Chapter 20: He called me Lily
He called me Lily... Lily thought disbelievingly as she made her way down the side of the Gryffindor table, one of her fingers trailing lightly along the surface of the table as she walked. She could feel his eyes on her back, burning into her, and she tried to walk as normal as possible. Her legs felt stiff and awkward and she found herself stumbling along instead of walking smoothly, her book bag banging against her leg as she moved.
She bent her head down and looked at the floor, making her hair fall down like walls to conceal her face on both sides. She didn't want anyone to spot her embarrassment; she could feel herself blushing. Curiously, she flicked her eyes upwards and glanced around to see that the Great Hall was still a bit empty and she would have to wait a little while for dinner to appear. She hoped that Alice or Wilona would show up soon because she would feel silly sitting alone at the end of the table with no one to talk to.
Lily finally came to a stop farther from the end of the table than she had planned on, and then plopped down onto the bench, putting her hands in her lap and sitting primly. She looked around again, noticing that several teachers had started to filter into the room, including Headmaster Dumbledore. She had meant to not look in James's direction at all, but her eyes fell subconsciously upon the Gryffindor table and the few people that were sitting there.
He was staring at her. Highly disturbed, she quickly turned away and watched as Nearly Headless Nick floated through the wall on her left and into the room, gliding above the Gryffindor table. He tipped his hat to Lily as he went by and continued down the table. She watched as he briskly saluted the Bloody Baron, who was crossing the Great Hall to get to the Slytherin table. The Gryffindor ghost saluted James and Sirius also, and even seemed to give Sirius a handshake. Lily furrowed her eyebrows slightly and let her eyes linger a little too long on the two Marauders because as soon as the ghost left them, James glanced in her direction and saw that she was looking at him again. Before she turned her head away this time, she thought she saw a slight, hopeful smile form on his mouth. A genuine smile, not a look-at-me-I'm-the-great-James-Potter grin. But she turned away too fast, so it may have well been that very grin.
She stared at the wall on her left again and followed a tapestry design that went up to the ceiling, where her eyes met the dark, swirling, misty night sky. The stars had just started to poke through the soft, velvet covering of the sky, each pinprick of light trying to make its way down to earth, to where she was sitting. The ceiling mesmerized her tonight, with its violet and blue hues and misty smoothness; the crescent moon hung gracefully off to the side, glowing softly.
Just then, she heard someone force a cough in front of her and she watched as a tall body with a head full of dark, gracefully placed hair sat down across from her before she could react.
"Uh. Hi," said Sirius Black, smiling nervously as he looked at her hesitantly, his hands folded together on the table. She felt her cheeks begin to warm up faintly and she raised her eyebrows at him in surprise. She didn't see James next to him anywhere so she looked to her right, where she figured he would be sitting, just to torment her. To her surprise he wasn't there.
Then someone to her left forced another cough and she turned her head apprehensively to meet the gazing, hazel eyes of the head Marauder.
-
James Potter stared into Lily Evans' vibrant, emerald eyes and saw the hatred and uncertainty lingering deep inside their sparkling depths. He wanted to purge her of them, the hatred especially, and then sprinkle her with kisses that would make her fall in love with him. Vaguely in the back of his mind he heard someone say, "What are you doing here?" but he just stared at her, watching her long, light eyelashes come down over her eyes as she blinked patiently beside him. His eyes traveled down her small freckled nose and landed on her mouth. Her lips were so fresh-looking, so peach colored; their softness was enticing, he wanted to reach his finger out and touch them to see what they felt like.
Suddenly, he felt himself leaning forward slowly, everything ran in slow motion as her beautiful eyes came closer and closer, blinking expectantly at him. He tilted his head slightly sideways and softly met her alluring lips with his mouth. They were just as soft as he thought they would be and he closed his eyes blissfully as he gently kissed her. He brought his hand up to her chin and continued kissing her, pressing a little harder now. She exhaled and then brought a hand up to the back of his neck, gently raking her nails against his skin, making him shiver. He tilted his head the other way and she responded, turning her head and kissing him deeper, pressing her soft lips harder against his. Her mouth opened slightly-
"James?... James?... PRONGS?!"
