Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Harry Potter series. That credit goes to the brilliant mind of J.K. Rowling. Go Jo! I also do not own some of the material used. Again that belongs to Jo and Warner Brothers.
Chapter 14 Spying
October 22, 1973
James had been acting differently ever since he and Fern broke up, especially around Lily, although he always did seem to be more pompous, if that were possible, when he was around her.
"Come with us to Hogsmeade, Lily. You know you want to," James said after class.
Lily laughed and responded, "Even if I wanted to, I would still say no."
"And why's that?" James asked.
Sirius, Remus, and Peter rolled their eyes. They knew how James got around Lily, and they did not want to be apart of it.
"I already made plans with Severus," Lily explained. "You should've asked sooner rather than wait until the last minute."
"So, you admit then you would've said yes?" James asked, now walking to keep up with Lily.
Lily could not help but smile inside. She loved how she made James hang on her every word.
"I suppose you'll never know," Lily said with a smile.
James stopped in shock as he watched Lily go on.
"Tough luck, mate," Sirius said as James rejoined the group.
"Oh, shut it," James replied.
Lily made James feel different, but he could not describe it.
xxx
It was now dark, and everyone was back in the dormitories after spending the day in Hogsmeade. In the third year boys' dormitory, James had come up with a plan to see Lily.
"James, you really have gone mental," Remus said after hearing the idea.
"What? It's a brilliant plan," he replied.
"It's one that will get you caught," Peter said as he got in bed.
James crossed his arms as Remus, too, got in his bed.
"You three don't have to come," he replied, turning towards his bed.
"Believe me, I'm out," Remus said.
"Me too, James. It's just dangerous," Peter replied with a yawn.
James turned back to face Sirius, who was still in his day clothes, which gave James hope that he might join him.
"Sirius?" he asked.
"Oh, all right," he said, sounding like he had actually given it some thought.
James ran to Sirius and surprisingly hugged him.
"Thanks," he said.
Sirius took a deep breath after James let him go.
"But only because if I have to save your bloody arse," he replied, though he had a hint of a smile on his face.
"I'll take that as a complement," James said, head raised high.
James and Sirius did not say a word to each other as they walked through the common room and out the portrait.
"If we get caught…" Sirius began as they tip-toed their way through the empty corridors.
"I thought you liked danger," James replied with a laugh.
"I do," Sirius said defensively, "but this isn't dangerous. It's mental!"
James quickly covered Sirius's mouth when he heard a noise. "Shhh!"
They made their way out the entrance as fast as they could after that.
"All right now. How exactly are you planning on getting up to one of the tallest towers in Hogwarts?" Sirius asked.
"Climb," James said matter-of-factly.
Sirius's eyes widened.
"You have gone mental. You're really going to kill yourself over a girl?" he asked.
James rolled his eyes and replied, "Just watch my back."
"No, thank you," Sirius said with a laugh.
James turned and made a gesture with his middle finger.
"Ha," he said as Sirius took out his wand.
James slowly but surly made it to the top of Gryffindor tower. Lily gasped when she saw James at the window.
"What the bloody…" she began, but she could not say anything else.
"I just had to see you," James said.
"Please, James, get down," Lily replied in a whisper. "You're going to hurt yourself."
James laughed as he leaned back.
"No, I…" he began, loosing his footing.
"James!" Lily gasped.
"Close one," he said after he got his balance back.
"What do you want?" Lily asked.
She immediately regretted asking that question.
"Will you go out with me?" James asked.
Lily had expected that, but it still came as a shock.
"You're risking your life to ask me out?" she asked.
"That's about right," James said.
Lily rolled her eyes as James gave a cocky smile.
"You're so arrogant," she said, beginning to shut the window.
"Is that a yes?" James yelled.
Lily turned back and opened the window a little more and replied, "Absolutely not."
"What?" James asked in disbelief.
"That means no," Lily said.
"But…" James began as Lily turned away.
"Good night," Lily replied, closing the window all the way this time.
"Bad luck mate," Sirius said as James's feet hit the ground.
They began walking back towards the entrance to the castle.
"I don't understand," James suddenly said.
Why had Lily said no? James thought Lily would say yes.
"Really, you don't?" Sirius asked with a laugh.
When they entered the boys' dormitory, Peter was tossing and turning in his bed.
"Peter?" Sirius asked.
James walked over to Peter's bed and began shaking him after he started yelling.
"Peter!" he yelled.
He sat straight up and looked around.
"What? I didn't…" Peter began.
"You were yelling," James told him.
"Oh, sorry," Peter apologized.
He could mot look at them. Remus then slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"Nothing. I just had a bad dream," Peter replied.
Peter lay back down on his pillow, not really wanting to go back to sleep. Why did he keep having this dream of him with a figure of a skull with a snake coming out of its mouth on his forearm? This time, he could feel it burn.
xxx
November 28, 1973
Sirius rolled his eyes and dragged James out of the library where they had just seen Lily and Severus laughing and talking.
"Don't pay attention to them," he said.
James gave a snort.
"Come on, Sirius. It's so disgusting, that you just can't," he replied.
"Try to," Sirius said.
They once again entered the library, though for the life of him, Sirius did not know why.
"James…" Sirius began, noticing where his friend's eyes were heading. "James, what happened?"
"They almost…" James started to say, but he could not finish.
"Who almost what?" Sirius asked.
"Lily and Severus. They almost kissed," James said.
"Come with me," Sirius replied with a sigh.
For the second time, James and Sirius left the library. Sirius handed James a plain bottle of liquid when they got back to the dormitory.
"What's that?" James asked.
"Butterbeer," Sirius said.
"How did you…" James began before Sirius cut him off saying, "Snuck some back from Hogsmeade."
James and Sirius cheered and tipped the contents in their mouths.
"Brilliant," James said.
And with that, James took another gulp.