James leaned forward in his seat. Plans for the "Welcome Back" prank
had been long finished, all that had to be done now was wait.
Unfortunately, waiting was getting pretty boring as everyone else in the
compartment had fallen asleep. He surveyed the passengers with a
mischievous grin and his gaze finally landed upon Lily. She was always so
volatile towards him that it was a refreshing change to she her face
without its normal contortion of rage.
His eyes took in her sleeping figure. She was actually quite beautiful, he thought, which was something he had never truly noticed before. Sure, he stole kisses from her all the time, but that was only to piss her off, and he thought nothing of it. But now... she looked so calm and tranquil. Sunlight burst through the window next to her every few seconds, illuminating the natural red tints in her hair and setting a heavenly glow about her head. All ideas of cruel pranks for her drained from James head as he left his seat and crept towards her for a closer look. He didn't even realize he was doing it, he was entranced by her.
James brought his face right up next to Lily's. So close he could see each freckle, each individual long and curled eyelash, and each crease in her full lips. For some reason he never saw her in this light before, but after this moment, she was no longer "Evans". She was Lily, maybe even someday Lily Potter. The notion made his heart skip a beat. He never had that feeling before, let alone from just looking at a girl.
And that, as they say, was that; it was all over. In approximately the time it takes to brush one's teeth, James had fallen in love, and fallen hard.
He watched her lips part and her chest heave up and down as she took slow breaths. He studied her lips. James had kissed them before, but never with as much meaning as he felt now. His mouth watered with anticipation and he leaned still closer to her face and-
"Would anyone like something off the food cart?"
Erg. Perfect timing.
With those words, Sirius, Peter, and Remus were suddenly animated, each chanting "food, food, food, food," with varying levels of enthusiasm. Lily, who was usually a light sleeper (especially in the cases where she was surrounded by people she distrusted), was awakened immediately as well. Her eyes fluttered open, her serene smile lingering on her lips. Lily blinked, trying to make the world in front of her less fuzzy. The first sight her brain comprehended was- Potter.
"Oy!" She exclaimed groggily, angered not only by the fact that she was so rudely awakened, but that she woke to the image of Potter's face to top it off. "Back off, Potter, I can smell everything you had for breakfast!" She pushed past him and trod over to her place in line to buy snacks off the cart. James put a hand to his mouth and breathed out, taking a whiff of his own breath. His cheeks pinked slightly and he set out buying various forms of mints and chocolates to mask the foul scent.
Lily returned to her seat, content with the snacks she bought, and begun to munch away pleasantly. That is, until she chanced a glance at the marauders and found James staring at her, mouth slightly agape. "Stuff it, Potter."
James' eyes widened in the realization that she had noticed him watching her. He recovered quickly. "Lily, it's just that I've remembered that we've got to go to the Prefect meeting about now." Even James was surprised how believable that sounded.
Lily almost jumped at the statement. "Oh! How could I have forgotten?" She squeaked, not really directed towards anyone.
"Well," Sirius started through a mouthful of chocolate frogs, "you were obviously distracted by our overwhelming hunkiness. Don't stress, it happens to all the ladies."
"Oh, sod off, Sirius." Came the unenthusiastic reply; it was nothing unexpected, most of their conversations usually continued in such a pattern. Sirius would say something to glorify himself and humiliate Lily, to which Lily would respond with a little nothing, except on special occasion, in which case she would threaten him. Sirius shrugged it off and shoved more chocolate in his mouth.
Lily had finished packing her stuff away and advanced to the door, which James had propped open with his foot. He bowed and motioned for Lily to go through ahead of him- almost gentleman-like. "Ladies first."
Lily stared at him with bulging eyes. At least he seemed sincere, but she knew him too well to truly believe his sudden turn around. Neither moved- James trying as hard as he could to be perfectly nice, and Lily trying as hard as she could to catch James in his lie. They squared off silently and Lily's unblinking glare met James' now tight smile for nearly two minutes. He sighed, removed his glasses, and rubbed them on his robes. "Ladies first," he repeated.
"I know," Lily said coolly, still holding James' stare, "Which is precisely why I've been waiting for you to lead."
Sirius sniggered. "Prongsy, she's a *man* baby! She's the man waiting for her lady to go first." Sirius laughed louder this time and James gave him a quizzical look. "That's you, mate. You're the lady!" This sent Sirius into more fits of giggles and James looked back to Lily curiously.
"Am I now? Bugger, and I here I was thinking it was the other way around..." James' voice was comical and he contorted his face into what he thought was a feminine position and spoke to Lily in a falsetto voice. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were waiting for me to go first, you're such the *gentleman* Lily." This granted more giggling from the marauder corner, then James' face looked serious and he brought his head down and as close to Lily as he dared. "Oh, but Lily, I *have* to ask... do these robes make me look fat?"
Lily looked slightly put out. For about a second she had believed that he was going to seriously ask her something. "You prat!" she grunted and shoved past James into the hallway. James put a hand to his upper arm, where Lily's body had brushed against him when she passed. He savored the tingling feeling for only a moment before waving to his friends, then jogging to catch up with Lily who was now well on her way towards the Prefect meeting compartment.
