Disclaimer: Most of it's not mine, and if it's yours I apologise for stealing it... unless you're J K Rowling, the theft was completely unintentional. If you are her... um, I'm sorry?
"Me too." He smiled slightly, and then he kissed her. This was the first time that he had kissed her, when she was in control of her own actions. Was she in control? She found her arms wrapping around James's back, and she responded to his kiss. Could this be defined as control? Of course it was control, she told herself. It was what she wanted. But then, maybe the potion controlled the want. Maybe the effects of the first one hadn't yet worn off, or maybe it just worked a different way this time. Whatever was happening, she needed for her brain to be in control, no matter how much her emotions protested. Reluctantly, Lily broke off the kiss. James's eyes immediately filled with concern.
"Are you okay?" he asked, "What's wrong?"
"I need to think," Lily replied. It was true, she had to sort out this muddle before it became too much. She loved James… didn't she? Was it really her feelings, or was it the potion? The potion only worked for two hours, according to the recipe. Had she felt this way before she had taken the potion? Had she felt like this before she had taken the potion for the first time? Lily wasn't sure.
"James, is this us, or is this the potion working through us? Are we really…" Lily found that she couldn't say it, "… are we really in… in love?"
"Yes!" James said stoutly. But then his face clouded over. "Aren't you? Lily, I'm so sorry! I thought…"
"No! No, I feel… I think I love you. The problem is, is it the potion? Is it just working through us in a different way?" James looked relieved, then surprised, then thoughtful, and then resolved.
"We'll wait the two hours, and see how we feel after. Meanwhile, I guess we should really get on with the plan." He looked slightly regretful but determined nonetheless. Lily admired his strength of will. She envied his self-discipline. It was a quality she wished she had. In fact, there was a lot that was admirable about James…
She shook her head. If she was not careful, they would never put the potion in the Slytherin cups. She looked down at her watch: 8:29. They could sneak down to the kitchen and put the potion into the drinks now. Knowing the house elves, they would already have everything ready for breakfast tomorrow.
"So we'll go down to the kitchens with this now?"
"Yeah, sure. We'll go back to Gryffindor first, though, and get my invisibility cloak. So we don't get caught."
"Right. Good idea." They made their way to the door. They were within four meters of it when Lily's watch ticked over to 8:30. Lily was three metres away when she began to feel dizzy. She turned and looked at James. "Oh no." She saw his brown eyes, and they were the last thing she saw until she began spinning, spinning, spinning…
Lily found herself, and James, on one of the couches in a… compromising position. They were kissing, and James's hands were under her shirt, one on her stomach and one inching higher. He withdrew them immediately, and they both blushed. James's robes were off, revealing a pair of jeans and no shirt, but Lily was fully clothed. Thankfully.
James hastily searched around and found both his robes and shirt. He put them both on, and Lily splashed some water on her face. It didn't do anything to dissipate the blushing. Still, he was red too.
"What was up with that?" he asked, his face, if possible, getting even redder.
"Um… delayed reaction? Maybe the potion takes longer each time to work?"
"Maybe," James said doubtfully.
"Well, we can debate it later. Right now, it's10:30. I want to put the potion in the Slytherins' drinks and go to bed. I'm tired!" Lily said the last bit in a whine, but she was joking. James nodded and smiled, and then they went to get the bags.
"Hey Lily, be careful!" James said, grinning. "Bad luck comes in threes!"
"Not good luck?" Lily muttered very quietly, but she smiled back nonetheless. James didn't appear to have heard what she had said. And then, Lily could see what was going to happen. James was still walking forward, but he was looking back at her. There was still a puddle of potion on the floor. Lily cried out, but James was already slipping. He fell, face first in the potion. Lily called out, not without resignation,
"James! Close your eyes!" She, however, didn't bother to do so. She wasn't wet.
"I already have," he told her, the back of his neck red. Lily smiled grimly.
"I take it we face the consequences again?" Lily asked.
