Chapter Twenty-One
Lily woke up that morning to the early spring sounds of birds singing outside of her window. Rolling over, she let out a deep sigh, absently thinking that the birds were probably just as glad as she was that it was the weekend. There would be a pleasant warmness to the day, and maybe she could convince James to take a walk down by the lake with her. She did like to kiss him there, with the wind playing gently with her hair and the sound of the water lapping against the shore in the background. Actually, she thought with a smile, she liked to kiss James anywhere she went.
Rolling out of bed, she let her feet hit the ground and stood up slowly, stretching out her body, reaching towards the ceiling. Just as she was walking to her trunk to select clothes to wear that day, she heard the tapping of an owl at her window.
She untied the small piece of parchment and thanked the owl, identifying James's handwriting immediately. Instantly, ridiculously, her heart skipped a beat.
"Bit early for you, isn't it James?" she asked, untying the ribbon he'd wrapped around the parchment. "And a bit fussy…."
Lily, the parchment read, spend the day with me.
"Oh, James," she whispered, feeling foolishly alive and tingly. The owl gave a soft hoot and Lily jumped, realizing that it was probably waiting for a reply. Quickly, she scrawled her agreement on a fresh piece of parchment and handed it to the owl. "If you could take this back to James, please, I would appreciate it."
The owl hooted softly and took off out the window.
Obviously, Lily thought, there was a reason James was going to all this trouble. He hadn't said to dress for anything special, but if he was going to send her an owl at eight o'clock in the morning, she might as well put a bit of thought into her appearance. She brushed out her long, straight hair, deciding against doing anything to pull it back. From her trunk she selected a soft pink jumper to wear with one of her simple grey skirts. There, she thought. Easy, yet pretty. For a moment, she thought briefly of adding color to her lips, or perhaps her cheeks, but she rarely went to the trouble before and James seemed to like her anyway.
She nearly skipped down the stairs, happy at the prospect of spending the whole day with James. When she got to the common room, there he was, comfortable in his green jumper and jeans.
"Hi, James," she said, unaccountably timid.
James gulped. There she was, looking shy and soft in her pink sweater. Quashing the urge to run up to her and gather her up in his arms, he grinned. "Hi, Lily."
Nodding at the greeting, she crossed the room to stand in front of him. "This is a bit early on a Saturday for you to be up."
"I know," James said with a laugh. "But I just thought, you know, with the N.E.W.T.s and everything, I would have to get your attention early."
"Research proves you do better on your tests if you study early and take breaks," Lily said, trying to be serious even though she was smiling.
"What does research say about all-day breaks with your boyfriend?" James asked teasingly, taking her hand and pulling her closer to him.
"Oh, I don't think they've done much research on that, but it is my expert opinion, having done years of studying myself, that all-day breaks with your boyfriend are very beneficial indeed to your overall sanity," Lily said as James wrapped her in a hug.
"Good morning," he said very seriously.
"Good morning," Lily returned as his lips descended and pressed against hers, at first sweetly. Lily gripped James shoulders as he deepened the kiss, seeking entrance with his tongue. When she granted it, Lily felt the world tilt. Although James had certainly done this before, and a bit besides, there was a new intensity in his motion.
Lily pulled away after a minute. "James, I think, if you keep going along that vein, we won't be able to stop."
James looked abashed. "I'm sorry, I…"
Lily pressed a finger against his lips. "There's nothing to worry about. Just… hold that thought."
James grinned, kissing her cheek. "Okay. I'm excellent at holding those kinds of thoughts."
"I didn't think it would be a problem," Lily teased, laughing. "So… what do you have planned for us today?"
"I thought we'd catch an early breakfast and then spend the day outside. I've got a picnic for us."
Lily smiled. "That sounds wonderful. What are Remus, Sirius and Peter up to?"
"Well, Remus wanted to have one more study session, you know, before… next week, so Sirius and Peter are obliging him. I skived off. That's okay, though. I have permission."
Lily laughed. "Permission to skip hanging out with your friends? I didn't think that was ever given out."
