Disclaimer: Harry Potter 'tis not mine!

Hem Hem This, Hem Hem That

Chapter Six ll A Run Through The Rain

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"Where the frick are you taking me, Potter?" Lily demanded to know as James led her to... well, Merlin knows where.

"Patience, my dear Lillian," James responded a bit absently, as he figured out which corridor to take, "Curiosity killed the cat."

"Well I'm not a cat," Lily retorted, jerking her arm out of his grasp and folding her arms firmly in front of chest.

"Yeah," James stopped looking around and turned to her with a smirk, "You're more of a fox, aren't you?"

Lily smacked him.

"Ow! Crap, Lily, that hurt! Now come on," James moaned, rubbing the spot on his arm where she had hit him.

"Where are we going?" Lily seethed between clenched teeth.

"To the common-room! Hurry up now!" James finally said impatiently, grabbing her arm and pulling her towards the Gryffindor tower.

"I am not skiving History of Magic!" Lily yelled at him as they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"What are you doing now?" James smirked at her, giving the password.

"Potter, let go of me!"

"...No."

When they reached the common-room, James released her.

"Finally!" Lily breathed, rubbing her arm.

"I have to go to my dormitory. Wanna come with?"

Lily's eyes widened in disbelief and horror, "Oh Merlin no."

"You're thinking disturbing," James said with a snort of laughter, "Okay then, stay down here. I just need to fetch a few things before we set off to Hogsmeade."

"Potter, you cannot make me skip class to go to Hogsmeade. It's illegal! How are we supposed to get there, anyway?!"

James rubbed his temples, "You talk a lot. Anyway, just stay here, pumpkin, and I'll be back in a jiffy!"

Lily stared after him as he climbed up the stairs, two at a time, and disappeared. She stood there, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms. Then she looked around the common-room and dimly appreciated that this was the first and possibly last time she'd be there in the middle of a school day.

James came thundering down the stairs a minute later, as a seven-year-old child would on Christmas morning. He was carrying a silvery cloak, a rolled up piece of parchment, his wand and a bag of what seemed to be full of money.

He looked up and grinned when he saw Lily standing there, her eyebrows slightly raised.

"Good! You actually stayed. You really do love me," James cooed, kissing her briefly on the cheek when he reached her.

"Sod off, you sod!" Lily said angrily, vexed to find herself blush.

"Denial, denial," James said with a small sigh, "Come, let us go to Hogsmeade!" And with further ado, he linked his arms with Lily's and pulled her towards the portrait.

"Stop for a second," he whispered when they stepped out into the corridor.

"Potter, I am not--"

"Come on, you won't miss out on any important facts or figures in that class. Just come with me to the pretty little village," James murmured, getting a bit impatient. He picked up the cloak and threw it over them.

"Uhh..." Lily said nervously, "What are you doing?"

"Stop talking, woman! If you keep talking, people will think they're hearing voices... 'Cause we're invisible."

Lily almost fainted.

They walked around Hogwarts for a moment, with the Head Boy leading.

James mumbled, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," while tapping the piece of parchment with his wand. Lily glanced over and saw lines and dots appearing.

"Hmm... nope, Filch is steer clear away and so is everyone else, as a matter of fact. Come on now, dear pumpkin," James tugged her over to a statue of a one-eyed witch.

Lily followed him reluctantly, though that may be because she was scared out of her mind and was as nervous as anything.

James tapped the map with a, "Mischief managed!", before turning the wand to the statue and tapping it with a, "Dissendium!"

A human-sized hole appeared where the witch's hump was.

Lily almost fainted again.

Smiling gleefully, James shrugged off the cloak and folded it neatly. When he finished and tucked it underneath his arm, he looked surprised to see Lily still standing there.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Get in, now!"

Lily stopped staring at the hole and turned to him with a sort of snap in her eyes, "I am not going in there! Who knows what's in there! Or what's lying at the end of the... tunnel. Potter, how the hell did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Open up this hole!"

"I will not answer that," James said simply.

Lily stared at him, flabbergasted. Then she said, "I'm not getting in there. I don't want to see what's lying at the end."

"Candy."

"Huh?"

"Listen, Evans," James sighed, rubbing his temples, "Just get your arse in that hole, crawl, and I promise NO harm will come to you."

"No."

James reached over, picked her up, ("Just what do you think you're doing? Put me down!"), and pushed her into the hole. He blocked the entrance so she couldn't crawl back out.

"Potter!"

"Lily, just crawl already."

