A/N- Gosh you people are so nice to me! I never thought I'd get such a positive response to this fic, when I posted the last A/N I told myself that if I get 5 reviews saying I need to continue then I'll do so and like wise if I get 5 reviews saying I shouldn't continue and imagine my surprise when I got over 30 reviews (And they keep on coming), so thank you all so much and I want you to know you made me feel a whole lot better after reading OotP…
*snigger* I have to tell you, I was very happy to find so many new reviewers which means I flushed out some lurkers, but that's alright I don't mind lurkers, as long as you leave a review once in a while and enjoy the story…
Okay I'll stop babbling now and let you read…
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Chapter 12: Before I change my mind
Lily Evans got out of her car and slammed the door shut, she was so mad she didn't even notice the strange looks people sent her, all she could think about was how James Potter managed to get under her skin again and what was worse, how she let him, it mad her furious that she was always an easy target for him these days.
Another thing was she just couldn't figure out why she kept letting him off the hook, back in the Hogwarts days she forgave him and his friends because they were all teenagers and really, who gives a rat's arse about pranks when you have OWLs and NEWTs coming?
But now there was no excuse, they were grown-ups, so why the hell couldn't she stay mad at him for long?!
'Give it up, you always had a soft spot for James and you know it; you couldn't hate him even if you wanted to' said that annoying voice she constantly tried to shut up.
'But I do hate him!' she insisted,
'Oh really?'
'Well hate is a strong word, how about strongly dislike?' she continued,
'Then why did you let him off with only a small rant after what he did today? If it was somebody else you would have paid them back and then gave them the silent treatment, like you did to Arabella last week, but James isn't *just* somebody, now is he?'
'Of course he's not! He's my boss, all the more reason I have to be lenient with him, I don't want to lose the job no matter how many times I threaten him with my resignation' she countered,
'Are you sure that's the only reason? Besides you always laugh at his jokes'
'Yes, I'm sure that's the only reason! And I do not!'
'Yes you do'
'Well he's funny'
'So is the doorman and I don't see you go all mushy on him!'
'I don't get all mushy, I never get mushy!'
'That's not the point, just accept it, you still have feelings for James, you forget I know all about your dreams…' the voice sniggered and Lily had to stop her walk abruptly.
'That's beside the point, just because I find him attractive doesn't mean I'm going to jump in to bed with him!' she thought and then realized she already reached her apartment door.
'Who said anything about jumping to bed? You see what I'm talking about? You're thinking about him like that again…' said the voice but Lily ignored it, she opened the door and slammed it forcefully.
"Wow, what are so angry about?" asked Arabella Figg who just came out of the kitchen. Lily could distinctly smell and identify some of the things she was cooking and her mouth watered; Arabella was a great cook.
"It's nothing," she said as she sat down on the couch.
"Lily just tell me alright? I know there's something wrong because: A) You're clothes are messed up and B) You're home early."
"Damn, why do you have to be so observant," asked Lily and then she proceeded in telling her what happened that day, by the time she was finished Arabella was rolling on the floor.
"Stop laughing! There is nothing funny about this!" demanded Lily although the corners of her mouth were twitching in a would-be smile she was fighting.
"I can't help it! So you kneed him? That's hilarious, I wish I could have been there to see his face."
"Yes, it was quite amusing." Then she burst out laughing and fell over Arabella in a fit of giggles. After they calmed down Lily's face straightened to a serious expression and Arabella, who noticed this change, sat up right and took a sullen expression as well.
"Bella do you think I still have feelings for James?" Lily asked suddenly and Arabella sighed.
"Lily I'm not going to lie, you loved him and I think there's still a part of you that's hung up on him but that doesn't necessarily mean you have feelings for him, what it *does* mean is that you need some closure," she said and Lily nodded not wanting to pursue the subject.
"Oh I completely forgot to tell you! Sirius invited us to a poker game!" She said in fake cheerfulness.
"Good! I haven't played for a while, time and place?" asked Arabella business-like.
"James's at eight but there's a catch…"
"What is it?" asked Arabella suspiciously.
"Err well… It's strip poker."
