A winter storm blew in just before the end of term, blanketing Hogwarts in five feet of snow and trapping the students inside the castle. Being stuck indoors was driving half the school mad; Lily took more points in two days than she ever had before, as students took to hexing one another out of sheer boredom.

She worried that whoever was Imperiusing people would strike again, driven as stir-crazy as everybody else, but nothing came to pass. No student had been attacked since Halloween, and it seemed the term would end without further violence. She expressed relief about this during the last prefect meeting before the holidays; in response, James made an oblique comment about the culprit being 'dealt with'.

He was obviously trying to spare her the details, which would have driven her mad, had anyone else been doing it. With James, though, she found it endearing. Naturally, she was dying to find out what he knew, but she figured she could pry it out of him, given enough time. Maybe in January, when the matter wasn't so fresh.

Provided they were still on speaking terms, that is.

She hoped they would still be friends after she called off their fake-dating ruse, but it was possible James would want nothing to do with her. After all, she'd no longer fit into his life. She'd be neither his faux-girlfriend, nor one of his Marauders, nor a member of his Quidditch team. They might end up cordial acquaintances who shared a dormitory, and nothing more.

By the last day of term, Hagrid had carved large paths in the snowdrifts surrounding the castle, clearing the way for students to trek down to the Hogsmeade train platform. The interior of the Hogwarts Express was warm and inviting, a welcome respite from the cold. Lily sat in the prefect's compartment, which was otherwise empty; her breath fogged the window as the train pulled away from the platform.

The journey to London was surprisingly lonely. The other Gryffindors had Apparated home for the holidays, so Lily had nothing but her own anxious thoughts for company. She couldn't keep herself from peering out the window at the snow-covered countryside every few minutes, in case Lord Voldemort decided to make his attack on the Hogwarts Express a yearly tradition. But the train arrived at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters without incident, and she began to breathe normally again. Her mum picked her up at King's Cross, and they talked the entire way home.

Two weeks later, Lily paced nervously around her bedroom, wearing the plaid, dark green dress her mum had given her for Christmas. It was the evening of the dinner with Petunia and Vernon, and James was supposed to pick her up five minutes ago, but he was apparently running late.

Her pacing was making her freshly-styled hair lose its curls, so she forced herself to sit on the edge of the bed and tap her heel instead. It was a bit ridiculous, really: she wasn't worried about the dinner itself, but what would come after.

She rehearsed the speech she had prepared in her head. James. I think it's time we ended our ruse.

She muttered the rest aloud, but her throat closed up halfway through, which had happened every time she practised so far. When she finished, she was still moving her lips, but no words came at all. She really hoped that wouldn't happen during the real thing.

Another five minutes had gone by. Vernon and Petunia had no doubt already arrived at the little Italian restaurant the next town over, which was popular among Vernon's colleagues.

Five more minutes passed. She wished she had an owl; perhaps James had gotten lost. Or, considering his inexperience with Muggle cars, he might have been in an accident and was bleeding out on the road somewhere.

That's a bit far-fetched, she told herself. Besides, she would have heard sirens.

Something in the distance rumbled; it sounded like a plane taking off, though Cokeworth didn't have an airport. Whatever it was, the noise was getting louder. The rumble grew until her bedroom windows rattled, and the house shook like it had been hit by an earthquake.

Lily had a sneaking suspicion she knew who was behind such a racket. She threw on her coat and a pair of black platform heels — the noise was so loud she couldn't even hear the tap of her shoes against the linoleum — and stepped outside.

A large motorbike with blinding headlights touched down on the street with a final roar. Its curly-haired rider waved enthusiastically at her, making her heart pound. She'd missed him. Two weeks apart, and she'd missed him.

The motorbike trundled closer, and she stared at James. He was wearing proper Muggle clothes: jeans and a black suede coat with a furry collar. And he looked good. Who knew his shoulders were that broad beneath wizard robes? And his thighs — she didn't dare look at them, not in those jeans. He was fit as hell.

"Alright, Lily?"

She sucked in her cheeks, determined not to let on how much she'd been ogling him. "Not bad, yeah. Where's your helmet?"

"Sirius says helmets are for Muggles," explained James. "I borrowed the bike from him."

Lily wished she could argue the point, but there was a reason the standard Quidditch uniform didn't include a helmet. It took more than a fall to kill a wizard, especially a young one.