"I guess we don't have a choice. Oh, but make sure you get wet. I mean, covered in potion!" Lily snorted, but James continued. He couldn't really get any redder. "Because otherwise, I'll… love you and you won't… well, feel the same." No, she had been wrong. He could get redder.
"True." Lily said. I'll do that now." Lily closed her eyes, and inched forward on her hands and knees. Suddenly, her hands were wet. "I've got potion on me."
"Right. Open your eyes on the count of three."
"One,"
"Two,"
They said, "Three!" together, and looked at each other. Again, Lily saw those brown eyes. They were becoming familiar. But, again, she didn't find herself spinning or falling.
"Delayed reaction again, do you think?"
"Yes," James replied, "D'you want to sit down and wait?"
"Yes, sure." They made it to the couches and sat. Suddenly Lily had a thought. All the colour drained from her face.
"What is it?" James asked, concern very apparent in his voice.
"I… I just thought of something," Lily told him. It was embarrassing, but she had to say it, or suffer the consequences.
"Yes?" James asked with some trepidation, mixed with curiosity and worry.
"You see…" Lily took a moment to collect her thoughts. Then she continued, "Can you remember the state of… disarray we were in when the last potion wore off? What if it… goes further this time? I doubt being under the influence of a potion will… render either of us sterile for the duration. If anything, it will be the opposite…." Lily's face regained its colour quickly. Damn blushing! She would have to find a spell to prevent that from happening, or at least allow her to stop blushing at will. James's face coloured too. But, to his credit, he treated the situation with seriousness. Lily was beginning to see why he had been made Head Boy. For all his pranks and tricks, when a situation called for it, he was responsible.
"I think… we need… protection." His face was aflame, but he continued seriously. "I mean, I don't… and you certainly don't…" he was floundering, but determined to go on. Like Lily, he took a deep breath, collected his thoughts together, and continued on in a calm, rational voice. "Neither of us wants any of the implications, and we certainly don't want… children. Do you know of any charms or… anything… that could help?"
Lily decided to treat this like a theoretical problem in a class. She couldn't get any more embarrassed, so she should just ignore it. But… talking contraception for James! "I don't know about charms or spells… but my predecessor may have something useful on the make-up table. I haven't really looked properly."
They decided to look. Finally they found, tucked away in one of the drawers, a potion bottle. The caption read (much to both Lily's and James's embarrassment),
'Wary of the worry of pregnancy? Scared of the chance of disease? Well, Worry no More will soothe your fears, allowing you to take any relationship to the limit! The best magical contraception there is, with a 0 chance of pregnancy, allowing for 24 hours of complete freedom!'
"Well, there go all our worries." James muttered sarcastically. "We'd better take it, Lily, before the potion kicks in."
"Yeah. You first." James nodded and unstoppered the bottle. Immediately, a small plastic spoon came zooming out, full of a purplish liquid. It flew straight to James's mouth and made a 'choo choo' sound. James opened obediently and the little plastic spoon flew in and emptied itself down his throat.
"Great. It 'soothes our fears,' and it has a sense of humour." James's voice was dry, and sarcastic. Lily couldn't in all honestly blame in. It was her turn. She re-opened the bottle (it had closed itself) and allowed the spoon to deposit its potion on her tongue. Now they were safe.
"Whilst we're already dosed in love potion, do you think we should mop up the rest of it?" Lily asked.
James nodded, and for the next fifteen minutes they busied themselves cleaning up every last trace of love potion from the floor. Then Lily performed an un-breakable charm on all of the bottles, safe-guarding them against any more accidents. She looked at her watch, and decided it had been nearly half an hour.
"When do you think the potion will work?" James asked her.
"I don't know. Do you want to sit down, and talk for a while?"
They did so, carefully avoiding the subject of love potions. And when Lily's watch turned to 11:03, she felt her eyes drawn to James. Then she was falling and spinning, drowning in the brown eyes of James Potter. It was happening again.