A/N: blinkssticks tongue out
His eyes took in her sleeping figure. She was actually quite beautiful, he thought, which was something he had never truly noticed before. Sure, he stole kisses from her all the time, but that was only to piss her off, and he thought nothing of it. But now... she looked so calm and tranquil. Sunlight burst through the window next to her every few seconds, illuminating the natural red tints in her hair and setting a heavenly glow about her head. All ideas of cruel pranks for her drained from James head as he left his seat and crept towards her for a closer look. He didn't even realize he was doing it, he was entranced by her.
James brought his face right up next to Lily's. So close he could see each freckle, each individual long and curled eyelash, and each crease in her full lips. For some reason he never saw her in this light before, but after this moment, she was no longer "Evans". She was Lily, maybe even someday Lily Potter. The notion made his heart skip a beat. He never had that feeling before, let alone from just looking at a girl.
And that, as they say, was that; it was all over. In approximately the time it takes to brush one's teeth, James had fallen in love, and fallen hard.
He watched her lips part and her chest heave up and down as she took slow breaths. He studied her lips. James had kissed them before, but never with as much meaning as he felt now. His mouth watered with anticipation and he leaned still closer to her face and-
"Would anyone like something off the food cart?"
Erg. Perfect timing.
With those words, Sirius, Peter, and Remus were suddenly animated, each chanting "food, food, food, food," with varying levels of enthusiasm. Lily, who was usually a light sleeper (especially in the cases where she was surrounded by people she distrusted), was awakened immediately as well. Her eyes fluttered open, her serene smile lingering on her lips. Lily blinked, trying to make the world in front of her less fuzzy. The first sight her brain comprehended was- Potter.
"Oy!" She exclaimed groggily, angered not only by the fact that she was so rudely awakened, but that she woke to the image of Potter's face to top it off. "Back off, Potter, I can smell everything you had for breakfast!" She pushed past him and trod over to her place in line to buy snacks off the cart. James put a hand to his mouth and breathed out, taking a whiff of his own breath. His cheeks pinked slightly and he set out buying various forms of mints and chocolates to mask the foul scent.
Lily returned to her seat, content with the snacks she bought, and begun to munch away pleasantly. That is, until she chanced a glance at the marauders and found James staring at her, mouth slightly agape. "Stuff it, Potter."
James' eyes widened in the realization that she had noticed him watching her. He recovered quickly. "Lily, it's just that I've remembered that we've got to go to the Prefect meeting about now." Even James was surprised how believable that sounded.
Lily almost jumped at the statement. "Oh! How could I have forgotten?" She squeaked, not really directed towards anyone.
"Well," Sirius started through a mouthful of chocolate frogs, "you were obviously distracted by our overwhelming hunkiness. Don't stress, it happens to all the ladies."
"Oh, sod off, Sirius." Came the unenthusiastic reply; it was nothing unexpected, most of their conversations usually continued in such a pattern. Sirius would say something to glorify himself and humiliate Lily, to which Lily would respond with a little nothing, except on special occasion, in which case she would threaten him. Sirius shrugged it off and shoved more chocolate in his mouth.
Lily had finished packing her stuff away and advanced to the door, which James had propped open with his foot. He bowed and motioned for Lily to go through ahead of him- almost gentleman-like. "Ladies first."
Lily stared at him with bulging eyes. At least he seemed sincere, but she knew him too well to truly believe his sudden turn around. Neither moved- James trying as hard as he could to be perfectly nice, and Lily trying as hard as she could to catch James in his lie. They squared off silently and Lily's unblinking glare met James' now tight smile for nearly two minutes. He sighed, removed his glasses, and rubbed them on his robes. "Ladies first," he repeated.
"I know," Lily said coolly, still holding James' stare, "Which is precisely why I've been waiting for you to lead."
Sirius sniggered. "Prongsy, she's a *man* baby! She's the man waiting for her lady to go first." Sirius laughed louder this time and James gave him a quizzical look. "That's you, mate. You're the lady!" This sent Sirius into more fits of giggles and James looked back to Lily curiously.
"Am I now? Bugger, and I here I was thinking it was the other way around..." James' voice was comical and he contorted his face into what he thought was a feminine position and spoke to Lily in a falsetto voice. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were waiting for me to go first, you're such the *gentleman* Lily." This granted more giggling from the marauder corner, then James' face looked serious and he brought his head down and as close to Lily as he dared. "Oh, but Lily, I *have* to ask... do these robes make me look fat?"
Lily looked slightly put out. For about a second she had believed that he was going to seriously ask her something. "You prat!" she grunted and shoved past James into the hallway. James put a hand to his upper arm, where Lily's body had brushed against him when she passed. He savored the tingling feeling for only a moment before waving to his friends, then jogging to catch up with Lily who was now well on her way towards the Prefect meeting compartment.
A/N: blinkssticks tongue out