The redhead nervously followed his order. She didn't like the dark, nor how it smelt odd, but she realised that even James wouldn't put her in any critical harm... buckets of water falling on heads, of course, not included in James' "critical danger" category...

The tunnel seemed to drag on for forever. James insisted on singing, "Nine hundred and ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, nine hundred and ninety-nine bottles of BEER!"

He was at "seven hundred and forty-two bottles of beer on the wall" when they finally reached the end of the tunnel and found the trapdoor, which just goes to show how long the the passage way really was.

James managed to push past Lily so that he got out of the tunnel first. She wasn't happy about this at all; although she was wary about what lay beyond the trapdoor, she didn't much appreciate the dark area she was enclosed in either.

Like a gentlemen, Mr. Potter offered her a hand and helped her up.

"Wow... where are we?" Lily wanted to know, looking around and shaking her hair.

"Honeydukes cellar," James said grandly.

Lily looked shocked, "Are you serious?!" She took a few steps towards the wooden staircase and peered up, "Whoa... it really is Honeydukes up there!"

"Of course it is. Would I lie to you?" James asked, pretending to be offended. He was tucking the map and the cloak in a loose floorboard he had pried up. He took her book bag (and she didn't even notice) and also put it underneath the loose floorboard.

Lily was still looking around. They were surrounded by boxes and boxes that were marked with "Jelly Slugs" and "Ice Mice".

"Come on, let's go enjoy ourselves!" James said brightly, taking her hand. Together they ran up the stairs, ducked and "blended in" with the other customers, before walking out of the store.

Lily was amazed to find herself on the usual, merry, main street of Hogsmeade.

"But... how... why... can we... huh?" she spluttered, looking around.

James found this endearingly adorable, and grinned as he bent over to plant a kiss on her forehead.

Lily snapped out of her reverie and gave him an evil glare. She tried to shake his hand off her own, but realised that she rather liked it there.

"So where shall we visit today, pumpkin? The Three Broomsticks? Zonko's? The Shrieking Shack? MadamPuddifoot's? DiscoDivaGirl'sWorldOfFashionJewelleryandClothes?" James spilled out the last two suggestions, as they were places he did NOT want to go to.

But he'd do anything for Lily.

Anything.

Even stand in that terrible Mugglish place waiting for days while Lily tried on all the latest styles and gushed that she needed new earrings, new hats, new underwear, even.

Then again, Lily Evans did not strike James as that sort of girl.

But you never know.

Even the sanest people you know might sleep with pictures of Paul McCartney under their pillows.

"Disco Diva's?" Lily gasped out loud, her eyes lighting up.

James silently cursed himself. Yep, she definitely fitted into the "insane-on-the-inside" category.

She must've caught his downcast look because she suddenly rushed on, "Oh... but not with you, Potter. I only go there with my friends. Girlfriends. What about the Three Broomsticks?"

James felt like he had been born again.

"Aha! Yes! Yay! Yippee! Let us go now! Hurrah! Whoopee! Doo-dah!"

"Potter, do shut up. People are staring at us."

"Ah -- yes, alright then."

They had walked into the Three Broomsticks.

They walked over to the bar.

And had an argument.

"I'll pay for it, okay? Geez Louise, lady, it'll be alright!"

"No way! You are not paying for me. Okay? I just won't drink anything!"

"I will pay!"

"No way!"

"Pay!"

"Nay!"

"Pay!"

"Nay!"

"Pay!"

"Nay!"

"Will you two please... decide?" enquired the barlady politely.

"Two Butterbeers," James said firmly, slapping the silver coins down.

Lily slapped him on the arm, "One Butterbeer, he means."

"Yeah, with another one on the side."

"But that one disappears."

"And reappears again."

"And fades back into non-existence."

"Then we can get another one and call it Butterbeer Junior."

"Or Butterbeer II."

"So we agree?" James asked hopefully.

"Agree to what?"

"That we get two Butterbeers."

"That are drunken both by you, yes," Lily said sweetly.

"How's about I drink half of the two--"

"That means you would only drink one."

"--yeah, and split the other half with you? Sharing is caring."

"Sharing is for losers."

"Are you calling me a loser?"

"I'm calling you a fool, now will you please tell the poor woman you want one Butterbeer?"

"Two Butterbeers, please," James said politely.

Ten minutes later, the two were sitting in the corner with three Butterbeers in front of them. One was for Mr. Squiggles, James' little friend.

Lily clearly thought he was insane, but she didn't really mind.

When they finished their Butterbeers and their conversation, which resulted in an argument whether "garbage men" and "rubbish guys" were the same thing, James got an evil smile on his face (I knew he couldn't stay this nice for long, Lily thought despairingly) and got up.

