It's their first date!!!!! So I hope I did this okay, I thought it worked well. I didn't want to do anything typical or cliche, but I'm not sure how you would classify what I came up with. Ah well, I'll let you make of it what you will!! Hope you enjoy it, and please please pleas review!!!
Chapter Twelve: Sweaters and Unicorns
Lily slipped a deep blue sweater over her head, careful not to disturb her hair as she readied herself for her date with James. Despite her resolution not to get emotionally involved with James, her stomach was stubbornly tying itself in knots around the butterflies currently residing there.
She heard Alice sigh from behind her, "Why can't I look that good in a sweater?"
"Because we aren't tall like Lily. We weren't blessed with her long legs and torso," Marlene replied, clearly disgruntled and thinking along the same lines. "Sweaters make us look chunky."
The side of Lily's mouth quirked as she studied herself in the mirror. She was wearing a tight pair of jeans that showed off her hips rather nicely, but she had only worn them because they would be tucked easily into her boots. The sweater she wore was deliciously warm and soft but nothing she would consider pretty. It hinted at her curves, but revealed hardly anything else except the soft swell of her collarbone. Contemplating herself, she couldn't understand what Alice meant. She looked exceedingly ordinary and practical.
James had said to dress warm. She had taken it to mean they would be outside, and she was not braving the snow outside without proper clothing, seduction of James or no.
Lily shook her head and smiled. They were just trying to be encouraging.
"Well at least I'll be warm at any rate," she finally answered.
Bella laughed, "And James will be just as warm the second he gets your coat off and gets eyes on that sweater. Honestly Lils, have a little confidence."
Lily frowned, "It's just a sweater."
"Trust me," Marlene said and her eyes twinkled knowingly. "Men love sweaters."
Alice and Bella dissolved into very girl giggles and had Lily rolling her eyes. She felt like they were in their third year again, when Lily had been getting ready for her first date with the only other boy she had ever loved. Lily's thought process suddenly stopped and corrected….Brady had been the only boy she had ever loved.
Sighing nostalgically, she began slipping her brown boots over her feet and tucking in her pant legs. It was strange that it seemed like her time with Brady was ages ago. It seemed like her game with James had always been there. She rarely looked at boys these days
"So what do you think he has planned for tonight?" Alice asked expectantly. "Being warned to dress warmly probably implies the outdoors, in which case, the idiot is crazy."
"I've heard he can be awfully romantic," Marlene said and sighed as close to wistfully as it was possible for her cold, prosaic heart to manage. "If he's trying to woo her, as you so artfully put it Bels, I'll bet he has a doozy planned for tonight. James doesn't know how to half ass anything."
"Well let's hope for my sake it ends up somewhere warm," Lily answer mischievously and her green eyes twinkled merrily. "I'm not one for the cold, and the sooner he lets me seduce him the sooner I can be done with him."
Her three friends exchanged discreetly knowing glances at this. Was she honestly fooling herself that completely?
Bella grinned, "Sirius told me today that he hasn't talked about anything else since this morning."
Slightly warmed by this thought, Lily pushed through her smile and fought for a smirk, "He's playing right into my hands, the poor sod."
"Well we get to hear all the juicy details when you get back tonight," Marlene said. "I especially want to know if you make him cry. Who knew James Potter was such a softy?"
"Yeah, who knew," Lily murmured not quite managing to work up to sarcasm when she spoke.
She finished the buttons on her green plaid wool coat and slipped a gray wool hat over her ears to match. Turning to her friends she asked for approval, "Will this due?"
The three girls pretended to study their friend. All three of them knew that despite her own denial, she was one of the prettiest girls in Hogwarts. She was the picture of the girl next door tonight, however, and they were positive James would be anxious to get underneath all of her layers.
"Perfect," Bella confirmed. "He won't be able to wait until he can get you out of that coat to cuddle."
"I don't think cuddling is something Potter does," Marlene mused but smiled. "You do look pretty damn good though in those jeans."
"Agreed," Alice grinned and Lily suddenly felt her nerves again.
She could not be nervous. She wasn't going to let James control this situation unless she wanted him to. He was going to play her game, by her rules.
"All right. I'm off," she smirked prettily. "Wish me luck!"
They each did just that and waved her off. It would be interesting to see what had changed when she returned.
"Sirius," James hissed as his best friend suddenly appeared in the Entrance Hall. "What are you doing here? She's going to think something's up. Get out."
"You forgot this, mate," Sirius grinned and watched as James jaw dropped when he held out his offering. James never forgot his invisibility cloak.
James grinned rather sheepishly and took the proffered garment, "Thanks."
