She squirmed out of his grasp, sighing heavily when he proceeded to grab her hand in a very aggressive manner.
Lily found herself distracted by the thoughts of James' arms around her. She sighed, trying to push them from her mind as she scanned the room for familiar faces. Her assumption that not only students would attend the party had been correct. Max had soon dragged her over to a Ravenclaw student who had finished Hogwarts two years previously, and was now chatting animatedly with him. Lily stood beside him, dropping his hand and wrapping her arms around herself shyly; Max had not even bothered to introduce her.
"Miss Evans! You look absolutely lovely; but, what is your costume, my dear?" Slughorn's voice boomed. He walked over to her, placing his heavy arm around her shoulders and escorting her away from Max over toward a group of men that were talking in the corner.
"I'm a snitch," she said, holding out her arms wide to show her wings.
Slughorn's laughter echoed all around her, causing several patrons to glance at them and Lily to blush. "Clever, girl! Clever. I'd like to introduce you to a few people. They'll be very impressed with your 'experiments' I daresay," he said indicating a few of the gentlemen. One of them, a middle-aged man with thinning grey hair, eyed her appraisingly and reached out to shake her hand.
"Damocles Belby," he said jovially. "And you are Lily Evans, I presume?"
"Yes, apparently my reputation precedes me," she said, laughing when Belby and Slughorn chuckled over her comment. "It's wonderful to meet you," she continued, shaking the man's hand. They began to converse quickly about the Wolfsbane potion she had been brewing, Belby asking her several times whom it was for.
"I'm not at liberty to say," Lily told him time and time again. "It's an individual I have a great amount of respect for, and I don't wish to betray their confidence."
"Well, if this person would ever like to go into a clinical trial, I'd love to meet with him or her. Mungo's keeps on about how there isn't enough proof that it's safe; but if I can show them your case, and the four others I have, perhaps they'd sign off on it," Belby explained excitedly.
Just then Max came over and escorted Lily away, claiming to want to introduce her to another person who was connected with Max's father through the Ministry. As soon as Max introduced Lily to Pierce Brigman, he immediately began to converse with the man…again, not even bothering to inform him of Lily's name.
After about five minutes, Lily rolled her eyes and decided to go have a seat at a table in the corner. She had been keeping an eye out for James; he always looked so handsome in dress robes, so she figured the least she could do was complement him on that. But as she scanned the crowd he was nowhere to be found.
She'd seen Felicity though, and reluctantly admitted that the girl had outdone her. The raven costume was much more intricate than Lily had pictured. The dress was cut at her knees and covered in black feathers. It was strapless, but she had a feather clad headband and a mask to make her look more mysterious. It was undeniably sexy, which was exactly what Lily had assumed Felicity would be going for. She sighed heavily and examined her own costume, which she found amusing, but no one seemed to understand. She picked at the wings glumly, watching Felicity flirt with every boy who approached her.
"She looks ridiculous if you ask me," a low, silky voice muttered from very close to her. Lily looked up to see James standing beside her, holding a tray of drinks in his hand. He was wearing green robes that brought out his eyes, and his usually untidy hair was slicked back, save for a few pieces that seemed unable to control themselves. He looked very elegant, though Lily decided immediately she preferred his tousled, devil-may-care appearance than this somewhat stiff and over done one; she couldn't run her fingers through his hair like she longed if it was slicked back in that manner.
"Potter? What… where is your costume?" she asked, snapping herself abruptly out of her daydreams. She was shocked he would adapt the wait staff robes into a costume, knowing him to be much cleverer than that.
"No costume for me, I'm working," he explained before handing her a glass of what looked like champagne.
"Working? What about-"
"Flutterhorn? I told her to find a different date after yesterday; I'll not be seen in public with a girl who hexes people for no reason," he smiled, giving Lily a wink before sitting down next to her at the table she was occupying.
Lily's eyes widened. "That's… well, that's um… thanks, I suppose. You didn't have to do that just because of me. I mean, it's not the first time she's hexed me," she said.
"Really?"
"Oh, no… didn't you see her in our shield charm lesson?" asked Lily.
"Defense Against the Dark Arts?" he asked, watching Lily nod. "Your shield charm is strong; didn't it block her?"
"I was shocked at the spell she used, and she did it when I was completely distracted, so I didn't even cast one. But, either way, I mean… you didn't have to do that for me," she said quietly.
"I didn't do it entirely for you. Like you said, she was just using me anyway. But overall, I didn't like seeing my friend hexed, so she can bugger off," he explained with a shrug.