"Yeah, well," James blushed, "they all know you're really important to me, so I get special dispensation from the blokes."
Lily blushed all the way to the tips of her ears. It was hard for James to say emotional things, so when he did manage to get them out, they were always more effective.
"You're pretty important to me, too," she responded, feeling the heat between them grow until it was unbearable. Quickly, she took a step away.
"So, then… breakfast?" James asked awkwardly.
"Yes, let's," Lily said, and they walked hand-in-hand down to the Great Hall for breakfast.
The sun was shining gently, warming the shores of the lake as James and Lily lay on their blanket after their feast. There was a tree and a hidden spot next to the lake, and James and Lily often came here when they craved privacy. Lily had brought a book, and James had brought his Snitch, but they both remained ignored. They had spent the bulk of the morning talking softly of everything and nothing, the way James could only do with Lily. They spoke of future plans, the home they would buy, the sort of jobs they would take, how many children they would have… and in the lazy haze of their post-lunch stupor, Lily had simply curled into James's side and fallen asleep, her arm across his chest with her head buried in his shoulder. The rhythmic rise and fall of Lily's chest and the warmth of the sun had lulled James to sleep as well.
Although he had been the last to fall asleep, he was the first to wake up. Lily's hair had ended up spread all across his chest and her leg was thrown over the two of his. He was instantly struck by how nice it was to wake up this way, to know that he could reach for her and she would be there. When he wanted to play with her hair he could simply raise his hand and grab a few of the strands. This… this was his future.
Carefully, he picked up some of the hair and ran it through his fingers, fascinated by the color, the smoothness and the scent of it – honeysuckle and summer and the freedom of running through the garden outside of his home during the holidays. He would never be able to smell a honeysuckle again without thinking of her and this day, he knew.
Lily was stirring, her leg moving back and forth in a very distracting rhythm, and her hands clenching his shirt and then relaxing in a continuous pattern. When she finally fluttered her eyelashes open, she had moved so close he could feel them against his cheek.
"Good afternoon, James," she whispered, showing no inclination to move away from him. In fact, she inched closer and kissed the line of his jaw. "This was a wonderful idea."
James bent his head to look at her and smiled. "Thank you. I'm allowed one or two a year."
"Well, I'm glad you used it on this, then," Lily said, throwing her leg all the way over him and sitting on his stomach. "Thank you, James. Let's have some privacy, yeah?"
"Yeah," James said with a smile, and casted a quick concealment charm.
He rarely got to see the playful side of Lily, but here she was, sitting on top -- oh God, she really was on top of him. He almost pinched himself to make sure he was awake. This seemed a bit like a scene from one of his dreams, with her sitting on top of him in that delicious pink sweater, hair falling in her face while she studied him through sleep-hazed eyes.
Then she bent down from the waist and kissed him, and all the intensity of the morning returned, as they let their tongues begin a joyful dance that they rarely indulged in. Lily rocked her hips against James's stomach while he played with her hair.
Unable to take it anymore, James rolled them both over so he was on top of her, deepening his kisses, as they both let their hands wander to places previously unexplored. He was unable to contain himself, pushing her shirt up and grasping one of her breasts, confined still in her bra.
Lily gasped, her eyes glazing over at the pleasure. The sound made him freeze.
"Lily, I…"
Blinking, she looked up at him and became instantly aware of what they'd just been doing. She inwardly cursed her sense of decorum and self-consciousness. She'd become keenly aware that she had been about to consummate her relationship with James Potter on the Hogwarts lawn.
They both broke eye contact in that moment as James rolled off of her and lay on his back, panting and trying to get himself under control.
"I'm sorry," James whispered, closing his eyes against the late afternoon sun. "I didn't mean to…"
"No, James. You're fine," Lily said, rolling over on her stomach so she could sit up gracefully. "We both got… lost." Her eyes lowered, she tossed her head. "I know it's hard for you to stop, James… I'm sorry."
