A/n: Thank you all so so so much for 12k+ views! Your reviews are giving me life :) I'm very pleased to know people actually like this story.. Do review whenever you feel like it, I love reading them 3
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Winter Ball
"Gosh, I look horrible!" Emmeline exclaimed, she had ran back and forth about the room at least twenty times in the last five minutes. The girls were getting ready for the ball in Lily's bedroom. The boys were in the Gryffindor dorms.
"If you would stop running, Emmeline, you wouldn't mess up your face." Dorcas laughed, brushing her hair.
Alice groaned as she looked at Lily, "why aren't you getting ready? We have like an hour and a half only!"
"I'm not sure I want to go." Lily mumbled, lying back down on her bed. She had spent yesterday avoiding James as much as she could, while he did the same.
Marlene got up and sat at the foot, "aww, come on. James will forgive you, Lils."
"What happened?" Emmeline asked, drying her hair with her wand.
"They had a row." Marlene said, Lily groaned and buried her face in the pillows.
"I was so harsh. He hates me." Her muffled voice came. "It will be awkward."
Dorcas shook her head, "he can never hate you, Lily."
"Yeah, now get up and shower, you look half dead." Marlene chuckled.
"I am half dead." Lily mumbled, raising her head. Her eyes were red, her cheeks swollen and her hair sticking to her face. Marlene pulled her up, dragging her downstairs and into the bathroom.
"I don't know, Marlene. I don't want to go." Lily muttered.
"You should go, Lils. Apologise to him, talk to him about it. You'll feel better." Marlene said.
"I don't want to talk about it yet, Mar'" Lily said, she hadn't told her about the love thing.
"Fine, don't. But at least go and apologise."
"But—"
"No buts' now shower." She pushed her.
"I'm confused! I like him so much, it's frustrating.."
"That still doesn't explain why you lashed out on poor James. For all you know, he was joking." Marlene quirked her brow.
"I cried for an hour sitting at my room door after the row. Then I was awake all night." She grumbled. "Feel sorry for me too."
"You? You were so rude, I don't feel sorry for you. Fix yourself up. You look awful."
Lily made a face at her. "James this, James that." She mumbled, then went downstairs and into the bathroom. She glanced at herself in the mirror, shaking her head at what stared back at her. "Oh, hello there, princess of death!" She waved at herself sarcastically. She then rolled her eyes and turned away, "how could I break his heart like that? I'm so cruel..."
/
"You're the only one left, Lils. I'll do your hair." Emmeline said, sitting her down on the chair.
"And I, your makeup." Alice stated.
After a few minutes, they were done. Lily's eyelids were decorated with light golden glitters. Her lips a scarlet red, standing out against her pale skin. Her hair was half pinned back, wavy, and reached down just above the end of her ribcage, the side bangs resting on the right side of her forehead.
Marlene handed her the dress she was supposed to be wearing.
After Lily had put on her dress, she stood in front of the girls, rubbing her left arm, the gold bracelet on her wrist gleaming. The dress was dark green, sleeveless, floor length and hugged her figure. It had a slit on the left side, till mid thigh, the dress flowing outwards from there.
"You look amazing!" Marlene jumped, "so pretty." Emmeline commented, Alice looked at her with a huge smile on her face. Dorcas widened her eyes, "James will die when he looks at you."
"Oh my. That's not cool.. I shouldn't go then!" Lily gasped, "I don't want to kill him!"
"That's so funny I forgot to laugh." Marlene rolled her eyes.
"But I'm still not sure I want to go." She sighed. "It'll be hella awkward."
"No it won't!" Marlene shrugged, "maybe the first few minutes.. but still. The boys would be there by now! Let's go!"
/
"James, you have a date. Remember?" Remus asked him, adjusting his dress robes. "You might want to get ready."
"Yeah, yeah." He rolled his eyes, "it'll be tense anyway." He stated, pulling on his dress pants and a crisp white dress shirt.
"How the hell can you wear those over a suit?" He pointed at the robes Remus was wearing, "they're uncomfortable as fuck."
