I was in the middle of a lovely dream involving James and I when I was dragged back into reality by rapid knocking at the front door. I groaned in frustration as the image of James with considerably less clothing than usual faded from my mind, replaced by the back of my eyelids. I had just been about to get to the exciting part involving a wall, me (also with considerably less clothing), and a devilish twinkle in James's eye.
The knocking started again after a beat of silence, this time even louder and more incessant. I let out a grunt of frustration before throwing back my covers and sliding out of bed. I wrapped a robe around me, lit my wand, and hurried down the stairs to get the door before whoever it was woke up the whole fucking house.
Normally I loved the convenience that magic gave me, but when the light sconces lit of their own volition the moment I stepped foot into the foyer, I cursed its very existence. The light momentarily blinded me and I was forced to close my eyes against the assault until they adjusted enough for me to squint without wanting to gouge them out.
The knocking had turned into banging at this point. I heard footsteps behind me and turned to see Petunia's rumpled form grace the top of the stairs.
"Who is it at this time of night?" she grumbled sleepily as she leaned against the wall, already halfway to being asleep.
"We're about to find out, would you stop that god-awful pounding!" I snapped at whoever was on the other side of the front door and then yanked it open.
I was greeted with one absolutely pissed off James Potter on my doorstep. Behind him stood his parents, both equally annoyed and exhausted. And standing next to them, looking chipper, stood Sirius Black, wide awake and grinning.
"Er, hello?" I asked, unsure what to say to any of them. It was after all the middle of the night.
"Can we come in, dear?" Euphemia asked with a tired smile.
"I- oh yes, of course, I'm so sorry," I rushed and stepped aside to let them in. James brushed past me and immediately began shrugging out of his coat and digging for his wand in his pockets. The rest of his family followed him in and I shut the door behind them.
"Not that we don't all love you, but what are you doing here? It's the middle of the night," I asked as they all shrugged out of their winter coats.
"Someone flushed a fucking Dungbomb down the toilet and made all of our piping explode," James replied, glaring daggers at Sirius the whole time. I guess we all knew who the perpetrator was.
"How do you do that on accident?"
"My hand slipped," Sirius replied defensively. "It happens. I can be clumsy."
Something stank, and it wasn't the Dungbombs (although the smell of shit was also quite heavy at the moment). This had the scent of Dorcas all over it, but there was no way for me to prove it.
"Our entire house is flooded now, there's probably shit floating everywhere. This is absolutely disgusting," James groaned, it was only then that I noticed his hair seemed slightly damp.
"What happened to you?" I asked and reached out to touch his hair.
"I was in bed, dreaming the night away, when I was suddenly subjected to waterboarding at two in the morning," James spat.
"We had to leave in a bit of a hurry, every few seconds we could hear the water bursting in every other room," Euphemia said. "You don't mind if we settle down here for a few days until we've got this all sorted out, do you?"
"No, not at all. I'm sure my parents won't mind and the place has enough rooms for three families so we should all be comfortable," I replied. Sirius bounded up the stairs, pushed over Petunia, who was still leaning against the wall with her eyes closed and mouth hanging open. Her indignant squawk floated down to me as she immediately gave chase to Sirius. James's parents followed them, arm in arm, to find their own rooms.
"Sometimes, I really want to fucking strangle Sirius," James grumbled as he ruffled his hair. I tried desperately not to think about where the water that had soaked had come from. "What kind of fucking idiot just on accident flushes a Dungbomb of all things."
"Perhaps we just can't understand his genius," I replied and stifled a yawn behind my hand. Something about the yawn brought James out of his mood and I could see the lines on his face soften as his gaze traveled from my tangled hair to my drooping eyes and my disheveled clothing.
He stepped closer and grabbed the edges of my robe and wrapped them more securely around me. I could see his hands fiddling with the ties, as if he was debating between whatever he wanted to do and not doing it. He tugged on the robe's tie and pulled me into his chest, his arms going around me, my face in his chest.
