Author's Note: Oh, jeepers, I'm doing this all wrong, aren't I? Logical Raven, I never meant to insult you or imply that you didn't leave your e-mail address. I was referring to Hoshi Sama, so I suppose I should have phrased it as "Who could have left his or her etc." As such, I apologise for any offense taken over that. You are actually one of my favorite reviewers, because you have a lot of discussion provoking things to say. As such, I never meant to offend you.
The new chapter of The Myth of Innocence will be up soon.
In the week since Christmas, James' badly bruised and battered ego had managed to restore itself. He'd regained his nerve, stopped moping around and had started scheming. He knew that this new move was up to him - Evans had kissed him, after all. And wouldn't the polite thing to do be to repay the favour?
Remus was one of the first to notice James' ever-so-unsubtle change in manner. After all, having lived seven years with a boy who had spent four of them (courtesy of Lily Evans) alternating between morose and overjoyed - although that had never stopped James from playing a prank - Remus could pick the signs easily. And James' grinning like a lunatic when no one was conversing with him certainly let them all know that something had gone very, very right for him on Christmas Night.
Sirius and Peter also noticed the change, though they weren't as overjoyed about it. Mutters of "She's changed him too much", were whispered under their breath. Of course, they didn't say that to James' face. Sirius, if not Peter, knew exactly how much James loved Lily. His feelings had passed beyond infatuation years ago.
When Sirius asked James what his 'next move' was going to be, and when, James had grinned at Sirius. "Tonight, Padfoot. After all, it's New Year's Eve, and what better time to start over than New Years Eve?"
Sirius was spared the necessity to reply when Marianne and Lily walked past, and both of the boys turned and contemplated their respective females. "Padfoot," James asked suddenly. "You and Marianne - is it serious?"
Padfoot just laughed. "Not by any means. There's a wizard back home she means to snag when she graduates. And on my part? Well, I'm not ready to tie myself down. I'm only seventeen. I'll leave that up to the poor fools who don't know any better, Prongs."
"At least I won't be cold and alone when I get old."
"Which you won't be anyway for another forty years or so." Marianne and Lily sat at one of the tables in the common room, talking exceedingly animatedly. It was only when Lily almost hit a first year (who had stayed behind for Christmas) with one of her gestures that she stopped waving her arms about. "So what are you going to do tonight?"
James grinned. "I'm sure Marianne will be happy to tell you after the event. But I need your help anyway. Can you get Marianne out of the girls dorms?"
Padfoot raised an eyebrow. "Sure, but you can't go up there. The wards, remember?"
At that point, James let him in on the secret of flying. Sirius' face lit up with glee, and he snorted with laughter. "Oh, I'm going to have fun with Marianne tomorrow night."
"I don't understand him, Marianne!" Lily announced, her head down. "I mean, I kissed him at Christmas, and he's ignored me since. What if he doesn't like me any more?"
Marianne grinned, her pretty face alight with humour. "So the 'arrogant prat' has tamed you, has he?" She patted Lily on the shoulder. "Look, Lily, you and I aren't the best of friends. We've never gotten close, we both know that. But from what I've heard from Sirius, you have nothing to worry about. Of course, after that kiss you gave him, most of the guys I know wouldn't be back. I mean, what are you? A five year old?" Marianne mimed puckering up, lips pressed together and eyes closed tightly.
"Of course most of the guys you know wouldn't be back. They're the wrong sort of guys. James isn't that shallow."
"Oh, so you're defending him now, are you?"
Lily started waving her arms around again. "No, I am not! He is an arrogant prat, and...and he has not 'tamed' me, and..." she sighed. "I wish he would kiss me."
"Well, it's New Year's Eve tonight. Maybe you can make a move? I'm going to spend it 'practicing' that kiss for midnight."
Lily grinned at the brunette. It wasn't a bad idea, but she wasn't confident enough yet to even try to pull it off.
"Holy Merlin, father of wizards! Potter!" Lily screeched. Marianne had left the dorms a few hours ago to start her 'practising' session with Sirius. Lily had resigned herself to spending the night alone. After all, James had shown no interest in her since The Kiss, and she wasn't sure that she wanted to put herself on the line if he didn't like her anymore.
He grinned at her. "Yeah, it's me again."
"Do you know what time it is?"
He nodded. "I certainly do. It's three minutes to twelve. And I'm glad to see that you aren't asleep yet. Do you often stay up late?"
Three minutes to twelve. Perhaps there was a reason he was here, then. After all, they all knew what happened at midnight - the New Year's Kiss. Perhaps he wanted to...Oh, don't be stupid, Lily. He probably just wants to let you know that he isn't interested anymore. "No, not really. But it is New Year's Eve, and I wanted to stay up and" - Dream of you coming and kissing me - "watch the fireworks Dumbledore has planned." She looked down at the ground, then back up at him. The wall near his left shoulder had an interesting pattern on it. She'd always pretended it was a dragon watching over her and bringing her good luck. "So, erm...what are you doing up here?"
He checked his watch. It was a minute to midnight. He stepped onto his broom again and flew out the door. "Well, Evans, it's like this. I come from Scotland, and we Scots have a rather quaint tradition. Perhaps you've heard of it? It's called First Footing." There was a cheer from downstairs, and fireworks started to explode over the lake. He entered the room, his feet skimming the threshold. He got off his broom, walked towards her until she was close enough to kiss, then whispered in her ear. "I wanted to make sure, you see, that I was your first."
He was so close. What was he talking about? Oh, her first. "First what?"
He grinned with masculine delight and stepped back from her. She took a deep breath of air that wasn't filled with the scent of him, her head clearing. What had happened to her?
"The first over your threshold." Was it just her, or did he mean that to be a sexual innuendo? "You see, it's good luck if the first person to enter your house - or dorm room, for you - is a tall, dark, and handsome male. And since no one else knows that you can enter the dorm rooms except myself and Sirius - and Padfoot is currently otherwise occupied - I decided I'd just have to perform this duty for you. Here," he handed her lump of coal, then dug out a pint of beer. "these are for you. It's polite to bring them."
She nodded. So he was just giving her good luck? "Well, erm, thank you." Merlin, what was she supposed to call him? Potter? James? She said nothing but placed the items on her bedside table.
"Lily," James admitted. "I have another reason for coming up here. Thing is, there's this other tradition about New Year's Eve. And I'm a little bit late, but I figure it'll work anyway." He stepped closer to her. "See, it's good luck to kiss someone at midnight. It's after midnight, but do you want to try to increase our luck anyway?"
She shrugged. "I don't really know how to kiss someone. It's probably better to just leave it." Her eyes said otherwise. They were bright with desire and hope, the green pools shining at him.
He grinned, leant down, and kissed her. She sighed happily, arms instinctively coming up around his neck. He stopped and pulled away, but grinned down at her. "Happy New Year, Lily Evans."
She was smiling as he left.
