Chapter 7
"What do you pack to for a trip to a country such as France?" Lily asked throwing clothes around her bedroom.
"Well, Paris is the city of love, so pack flirty fun clothes with a few dressy items in case we go to some place really fabulous," Josie said while going through Lily's wardrobe. "For example, bring this. James will go nuts over this." Josie threw a beautiful green sundress, which had a high hem and a low neckline. Lily grabbed it and put it on a hanger with a matching sweater.
"Who says I want to impress James?" Lily asked her face going red as the zipped the dress into a luggage bag.
"Lily, it is obvious that you've fallen for him. The mere fact that it has happened so quickly tells us that you've probably cared for him all along. You've just been too scared to say…" Rose stopped as Lily walked swiftly to the door and opened it.
"Surprise, surprise. Hello, Remi," Lily said helping him from the floor. "James, it's been what five minutes since we left the common room? How long have you three been listening, Sirius?"
"Uh, hi Lils. How are you? We, uh… well…James made us do it!" Remus answered quickly, his eyes never leaving Rose as she sauntered towards them.
"Hey guys, I'm really glad you're here. Lily, Rose, and I were just discussing what Lily should take. Maybe you can help us pick out her clothes?" Rose suggested with a small smile playing on her lips.
Sirius looked to James who was glancing at the carpet and blushing. Remus was blatantly staring at Rose in shock. Sirius shrugged.
"Of course, we'll help, Rosie," he answered. "I'm sure Jamsie here has been dying to see what Lily hides in that wardrobe of hers."
Lily blushed and turned towards the wardrobe where Josie was making kissy noises. Lily hushed and began to dig around. James watched her every movement.
"I don't think Lily wants us up here, guys," James suggested never taking his eyes from Lily.
Josie smiled indulgently at James, "Oh, I'm sure Lily doesn't mind. In fact, you should see the cute little dress she just packed."
"Jocelyn Arabella Chevius, I'm going to personally make sure that Emlyn Wood will never…" Lily stuttered to an end when she saw Emlyn standing in the doorway.
"I'll never what, Lily darling?" Emlyn asked. He noticed James glaring at him with a look akin to hatred.
"Nothing, Em. Did you want something?" Lily questioned.
"Yes, I was going to ask if you'd help me with this homework, but I can see that you are busy." He looked at the suitcases lying on the bed. "Where are you going, Lils? I thought we were going to talk."
"Not here, not now, Em. Not in front of my friends and the marauders. I'm going away to Paris for a while with Josie and Rose. The marauders are coming with us. Dumbledore asked us to, Emlyn," Lily sighed, pulled her robes from the closet, and packed them into her suitcase.
"You mean you're going without a chaperone to Paris with these four? What about your head girl duties. You're leaving the school without a head girl and boy? What about quidditch? We're going to loose the house cup because you wanted to go to Paris," Emlyn argued concern in his eyes.
"Em, there are more important things than quidditch. I've already informed all the prefects but the slytherin ones that we're leaving and that they have to take up slack. Please don't make this trip hard on me," Lily pled reaching for a dress in the back of her wardrobe. Rose glared at Emlyn with a look on her face akin to McGonagall's when she wanted him to do something. Josie was staring at him like a puppy dog waiting to be petted. The marauders looked about ready to punch him.
"Well, Lils, at least let me make the packing easier for you. You're a seventh year, how you don't know the packing spell is beyond me but maybe it's because you're a muggle-born." Emlyn flicked his wand and all of her packing was done. "Be careful, Lily. This school would be a sad place without you to make it seem cheerful all the time. Rose, Josie, you watch yourselves and those marauders." He walked out of the room not bothering to say good-bye to the boys standing there.
"I thought you said you weren't dating anymore, Lily," Josie pouted.
"Josie, we're not dating. Please don't bring it up again. I haven't had a chance to explain to you yet. Have you all finished packing?" Lily asked looking around from person to person.
"I haven't," Rose said and grabbed Josie on her way out of Lily's room.
"Neither have we," Remus said. Sirius and Peter followed him out.
"What about you, Potter? Have you packed?" Lily questioned the boy.
James didn't blink in his scrutiny of her. His sapphire eyes never left her face. "Why Lily? Is there something you wanted me to do?"
"Well...ah...actually, I wanted to know if you'd come down to the slytherin common room with me. I don't want to have to face their prefects alone," Lily responded glancing at her shoe.
