The next morning I was so happy that for a moment, I was absolutely
positive that it was a dream.
I glanced at my watch (7:00) and walked out to the common room. I didn't expect James to be up; breakfast was at 7:30 and guys ALWAYS sleep in. But he was there, doing- guess what? READING. Not a school book. He was reading for fun. James Potter.
"Pray tell, have you gone mentally insane?" I asked.
"No good morning?" he said, shutting his book after bending the corner of the page to mark his spot. "Yes, I'm a human. I read."
"What are you reading?"
"Everything You Didn't Want to Know About Being an Auror," he said. "I'm gonna be an Auror."
"Really?" I asked. "Me too. Should I wait for you to go down for breakfast?"
"Yeah, I'll be out in five," he replied. "Just you wait till breakfast."
"James Potter, what are you going to do now?" I asked warily.
"Beginning-of-the-year entertainment," he grinned. Oh, that grin. Makes you weak in the knees, let me tell you.
I sighed audibly and returned to my room to change.
Five minutes later, he and I were walking down to breakfast arm-in- arm. My, my. 24 hours before I was cornered by my Lily-hating sister, wishing James Potter would ever look at me. And here I was....
I gasped as I saw the latest Maurauders' trick.
Above the Slytherin table were numerous fake snakes twisted to form the words, "Slytherin sucks major snake ass."
I turned to look at James; he was dying of laughter. He let go of my arm and ran to his three best friends. They clapped each other on the back.
"Great job, Prongs," congratulated Sirius.
"You too, mate," returned James.
The Great Hall erupted into laughter at the sight of the snakes.
"Potter, Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew!" shrieked Professor M. "Customary start-of-the-year detention for all of you! You know the time! Same as usual! 5 o'clock! My office!"
The students laughed even harder.
I sat down next to James, who shrugged. "It was worth it."
Sirius looked at me for a few seconds.
"Uh, Jamesie, is there something you'd like to share with the family?"
"Oh, right," said James. He took my hand and told them seriously, "Guys, I didn't particularly want to tell you before, but Lily and I hooked up over the summer, and, well, you see, we're going to be parents in about eight months."
His lip twitched and he almost burst out laughing. I stared at him in horror but stayed silent.
"You what?!" shouted the other three Maurauders at once.
"But- but- Jamesie, you-" stuttered Sirius. Remus and Peter were mouthing words without sounds.
"Psyche!" laughed James. "Should've taken a picture of the looks on your faces. Priceless."
His three best friends sighed in relief.
"James, you really, really scared me," said Remus concernedly. "Was it just the summer without seeing you every day, or did you get worse?"
"Both, I guess," James decided.
"Prongs, how'd you ever get her to go out with you?" asked Sirius in awe, speaking as though I wasn't there. "Remember, you're the pompous asshole? Oh, never mind, it was, 'I'm surprised your broom can get off the ground with a fathead like that on it. You make me sick!'"
Remus and James laughed at Sirius' accurate imitation of Lily in fifth year. Peter, being Peter and not remembering that incident, just laughed along for the sake of it.
"Yeah, Lil, you know my boyfriends- Padfoot, Moony, Wormtail."
"Boyfriends?" I repeated.
"Hey, we're not gay," said James. "Girls say girlfriends, so we're boyfriends."
"Sure, whatever," I said dismissively, pecking him on the lips. I couldn't go another second without touching him.
"Ooh! Ooh! I call godfather!" yelled Sirius. "Best man, too, actually, on second thought."
"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," said James. Little did any of us know that James and I would choose Sirius for best man and godfather.
"Padfoot, settle down," said Lupin. "James, do you have Quidditch tonight?"
"Uh-huh. Why?"
"Because he wants to go on a date with you." Sirius rolled his eyes.
"Oh yeah, isn't tonight our start-of-year Maurauders Meeting?" Peter asked.
"No..." said Sirius sarcastically. They all eyed Wormtail sympathetically. He never knew anything. But that was what made him funny.
"Mail," said Remus.
Sirius and James got about 500 love letters each; everyone had a crush on them. James burned his right away.
"But, Jamesie, I was gonna read yours," complained Sirius. "I read mine. Hey, this one's from Kemmy."
"She's hott," said Lupin fervently. "Go out with her."
"Hmm... I'll pay her a visit after Charms.... Honestly, I don't get the point of Charms. You turn on charm when you want something. I don't need to go to that class."
I coughed as a result of a badly-covered snort.
"What, you don't think I'm charming, Lilly-Billy?"
"Yes, Sirius, I do. Of course. And if you call me that again, you will not see the end of it," I said swiftly.
"Oh shit," swore James, studying the schedule. "You'd think that they'd learn that we don't want to have Potions with the damn Slytherins. We're with them EVERY FREAKIN' YEAR!" He shouted the last part, and several people looked at him.
"Old Lucy girl was made Slytherin Quidditch captain," informed Lupin.
"Lucy girl?" I asked, confused.
"Lucius," James explained.
"Ugh! Jamesie poo, what's that on your neck?" smiled Sirius.
"I know, Padfoot. It's my head. That one's getting old." He flung a piece of toast at Sirius.
"Are they always like this?" I asked Remus and Peter as James and Sirius started having a food fight as soon as Sirius yelled out, "ALL-OUT FOOD WAR!"
"Sadly, yes," replied Lupin. Peter nodded in agreement.
"James!" I said. He emerged from under the table with marmalade plastered over his eye. "I'm gonna go talk to Narcissa. Meet you at Charms?"
He nodded and grabbed a boiled egg, threw it at Sirius, and ducked behind Remus as a pitcher of orange juice came down over his head.
I signaled for Narcissa to meet me in the Entrance Hall.
"Hey, Cissa," I said. "What's up?"