"That explains some things, actually," she admitted. "I was wondering how you were going to acquire a Muggle driving license on such short notice."

James extended a hand to her, helping her onto the back of the motorbike. "Out of curiosity," she said, trying to sound calm, "how high can this thing fly?"

"Sirius says he entered the lower stratosphere once," said James. "No worries, though — I know you aren't fond of flying, so I thought we'd do things the old-fashioned way."

Lily couldn't tell if she was breathless from relief or from the fact that their legs were touching, her thighs bracketing his. Those jeans fit sinfully well. "Does that mean we'll stay on the ground?"

"For the most part. It's quicker if we hop over a few buildings. Is that alright?"

Ugh. "Just warn me beforehand so I can close my eyes."

"Will do," said James. The engine roared to life, though he hadn't touched any gears that she could see. "Hold on tight, Evans!"

Gingerly, she put her hands on either side of his waist. She was afraid to get too close, lest her touch give away her feelings for him.

Then the motorcycle jerked forward, and she flung her arms reflexively around his middle, clinging on for dear life. The bike was fast — they'd peeled away from the street before she could so much as blink. She squeezed her eyes shut against the cold wind that whipped at her face, but that left her with nothing to focus on except for how tightly she was clutching James' midsection. His stomach was firm beneath his suede coat, not soft the way hers was. He felt like a boy.

She considered loosening her grip, but then James yelled something she didn't catch over the wind, and the motorcycle bounced into the air. They leapfrogged over one house, then another, and then several more, which made Lily very glad that she hadn't eaten yet. Ten excruciating minutes later — made slightly more bearable by the feel of his torso — they finally arrived, skidding to a halt outside the Italian restaurant.

James helped her off the bike, and she touched her hair; all her careful curls had fallen out from the ride. He leaned the motorbike against the snow-covered kerb and offered her his elbow. "Shall we?"

"Just a minute." She glanced around, making sure there were no Muggles about, and pulled out her wand to fix her hair. God only knew what Petunia would say if she walked into the restaurant with a rat's nest for a hairdo —

She glanced at James and froze, wand still in her hair. He was looking at her with such tenderness that she suddenly felt very exposed.

"Yes?" she said, hastily finishing the Curling Charm.

"Nothing." He gave her an easy smile.

She must have imagined his expression a moment earlier. He hadn't looked at her like that, and never would. The thought hurt worse than if he'd grabbed one of her curls and yanked.

"Let's go," she said brusquely, stowing her wand in her bag.

The interior of the restaurant looked as though it had been decorated by someone who had read about Italy in a book but had never actually been. Clusters of purple grapes adorned the wallpaper, and above the reception desk was a framed photo of Venice — a still, Muggle photograph, the gondolas and canal water unmoving. Electric chandeliers hung from the ceiling, looking hopelessly mundane compared to the floating candles that illuminated Hogwarts.

Petunia and Vernon sat at a table in the corner, engrossed in conversation. Petunia was speaking quickly, and Vernon was listening with rapt attention, as though he'd been bewitched. If Lily hadn't been determined to dislike them until the end of time, she might have found it cute.

"Hope we didn't keep you waiting," said Lily as she and James took their seats at the opposite side of the table.

"Oh, er — not at all," said Vernon, just as Petunia said, rather snippily, "I was beginning to think you'd gotten lost."

Lily was about to let out a sharp retort, but James spoke over her. "I don't believe we've met," he said, extending a hand. "I'm James Potter."

There was a long, awkward pause during which nobody moved. It became obvious that Petunia was not going to shake his hand; she was staring disgustedly at it, as though touching a wizard would cause her to contract some foul disease. Beside her, Vernon was trying extremely hard, and without much success, to conceal his surprise that James Potter was brown.

After a stretch of silence so long that it made Lily's teeth ache, Vernon reached over and squeezed James' hand with rather more force than was needed. "Vernon Dursley. Pleasure." It was clear from his tone that Vernon thought himself magnanimous for deigning to shake James' hand.

If James noticed that Lily had invited him to have dinner with a pair of bigots, he didn't show it. "The pleasure's all mine," he said, flashing them a smile.

"Your English is very good," said Vernon. Lily nearly jinxed him then and there.

