Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter. Art work by the awesome Meg (tumblr: anxiouspineapples)

Fighting It

Later, November, 6th Year

Pomfrey finally released Lily in time for lunch Wednesday, which was lucky considering she was actually starving. She sat down in the Great Hall to find the Marauders mercilessly teasing Marlene for still taking Divination.

"You laugh, but Professor Harris is actually a celebrated Seer."

"Yeah okay." Sirius rolled his eyes.

"I'm serious!" Marlene insisted. "A bunch of her prophecies are kept in the Ministry."

Remus stepped in. "Excuse our skepticism, but we stopped taking that class last year for a reason."

"And what reason was that?" Lily asked curiously. She had never taken the class because Professor Harris had always looked at her like she was a Banshee reincarnate in the halls. It wasn't as bad as being outwardly despised like with Stone, but Lily wasn't particularly keen to be taught by a teacher who seemed frightened by her mere presence.

"Because she was obsessed with our potential offspring, that's why," Sirius grumbled.

"Really?" Lily's nose scrunched. "That's a touch creepy."

"They're exaggerating," Marlene said, tapping Lily's forearm.

"Am not! She point-blank told Prongs here he'd be a shit dad!"

Lily's eyes flickered to James. He'd looked uncomfortable as soon as she'd sat down, but now he was looking a little angry.

"Not quite," Remus told Lily. "She told Sirius that he would be more of a father to James' son than he would be, and then that that son would be more of a father to my son than I would be… it was all really insulting and kind of bizarre."

"And it doesn't even make any chronological sense, like what is the time frame in all of this?" Sirius chipped in, staring at the ceiling and using his finger to try to draw a complicated family tree in the air.

"Yeah, it was a load of bull," Remus agreed. "I know I'm never having kids."

"And you guys know I'm probably going to sire at least a handful of my own." He gave Remus a shoulder clap. "I'd be disappointed with my 20s if I didn't."

But Lily had tuned out by the time Peter piped up about how she'd entirely excluded him in the prediction. James had gotten up in the middle of the conversation and walked out of the hall.

"Are you okay?" Her words broke the peaceful silence on the edge of the Great Lake. Kettleburn's lesson was out here today and she'd found James hanging out early, staring over the eerily calm water, lost in thought.

He jerked his head to face her but didn't answer, only watched her step closer apprehensively.

"Potter?" She drew her cloak around her more tightly and then crammed her hands under her armpits.

James absentmindedly conjured a blue flame to float between them, warming up Lily's extremities immediately. "Yeah?"

"Are you okay? You seem sad," Lily repeated.

James' face crinkled with bewilderment before he turned back to his lakeside vigil. "What are you doing?" he asked somewhat accusingly.

Lily stared at his stiff shoulders. "What do you mean?"

"Last time you talked to me, you screamed I was a stalker and that you needed space." She could tell he was trying his hardest to keep his tone as flat as possible. "So I'm a little confused why you're talking to me right now." His little blue flame flickered wildly between them.

"Well." Lily took a tentative step forward so they were shoulder to shoulder; the flame followed her. "Not sure if you noticed, but some stuff happened since then." He snorted mirthlessly. "And I could use your help."

From the corner of her eye, she saw James' brows crease before he let out a long sigh. He looked so defeated. "Are you even healed yet?"

"What?"

"What are you talking about?"

"What are you talking about?" Lily pressed.

"Fuck, I don't even know anymore," James whispered dragging both his hands through his hair. "What do you need help with?"

"I need you to Imperio me."

"What?!" James yelled, spinning to face her. Lily remained resolutely facing forward. "You're joking."

"No. I'm not."

"Lily, you just—"

"Found out what it's like to be completely at someone else's mercy? Know what it's like to be someone's puppet?" James stood frozen, hypnotized by the flame reflected in Lily's blazing eyes. It fit there, as though it was originating from her. "I don't ever want to be that vulnerable again, James. I need to learn how to fight it. I researched the curse, remember? I know how to in theory, I just need the practice."

James studied her face. "Why me?"

