A/N: Hello! This is a fun little multi-chap that is completely separate from the ES-verse and serves as my outlet for fluffy, smutty, and gratuitous summer Jily with all the feel-good vibes. On Tumblr at missgryffin, come say hello!

LILY

Lily contemplated the Teen Witch spread Mary had handed her, complete with moving image of two up-close mouths making out and a blaring headline of, Where Do They Fall In The Snog-o-Sphere? followed by the byline, The Definitive Teen Witch Guide to Grading Your Latest Snog.

"I'd give Thomas Belby a P."

Mary snorted from where she sat next to her. "That's embarrassing."

Lily shrugged. "It was fifth year, so maybe he hadn't had much practice."

Mary pointed to the description under the "Poor" heading on the page and quoted, "'Has the potential for improving their technique, but needs significant help in finding their natural rhythm and controlling their saliva?' Merlin, Lil, you snogged an P?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Well it's not like I knew he was going to be a P when I snogged him. Besides, it was just the one time."

"Eh, true."

Lily elbowed her friend lightly. "How's Gideon Prewett come in, then?"

Mary blushed but said, "E."

"Oohh, Mare," Lily teased with a grin, "you kept that to yourself."

Mary arched a brow at her. "You going to tell me his twin is any different?"

Lily winced. "Well, the only time I snogged Fabian was when he was pissed after that match party, so…he gets an A for"—she pointed to the description—"'sloppy tongue,' but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say that was from the alcohol."

Mary giggled. "Safe to say Gid's tongue was not sloppy—"

"Oi! Mare!"

Lily jumped, her head swiveling around to the fireplace in the Macdonalds' sitting room, where Sirius Black's head was now poking through the fire.

"Oh, hey, Evans."

"Er—hi, Sirius."

He grinned crookedly at the pair of them. "So what are you birds up to this fine summer's day?"

Lily held up the copy of Teen Witch in her lap and told him, "Grading all the boys we've snogged according to the"—she checked the wording—"Definitive Teen Witch Guide. And you're up, I think. Mare?"

Mary glared at her, but Lily knew her heart wasn't in it by the smile tugging at the edges of her mouth.

Sirius's barking laughter rang from the fireplace. "Obviously I'm an O—"

Mary scoffed playfully. "Pretty cocky there, Black."

"In more ways than one, love."

"Ugh." Lily mimed being sick behind her magazine. "Forgetting I heard that."

"You started it," Sirius protested, but Lily cut him off, saying, "No, I asked Mary to rate you, not you to rate yourself."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Fine. Mare?"

Mary put on a show of faux consideration. "Hmm…I did just give Gideon an E, so the real question is whether you're a better snogger than Gid…"

Sirius looked affronted. "Oh, hell no, are you kidding? I'm way hotter than Gideon—"

Mary was giggling uncontrollably, and Lily hid her mouth behind the magazine, eyes darting between Sirius and Mary.

"Alright, alright," Mary relented, cutting off Sirius from his diatribe of why he was better than Gideon Prewett and telling him, "You are a better snog than Gid."

Lily used her empty glass on the side table as a gavel. "Ladies and gents, let the Public Record reflect that Mary Macdonald has hereby graded Sirius Black's snogging as an O."

Sirius inclined his head, waving his hand in a mock bow. "Like that was even up for debate, but whatever. Anyway. You two should Apparate over in a bit, I have something to show you."

Mary perked up. "Oohh, is it what I think it is?"

Sirius just winked. "Come over and find out. You too, Evans."

And then with a crackle of sparks, he was gone.

Lily looked over to Mary. "What was that?"

Mary's eyes flashed excitedly. "He's been fixing up a Muggle motorbike, so I bet it's finally finished."

Lily's mouth fell open. "Mare, that is so illegal."

Mary just shrugged. "I know, but if it's just for fun, who's ever going to find out?"

Her friend got off the sofa, tugging on Lily's arm. "Come on, let's get changed."

xxx

An hour later, Lily observed herself in the mirror of Mary's bedroom. Denim shorts: short, but not too short. Striped t-shirt: fun, yet practical. Boots: not her first choice, but altogether necessary if they were going to be riding an illegal motorbike. Hair: down, waved, and entirely impractical but—

Well, no, there were no excuses for that. She just had great hair.

Mary looked her over approvingly. "James is going to drool."

Okay, and maybe that had something to do with it. Lily hadn't been blind to the way James had started looking at her toward the end of their sixth year, and it also hadn't escaped her notice that he had seemed taller, fitter, as their sixth year had gone on. Their friendship still felt new, a gradual progression from his post-debacle apology to tolerated civility and then to tentative enjoyment of his company, which had become rather inescapable anyway since her best friend and his best friend had started their not-relationship-thing last spring. But lately, she'd found herself rather liking the wayward comments from their friends about him fancying her, and she'd even thought, on more than one occasion, that she might be starting to fancy this more mature James back.

Lily just rolled her eyes and reached for her wand. "Ready?"

Mary Apparated them to the end of a long tree-lined drive, where an elegant manor in pink-hued brick waited under the bright July sun. Lily felt her mouth fall open.