"We're wizards, Prongs. Did you forget? We always wear robes."
"Yes but, why over a suit? I'm just wearing a tux. I might trip, I already embarrassed myself enough last night." He said, shrugging on a black coat. He quickly made a black bow tie about his neck. Running a hand through his hair, he made it look somewhat okay.
"Use a comb, you depressed asshole." Sirius burst in the dorm, wearing an actual suit. He was going with Elena.
"Whatever." James rolled his eyes, but still reached for a comb and glided it through his hair. It now fell over to a side, still messy.
"Prongs, you're going to the Winter Ball with Evans. Why are you so fucking grumpy?" Sirius said exasperatedly.
"I told you we had a row. It's going to be hella awkward. I'm surprised she didn't cancel." James muttered, putting on his shoes.
"She'll get the fuck over it. Y'know girls and their moods.." Sirius rolled his eyes.
James sighed, "well, I'm going now. You two ready?"
"Yeah, let's go."
/
The ball had begun. Music could be heard from up the stairs where Lily stood. She sighed, ready to follow her friends when her eyes landed on a certain messy haired boy coming from the left.
Lily's breath hitched in her throat as she took his appearance in. He was laughing at something Sirius had said, occasionally brushing at his coat.
James looked up, his eyes meeting with the redhead he was so fond of. His mouth parted slightly. "Wow." He murmured.
"What?" Sirius asked.
Remus had already descended the stairs. Sirius made an 'o' shape with his mouth as he looked where James's gaze was. "Good luck, mate." He patted his shoulder, following Remus down the stairs.
James slowly walked up to Lily, who stood there, dazed as she gazed his way. He seemed to be walking in slow motion, every step of his dignified.
Merlin's beard, I'm in love with James Potter. Lily thought, butterflies erupting in her stomach.
"The word beautiful is an understatement in your case." He smiled as he reached her, snapping her out of her reverie. Lily almost gasped as he slipped an arm around her waist and placed a light kiss on her cheek.
She blushed, turning slightly so she could face him properly. She looked up into his warm hazel eyes, "thank you.. and you look very handsome, James. Listen, before we go... I— I didn't mean anything I said.. I was just— I'm so sorry. I'm an idiot. I should have just said that I don't know anything about how I feel at the moment..." She absentmindedly reached forward and fixed his bowtie.
"It's okay, Lily." He chuckled, "I needed a reality check too."
"Looks like I'm apologising most of the time because of my stupidness and you always forgive me." Lily laughed, "and no, that was very harsh of me. I am deeply sorry."
"It's okay! But, your stupidness? Are you alright there, Evans?" James teased.
"I am fine, Potter." Lily rolled her eyes.
James raised his brows, "hey, what are we doing here? The party's downstairs." He grinned, offering Lily his arm as he let go of her waist.
Lily put her arm through his, smiling. They went down the stairs, a lot of heads turning towards them. The hall was decorated with a winter theme. Everything white and icy looking. Snow fell from the ceiling, ending just above the people's heads.
Lily tried blocking out the murmurs as they slowly made their way towards their friends. She then tapped Remus on the shoulder. He turned around, "hi!" Lily said brightly, his eyes widened, the drink threatening to spray out from his mouth, he swallowed a big gulp, breathing, "Woah, Lily. You look wonderful."
"Thank you." She grinned, "you clean up nicely, Moony."
Remus chuckled at the nickname, "so are you going to call me that too?"
"Maybe.." she laughed.
James cleared his throat, "I think I'm here too." A playfulness in his tone.
Marlene walked up to them, hand in hand with her date. "Oh my gosh, you both look so cute together! Let's take a picture."
"Okay."
They took a few pictures, first the individual photos with dates, and finally a group picture, pulling Sirius and Elena in it too.
The brunette looked amazing in her magenta dress and was very happy upon the fact that her date was Sirius Black. Marlene had felt a wave of jealousy every time they had gotten close, or she had touched him flirtatiously. But eventually she got used to it, and occupied herself with her date, Jake.