"Oh my god, did I just see you with James Potter, sex god of all time?"
"Yeah, but how would you know he's a sex god?"
"Did you sleep with him?" she asked eagerly. "Share!"
"My god, we only hooked up last night!" I exclaimed. "And I'm checking into that sex god thing. I don't think he's slept with anyone."
"Oh, Lil, you've got to change that!" she shrieked. "The first is the best! Trust me! From experience!"
"Eww! Cissa!" I slapped her on the arm. "Thanks for sharing. Very funny. I don't think I want to be that physical with him. Yet. Hey, do you want me to hook you up with Sirius? He's hott, too, you know. Who cares if he's in Gryffindor?"
"Uh, sorry, I can't, Lil. Lucius asked me out last night."
"Oh my god, Cissa! He's so cute, too!"
"Do you say that about every guy?" she asked. "First James, then Sirius, now Lucius?"
"Yeah, guys are awesome," I sighed.
"And plus, Lil," said Narcissa. "Didn't you know Sirius and I are cousins?"
"No way!" I cried. "I never knew that! That's so funny!"
"Well, I kind of assumed you would know that."
"Oh well. Cissa, I gotta go. I'll see you at Potions, all right?"
"Take care, Lil! Make moves on James!"
I turned back and shouted, "Cissa! I'm going to kill you!"
"Just doing my job as a Slytherin and a best friend," she grinned.
"Toodles!" I called.
"Peace out!" she replied.
That's how we always say goodbye.
I walked down the Charms corridor thinking. Yes, I was a virgin, though I'd gotten to second base more times than I've had dreams about James. I consider my virginity very valuable, and I will most definitely not be throwing it around unless I meet someone very special. And that special person has not come around my way, yet. The question was, was James a pimp? I convinced myself that there was more to James than sleeping around.
I ran into Kemmy Michaels, a seventh year Gryffindor, on the way to class. Kemmy is nice and funny, but not best friend material. I hang around her when Narcissa's sick.
"Hey, Lily!" she said. "Nice summer?"
"Far from. You?"
"Great," she replied.
"Oh, Kem, just beware Sirius today," I informed her.
"Huh?"
"He's gonna ask you out," I explained. "Say yes, at least for now; I don't want him mad."
"I'd go out with him any day," she grinned. "Oh my god, is he a hottie!"
"Hmm... yeah," I replied.
"Yeah?" she echoed. "That's all you have to say about him?"
"Well, I'm going out with James, so, you know, I'm kind of biased."
"Oh my god. James Potter?" she shrieked.
"How many James's do we know?" I said.
"Oh, you are sooo lucky!" she cried.
"Trust me, I'm aware of that," I said. "See you around."
"Bye, Lily!"
I walked off to Charms before I became too late. That was the great thing about being popular. You always had people talking to you; you were never bored.
Then I laughed out loud as I thought of Sirius. That guy was original. No one was like Sirius. Back in second year, he'd formally announced in the Gryffindor common room that no, he did NOT think girls had cooties anymore. And since then, he'd been all over the girls. I'm surprised he's not permanently scarred because of all the times he's made moves on girls (butt pinching, etc.). And he always gets kicked and slapped by them. Sirius is such a lady's man; he has no shame.
I entered the Charms classroom. Charms is my absolute favorite subject. I'm so good at it. I plopped down by James, who was actually on time for once.
"So!" squeaked Professor Flitwick. "You are entering your last and by far most difficult year of Charms."
James pulled out a piece of parchment and wrote, I'm bored all ready.
Surprise, surprise, I wrote under that.
Wormtail'll be pissed off at you today, he scribbled. Just ignore him.
Why? I wrote.
Because he doesn't think that we can trust you with the secrets of the map and cloak and Animagi.
Oh well, I spelled out. I don't really like him anyway. I mean, I know he's one of your best friends and all. Sorry.
Well, I'm pissed off at him now, too, he scrawled.
"Miss Evans!" called Flitwick. "For the third time, what is the Animagus Revealing Charm?"
"It, er, forces a person to show an image of what animal they'd be if they were an Animagus, and if the person is an Animagus, it forces them into their animal form."
"Yes, thank you. Five points to Gryffindor. Pair into groups now and practice the Charm. The incantation is 'Revelatory Animagical.'"
I caught James's eye. He was dangerously pale.
"But- Professor- this has to do with Transfiguration. Why are we doing it in Charms?" he protested.
"Because I say so, Potter," Flitwick replied. "And I am the teacher here, not you."
"Lil, that's gonna force us into Animagus form!" he hissed.
"Us?" I repeated. "You're all Animagi?"
"Yeah," said Sirius urgently. "Come on, there's gotta be a way around this."
"You're the Animagi; you should know," I snapped.
"Just do something. Fast," whispered Lupin. Of course, I had no way of knowing then, as I'd find out later, that Remus was a werewolf. Of course this charm wouldn't turn him into a werewolf, but he was worried for his friends.
"Hmm... watch this," I said. I walked up to Professor Flitwick and sweetly asked, "Is there a spell that you would use that wouldn't turn an Animagus into their form?"
"Yes, Miss Evans," he answered. "It would just show an image of their Animagus. That has a slightly different incantation. 'Revealno Animagical.'"
"Oh, thanks, Professor. I was just curious."
"Anything for my favorite student," he smiled.
I walked slowly to the Maurauders, but as soon as Flitwick looked away, I sprinted back to them.
"'Revealno Animagical,'" I whispered.
"Oh yeah!" said Sirius. "I remember reading that!"
"Oh, well thanks for remembering," said James sarcastically. "Thanks, Lily."
"Anytime," I replied. I quickly kissed him on the lips.
"Ugh... get a room, would you?" muttered Sirius.
"Let's start," suggested Remus. "Prongs, let me do it on you first."