"WHAT? Are you mad? There is no way I'm going to play strip poker with guys that can practically read each other's mind!" she exclaimed and Lily winced.
"Come on Bella you! You can not leave me alone with them and I have to show James I'm not afraid of playing against him!" Lily begged.
"But you're awful at poker! You'll be down to your knickers by the third round!"
"But you can teach me! You're almost as good as Sirius."
"Almost as good? I'll let you know missy that I beat him on sixth year!" Arabella huffed and Lily pulled the puppy face on her.
"Oh alright! But you owe me a big one!" Arabella said.
During that day Arabella taught Lily all the basic rules and strategies, how to make a "Poker face" and even some ways to distract other players (the fact it was strip poker helped) but at seven when they parted ways to get ready, there was only one word Arabella had to say:
"Hopeless."
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James Potter ran a hand through his messy black hair as he looked at his flat's used-to-be living room since now it seemed to be a section of a pub. Sirius came an hour early and assured him that his flat was in good hands and that he could go to the shower with an easy mind but what he found. However, when he came out the place was definitely not his idea of being in good hands.
Sirius charmed the whole place with this strange red light, put up a big green table with chairs, a table with the money chips and a table for the food and drinks. James was extremely concerned about the whereabouts of his furniture and the fishy looking box that lay in the corner of the room.
"Oh don't be so uptight mate, everything is alright," said Sirius as he noticed the lines that were forming on his friend's brow.
"Not to worry? For all I know my entire living room is in a dump!" exclaimed James and threw his hands in the air.
"I was just kidding you mate, they were all shrunk and safely put in the corner of the kitchen," said Sirius and dodged the pillow James threw at him.
"What time is it anyway?" Just then they heard a crack outside and the door bell rang. James jumped and opened the door.
There stood Remus Lupin.
"Moony, blimey it's good to see you, how long has it been?" asked James and enclosed Remus in a brotherly hug,
"Hey! Don't leave me out of the party!" exclaimed Sirius and hugged Remus from the other side. They were all laughing and didn't notice another two cracks.
"If we're intruding we can come back later," said an amused Lily.
"Yeah, there's a nice little coffee shop down the road, we don't mind giving you some alone time," said Arabella and sent them a wink. The three men immediately let go and dusted their shirts in a manly fashion, causing the two women to laugh.
"Oh Remus, I didn't see you, come here," said Lily and hugged Remus. He blushed slightly before Sirius came between them.
"Okay! Break it up, don't take all the pretty ladies Remus!" he said mock-reprimandedly and took Lily in his arms, at which James scowled.
"Padfoot, I think you should let Lily go before Prongs bites off your head," chuckled Remus, which caused James to scowl even more. Arabella just huffed.
"And what am I? A turtle?" she said and Sirius let Lily go.
"Of course not love, you're much bigger," he said and before she could hit him he grabbed her and spun her around in his arms. Arabella shrieked.
"Don't I get a hug?" James asked Lily and sent her a seductive grin. She merely rolled her eyes and patted him on the shoulder.
'Idiot! Stop trying to flirt,' he told himself.
"So Remus, how was the business trip?" asked James but before Remus could answer Sirius cut in.
"No! I don't want to see none of that, you're not talking shop at my house young man!" he said in a motherly tone while still holding Arabella,
"It's my house not yours you twat!" said James.
"You say tomato…"
"Say, have you heard from Peter? I haven't seen him in years," said Remus.
"Yeah, I saw him a couple of days ago at Hogsmeade, he's got a new job at Honeydukes, the smarmy git. I invited him but he said he couldn't make it, had to work…" said Sirius.
"Well, why don't we begin?" asked Arabella after Sirius finally let her go.
"We can't, I invited two more people," said Sirius and as if on cue two girls appeared out of thin air in the front door which James hadn't closed.
"Hello," said one of the girls. They were both leggy blondes with large breasts… just the kind Sirius usually went after.
"Hey Julie, Meg, these are the guys – Remus and James, and there's Lily and Arabella," he said pointing at each of them. Upon reaching James, Julie, the girl that had said 'hello' winked at him and Lily frowned.
"Now we can begin," said Sirius and clapped his hands. They all sat around at the table and Sirius divided the chips.
