Author's Note: These chapters haven't been beta-read -- my wonderful beta Nicole has her hands full at the moment -- so please excuse any spelling mistakes. I've tried to read over it, but it's very hard to do when you yourself wrote it. Also, just to plug my story, please check out my other stories, especial my WIP, The Myth of Innocence. This is the first Marauder's story I've written, although I expect I'll write more. Please read and review -- comments and criticism are welcome...although I might not take flames well on a bad day. And finally, please enjoy. I had a lot of fun writing this story.
All Hallows Eve
It'd been two months since James had made Lily cry, and he still hadn't apologised. She'd been fine the next time he'd seen her, and he figured she'd be embarrassed if he mentioned it to her, so he'd let the matter drop, instead just acting nicer the next time he saw her; a big mistake. He'd complimented her on her hair, and she'd sent him a look of scorn and walked away.
He'd been a little disheartened by her actions. It seemed two years of flirting had done nothing to make her see him in a better light.
It was the Halloween feast, and the hall was decorated spectacularly. There was a wide table placed just below the Staff Table, an animated pumpkin singing merrily. The food was delicious, and the drink was great. The only thing missing was Evans.
Normally she sat across from him, eleven seats down, so that she could glare at him without being obvious. But at the moment the position was taken by a first year. In fact, he hadn't seen Evans since they'd finished classes.
Feeling slightly worried, James leant over to Sirius and grinned at him. "I'll be right back, okay? I just got to go check on something."
Padfoot nodded, his mouth full of roast chicken. He managed to swallow, then muttered, "Yeah, okay. I'll save you some dessert. Of course," he grinned devilishly, "maybe you'll be having something – or should I say someone – else for dessert? I notice that a certain lady isn't here."
Flushing, he shook his head and stood up. "You know it's not like that." Not that I wouldn't like it to be, he thought.
"Not that you wouldn't like it to be, Prongs."
James just grinned and waved to Remus and Peter, then walked out of the Great Hall.
He hadn't seen her in the Gryffindor Common Rooms, so he didn't think she'd be there. He'd have heard if she was sick. The most logical place for her to be at this point was outside, so he headed out that way.
He knew that she loved the lake; he'd seen her out there enough. While he sat underneath the Beech Tree, she usually sat near the sun. James messed up his hair absently as he walked towards the lake. It was when he was about a metre away that he realised there was someone swimming in the lake. Of course, they didn't seem to be swimming so much as floating. Frowning, he called out; knowing instinctively that it was Lily.
"What the hell are you doing out here, Evans?"
The figure bolted upright, her gasp audible even from here. She regained herself quickly. "It's Samhain, Potter, but I wouldn't expect you to know what that is."
He took great pleasure that even in the dark she knew his voice. He also took the remark as a personal challenge, reciting what he knew as he started wading into the lake. "The ancient Celts observed Samhain at the end of October. Samhain heralded the change to the dark half of the year – the winter months. What's that got to do with you swimming in a lake in the middle of the night?"
Even as he made the remark, he remembered something in a muggle book he and Sirius had come across once. Some witches chose to partake in a ritual purification; a bath. Could it be that this was Lily's..bath? She hadn't answered him yet, so he called out a question. "Merlin, Evans, are you naked?"
Stupid question. Even from here, the moonlight was sufficient for him – now that he was looking – to see her breasts bobbing up and down with the movements she made to keep her afloat.
He was now waist-depth, and though he wanted to stop, his legs kept wading forward. "Stop it, Evans!"
She paused for a second in confusion, and then began the movements all over again. "Stop what?"
"Stop moving!"
Her laugh ran through the air. "What if I can't, Potter? What if I'm like a shark – what if I have to keep swimming to stay aflo-" she'd stopped swimming and started sinking. Panic broke through him, and he started swimming, ignoring the dragging weight of his clothes.
"Evans? Evans! Bloody Merlin," he seethed, then dived under the water, searching for what he was sure would be Evans' limp body being dragged down by the Grindelows. He couldn't see a thing in the dark murky waters of the lake, wasn't even sure if he'd be able to see his hands.
Almost frantic, he came up for air, then gave a bellow as something latched onto him. Evans laughed and swam away quickly, but James could still feel the heat of her naked body pressed up against him. He glared at her, uncaring that she probably wouldn't be able to see it in the moonlight.
"You aren't the only one who can play tricks, Potter," she giggled.
"You think that's funny, Evans? You scared me half to death. I thought you were drowning!" His voice broke with fear. Her laughter stopped abruptly and she swam towards him, looking worried and slightly ashamed.
"I'm sorry, Potter. I didn't mean to scare you."
He turned away from her.
"Potter? Potter! Look at me when I speak to you!" She swam around him, trying to get him to face her.
"Bloody hell, Evans, stop it. I'm trying to be the gentleman you think I could never be!"
Totally perplexed, she stopped and allowed him to turn his back on her. "What the hell?"
His sigh of frustration carried over the water. "You're naked, Evans, or did you forget? You might think I have the patience of a saint, but for Merlin's sake, you can't expect to swan around with no clothes on, your naked breasts bobbing in the water, your gorgeous hair plastered to your face, and your body looking so amazing in the moonlight and get away with nothing happening!"
He shook his head and started swimming away, not caring exactly how much he'd given away with those words. Her mocking laughter-filled voice drifted towards him. "I never knew you were such a prude, James Potter."
He whirled back to face her. "Me, a prude? Evans, you're Miss-Oh-So-Perfect. You're Miss Head-Girl, Miss Can't-Do-Anything-Wrong. You're the one with a stick so far up your butt" – and what a butt it is, he thought – "that you call me up on going out of the classroom before you! You've never broken the rules, you're never coming out of your shell, except when you want to pull me up on something, and sometimes I wonder why the hell you're even in Gryffindor!"
She sighed, and he could just imagine her chest heaving. Don't think about it, he advised himself. "Just because I don't act foolishly, Potter, doesn't mean that I'm not brave."
She swam over to the edge of the lake and climbed out. James managed to restrain himself for a minute and a half before he gave into the temptation to look at her, and by that time, she was dressed.
Sighing in defeat, he swam over to the bank himself, wondering if Lily Evans was really worth the trouble.