"Sure," said James.
"'Revealno Animagical!'" he chanted. A small figure of a stag appeared over James's head.
"Lemme try," said James to Lupin. "'Revealno Animagical!'"
I fell, giggling, into James's chest. "He's an anteater Animagus?"
"Er, yeah..." said James.
"Yeah, he is!" said Sirius, cottoning on.
"Can I try on you, Padfoot?" asked Wormtail almost too eagerly.
"You do that, Wormtail," said Sirius.
"Revel- no, I mean, revealno animagi- no, animagus. Sorry, Padfoot!"
Sirius had just grown a beard.
"Deletrius," he muttered, and the beard disappeared. "Wormtail, you're hopeless."
Peter grinned sheepishly.
"And it's not a compliment," James scowled.
We sat in silence for a few minutes, which was a record for Sirius and James, so they must have been really mad at Peter.
At the end of class, we were dismissed with a homework assignment of researching the registered Animagi of the century.
"We have the oh-so-lovely class Potions next, right?" asked Sirius.
"Yup," said James gloomily.
"Guys, I'll see you later, okay?" asked Peter.
James snorted. "And don't come back," he whispered so only Sirius, Remus, and I could hear.
"Ah, Ashley, dear!" exclaimed Sirius, walking over to a pretty Hufflepuff who he hit on quite regularly. You could say that she was his only serious crush. But she didn't think that he was serious about her.
"Oh, Sirius, not you," she grumbled.
"Oh, go on, don't you just want to go out with me?" asked Sirius, nibbling her earlobe.
"Sirius," she warned, though she could barely contain the look of pleasure on her face.
"No? Are you sure?" Sirius pinched her butt.
"Sirius Black!" she shrieked. "How dare you!"
"Just remember, I'm waiting for you," winked Sirius, and Ashley left.
"Padfoot, you're something," grinned James. "What, are you head-over- heels for her now?"
"No, I don't love her. She's just hott," replied Sirius. "I already know who I'm madly in love with."
"Who?" asked Lupin curiously.
"Lily," smirked Sirius.
"Sorry, I'm taken," I said, holding up James's hand that I was holding.
"You wouldn't mind a threesome, Jamesie, would you?" asked Sirius slyly.
"Get a life, Padfoot," grinned James.
"I have one," said Sirius. "Hey, I didn't do that summer Potions homework."
"Oh, me neither," said James casually as if he didn't care, because he really didn't.
"What were you two doing the whole summer?" I asked.
"I was at James's house," said Sirius.
I rolled my eyes. "That explains a whole bunch already."
"No, we went to the beach," said James earnestly.
"And watched the ladies," added Sirius dreamily.
They both paused reminiscently.
"Best days of my life," sighed Sirius.
"Did we mention it was a nude beach?" asked James.
I pulled my hand out of his. "What?!" I shrieked. "A nude beach?!"
James and Sirius laughed.
James said, "No, Lil, we're kidding."
"I hate you!" I said indignantly.
"You're so cute when you're mad," said James.
"Not taken as a compliment!" I snapped. "I'm going to class before you all kill me." I turned and stalked off.
~ ~ ~ Regular POV~ ~ ~
"Hey, she must like you a lot to be that jealous," said Lupin. "Take it as a good sign."
"Prongs, she looked like she was about to curse you," Sirius laughed. "Good one, though."
"I don't think she really likes me," said James doubtfully.
"Are you serious?" Padfoot asked in disbelief.
"No, you are, remember? I'm James," said James.
"Cute, Jamesie, real cute," said Sirius. "I mean it. She adores you! You can tell! Jamesly!" Sirius didn't like the word 'seriously' being named after him, so they now said 'Jamesly.'
"Yeah, she does," nodded Lupin fervently. "She'd never break up with you."
"So you're saying...?" asked James.
"Unless she's a really good actress, I think she's the one," Lupin said.
"Lilyly," added Sirius.
~ ~ ~Lily's POV~ ~ ~
Five minutes later, we were seated in Potions.
James sat down next to me and I made a huffy noise.
"Just don't say anything like that again, okay?" I said. "I like you too much."
"Me too, Lil," he replied.
He kissed me really quickly before Professor Taylor began talking.
"I always start off the year with the Polyjuice Potion, a one-month project," he started. "Divide up into pairs."
I scooted closer next to James.
"Moony, I don't suppose you'd mind if I coupled with Kemmy, huh?" asked Sirius.
"Mhm... yeah, I'll just stay with Wormtail," frowned Remus. "I hate you, Padfoot."
Wormtail scowled at Lupin, finally understanding one of the disses that came his way.
"Hello, Kemmy," said Sirius in a sexy voice.
Kemmy grinned at Sirius (such a player, he was) and turned around to Narcissa, whom she was going to be partners with.
"Sorry, Cissa. Go with Lucius. Is that all right?"
So Narcissa paired up with her boyfriend, leaving one person partnerless.
"Severus, why don't you join Lily and James?" suggested Professor Taylor. Honestly, didn't the guy take the hint with James and Snape fighting in the halls? They didn't like each other one bit, and the teachers never seemed to understand that, perhaps Professor M.
"Potter?" Snape echoed. "For a month?"
"Yes," nodded the Professor. "I'm sure James won't mind."
Yes... we all know James did mind. And I know how James gets around Snape. That's the part of him that kept me from going out with him before now.
Snape, in greasy entirety, dragged his cauldron over reluctantly.
"Good morning, Snivellus," said James in a would-be polite voice.
I pinched him to remind him that on no account was he to be mean to Snape, at least not while I was around.
"All right, all right, Lil," he whispered. "I'll be nice." When Snape turned away, he added, "Just for you."
Professor Taylor talked for half an hour about ingredients for the potion and the like. I listened with rapt attention because I knew James wouldn't. Snape might, but I wasn't taking that chance.
