clarewithnoi November jily prompt challenge.

Prompt One:

Dialogue: "I think you're severely underestimating how long I've waited for this."

Song: "Chasing Pavements" - Adele

A Misstep Of Fate

—

"Oft." The cords crossed into the corset were pulled tighter as Mrs Baggins pulled at them. Lily's hands tightened on the bedpost, trying her best not to lose balance. "Could you be a little gentler? I can hardly breathe."

"Aye, Mistress," Mrs Baggins tied off the ropes, pulling the petticoat over her head and fastening it at her back. Still getting used to the weight of the many layers of clothing one is forced to wear at an evening event, she shifted her balance. "Now, don't be running about with the McKinnon girl tonight. Your mother has given strict instructions that you must dance with at least four eligible gentlemen."

"Yes, yes, I know." She spun, raising her arms again to allow Mrs Baggins to pull the silk fabric over her head. She pulled out the few curls that caught in the fabric and pulled them over her shoulder, threading her fingers through the long, auburn hair as she recited her mothers words from earlier that day, "You're out in society now… you need to find a husband… a respectable match like your sister."

Mrs Baggins' snort was obvious, even as the older woman tried her best to hide it behind a cough. "There. Now you're ready to find your respectable match."

"Not sure why they insist on the charade. It is quite obvious that they've decided my fate without my input regardless."

"You mustn't think that way, mistress." Mrs Baggins guides her to sit at the dressing table, adding a few pins to her already secured and styled hair. Her voice lowered, doing her best to reassure Lily where she could. "Things can change with the right offer."

Lily looked up at the ageing housekeeper. It was Mrs Baggins that had brought James and his family into her life. Her connection to the Potter families own house keeper caused James and Lily to share a playdate in the park as young children while the house keepers had caught up on the latest gossip. The playdates had turned onto visits to their summer houses, and as their parents had become more acquitted, their country houses. Which had meant that before James had been sent off to school, they had spent month long periods sharing a nursery as their parents dealt in business and society gatherings.

Mrs Baggins had always been fond of James. He flattered her during every visit with his charming smile and quick wit; often matching her Scottish accent and jokingly asking her to make an honest man out of him. She had ensured his letters had made it to Lily before her father had seen them— not that the Earl would have minded all that much, having taken to James' charm just as everyone else had, but as they had grown older the frequency of their exchanging of letters had become borderline indecent.

Lily had no doubt that the right offer to which Mrs Baggins referred was an offer of marriage from James Potter himself. She was terrified that even that— an offer from the future Lord Potter, Duke of Gryffindor— wouldn't be enough to derail the agreement her father had made a few months prior to her coming out in society.

Lily turned her head, eyeing the dressing table mirror that reflected the emerald silk that sat tight against her body, "You outdid yourself with this, Baggins, truely." She ran her fingers over the pearls threaded to the corset, "The colour is exquisite."

"You are kind, mistress." Mrs Baggins set out the matching ribbon that would be tied around her neck, "I'll take my leave."

"Thank you, Mrs Baggins."

The door clicked closed behind the woman as she left the room. Lily sat at the dressing table, eyeing her reflection in the mirror, her gaze roaming over to the rouge that was lightly dusted across her cheeks, the loose curls that fell across her shoulders, the curve of her breasts pressed tightly into her corset. She forced herself to take a deep breath in just to let the air escape her slowly, working hard to steady herself, to stop her head from spinning. How she longed to cut the cords to her corset, strip the stockings from her legs, free herself from the rigid fabric that prevented her chest to rise and fall as it pleased with the rhythm of her breathing.

There was a knock on the door, a pause, and then another. She sighed, a small smile tugging at her lips. "You can come in."

The door pushed open, just slightly, and a head poked around the corner. His eyes were covered with his hand, his long hair was tired at his neck but his devilish grin bared his teeth anyway.

"You may uncover your eyes, Lord Black." His fingers parted and stormed, grey eyes peered through the gaps. "How did you get up here?"