Abruptly, James watched as Lily's face and soft lips mysteriously zoomed away from him and he found himself looking at her raised eyebrows and suspicious eyes. He blinked. Someone across the table asked him if he was "there." He looked over and saw Sirius staring at him with an odd expression on his face, waiting for an answer.
"Huh?" James said confusedly, shaking his head. He wondered what Sirius was doing here.
"What are you doing?" he heard Lily ask, but he wanted to ask her the same exact question. James wanted to know how she could look so calm after what they had both just experienced. He looked back and forth between Sirius and Lily, trying to sort out the mess in his brain and calm himself down from the delicious kiss. He didn't think anything that wonderful was possible.
"I think you zoned out, buddy," Sirius said, nodding.
Lily snorted and then said, "Maybe you should go zone out somewhere else then, PRONGS."
James stared at her in blunt realization, and disappointment as well, with his mouth hanging open and his eyes widened. He tried to say something but he couldn't, his mouth just kept opening and closing. He took and deep breath and then let out the biggest sigh of his life before putting his head on the table. He was so embarrassed. How could he have possible thought that that had really happened? Kissing Lily Evans was something that would never happen in his lifetime, she had made that clear with her loathing of him.
He stayed with his head down on the table for a couple seconds until he heard Sirius say, "Remus and Peter are here, James." James lifted his head up, avoiding Lily's gaze, and saw his two friends walking toward them looking puzzled.
"Um.. can we go down there, James? I just wanted to talk to you about something.." Remus asked, looking around at James, Sirius, and Lily, trying to assess the situation.
"Uh, sure. Yeah," James mumbled, fumbling to pick up his bag as he stood up.
"See you later, Lily," Sirius said pointedly to James.
"See you later, Lily," James mumbled to Lily, who was sitting on the bench looking thoroughly confused, her mouth was hanging open and her eyes blinked again at him.
As James and Sirius followed the other two to their usual spot at the Gryffindor table, Sirius turned to James and asked almost worriedly, "What happened back there?"
James stared at his feet moving methodically across the stone floor and laughed nervously. "I don't know. It was nothing really." But he wasn't sure if he was trying to convince Sirius of that, or himself.
He called me Lily... Lily thought disbelievingly as she made her way down the side of the Gryffindor table, one of her fingers trailing lightly along the surface of the table as she walked. She could feel his eyes on her back, burning into her, and she tried to walk as normal as possible. Her legs felt stiff and awkward and she found herself stumbling along instead of walking smoothly, her book bag banging against her leg as she moved.
She bent her head down and looked at the floor, making her hair fall down like walls to conceal her face on both sides. She didn't want anyone to spot her embarrassment; she could feel herself blushing. Curiously, she flicked her eyes upwards and glanced around to see that the Great Hall was still a bit empty and she would have to wait a little while for dinner to appear. She hoped that Alice or Wilona would show up soon because she would feel silly sitting alone at the end of the table with no one to talk to.
Lily finally came to a stop farther from the end of the table than she had planned on, and then plopped down onto the bench, putting her hands in her lap and sitting primly. She looked around again, noticing that several teachers had started to filter into the room, including Headmaster Dumbledore. She had meant to not look in James's direction at all, but her eyes fell subconsciously upon the Gryffindor table and the few people that were sitting there.
He was staring at her. Highly disturbed, she quickly turned away and watched as Nearly Headless Nick floated through the wall on her left and into the room, gliding above the Gryffindor table. He tipped his hat to Lily as he went by and continued down the table. She watched as he briskly saluted the Bloody Baron, who was crossing the Great Hall to get to the Slytherin table. The Gryffindor ghost saluted James and Sirius also, and even seemed to give Sirius a handshake. Lily furrowed her eyebrows slightly and let her eyes linger a little too long on the two Marauders because as soon as the ghost left them, James glanced in her direction and saw that she was looking at him again. Before she turned her head away this time, she thought she saw a slight, hopeful smile form on his mouth. A genuine smile, not a look-at-me-I'm-the-great-James-Potter grin. But she turned away too fast, so it may have well been that very grin.
