Chapter Four- The First Date brbr
The days flew by, for Harry just a blurred string of homework, classes, and long nights in the common room with his friends, with a few bright moments standing out, like the time Malfoy got a bad burn off a fire breathing dragonfish in Care of Magical Creatures. Lily had, true to her promise, switched to Arithmacy, after which Hermione declared her to be a huge showoff, meaning that Lily had either proven her wrong or had once again beat her to answering a hard question. She never got in trouble for yelling at Professor Trelawney, so Harry could only assume the old bat hadn't told Professor McGonagall. She was, however, being even more horrible to Harry, predicting his death daily now, with a tone that implied that if he didn't drop soon, she'd kill him herself. br
Lily, it turned out was quite intelligent, and had her hand up in class every bit as often as Hermione. The weird thing was, Harry never saw her crack a non-fiction book except for homework, and she never fussed Ron or himself about homework. She was like Hermione, but minus the annoying qualities, which she'd only been showing more and more often now that she was a prefect, in the fashion of Ron's brother, Percy, when he had been made prefect. Lily was full of laughs but never demanded attention and appreciated other people's sense of humor. She was opinionated but not abrasive, kind, thoughtful and bubbly. There was only one word to describe her, perfect. But even that wasn't true; she had just enough flaws that she wasn't annoying, but so few Harry hardly noticed them. br
Harry, unluckily but predictably, wasn't the only one to notice her. Although he and Ron were always around her, it didn't stop other guys from approaching, flirting, even asking her out. Lily, though, made it clear she wasn't looking, although she was never rude or haughty about it. To all appearances, she had no idea how great she was. Lily was well adjusted too. By the 2nd week of classes, she was leading the way to all of them and her near constant presence chased away all worries of Voldemort from Harry's mind. br
Quite a friendship was blossoming between Lily and the rest of the group. As Halloween came and went, Ron and even Hermione accepted her into part of their group, and the trio quickly became in inseparable ensemble. They shared almost all their secrets with her, telling her all about their pasts and adventures so far at Hogwarts, hiding only Hermione's jealousy that was slowly disappearing, and the Harry's liking for her; Ron had apparently given up, turning his awkward affections back to Hermione, but still looking slightly envious when Lily gave Harry extra attention. br
However this happened quite often as a different sort of bond formed between Harry and Lily. As autumn dawned, they were spending virtually every waking moment together, between classes, quidditch practice, and cozy private post-quidditch practice homework sessions. They had the best team in years, rivaling even the team before they had lost Oliver Wood, replaced by Dean Thomas, and Fred and George Weasley, replaced by Ron and Seamus, all of whom were every bit as good, if not better, as their predecessors. Also Lily was a brilliant chaser and Harry, who had been made captain the year before was thrilled with her. They killed Hufflepuff in the first game of the season 270 to 20, Hufflepuff's worst defeat in half a century. Ernie McMillian wouldn't talk to Harry or Lily for a week. In the 2nd match Harry had caught the snitch just ten minutes into the game, diving and zooming straight across the field scattering people left and right, Malfoy lagging a good ten feet behind, unable to catch up, as he had just been ploughed after Harry performed the trick Wronski Feint for the first time. To everyone in the stands he was just a flash of scarlet reaching out for a flash of gold. However they had already scored three goals thanks to Lily's amazing tactics and quick thinking and the fact that Harry had finally learned that play. br
If it had been just that though, Ron's voice wouldn't have been concealing bitterness again and Hermione wouldn't have been screeching that Lily was a hussy every time her back was turned. The fact of the matter was that all the time Lily and Harry were spending together was catching up to them. They were sweet on each other, Lily now as much as Harry. Their conversation was slowly turning to past boyfriends of Lily's, dating, what they liked in the opposite gender, pretty much just describing each other, and even a little embarrassed sex talk. They were accidentally brushing up against each other more and more, leaning closer to one another and complimenting the other constantly. That's how they found themselves one Tuesday night early in December. br