Lily nodded and sipped her drink. "What made you decide to come and work the party?"
James gave her a curious glance and flashed his brilliant smile at her, making her heart flutter very fast in her chest. "I still wanted to see you, of course; never like to miss out on a chance to see you dressed up. Clever costume by the way," he said, tugging playfully on one of her wings.
Lily smiled. "You're the first person who's gotten it."
"You're kidding? You're a snitch! How thick are they?"
"Right," she said with a laugh.
James looked up suddenly and responded to a summons from across the room. "Well, you're definitely the kind of snitch I'd like to catch," he said with a wink. "I'll talk with you later, duty calls."
With that, he swept across the room and out of sight. Lily sat at the table for a few more minutes, sipping her drink and observing the people mingle about the enlarged classroom. She found herself watching James mostly, thinking about how much he had grown up in the past seventy two hours. He had gone from not wanting to ask her to take him to the party because of how it would look, to waiting on the same students he was afraid would make fun of him. It was quite the opposite of anything she ever expected from him. Lily was also immeasurably impressed by James' cool head when Max and Adrian teased him as he delivered their drinks. He simply smiled and bowed before walking away; Lily felt like throwing something at Max as he laughed at James' retreating figure.
Her thoughts turned to their spat yesterday. The only reason for it was because Lily lost her temper over Felicity's comments. James hadn't deserved her yelling at him; even if he did snog her, it seemed that the event had taken place the previous year and was no longer of consequence, and Lily had no claim to him anyway. She had treated him unfairly just because Felicity had insulted her and she couldn't let it go. And to think, she used to lecture James on controlling his temper. Lily sighed heavily; it seemed that she had an apology to make to James, yet again. "I'm always apologizing to him for something," she muttered to herself before getting to her feet.
As she crossed the room to ask him if they could speak, Max swept her up in his arms and twirled her on the spot.
"Goodness, that came out of nowhere," she said, attempting to disentangle herself from him.
"I haven't seen you all night," he said sadly.
"You've been a Chatty Cathy, that's not my fault," Lily replied, forcing a smile while squirming to get out of Max's embrace. She could smell the elf-made wine on his breath, regretting that she had not kept track of how many drinks Max had taken from James just for the opportunity to tease him.
"Hmm… I think I'm done chatting for a while," he said, dropping his voice. They were in a fairly secluded corner Lily realized, and Max's eyes took on a whole new intensity.
"Well… I actually need to go speak with someone and-"
"Can't it wait," he said, pulling her closer and pressing his forehead to hers.
"Er… no, actually it can't so-"
"Who is it that's so important?"
"What?" she questioned, finally disentangling herself from his arms. "You can talk to all your old mates, but I can't speak with someone for just a second?" she asked defensively.
"Just … stay with me for a minute," he said, reaching for her again and pulling her close.
Lily sighed and pushed against his arms. "Max…" she warned, irritated by how aggressive and ungentlemanly he was being. I guess James was right about the act, she thought bitterly. Lily put her hands against Max's chest and pushed very hard, though it did no good and Max simply swayed on the spot with her.
"I like you, Lils," he whispered.
"That's… well it's flattering, and thank you, but-"
Her thought was cut short. Max suddenly tilted his head and moved very quickly, intent on kissing her. Lily turned away sharply to avoid contact, accidently cracking her head against his mouth in her struggle to get away.
"Ow!" he said, backing away and holding his mouth with one hand. "Damnit…"
"Sorry! I'm sorry," Lily said, moving forward and pulling out her wand. She flicked it and the bleeding from Max's lip ceased, but he still looked angry.
"What was that for?" he asked angrily.
"I didn't mean to bump you, I'm sorry; it was a complete accident, Max," she replied sincerely.
"Well… why'd you dodge me?"
"Um…because I didn't want to kiss you," Lily told him, her eyes narrowing as she looked back at him.
"Why not?"
"Well, flattering as it may be that you like me, I'm not interested. I'm sorry if my agreeing to go with you indicated anything different," she explained apologetically.
Max huffed. "Well… why not?"
"I'm just… I'm not," she shrugged, giving him a sympathetic glance.
Max folded his arms over his chest. "You're such a prude," he hissed.
"Wha...excuse me?" Lily asked, her voice rising in pitch.
"You're a prude! You have never been out on a date with anyone; it's pathetic. You should know what to expect before you agree to go on one. Do you think you're better than all the blokes here? Do you just like to lead us all on with by being flirty and sexy? Do you have some Muggle waiting for you back home that you tease as well? Or are you just too much of a goody-two-shoes to engage in anything intimate?"