This is where James lived?

"Ready, Lil?"

No. Now that she was here, she certainly was not the ready one.

Mary had already taken a few steps, and she turned, laughing as she saw Lily gawking.

But before Mary could say anything, the gravelly sound of an engine cut through the air, and Lily whipped her head around, seeing a distant black blur down the lane. Mary stepped back over to her, shielding the sun from her eyes.

"Merlin, they really did it," she breathed.

The black blur soon materialized itself into a glistening Muggle motorbike, and as it approached, Lily could just make out the two black-haired boys riding it. Her heart did an odd flutter as she noticed it was James driving. He slowed the bike to a stop, a blinding grin splitting his face, and then forget fluttering—her stomach positively dropped at the sight of that windswept hair, small beads of sweat at his hairline, cheeks pink from the sun, forearms taut where they braced against the handlebars. Okay, so maybe she fancied him more than she'd thought.

"Alright, Evans?"

She swallowed hard, momentarily forgetting how to speak.

Behind James, Sirius laughed, swinging himself off the bike, and Lily jolted back to her senses. "Yeah, alright. So this is the infamous bike I've heard about today?"

Sirius ran his hand through his hair as he looked it over. "The one and only." His dark eyes snapped up to Lily, then shifted over to Mary as his mouth quirked in a grin. "Ready for a ride?"

Mary beamed at him. "Am I ever. Move over, James."

James swung off the bike slowly, laughing at Mary. "Don't think he'll be letting you drive, Mare."

"Oh, just you wait," she countered, throwing Sirius a playful look over her shoulder. "I can be very…persuasive."

James put his hands up in mock surrender. "Alright, alright, I don't need to know—"

Mary shoved his arm as he meandered away from the bike, and Lily forced her eyes off of him while she watched Sirius get back on in the front and make sure Mary was settled behind him. Growing up, Lily had always thought Sirius had seemed rather haughty, but Mary brought out a sweeter side of him. Or maybe she was just finally getting to know the realSirius, the one behind the haughty mask, like she was starting to get to know the real James.

With an extravagant rev of the engine, Sirius took off, Mary shrieking in glee, and Lily watched them for a moment longer before turning to look at James. His eyes were already fixed on her, and he raised a hand to play with his hair when she caught him looking.

"Sirius mentioned you were at Mary's," he said, breaking the initial silence.

"Yeah," she replied. "I just stayed over last night."

James smiled. "Getting into more trouble than making an illegal bike, I assume?"

Lily couldn't help but laugh. "Hardly, Potter. Our idea of fun is a pint of ice cream and the latest Teen Witch."

He chuckled, motioning for her to follow him, and wandered over to the shade of one of the giant trees lining the drive, sitting down with a huff against its trunk. "Yeah, Sirius mentioned something about a snog quiz?"

Lily sat next to him, crossing her legs and plucking at the grass. "Not a quiz," she corrected, "the definitive grading guide."

His eyebrows crawled up his forehead. "Not gonna lie, that sounds kind of scary, Evans."

She smirked at him, flicking a tuft of grass toward his lap. "What, don't like the idea of all the girls you've snogged grading your skills?"

He laughed, his cheeks tinged with pink, though she couldn't tell if that was a proper blush or just from the sun. "Uh, well I'm pretty confident in my skills, thank you—"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Of course you are."

A tuft of grass hit her leg, and Lily threw him a look, fighting her own smile.

James changed the subject, asking, "Had a good summer so far?"

Lily leaned back on her palms. "Yeah, it's been alright. My sister's a nightmare, but that's not new. Yours?"

James shrugged. "Good. It's just me and Sirius, doing this everyday."

She arched a brow. "This as in…illegal activities?"

He grinned, his eyes crinkling behind her glasses in that way that might make her knees weak if she was standing up. Which, thankfully, she was not. "You know us so well, Evans."

She rolled her eyes. "How I became friends with the two of you is beyond me."

"Probably because we're the most fun people you know."

Lily bit her cheek. The damned boy was right, and from that shit-eating grin, he already knew it. A light breeze lifted his inky black hair, flattened his thin t-shirt tighter against his chest. Lily's fingers twitched in the grass.

The familiar sound of an engine turned their attention toward the lane, where Sirius was pulling up the bike and Mary threw her head back in exhilarated laughter.

"Evans," Sirius called, "you want to go for a spin?"

"Yes," Mary answered for her, "she does—Lil, it's so fun!"

Lily couldn't help but smile at Mary's sheer excitement, and she pushed to her feet, brushing the dirt and grass from her legs. James got up next to her and then elbowed her with a light, "C'mon, Evans," as he made his way past.

Her stomach dropped a second time as she understood what he meant. She wasn't about to go for a spin on the motorbike with Sirius—she was going with James.

She swallowed hard, eyes transfixed on the sight of James swinging his leg over the seat. Like Sirius, he was wearing slim-fitting jeans despite the heat, she assumed because of the bike, and his thin t-shirt gathered at his waist.

Mary prodded her forward and Sirius chided, "Don't be scared, Evans."