I blamed it on the fact that it was late and I was tired and half asleep anyway for what I did next. It seemed perfectly natural for me to move closer to James and lift my head to nuzzle right at the spot where his neck met his shoulder and take a deep breath of his one of a kind James smell. And then I melted. I was pretty certain the only thing keeping me upright at that moment was James and his strong, sturdy arms that I was suddenly very fond of. Especially when they flexed to keep me upright.
"I'm sorry for disturbing your sleep, Lils," he whispered in my ear. "Promise we wouldn't have come if the place hadn't been beyond saving. I don't even have a change of clothes on me, I'll have to go back tomorrow. Who knows what kind of shit has stained these pyjamas."
"James darling….perhaps now is not the best time to remind me of your shit stained pyjamas," I replied sleepily and let out a snort as I breathed in through my nose and mouth at the same time.
I could feel the rumble in his chest when he laughed in response and couldn't stop the content hum that came out of me. It was such a pleasant sound. I craved the sound of James Potter's laughter.
"Let's get you to bed, Lils," James said quietly and stepped away from me. I gave an involuntary groan as the cold rushed in where his body had been and the light stabbed at my eyes again.
"No, that was so nice," I whined, my head hanging back. James chuckled, grabbed one of my hands, and pulled me back in the direction of my room. I had no choice but to shuffle after him.
He saw me to my door and would have said goodnight if I hadn't turned around and promptly walked face first into the doorframe and staggered back into his chest.
"Maybe that wasn't a good idea. Let me walk you to bed," James muttered and steered me over to my soft bed.
I fell into bed with a sigh and watched as James tucked me in. He stood up to leave, but I grabbed at his hand at the last second.
"Where are you sleeping?" I whispered. What I really wanted to ask him was to stay and keep me warm in my bed. But I knew James was too much of a gentleman to say yes to the request.
"I'll be nearby, Lils, don't worry. You won't have to get lost wandering around this place trying to find me," James said and then left my room. The door clicked shut on his way out.
The entire ordeal seemed unreal, and when I woke up in the morning, I was sure it had all been a dream. But when I went downstairs in the morning for breakfast, that's where I found the Potters telling my parents about their eventful night. My parents of course had no issues with the family staying over for a few days while they set everything in order at their own home. Not that there was any real alternative in the first place, there was no one else for miles.
With this realization came also the embarrassing memory of the way I had thrown myself at James last night. I couldn't believe I'd called him darling to his face. I'd only started calling him James recently, and now I had rapidly progressed to darling. And the whining.
Oh my God.
I couldn't believe I had snuggled up to James. And that he had to walk me into bed. I should be grateful he wasn't put off or laughed in my face.
And now I couldn't look him in the face. My cheeks were burning with embarrassment and I stared at the ground as I moved around the kitchen, trying to prepare myself breakfast.
I was reaching for a bowl when a shadow loomed over me and that distinct James smell wrapped around me. I froze, my arm sticking out, and waited for him to say something.
"You can come sit Lils, I already have a plate ready for you," James said cheerfully. He gestured towards the table where everyone was eating away, and with a gentle press to the small of my back, led me to my seat where there was indeed a plate of eggs and cheese and sausage waiting for me.
The romantic heart in me was touched at the thoughtful gesture. I stuttered out a thank you before I dug into my food like my life depended on it. Maybe if my mouth was full, he wouldn't try and bring up the way I acted last night. James sat beside me and poured me more orange juice or passed me bread if he saw I was running low, not saying a word the entire time.
I focused instead on Petunia and Sirius, who were bickering with each other across the table from me.
"Sirius would. You. Stop," Petunia grunted as she swatted and pushed away Sirius's hands. He reached around her again and tried to snatch more of her food, but she caught him before he was successful.
"Just gimme-" Sirius whined as he tried to duck under her arm to snatch more bacon from her.
"I-NO. You already had your breakfast, you can't have mine-stop drinking my orange juice," Petunia snapped, snatched the glass out of his hand, and moved it out of his reach.
"What are they doing?" I asked James.
"They've been like that all morning. It's like he's doing everything in his power to be as irritating as possible."