Lily was about to argue with him, but the intimacy and Muggle comments caused her temper to burst out of control. She grabbed a glass from a nearby table that was half filled with champagne and poured it over Max's head; several people standing around them gasped in shock.
"First off, I can think of worse things to be called than a prude," Lily snarled angrily.
"And secondly, just because I didn't fall all over you after you ditched me, and didn't talk to me all evening, doesn't reflect anything about me; it reflects on your maturity as a gentleman," she spat. "I'm sorry I accepted your invitation; and I'm sorry to break this to you, but if you keep acting like this you won't be 'banging' any girl anytime soon."
With that, she walked across the room and out the door, heading back to Gryffindor tower without speaking to anyone. Luckily when she arrived, the common room was empty; she didn't feel like talking at the moment.
Lily breathed slowly, trying to calm herself down. How dare he? How dare he insult her like that? It was Max who had abandoned her all night to talk to other people; Max who had asked her to go, and then didn't even give her the time of day. All his attention toward her in class took on a new meaning when she remembered James telling her what he had said. It seemed James was right; all the boy was interested in was getting into her knickers. But Max was mental if he thought that asking her somewhere, then ditching her, was going to make her want to kiss him, let alone get anywhere near her knickers. "'You should know what to expect on a date,'" she muttered to herself, repeating his comment to her. What are you supposed to expect? Am I supposed to snog everyone that takes me out in return for a nice evening? She wondered to herself.
Kissing. It had been something she never talked about with anyone, mostly because she'd never had any experience. Despite the fact that she had three or four serious admirers, she'd never been kissed. And the thought of someone knowing that would embarrass her to pieces.
What if she was bad at it? What if she was horrible? Having someone that close was unnerving; they could see every freckle on her face, every strand of hair that was out of place on her head. She knew that she had no more flaws than the other girls, but she preferred to keep the ones she did have under wraps. This not only meant her looks, but also parts of her personality and things she was self conscious about.
Such as her likeability, her parentage; the fact that she tended to swear when she was angry, or that she frequently talked about taboo activities with Julia. Lily was also very shy; this would surprise most people as she had earned a reputation for being very outgoing. In reality, she was nervous about letting anyone get too close to her. She had a tendency to be too kind or too nice; too forgiving and too loving. It got her into trouble at times … like with Severus.
She had been too accepting of his obvious faults, and in the end, it ended up hurting her much more than she had ever expected. After seven years of friendship, he was the one person who knew every secret about her. But all that didn't matter… he saw her as nothing but a Mudblood. The fact that he viewed her that way, as did many others, made her afraid to get too attached to anyone. Would it always be like that? Would that uncontrollable flaw tarnish her entire existence in the magical world?
Lily had been sitting and staring at the fireplace for quite some time, letting her thoughts and doubts consume her completely, when the door opened and James walked in. She looked up, smiling when she saw his hair was disheveled again. He had abandoned the green overcoat, and was wearing only a white button down shirt and his trousers. His expression was amused he sat down across from her in the squashy arm chair.
"You… um… you made quite the scene," he said quietly, trying in vain to hide a smirk.
Lily scoffed. "I should have slapped him."
"That would have been brilliant," he laughed. "I took the liberty of filling Slughorn in on your sudden departure."
"Did you see the whole thing?" she asked, hiding her face in embarrassment.
"Saw and heard. Stupid git; he really ignored you all night… then just expected you to snog him?"
"Apparently."
James shook his head. "You have no reason to feel bad, Lily. If you hadn't pushed him away, I'd have been over there and punched the bastard," he muttered, reaching forward and tipping her chin up so he could look in her eyes. James gazed at her for a moment, watching her cheeks redden and feeling his own face flood with color. Lily sat up straight and squirmed uncomfortably, causing him to withdraw his hand.
"Needless to say Slughorn wasn't impressed with Linghold at all," James explained, fussing with his hair for something to do with his hands. "'A lady can kiss or refuse to kiss whomever she wants; and knowing Miss Evans, you're lucky she didn't jinx you with her toenail growing spell,'" he continued, laughing over the thought of Max walking around with his toenails growing out of his trainers.
Lily laughed. "That's not my spell; I stole it from someone. But, it does come in handy at times," she said with a grin.
James smiled. "It's moments like these I wish I could replay for people. You are not a goody-two-shoes bookworm," he said.