They had just had a particularly rough quidditch session because Harry had some pent up energy, the last one of the season. The first snow was floating down slowly outside the common room windows as they were sitting at a table, side by side, inches apart, leaning in and reading from the same Defense Against the Dark Arts book. Lupin, who it turned out had been teaching on a favor for both Sirius, who was out gathering witches and wizards for the fight against Voldemort and couldn't keep an eye on Harry, and Dumbledore, who was unable to find a new teacher, was once again teaching them about dangerous demons and beasts. The current species they were writing about was an Ocatarian, a dinosaur sized bird demon that inhabited most forests and could only be brought down by a curse done by a dozen wizards or more. They were sitting so close to each other that they could feel the heat radiating off the others face. Lily reached to turn the page, but Harry, not being ready, had instinctively covered her hand to stop her. There was an awkward moment, but Harry didn't remove his hand. Lily looked from it to Harry and their eyes locked. Months of tension and flirting showed as both their eyes shone. They leaned in slowly and just before their lips met, Hermione, who had been playing chess with Ron, cleared her throat loudly. Both turned away at the last second and looked embarrassedly back at the book. br
"So you two, excited about this weekend?" Ron asked, either trying to break the romantic moment or alleviate their embarrassment, probably both. The next weekend was the first trip to Hogsmede, the only all-wizarding village in Britian, "I'm going to try to get all my Christmas shopping done there," he continued. br
"Yeah," Lily said, "it'll be nice to be able to do something normal away from Hogwarts." Of course, growing up in an all-wizard city in America, what was normal to her would be freakishly abnormal to any muggle. br
"Oh, you'll have such a great time," said Hermione, her words with a sharp icy edge. br
"Yeah," Lily said cautiously, her eyes open a little wider than normal, staring at Hermione. She signed her report with a flourish and said, "Done," pulling the Arithmacy book toward her. She opened the book and began writing quickly, but flowingly, instead of the jerky consistency she often got when doing Arithmacy because she stopped to think every few seconds. As she pulled out a fresh piece of parchment and dipped her quill back in her ink, she gave Harry a meaningful look and slid the spare piece under Harry's report. He looked at in and read silently: br
Do you want to go to hogsmeade together? br
Harry scribbled back: br
What do you mean together? br
Lily sighed and wrote: br
Like on a date br
Harry finally got what she was saying, feeling like a total idiot, but let her know by leaning closer and slipping his arm around her waist, She giggled and went back to her Arithmacy, not bothering to remove his arm. She finished it within minutes and slammed her book shut, yawning loudly. Harry to the hint that time and led her to the dorms Outside the door she turned, facing him and simply said, "I can't wait." She smiled and went into the dorm., leaving Harry feeling like he had expected more. brbr
Just as time won't slow down when you're dreading something, it just as staunchly won't speed up when you're looking forward to something. Harry was in agony through the rest of the week. Snape's lesson, the afternoon of Friday was particularly terrible. Malfoy had been even worse every time Lily wasn't paying attention, probably trying to make up for the way he had to act when she was around. Unfortunately Snape had surmised that Lily made Harry happy, so had separated them, moving her across the dungeon to sit with Lavender and moved Paravati next to Harry. The arrangement could've been worse but it wasn't very pleasant as it was because Paravati had been very cool towards Harry ever since he had ignored her at the last Yule Ball. br
The time crawled by as Malfoy shot Harry dirty looks as he chopped up a stalk of St. Cecilia's Blood, a deep red plant they were using in a clotting potion. He kept flicking the tiny frog's livers at Harry also, but if Harry retaliated, Snape would've given him a detention, probably on the next afternoon so Harry couldn't go to Hogsmede. Harry amused himself by pretending he was cutting up Malfoy's body instead of the plant that kept squirting a coppery smelling liquid everywhere. br
Eventually, though, time did pass and Harry was very relieved to get out of the room. Harry waited for Lily by the door and they walked to the hall for dinner together arms touching, much to the delight of Harry and the anger of Malfoy, who glared at Harry so hard that Harry doubted he could see at all. br