"Holy shit, you're so annoying," Petunia griped, one arm stretched away from Sirius, her other held out to fend him off. She slowly slid out of her seat and on the next lunge that Sirius gave, Petunia removed her arm and stepped out of the way. Sirius landed on the floor face first.
"My nose," he complained, nursing the offended body part.
"It's what you deserve. It's like living with a child. I'm going to be eating this in my room," Petunia announced and disappeared before anyone could disagree.
"You know, I haven't noticed a single Christmas tree in this house for the season," Dad announced suddenly.
"We can always go out and get one last minute and decorate it. I'm sure the Meadowes have left their decorations around here somewhere," Mr. Potter replied.
"We have to take care of the house first, dear," Euphemia said, placing a hand on her husband's arm.
"No, no, it's ok, the three of us can take care of it," Sirius said. "You two should go out and find that Christmas tree."
"This is painful to watch," I muttered to James out of the corner of my mouth. James, Sirius, Petunia, and I stood to the side as we watched our father's attempt to chop down an evergreen tree.
Petunia grimaced when our dad took a break from using his ax to catch his breath, hands on his knees as he took in deep gulps.
"I feel like I should close my eyes," Sirius muttered, frowning at the two men.
"Don't you all have some sort of chopping spell they could use instead, why are they doing this?" Petunia hissed, eyes darting from our fathers to us.
"We do," James agreed.
"So then? Why isn't Mr. Potter using one?"
"I don't pretend to understand masculinity," I replied with a shrug. Mr. Potter picked up his ax and took another swing at the root of the tree. And then tugged to remove the blade from where it'd gotten stuck. Things could not possibly become anymore awkward to witness. I had to look away to avoid the secondhand embarrassment.
Both men stood hunched over, breathing heavily while the rest of us watched on in silence.
"Can one of you offer to just take it down already, it's bloody freezing out here and I'd like to get back inside with all ten toes," Petunia hissed at us again. You could barely see her under the hat, scarf, and massive parka she had on. She shuffled on the spot and shot dark looks at our aging fathers.
"Dad, can we just use magic now?" James called out. Mr. Potter shook his head no.
"We're men, we can do this without using magic as a shortcut," my dad called out. He was breathing so heavily I for sure thought he was going to keel over any moment.
"We know, but why would you when we could handle it in a manner of seconds and then be on our merry way home?" I asked.
But despite our protestations, they kept at it for at least another twenty minutes. The cold continued to seep in through our clothes until I finally gave in and cast a heating charm on all of us.
The sun was setting by the time they gave in. If they'd kept at it any longer, it would've gotten too dark for them to see what they were doing. I could only imagine the chaos that would've ensued with two middle-aged men swinging axes around in near darkness. James gave a wave of his wand and gracefully separated the tree from the ground.
We trudged back to the house; the tree floating before us and the cold and wet from the ground seeping into our shoes. Sirius made it his mission to knock Petunia over as often as possible until she finally gave a shriek of frustration and took off after his quickly disappearing backside, curses flying from her mouth. I saw her pick up a rock and fling it at Sirius's retreating back. There was a beat of silence and then a yowl as the stone made contact.
"What's he doing?" I asked James. He reached out and grabbed my hand as I slipped on a patch of slippery snow and almost fell over. His grip on me was firm and warm as he pulled me upright. I smiled in thanks and he simply gave a squeeze of my hand in response and kept holding it.
"I think he's trying to show her that there are better options than Vernon out there, ones who aren't as offensive to the general public," James said. He looked off where the two had disappeared and smiled. His hand wiggled around in mine until our fingers were twined and tightened his grip so that we were palm to palm. My heart sped up at the simple gesture, and I had to remind myself to keep breathing, to calm the butterflies in my stomach.
In that moment, with the quiet of the forest around us and the setting sun behind us, I desperately wanted James to pull me in close and kiss me. And because I knew James excelled at all things, I knew he would make it tender and warm enough for my knees to stop working. But then I looked over and saw our fathers marching ahead of us, excitedly discussing their tree, and the urge went away.