I leaned over James's shoulder to see what he was writing; it couldn't be notes. It was the initials L.E. and J.P. enclosed in a heart.
He turned around, grinned, pecked me on the lips, and returned to embellishing the letters.
Snape let out a loud sigh, rolled his eyes, and sank lower into his chair as he saw the PDA.
At the end of the lecture, we were supposed to go get ingredients. So we got them, and guess who did all the work? Yes, me. James and Severus sat there the whole time, shooting dirty looks at each other. And Professor didn't even make them work.
"You know you're going to help me next time, right?" I asked both of them as the bell rang.
"Uh-huh," said James, and he ran to his best friends before he lost self-control and cursed Snape, because he looked like he was about to do just that.
Snape smiled at me and left, and I was like, whoa, dude, why did he just smile at me?
I shook my head, stuffed my books in my bag, and ran to catch up with Cissa.
"Hey, Cissa," I said. "Do you want to hang out at my common room during break after lunch?"
"And meet James?" she sighed.
"Uh, Cissa, for one thing, he's mine; for another, you're going out with Lucius. But yeah, he'll probably be there."
"Then I'll come," she said. "My god, Lily, it's James Potter! It's like touching royalty!"
"Narcissa, dear, boys are getting to your head." I patted her arm sympathetically. "See you after lunch. Toodles."
"Peace out," she replied.
"We shouldn't do that," I said. "It's getting old and annoying."
"You're right," she agreed. "Bye, then."
"Bye."
I ambled over to the Gryffindor table and dropped down on the seat and sighed.
"Tired?" asked James.
"No, too much stuff happened since I got here already," I replied. "Just overwhelmed."
I started piling loads of food onto my plate.
The boys stared, open-mouthed, at me.
"How do you stay so damn skinny?" asked Sirius.
"Fast metabolism, I guess," I shrugged. "I hate exercise."
"I think I'd be this huge chunk of fat if I didn't play Quidditch," said James.
"Let me see if you have blubber," I said. I pinched his side. Nope. Lovely muscles, no jiggly sick stuff.
"Don't, Lil! That tickles!" He elbowed me.
"Ah, Prongs, you're ticklish?" asked Lupin. "I didn't know that."
"Now we know how to get you to do something," said Sirius mischievously.
"You guys are awfully quiet," I observed. "I mean, for you, at least."
"Wormtail," muttered James.
"Oh yeah, where is he?" I looked around and found Peter sitting at the other end of the table with a few guys. "What's the deal with him anyway?"
"He's really angry at us for telling you about the map and Animagi stuff," explained Sirius.
"And it's really stupid," said Lupin. "He doesn't think we can trust you at all."
"How gay of him," I frowned.
"I know," said James. "I mean, you're about as bad as us. You could be the fifth Maurauder."
"Yeah? What would my nickname be?" I asked.
"How about Lil-lay-me-down-and-kiss-me-senseless?" suggested Sirius.
James flung a spoonful of mashed potatoes at him. I laughed.
"You know, that might be a little too long," I grinned.
"Princess Tiger Lily," said Lupin quietly.
"That's from Peter Pan!" I exclaimed.
"Peter Pan?" asked James and Sirius.
"Muggle story," I answered. "Remus, I didn't know you read that stuff."
"It's interesting," he shrugged.
"I like it. Princess Tiger Lily," I decided.
"Tiger for short," said James.
"Yeah, you know, both Lily and tigers have orangish hair," Sirius observed.
We all just kind of looked at him weirdly.
"Hang on," said James.
"What?"
He whispered in Sirius and Remus' ears for a few seconds.
"Yes," Sirius said evilly, his eyes glinting.
"What?" I repeated.
"To become a full-fledged Maurauder, you must do two more things," said Sirius brightly.
"Now what?" I sighed.
James pulled up his robe sleeve to reveal-
"You have tattoos?" I shrieked.
For on his bicep, his lovely muscular bicep, was a red-and-gold word Prongs, accented with gold lightning bolts.
"Oh my god! When did you do this?"
"Summer after fifth year," replied Sirius. He and Remus pulled up their sleeves. Sirius' said Padfoot and was surrounded by fire. Remus' said Moony and had a crescent moon on the right of it.
"Now you have to get one. Please?" implored James with a puppy face, something I couldn't resist.
"I suppose," I grumbled, more for James than anything. "I'm supposed to be a brave Gryffindor. But no arm, okay? Lover back or ankle."
"Lower back," said James, licking his lips.
I hit his arm. "What's the other thing?" I asked suspiciously.
"Become an Animagus," said Sirius quickly, maybe in the hopes that I wouldn't hear it and hit him. "A tiger."
"Doesn't that take a long time, though?" I asked. "Like years?"
Sirius exhaled the breath he had been holding while waiting for my smack, but it didn't come.
"No, we've done it before and we get the gist of it, so I'd say a couple of months," shrugged James.
"You guys, if anyone finds out, we're so screwed," I warned.
"We're aware of that," nodded Lupin.
"So you're okay with it?" asked James happily.
"I guess," I sighed.
"Welcome, Princess Tiger Lily, newest member of the Maurauders," grinned Sirius.
"Cheers," I said. We all clinked goblets.
"Narcissa's coming to the common room at break," I said.
"Me and Moony are visiting, too," said Sirius.
"I'll meet you there, okay?"
"Sure," they said.
I slung my bag over my shoulder and headed off to the Head Dorm.
A/N Sorry I kinda left you there, but if I would've finished the whole next part in this same chapter, it would've been REALLY long. So I made it separate. What say you? Like? Or no like? Just to clarify, though Lily and James REALLY like each other, neither of them is in the love stage, k? I want that to be a special part of the story. Just to let you know.