The house elves, who Harry, Ron, Hermione and Lily had gone to see the first week, Lily to ask about the food, and the other three to visit their old friends Dobby and Winky, had since been making their variety of food more exotic. Besides having added several kinds of cereal to the table each morning, Harry trying them out and finding them quite bland or over sugary, they had a few days each week where they would make food from a different country. That week they'd had Italian food, then American cuisine, which Lily ate with great relish, although most people thought the food was extremely greasy. However, today they had prepared Mandarin Chinese food. Harry thought it looked quite disgusting, but seeing Lily dig in, ladling what looked like brown rice with chunks of vegetables in it, he hesitantly speared some chunks of chicken covered in a thick orange sauce. He picked one up with his fork, looking it over before popping it into his mouth. A flood of sweet yet tangy flavor filled his mouth as he chewed slowly, it was almost overcoming. He swallowed and looked back at the rest of the small pile, wondering if it would be too flavorful for him. br
He must've had a funny look on his face because Lily giggled saying, "You know, you're supposed to mix those with white rice, not just eat them by themselves." She handed him a pot of steamed rice and he spooned some onto his plate, cutting up his chicken and feeling stupid. He often felt stupid in Lily's presence, but he didn't mind it so much. It was completely different from the stupid he felt while with Hermione. He wondered how two girls so similar could have completely opposite effects on him. br
After dinner the four of them went up to the common room and had a game of exploding snap, Hermione winning spectacularly as the Lily's card blew up in her hand right before she was about to place it down, winning the game. Lily, luckily, was unhurt but Hermione couldn't stop smiling unpleasantly all night as she remembered the shocked look on Lily's face. br
The next day dawned bright and sunny, and the feeling of anticipation was thick within the Griffindor common room. Everyone always looked forward to going to Hogsmeade. It had everything, the largest candy store any of them had ever seen, Zonko's joke shop, where many of the students stocked up on joke treats and props, and now the joke shop Fred and George had started up, thanks to the thousand galleons Harry had given them two years before. The students were most excited to get to that one because Fred and George had been famous trouble makers all throughout their years at Hogwarts. Just the year before they had been selling their trick sweets to the school, and apparently they had been hard at work, all summer, inventing new things. Once they reached Hogsmeade, Lily and Hermione split off and Harry and Ron stayed together, planning on meeting back at the Three Broomsticks at noon. Neither Harry nor Ron was sure that this was such a good idea, but soon they were so caught up in shopping that they forgot all about the girls. br
First they went to Weasley's Wizarding Weezes, the name of Fred and George's joke shop. It was positioned right next to Zonko's but had far more costumers even though it was about half the size, though both had roaring trade. Ron and Harry somehow managed to push their way up to the counter through the hoards of people who were milling around inside. Fred was at the counter and his face lit up as he saw his brother. br
"I was wondering when you'd be visiting us," he said, pulling George over by him. br
"Nice digs, huh?" George said, motioning around the shop. In every spare inch was stuffed with fake wands, fireworks, and candies that made you turn into various animals. br
"We're going to have to move into a bigger store soon," George said gleefully as a pretty blonde saleslady that didn't look much older than the twins came up and slipped her arm around him. "This is Bridgette," he explained, seeing the looks on their faces. br
"Hello," she said, smiling brightly, "You must be Ron, and you, Harry. I've heard so much about you both." After a few minutes of conversation, they slipped off and looked around more. br
"She's George's girlfriend, Fred and Angelina are still dating too," Ron explained, examining a trick wand that turned into a giant slimy slug, making a loud squelching noise. He seemed downtrodden that his brothers had girlfriends, while he was still single, although neither of them had dated much in school. "That's all mum talks about, how well Fred and George are doing, how Fred is getting ready to propose." Ron's mother had spoken out adamantly against the joke shop idea, but apparently gave up her reluctance now that they were doing well. br