She stared at the wall on her left again and followed a tapestry design that went up to the ceiling, where her eyes met the dark, swirling, misty night sky. The stars had just started to poke through the soft, velvet covering of the sky, each pinprick of light trying to make its way down to earth, to where she was sitting. The ceiling mesmerized her tonight, with its violet and blue hues and misty smoothness; the crescent moon hung gracefully off to the side, glowing softly.
Just then, she heard someone force a cough in front of her and she watched as a tall body with a head full of dark, gracefully placed hair sat down across from her before she could react.
"Uh. Hi," said Sirius Black, smiling nervously as he looked at her hesitantly, his hands folded together on the table. She felt her cheeks begin to warm up faintly and she raised her eyebrows at him in surprise. She didn't see James next to him anywhere so she looked to her right, where she figured he would be sitting, just to torment her. To her surprise he wasn't there.
Then someone to her left forced another cough and she turned her head apprehensively to meet the gazing, hazel eyes of the head Marauder.
-
James Potter stared into Lily Evans' vibrant, emerald eyes and saw the hatred and uncertainty lingering deep inside their sparkling depths. He wanted to purge her of them, the hatred especially, and then sprinkle her with kisses that would make her fall in love with him. Vaguely in the back of his mind he heard someone say, "What are you doing here?" but he just stared at her, watching her long, light eyelashes come down over her eyes as she blinked patiently beside him. His eyes traveled down her small freckled nose and landed on her mouth. Her lips were so fresh-looking, so peach colored; their softness was enticing, he wanted to reach his finger out and touch them to see what they felt like.
Suddenly, he felt himself leaning forward slowly, everything ran in slow motion as her beautiful eyes came closer and closer, blinking expectantly at him. He tilted his head slightly sideways and softly met her alluring lips with his mouth. They were just as soft as he thought they would be and he closed his eyes blissfully as he gently kissed her. He brought his hand up to her chin and continued kissing her, pressing a little harder now. She exhaled and then brought a hand up to the back of his neck, gently raking her nails against his skin, making him shiver. He tilted his head the other way and she responded, turning her head and kissing him deeper, pressing her soft lips harder against his. Her mouth opened slightly-
"James?... James?... PRONGS?!"
Abruptly, James watched as Lily's face and soft lips mysteriously zoomed away from him and he found himself looking at her raised eyebrows and suspicious eyes. He blinked. Someone across the table asked him if he was "there." He looked over and saw Sirius staring at him with an odd expression on his face, waiting for an answer.
"Huh?" James said confusedly, shaking his head. He wondered what Sirius was doing here.
"What are you doing?" he heard Lily ask, but he wanted to ask her the same exact question. James wanted to know how she could look so calm after what they had both just experienced. He looked back and forth between Sirius and Lily, trying to sort out the mess in his brain and calm himself down from the delicious kiss. He didn't think anything that wonderful was possible.
"I think you zoned out, buddy," Sirius said, nodding.
Lily snorted and then said, "Maybe you should go zone out somewhere else then, PRONGS."
James stared at her in blunt realization, and disappointment as well, with his mouth hanging open and his eyes widened. He tried to say something but he couldn't, his mouth just kept opening and closing. He took and deep breath and then let out the biggest sigh of his life before putting his head on the table. He was so embarrassed. How could he have possible thought that that had really happened? Kissing Lily Evans was something that would never happen in his lifetime, she had made that clear with her loathing of him.
He stayed with his head down on the table for a couple seconds until he heard Sirius say, "Remus and Peter are here, James." James lifted his head up, avoiding Lily's gaze, and saw his two friends walking toward them looking puzzled.
"Um.. can we go down there, James? I just wanted to talk to you about something.." Remus asked, looking around at James, Sirius, and Lily, trying to assess the situation.
"Uh, sure. Yeah," James mumbled, fumbling to pick up his bag as he stood up.
"See you later, Lily," Sirius said pointedly to James.
"See you later, Lily," James mumbled to Lily, who was sitting on the bench looking thoroughly confused, her mouth was hanging open and her eyes blinked again at him.
As James and Sirius followed the other two to their usual spot at the Gryffindor table, Sirius turned to James and asked almost worriedly, "What happened back there?"
James stared at his feet moving methodically across the stone floor and laughed nervously. "I don't know. It was nothing really." But he wasn't sure if he was trying to convince Sirius of that, or himself.