"It's clear." She laughed as he pushed the door open with more force than necessary to allow the rest of his companions to follow him into the room. Sirius Black made himself comfortable across her bed, propping himself against the pillows. He was the only one of them to have come into his title already, his parents dying from fever a few years back— that was the official story, anyway. The Potters had taken him until he had become of age last year. Marlene McKinnon, the youngest daughter of Viscount McKinnon and her oldest friend since childhood, dropped herself into the place next to Lily on the small stool. Marlene laced her fingers with Lily's and she dropped a kiss onto her cheek.

"Sirius, get your boots off her bed." Remus Lupin perched against the window, eyeing the proceedings in the courtyard below. Remus was the son of a general. His father had been fighting abroad for as long as any of them could remember. He was another who had spent more and more summers occupying one of the Potter's guest rooms.

James was the last through her door, shutting it behind him, throwing a wink at her as he crossed to join Sirius on the bed. Her heart thundered in her chest, pounding so loudly against her ribs that if Sirius had not been rambling, if it were not for Marlene's laughing, she was sure he would hear it from his place across the room.

They had grown up together. They're families dragging them to London each summer for the season, finding joy in being able to throw their children together as they played their roles in society.

"Nothing like a ball on a hot summer's eve to get Remus scolding like an old man." Sirius laughed. Marlene giggled into her hand, causing Lily to roll her eyes, bumping her shoulder against her friends.

She eyed James stretched out across her bed with his hands behind his head. He looked at her, turning his hazel eyes to roam over her. She shifted in her seat, feeling the heat rising to her cheeks, "You both look lovely, if I haven't already said."

He spoke to both of him, but his eyes remained firmly on Lily.

Remus and Sirius turned their attention to the two as well, "How many gentlemen have your mothers insisted take a turn around the dance floor tonight? Eight? Nine?"

"Four, actually." Lily smiled, "She's been quite calm about the whole thing. Although, she did have Mrs Baggins remind me to ensure I'm on the look out for a husband just like Petunia's."

"Ah, out of luck lads, we're far too handsome." Sirius cried from his place against her pillows. She watched James' hand twitch before running through his hair, doing what he could to keep it neat. She wished he wouldn't, she very much preferred his messy hair and she very much dreamed of running her hands through it herself. But that was very much a dream, so she returned her attention back to Sirius.

"Ah, but you have the perfect sized ego."

"You wound me, Evans."

"Impossible, Black, you are never that easy." He laughed, James' quiet snicker and Remus' outright amusement joining him. Marlene pinched her elbow, pulling her attention, "What?" she whispered.

"You mustn't tease." Marlene lowered her voice, tilting her head towards Lily's, "Well, at least you mustn't tease Sirius. He'll get jealous."

"I've no idea what you speak of." Marlene pinched her again, "Stop it, Marls."

"Are you ever going to tell him you are in love with him?" Lily shook her head, throwing her friend a hard look. This only caused Marlene to huff in annoyance. Her gaze fell back to James.

As children, they had been thrown together because they're families' London houses were simply next door to each other, but as they grew and the boys had left for school at eleven, Lily had been sure that their friendship was over. She had been convinced that the next time she would see him would be across the room at some ball, years down the track, because that is how it has always gone in their world. But, against everything she's been told of boys by her mother, her sister, her governess, he went completely against the grain and three weeks after the last day of summer, when Lily had returned to her family's home in the countryside and settled into her own lessons, she had received a letter.

She'd poured over his hand for hours after it had arrived, detailing the first days of his time at school. She had wasted no time in sending her reply, asking him to detail everything down to the meals they served at supper as her country life was awfully dull and she was in desperate need of entertainment.

And, just as she'd asked, he had, right down to the boorish details of the colour of his sheets on his dormitory bed, and he'd never stopped. He became her best friend, her closest confidant, and she had fallen, slowly but much more deeply than she had thought possible, in love with him.

