James was sitting at the great hall later that day, or rather, night, he supposed. He had sat on lily's bed with her for over an hour, the two of them just talking in soft voices. Talking about them, their families, their childhoods. James had learned more about lily today than the rest of sixth year combined. He had frozen up when lily put her head on his shoulder so thoughtlessly, and eventually he started stroking the long red hair he loved so much. He regretted it when he had to go, but he had quidditch practice and no hangover was going to stop him from that. The power of lily evans, however had almost been enough to make him cancel it. He had been pining after this girl since their very first week at school and he had finally gotten her. He doubted anything else would ever feel so good. No. he knew nothing else would ever feel so good. Nothing would ever be as good as her soft, honey-smelling hair on his shoulder. He had never really liked honey much, until he came to hogwarts. He didn't really put together his sudden taking to it in connection with lily evans until third year.
Nothing would ever be as good as the sweetness of her voice when she laughed with him. It rang like music and james could never wait to hear more.
Nothing would ever be as would as seeing her face when she smiled. The freckles that scrunched up on her nose and the dimple she had on the right side of her face because that was the side she smirked on. She hated her smile because she said it was uneven and made her teeth look crooked, but james thought it made her even more radiant than she was without it.
Nothing would ever be so good as when, after all these years of waiting, her lips had finally found his. Her lips had been slightly chapped and uneven, because of the way she always picked at them when she was nervous or thinking, but even so james doubted he would ever love another pair of lips as much as he loved hers.
And there she was. Walking into the great hall, her friend marlene standing by her side laughing at something lily was shaking her head at. Marlene was a bubbly, crazy sort of girl, not in the way that she got into a lot of trouble, just in the way that her personality could hardly ever be tamed. Even with marlene's wild yellow hair and commanding features james hardly noticed her next to lily. Lily's hair was tied back in a ponytail and he knew she wasn't wearing any makeup because he could easily see all her freckles. He knew it wasn't really like guys to notice things like that, but if lily evans did it he noticed.
She sat down at the opposite side of the table, a few chairs down. She smiled up at him from where she was before pulling a book out of her bag and leaning into the story as she ate. It wasn't school work, james could tell as much. He had learned that lily had very different expressions on her face when she read for pleasure, rather than necessity. When she read school work her face immediately took on a look of concentration that came with a furrowed brow and pursed lips. When she read for fun her eyes lit up impossibly bright and a slight smile was on her face the whole time. James relished both expressions.
"Quite done staring at your girlfriend, mate?" he heard sirius ask from the seat next to him. He stole one last glance before turning around to face his friends.
"I just can't believe she actually went out with me." he said for what must have been the tenth time. Sirius sighed.
"We know. the majestic james potter finally lands the girl of his dreams and all is well in potterland." james shook his head at the comment.
"Well," he started, wanting to be saved from extended mocking "how's everything in siriusville? Any girls catch your eye lately?" it wasn't so much of a question of if one had, just which one had this week in particular.
"He's trying to get hestia jones to go out with him." muttered remus, his own nose in a book, mirroring lily down the table.
"Makes sense." james said, nodding. Hestia jones was another friend of lily's, a dorm mate more than a friend, but they got along just fine all the same. Hestia jones was probably what most people would think of as the perfect girl. She was a bit taller than average height, curvy, with long black hair. She had a crazy, adventurous spirit and could be found in detention almost as many times as the marauders themselves. She liked adventure and stealing broomsticks from the quidditch supply closet. Yet, through all of this she managed to keep a B+ grade average. She was very smart and witty and james had gotten in a few verbal sparring matches with her for fun. He won some, she would win others. Yes, it made perfect sense for sirius to be drawn to hestia jones.
Just then, he spotted her breaking away from a seventh year boy at the hufflepuff table. He seemed to be out of breath and her lipstick was smeared. It was quite obvious what they had just been doing.
"Good luck with that, padfoot." james clapped sirius on the back.
"I'll get her, just you wait and see." sirius answered smugly, grinning and shoving a forkful of brisket into his mouth. James just shook his head.