He tucked the cloak quickly into one of his pockets and turned back to his friend, "You and Moony will keep watch? Send me word if something happens?"
"Yep," Sirius replied. "Moony is in the tower for the night until you get back, we have Pete stationed with the map near the Fat Lady, I'll be roaming unseen for the night, and we all have our mirrors if something happens out there. We've got it covered."
James knew as Head Boy and Girl, he and Lily would be in a lot of trouble tonight if they got caught. Thankfully, the Marauders didn't ever work solo…even when it came to girls. And just as two nights from now, they would strategically work through Remus' change and their escape from the castle so too were they working together to pull off James' date.
The Marauders were famous for their spectacular romancing. No one had any idea what actually went into the process of wooing a potential Marauder shag. James grinned at the thought, the things they did for women.
"Thanks Padfoot," James was fighting not to fidget in anticipation. He wanted to wow Lily. "I'll let you know when we're heading back to the kitchens. I'm on my own from there."
Sirius nodded and with a last shared grin, disappeared just as familiar footsteps echoed down the stairs in the direction of the Gryffindor tower.
He watched in pure male appreciation as she descended the stairs quietly and looked quickly around before resting those verdant eyes on him. God she was spectacular. Her green coat matched her eyes perfectly and the dark gray of her hat and scarf framed her face softly. Her hair was a waterfall around her face and shoulders and glinted even in the little light of the entranceway. His eyes traveled down and enthusiastically drank in the sight of her legs wrapped in tight jeans. He desperately wondered what was underneath the coat.
She waited in silence as he perused her body. She let herself enjoy it, let herself glow a little over the fact that he was very much enjoying the sight of her. Games or no, it never hurt to earn a little male appreciation now and then.
"Do you have gloves?" James' warm voice brought her from her musings. She reached in her pocket and pulled out black mittens. And he nodded in approval, "You're going to need them. You look great tonight by the way."
"Thank you," she replied trying to sound interested but not terribly invested as she approached him. "Where are we going?"
"The Forbidden Forest," James smirked when her eyes widened slightly. He watched her teeth grab at her bottom lip and chew the way she did when she was uncertain. Merlin, he wanted to haul her back up the stairs to his bedroom and lock them inside together for eternity. He opted for a different approach, "Not scared are you?"
"Ah, you wish," Lily's eyes glinted with challenge. Truth be told, she was a bit nervous. They could face suspension, even expulsion for going inside the Forbidden Forest…and worse than that, who knew what hid behind the cover of trees and darkness. She'd been near the forest in her Animagus form, and even then never inside. The trees had beckoned the wild animal that was her fox, but the darkness had warned against the witch that was her true self. She wasn't sure just exactly how she felt about braving it.
"Well if you are, don't worry," James watched the thoughts run through her head. He didn't know if her eyes were always that transparent or if he just read them well, but she was very obviously weighing her options. "I've been in and out dozens of times, and you'll never see anything like you'll see tonight. I promise."
Lily nodded hesitantly, "Okay. Let's go."
"First," James held up a hand. "Do you trust me?"
Lily frowned, "What?"
"Do you trust me?" he repeated but didn't explain.
She shrugged, "To an extent."
"Well that's something." He muttered and had her grinning despite herself. "Then you have to do exactly as I tell you."
She nodded.
"Use your Animagus form," he replied. "The forest is safer as an animal. Nothing will bother us."
Lily's eyes and mouth widened in surprise this time, "Where are we going James?"
The sound of his name made him smile, "I've already told you that. Now let's go."
He grabbed her hand and pulled her out the castle doors. He quickly ducked into the shadows of the castle with her in tow and turned to look at her. Within moments, the air around him was shifting noticeably and with a soft pop a large stag stood in front of her.
She took a hasty step backward. He was big. She saw the animal's lips separate slightly and new he was smirking at her. She scowled, "Think you're funny do you?"
In less time than it had taken him, she focused and quickly found herself viewing the world in black and white and sensing the world around her with her nose rather than her eyes. It was a thrilling and fantastic experience to becoming her fox.
It was not so thrilling however to be looking up at a great horned animal that loomed high over her. She'd seen him only from a distance before and hadn't known how large he was.
She cocked her head to the side in question and attempted what she hoped passed for exasperation on a fox's face.
The head of the stag motion slightly to the right, and without any more warning. It took off at a slow gallop. Unaware of the cold beneath her thick coat of fur, Lily's fox form took off after the great white stag and ran joyfully through the fluffy drifts of snow. She gave in to her animal instincts and rode on the wave of senses she so barely tapped as a human.
James paused at the edge of the forest, pulling back on the stag's natural instincts that wanted to gallop freely through the trees. He turned and looked back at the red fox trailing behind him. Her mouth was open with tongue lolling out in what was unmistakably a smile. It was funny that while they're forms were very different, they both were clever and enduring species.