When we finally reached the house, the entrance was cleared of everything we'd brought back from the Potters. There had been little we could do other than emptying the place of water. So many carpets were ruined along with a few paintings, some clothing, the wallpaper, but especially the plumbing. There were pipes sticking out of the walls haphazardly, water dripping on the floor. We packed up anything we thought would've been necessary and brought it back in three trips. James had gone back alone to lock up the place until they could get someone to fix everything after the holidays were over.
The Potter's house-elves had all taken residency in our own kitchen now and were busy preparing a Christmas Eve dinner, no doubt.
There was a glow and warmth about the place that was normally absent when the Potters weren't in residence, and I had a feeling it was because of their house-elves taste in interior design. There were garlands strung around the walls, connecting from wall sconce to wall sconce. They had set poinsettias up in previously empty vases around the house. Somehow, somewhere, another two Christmas trees were set up with no fanfare.
Someone had had the presence of mind to know not to let our dads get away with excessive amounts of physical labour. Having to watch them chop down one tree was bad enough.
Fleamont and dad scurried off, excited to set the tree up and decorate it together. Sirius and Petunia were probably somewhere in the house bickering with each other and would probably join everyone else, eventually. I had no idea where mum or Mrs. Potter were but they were already the best of friends and I wasn't all too worried about them.
That just left James and I. In a very big house.
We shrugged out of our coats and sighed as the warmth of the house began seeping into our bones. Warming Spells were all well and nice, but they could only do so much. Dinner was probably in a few hours, but all I wanted was to lie down and sleep.
"And then there were two," James said, his hand fiddling with my fingers as he tugged on my hand.
"Whatever shall we do," I replied and almost immediately wanted to cringe. I didn't want James to know how nervous he made me, but I was also an awful flirt. Half asleep Lily was much smoother than regular Lily. My poor attempt at flirting was working better than I thought if the twinkle in James's eye was anything to go by.
"Let's go hunting for some mistletoe," James said, raising his eyebrows up and down suggestively. I froze with my manic smile on my face and scrunched up my eyes in confusion.
"You want to go hunting for mistletoe. That's what you want to do with me," I deadpanned. Not push me up against a wall and turn my knees to jelly? Not put his hand up my shirt? I was ready to burst out of my skin every time I was around James as of late, and this is what he wanted to do.
"Yeah, I hung some over Sirius and Petunia's doors and anywhere else I thought the two of them might get stuck. I know how much it'll irritate Petunia," James said gleefully.
"Er, isn't that kind of messed up?" I asked him.
"Don't worry, the charm wears off if whoever's stuck really doesn't want to be there," James said unapologetically. "Besides, I find it hard to feel too much empathy for someone who treats their sister as poorly as she does and then let's her boyfriend behave even worse."
"Hey, Petunia, doesn't treat me poorly-" I began hotly.
"Yes, she does, Lily," James said gently, tugging me along. And as irritated as I was, even though he was right, I followed along. "You love her, I can see it all over your face. And she loves you, no matter how much she blusters. But that doesn't mean she treats you well."
I couldn't help but frown. James came to a stop and stepped closer to me. "I'm not trying to shame you, Lils, but you can't lie to me and say she doesn't."
I didn't have the energy to remain indignant. Besides, he was right. Petunia was awful to me. She had her good days, and I still loved her, but what was the point in denying the truth, especially to someone like James.
He and I bounded through the house, looking for Sirius and Petunia. It was dark and quiet for the most part. I'd never gone this deep into the Meadowes mansion by myself, too worried I'd never find my way out again. But James seemed to know the place like the back of his hand.
They had their own room dedicated to sparring, done up in dark red with dummies standing against the wall all around the room. The middle of the room was padded to soften landings. There were even batons and sticks leaning against the wall for hand to hand combat.
"Woah," I said, looking around, eyes wide. "I had no idea Dorcas and her family were so….into fighting."
"They've got generations of Aurors and personal Minister for Magic detail in their family," James said as he watched me. "Do you want to try it out?"