~iluvdraco4eva (Marina)
I glanced at my watch (7:00) and walked out to the common room. I didn't expect James to be up; breakfast was at 7:30 and guys ALWAYS sleep in. But he was there, doing- guess what? READING. Not a school book. He was reading for fun. James Potter.
"Pray tell, have you gone mentally insane?" I asked.
"No good morning?" he said, shutting his book after bending the corner of the page to mark his spot. "Yes, I'm a human. I read."
"What are you reading?"
"Everything You Didn't Want to Know About Being an Auror," he said. "I'm gonna be an Auror."
"Really?" I asked. "Me too. Should I wait for you to go down for breakfast?"
"Yeah, I'll be out in five," he replied. "Just you wait till breakfast."
"James Potter, what are you going to do now?" I asked warily.
"Beginning-of-the-year entertainment," he grinned. Oh, that grin. Makes you weak in the knees, let me tell you.
I sighed audibly and returned to my room to change.
Five minutes later, he and I were walking down to breakfast arm-in- arm. My, my. 24 hours before I was cornered by my Lily-hating sister, wishing James Potter would ever look at me. And here I was....
I gasped as I saw the latest Maurauders' trick.
Above the Slytherin table were numerous fake snakes twisted to form the words, "Slytherin sucks major snake ass."
I turned to look at James; he was dying of laughter. He let go of my arm and ran to his three best friends. They clapped each other on the back.
"Great job, Prongs," congratulated Sirius.
"You too, mate," returned James.
The Great Hall erupted into laughter at the sight of the snakes.
"Potter, Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew!" shrieked Professor M. "Customary start-of-the-year detention for all of you! You know the time! Same as usual! 5 o'clock! My office!"
The students laughed even harder.
I sat down next to James, who shrugged. "It was worth it."
Sirius looked at me for a few seconds.
"Uh, Jamesie, is there something you'd like to share with the family?"
"Oh, right," said James. He took my hand and told them seriously, "Guys, I didn't particularly want to tell you before, but Lily and I hooked up over the summer, and, well, you see, we're going to be parents in about eight months."
His lip twitched and he almost burst out laughing. I stared at him in horror but stayed silent.
"You what?!" shouted the other three Maurauders at once.
"But- but- Jamesie, you-" stuttered Sirius. Remus and Peter were mouthing words without sounds.
"Psyche!" laughed James. "Should've taken a picture of the looks on your faces. Priceless."
His three best friends sighed in relief.
"James, you really, really scared me," said Remus concernedly. "Was it just the summer without seeing you every day, or did you get worse?"
"Both, I guess," James decided.
"Prongs, how'd you ever get her to go out with you?" asked Sirius in awe, speaking as though I wasn't there. "Remember, you're the pompous asshole? Oh, never mind, it was, 'I'm surprised your broom can get off the ground with a fathead like that on it. You make me sick!'"
Remus and James laughed at Sirius' accurate imitation of Lily in fifth year. Peter, being Peter and not remembering that incident, just laughed along for the sake of it.
"Yeah, Lil, you know my boyfriends- Padfoot, Moony, Wormtail."
"Boyfriends?" I repeated.
"Hey, we're not gay," said James. "Girls say girlfriends, so we're boyfriends."
"Sure, whatever," I said dismissively, pecking him on the lips. I couldn't go another second without touching him.
"Ooh! Ooh! I call godfather!" yelled Sirius. "Best man, too, actually, on second thought."
"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," said James. Little did any of us know that James and I would choose Sirius for best man and godfather.
"Padfoot, settle down," said Lupin. "James, do you have Quidditch tonight?"
"Uh-huh. Why?"
"Because he wants to go on a date with you." Sirius rolled his eyes.
"Oh yeah, isn't tonight our start-of-year Maurauders Meeting?" Peter asked.
"No..." said Sirius sarcastically. They all eyed Wormtail sympathetically. He never knew anything. But that was what made him funny.
"Mail," said Remus.
Sirius and James got about 500 love letters each; everyone had a crush on them. James burned his right away.
"But, Jamesie, I was gonna read yours," complained Sirius. "I read mine. Hey, this one's from Kemmy."
"She's hott," said Lupin fervently. "Go out with her."
"Hmm... I'll pay her a visit after Charms.... Honestly, I don't get the point of Charms. You turn on charm when you want something. I don't need to go to that class."
I coughed as a result of a badly-covered snort.
"What, you don't think I'm charming, Lilly-Billy?"
"Yes, Sirius, I do. Of course. And if you call me that again, you will not see the end of it," I said swiftly.
"Oh shit," swore James, studying the schedule. "You'd think that they'd learn that we don't want to have Potions with the damn Slytherins. We're with them EVERY FREAKIN' YEAR!" He shouted the last part, and several people looked at him.
"Old Lucy girl was made Slytherin Quidditch captain," informed Lupin.
"Lucy girl?" I asked, confused.
"Lucius," James explained.
"Ugh! Jamesie poo, what's that on your neck?" smiled Sirius.
"I know, Padfoot. It's my head. That one's getting old." He flung a piece of toast at Sirius.
"Are they always like this?" I asked Remus and Peter as James and Sirius started having a food fight as soon as Sirius yelled out, "ALL-OUT FOOD WAR!"
"Sadly, yes," replied Lupin. Peter nodded in agreement.
"James!" I said. He emerged from under the table with marmalade plastered over his eye. "I'm gonna go talk to Narcissa. Meet you at Charms?"
He nodded and grabbed a boiled egg, threw it at Sirius, and ducked behind Remus as a pitcher of orange juice came down over his head.
I signaled for Narcissa to meet me in the Entrance Hall.
"Hey, Cissa," I said. "What's up?"
"Oh my god, did I just see you with James Potter, sex god of all time?"