After the photos, a slow song came on. Lily was there by the drinks table, sipping on butterbeer.
"May I have this dance, m'lady?" James said, causing her to turn her head to him, seeing him offering her his hand with a small smile.
She chuckled, putting down her drink, "you may." James took her hand, kissing the top of it and leading her to the middle of the room.
He put one hand on her waist, the other entwined with hers. Lily put her free hand on his shoulder and they began slow dancing, goofy smiles on their faces.
James twirled her around, Lily laughed as he picked her up.
James's eyes landed on the professors. McGonagall stood, a small smile on her face as she looked at him. He returned it, but then noticed that Dumbledore wasn't there.
He finished dancing with Lily, looking over at Minerva. She was standing there, now looking about randomly. "I'm just gonna go dance with Minnie a moment, she looks lonely." James stated, Lily mentally chuckled, "okay." What's so special about McGonagall anyway?
She watched as James went over to the too-young-looking-for-her-age professor and talked to her. Minerva smiled slightly as James took her hand, kissing it softly. He escorted her towards the dance floor, the students looking at the teacher and student amusedly.
Lily watched on, laughing slightly. Her gaze then shifted around the room, furrowing her brows as she didn't spot the headmaster.
After James and McGonagall had danced, he kissed her hand one more time, then walked over to Lily.
"Where's Dumbledore?" She murmured as James halted next to her.
"I'm thinking the same thing, maybe order business?" James said.
"Two muggle families were killed this morning." Lily stated, "I saw the paper at lunch."
"What?!" He widened his eyes, "they've started killings now, too? It was mostly threats and minor attacks before."
Lily nodded, "turning seventeen can't be any slower." She mumbled. "Hey, look! It's snowing!"
James turned his head towards the window, it was indeed, snowing. Despite the news, he felt a smile form. He grabbed Lily's hand, "c'mon it's so boring here."
Lily agreed, letting him drag her outside. James took off his coat, draping it over Lily's shoulders. She gave him a questioning look.
"Your arms are freezing. And.. we're going outside." He grinned, opening the great oak doors and stepping outside into the cold wind.
"James! Are you crazy? You'll get hypothermia!" Lily whisper yelled, following after him. She gasped as she saw the white blanket on the ground, little flakes falling from the sky and landing in James hair.
"This is pretty and all.. but you'll catch a cold!" Lily scolded, clutching the coat around her body.
"I don't care, Evans." He laughed, stalking over to her. He kissed her forehead, "you want to go back to our dorm or the party?"
"Dorm. I'm tired."
"Oh, okay." He said, going over and opening the door, which he gestured towards as Lily turned. She smiled slightly as she passed. He then came in after her.
They walked in silence until they ran into Sirius just near their dorm. He looked at her properly this time, "Evans, I'm afraid I failed to mention how you can't possibly look more elegant." He said seriously.
"That means so much, Sirius." Lily laughed. "When did you leave the party?"
"While you two were dancing. Elena was getting a little sick, so I took her back to Ravenclaw tower." He shrugged, "so, you two have any plans?" He said, wiggling his brows. "My date fell sick so I don't have any." He laughed.
James widened his eyes, coughing lightly. He then glared at Sirius, who pretended not to notice. Lily looked puzzled, "um, plans? What plans?"
"You know, how the dates have sex after these balls and stuff. I've heard it from many girls, really. Blokes too." He chuckled, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Padfoot—" James hushed, but was interrupted by Lily with a giggle, "no. I thought about that too, but I've never 'done it' before. Believe me if I had, I would not be wasting time right now." She winked at him.
James side-eyed her.
Sirius looked amused as his eyebrows rose high, almost into his hairline. "Ooooh, okay, Evans!" He grinned, glancing at James with a meaningful look.
James' face was flushed. Lily also looked at him, "what? I mean what I said." She teased.
"Hmm, right. Well. I'm just gonna.. yeah. Excuse me, Padfoot." James stammered, pushing past Sirius and speed walking towards the dorm. Bloody hell, bloody hell, I never thought Lily could say such a thing. She looks so innocent!