"Don't sound so happy for them," Harry said, examining brightly wrapped candies that he knew to be Ton-Tongue Toffees, a very dangerous sweet that made the victims tongue grow up to four feet long, as he had seen on his pudgy cousin Dudley the summer before his 4th year. br
"It's just that, well, Percy's been promoted, he's head of his department in the Ministry of Magic now, Bill and Charlie have always been doing well, and now Fred and George. Even Ginny's head of her class. I just feel like…" He trailed off and Harry knew exactly what he was trying to say. Ron had always felt a little lost in his family. br
"Well it's not exactly like you don't do well, Ron." Said Harry comfortingly and it was true. Ron was now the class clown, although he managed to escape punishment better than Fred and George, was pulling great marks, and was an excellent beater. br
After that Ron cheered up and they stopped by the screaming shack, where several 3rd year students were standing around, arguing if they should go in. Ron and Harry smiled at each other, knowing that the only reason people thought it was haunted was because that was where Professor Lupin, when he was back at school, used to go on full moons to prevent himself from harming students when he turned into a werewolf. Ron, a mischievous gleam in his eye, snuck up behind them, the 3rd years not noticing because they were staring intently at the building and yelled. They all screamed hysterically, running down the street, and they walked away, chuckling to themselves. br
"That wasn't very nice," said a high, sarcastically scornful voice. Harry spun and stared into Lily's smiling face. "You could've scared the poor dears out of their wits." br
Harry looked from her, smiling even more broadly to Hermione, who looked particularly contemptuous, and down the street, where the 3rd years were gathering again, giggling at their foolishness. br
"Oh come now, Hermione. There wasn't any harm done. Look at them," Ron said, gesturing to the group of girls who were now giggling even louder and making eyes at Ron and Harry. Hermione cast them a dark stare and they all quieted, clamping their mouths shut and passing the four of them, holding their heads high but bursting into giggles again as soon as they passed. br
"I thought we were supposed to meet in the Three Broomsticks over an hour from now." Harry said, checking his new watch he'd gotten from Ron over the summer. This watch, unlike most in the wizarding world, could tell time, and Harry had a sneaking suspicion Ron had gotten it from his dad, who loved toying with muggle stuff. So far it had been submerged in a bath for over an hour when Harry forgot to take it off as he messed around in the prefects bathroom, it had been smashed under the insanely heavy potions book and had fallen off Harry's wrist over 50 feet in the air onto hard, nearly frozen ground, and hadn't shattered. br
"Well we got all our shopping done already," Lily said, brandishing a bag but then hiding it quickly as Harry read out loud 'Quality Quidditch Supplies.' His face burned as he realized that Ron and he hadn't even begun shopping for the girls' Christmas presents. br
"We, well… we," Ron said, not wanting to admit the above. br
"It's okay you know, Hermione and I can just walk around for a bit more and meet you two back at the pub in another hour," Lily suggested. Hermione nodded vigorously, smiling the first genuine smile she'd used in Lily's presence. br
"O- Okay," Ron said hesitantly, shooting Hermione a puzzled, but approving look. They parted and took off again. br
"What are we going to get the girls??" Ron said, a note of panic in his voice. "I'm sure Lily would appreciate something from the joke shop, but Hermione's so hard!" br
"Oh yeah, I can just picture it, 'Here you go Lily, a bag of dungbombs, Merry Christmas.' Real romantic Ron!" Harry said sarcastically. br
"Well you think of something!" Ron said. br
"Hmm. We sound probably go to the book shop for Hermione, the joke shop would be good for a gift from you, but we're going to need to go to a, I don't know, jewelry store or something for Lily, from me." Harry said knowledgably, wondering when he had begun to think that way. br
"Well I've never seen any jewelry stores around here before…" Ron said, spinning around, looking for a shop. "Wait a second, what about here." He stopped, suddenly, facing a store with an ornate sign reading 'Glademere's Gifts- the one-of-a-kind gift stop'. br
"Sounds perfect," said Harry, rushing forward. br
They pushed through a heavy gold door, opening into a large shop, packed to the brim with all sorts of things neither Harry nor Ron had ever seen. Along one wall were shelves and shelves of miniature moving models, pacing back and forth. Ron walked down the row ahead of him, barely glancing at the models until he exclaimed, picking up one, "HARRY GET DOWN HERE!" br