"Yeah, but how would you know he's a sex god?"
"Did you sleep with him?" she asked eagerly. "Share!"
"My god, we only hooked up last night!" I exclaimed. "And I'm checking into that sex god thing. I don't think he's slept with anyone."
"Oh, Lil, you've got to change that!" she shrieked. "The first is the best! Trust me! From experience!"
"Eww! Cissa!" I slapped her on the arm. "Thanks for sharing. Very funny. I don't think I want to be that physical with him. Yet. Hey, do you want me to hook you up with Sirius? He's hott, too, you know. Who cares if he's in Gryffindor?"
"Uh, sorry, I can't, Lil. Lucius asked me out last night."
"Oh my god, Cissa! He's so cute, too!"
"Do you say that about every guy?" she asked. "First James, then Sirius, now Lucius?"
"Yeah, guys are awesome," I sighed.
"And plus, Lil," said Narcissa. "Didn't you know Sirius and I are cousins?"
"No way!" I cried. "I never knew that! That's so funny!"
"Well, I kind of assumed you would know that."
"Oh well. Cissa, I gotta go. I'll see you at Potions, all right?"
"Take care, Lil! Make moves on James!"
I turned back and shouted, "Cissa! I'm going to kill you!"
"Just doing my job as a Slytherin and a best friend," she grinned.
"Toodles!" I called.
"Peace out!" she replied.
That's how we always say goodbye.
I walked down the Charms corridor thinking. Yes, I was a virgin, though I'd gotten to second base more times than I've had dreams about James. I consider my virginity very valuable, and I will most definitely not be throwing it around unless I meet someone very special. And that special person has not come around my way, yet. The question was, was James a pimp? I convinced myself that there was more to James than sleeping around.
I ran into Kemmy Michaels, a seventh year Gryffindor, on the way to class. Kemmy is nice and funny, but not best friend material. I hang around her when Narcissa's sick.
"Hey, Lily!" she said. "Nice summer?"
"Far from. You?"
"Great," she replied.
"Oh, Kem, just beware Sirius today," I informed her.
"Huh?"
"He's gonna ask you out," I explained. "Say yes, at least for now; I don't want him mad."
"I'd go out with him any day," she grinned. "Oh my god, is he a hottie!"
"Hmm... yeah," I replied.
"Yeah?" she echoed. "That's all you have to say about him?"
"Well, I'm going out with James, so, you know, I'm kind of biased."
"Oh my god. James Potter?" she shrieked.
"How many James's do we know?" I said.
"Oh, you are sooo lucky!" she cried.
"Trust me, I'm aware of that," I said. "See you around."
"Bye, Lily!"
I walked off to Charms before I became too late. That was the great thing about being popular. You always had people talking to you; you were never bored.
Then I laughed out loud as I thought of Sirius. That guy was original. No one was like Sirius. Back in second year, he'd formally announced in the Gryffindor common room that no, he did NOT think girls had cooties anymore. And since then, he'd been all over the girls. I'm surprised he's not permanently scarred because of all the times he's made moves on girls (butt pinching, etc.). And he always gets kicked and slapped by them. Sirius is such a lady's man; he has no shame.
I entered the Charms classroom. Charms is my absolute favorite subject. I'm so good at it. I plopped down by James, who was actually on time for once.
"So!" squeaked Professor Flitwick. "You are entering your last and by far most difficult year of Charms."
James pulled out a piece of parchment and wrote, I'm bored all ready.
Surprise, surprise, I wrote under that.
Wormtail'll be pissed off at you today, he scribbled. Just ignore him.
Why? I wrote.
Because he doesn't think that we can trust you with the secrets of the map and cloak and Animagi.
Oh well, I spelled out. I don't really like him anyway. I mean, I know he's one of your best friends and all. Sorry.
Well, I'm pissed off at him now, too, he scrawled.
"Miss Evans!" called Flitwick. "For the third time, what is the Animagus Revealing Charm?"
"It, er, forces a person to show an image of what animal they'd be if they were an Animagus, and if the person is an Animagus, it forces them into their animal form."
"Yes, thank you. Five points to Gryffindor. Pair into groups now and practice the Charm. The incantation is 'Revelatory Animagical.'"
I caught James's eye. He was dangerously pale.
"But- Professor- this has to do with Transfiguration. Why are we doing it in Charms?" he protested.
"Because I say so, Potter," Flitwick replied. "And I am the teacher here, not you."
"Lil, that's gonna force us into Animagus form!" he hissed.
"Us?" I repeated. "You're all Animagi?"
"Yeah," said Sirius urgently. "Come on, there's gotta be a way around this."
"You're the Animagi; you should know," I snapped.
"Just do something. Fast," whispered Lupin. Of course, I had no way of knowing then, as I'd find out later, that Remus was a werewolf. Of course this charm wouldn't turn him into a werewolf, but he was worried for his friends.
"Hmm... watch this," I said. I walked up to Professor Flitwick and sweetly asked, "Is there a spell that you would use that wouldn't turn an Animagus into their form?"
"Yes, Miss Evans," he answered. "It would just show an image of their Animagus. That has a slightly different incantation. 'Revealno Animagical.'"
"Oh, thanks, Professor. I was just curious."
"Anything for my favorite student," he smiled.
I walked slowly to the Maurauders, but as soon as Flitwick looked away, I sprinted back to them.
"'Revealno Animagical,'" I whispered.
"Oh yeah!" said Sirius. "I remember reading that!"
"Oh, well thanks for remembering," said James sarcastically. "Thanks, Lily."
"Anytime," I replied. I quickly kissed him on the lips.
"Ugh... get a room, would you?" muttered Sirius.
"Let's start," suggested Remus. "Prongs, let me do it on you first."
"Sure," said James.
