Warning: So much sappiness you might just become diabetic.

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter. Art work by the extremely talented Viktoria Ridzel (Instagram: viria94)

It turned out James really loved Star Wars and bubbled over with excitement when he learnt it was the first of a trilogy. "It really is too bad Solo can't use the force, it's sorta like magic, isn't it? It's like Muggles know we're out here but can't quite put their finger on it. I bet this George fellah got Obliviated at one point because he saw too much and some of it lingered and people have been calling him crazy ever since," he animatedly exclaimed brandishing one of his chips. "I bet it was Shacklebolt — his Obliviate is hit or miss," he contemplated.

Lily smiled fondly, picking up her drink as he continued. They were in a small pub next to the theater.

"So, will you let me take you to the next one?" he asked pseudo-nonchalantly.

"It won't come out for a few years, James."

"I know." He was studying her face, an adorably hopeful look on his.

"Sure." She blushed, cutting up some of her battered cod.

"Perfect," James said smugly as he finally popped the chip into his mouth with a satisfying crunch.

Lily was absolutely positive all her teachers were out for blood as it became late March. There were pop quizzes every other day, pages and pages of assignments, and more than a few mental breakdowns of her peers as N.E.W.T.s loomed nearer.

There wasn't a single 7th year who couldn't tell you how many days were left until spring break.

"I assume you're staying here for holiday?" James asked over his stack of papers in his room one day.

Lily looked up from her Potions book, hair frizzy and eyes wild. "Yes. I have about — I don't know — seven years of knowledge to cram. I think I'll live in the library. Set up permanent residence. Squatters' rights and what not."

James chuckled. "Would you mind if I stayed too then?"

"No," Lily sighed, "I was rather hoping you would." She pointed her finger at him. "I'm serious though. I will be studying. I can't slack off now."

James grinned and got up, slinking his way towards her. "Well, you know you've already gotten an O in my class," he whispered naughtily in her ear.

Lily gasped and pushed him back. "No! Don't you dare! I need to earn my scores!"

James pulled her to her feet. "Oh, I'd say you more than earned it," he continued as he wiggled his eyebrows, riling her up.

Soon, he was kissing her neck in that way she loved, but she did her best to resist him. "James f-ing Potter, if you dare…"

His lips curled at her pulse point. "Fine. I'll continue to grade you fairly." His hands on her hips tightened enticingly. "But in return I expect more than a few of your study breaks."

She tugged on his belt. "Done."

"Are you sure? It's not too late to come, my parents really wouldn't mind." The three girls were standing on the platform next to the big, scarlet steam engine. There was a cacophony of yells as kids bustled all around them, trying to haul their pets and bags onto the train.

"Yes, Beth, I'm just gonna be studying the whole time anyway, don't worry about me," Lily said, hugging her two best friends close. "Besides, it's my last holiday I can stay at Hogwarts. It'll be cool. I'll go exploring like I'm always told I should." There was a humorous glint in her eye.

"Mmhm," Dorcas hummed, raising her eyebrows.

Lily shoved her onto the train. "Shut up."

Dorcas adjusted her bag on her shoulder and put up her palms in mock innocence. "I didn't say anything!"

"Oh, be gone, you." Lily smiled, happy the crisp spring air was in full swing as she waved off the Hogwarts Express.

She picked a few flowers on her way back to the castle, whistling happily to herself.

"Ten… nine… eight…" Later that night, Lily was counting down whilst jumping on James' bed in his red Quidditch jersey, avoiding James lounging beneath her. "Seven… six…" She plopped down next to him, still staring at her watch. "Five… four… three…" She leaned over his face and swung a leg over his. "Happy birthday, James!"

He leaned up to her lips, kissing her softly as his hand tangled in her hair. "Already my best birthday yet."

Lily rolled her eyes and reached over him for the wrapped parcel next to the flowers she'd put in a vase on his nightstand. "I seriously hope not. That would be sad."