I darted towards the center of the room and put up my fists jokingly, urging James to get closer.
"Gimme your best shot," I joked and winked at James. Unfortunately, James took me literally.
I swung my arm to land a light jab on him and before I knew it, somehow, someway, James grabbed me and had me on my back. It all happened so quickly, I didn't even realize what had happened until I was staring up at his face. I never even felt the impact.
"Come on, sweetheart, is that the best you can do?" James teased as he bent at the waist and grinned down at me. His eyes twinkled in the low light and his glasses slowly slid down his nose.
"I didn't realize you were going to take it so literally," I breathed out as I looked up at him.
"Don't worry, you'll get me next time," James said and winked at me. I widened my eyes and batted my lashes innocently.
"Help me up?" I asked him, holding out my hand. James grabbed my hand, and I gave a sharp yank on him.
He gave a yelp as he came tumbling down onto me.
"Oof," I grunted as James's weight landed on top of me. His legs became tangled in mine, his chest pressed against mine, forearms resting on either side of my face as James kept his face off the floor.
My heart was beating out of my chest at the contact. I'd never been this close to James before, and I was discovering that I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. Especially now that I knew exactly how warm and soft James was, I wanted nothing more than to burrow into his heat and shove my face into the crook of his neck. Again.
The position we were in suddenly presented us with a whole host of possibilities to keep us busy. And I didn't know what I would do if James had the same thought and acted on it.
"That was real sneaky of you Lils," James said, but he had the widest grin I'd ever seen on his face.
"I never said I was gonna play fair."
It got quiet then.
I'd never had a boy on top of me the way James was, and I would never admit that I liked the feeling of being pressed up against him with his weight pinning me down. I blinked up at him and he gazed down at me (fondly if I was reading his expression correctly). I couldn't stop glancing at his lips and he was close enough that it was painfully obvious. I was hoping he would make the first move because I was too nervous to take things into my own hands.
James's eyes darted to my lips and then back to my eyes and then I swear, he began to close what little distance there was between us. And my eyes were beginning to drift shut.
And then Petunia's ear-shattering scream ripped through the air and completely ruined the moment.
James stopped, his breath fanning across my face. I groaned in irritation and opened my eyes again. James looked amused, and a little bit pleased, at my frustration.
"Well, I guess we found them," I mumbled. James rolled off of me and immediately I regretted the loss of his warmth. I almost asked him to climb back over me but had enough dignity left not to do it.
Predictably, we found Petunia screeching her head off, stuck in a doorway with a smug Sirius standing before her.
"You horridious man," she hissed at him and lunged for Sirius's neck with both hands.
"Careful darling, I'm your ticket out of there," Sirius said smugly as he dodged out of her grasping claws.
Petunia began to growl like a dog about to attack and began tugging at her socks to try and rip them off.
"Why won't they come off," she bit out as the socks refused to budge off her feet.
"It's magic Tuney, not tape, it's not just your socks stuck to the floor," I said.
"Of fucking course it's not," she snapped out and pinched the bridge of her nose as she battled the desire to rip her hair out.
"I have not known a singular day of peace since you went off to that godforsaken school," Petunia snapped and took in a deep breath. "Okay, how do I get out of this."
James and I shared a look. If she really didn't want to be stuck there, the charm would've worn off and let her go.
"True loves kiss," Sirius sang out and he danced around Petunia, out of reach of her hands.
"Anyone's kiss will do," James added.
"How romantic," Petunia deadpanned.
"Pucker up, darling," Sirius sang out and puckered up his own lips. His tone was joking but I could see the challenge in his eyes as he dared Petunia to step out of her prim and proper restrictions.
"Oh no no, not you," Petunia said as Sirius moved closer and stuck his face in front of hers. Although considering she was still stuck, I had a feeling she was lying just a little bit. She planted one hand on his face and shoved him away from her. Then she turned her gaze and pinned it on James like a fly to a board.
"You," Petunia said, and pointed at James, just in case we all missed it.
"Wh-what?" James sputtered as his eyes widened.