"'Revealno Animagical!'" he chanted. A small figure of a stag appeared over James's head.
"Lemme try," said James to Lupin. "'Revealno Animagical!'"
I fell, giggling, into James's chest. "He's an anteater Animagus?"
"Er, yeah..." said James.
"Yeah, he is!" said Sirius, cottoning on.
"Can I try on you, Padfoot?" asked Wormtail almost too eagerly.
"You do that, Wormtail," said Sirius.
"Revel- no, I mean, revealno animagi- no, animagus. Sorry, Padfoot!"
Sirius had just grown a beard.
"Deletrius," he muttered, and the beard disappeared. "Wormtail, you're hopeless."
Peter grinned sheepishly.
"And it's not a compliment," James scowled.
We sat in silence for a few minutes, which was a record for Sirius and James, so they must have been really mad at Peter.
At the end of class, we were dismissed with a homework assignment of researching the registered Animagi of the century.
"We have the oh-so-lovely class Potions next, right?" asked Sirius.
"Yup," said James gloomily.
"Guys, I'll see you later, okay?" asked Peter.
James snorted. "And don't come back," he whispered so only Sirius, Remus, and I could hear.
"Ah, Ashley, dear!" exclaimed Sirius, walking over to a pretty Hufflepuff who he hit on quite regularly. You could say that she was his only serious crush. But she didn't think that he was serious about her.
"Oh, Sirius, not you," she grumbled.
"Oh, go on, don't you just want to go out with me?" asked Sirius, nibbling her earlobe.
"Sirius," she warned, though she could barely contain the look of pleasure on her face.
"No? Are you sure?" Sirius pinched her butt.
"Sirius Black!" she shrieked. "How dare you!"
"Just remember, I'm waiting for you," winked Sirius, and Ashley left.
"Padfoot, you're something," grinned James. "What, are you head-over- heels for her now?"
"No, I don't love her. She's just hott," replied Sirius. "I already know who I'm madly in love with."
"Who?" asked Lupin curiously.
"Lily," smirked Sirius.
"Sorry, I'm taken," I said, holding up James's hand that I was holding.
"You wouldn't mind a threesome, Jamesie, would you?" asked Sirius slyly.
"Get a life, Padfoot," grinned James.
"I have one," said Sirius. "Hey, I didn't do that summer Potions homework."
"Oh, me neither," said James casually as if he didn't care, because he really didn't.
"What were you two doing the whole summer?" I asked.
"I was at James's house," said Sirius.
I rolled my eyes. "That explains a whole bunch already."
"No, we went to the beach," said James earnestly.
"And watched the ladies," added Sirius dreamily.
They both paused reminiscently.
"Best days of my life," sighed Sirius.
"Did we mention it was a nude beach?" asked James.
I pulled my hand out of his. "What?!" I shrieked. "A nude beach?!"
James and Sirius laughed.
James said, "No, Lil, we're kidding."
"I hate you!" I said indignantly.
"You're so cute when you're mad," said James.
"Not taken as a compliment!" I snapped. "I'm going to class before you all kill me." I turned and stalked off.
~ ~ ~ Regular POV~ ~ ~
"Hey, she must like you a lot to be that jealous," said Lupin. "Take it as a good sign."
"Prongs, she looked like she was about to curse you," Sirius laughed. "Good one, though."
"I don't think she really likes me," said James doubtfully.
"Are you serious?" Padfoot asked in disbelief.
"No, you are, remember? I'm James," said James.
"Cute, Jamesie, real cute," said Sirius. "I mean it. She adores you! You can tell! Jamesly!" Sirius didn't like the word 'seriously' being named after him, so they now said 'Jamesly.'
"Yeah, she does," nodded Lupin fervently. "She'd never break up with you."
"So you're saying...?" asked James.
"Unless she's a really good actress, I think she's the one," Lupin said.
"Lilyly," added Sirius.
~ ~ ~Lily's POV~ ~ ~
Five minutes later, we were seated in Potions.
James sat down next to me and I made a huffy noise.
"Just don't say anything like that again, okay?" I said. "I like you too much."
"Me too, Lil," he replied.
He kissed me really quickly before Professor Taylor began talking.
"I always start off the year with the Polyjuice Potion, a one-month project," he started. "Divide up into pairs."
I scooted closer next to James.
"Moony, I don't suppose you'd mind if I coupled with Kemmy, huh?" asked Sirius.
"Mhm... yeah, I'll just stay with Wormtail," frowned Remus. "I hate you, Padfoot."
Wormtail scowled at Lupin, finally understanding one of the disses that came his way.
"Hello, Kemmy," said Sirius in a sexy voice.
Kemmy grinned at Sirius (such a player, he was) and turned around to Narcissa, whom she was going to be partners with.
"Sorry, Cissa. Go with Lucius. Is that all right?"
So Narcissa paired up with her boyfriend, leaving one person partnerless.
"Severus, why don't you join Lily and James?" suggested Professor Taylor. Honestly, didn't the guy take the hint with James and Snape fighting in the halls? They didn't like each other one bit, and the teachers never seemed to understand that, perhaps Professor M.
"Potter?" Snape echoed. "For a month?"
"Yes," nodded the Professor. "I'm sure James won't mind."
Yes... we all know James did mind. And I know how James gets around Snape. That's the part of him that kept me from going out with him before now.
Snape, in greasy entirety, dragged his cauldron over reluctantly.
"Good morning, Snivellus," said James in a would-be polite voice.
I pinched him to remind him that on no account was he to be mean to Snape, at least not while I was around.
"All right, all right, Lil," he whispered. "I'll be nice." When Snape turned away, he added, "Just for you."
Professor Taylor talked for half an hour about ingredients for the potion and the like. I listened with rapt attention because I knew James wouldn't. Snape might, but I wasn't taking that chance.