"Well, you're always telling me I need to take better care of myself." She watched some of the fish fighting for food just under the surface of the water. "You're powerful enough. And I know you would never hurt me. Physically at least." James looked like he'd stopped breathing. "Plus, you're the only person I know who's this okay with breaking the law."

James let out a quick chuckle and Lily shot him a sly smile. It was true, she needed him: her friendship with Sirius was far too fresh, Marlene and Remus would both try to talk her out of doing something so drastic, and she could never in a million years imagine Adam hurting a fly, let alone Imperioing one.

"So, what do you say?" She hoped so badly he'd say yes.

He ruffled his hair, looking down to the frosty ground. "I don't know, Lily. It be weird."

She faced him. "It would be."

"You sure you want to do this? This isn't some sort of test that I'm failing?"

What? "No. I need to do this. I don't feel safe right now."

Something in James' eyes changed at those words and he lifted his chin. "Okay. I'll help you practice. We can find a good place later. And you've got to tell me exactly what you want me to make you do beforehand."

Before she knew it, Lily had perched up onto her slightly sensitive tippy toes and flung her arms around James' neck, squeezing him tightly against her. "Thank you." His reluctant, awkward pats on her back made her snap out of it and pull back embarrassed by her spontaneous bout of affection.

"Yeah, sure." James was watching the rest of their classmates approach from the castle. "And for the record," he banished his little, hot flame, "I would never abandon my family."

It wasn't until two minutes into class that it struck her that he was referring to Professor Harris' prophecy. It must have really struck a nerve if the thought of it was still weighing on him so heavily. Why'd he feel the need to tell me?

After class, James and Lily went to a deserted classroom on the 4th floor. Lily tried not to think about how they'd used the space for completely different purposes the last time they'd snuck off here. If she recalled correctly, it was the time he'd gotten so into it that he'd ripped her fragile lace panties clean off of her.

James locked the door and turned to find her patiently waiting for him. "You figure out what you want me to command you to do?"

She nodded her head. She'd changed into jeans after a long day of wearing itchy stockings and a sky blue jumper. "I was thinking something simple like 'walk towards me' or something."

"That'll work," James said uneasily. "So you'll just…"

Lily backed up to the windows. "Yeah, I'll start here."

"Cool, cool." She looked at him expectantly. "Now?" He was scared for her answer.

She awkwardly patted the sides of her thighs. "Whenever you're ready."

He lifted his wand up to her, made a face, then lowered it. "This feels weird."

"What? You haven't even done anything yet!"

"Yeah, but," he messed up his hair, "I don't think I've ever hexed a girl before."

Lily laughed. "That's so patently false. You turned me into a kitten two months ago—"

"That was for class—"

"And you hexed my shirt near off this summer—"

"Okay, but I hexed your shirt, not you—"

"You turned my hair blue once."

James gulped. "Okay, I was 12. And you pulled it off against all odds."

"Whatever, point is: don't give me that shit." She squared her shoulders. "I'm ready." She looked him dead in the eye and he took a deep breath.

"Imperio," he whispered.

It felt different this time. Lily felt oddly more present despite the telltale airiness — like she'd had two shots instead of eight and was on the verge of passing out.

"Come," James' deep voice suggested from within her brain.

Lily shook her head and cleared her mind easily. "Potter!" His eyes widened in disbelief. "You have to mean it, or it won't work!" His face fell. Had he thought I'd mastered it already? Ha!

"Lily…" he near whined.

"James, I'm not weak. Don't treat me like I am." She ran a hand through her red hair. "You know, one of the things I appreciate about you is that you didn't treat me any differently after my parents died: you treated me like shit before and you treated me like shit after."

He snorted. "And to think that sentence started off so promisingly."

"James," she said seriously to get him to look back at her, "Avery's out there. Death Eaters are out there, fuck, they're here, and I need to be able to defend myself. Please. You said you'd feel like shit if something were to happen to me." James flinched, tilting his head as if he was about to deny it, but she'd heard him say it. "So please: just help me."