Harry rushed over to him to see what he had found and looked into his palm seeing a model of a tall and skinny 16 year old boy with black hair and dazzling green eyes walking across it, a tiny six-inch tall model of himself. Harry stared at it and it stopped, dead still, staring up at him. Ron chuckled and put it back, continuing to move down the line, but Harry stayed, staring at the minute model. He'd known that he was famous, every wizard knew his name, but he'd never thought he'd see the day when he was an action figure. He didn't like the idea of someone having him sitting on their dresser like a collector's item and scooped it into his hand, intending to buy it. If this truly was a one-of-a-kind gift, then he would never have to worry about anyone having him on a shelf again. br
He continued to move down the row, catching up with Ron, then onto the next wall. The store was so packed with unique things that he felt like he could stay there all day. Pretty soon, however they both found what they were looking for, Ron getting Hermione a stack of deep blue parchment complete with shining silver ink and a quill which read on the front 'Nora Newman's Insta-note Parchment,' the perfect gift for Hermione and a book on Lily's, and now Harry's favorite quidditch team, the Midwestern Manticores. On the front cover stood seven players, four of them women all looking very burly and holding Firebolts. Harry, while examining the jewelry found a tiny, perfect model of the galaxy in a tiny glass orb on a fragile silver chain for Lily and got Hermione a pensieve, since she was often complaining of headaches from all the thoughts she'd build up. Hermione never trusted diaries since their second year, when Ginny Weasley had been controlled by a diary in which was captured the memory of Lord Voldemort as a 16 year old boy. Glancing down at his watch, Harry noticed that they only had five more minutes until they had to meet Lily and Hermione, so he hurried to the counter and paid for his items. br
They were out the door and halfway to The Three Broomsticks, Harry grabbing the figurine out of the bag, preparing to chuck it in the nearest trash when a cold, silky voice said behind him, "Couldn't resist buying that figure, could you Potter? Figured that way you could look at your scar-faced self whenever you wanted to, even if you didn't have a mirror? I didn't think even you could sink that level of big headedness." br
Harry spun, facing the sneering face of Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle sniggering stupidly behind him. They cracked their knuckles threateningly when Harry shot them a glare over Malfoy's shoulder, but he held a hand up to them, saying, "I think it's time Potter and I had a proper duel. The prize: Lily." br
White hot rage shot through Harry from head to foot, and his hand balled into a fist. "I don't think Lily would much like being the object of a bet, Malfoy," Harry said malevolently, but nevertheless pulling out his wand, "She wouldn't encourage fighting, but if you insist on completely ruining your chances with her, not that you had any ever, mind you," he spat. Malfoy, looking like he'd been slapped in the face, pulled out his wand. A small crowd of people was gathering, being careful to keep their distance from the two of them, but Harry ignored them. Ron was standing behind Harry, his second, and Crabbe had stepped up behind Malfoy. br
"We'll see how much of a chance I have with her after you're out of the picture, Potter." They gave a short bow and took ten steps away from each other, spinning, wands up as the crowd held their breath. Ron counted down, "Three, two…"br
"If you two are about done…" came a strong, high voice, with a sharp edge on it. Harry turned and saw Lily, arms crossed and eyes blazing, foot tapping impatiently as she glared at the two of them. Harry heard a swift wooshing noise and everything suddenly went black. brbr
He woke up suddenly, staring up at Lily's ashen face, eyes crinkled with concern. Ron and Hermione were leaning over too, though looking more angry than anything. br
"Wha- what happened?" Harry asked, feeling his head where a large bump was rising. br
"Well Malfoy stunned you when your back was turned. Rotten thing to do, but I think he just didn't realize that you two were stopping. What do you think you're doing dueling in the middle of a street anyways?" Lily said, her eyes turned instantly from kindness and concern to anger. br
"We weren't really thinking about it…"Harry said offhandedly, then, anger surging through him again he said. "Where is that little rat anyways, I'd like to…"br