"Er, thanks," said James, seeming a bit confused. "So's yours."

"Where are you from?" continued Vernon.

Lily flashed Petunia a look. Do something! she mouthed.

But Petunia gave her an irritated glance in return that said, it's just a question.

James didn't seem to have a problem with Vernon's inquiry. "I was born in Godric's Hollow, in Somerset."

"No," said Vernon, "I mean your family, where are they from?"

"Er, the Potters have lived in Godric's Hollow for generations," said James. He seemed to believe this was a normal topic of conversation for Muggles, because he said, "Where's your family from?"

"Oh we're just — we're English," said Vernon. "But you — your family, you're…" He flapped a hand at James, apparently incapable of vocalizing further.

But James misunderstood the gesture, because he learned towards Lily and said in a low voice, "Did your sister tell him? About us being, you know…?" He mouthed the word magic.

"Of course not!" hissed Lily. She turned to Vernon, clenching her fists beneath the table. "James' family has been in England longer than yours has, I'd bet. Not that it matters in the least."

Vernon's bushy eyebrows flew towards his hairline; he was clearly unused to Lily's temper and unsure how to respond. After a moment, he settled for chuckling uncomfortably. "I was only curious —"

"Yeah, and curiosity killed the cat," said Lily. "Next topic of conversation."

There was silence at the table until James, God bless him, spoke up. "So what do you do for a living, Vernon?"

Vernon's chest swelled. "I sell drills. Grunnings, you know — they just opened a branch in Surrey…"

"Drills, eh?" James leaned forward, seeming for all the world as though he were deeply interested, though Lily was quite certain he was taking the mickey. He likely had no idea what a drill even was. "And what do people do with these, er, drills?"

It turned out Vernon didn't actually know what clients did with the drills he sold. He'd gotten out about five sentences of rambling garbage before Petunia spoke over him. "Lily, have you thought about what you'll be doing after school?"

"I have," said Lily in a tone that made it clear that Petunia should already know her plans. "I'm going to be a doctor, Tuney. Remember?"

Vernon let out an astonished laugh. "A doctor?"

"Is that funny?" said Lily.

"Not at all," said Vernon, though he struggled to keep himself from smirking. "Only — are you certain you wouldn't rather be a nurse?"

Lily saw red. She put her hand on her wand, but before she could decide whether to turn Vernon into a slug or a cockroach, James jumped in. "I'm going to be a magician," he said proudly.

Petunia, who had been taking a sip of water, let out a petrified squeak. A bit of water dribbled down her front.

"A magician?" repeated Vernon, amused.

"I'm a very talented magician," said James. "I know loads of tricks. Would you like to see one?"

Vernon narrowed his small eyes. "Go on, then."

Petunia pushed her chair away from the table, clearly hoping to put some distance between herself and the magic trick.

"You've got water on your blouse," said Lily savagely to her sister. "A little to the left — yes, right there…"

"I'll need a hat for this one," James said to Vernon, eying the brown flat cap he was wearing. "I don't suppose you'd mind…?"

"Not at all," said Vernon, and he handed James his cap.

"Excellent," said James. "For my first trick… I'm going to make a rabbit appear in this hat." He showed Vernon and Petunia the flat cap from all angles, so they could verify that it was a normal hat. Vernon scrutinized the cap, while Petunia frantically looked anywhere else; she appeared to be hyperventilating.

James waved his fingers over the brim of the hat, then held it out to Vernon. "Put your hand inside."

Vernon was obviously sceptical, but he obliged. He jumped a little. "I don't believe it!" he said, peering into the cap. Nestled inside was a small white rabbit with a twitchy nose. "Look at this, Petunia, he's really done it…"

Petunia refused to look. She rose from the table, muttering something about needing the toilet, and scurried away.

"Impressive," said Vernon. "I suppose you must have hidden the rabbit somewhere on your person, then placed it in my cap when I wasn't looking… Decent sleight of hand, I'll give you that…"

He turned to see where Petunia had gone, and James quietly Vanished the rabbit. He glanced at Lily and broke into a triumphant grin, as though he'd seen winning lotto numbers on her face.

"What?" she asked.

"You're smiling," said James.

She realized she was. "You really must be a magician," she said, which made him laugh. "Have you got any more tricks up your sleeve?"