"Just… don't say 'hard', please," James said painfully, and they both laughed, a bit embarrassed. "You know, Lily, someday, I'd like…"
"I know," Lily said quickly, running a hand through her hair quickly, trying to disentangle any tell-tale messiness. "I would like that. Very, very much. Some day soon. I just can't do… that on Hogwarts grounds. Not while I'm supposed to be the Head Girl."
"And I'm supposed to be the Head Boy," James said in agreement. "This 'setting an example' thing is hard to handle, sometimes."
Lily groaned. "Tell me about it. All those lovely things you were doing with your hands…"
"The way you were rocking…" James said, his cheeks red from excitement. "That was brilliant."
"You're brilliant. We're brilliant together," Lily said loudly, giving James a very enthusiastic kiss. "How many months until school is out?"
"Too damned many," James responded, gently pulling Lily down on top of him. "Let's just lie here together, yeah?"
"Yeah," Lily said, settling herself in and entwining one of her hands in his. "This has been a lovely day, James. It was a wonderful idea."
"We're both going to be red from laying out in the sun like we were," James said, rubbing Lily's arm.
"I don't care," Lily said recklessly. "I felt a bit like a giant cat, all stretched out next to you like that. I could just sit here forever and absorb the sun."
James laughed, and the vibration of it sent delicious shocks through Lily all over again. "You're not going to care tomorrow when your nose looks like a cherry?"
"Nope. It will remind me of you."
Once again, Lily had managed to twist his heart inside of his chest. Would he ever be comfortable with this woman, who was all mood swings and highs and lows and competence and fire? He was comfortable now, with her on top of him, the gentle rhythm of their breathing settling to a single pattern.
"Lily, do you want to go for one last walk 'round the lake before we head up to the castle?" James asked suddenly, sure that his voice had jumped up to an unnatural octave and that he didn't sound quite like himself.
Lily didn't seem to notice as she immediately sat up and nodded. "Let's draw this out as long as we can."
"Sounds like a plan," James said, rising to his feet and helping Lily accomplish the same goal. He immediately set a lazy pace, compensating for his gangly legs by walking at a ridiculously slow speed.
They didn't speak, having exchanged all the words they needed to that morning and that afternoon, appreciating the deceptive silence of the evening. At first it seemed quiet, but then they became keenly aware of the things surrounding them, the gentle swell of the water against the shore, the chirping of the last of the day's birds, the distant sounds of hollering and laughter on the lawn.
They'd nearly made it back around to their picnic spot, a good hour's walk, before James spoke again. "Lily, I… I wanted to ask you something."
"James, you sound quite serious!" Lily said teasingly, stopping immediately and squeezing his hand. "Is something the matter?"
"No, not necessarily. Well, sort of. It's like this, Lily. Oh, bugger, I'm not good at speeches," James muttered. When Lily opened her mouth, he shook his head. "Let a bloke bloody try, please. This is important. I want you to know this stuff. It's just hard to admit out loud.
"I can't sleep at night for thinking of you. I like the way you smile at me and the way you say my name. I like how you know what I'm thinking sometimes before I do and how you tell me when I'm being a git. I think I'm more than half-mad in love with you, Lily Evans, and I have to tell you that waking up with you this afternoon was the single greatest moment in my life. Greater than being Prongs, better than Christmas morning, and I'd like you to wake up with me every morning, and even after some afternoon naps. I'd like to stay with you for the rest of my life, because I just might go insane if I don't."
As Lily stood gaping, James dropped to a knee, pulling a box from his trousers. "I've been wondering, Lily… would you be my wife?"
Astonished, Lily took a second before she found her voice. While the tears overcame her eyes and her vision blurred, she nodded furiously. She didn't even look at the ring before she jumped into his arms and they exchanged a joyful kiss.
"I love you, Lily," James whispered, letting his forehead drop to hers.
"I love you too, James," Lily whispered back, as the solitaire, princess-cut diamond danced on the ring finger of her left hand. "I love you too."
Author's Note: Pure, unashamed smuff. Thanks to DPR for the edit. He is indeed a genius, a man among men, a beta among betas, a… okay, you get the point. Let me know what you thought!