Lily threw him a glare. "I'm not scared." But she had to prove it now, so she forced her heart back out of her throat, gripped James's shoulder to brace herself, and swung her leg over the seat. And just like that, she suddenly found herself in closer contact with James Potter than she'd ever been in before.

"There're bars for your feet," Sirius told her, nudging her leg.

Lily found them and sat up straight. "Got it."

Sirius flashed her a cheeky grin. "And you'll have to hold on to him if you don't want to fly backwards."

Heat rose around her neck. "Right." But she hesitated, having no idea where to put her hands. Were hips too low? Was basically hugging him too much?

Her eyes shifted over to Mary, whose mouth was pressed together in a straight line, eyes shining with laughter, and she meant to send her friend a glare, but just then James straightened up and reached his hands back to find hers, pulling them forward around his middle.

His head turned over his shoulder, and she could just see the ghost of a smirk. "Like this, Evans."

Lily's stomach flipped. "Yep."

James chuckled, turning to face front, and before Lily's brain could catch up, they were suddenly moving—practically flying—and a small yelp escaped her as she slid forward into James's back, wind whipping around her face.

He called over his shoulder, "You holding on, Evans?"

She tightened her grip in response, a whole new kind of warmth flooding her body at the feel of his torso under her hands—fabric soft, muscles hard—and the press of so many points of her body—knees, thighs, stomach, chest—against his.

James took them down a long stretch, then turned onto an empty stretch of country road, slowing down a bit and dropping his hand to cover one of hers as he tilted his head back. "You feel a little tense, Evans."

Lily let out the breath she'd been holding and felt him chuckle. "Shut up, Potter." But she felt more relaxed now, used to their speed, liking the sensation of the wind rushing past them. Struck by sudden inspiration, she pulled her hands from his middle and slid them up to his shoulders. Merlin, they were nice shoulders.

He started to call, "Evans, what—"

But she was gripping him harder, pulling herself up to stand behind him, letting her head dip back and the wind rush through her hair and euphoria rush through her veins. Suddenly, a new sensation: James's hand, reaching back, finding her leg, and sliding up until he held onto her hip. She couldn't breathe.

James shifted in front of her, tilting his head back against her stomach, and Lily looked down to find him smiling up at her. "Alright, Evans?"

Her body felt weightless, her skin tingling where he'd touched her. She smiled back. "Alright, Potter."

When they eventually closed the loop and turned back onto the lane where his house sat up ahead, gleaming in the afternoon sun, James slowed the bike ever so slightly. Lily was sitting back down now, her arms draped around his waist more loosely than before, but she could still feel his long exhale. It was almost like he didn't want to go back, and Lily found she didn't either, rather liking this newfound closeness to him. She thought they'd crossed some sort of invisible barrier in touching like this; though she could playfully jostle and hug other blokes she was friends with, she'd never done that with James.

Until today.

They pulled up gradually to the front of the house, and not seeing Sirius or Mary anywhere, James turned and continued slowly up the drive.

She craned her head toward his ear. "Does this mean I get to see where the illegal magic happens?"

He laughed softly. "Sure can."

He rolled to a stop, sitting up in his seat as he kicked one leg out to the side. But instead of letting go right away, Lily tightened her arms around his middle, hugging him where she sat behind him. "Thanks for not crashing, Potter."

James laughed, resting his hands on top of hers. "I don't crash, Evans."

Lily rolled her eyes and slid her leg off the bike, and as she got her footing, bracing against James's arm, her gaze inadvertently swept past his lap. Something warm and bubbling shot up her spine as the registered that she had seen a very distinct bulge in a very particular place, and what she meant to say in her mind came out in a soft whisper. "Fuck."

Her eyes snapped up to his, too close from how they were standing.

"Alright?" His voice was slightly hoarse.

Lily nodded. "Just—stepped down wrong. Lead the way?"

The pink tinge in his cheeks was definitely a blush this time. "I, er"—he cleared his throat—"need to drive this back down to the shed. You can go in, I'll meet you."

Lily chewed her lip, taking in his darkened eyes, those ruddy cheeks, that windswept hair just begging to be touched. It wasn't exactly good manners to send her into his home when she'd never been there before, and though James had always toed the line with rules and giving cheek back to professors, she knew him well enough to know he had good manners. But he still hadn't moved to get up from the bike, and he was still staring determinedly at her face, and though her glance had been fleeting, Lily knew what she'd seen.

He so had a boner.

And something about that, about knowing that not only did James Potter fancy her but that he was aroused for her, on the heels of feeling so enamored with him on that ride, emboldened her in a new way. She took a step closer, gripped his arm—Merlin, those school shirts hid more muscle than she'd thought—and leaned closer to his ear. From this vantage point, she could sneak a glance down without him knowing, and she smirked to herself as she confirmed her eyes hadn't been playing tricks on her.

"I'll be here when you're done taking care of that," she murmured, and then she backed up slowly, unable to stop the knowing grin spreading across her face. James stared at her, shock written all over his face as his jaw clenched.

She winked. "Don't take too long." And then she spun on the spot, letting her long hair whip behind her as she set off for the front door. She knew she'd worn her hair down for a reason.