Chapter Seven
"I think I know why the potion isn't working," Lily said, still looking into James's eyes."Me too." He smiled slightly, and then he kissed her. This was the first time that he had kissed her, when she was in control of her own actions. Was she in control? She found her arms wrapping around James's back, and she responded to his kiss. Could this be defined as control? Of course it was control, she told herself. It was what she wanted. But then, maybe the potion controlled the want. Maybe the effects of the first one hadn't yet worn off, or maybe it just worked a different way this time. Whatever was happening, she needed for her brain to be in control, no matter how much her emotions protested. Reluctantly, Lily broke off the kiss. James's eyes immediately filled with concern.
"Are you okay?" he asked, "What's wrong?"
"I need to think," Lily replied. It was true, she had to sort out this muddle before it became too much. She loved James… didn't she? Was it really her feelings, or was it the potion? The potion only worked for two hours, according to the recipe. Had she felt this way before she had taken the potion? Had she felt like this before she had taken the potion for the first time? Lily wasn't sure.
"James, is this us, or is this the potion working through us? Are we really…" Lily found that she couldn't say it, "… are we really in… in love?"
"Yes!" James said stoutly. But then his face clouded over. "Aren't you? Lily, I'm so sorry! I thought…"
"No! No, I feel… I think I love you. The problem is, is it the potion? Is it just working through us in a different way?" James looked relieved, then surprised, then thoughtful, and then resolved.
"We'll wait the two hours, and see how we feel after. Meanwhile, I guess we should really get on with the plan." He looked slightly regretful but determined nonetheless. Lily admired his strength of will. She envied his self-discipline. It was a quality she wished she had. In fact, there was a lot that was admirable about James…
She shook her head. If she was not careful, they would never put the potion in the Slytherin cups. She looked down at her watch: 8:29. They could sneak down to the kitchen and put the potion into the drinks now. Knowing the house elves, they would already have everything ready for breakfast tomorrow.
"So we'll go down to the kitchens with this now?"
"Yeah, sure. We'll go back to Gryffindor first, though, and get my invisibility cloak. So we don't get caught."
"Right. Good idea." They made their way to the door. They were within four meters of it when Lily's watch ticked over to 8:30. Lily was three metres away when she began to feel dizzy. She turned and looked at James. "Oh no." She saw his brown eyes, and they were the last thing she saw until she began spinning, spinning, spinning…
Lily found herself, and James, on one of the couches in a… compromising position. They were kissing, and James's hands were under her shirt, one on her stomach and one inching higher. He withdrew them immediately, and they both blushed. James's robes were off, revealing a pair of jeans and no shirt, but Lily was fully clothed. Thankfully.
James hastily searched around and found both his robes and shirt. He put them both on, and Lily splashed some water on her face. It didn't do anything to dissipate the blushing. Still, he was red too.
"What was up with that?" he asked, his face, if possible, getting even redder.
"Um… delayed reaction? Maybe the potion takes longer each time to work?"
"Maybe," James said doubtfully.
"Well, we can debate it later. Right now, it's10:30. I want to put the potion in the Slytherins' drinks and go to bed. I'm tired!" Lily said the last bit in a whine, but she was joking. James nodded and smiled, and then they went to get the bags.
"Hey Lily, be careful!" James said, grinning. "Bad luck comes in threes!"
"Not good luck?" Lily muttered very quietly, but she smiled back nonetheless. James didn't appear to have heard what she had said. And then, Lily could see what was going to happen. James was still walking forward, but he was looking back at her. There was still a puddle of potion on the floor. Lily cried out, but James was already slipping. He fell, face first in the potion. Lily called out, not without resignation,
"James! Close your eyes!" She, however, didn't bother to do so. She wasn't wet.
"I already have," he told her, the back of his neck red. Lily smiled grimly.
"I take it we face the consequences again?" Lily asked.