James clung to her waist as she readjusted next to him and put the present on his chest. "Why? I'm in bed with a foxy redhead who's wearing my name on her back."

"Foxy?!" Lily tittered. "Dear lord, James, you are such a dork."

James swatted her black knicker-clad bum. "Hey! It's my birthday! You have to accept me and my dorkiness today of all days!"

Lily tilted her head at him making James' heart flutter. "I'll try my best." She poked her gift. "Now: open, open!"

James pecked her forehead and his face split into a lop-sided grin at her eagerness. "All right, all right, two birds, one stone."

"No! That's not how you use that phrase!"

James smirked at her and tore a box free of the decorative Snitch wrapping and opened it to reveal a silver wristwatch with a deep burgundy face. He pulled it out gingerly.

"Do you like it? I thought of going full Gryffindor colors, but thought the gold would look too gaudy, and I remembered you like silver, plus this way it sort of matches my necklace, but if you really don't like it, I'm sure we could go back and trade it in for—"

James cut off her nervous rambling with a sweet kiss, lingering by her lips until she squirmed with a different sort of restlessness. "I love it, Lily, thank you." He secured it against his left wrist, the opposite side from where she wore hers. "How does it look?"

"Dashing," Lily complimented. Truth be told, she loved that he would now be able to wear a token of her love just like she wore one of his at all times. It would remind her, even on the days where she could only see him in class and there was no time to sneak off for secret rendezvous, that she was still there with him — on his mind (or wrist).

"How'd you get it? I thought you didn't go to Hogsmeade?"

"I didn't," Lily admitted, "well, not when everyone else did. I may have snuck out using one of those tunnels you showed me last week."

James smiled proudly. "That's my girl."

He was just about to inundate her with his lips when his mirror started calling for him loudly. He gave her an apologetic look then pulled the mirror up so they could both see Sirius.

"Haaaaaaappy birthdaaaaay toooo youuuuu!"

"Please don't sing the whole—"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!"

"Oh Merlin—"

"Haaaaappeeeee birthday, happy birthday!"James just stared, daring him to go on and Sirius cocked an eyebrow, all but saying he would gladly take on this challenge. He took a deep breath. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!"

"Yay!" Lily clapped, relishing in James' bright red face. "Encore, encore!"

"I won't make it to 22 with you two," James moaned.

"What a terrible thing to say," Sirius replied, looking between them. "So, you finished already?" He wriggled his eyebrows.

"Padfoot," James warned half-heartedly.

Sirius chuckled. "Did you open my present yet?"

"Oh!" Lily jumped to the floor to retrieve the rather large box Sirius had sent to her dorm using two owls.

It turned out Sirius had gifted sex toys. Lots and lots of sex toys. While James and Lily had been visibly mortified when he unwrapped them ("I took this box with me to class today! I swore it was buzzing in History, oh my god!"), they totally tested out a few of them as soon as they had stowed the mirror safely away. They concluded whatever this thing called a 'sex swing' was looked far too complicated to set up (and who even knew how magic could help them with it), but discovered some of the vibrating wands and gizmos were beyond pleasurable.

Needless to say, they slept soundly until noon Saturday, still tingling with happiness and the knowledge that they'd gotten to know each other's bodies even more intimately than before. Lily giggled under the covers as she remembered the sound James had made when she'd applied pressure to that previously uncharted swath of skin on his body.

James joined her under the sheet, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "What are you over here giggling about?" he asked suspiciously in his scratchy morning voice.

"Nothing," Lily chimed, tracing her fingertips over his abs. "Good morning, birthday boy."

"I don't believe you…"

"Well, that's too bad, because I'll never tell you what I was just thinking about," she teased.

James grabbed her wrist on him and yanked it so she was draped over his body. "Oh yeah?" He began tickling her ruthlessly. "We'll see about that."

She thrashed on him, laughing hysterically. "James! No, stop!" Tears were forming in her eyes. "I have to pee!" she squeaked.