In the wild, he knew, they would both have survived this winter had nothing else.
With an obvious look from the shefox, he turned and headed into the forest glancing occasionally behind to check that she was still trotting at his side.
Lily was focused less on the brilliant white stag next to her and more on the darkening trees around her. Her fox eyes saw better here than her human eyes would have, and the magic that hung in the air was almost corporeal. This place, her instincts told her, was ancient.
Her nose twitched when she caught wind of something foul and she sensed James change direction before she caught sight of the huge mass moving in the opposite direction as them. Her hackles raised as she realized she was looking at a massive spider.
There was nothing to fear. It was not interested in them as it already clutched a buck between its pincers, but she had never seen anything as terrifying and monstrous as the hairy, eight legged body. She knew from the growing density of the around them that they were heading deep into the woods. And the deeper they got, the more she saw.
Not long after the sounds of the spider had disappeared, she caught sight of what at first appeared to be horses up ahead of them. She quickly realized they were centaurs and would have been staring rudely at them when they passed had she been a human.
James had paused almost reverently as they passed, and she mimicked him when he lowered a knee and bowed in acknowledgement when they glanced cautiously at the stag and fox.
"A strange pairing," one of them said as the group paused. "But a good one."
"Indeed," a golden bodied centaur added his scrutiny to his brother's. "Not mortal enemies, but natural opposites. Herbivore and carnivore. Joining together in this dark time. It is a light to be cherished."
"Blessed be," the first one replied and lowered a knee in answer to James.
James turned his regal head to Lily and winked. She smiled up at him with a canine happiness and they both turned to continue on, leaving the centaurs considering them in their wake.
Caught up in the push and pull of magic and nature around her, it seemed like only moments later that James paused once more and turned around to face her. She had lost track of time and thought that they were probably deep within the forest now. Strangely, she wasn't afraid.
She watched as James shimmered back into himself before her and quickly did the same.
James waited anxiously to see her face as she became herself once more and was gifted with the pure pleasure of seeing her face alight with wonder and fascination.
"This is amazing James," Lily replied. "I had no idea there was magic like this within the forest."
James nodded and her happiness was infectious, "It isn't all magic, but the good creatures know my form, Sirius' and Peter's too. They know us as the ones who run with the wolf. They trust us, or at least know enough to not see us as a threat. But there is evil here, Lily. You shouldn't ever come here alone."
Lily was considering his earnest face. It was obvious now that he had planned this trip out carefully. He was obviously not as careless as he seemed.
"You have my promise," she answered and looked around curiously. "Where are we?"
James grinned, "The best part. But you have to be absolutely silent. We can't use a spell, they can smell magic."
She fought against her sudden nerves and misgivings, "What can smell magic?"
"It's a surprise," he answered and took her hand. "Be silent."
They crept quietly through the dark woods, nearly blind without the added senses of their animal forms. But James seemed confident in his direction so she gave up fighting the darkness and gave herself over to his trust. He'd gotten her this far safely.
Soon, however, a warm white light reached their eyes as it filtered through the trees up ahead. She had never seen a glow like that, magic or otherwise, and was instantly curious.
James placed a finger to his lips and led her behind a thick wall of foliage where he crouched and then lowered himself to the ground to peer through the leaves. Lily followed his lead and knelt down beside him. He put his arm around her and leaning in with her pointed silently through the trees into what she discovered was a small glade.
But what met her eyes had her staring in astonishment and wonder.
In the small glade were unicorns. Real unicorns, and nestled next to one of them was a brilliantly changing mass of colors that she realized was a baby. The mother and father seemed to be emitting the warm white glow that lit the night around them, their coats shone like satin and the horns on their foreheads glimmered with every color under the sun. But it was the baby that had her mesmerized.
It was tiny. Curled into its mother's side it looked content but alert. It's eyes were the color of the sea, shifting and changing from deep blue to green to cerulean. It had no horn yet, only the shimmer of something silver just above its eyes. But it was the infant's coat that was amazing. It wasn't white like its parents' were. It shifted and morphed so that it was impossible to say what color it was. It became the color of the trees, the sky, the setting sun, and the snow. Never consistent, it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
As she stared in amazement, the baby unfolded its long legs to stand and revealed hooves that sparkled gemstone green. Like her eyes, James thought as he watched her.
Somehow he had known. He had known she would love it; love the magic of the forest, the wonder of the baby unicorn, the whole thing. He loved her all the more because of it.
He watched intently with her as the baby struggled through its first steps and moved toward them. They both held their breath as the baby headed toward their place behind the flora. It was as though it knew they were there. It turned its turbulent eyes on them and moved with purpose toward their bush.