"No, I'm not. But I'm not a troublemaker either," she said.
"Are you sure?"
"If I am, it's because you're a bad influence on me, Potter," she teased. "I've broken more school rules since I started talking to you, and your little gang, than I had the previous five years here. I've had a detention; I've poured a drink on two different people… what's become of me?"
"I think you've become a part-time marauder, it's brilliant. And rules were meant to be broken. Besides, you aren't breaking them to be troublesome; you're breaking them to be helpful," he said, thinking of her monthly potions experiments.
Lily smiled and blushed again. "Party over?"
"Yeah… Linghold ended up filling in my spot with Flutterhorn. I'm sure they'll be the new gossip couple for the next month," he said rolling his eyes.
"Are you sad?" Lily asked.
"About what?"
"Felicity."
"God, no," said James. "No… I told her from the start I wasn't interested in anything other than getting into that party; and the only reason I wanted into the party was to see you."
Lily blushed and dropped her eyes. "Why?"
"Do you have to ask?"
"You said I could ask you anything," replied Lily, raising her eyes.
James observed her curiously before leaning over and resting his elbows against his knees. He caught her in his gaze and she felt trapped; she could feel more blood rushing to color her cheeks, but was unable to tear her eyes away from his. He looked at her so intensely that she felt her blush spread all the way to her neck.
"You can ask me anything," he said quietly. "But, my question is, do you really want to know the answer?"
Lily swallowed. She already knew the answer, and she knew how she felt about it. Her falling for James Potter would lead to nothing but trouble, and in the end, most likely a broken heart. According to Max, she already had a reputation as a prude; and to Lily, this was preferable to all the other things she may be called if she did finally give into James.
"I … I don't know," she said quietly, finally dropping her eyes.
James continued to observe her, his heart was beating very fast in his chest as he examined her expression. He wanted so badly to touch her, to hug her tightly in his arms, to press his lips to her forehead, her eyes, her lips… but he also enjoyed their new found camaraderie, and was afraid of ruining it the way Linghold had with her.
"Do you think I'm a prude?" she asked suddenly.
"No," he said.
"All right," she replied.
"Lily?"
"Yes?"
"Back to your question; about why I wanted to see you at the party?"
Lily nodded, catching her lower lip in-between her teeth in an incredibly seductive manner. Was she trying to be sexy, or was it nervousness? James' pulse was wildly out of control as he formed his answer to her query.
"I wanted to see you… because … you are my friend, and I wanted to make sure you were treated appropriately," he began, watching as Lily nodded. "I actually consider you part of my little group now; we talk a lot… I trust you. I heard you defend me to Aubrey a few months ago, I know your opinion of me has changed… you trust me now. And you're right; I wouldn't ever lie to you."
"I know that; I've known that since we first started hanging out. And, though I will admit I'm shocked by it, I enjoy your company quite a bit. Sometimes, more so than I enjoy Julia or Mary's company," she confessed.
James grinned and kept his eyes locked with hers. "I also wanted to see you… because… I like to be reminded why I'm waiting."
Lily tilted her head, a confused expression crossing her face. "What?"
"I've been waiting for you to … change your opinion about me… for two years. And I think it has," he said.
"It has, Potter; it has a lot. In fact, tonight … that was really humble of you to take that waiting job just to get into that party. And to endure all that teasing… they were being prats, and I wanted to throw something," she said, causing James to laugh. "But… why? Why lower your standards just for me?"
"I'm not lowering my standards, but even if I was…it's you," he said simply.
"I don't understand…"
James sighed and shook his head, his eyes never leaving her face. She was still chewing on her lip as she observed him; James felt like she was trying to look into his soul. He wondered if she was being intentionally thick; but she continued to stare at him curiously, completely oblivious to the amount of appeal she held for him.
"You like me… I really think you like me," he said, holding up a hand when she protested. "Just… hang on a second. I'm not taking the mickey. I'm…" James continued, ruffling his hair and finally deciding to just lay it out on the line, so at least she couldn't pretend like she didn't know.
"I've fancied you for three years; three years. That's a long time. I kept thinking it would pass, especially after last year and you almost killing yourself just to shout at me for sneaking out," he chuckled. "But it didn't… and now I'm actually talking to you, and getting to know you. It's definitely not going away; I don't think it ever will. I actually… I think I might –"
"Potter… stop," Lily said, interrupting him. "It's… that's really flattering. And I … I enjoy your company. But… what if I-"
"What if you never change your mind? What if you never see me as anything more than a friend?" Or never admit you see me as anything more than a friend? James thought to himself.
