Ways to Say "No"
A Collection of Fragments and One Shots
Twelve
Lily mentally cursed herself as she stepped in yet another mud puddle on her way into the castle. The harder she tried to avoid getting wet, the wetter she seemed to be getting. After stepping in another puddle, she finally gave up. She could always just dry herself off when she got inside, anyway.
Lily slowed her pace and stepped carefully around yet another puddle as her classmates rushed around her, eager to get out of the cold, spraying rain. She cast a quick drying spell on her bag to try and keep her papers and books from being water damaged, and continued on her way.
She was nearly there when the weight of an arm being thrown around her shoulder nearly knocked her down.
"Potter!" She cried, trying to shrug his arm off. "What are you doing?"
James smiled down at her, water dripping off the end of his nose. "Just thought I'd say hello."
She frowned up at him, and then shook some of the water out of her eyes. "Hello," she said, before she continued to walk, hoping that he would get the hint and remove his arm.
He simply walked along with her, as though it were a leisurely stroll through the grounds, rather than a brisk walk in the cold November rain.
"Anything else, then?" She asked, picking up her pace a little bit more, deciding that she was willing to live with cold, wet feet for an hour rather.
James shrugged, and finally, much to Lily's relief, removed his arm from her shoulder. She pulled her bag higher up and nodded her head, saying, "Right."
They walked in silence for a moment, each of them stepping oddly to avoid puddles and mossy stones that proved to be extra slippery when wet.
"Oh Lily," James sighed, slinging his arm around her once again. "You know, we should do this more often."
"Have uncomfortable conversations in bad weather?" Lily asked, feigning seriousness. "I agree, Mr. Potter."
James chuckled. "We should ditch class and go to Hogsmeade."
Lily was about to answer when James disappeared from her peripheral vision after slipping on a mossy flagstone and landing flat on his butt. After a brief moment of confusion, what had happened registered in her brain and she couldn't control her laughter long enough to help him to his feet.
"Laugh it up, Evans," James said, but he couldn't keep his smile hidden. "I know you're dying to go to Hogsmeade with me," He winked at her as he struggled to get to his feet, but slipped again.
This caused Lily to burst into a fresh round of laughter. This time, though, she took pity on him. She shook her head, causing her red hair, now dark with water, to cling to her face as she helped James to stand up on the slippery rocks.
"Oh, James." She said, still giggling as he gingerly rubbed his backside. "You know me so well."
They walked the rest of the way to the castle in silence that was only broken by Lily's occasional bout of giggling, which would only escalate to full out laughing when James would throw her a dirty look.
A/N I just realized today that every time I'm reading anything on FFN, the ad banner says, "Classrooms aren't for everyone…" and has some forlorn looking kid…I feel like that ad actively seeks me out (which is ridiculous, I know) because it knows I work in public schools.
Thank you so much for all of your wonderful praises! I appreciate every word :)