Although, as she had watched his mother parade him about the previous summer, introducing him to every young woman available in London, she had felt positively sick when she and Marlene had snuck into the masquerade ball that the McKinnon family threw each year only to see James spinning the one of the Vance sisters around the ballroom. His hands had skimmed the exposed skin on her back and his smile had been directed only at her. That was the first time Lily had felt the, then, unfamiliar heat pool, twisting in her stomach, and the tightening of her chest.

"Well, you ladies are in luck, there are three of us so you will only have to step on one stranger's toes." Sirius sat up, knocking James' shoulder as he got off the bed. He stepped into the middle of the room, bowing low in front of Marlene and Lily, "At your service, m'ladies."

Marlene got to her feet, leaving Lily to muffle her snicker behind her hand, "Why, Lord Black, you flatter me."

Sirius grinned, stepping forward to encircle Marlene in his arms and spin her around the room. Marlene laughed, her head throwing back and allowing her dress to whip around her ankles. James watched from his place on the bed, his eyes following their friends circling around the room before landing on hers (and she knew this because she was always looking at him). He smiled at her. It was the type of smile that made the corner of her eyes crinkle, something burning behind the bright hazel of them.

She got to her feet, moving to rest against the edge of her bed, her fingers curling around the same post she'd held onto earlier, and she leaned forward.

"Something on your mind?"

His gaze darted across the features of her face, her hair, the collar of her dress, and, if she wasn't mistaken, her chest. She inhales a deep gulp of air to try and calm the heat she could feel crawling up her neck again. "Never very much going on up here, you know that." He touched two fingers to his temple, offering her a wink.

"Be that as it may, you seem… distracted." He watched her closely, "Are you okay?"

"My mother has gotten… more insistent lately. She seems to think I've had my fun last season and I am to be more serious about finding a wife this year." His voice lowered but she could tell Remus' attention had focused on their conversation. It was in the drop of his head, the grimace that turned down his lips, the dark expression that painted on his features. James had shared this with the boys already and it had gone badly enough to have troubled Remus. She stiffened.

"More serious?" He sat up, throwing his legs over the edge of the bed. She glanced over her shoulder, watching as Marlene pulled the tie from Sirius' hair and started threading it into different styles, laughing as she went. Lily's gaze returned to James. He was watching her again.

"Sometimes," he began, reaching up to fiddle with one the ribbons attached to her dress, "I wish I had a sibling or two so my mother could spread her attentions amongst us."

"You are welcome to mine any time you please." She joked and her heart skipped when he laughed. She brushed her fingers over his hand, still toying with the ribbons, gently. "Surely she will not force you into a marriage you do not want. Your mother is a force to be reckoned with, that is true, but I've never seen her eyes soften quite like they do when they are looking upon you."

"You've never seen her yell." She smiled down at him, swallowing the ever present desire to card her fingers through his messy hair, "But, they're older, and she insists that I allow her to throw a wedding before she dies."

"That's… well, if I'm honest, that's slightly morbid."

James huffed, a smirk appearing as he nodded. "That's what I told her."

"What are you laughing at?" Sirius asked from his place at Lily's dressing table, his hair sitting messily on the top of his head.

James didn't look away from her, didn't pull his hand from her, didn't make any sort of movement to answer him. He simply continued to stare at her, eyes lit up with the bright spark of laughter, completely and utterly for her. She inhaled again, doing what she could to keep herself from learning further into him.

"James is telling Lily the bad news." Remus' head turned back towards the window, "Lady Potter is on the warpath to make our James an honest man."

"Ah, I see." Sirius ran his fingers through his hair, tying the long locks back into their original bun. He spun on the seat, pulling Marlene down next to him, "Will be a sad day for all the mothers of London when Effie pushes him down the aisle."