"Come over here. Let's dance," he said softly, walking over and taking her hand.

There was a dance floor at the Three Broomsticks; a small area with polished floorboards. Muggle music was always being played, very, very softly.

"Huh," was all Lily could say.

"Come on, pumpkin. We need to practice, anyway. Head Boy and Head Girl need to have a solo dance at the beginning of the Graduation Ball this year," James reminded.

"Stupid tradition," Lily muttered, slowly rising to her feet.

James grinned at her and brought her over to the dance floor gently.

"Okay, okay. But just to warn you, I'm really bad," Lily murmured, looking displeased.

"I know you are, my sweet pumpkin."

"Hey!"

"What? You admitted it!" James said, still grinning. Gently, he held her by the waist and she reluctantly wrapped her arms around his neck.

This is so bloody cheesy, she thought seethingly, though she couldn't exactly ignore the odd flutter in her stomach and heart.

"This is the worst day ever," Lily grumbled.

"You talk too much," James sighed, slowly moving in time with the music.

Lily suddenly flashed a smile at him, "I bet you don't like me half as much as you used to."

James also grinned as he laid his chin down to a rest on her shoulder, "You wish, pumpkin. As a matter of fact, I find your capability to ramble quite adorable."

She groaned.

Five minutes later, she groaned again.

Because she suddenly realised that James Potter was... was not a prick. He was sweet, loving and gentle. And that made Lily uneasy, because she ruddy well was not supposed to notice such things about him!

And also, she sort of found him cute. And charming. And she just wanted to hug him because he looked so huggable. Like a teddy bear.

Thus, those are the reasons why she groaned.

Of course, James knew none of that.

"What's the matter?"

"Everything," Lily mumbled into his chest, which her face was buried in. She was holding onto him as if she never wanted to let go.

When the slow, romantic and beautiful song ended, James bent down and kissed her swiftly on the cheek. She rolled her eyes, bit back a smile, but didn't hit him.

"We have to go, pumpkin," he murmured into her ear, still holding onto her waist.

Lily bit her lip and buried her face in his shoulder, "Okay..."

Oh my, she doesn't want to leave.

Oh my, she wants to continue dancing with him.

Oh my, it looks like it's going to rain.

When they were outside, shielded a bit by the sign that said "THE THREE BROOMSTICKS", James looked up at the cloudy sky and frowned.

"It looks like it's going to--"

"RAIN!" Lily shrieked, as a small droplet hit her nose. Instinctively, she grabbed onto James' arm because she was so shocked at that small tiny droplet of water falling from the heavens onto The Chosen Nose-- which was her's. James, a bit startled yet amused, smiled when he saw that she was holding onto him. He liked it. He liked it very much.

SPLATTER.

The rain suddenly cascaded down like the clouds had been holding it in for months.

Lily screamed again. They both dived back into the Three Broomsticks, gasping for dear life.

"That was unexpected," James murmured, looking out of the window to see the rain falling heavily outside. The dark, cloudy sky was split into two by a streak of lightning.

"What do we do now?" Lily said in a small voice. She jumped a little when a very loud clap of thunder sounded.

"We snog!" James said brightly, then he looked sideways at her, "Hey-- you aren't scared, are you?"

"No!"

"Oh, Merlin, my little pumpkin is scared of thunder!" he cried gleefully, wrapping an arm around her and drawing her closer.

"Urgh! Geroff me, Potter!" Lily yelled muffledly, blushing furiously.

James just smiled affectionately at her and hugged her tighter, singing (out of tune), "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy, when times are grey!"

Customers were staring at them. Some were smiling at Lily's obvious discomfort, others thought they were a little... well, sad.

"Okay," James murmured, turning away from the people looking at them, "What do we do now, pumpkin?"

"We need to go back!" Lily said indignantly, "It's almost time for lunch."

"Alrighty then, let's make a run for it!" James said brightly, moving over to the door and pulling it open.

Lily's mouth dropped open, "Potter, have you lost your marbles? It's pouring outside!"

"It's just a sprinkle, you little pretty party pooper," James said good-naturedly, "Come on, pumpkin. Honeydukes is just around the corner and down a bit. We can run there pretty quickly and I garuntee that we won't get a bit wet!"

"Huh!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you're being purposely deceitful."

James rolled his eyes. He walked out of the joyful bar and stood outside, under the sign. Lily mumbled an "idiot", turned her back to the glass door and folded her arms stubbornly.

There was no way she was going outside at this time.