I leaned over James's shoulder to see what he was writing; it couldn't be notes. It was the initials L.E. and J.P. enclosed in a heart.
He turned around, grinned, pecked me on the lips, and returned to embellishing the letters.
Snape let out a loud sigh, rolled his eyes, and sank lower into his chair as he saw the PDA.
At the end of the lecture, we were supposed to go get ingredients. So we got them, and guess who did all the work? Yes, me. James and Severus sat there the whole time, shooting dirty looks at each other. And Professor didn't even make them work.
"You know you're going to help me next time, right?" I asked both of them as the bell rang.
"Uh-huh," said James, and he ran to his best friends before he lost self-control and cursed Snape, because he looked like he was about to do just that.
Snape smiled at me and left, and I was like, whoa, dude, why did he just smile at me?
I shook my head, stuffed my books in my bag, and ran to catch up with Cissa.
"Hey, Cissa," I said. "Do you want to hang out at my common room during break after lunch?"
"And meet James?" she sighed.
"Uh, Cissa, for one thing, he's mine; for another, you're going out with Lucius. But yeah, he'll probably be there."
"Then I'll come," she said. "My god, Lily, it's James Potter! It's like touching royalty!"
"Narcissa, dear, boys are getting to your head." I patted her arm sympathetically. "See you after lunch. Toodles."
"Peace out," she replied.
"We shouldn't do that," I said. "It's getting old and annoying."
"You're right," she agreed. "Bye, then."
"Bye."
I ambled over to the Gryffindor table and dropped down on the seat and sighed.
"Tired?" asked James.
"No, too much stuff happened since I got here already," I replied. "Just overwhelmed."
I started piling loads of food onto my plate.
The boys stared, open-mouthed, at me.
"How do you stay so damn skinny?" asked Sirius.
"Fast metabolism, I guess," I shrugged. "I hate exercise."
"I think I'd be this huge chunk of fat if I didn't play Quidditch," said James.
"Let me see if you have blubber," I said. I pinched his side. Nope. Lovely muscles, no jiggly sick stuff.
"Don't, Lil! That tickles!" He elbowed me.
"Ah, Prongs, you're ticklish?" asked Lupin. "I didn't know that."
"Now we know how to get you to do something," said Sirius mischievously.
"You guys are awfully quiet," I observed. "I mean, for you, at least."
"Wormtail," muttered James.
"Oh yeah, where is he?" I looked around and found Peter sitting at the other end of the table with a few guys. "What's the deal with him anyway?"
"He's really angry at us for telling you about the map and Animagi stuff," explained Sirius.
"And it's really stupid," said Lupin. "He doesn't think we can trust you at all."
"How gay of him," I frowned.
"I know," said James. "I mean, you're about as bad as us. You could be the fifth Maurauder."
"Yeah? What would my nickname be?" I asked.
"How about Lil-lay-me-down-and-kiss-me-senseless?" suggested Sirius.
James flung a spoonful of mashed potatoes at him. I laughed.
"You know, that might be a little too long," I grinned.
"Princess Tiger Lily," said Lupin quietly.
"That's from Peter Pan!" I exclaimed.
"Peter Pan?" asked James and Sirius.
"Muggle story," I answered. "Remus, I didn't know you read that stuff."
"It's interesting," he shrugged.
"I like it. Princess Tiger Lily," I decided.
"Tiger for short," said James.
"Yeah, you know, both Lily and tigers have orangish hair," Sirius observed.
We all just kind of looked at him weirdly.
"Hang on," said James.
"What?"
He whispered in Sirius and Remus' ears for a few seconds.
"Yes," Sirius said evilly, his eyes glinting.
"What?" I repeated.
"To become a full-fledged Maurauder, you must do two more things," said Sirius brightly.
"Now what?" I sighed.
James pulled up his robe sleeve to reveal-
"You have tattoos?" I shrieked.
For on his bicep, his lovely muscular bicep, was a red-and-gold word Prongs, accented with gold lightning bolts.
"Oh my god! When did you do this?"
"Summer after fifth year," replied Sirius. He and Remus pulled up their sleeves. Sirius' said Padfoot and was surrounded by fire. Remus' said Moony and had a crescent moon on the right of it.
"Now you have to get one. Please?" implored James with a puppy face, something I couldn't resist.
"I suppose," I grumbled, more for James than anything. "I'm supposed to be a brave Gryffindor. But no arm, okay? Lover back or ankle."
"Lower back," said James, licking his lips.
I hit his arm. "What's the other thing?" I asked suspiciously.
"Become an Animagus," said Sirius quickly, maybe in the hopes that I wouldn't hear it and hit him. "A tiger."
"Doesn't that take a long time, though?" I asked. "Like years?"
Sirius exhaled the breath he had been holding while waiting for my smack, but it didn't come.
"No, we've done it before and we get the gist of it, so I'd say a couple of months," shrugged James.
"You guys, if anyone finds out, we're so screwed," I warned.
"We're aware of that," nodded Lupin.
"So you're okay with it?" asked James happily.
"I guess," I sighed.
"Welcome, Princess Tiger Lily, newest member of the Maurauders," grinned Sirius.
"Cheers," I said. We all clinked goblets.
"Narcissa's coming to the common room at break," I said.
"Me and Moony are visiting, too," said Sirius.
"I'll meet you there, okay?"
"Sure," they said.
I slung my bag over my shoulder and headed off to the Head Dorm.
A/N Sorry I kinda left you there, but if I would've finished the whole next part in this same chapter, it would've been REALLY long. So I made it separate. What say you? Like? Or no like? Just to clarify, though Lily and James REALLY like each other, neither of them is in the love stage, k? I want that to be a special part of the story. Just to let you know.
~iluvdraco4eva (Marina)