James rolled his eyes. Finally, after turning his hand under hers and brushing his fingers against the skin on her wrist, he pulled away from her, moving to join Remus by the window. "Your parents certainly know how to fill up a ballroom, Lil."

The use of her nickname, falling in his voice from his lips, made her heart skip and she once again felt her chest tighten. Her eyes darted across the room towards the clock above the fireplace. "We should go down there. My parents are sure to come searching for me if I do not show my face soon enough."

"To the lion's den then," Remus pushed himself off the wall. Sirius held his hand out to Marlene, allowing her to curl her arms through his and be pulled from the room. Remus hovered just outside the door, using his foot to rest it against the latch; not closed, but closed off.

Lily joined James at the window, reaching out to rest a hand on his arm, causing him to turn and face her. "What are you going to do? Your mother is nothing if not persistent. Although, I must admit, I'm not sure I see the problem. You've never said you're against marriage..."

He stepped in, his hand brushing over the waist of her dress, fingers curling into the silk fabric, "Well, I was hoping to start with a dance. If you'll have me."

His touch burned her, even through the layers of her dress and she raised an eyebrow, trying to keep her head. "A dance?"

"Generally what people do at these things." He nodded towards the window, and the bustling line of carriages below, "I'd say we could probably get away with two."

"Positively scandalous."

"Lily…"

"James?" She teased, her gaze settling on the hand she had on his arm, the deep maroon of his dress jacket only highlighting how pale her skin was. What a silly thing to be thinking about, currently stood so close to the boy- the man- she'd fallen in love with, but it was true; she needed more sun.

"You're out in society now. You and I…We…" She looked up at him, her fingers tightening around his arm, "I need to tell you something before we go down there. Lily, I—"

There was a knock against the door and Remus pushed on it. It opened, the two of them jumped apart, and after a few thundering steps coming down the hall, Mrs Baggins appeared in the doorway.

"Mistress! Your mother has been asking for you, make haste or she's sure to slaughter us both." She took no notice of James, or their proximity, as she shooed them from the room.

—

He watched her. As he always did at these things. He watched her chest rise and fall as she whirled, out of breath, around the room. He watched her cheeks heat up when Sirius leaned down to make a comment, a joke he was sure wasn't appropriate in such a public setting. He watched her brow furrow as she conversed with Remus on some topic or another, his friend often asking her for an opinion of something she would have been chastised by her mother for even having such knowledge on. Most of all, though, he watched how others watched her.

He knew there was no reason to be jealous of his friends. He had listened to their teasing for years already about Lily's ability to pull James' gaze so easily, or the way he'd fall over himself whenever a letter had arrived from her during their school years. And last year, when he had done whatever he could to stay away from the dance floor, away from the women who were out in society and their overeager mothers, they had covered for him, knowing full well his thoughts were completely and utterly filled with Lily, and only Lily.

He wasn't jealous of his friends but he was jealous of those who weren't his friends, who didn't know of his feelings for her, and were bold enough to kiss her hand upon greeting and ask for her to accompany him on to the dance floor in front him. It felt a strong urge to challenge each and every one to a duel, just to get them out of the way.

Last season he had been safe in the knowledge she had decided to wait, decided to continue spending her nights reading books and staying well away from the society scene. It was all different now. Now that she was out, now that she too was attending the same parties, she too was being paraded in front of those who were eligible and ready to marry, James found he hated it.

"Jamie." Reluctantly, he tore his eyes from Lily.

She held a glass of champagne out to him and he took it. "Mother."

"Stop staring at her. You'll burn a hole in the side of her head soon enough."

"I wasn't staring." His mother snorted, holding her own glass to her lips, covering her most unladylike behaviour, "I see now why my quest to introduce you to the young ladies of London was fruitless. It seems the young Ms Evans has turned your head, most completely."

"We're friends." He recited, the line practiced and preached for years now. He wasn't able to pinpoint when it had become a lie; at least, when it had become a lie for him. He tipped the glass against his lips, swallowing it's contents in one.