"A few," said James with a wink. "But let's not push our luck too far, now…"

To Lily's surprise, the rest of the dinner wasn't horrible. There was a tense moment when Vernon brought up a recent migrant workers' strike, but for the most part, James' magic trick had broken the ice. By the time they finished eating, even Petunia was cracking a smile at James' jokes, and Vernon gladly paid the bill.

All the same, Lily was relieved when the time came to say goodbye. Vernon shook James' hand — respectfully, this time — and promised to send him an order form for a drill. Lily exchanged an awkward 'see you later' with Petunia, then followed James down the street, where the motorbike leaned against the kerb, a fresh dusting of snow on its seat.

"I'm so sorry about them," she said as soon as Petunia and Vernon were out of earshot.

"Sorry? What for?"

"Erm, in case you didn't notice, James, they're horrible people." She cringed remembering the way Vernon had treated James at the start. "I'm sorry I asked you to come with me. I shouldn't have. I should have gone by myself, it would have been better…"

He turned to face her square-on. "Lily. They were fine. A little socially awkward, maybe, but…"

"Vernon was being an enormous arse about you being Indian!"

Something clicked in James' face. "Is that what the family comment was about? I was wondering. But that's right — Muggles make a big deal about that sort of thing, don't they?"

"It's one of our favourite forms of discrimination," said Lily miserably, aware that she was lumping herself in with Muggles but not entirely sure why. "We don't have blood status to worry about, so we focus on class and skin colour instead."

"Interesting. I wonder what it says about human nature, that even non-magical people find reasons to divide themselves."

He was so close. She could have reached out and grabbed the fluffy collar of his coat. "I'm just sorry, alright? I wish they'd had the decency to apologise — they ought to be thanking you, you're the only reason the night wasn't a huge disaster —"

He grinned so broadly she could see his molars. "Now you're flattering me."

"I mean it! You were brilliant back there. Unlike me — I wanted to hex Vernon so badly I nearly broke the Statute of Secrecy."

"I thought he was a funny little man, honestly. Was he really that bad?"

"He was. Trust me."

James considered this. "Never thought I'd see the day a witch would feel compelled to defend my honour. Normally it's the other way around, isn't it? The bloke usually does all the defending."

Lily pretended to gag. "Where'd you get your outdated ideas? The seventeenth century?"

"Probably," said James. "My parents are about that old. I wasn't complaining, though."

"No?"

"Nah. Honestly, seeing you stick up for me like that — it was kind of hot."

Surely she'd hallucinated that last bit. There was no way he'd actually called her hot. Right? But no — James was suddenly fidgeting with his hands as though acutely aware he'd said too much.

She needed to end things. Now, before they got carried away with more banter. Before she read too much into things he didn't mean.

"James," she began.

He must have known from her tone of voice what she was about to say. "I'm sorry," he said abruptly. "I shouldn't have — that won't happen again."

No, it won't, she thought. They weren't going to be — whatever they were — anymore.

"James. I think it's time we ended our ruse." Though she'd rehearsed the words over and over, they felt odd in her mouth, as though she were pronouncing a foreign phrase.

There was no mistaking the hurt that passed over his face. "Yeah?" He put both hands into his hair and tugged. "I mean — yeah. Of course. I crossed a line. Of course you wouldn't want — who would, after all, and after what I've put you through — zero tolerance, of course…"

He wasn't really making sense, so Lily continued with the speech she'd prepared. "It was a great idea, and I really appreciate your help keeping Severus away from me. You were fantastic."

She paused to see if he had anything to add, but his expression had shifted from anguished to dull and resigned, as though he knew her script by heart but still needed to sit through this last performance.

"I couldn't have done it without you," she said. "And there's nobody I'd rather have pretended to date. But I think it's time we — we move on."

James nodded curtly and jammed his hands into his pockets. A muscle twitched in his jaw.

"I hope we can still be friends," she continued. "I've really enjoyed getting to know you better this year." A little too much, in fact. "So nothing has to change between us. We just won't need to pretend in front of other people anymore. Which will be nice, won't it?"

James seemed to realize that she expected him to say something. "Er, yeah. Nice."

Why was he acting like this? She'd thought he would be thrilled at being set free from her. More time to spend with his Marauders, after all. And more time for his first love: Quidditch.

"Do you have any — any thoughts?" she asked.

