Chapter Two: Dauntless Courage

James paced nervously around the Owlery.

Remus leaned against the window with Dame the Screech Owl on his arm.

"Really, Prongs, it's not THAT complicated. Just ask her for Merlin's sake!"

James grimaced.

"But I want it to be grand, like special or something." He hesitated, before letting out a deep exasperated noise.

"Oh, get off you high horse. She loves you already, there's no need to impress her anymore. Don't stress so much."

"But I WANT to impress her, as cliché as it might be, I want to sweep her off her feet. She can have any lad she fancies, so I need to keep handing her reasons she should be with me."

"Did you not hear what I said? She's far beyond the stars in love with you, it doesn't matter how you do it, as long as you actually do it. If you pull a stunt similar to Sirius', she might be a bit offended, and yet she would STILL fancy your pants off. Speaking of taking your pants off, by the way, has she actually done so?" Remus asked plucking a feather off his cloak.

He seemed disinterested, but when he looked James in the eye, Remus couldn't help but wiggle his eyebrows in an implying manner.

James blushed hard. Real hard.

Then he rubbed his neck shyly, and looked out the window without answering.

He could get in real trouble for this.

Personal matters with Lily were very sacred.

"Really? You finally got some. Sirius would be proud. Don't worry, I won't tell him. Honestly though, James, that's great to hear, you obviously care for her a lot then."

James finally looked up, and his blush wasn't so deep anymore.

He looked worried though.

"It's not about caring anymore, Moony. I think I really love her. I mean." he looked around the Owlery to make sure they were alone.

"I mean, I can't imagine my life without her anymore. And it's not scaring me either. If you know what I'm saying. I'd go mad if I couldn't be near her the rest of my life."

Remus squeezed his shoulder.

"Yeah, I know what you're saying. But does Lily know?"

*

Lily scanned her eyes across the bookshelves of the Library in search for some research material.

The dusty bindings were whispering quietly to her, urging her to read them, begging her to choose that particular one before curfew.

She shivered. The study section of the Library was warm and cosy, and the candles flickered friendly in the evenings. But the books themselves got to her nerves when the clock ticked nearer midnight.

Then they started whispering and she could almost feel their 'eyes' as she wandered down the D-aisle.

A shadow swept over her, and she jumped around to see who (or WHAT!?) was there.

Nothing.

The Nothing finally upset her so much she decided to drop her quest for a book, and she turned to get back to her study table.

She smoothed out her parchment, and grabbed a strand of hair and started twisting it around her finger.

Proof-reading your own essay always seemed so futile, eventually you were just blinded of your own mistakes so it didn't matter how many times you read it, you still wouldn't find an error, but Lily was a perfectionist and proof-reading an old habit.

*

James looked at her hair shimmering in the candlelight, and he leaned silently against the shadowed bookshelf with contentment.

"My girlfriend is Lily Evans, and she's the most beautiful creature in the world." He thought to himself.

What a way to boost your self-esteem!

He smiled lovingly again, and pushed his hands in his pockets.

After staring a few seconds more, he wandered over to her.

" 'Lo, Lily." He said softly, bringing his hand up to his neck again.

She looked up, but not so startled as she had been when she almost caught him lurking in the shadows.

"James", she smiled.

He still couldn't help grin foolishly at her smiles, and he cursed his nervous trait of rubbing his neck, as Lily knew him so well by now. Very well. (Pun intended)

"Is something wrong, James?"

"Er, NO! I mean, I just wanted to be with you. That's all." She didn't object to that, although he knew she wasn't fooled.

"Come sit with me then."

He sat down next to her, where her hand had patted the oak bench.

She turned her body towards him, silently giving him her full attention.

She looked expectant, and he struggled a bit when he stared at her searching eyes.

He took her hand. And placed both of his hands around hers.

She still hadn't broken eye contact, but when his lips kissed her on the side of her mouth, she closed them.

It was only a mere caress, but Lily sighed happily anyway.

"I needed that", she said smiling, with her eyes still closed. He took a deep breath.

"Lily. I just wanted to, say, that, I love you. I just wanted you to know, you know, for sure."

Lily's eyes opened and she looked at his face. First his eyes, then his nose and cheek, his ears, those few strands of hair across his left eyebrow, his mouth. And his eyes again.

"I know", she whispered.