"Oy, thwarted this time," James said stopping his attack and transitioned to kissing along her neck and down her chest until he brought her nipple into his mouth, sucking lightly until it hardened for him.

Lily's head lolled, sighing softly. She'd lost count of how many times she'd come the night before (it was truly excessive — or perhaps her brain had just melted into a puddle of hedonism after the first few), but somehow she was still up for more.

She looked down to see James smiling up at her. "I thought you had to go pee?" He knew he could distract the crap out of her with even the slightest touch. Her body was a finely tuned machine and he was the mechanic, ready to really get his hands dirty to see what made her tick.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Lily's face flushed. "I'm on it." She climbed off of him and scampered to the loo.

James relaxed back into his pillows, interlocking his fingers behind his head. This vacation is gonna be wicked.He felt a little guilty considering how much stress he knew Lily would be under for the rest of the year, but he was still doing a selfish little happy dance in his head at the thought of two weeks without having to grade a single paper or test, or write any lesson plans. Who knew, maybe James would finally figure out what he was going to do next year. Was he finally ready to go back to Auroring? Sirius had dropped, quite conspicuously, that his partner was retiring this summer due to his upcoming baby. Maybe they could be partners. Maybe James could find it within himself to keep up the good fight.

For Alice. For Lily.

"Well, don't just lie there, I have a whole day planned for you," Lily said from the doorway in her Quidditch uniform — except with his jersey.

He raised an eyebrow as she tossed him his clothes. He noticed she'd enlarged her own jersey so he could wear it. He smirked, added a little magic touch, then threw it on, standing up so he could climb into his trunks and athletic trousers. "How's it look?" He turned around to show her his back.

Lily grinned. He'd added an apostrophe after the EVANS. "I love it."

He winked at her and grabbed his broom from the closet as she picked up her heavy bag. He took her hand. "Where to, Evans?"

"Hm, I wonder, Potter?"

After they'd collected her broom and popped into the kitchens for a quick bite, they walked to the pitch under the cloak, finding it rather hard laden with equipment. They were pleasantly surprised to not encounter a single soul save for Peeves.

"All right, Evans," James said, tossing up a Quaffle single-handedly. "How do you want to play this? Half-court? Take turns as Keeper?"

He pitched the ball to her, and she caught it effortlessly. "I was thinking we warm up with penalty shots and then see where it goes."

He grinned giddily. "Oh, you're on."

It turned out they were well-matched: her strength in defense shining through while he showed off all his Chaser prowess. He still sunk some truly epic shots, resulting in a frustrated Lily giving up her post and racing him around the pitch while he laughed loudly. She eventually caught up to him and yanked on his bristles.

"Oy, Evans! Illegal play!" he yelled as she overtook him.

"Look at the jersey! It clearly says POTTER! Guess that git gets the foul." She winked and sped off.

James simpered to himself as he watched her go. Am I nuts for liking that name on her this much?

When they'd tired themselves out, Lily excused herself and flew to one of the stands while James packed the Quaffle away. Curiosity getting the better of him, he followed her up, making her jump and turn around to face him. "What's this?" he asked, dismounting and stepping toward her.

"Ta-da!" Lily slid to the side, revealing a candlelit table with two little chairs.

"Did you transfigure a bench into this?" James asked impressed.

Lily chuckled, placing a daisy from her fist into a small vase. "You would ask that first."

James gave her a boyish grin. "Five points to Gryffindor."

"The blatant favoritism…" Lily fake-admonished shaking her head as James held out her chair for her.

"Don't worry Lily, you can always do something naughty to lose them later."

"Oh, I'm planning on it," she flirted back as he took his seat opposite her. She looked at her watch. "I figured we'll have a good view of the sunset over the lake from here too." Lily tapped her wand to her large bag she'd banished up here earlier and suddenly their steak-frites dinner appeared on their plates. She pulled out a bottle of champagne, clearly reminiscing about their first date. "Would you like to do the honors again?"