"You heard me, you. You can do the honours," Petunia repeated and snapped her fingers impatiently. James looked at me guiltily before approaching Petunia much in the same way a man would approach the noose.
"Are you sure about this Petunia, I think Sirius would be much more willing," James said cautiously as he stood before her.
"Yes, well," Petunia said and clamped her hands on James's shoulders and held him in place. "As the saying goes, lie back and think of England."
And then without further preamble, she leaned forward and clamped her lips on James. It lasted a split second, long enough for the charm to wear off and Petunia to make her escape. She released James and pushed him away before marching off, nose stuck in the air. She made sure we saw her aggressively wipe at her mouth and gag before she disappeared though.
James looked faintly shocked but none the worse for wear.
"You okay there mate?" Sirius asked, throwing his arm around James.
"Never thought Petunia Evans would be the first Evans girl I'd kiss is all," James replied.
"Well, she might not be the last either," I quipped as nonchalantly as possible. And then I fled to my room.
Dinner was a lively affair, it was the first time we made use of the Meadowes dining room. It was decked out in garlands and holly with giant nutcrackers standing in every corner of the room.
"Christ, imagine running into one of those things in the dead of night," James said when we passed on our way out after it was over. Sirius antagonized Petunia the whole time, and Petunia pretended he didn't exist. She spoke around Sirius throughout the meal, and although mum and Euphemia noticed, they did nothing except exchange looks with one another.
Afterwards, Fleamont and dad took up a rousing chorus of various Christmas carols, much to the chagrin of my poor ears. Fleamont was used to firewhiskey and was holding up fairly well, but it was dad's first time tasting it and well…..it had gone to the poor man's head.
His cheeks were ruddy. He would've been face down on the ground if it wasn't for Fleamont propping him up, and I was beginning to think he'd never heard of what a key was.
Petunia had her eyes screwed shut so tightly in an attempt to hear less of his caterwauling. Mum had a grimace on her face and was quietly apologizing to Euphemia, who looked like she was having the time of her life. Her booming laugh filled the room as she watched dad make an absolute cake of himself.
Mr. Potter wasn't that far behind. He wasn't ready to topple over quite like dad, but his senses had taken leave for the night. Where dad sounded like nails on a chalkboard, Mr. Potter had the unique sound of a cat being strangled.
"I'd give all the money in my vault if it meant the two of them would stop singing," Sirius said, wincing at a particularly vicious note both dads were belting out.
"It could be worse," I said.
"How could it possibly be worse?" Petunia asked. She was hunched over, trying to plug one ear with her finger while trying to pass it off as leaning on her hand.
"Have you forgotten what happens when dad gets a little carried away with his wine?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. Petunia's eyes widened and then she groaned.
"Well, go on then, you've got to tell us now," James prompted.
"Let's just say, we know far too much about how Petunia came to be than anyone ever really wants to know."
And as if dad had heard me all the way from his end of the room, he abruptly cut off in the middle of his song and wobbled over to mum.
"Look at my darling wife, have you...have you seen a woman as beautiful as her in your life?" Dad asked the Potters but didn't bother waiting for an answer. "I tell you, I was quite taken with her the moment I set eyes on her. I swear it on my life, the moment I saw her I said, 'that's the woman for me that is.'"
"Christ, here we go," Petunia muttered and shoved her face into a pillow. Sirius handed her a glass of firewhiskey, which she downed in one shot and handed back to him empty.
"Petunia, you might want to slow down, firewhiskey is quite strong," I told her as Sirius filled the glass again. She held my gaze as she downed a second glass.
"I'd rather not be in my right mind when he tells this story."
"...you know come to think of it, that's how Petunia was as early as she was. You know, she was quite the surprise I tell you," dad went on. Fleamont and Euphemia were exchanging amused glances with each other while mum's eyes had widened in alarm.
"Alright sweetheart, I think that's enough for one evening, let's get you to bed!" mum exclaimed, her voice rising steadily higher with each word.