"I…" James opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. "Makes sense. The Slytherins have buggered off, so our job is done." He gave her an unconvincing grin. "Honestly, I'm surprised you were able to put up with me for so long. That's a minor miracle in itself, isn't it?"

At that moment, she knew there was no point in following her script any further. The lines didn't fit. Maybe that was due to her delivery; he deserved better than the wooden speech coming from her mouth. Maybe it was the stoic way he'd handled the conversation so far, listening without protesting or trying to change her mind.

Or maybe it was because she knew him, knew him intimately, and she could tell that he wasn't alright. And neither was she.

"It wasn't a miracle." Heat rose up her neck. "The reason I put up with you, I mean. It was because — God, this is so embarrassing. I just — I fancy you, James! And I still can't figure out how I ended up mad about you, of all people, when you've been the most obnoxious — the most arrogant — the most infuriating person I've ever met! You disrupt class, you muss your hair so it always looks like you just got off a broom, you're so brilliant you think Hogwarts is boring — and I'm mad about you!"

She broke off, pink-cheeked and breathing hard.

James' hazel eyes were wide behind his glasses. He appeared to be in shock.

"It's rotten timing, I know, considering you moved on a long time ago," she said. "But I can't keep pretending. I can't. Because it isn't pretend anymore, James. Not to me."

At last, he spoke. His voice was strangled. "You're — you're mad about me."

"Sorry it took me so long to figure it out," she said. "I should have ended things sooner, but I've been in massive denial for, oh, about six months now." Trying to sound sensible, as if she hadn't just vomited up her heart and deposited it in his hands, she added, "You see why pretending to date isn't the best idea anymore."

"Yeah," he said, and his agreement tore her heart into a million little pieces. "Yeah, that makes sense. No more pretending to date."

She waited for him to say more, but nothing came. "Right," she said. "Well, if we're both agreed, then that's that. No need to take me home — I'll get a cab."

She'd gotten halfway down the street, stepping delicately in her heels so as not to slip on the ice, when James called after her. He sounded as if he'd just worked out the answer to a very complex maths problem. "Lily — wait."

She turned. "Yes?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "Is there any reason why we can't, you know… date for real?"

Something sharp caught in the centre of her chest. It felt very much like hope. "You'd want to?"

"Of course I'd want to. I've wanted to since we were eleven."

She took a step closer to him. One heel skidded on the ice, but she barely noticed. "I thought you moved on."

"I didn't," said James. "I mean — Merlin's tits, Lily, have you ever actually seen yourself?"

He walked towards her, hands in his pockets, closing the distance between them until they were inches apart. Lily lifted her chin, taking him in: the breadth of his chest, his tangled black curls, his breath condensing in short, sharp puffs in the chill air.

"What you're saying," she said, "is that I'm extremely fit and you'd be honoured to be my boyfriend for real. Is that right?"

His grin was wide and familiar. "Lily Evans, you are extremely fit. And I'd be honoured to be your boyfriend for real."

"I was hoping for that," she whispered, and she put her hands on either side of his face and pulled his mouth to hers.

It was nothing like the time she had kissed him during their Apparition exam. Back then, he'd frozen in shock, and it had been like kissing a statue, cold and rough and still. This time, his lips melded readily to hers — he was warm, so warm — and he placed a hand on the small of her back, pulling her tightly to him. She kissed him like she'd never have another chance; he kissed her like he didn't believe she was real. She wanted to stay in his embrace forever, her hands exploring the messy curls she'd so longed to touch, her mouth against his.

When at last they parted, he rested his forehead against hers, their noses touching. "So what now?" he murmured.

"I think you have to take me home at some point. Unfortunately."

"Bugger that," he said. "Let's stay here a little longer."

So they did.

A/N: We did it, fam! 300k words and they finally kissed! Ahhh!

Also, update: I have officially finished writing The Mapmakers! Still have 15 (16?) chapters to post and I'm gonna crank them out as quick as I can (meaning, weekly updates if not more often), so get ready!

PS: Sorry that I'm behind on answering comments, rest assured that I read them all and appreciate them so much! Will work on replying tomorrow! You can always hit me up on tumblr (dizzy- -bird, two dashes no space in between), I'm more active there :)

As always, thank you thank you THANK YOU for reading!