That did the trick. This time when James cursed her, the voice in her head boomed, and she felt powerless to resist his call. She ended up at his chest, looking up adoringly into his gorgeous eyes before he broke the spell.

"Ugh, fuck! Again," Lily cried as she stomped back to the other side of the room, royally peeved. She missed James blinking really fast while polishing his glasses on his jumper in a bit of a daze.

It took them three solid practice sessions before Lily felt like she was progressing satisfactorily. It started with a lot of snarky comments while she walked towards him, as if she could sass his compulsion away. Unfortunately for her, he was her verbal sparring equal, so his voice in her head would sass her right back. Then she'd started stumbling in her steps, fighting approaching him so much that she landed on her knees instead. Not for the first time, Lily wondered if she'd be having more success if she weren't being asked to do something she kind of wanted to be doing anyway. On the third day, she finally broke the curse.

"Come."

Lily smirked. "Fuck you." She remained perfectly still. James' lips went lopsided as Lily gasped and looked down at her immobile feet. "Yes!" Lily jumped up in the air. "I did it, I did it, I did it!" she cheered, euphorically bouncing.

Then she noticed that damn dimple.

"Fuck yes." He came to her, smiling proudly as he picked her up and spun her around. He looks so charming it's alarming… disarming? Why the hell am I thinking in rhymes? Lily laughed, wondering if too much Imperius addled your brains… or if this was all just James' magic.

"Thank you, Potter," she said sincerely, trying to calm down from her cheerful outburst as he set her back down on her feet. She figured if she could resist James' voice, she could probably resist literally anyone's.

"No problem." He reached for her left hand and pointed the wand in it to his chest. "My turn."

Lily leaned back. "What?"

"Come on, it's only fair. Don't make me emotionally blackmail you like you did."

Lily's jaw dropped. "I did no such thing."

"Yeah, you totally did!" James still hadn't let go of her hand. "You kidding? You all but said that anything that happened to you would be directly my fault if I didn't help you."

Lily pushed him away. "You're so dramatic."

James smirked at her. "I can be whatever you want once you Imperio me."

Lily glared at him and poked his chest with her wand. "No! Also, why the hell would you want me doing this? I said I knew you didn't want to cause me bodily harm, I never said it was reciprocal."

He was still giving her that fucking smile. "I trust you."

Lily scoffed. "Well, there's your first mistake."

James yanked Lily into him by the waist and leaned into her ear. "There's really very little I wouldn't let you do to me right now."

Lily took a step back laughing. "Are you seriously horny right now?"

"What? Can't a bloke be in a good mood?" The crinkles around his eyes told Lily that he really, really was.

Lily raised her wand to him. "Okay. I'll just make you sit and stand a bunch." And she did. She tried hard not to giggle, because it really shouldn't have been funny, but his eagerness to jump to his feet and then plop back down on the floor every time was just too earnest and childlike, especially when paired with the goofiest of grins he was giving her.

She broke the spell. "Damn Potter, you are so screwed," she tittered.

He jumped to his feet almost as energetically as before. "I know, right?" He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her fervently as he walked them to the nearest wall. (Lily quickly dropped her wand just to make sure that he was, in fact, doing this of his own volition. It never hurt to be absolutely sure.) It truly had been such a long week without his touch. Lily melted into him, feeling almost as buoyant as she had under his spell. "You're a terrible partner," he whispered.

"Am not," Lily protested as she pulled open his belt.

"Well, as it turns out," his lips moved down the column of her neck as his warm hands snuck up the back of her jumper, "I love having your voice inside my head, bossing me around." She felt him smiling as he unhooked her bra. "So yeah, you kind of are." His palms moved to cup her breasts under the layers of fabric she still donned. "Fuck, Evans, how are you always so cold?"

"Shut up, Potter," she said as she reached down to yank off half of her clothes.

"Yes, ma'am," James said reverently to her tits before thoroughly lavishing them with his mouth.

They spent several hours in that room celebrating Lily's victory over the curse — or maybe it was James' inability to turn her down. In the not so distant future, James would tell Lily he was actually celebrating the return of the sparkle in her eyes.

Next Chapter: Sexual Olympics