Lily nodded, amazed again by his ability to read her mind like an open book.
He shrugged, trying to look as though this wasn't a huge concern when his heart was aching at the thought of her never returning his affections. "At least I tried. You haven't told me to back off… I'm waiting for that. And until you flat out tell me to bugger off, I'm going to be here," he explained.
"But… why?"
"I was about to tell you, but you interrupted me," he said with a grin.
Lily sighed heavily. She wanted to know why, but … she didn't know how to get him to explain it without launching into a tirade of embarrassing praise that would surely make her blush even brighter. But part of her was screaming, desperate to hear him say it and launch herself into his arms; the other part of her was trying to remain calm and logical, rejecting any notion or hope that James could actually be… in love with her.
"Potter… why? Why are you waiting? I need to know why," she explained, locking her eyes with his and attempting to gaze at him just as intensely as he was at her.
James shook his head. "Well… since you won't let me say what I want to…I'm going to need about six hours to explain why. You got time tomorrow on the train?"
"Can you give me the short list, just for now?" asked Lily, unable to hide the pleading tone of her voice.
James sighed, watching her eyes widen and her expression beg him for answers; there was a tight constriction in his chest, it felt hard to breathe as he gazed back at her. "Well… aside from the fact that you're brilliant, powerful, and talented, you're also … beautiful, and funny, and snarky, and-"
"Snarky?"
"Yes, snarky; it's a desirable trait to me. Your little comebacks amuse me," he explained with a laugh. "You're clever. You… you're kind, selfless… really? You're asking me this? Don't you know how amazing you are?" he asked suddenly.
"I'm not amazing," said Lily quietly. "I'm… I'm just me."
"That's amazing, and the fact that you don't even know it … that's the reason I'm waiting," James grinned, leaning back in his chair as though this was the answer to all the questions in the world.
Lily flushed with color again, but suddenly yawned widely as tiredness overtook her. James smirked and stood up, reaching out his hand for hers and sighing when she placed it inside his. He was amazed at how small her hands were, and how perfectly they fit within his.
"I suppose… I should get some sleep," she said quietly after he had helped her too her feet. "My mum is going to interrogate me to pieces tomorrow when I get home, and I'd best be prepared."
"Make sure to tell her about all your rule breaking," James said. He brushed his thumb across the smooth skin of her wrist, and grinned when she didn't pull away. Following a sudden instinct, he lifted her hand and kissed it, enjoying the feel of her skin against his lips.
"I… I will," she said, allowing James to kiss her hand softly. He held onto it a moment more before releasing it; Lily found herself suddenly overcome with an urge to kiss him, but she suppressed it out of fear that he would realize how inexperienced she was in those matters. "Good night," she said before ascending the stair case and leaving him smirking in the common room.
James slept fitfully that night, his emotions were on high alert and his body ached from the intimate tension that lingered between him and Lily the night before. Upon waking, he packed a few things from his trunk to take home for the next two weeks and trudged onto the train. Sirius was talking with Julia animatedly, his arms wrapped around her waist as he nuzzled her neck. It made James feel jealous; he didn't know what their relationship was, but it was more than he had with Lily.
"Stay away from me," a voice that usually sounded so sweet suddenly shouted from up ahead on the train.
"Look… I'm sorry, Lily! I just… I acted like a prat last night; I had too much of that elf wine. Slughorn really shouldn't-"
"Oh, yes, blame your lack of self control on Slughorn," Lily hissed as she moved quickly away from Linghold. "You're actually trying to tell me 'I didn't know it was wine!' That's a load of dung! You just kept drinking glass after glass for an excuse to torment the wait staff. Now get away from me," she shouted as he reached to grab on to her wrist.
"Lily, I'm sorry! I-"
"Oy!" Sirius shouted. "She said leave her alone, Linghold. Back off," he said in a threatening voice. Linghold was so shocked that someone had dared interrupt his apology that he paused. Lily pulled out her wand poked him hard in the chest, causing Max to flinch away from her and cry out in pain. She moved quickly next to Julia who stood behind Sirius. Julia frowned and escorted Lily into a compartment right next to them. Linghold stared at Sirius, also eyeing James behind him before turning around and walking down to another cart of the train, still rubbing the spot on his chest.
"Arse," James muttered.
"Prongs! I didn't know you were behind me. Did you see that? Stupid git he is," said Sirius, pointing his thumb over his shoulder at Linghold's retreating figure.