It wobbled precariously when it paused just in front of the stubbornly green shrubs and only then did Lily notice that everything around her seemed to be blooming as though it were the height of summer, when actually it was very nearly the dead of winter. Glancing again at the curious baby unicorn, she spotted the sprouts of flowers that had remained where the baby's footsteps had fallen. The magic that this infant held was incredible. Everything around them seemed to be bursting to life in response.
It whinnied softly at them and thrust its nose into the bushes. Lily reached out a trembling hand and touched it's nose. It was softer than velvet, nearly as silky as water. It rubbed its nose affectionately against her and all at once Lily felt as though she were gazing into the future. Within the scope of the infant's eyes, she saw a red haired woman cradling a small black haired child and cooing over it. The happiness radiating from her was substantial. As she watched, the baby giggled in her arms and a tall dark haired man entered the picture to place loving arms around his woman and child. She had the strangest feeling that she was watching herself.
A whiny from the mother had the baby unicorn pulling away and ambling away from them.
Lily turned to James with tears glistening in her eyes and smiled. He had given her an unimaginable gift. She had never dreamed anything like this had existed.
James allowed her reaction to warm him and reached out his hand. He pulled her to her feet and then quickly transformed back into a stag. With a last look at the unicorns, Lily became her fox and quickly followed James back through the trees and darkness of the forest.
When they finally found themselves back in the shadow of the castle, they both felt as though a lifetime had passed since they'd left.
Whatever Lily had been expecting, she had never anticipated what he had given her. Thoughts of seducing and dumping and beating him at his own game had fled in the light of the innocence and magic he had shown her.
She was still a bit dazed. Had she wanted to summon thoughts of her original intentions, she doubted she would have found them.
Shimmering back into himself, James smiled into Lily's dazed eyes.
She shook her head at him, "That was incredible, James. I didn't know anything like that existed. Excuse the saying, but it was magical."
James laughed despite the awe in her voice and agreed, "Magical."
Though he was rather thinking of her than the unicorns.
"Do you know how lucky you are?" Lily asked and spun in a happy circle. "You've experienced magic like that before, untainted and strong. Probably performed magic of that kind as well. Thank you."
Those two simple words were almost his undoing. He had promised himself tonight that he wouldn't touch her. It was about pleasing her, making her happy without the physical that he was longing for now.
Which was probably why he nearly pulled away when she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. It wasn't like before, not fiery or rushed or desperate. But warm and comforting, and solid. It hit him solidly in the chest and his knees trembled for the first time in his life.
If he hadn't loved her already, he would have fallen face first into it right at that moment.
She pulled back and looked saucily up at him, "Let's go back to the tower. It's freezing out here."
James nodded and taking her by the hand, they slipped under the invisibility cloak and into the castle.
He made her wait silently in the entrance way when he slipped down to the kitchens for warm beverages and to give Sirius the okay. He returned quickly with hot chocolate and Lily remained unaware of their silent guard. Armed with their drinks, they made their way back to the Gryffindor tower and climbed through the portrait hole to an empty common room.
James pulled the invisibility cloak off and allowed Lily to tow him through the door to their shared common room in the Head dorm. He grinned lazily at her when she pulled him by the arm towards her bedroom.
Wasn't she anxious to have at it.
James hid his confident grin. He was going to stick by his plan. Willing or not, he was going to win her over with romance not sex.
He let her pull him into a kiss at her door.
Lily had planned on seducing him, but it didn't mean she couldn't enjoy herself at the same time. That cheeky grin and those warm hazel eyes just had her itching to get her hands on him.
And so, when he gently pushed her away she just stared at him slightly confused and definitely aroused.
He considered her dark eyes for a moment and decided he had never seen anything more appetizing. He must truly be in love with her to be giving up an opportunity like this, and to think he'd been dumb enough to run off to some other girl's arms when all he'd wanted was her. Stupid, he thought.
Sighing resolutely, he pressed her hot chocolate into her hands and opened the door behind her.
"Goodnight Lily," he nudged her gently into the room.
Lily allowed him to maneuver her, but expected him to follow.
"See you tomorrow," with a quick smile, James took a mental picture of the pure disbelief on her face and shut her door softly.
Lily stared dumbly at the door, her coat still in place, hot chocolate in her hands, and alone. Goodnight?
How was it??? I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, knowing each of their plans for the night and how they would turn out. I really enjoyed it and I hope you did too!! So here comes the other part, PLEASE REVIEW!! I really like to know what you like and don't like, so let me know!!!! I'll hopefully update again by this weekend!!!
Thanks so much!