"I believe that as much as I believe your father when he says the cook just happened to make extra biscuits." He refused to look at his mother but also refused to seek out Lily. It annoyed him to no end that his mother was right, fundamentally so, "Ask her to dance at least once before you propose."

He rolled his eyes. "Mother."

"Do not take that bored tone with me young man." She turned to him, taking the now empty glass from his hand. "I have watched you play as children, and then I have watched you fawn over her letters like they were something precious. I saw how unhappy you were when she told you her parents had made the decision to hold her back from coming out for a year, and I tried very hard to ignore how you sulked and brooded through the events of last summer's season."

"I get it—"

"I am not done, thank you." She reached out to brush the curls falling into his eyes, "You have barely known each other as adults for less than a year, but I think you loved her when you were little, too. So ask her to dance, at least once, and if she feels as you do, then you have your answer."

His eyes found her again, drawn to her in time to see Remus lead her from the dance floor. She was laughing. She always seemed to be laughing. She was telling Remus a story, her hands animated and wild, paying no mind to her casual manner in the way she spoke to him. James felt a small hand on his back, pushing him forward.

"Right." He said, to no one but himself, trying to gain the courage to move. His hands suddenly felt sweaty, and he rubbed his palms down his jacket. His pace was slow, trying desperately to keep himself from tripping over his own feet. He was close, close enough that Remus had noticed him, yet Lily was still facing away from him. She looked up, not because of his presence, but because of the man that just stood in front of her.

He would call him a gentleman but James truly believed the title was too good for him. Severus Snape was bowing low in front of Lily, and she hesitated in holding her hand out to him.

"Would you do me the honour of this—"

The knot in his stomach tightened when he watched Lily's shoulders tense. It was instinct, what he did next, and he knew with the look on Remus' face that it wasn't proper, and he definitely shouldn't have; but he did it anyway.

His hand slid across her back, his fingers tightening against her waist. He stood behind her, allowing her to lean back against him, instinctively away from Snape. "I believe you owe me a dance, Ms Evans."

She looked up at him, her hand covering his, and she nodded. She stepped away from him and he immediately missed the feeling of her weight leaning against him. "I believe you're right."

She took his hand, allowing him to pull her towards the crowd of other dancers. She stepped into him, her hand fitting comfortably in his as he slid an arm around her waist.

"Thank you." She whispered, "I think a dance with Severus Snape would have made me lose my dinner." She dipped her head, laughing.

"At least try to look a little put out. Snape looks like he wants to kill me where I stand." He twisted, spinning her.

"I won't do any such thing. He'll only be encouraged." She tightened her grip, digging her fingers into the fabric of his jacket as he spun her once more, "Besides, you did promise me twodances, to bring up my total and appease my over eager mother."

Something in him made him want to sort out his own mother. He searched her out, but she was still where he had left her, he head bent closely to Lady Evans now, speaking quietly. "Oh dear." He whispered. "Our mothers are swapping secrets."

"That cannot be good." She stretched onto her toes, balancing herself against him. He shouldn't like her weight against him so much and he definitely shouldn't be thinking about what it did to him, but as she leaned closer, trying to get a glance at their mothers, the sweet rose scent that radiated from her skin blinded his senses. He shifted, leaning away from her. "They look as if they are conspiring, plotting. Gods, someone should separate them before they attempt to take over England."

"Hey, Evans, focus on me," another twist of his body pulled her further into the crowd of dancers, "I believe I earned this dance."

"We have plenty of dancers ahead of us, Potter. I think you'll live if I am a little distracted because our mothers are plotting."

"I think you are severely underestimating how long I've waited for this."