"You took the words out of my mouth, twice actually. Are you going to follow Julia in there?"
"That's actually ours; all our things are in there. Moony and Wormtail came down with me earlier. We couldn't find you, mate; what was up?"
James shrugged. "I had a lot on my mind," he muttered.
"You came up pretty late… how was the party? Not like you could have enjoyed the revelry, but how was it?"
"Party was okay, I sat up talking with Lily pretty late," he said with a grin.
"Talking?"
"Talking," James replied firmly. "Speaking of talking, either you fill me in on all the 'talking' you've been doing with Julia, or I'm going to start making assumptions and telling everyone-"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah… you wouldn't tell anyone a thing; empty threats," Sirius said waving him off. They opened the door to the compartment to find Julia, Mary and Samantha discussing last night's events with Lily. Remus and Peter had become engaged in a game of chess, and were only listening when they weren't concentrating on their next moves.
"It's not that big of a deal; he's just being a prat about it and-"
"Lily!" said Sam. "You – are- my – hero! Do you realize how many times I've wanted to slap that git or pour something over his head for his stupid, perverted comments? I cannot believe you did that; first you dump gillywater on Aubrey's pants so he looks like he wet himself, and now you pour champagne all over Max," she said with a whimsical look at Lily. "My hero!"
"Shut up," Lily laughed. "He is an arse, though; and to think, it's the four Gryffindor boys from our year have a reputation for being a bunch of aggressive, overbearing, pompous prats," she said with a teasing glance at James and Sirius.
"At least, in our case, we have a reason to act pompous," said Sirius. "My left pinky has more talent than Linghold," he explained.
Everyone in the cabin chuckled lightly. Sirius sat down next to Julia, and Lily slid over by the window and allowed James to sit down next to her. Remus suddenly looked up and handed James a copy of the Daily Prophet as the train lurched forward. "Page seven… you're not going to be happy," he said.
James frowned and opened the paper, reading the headline and agreeing with Remus that the story below would not make him happy.
"Thirteen Muggles Dead, and Three Ministry Employees Missing after Giants Invade Christmas Park Festival"
"Members of the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad have been working overtime to subdue panic amongst both Muggles and Wizards after two giants attacked a park during a Christmas Parade.
The park in southern Southampton County was hosting a yearly celebratory event to light their Christmas tree. Aurors were notified after several buildings nearby collapsed and the tree was pulled out by the roots. At the scene, they witnessed two giants terrorizing the unsuspecting Muggles while they tried to enjoy the Holidays.
"It was tragic, you know. They had no idea what was happening, and were all running and screaming. We had to stun several of them in order to help them," said Bernie Bomgars from the Ministry. "They have equated it to a 'wind burst' or something along those lines, but still… thirteen people are dead, it's horrible."
"The Ministry has denied claims that giants are now part of the Death Eater rebellion that is happening throughout Britain.
"We are aware of the situation with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his Death Eaters. Precautionary pamphlets have been sent out by the Ministry with advice on how to be prepared, and how to protect yourself from being targeted by this group. But we have no confirmation that, at this time, they are in league with the giants,' said Minister Baddlebrock.
"Three Aurors, Gary Samson, Logan Walker, and Frayne McKellan, were reported missing after the attack. Any information of their whereabouts should be reported to the Auror Office immediately."
"Unbelievable," James spat. "Who else would get the giants involved to attack Muggles? How thick is this man?" he asked, slapping the back of his hand against the paper.
"It's getting bad," said Remus sadly. "Last time my dad wrote me he said that almost all the Muggle-borns that live in Bath have moved out of the country. They're afraid after what happened to the Rowe's last month."
"Rowe's?" Sirius asked. "As in Arland Rowe from Gryffindor? Didn't he just leave three years ago?"
"Yup… he married a Muggle that he'd grown up knowing. She was pregnant… their whole house was destroyed, the Dark Mark set over it," said Remus sadly.
The cabin got quiet as everyone absorbed this. James shook his head and resumed gazing at the paper, the list of precautions was included, but he scoffed at it.
"Listen to this. 'Report any sightings of an inferius immediately.' That is sick… beyond sick," he said making a disgusted face.
"Doesn't Evans live near Southhampton? That's where we met up with her last summer, right?" asked Sirius.
"She lives in Hedge End, it's pretty close," said Julia. "Hey, Lily… you need to read this. Lily?"
James turned toward Lily and peered over her shoulder. Her head was leaning against the window, eyes were closed and expression peaceful as she slept. Sirius sniggered loudly. "Is she asleep?"