He gladly accepted, popping off the cork and pouring them some. "Truly Lily, this is amazing. Thank you."

"Pinky and Dusty are the real heroes. They helped distract you and snuck the food to me at breakfast. Well, brunch I guess."

"Damn. And here I thought Pinky really did want to show me her new haul of vegetables."

They laughed and ate, James regaling Lily with stories of all the surprises the Marauders had pulled on him for his past birthdays. It turned out a lot of them involved ensuring James would always end up involuntarily in his birthday suit. "So, as I'm sure you can tell, this is demonstrably better."

"Well, don't count your chickens yet, the night is still young," she said suggestively, downing her champagne.

He blinked for a beat. "Do you have some sort of avian fetish I need to know about?"

Lily snorted, quite gracefully, her drink out of her nose.

After they'd transformed the space back to its original glory and snuggled for the sunset, Lily asked James what else he still wanted to do.

"Hm—"

Suddenly a loud bang! pierced the air as fireworks lit up the sky above them.

Lily looked up at James, holding her close under his arm, and saw the colorful explosions reflecting in his glasses as his mouth dropped open. "Are you serious?!" He looked at her delightedly, pulling her to his mouth.

Lily turned away laughing. "You're gonna miss them kissing me!"

"Worth it," he said as he gave her temple a quick peck and looked back up to see red stars and gold spirals whizzing about. It looked like it was reaching the crescendo, fireworks exploding faster and faster, ending with a giant, 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOTHERFUC—'

"Goddamnit, Sirius," Lily sighed, covering her face with her hands. James cackled merrily next to her.

While their ears were still ringing, James leaned his head against hers, rubbing her arm. "You spoil me, you know?"

Lily's eyes twinkled as she gazed back at him. "That's the whole point."

"So…" James began in a voice laced with mischief, "I know you said no to the whole shagging on a broom thing—"

"Yes I did. Your birthday will not be your death day."

"—but what about down there?"

Lily looked over the railing to where he was pointing. "You mean in the middle of the pitch?" She wasn't aware her voice could go quite that high. "Are you mad?!" she whispered as though as soon as the conversation had turned salacious they'd gained an audience. She put a finger to his lips as his eyes went wide. "Don't you dare say, 'only about you'."

"Fack," James muttered, caught in his predictability. He brought her wrist up to his lips and tenderly kissed her pulse point. "What do you say?" She already knew she was done for. Why am I even pretending like I have to think about this? "Come on, like you've never wanted to fuck out here."

The low timbre of his voice combined with the smooth, calm way he swore erupted goosebumps across her skin. She swallowed dryly. "But we'll be so exposed…" Lily Evans, you are such a liar. You are LYING.

"My Disillusionment Charm's pretty good. I can make it so we'll still be able to see each other, so it'll feel extra risqué. Plus we'll be in the middle of the field, so we can always take the cloak and run if anyone approaches." He was whispering in her ear now. "And you know there are no rounds on holidays…"

We better get down there before I take him right here on this bench. How the hell is he making it sound so good? Lily shivered in his embrace, feeling the all too familiar pooling of heat between her legs. Is this what life will be like with him? A life full of adventure and naughtiness and stolen moments that make me feel like a woman — a loved, cherished woman — in a way I've never felt before? "You're so bad, Potter." I can't fucking wait.

"That's what makes me so good," he flirted.

And boy, was it good. After James had flown them down to the ground, he'd transfigured his broom into a blanket ("So we can still claim we had sex on a broom!") and gently laid her down with kisses. Exhausted from all their crazy positions the night before as well as playing Quidditch for hours, they'd stuck to a simple, but romantic, missionary, allowing themselves to get lost in each other's eyes.

This. This is making love, Lily thought as an overwhelmingly happy tear slid down her cheek.

Next Chapter: Teacher, Teacher

AKA The chapter that inspired me to write this whole damn thing :D