"He took off, that filthy coward," Ron said, cutting him off. Lily stood up and helped him up rather more roughly than she would have normally. Hermione looked relieved that he was okay as they rose and Harry brushed himself off. The crowd that had gathered dispersed under a furious glare Hermione gave them all, mumbling to themselves. br
The four of them headed off to the Three Broomsticks, Ron calling Malfoy some names that both Lily and Hermione scolded him for and Harry feeling like a total idiot for what he did. He hadn't realized how many people could've gotten hurt, or even that Malfoy was the type of person that would take a cheap shot like that. He could've gotten hurt, or worse, Lily could've gotten hurt. There was a sudden coolness in the way Lily was treating him that only vanished after a warm butterbeer and a long explanation of exactly what happened. All Lily's anger seemed to turn towards Malfoy as she called him, to the delight of Harry, a few of the names she had been so appalled at minutes before. Harry had never heard Lily curse, but even that had a charming effect playing on her soft lips. They were seated in the corner of the three broomsticks, eating sandwiches they had just ordered and mulling over the day. Lily slipped her hand into Harry's under the table and a flush rose to his face, his hand tingling in hers. Now that the excitement had worn down he realized that he hadn't spent a single moment alone with her since they arrived, although this was supposed to be their very first date. The noon sun filtered through the windows and Harry, though he was enjoying himself, would have liked nothing better than to be alone with Lily at the moment. br
"Well guys," Lily said, giving Harry's hand a light squeeze, "how would you like to switch partners? Harry and I can go shopping for you two and vice versa." She posed the question so innocently that it might have seemed just a suggestion, but with a knowing note to it that meant that she thought Hermione and Ron needed as much time alone together and she and Harry did. A mutual, grateful smile passed between Hermione and Lily. br
"Sure! I mean… sure," said Ron, doing a poor job of masking his excitement. br
Lily smiled and gave Hermione a short wave as they stood and left, walking closer than normal, much closer. br
"What exactly did you and Hermione talk about while we were gone?" Harry said, surprised at her suddenly warming up to Ron. br
"That's her business," she said mysteriously, then quickly changed the subject. "Where should we go first. I was thinking Ron's brother's store for his present and maybe a nice book for Hermione," she said, giggling. She reached into the pocket of her robes and pulled out the tiny figure of Harry, which he hadn't even realize he'd lost. He supposed he must have dropped it when he pulled out his wand. "Do you want this back?" Lily said, holding it out to him. br
"Why?" Harry said, "Do you want it?" There was an awkward moment before Lily answered. br
"Well, I like it. It'd be like having you around me all the time, but if you want it…" br
"No, you can keep it. I was going to throw it out anyways." For some reason he didn't seem to mind Lily having the figure and his head was spinning trying to search for the not so hidden meaning in what she was saying. She slipped the figure carefully back into her pocket and stood up. br
"Well, okay, thanks. You don't need to get me a Christmas present now. Let's see, book shop first or Weasley's Wizarding Weezes?" br
"The book store, and I'm still getting you a present you know; I would've gotten that no matter what, but I'm happy you got it." br
She smiled under his compliment and they headed off to the book store. After only a few minutes of browsing in the book store, Harry watching Lily as her delicate fingers shifted through book after book she pulled a thick glossy volume off the shelf and bought it, pulling a handful of galleons out of her pockets and paying quickly. When they entered the joke shop Fred and George looked up then did a double take and Harry put his arm around Lily's waist, smiling at them. They looked surprised but gave him a half covered thumbs up and a roguish wink. They finished their shopping there quickly, Lily looking hurt as Fred and George ducked out of the way, sending Bridgette to ring them up. br
Only having a few spare coins left, they headed back to Hogwarts, passing Hermione and Ron who were sitting in front of the post office. Harry moved to go and talk to them, but Lily stopped him by putting her hand on his arm lightly. He looked up and she gave him a meaningful look. When he looked back Ron and Hermione were leaning very close together, Ron's hand on top of Hermione's on her leg. Harry and Lily rushed away with a swish of their cloaks as their lips met, not bothering to look back at them, but Lily trying to contain a smile. br
