Chapter 38

September 4th, 1977

Cont.

"Hey, Potter?"

James lifted his head to look at Lily, "Yeah, Evans?"

Lily was frowning, her face pointed toward the Forbidden Forest as she slowed down to a standstill. James pulled his hands out of his pockets and stopped beside her, glancing between her and the forest in confusion.

"You okay, Evans?"

Tilting her head to the side, Lily took a half step towards the forest, seeming in a daze. James was getting concerned.

With a slow shake of her head, Lily turned to look at James, her brow twisted in unease, "I may be going insane, but I thought I just saw a man in the forest."

In an instant, James was alert, eyes scanning the tree line for any sign of movement. Not seeing anything, he looked back at Lily, who was biting her lip watching him.

Suddenly caught up in an idea, James grinned, "Wanna go on an adventure?"

Lily narrowed her eyes, "Not particularly."

"Aww, come on, Evans. It'll be fun!" James pleaded.

"Absolutely not."

"Just a little detour."

"In your dreams, Potter."

"You might learn something."

"Not happening."

"It could be a student."

Lily was silent.

James continued, sensing an opening, "You know, technically, as Head Boy and Girl it's our duty to make sure students uphold the rules. It is called the Forbidden Forest, after all."

Lily sighed, glaring at James, and he could tell he had won, "Fine!" She held up a finger before James could cheer, "But, we come back to the castle when I say, and not a moment later."

Taking the victory, James conceded to Lily's terms with a nod, barely containing his grin. The corner of Lily's mouth turned up slightly as she fought a smile, but she turned away before James could tease her about it.

"Come on then, Potter."

Hardly believing his luck, James nudged Lily's elbow gently, gesturing for her to follow him as he snuck off in the direction of the greenhouses, sticking to the shadows.

They were just approaching Greenhouse Three when James heard someone whistling. Sticking his hand out to grab Lily, he abruptly dropped to the floor, dragging her with him, and pressing up against the glass.

He yelped at a sharp pain in his side and turned to glare at an unimpressed Lily, who was withdrawing her finger from his side. Lily crossed her arms with an obvious message, it's your own fault.

Rolling his eyes, James turned his attention back to the whistling just in time for Professor Kettleburn to come into view, whistling as he walked along with a bundle in his arms. James shifted to get a closer look at what was in the bundle, vaguely aware of Lily pressing closer to him to look too.

A flash of blue appeared within the cream-coloured cloth blanket, and James thought he saw feathers.

"That's an Occamy." Lily whispered, awestruck, in James' ear. Only experience stopped him from jumping at the sudden noise, and he was instantly thankful for all the nights he and the boys had snuck down to the kitchens, or elsewhere, stuffed into close contact under the Invisibility cloak. Though none of those times had their closeness inspired the shivers currently going down his back…

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he realised that the professor had disappeared.

Turning to Lily, and ignoring the slightly amused look on her face, he whispered, "He's probably circling back around to the stables. We should be able to avoid him if we cross between Four and Five," He smirked at her, "If you're still up for it, that is."

Lily scoffed, "As if I'm backing out now, Potter."

James grinned. Oh yeah, he was so annoyed he had promised not to ask her out this year.

She was perfect.

A/N: I love this scene.

Cause I'm bored, have a song rec: Sorry by Nothing But Thieves