Her eyes snapped back to him, their mothers forgotten, and she looked up into his face, "James. What—"

Maybe, in hindsight, he could have been gentler, chosen his words more carefully, spoken in a little more riddle in order to protect himself a little more to what was to come. But, looking down at her, the gold flecks shining amongst the emerald of her eyes, he lost his head. "I've been in love with you since we were fifteen years old, before that even. I have been waiting to dance with you ever since we used to sneak out of the nursery to watch our parents at these things. Since I learnt how to dance." They'd stopped, even though those around them kept moving, "So, if you don't mind, I would appreciate your full attention because after my confession you may never speak to me again."

"James." No one was paying them much attention as they stood in the centre of twirling couples, skirts and coat tails twisting in flurries of expensive fabric and brightly coloured feathers weaved into hair. Her fingers grazed across his shoulder, fingers brushing against his neck, curling into his hair. "You are an idiot."

"Sorry?"

"I said,'' She eyed the other dancers apprehensively as she took his hand, fingers threading through his, tugging him through the crowd, towards the doors. The hall was dimmed in an effort to keep the members of society inside the ballroom and not roaming about the house. Lily dragged him along the corridor, James letting her; anticipation coursing through him. She pushed through the third door to the left, and closed it after he had followed her though. There was no sitting the door carefully on the latch, no friend standing just outside the room, there was no moment, stolen and hidden away. Lily had pulled him in here, on purpose, and she had closed the door, completely. "You, James Potter, are an idiot."

"Lily. The door." She turned, her eyes roaming the closed door. She smoothed her hands against her dress, pushing her curls over her shoulder, before turning back to him.

"You'll excuse me if we ignore the rules of society and have a frank conversation."

"Aren't all our conversations frank?"

"You never said anything. You called me your friend."

"You are my friend." She rolled her eyes, "Well, you were."

He backed away as she took another step towards him. He rested against the desk of the study. It was dark, a single candle that Lily had lit and left by the door burned low, casting shadows across their faces. "Are we not still?"

"Of course we are. I misspoke."

"And what you said back in the ballroom? Another misstep in your use of the English language?" He almost laughed at that, watching her face flush as she worked to keep her stare on him. He loved when she yelled at him and she had done it a lot when they had been kids, even more as they grew up.

"No, I meant what I said." He pushed off the desk, his hands finding her waist, the silk of her dress cool under his touch. She leaned into him, reaching to smooth the lapel of his dress jacket with her hand. She was giving him her permission to leave the rules that had been drilled into them at the door; it was simply the two of them now.

They moved at the same time, Lily raising on her toes just as James bent his head. His hands went to either side of her face, fingers brushing against her neck, behind her ear, her cheek. Hers tightened against his jacket, the fabric crushing in her fists, pulling him down to her. He kissed her, soft and gentle, and his whole world shifted.

It wasn't monumental, it didn't completely throw him out of sorts, but it did shift. It was as if he had been walking through a dark corridor until then, a single candle lit as he walked through life, but as Lily had touched her lips to his, the world had brightened and she alone brought the light with her. He had been walking in the shadows, able to hear her, smell her, touch her, but not truly feel her until she had sighed, coiled her fingers into his hair, and balanced herself on her toes against him. She made the world shift, she restored the light, she had amended his world.

She pulled away, resting her forehead against his. Under her touch, he relaxed, the tension built from watching her interact with men that weren't him leaving him now they were alone again.

"James." Her voice was soft, still so close that he could feel her breathe on his skin as she spoke, "We can't."

"I know. I know." He fingers stroked her cheek, familiarising himself with the delicate features of her face. "Lily, you have to marry me."

"I have to?" Her eyes were alight with mischief and if he didn't happen to know her better than anyone else, he would have missed the terrified look she worked to hide. "You say it as if you will die if I do not. You are so dramatic."

He liked this look on her, blushed, out of breath, laughing and mischievous, so he smiled, "I think I may die if you do not." This earned him a laugh and he relished in it.

She traced down his jaw, brushing a finger against his lips. "I want to." He dipped his head, kissing her once more. "James, I can't."

"If you're worried about your parents, I will ask them—"

"My father has already promised me to someone else."