"No, you git; she's having a vision of you becoming Head Boy," said Julia rolling her eyes. She stood up and moved across the cabin, gently placing her hands on Lily's shoulders and trying to rouse her.
Lily made a noise and swatted her away before turning and rolling over so her head now rested against James' shoulder. James lifted his arm and put it around her shoulders to steady her so she wouldn't fall, but she slid closer to him and sighed before falling back to sleep. Her weight rested against James, and he slowly lowered his arm so it now rested around her shoulders as he held her to him. Fearing she would be uncomfortable, he slid all the way to the end of the bench and pulled her with him, rearranging her so she was now resting against his chest as he leaned back against the door to the cabin.
Sirius, Peter and Remus smirked at him; Julia and Sam both giggled. "Are you going to wake her up?" Mary asked.
"Yes, yes wake her up," said Sirius with a grin.
"That looks horribly uncomfortable," Remus chimed in.
"She might mess up your robes, Prongs," said Peter. Sirius laughed and stood up to rouse Lily from her slumber.
"No, no… she's… she's fine. I don't mind," said James, waving him off.
Sirius laughed, it sounded more like a bark, and he sat back down. Julia smirked and resumed her seat in between him and Remus. "I'm sure you don't, James," she said lightly.
Mary and Sam were also smirking from their seats in the window "Still not giving up?" asked Mary lightly.
"I told her a while back if she wanted me to back off I would," said James rather smugly. "All she had to do was ask."
"What did she say?" asked Mary, whose eyes looked as though she cared more for the gossip involved than Lily's feelings.
"I started to ask her if she wanted me to leave her alone, but she told me not to ask. She said she'd ask me, so I've just been waiting," he explained.
Mary shook her head but Sam and Julia smiled. "I think your waiting might pay off," said Sam, turning back to watch Peter and Remus' chess match.
"Well, if anything… she at least considers you a friend," said Julia. "Felicity was calling you 'Jamesy' repetitively in Transfiguration the other day; I was rather amused when Lily looked at me and hissed 'he doesn't like to be called that'," she explained.
"She's right, I don't like to be called that," he said with a laugh.
"Hmm… Well, James, I'll give you this. You're persistent," said Julia.
"Persistence pays off sometimes," Sirius said quietly. James watched as Julia smirked and blushed slightly.
Lily sighed in her sleep and threw her arm around James' waist, hugging him tightly. He smiled and hugged her closer to him, resting his head against hers and hoping no one would notice. "She's really tired," he commented.
"She didn't sleep last night," said Mary lazily, not looking up from the paper she had taken from James and was now reading.
"Why not?" asked Remus.
"Was she upset? Was she… crying?" James asked, concern obvious in his tone.
Julia and Mary laughed for some reason. "No, James, she wasn't crying."
"What was funny?"
"Lily's doesn't cry easily," said Julia matter-of-factly.
"What do you mean? Every girl cries easily," said Peter.
"Well… she cries; that makes her sound cold to say she doesn't. But, we've been roommates for six years. And aside from talking about her dad and him passing away, I've seen her cry maybe twice. I know about a third time she was upset enough to cry, but otherwise she just… doesn't," Julia explained.
Remus frowned. "Maybe she does it in hiding," he said.
"No, when Lily is hurt or sad, she gets angry and lets that temper of hers come out; you know what they say about red-heads," said Mary.
"I don't think having that older sister of hers was a big encouragement to cry when you were upset. It sounds like she probably got made fun of every time she did, so I think she just learned to tough it out," said Julia.
"And she doesn't want people to think she's weak," said Mary.
"Why would anyone think that? Lily is incredibly strong," said Sam.
"Magically, yes… but this whole anti-muggle-born movement bothers her a lot more than she lets on," said Julia. "She's constantly worried that if she shows the tiniest hint of weakness that someone will be like, 'oh, well that's just a muggle-born trait'," Julia explained.
James frowned, thinking back to Lily's confession that she thought she was crazy for seeing the Thestrals, and assuming it was because she was Muggle-born. "Anyone who would say that is ridiculous. They don't matter, she should know that. This whole Death Eater blood-purity campaign is rubbish. No one thinks-"
"James… we know. We've tried to tell her, but all the news in the prophet and someone calling her or another Muggle-born 'mudblood' every other day doesn't help. Her falling out with Snape didn't help last year either," said Julia.
"How close were they?" asked Sirius, watching James' brows furrow in irritation.