"I guess we don't have a choice. Oh, but make sure you get wet. I mean, covered in potion!" Lily snorted, but James continued. He couldn't really get any redder. "Because otherwise, I'll… love you and you won't… well, feel the same." No, she had been wrong. He could get redder.
"True." Lily said. I'll do that now." Lily closed her eyes, and inched forward on her hands and knees. Suddenly, her hands were wet. "I've got potion on me."
"Right. Open your eyes on the count of three."
"One,"
"Two,"
They said, "Three!" together, and looked at each other. Again, Lily saw those brown eyes. They were becoming familiar. But, again, she didn't find herself spinning or falling.
"Delayed reaction again, do you think?"
"Yes," James replied, "D'you want to sit down and wait?"
"Yes, sure." They made it to the couches and sat. Suddenly Lily had a thought. All the colour drained from her face.
"What is it?" James asked, concern very apparent in his voice.
"I… I just thought of something," Lily told him. It was embarrassing, but she had to say it, or suffer the consequences.
"Yes?" James asked with some trepidation, mixed with curiosity and worry.
"You see…" Lily took a moment to collect her thoughts. Then she continued, "Can you remember the state of… disarray we were in when the last potion wore off? What if it… goes further this time? I doubt being under the influence of a potion will… render either of us sterile for the duration. If anything, it will be the opposite…." Lily's face regained its colour quickly. Damn blushing! She would have to find a spell to prevent that from happening, or at least allow her to stop blushing at will. James's face coloured too. But, to his credit, he treated the situation with seriousness. Lily was beginning to see why he had been made Head Boy. For all his pranks and tricks, when a situation called for it, he was responsible.
"I think… we need… protection." His face was aflame, but he continued seriously. "I mean, I don't… and you certainly don't…" he was floundering, but determined to go on. Like Lily, he took a deep breath, collected his thoughts together, and continued on in a calm, rational voice. "Neither of us wants any of the implications, and we certainly don't want… children. Do you know of any charms or… anything… that could help?"
Lily decided to treat this like a theoretical problem in a class. She couldn't get any more embarrassed, so she should just ignore it. But… talking contraception for James! "I don't know about charms or spells… but my predecessor may have something useful on the make-up table. I haven't really looked properly."
They decided to look. Finally they found, tucked away in one of the drawers, a potion bottle. The caption read (much to both Lily's and James's embarrassment),
'Wary of the worry of pregnancy? Scared of the chance of disease? Well, Worry no More will soothe your fears, allowing you to take any relationship to the limit! The best magical contraception there is, with a 0 chance of pregnancy, allowing for 24 hours of complete freedom!'
"Well, there go all our worries." James muttered sarcastically. "We'd better take it, Lily, before the potion kicks in."
"Yeah. You first." James nodded and unstoppered the bottle. Immediately, a small plastic spoon came zooming out, full of a purplish liquid. It flew straight to James's mouth and made a 'choo choo' sound. James opened obediently and the little plastic spoon flew in and emptied itself down his throat.
"Great. It 'soothes our fears,' and it has a sense of humour." James's voice was dry, and sarcastic. Lily couldn't in all honestly blame in. It was her turn. She re-opened the bottle (it had closed itself) and allowed the spoon to deposit its potion on her tongue. Now they were safe.
"Whilst we're already dosed in love potion, do you think we should mop up the rest of it?" Lily asked.
James nodded, and for the next fifteen minutes they busied themselves cleaning up every last trace of love potion from the floor. Then Lily performed an un-breakable charm on all of the bottles, safe-guarding them against any more accidents. She looked at her watch, and decided it had been nearly half an hour.
"When do you think the potion will work?" James asked her.
"I don't know. Do you want to sit down, and talk for a while?"
They did so, carefully avoiding the subject of love potions. And when Lily's watch turned to 11:03, she felt her eyes drawn to James. Then she was falling and spinning, drowning in the brown eyes of James Potter. It was happening again.