After witnessing that, Harry had a nagging feeling he wanted to tell Lily something, but he couldn't quite figure out what it was. Afraid to even try to articulate what he was feeling, yet feeling that anything else he said would be pointless, he let Lily's steady flow of chatter flow over him, calming him and lulling him into a state where it was just Harry, Lily and his thoughts and her, her hand firmly clasped in his. Before he knew it, they were back at Hogwarts, and the sun was low in the sky, as it set quite early at that time of the year. Even though it was nearly five, Harry's stomach was jumping too much to even allow him to dream of food. It was a good three hours before they had to be back to the dorms, and Harry could think of no way he'd rather spend it than with Lily, but he felt like he had to do something romantic, make a gesture of his feelings for her. Somehow saying that, right in the middle of the steady flow of students now entering the school just didn't seem right. br
Before he'd even completely formed the idea in his head, and before he knew what he was saying, he heard himself mutter, "Do y- Do you want to go on a ride?" br
Lily's eyes lit up and she said simply, nervously, "yeah." br
Harry called his broom to him and they both climbed on, Lily's arms firmly clasped around Harry's waist. He kicked off and they soared into the air, their robes flying behind them and the only thoughts filling his mind how natural Lily's arms felt around him and amazement at the fact that his broom could hold two people. They soared over the castle, over the slow trickle of people now arriving for dinner, around the lake, along the edge of the forest. Lily gave a sigh of contentment and leaned her head against Harry's shoulder and he temporarily lost concentration, the broom swerving suddenly, causing Lily to squeeze Harry's chest more tightly. br
"It's so beautiful," Lily commented, looking out into the lake which was reflecting the colors of the clear sunset off the ice. "When I was little my dad used to take me on broomstick rides, when I was too young to ride myself. Just don't do what he did. He used to flip over with me on with him." br
"Don't worry," Harry said huskily, then with a playful glint in his eye, he grabbed onto one of Lily's hands and did a quick barrel roll, her short half laugh half scream piercing the night. Harry laughed as he guided the broom down to the edge of the lake, and sped across it as fast as he could go, the air displacement sending a shower of glittering frost into the air. Turning quickly around he sped the opposite direction then shot straight up in the air, Lily grabbing onto the broomstick and his waist more tightly to avoid falling. In the air he straightened out and did slow, ever widening circles in the air, finally landing with a thump in the middle of the deserted quidditch field. br
Lily clambered off, laughing so hard she was struggling for breath and fell backwards into the snow, her body making a foot deep imprint. She waved her arms and legs and Harry helped her up, both of them turning to admire her work, a perfect snow angel. She vainly tried to brush the snow off herself, but little snow balls still clung to her hair, shining gold in the last light of dusk. Harry thought she'd never looked more beautiful. She smiled shyly under his gaze and looked down. br
"Lily… Lily-I" Harry began, struggling for words. She looked up at him, her clear blue eyes shining and saying everything he was struggling to in one look. He smiled and pulled her towards him, kissing her and running his hands through her soft curls. Her hand floated up and rested on his neck, sending shivers down his spine that had nothing to do with the weather. They kissed with all the passion they'd been holding back. Parting, Lily laid her head on his chest, her breath rising in a fine mist before his face. He wrapped his arm around her and held her until she started shivering with cold. Harry, feeling stupid for leaving her out in ten degree weather, still covered in snow, for so long, climbed back on his broomstick, her behind him and brought her back to the entrance to the castle. After a brief stop over in the common rooms they headed to the dining room, still open for a few hours. They put their arms firmly around one another and walked into the Great Hall, ignoring the glares of the Slytherins, particularly Malfoy, and the disappointed looks that most of the guys, and indeed some girls, were shooting the pair. They settled down opposite to Ron and Hermione, both pairs' faces shining with the exact same, knowing, look. br