"Too close," said Mary with a shudder.
"God, shut up, Mary," said Julia coldly. "I agree with you… but they were never anything more than friends. Obviously, we all know Snape wanted more, but Lily couldn't deal with his obsession with Dark Arts."
"Yeah, but I never understood how she could stand to be around him," said Mary.
"I didn't either," said Julia. "But it hurt her when he called her that, expecially after he'd told her so many times that it didn't matter; hell, I even heard him defend her once when someone called her Mudblood. Then to come up and just expect her to put it behind her, that was too much."
James nodded, remembering the conversation he had overheard between Lily and Snape the previous June. But how she could let one little word, one foul little nickname, ruin her confidence was beyond him. Didn't she see how amazing she was? How caring and loyal? How different she was from all the other girls in school? He wondered how much of her time she had spent defending Snape to her friends; he also wondered if he could ever dare dream she'd care for him enough to spend the same amount of time defending him.
The conversation topic changed and the hours passed, much quicker than James had anticipated. Lily slept the entire train ride, her head resting against his chest as she breathed deeply. Her warm body was soothing, and James wasn't sure what was better: her arm that she had squeezed around his waist or having his arm wrapped around her slender shoulders.
As dusk fell, the train slowed and moved to a halt. Lily's eyes blinked open and looked around the cabin. She suddenly gasped when she realized her position; sitting up slowly and looking at James with a horrified expression.
"Was I… did I sleep on you the whole ride?"
"You were asleep against the window, but when Julia tried to wake you… you kind of… fell onto me," James explained warily, watching her expression.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Potter. That must have been horribly uncomfortable having me all over you the whole time. I'm so sorry; Goodness, that's embarrassing. I didn't mean… you should have woken me up. I'm –"
"Lily," James said chuckling lightly. "It's all right, it's not a big deal. I didn't mind."
"Yes you did, that's not comfortable. And I hug my pillow at night so I probably … oh, I'm so sorry," she said again, her face flushing a bright scarlet.
"Shut up, Lily," he laughed. "I don't mind. You can nap on me anytime you want," he said. They gathered up their things and exited the train, her still apologizing to him as they walked.
"I didn't mind you sleeping on me for Merlin's sake!" James said as they exited the train. "The drooling I minded… but other than-"
"I did not drool on you," she said, finally laughing at his teasing. "Your robes are spotless."
"Not really," said James, pulling a few strands of her long hair off his sleeve. "You may not have drooled, but you shed all over me."
"Well, consider it a souvenir," she teased.
"If the happy couple would move we might be able to get off the train, Julia," said Sirius' voice.
James laughed but Lily flushed red and began to walk toward the exit of the car. She waved bye to Remus and Peter after they crossed through the barrier before hugging Mary and Julia and wishing them a happy Christmas.
"I'd write but I have no owl," she said sadly.
"I'll write you, Gideon will wait until you write back," said Julia. She then walked over and said a strange goodbye to Sirius; it was a mixture of a hug and a kiss, but very awkward. As Julia walked away, a happy, booming voice called Lily's name.
"Miss Evans," called James' father. "Nice to see you again; and how are you?"
"I'm well rested, seeing as I just finished sleeping with your son," she explained.
Ambrose Potter coughed loudly and looked at her with wide eyes. From behind her James and Sirius roared with laughter. "I beg your pardon?"
"I slept with your son," she said again. "I was tired on the train, and I found out that James makes a very good pillow," she said grinning.
Ambrose looked at her then laughed loudly. "Well done, Miss Evans, well done. I do believe we are even now, clever girl," he teased clapping her on the shoulder. "Ready to go, James? Sirius?"
"Yeah, erm… bye Lily," said Sirius.
"Bye Lily… see you after the holidays," said James as he walked past.
"Bye," said Lily waving to them as they walked off.
James was still smirking when they arrived back at his house. Sirius chuckled at his expression and his father looked at him with an amused expression. "I can't believe she got me back," his father said with a small laugh.
"I can't believe she got your dad," Sirius remarked after James' father had walked away.
James just smiled. "I can't believe she said she had been sleeping with me," he muttered quietly.
A/N: Couldn't decide on which song I listened to more while writing this chapter so I referenced them both. Thanks always for your reviews. Why the double update? As previously mentioned, I'm impatient, so I decided to treat. Plus the praise keeps me going, so thank you again. I'm also going to Chicago and ATL the last two weeks of the month and probably wont make an update then. So I'll try to do another double next week.
As always, your feedback is appreciated =)