Absolutely no way.

She wasn't stupid enough to run through pouring rain. While it was thundering as well.

Honestly, who was stupid enough to run through a thunderstorm?

Lily wasn't.

She frowned, clicked her tongue, dropped her firmly-crossed arms and reluctantly walked out of the Three Broomsticks.

"I'm refusing to run out there," wailed Lily, watching as the water turned into ice and began pounding the streets of Hogsmeade.

James looked at her and smirked, "Decided to come out, didja? Anyhow, it'll be fun!"

"No, it wo--!"

James instantly seized her arm and began pelting down the street. Lily screamed.

"Let go of me, Potter! I'm going to slip!"

"No you won't!"

They ran, amidst the water and ice, ducking every time they saw lightning flash or when they heard the sometimes frighteningly loud and sometimes low rumbling of thunder.

"Honeydukes is just up ahead!" James yelled. He was yelling because the pounding of rain and ice and the occasional thunder was making it very hard to hear things properly.

Lily didn't say anything. She felt a sneeze rising in her but it wasn't coming out. Because she felt so cold and shivery, she gripped onto James' hand tighter and he squeezed her back.

They took the final few steps towards the candy store and pushed themselves in, gasping and dripping water all over the highly-polished floor.

Of course, lots of people stared at them.

"That -- was -- cold," Lily gasped, completely drenched.

"I'll say," James agreed breathlessly, "Come on... Wow, I've been saying "come on" too much."

Lily just smiled. James still had not let go of her hand and she didn't mind. He tugged her over to the chocolate section, where he bought a giant box to share.

Sharing is caring.

They snuck down into the cellar and sat there for a little while, eating and experimenting the different flavors of the chocolate.

"Mmmm, this is creamy strawberry," Lily said, licking her lips. She popped the rest of the chocolate into her mouth.

"Can I try?" James asked in a mischievous voice.

"Sure," Lily pushed the box towards him, "They're the ones with the pink tip at the top."

"I didn't mean like that," he replied, faking a crestfallen look.

Lily swallowed and looked at him, a little confused. James, at the moment, looked completely adorable and she felt the urge to hug him again.

"Then what did you mean?" she asked quizzically.

"I meant," James was speaking quite softly as he leant over, "Like this."

And he kissed her softly and gently, as if afraid he'd break her.

Lily was uncapable of doing anything. She felt her body go slack and several jolts raced up and down her spine.

When James broke off, he smiled and licked his lips.

"Mmm, nice. Strawberry."

Fortunately, it was rather dark in the cellar so he didn't see Lily's blush. She did, however, roll her eyes and lightly slap James on the cheek.

"That was rude," she replied softly, hoping that the pink tinge on her cheeks would soon fade away.

"It was tasty," James said teasingly.

Lily threw him a small smile, taking him by surprise.

When half of the huge box of chocolate was eaten, and the two felt quite sick, James got to his feet and took out the stuff he had hid under the floorboard. He handed Lily her bag.

Then they ventured back to Hogwarts, the Marauder way. James took up where he had left off, singing, "Seven hundred and forty-two bottles of beer on the wall, seven hundred and forty-two bottles of BEER! You take one down, pass it around, seven hundred and forty-one bottles of beer on the wall."

Inspite of herself, Lily joined in.

When James helped her out of the hole of the one-eyed witch's hump, both were singing under their breath, "Four hundred and ninety-five bottles of beer on the wall."

"So," James said with a smile, throwing the cloak over him and Lily, "Did you enjoy our first date?"

Lily looked mortified, "That was not a date, Potter! It most certainly was not!"

James sighed, "Whatever you say, pumpkin."

The bell then rang as they walked slowly towards their History of Magic classroom. Their class was obviously held back in because they didn't come out until five minutes after.

During those five minutes, Lily turned to James, stood on tip-toe and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thanks for that," she whispered, blushing a little.

James, unable to comprehend what just happened, grinned silly-like and murmured dazedly, "Four hundred and ninety-four bottles of beer on the wall..." when Remus asked him what he was smiling about.

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A/N: I'm pretty angry because someone "borrowed" my Sardines-on-the-Hogwarts-Express idea and when one of my reviewers pointed it out to them, they came and told me how they were sorry and everything. I told them it was okay as long as they gave me credit. They also borrowed the idea of James sneaking Lily out of History of Magic to go to Hogsmeade, ALONG with the dance at TTB and them running through the rain. Well, they didn't really give me credit. What the hell is "Thank you MSQ for having great ideas"??? That's not giving me much credit. I'm SO angry at that. --MSQ.