"I'd love to help you, Lily. Let's go," James smiled.
The two left Lily's room and hurried into the common room where they put a sixth year prefect in charge. They climbed through the fat lady's portrait and into the drafty halls.
"Have you any idea where the slytherin common room is, James?" Lily asked looking both left and right.
"Well, I've never been there the normal way, but I have a passageway that might work. Sirius, Remus, Peter, and I use it to pull pranks on them, like the time we turned the boys scarlet and the girls gold. It's this way come on," he answered and dragged her running through the halls.
"James, is this a small passageway? Because I'm claustrophobic!" Lily asked nervously when they reached a portrait of some quidditch players.
"Nope. Actually, you have to walk across an invisible plank because there's a chasm underneath you."
"Wonderful. James, I'm scared of heights too!" Lily groaned.
"That settles it then," James spoke. He picked her up as if he was carrying her into their first house after a marriage. The painting opened, and Lily began to giggle.
"What? What's so funny, Lily?" James questioned as he stepped into the opening.
"This reminds me of Gone with the Wind for some reason," Lily giggled and hugged onto James tightly as he began to walk across.
"I love you, Scarlet O'Hara. You need to be kissed and well, but I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to do it. I'll be darned if I'm not going to do it," James growled and kissed her. He set Lily down on the other side of the chasm.
"Why did you kiss me?" Lily asked in surprise.
"It seemed like the right thing to do at the time," James responded, blushing slightly. "Just don't tell anyone about it. We'll never hear the end of it if we do."
"I won't if you won't," Lily answered. "Let's go do this so we can go to bed."
"Awww…Lily, how sweet. One kiss and you want me. I knew I was irresistible!" James smiled and opened the portrait into the greenest room known to man.
"Remind me to never let you touch me ever again, James. Heaven knows where you're hands have been. They've probably touched almost every girl in this school in ways I don't want to think about," Lily muttered looking around.
"Not true, Lils. I'm waiting for you to give the signal, but it's been hard waiting for you these seven years," James whispered back.
Lily gave him a skeptical look and walked over to a Slytherin fifth year. Lily tapped her on the shoulder politely. The girl looked up.
"What do you want, mudblood?" she growled looking behind her to James. "I see you brought your precious boyfriend, Saint Potter."
"Narcissa, James is not my boyfriend," Lily snapped. "Where's Malfoy?"
"Here I am, mudblood," a voice said from the entrance of the common room. "Have you come to offer yourself to me? Oh, wait, I see you brought Potter and we both know he'd rather die than see someone else touch you. He's been in love with you for years. Oh, wait, that wasn't supposed to be common knowledge. Sorry, Jamsie old boy, you disgrace of wizard's everywhere, though I can see why you're trying to get close to this one. She's cute," Lucius drawled, sauntering over to a green leather couch and throwing himself onto it.
"Malfoy shut it. We've only come to tell you that you and the other prefects are going to have pick up some slack on the prefect duties. Dumbledore has asked Lily, Rose, Josie, Sirius, Peter, Remus, and I to go to a wizarding conference in Paris. Good-bye," James growled. He grabbed Lily by the hand and pulled her through the real portrait hole of slytherin's common room.
Lily could hear Malfoy's curses through the portrait hole and Narcissa's nasal voice trying to calm him down. James smiled and motioned for her to walk back to Gryffindor tower with him. Lily sighed and followed.
When they reached the common room, they found no one in there except for Rose. "I sent them all to be early so they could be refreshed for a new day of learning tomorrow," she explained.
Lily smiled and began to walk towards the girls' staircase. James glanced at Rose for a moment before following Lily up to say goodnight. When they reach Lily's door they stopped, and there was an awkward silence.
"Good-night, Lily. Sleep well. Don't mind what Malfoy said. He doesn't know anything," James murmured breaking the silence. He sprinted down the stairs afterwards leaving Lily standing at her door.
"I'm sorry that Malfoy doesn't know anything, James, because this time I really wanted him to be right. I've been in love with you for that long too," Lily whispered looking after him.
She sighed and opened the door to her room. Somehow, she couldn't get to sleep that night. Thoughts about Emlyn, James, and Lucius plagued her in her dreams. When the dawn rose the next morning, it found Lily sitting in her window seat searching the horizon for answers to questions she had not asked herself in a long time.