"You do?" he asked stupidly. Then he regained his composure.

He slid closer to her. Cupped her face. Lily thought he was going to kiss her properly this time, but when he started talking she wasn't disappointed though.

"No, you don't know. Not really. Lily, I'm trying to tell you how much I care for you. This isn't hard, it's just that I don't know how to do this properly. Charmingly, I guess would be the proper term for how I'm trying to do this. Unforgettable even" he continued babbling.

Lily knew she shouldn't interrupt him, and she tried to look encouraging, but she was so happy she was about to sing.

"Lily, I love you more than I have or ever will love anyone else, and I thought you might want to know that. So you don't break my heart or something in the near future", he added jokingly.

Encouraged by her speechlessness, he persisted with his attempt at telling her how much he cared for her.

"I can't explain what you mean to me, but I can say that it affects me in no way you could ever imagine. Every waking moment, you're in my thoughts and you influence me more than any other person I know."

He paused. Goblins, it felt good to tell her that.

Now to wait for the judgement. Lily smiled so joyfully his throat got caught in his heart.

Then she brought her hand up to her mouth and kissed it gently.

"If only I could answer as eloquently as you, I would never cease to tell you how much I love you in return. Verbal communication was never my strong side when it came to you."

She leaned over and kissed him soundly. Her hands clutched at the front of his robes, and dazedly he held on to her shoulders for support.

Lily was an amazing kisser.

All her emotions went into it, and he could always sense her feelings when her lips touched his.

He felt nothing but desperate love this time.

As if she had no other thoughts than her affection for him.

His ego was getting alarmingly big.

Her hands went around his neck in that lovely manner, and when she shifted herself into his lap, his arms went to her waist.

Heavenly emotions washed through them both, and Lily stopped only a second to remove James' glasses.

She nuzzled in the crook of his neck, her favourite place in the world, and he placed his head on top of hers after kissing her forehead gently.

They stayed in the empty Library for nearly an hour, James stroking her hair, Lily kissing his neck.

The Librarian huffed and puffed a few times to show her displeasure of such, as they weren't doing enough for her to deduct points for public displays of affection.

Head Boy and Head Girl were always held high in her view, but surrounded by hormones every day didn't make her more understanding towards such teenage nonsense.

She shooed them out eventually.

They strolled hand in hands towards Gryffindor Tower, glancing and smiling at each other.

The Fat Lady smiled knowingly at them when they stopped in front of her portrait, and leaned visibly forward, as if she wanted an extra good view of a goodnight kiss she expected.

The fat Lady had to turn her head eventually though, and Lily reddened when she heard a sudden gasp of "Oh my!" from the portrait.

She broke her kiss with James reluctantly, and looked down at their entwined hands.

James smiled to himself.

He would never be embarrassed of being caught kissing Lily.

He suddenly thought of something he had meant to do all evening and cleared his throat to get Lily's attention.

"Er. . . Lily, love of my life, if you love me, would you please smile for me?" he asked huskily.

Lily had to gulp before looking up at him again, that voice always got to the pit of her stomach in some very good way, but she wanted to have some fun with him for the moment.

She gathered up her dauntless Gryffindor courage.

"James dear, you know I love you, I think we cleared that matter up quite nicely just a few minutes ago, but I just can't smile. . ." she said deadpanned.

No hint of a smile even.

James gaped.

The Fat Lady gasped.

Lily looked him square in the eye, her chin set, and said clearly:

"Fiddlesticks."

The portrait hole opened.

James stumbled in a few seconds after her.

"What the ruddy hell do you mean, you won't smile?!" he asked exasperatedly.

The Common Room sniggered as one. The Gryffindor seventh years were just too much. It's like they were some 24-hour show.

"No profanity in front of the first years, James", she reprimanded before leaning over and giving him a breath-taking kiss again.

But still no smile.

"Ah! Come on! You can't just leave me now! Who am I supposed to ask if YOU won't smile?!"

"Goodnight, James." She turned on the steps and started walking up towards the Girls dormitory.

James groaned.

* A/N: MORE REVIEWS FOR MERLIN'S SAKE! Next chapter: James' turn AGAIN? Who will he ask now?

Disclaimer: J.K Rowling owns 9 and ¾ of it. "Dame" is lady/woman in Norwegian. I know it's something female in British as well, but I am referring to the Norwegian translation.