"But sweetheart, I was just telling the Potters-"
"Some things are better left unsaid, they get the picture," mum interrupted. In the next few minutes, she had maneuvered dad out of the room and up the stairs towards their bedroom until dad's drunken tangents quieted down.
Petunia herself was swaying in her seat. She hadn't eaten much at dinner to begin with, combined with the strong effects of firewhiskey, and she was well on her way to a very deep sleep until morning.
"I am so sorry Mr. and Mrs. Potter, I didn't think dad was going to get quite that carried away," I apologized. Euphemia let out a good natured chuckle and came over to pat my hand.
"Don't worry child, in the grand scheme of things, that's perhaps the least embarrassing thing I've witnessed at a gathering," she said with a conspiratorial grin. Fleamont had come up behind his wife and wrapped his arm around her waist, slouched so that his head could rest on her shoulder.
"What's more embarrassing than having your father talk about the explicit details of how his eldest daughter was conceived?"
"Mmmm...there was that one ministry party we attended with James, I think it was last year, or maybe the year before, where he burst into the party without any trousers on," Euphemia said as she pursed her lips thoughtfully. Sirius let out a guffaw at the memory which he quickly turned into a cough when James shot a glare at him.
"He whot," I sputtered. I glanced at James and saw the blush that spread from his hairline and disappeared under the neckline of his shirt.
"Mum," he said through gritted teeth.
"What dear, it was all your idea anyway wasn't it? And I dare say it worked, you aren't married to a foreign dignitaries daughter now are you," Euphemia said defensively.
"You had your bits-"
"I did not have my bits anywhere, I had pants on," James insisted. Petunia let out a hysterical giggle and toppled over on the couch.
"He had on some very tight tightie-whities," Sirius threw in, a sparkle in his eye as he struggled to keep a grin from spreading across his face.
"Not. Helping."
"It left very little to the imagination, you might as well have not been wearing anything," Sirius went on.
"Anyway, it's off to bed now darlings, Fleamont won't be able to stay awake much longer," Euphemia said, and with a wiggle of her fingers, the couple were off to their own rooms, leaving the four of us alone.
"Come on, up with you," Sirius said as he tugged Petunia to her feet. She swayed unsteadily and slumped against Sirius with a giggle.
"You know, you make me want to push you down the stairs so badly," Petunia said sluggishly as Sirius guided her from the room, towards the stairs. James and I followed behind them.
"The feeling is mutual," Sirius replied drily as he all but carried her up the stairs. My mind had conjured up the unhelpful image of James without any trousers on. If his bare legs looked anything the way they did in his Quidditch gear, he would've been a sight to behold for the young ladies there.
And now I was thinking about his thighs in all different kinds of dress. I couldn't help but glance at James's legs as we made our slow progression up the stairs but I wasn't subtle enough because he turned even redder in the face.
Suddenly I couldn't think of anything else I wanted to do other than stare at James's legs as he went up the stairs and watch them flex. My mouth was watering. This wasn't healthy at all. And now my hands were itching to touch them. I was warm all over.
And all because of James's thighs.
I was so distracted by thoughts of his thighs I hadn't noticed Sirius depositing my sister on her bed and then disappearing down the hall to his own room or that we were standing outside of mine and James was standing there gazing down at me expectantly.
"Well that was…."
"Quite the evening," James finished with a grin. I nodded awkwardly and glanced into my dimly lit room with a bed that was ready and waiting for me.
"I'll see you tomorrow, I guess," I said feebly because the look on James's face was different than any I'd seen before. He looked like he was trying to solve a puzzle in his head, or doing a particularly difficult bit of math. The grin had faded into a gentle lopsided smile and his right forearm was above his head as he leaned on it in the doorway and looked down at me.
I turned to walk away but it seemed my feet wouldn't move from their spot on the floor. I tried lifting them to take a step forward, but they wouldn't give.
"What in-" I started in confusion and looked at James, whose gaze was fixed above my head.
I followed his gaze and...there.
Mistletoe.
a/n: well at least this time i wasn't gone for a whole year. i wasn't going to leave this on a cliffhanger. but now i am. anyway cheers.