James entered the dorm, quickly climbing up the stairs and into his room. He needed to sleep now, otherwise, he would keep thinking about what she said, and go completely insane. She actually thought about having sex with him? But what about that rant day before yesterday?
"Hi." Lily's voice sounded, causing him to whirl around, his cheeks bright red.
"When did you come in?" He breathed.
"Right now. And oh my stars, I made you blush!" She chaffed, approaching him, "I wasn't lying back there, y'know." She added, taking off his coat.
James' next move wasn't planned, it was like his body had a mind of its own. For once she had put the coat aside and straightened up, he had snatched his glasses off his face, impatiently putting them away, and when Lily had looked at him because of the sudden movement, he had grabbed her by the waist, pulling her into him and spinning around, then somehow, landing on the bed, Lily under him, who gasped loudly from shock, her heart racing now that she looked into his brown-green eyes.
James bit his lip, his gaze on her plump lips. He then looked back up to her irises, closing his eyelids as he leaned in, his lips meeting hers.
A sigh escaped her as she kissed him back. The feeling of his lips on hers oh so very comforting. Her hands that had been resting on his shoulders, now relocated themselves into his messy locks, her slender digits gracefully gliding through the short jet black strands.
Their lips moved in sync, James' hands exploring her body. She inhaled a shaky breath as she felt his hand slip under the slit of her dress, the parting of her mouth giving him the opportunity to fully taste the sweet flavour of her as he deepened the kiss.
Lily moaned softly, leaving one hand from his hair and bringing it down so she could unbutton his shirt. The moment the last one left the loop, James' hand went on to the back zipper of her dress, agonisingly slow, he pulled it down.
Once she was out of it, and his shirt lay beside it on the floor, he kissed down her neck, then on her chest, leaving small marks.
Right when he went back to kiss her and slipped his tongue in through her parted mouth, the door swung open, "Hey Prongs do you want to go into the fores— hOLY mother of Merlin!" Sirius widened his eyes as James and Lily pulled away with a start, their faces flushed.
James mentally kicked Sirius in the ass, while Lily blushed, quickly grabbing a pillow and covering herself, only clad in two piece black lace... "hi there, Padfoot." Lily said innocently.
Sirius smirked.
"Sirius Black, you have the worst timings!" James exclaimed, glaring back at him at the door.
He shrugged, "I asked if you two had plans, you said no. So it's really not my fault." He crossed his arms over his chest, "oh and, nice ass, Evans."
Lily laughed shyly, "oh hush, you're making me blush."
"Ooooo that rhymed. You could write poetry. Hey, Prongs, you should learn something from Evans. Maybe it'll improve your Valentine's Day poetry for her..." Sirius said teasingly, turning his head to James.
"You tried to write poetry for me? Aw, James." Lily cooed.
James rolled his eyes. "Is there anything else you want, Padfoot?" He said through gritted teeth.
"No," Sirius sniggered, "but thanks for the scarring." He raised his brows, grabbing the door handle.
James made a face at him, "out, Black."
Sirius rolled his eyes as he shut the door. Then, muffled laughter could be heard.
James sighed and looked at Lily, "annnd, the moment's ruined." He chuckled.
Lily nodded, "sure is, but, if it makes you feel better, I'd like to crash here." She leaned in and pecked his lips.
"Oh, it does." He grinned as she grabbed the hem of the covers.
"So what kind of poetry did you write? Love? Humorous? Cute–"
"Lily, shut up and go to sleep." James muttered.
She gasped dramatically, "How dare you tell me to shut up?!"
James chuckled, "goodnight." And turned his back to her, "not one more word or I'll throw you out."
She huffed, "I would go, but this bed is warm." She stated, "goodnight," she grumbled.
"Be my big spoon." He laughed.
"But I'm smaller than you!"
"Do I look like I care?" He replied.
Lily rolled her eyes, wrapping her arm around his torso from behind, putting one leg over his. James smiled to himself and grabbed her hand on his stomach, closing his eyes.
/