"I thought we were playing strip poker!" complained Meg and Sirius smiled sweetly at her.
"We are Meg dear, but the chips are to count how much you lose, 5 Galleons means a piece of clothing," he explained and she smiled.
"Just to let you know, I put any anti-cheating charm on the cards," said James and shot a pointed look at Sirius who whistled and looked away.
And so they began to play, an hour later all of them were well in to the game and well out of their clothes.
Sirius was obviously very good at what he was doing since he was nearly fully clothed, the only things missing were his two socks.
Next there was Remus who liked to play it safe and that resulted in him being neither here nor there - he was missing his socks, a tie, a jacket and a shirt (though he still had his under shirt).
Then there was James, he was also very good but he liked to go head to head with Lily which resulted in quite a few losses. He was missing his socks, tie, jacket, shirt and undershirt.
As for the girls, Meg and Julie were dreadful, and the situation got worse when James took off his shirt and they began to swoon over his hard muscles. They were actually nearly nude with only their bra and knickers, but they didn't seem to mind. Though they couldn't continue playing- not by their choice, they didn't seem to see the problem with them playing another round.
Arabella, as Lily said, was very good and was only missing her two socks and her jacket.
Now Lily was another story…
She wasn't as far off as Julie and Meg but she wasn't as well covered as Arabella, she was now missing her two socks, her jacket, her gloves (she insisted on playing with them saying it was cold) and her shirt which landed her with only a skirt and an undershirt to cover herself (Sirius huffed when he saw Lily brought an undershirt and said next time they were going to set some rules, Lily merely laughed).
They were now at a middle of a game, with only Lily, James and Remus still playing, by then they were all quite tipsy.
"I fold," said Remus after some deep thought and put down his cards. James grinned wickedly and turned to Lily.
"How about you Lily flower?" he asked and she fidgeted in her seat nervously which resulted in him smiling wider. She looked up from her cards to meet his smile and her face took on a determined expression.
"I'm in," she announced and grinned.
"Alright, drop them!"
And so she did with a smug smile, when Arabella saw what she had she gasped and hugged her.
"I'm so proud of you, I can't believe you got a full house!" she said, but Sirius interrupted.
"Emm ladies, if you don't mind looking over here," he said indicating James's hand. Lily turned her head and the smile was wiped off her face.
"A royal flush?" she asked astonished, James merely nodded.
"Off with it Evans," said Sirius and James grinned. Lily sent him a glare and stood up forcefully nearly knocking down the chair.
James's smile couldn't have grown any wider since he was smiling from ear to ear. Lily was slowly unbuttoning her shirt trying to delay but it didn't matter, he had won!
But soon the smile was wiped off his face as she neared the middle of the shirt, he was beginning to see some of that deliciously white and soft skin he longed for. Then he saw a roundness that could only belong to her breasts. He realized this was challenging his resolve to ignore the attraction he felt for her.
And as she finished with the buttons and pulled down her shirt, which caused her back to arch and her chest to stand out even more, all he could do was bite down his tongue in order to keep from groaning.
She had on a black lace bra and James swallowed hard as the contrast between her milky smooth skin and the ragged bra caused heat to spread in his loins.
Sirius seemed to notice James's problem and tried to hide his smile in an uncharacteristically tactful manner.
Lily sat down on her chair with a pout and sulked, she put her head in her hands and sighed, then she zoned out- part because she was tipsy and part because she was tired. When she finally lifted her head she saw James was still sitting in front of her, zoned out as well, and the only people there were Sirius and the two blondes. all three were already dressed and the girls were giggling like mad, probably because they had too much to drink.
"What? Where's everybody?" she asked dazed.
"Gone, Remus said he has to work and Arabella got a page from the hospital, both left a minute ago, you're pretty drunk, you should stay here," he said mischievously.
"I'm sure Prongs wouldn't mind," and before what he said could sink in completely he and the girls were gone, she blinked to clear her vision.
"What… how… Hey!" she finally realized she and James were alone in his flat, both half naked and by the "Oh no," she heard, she knew James just realized that fact as well.
"What's going on? I kind of zoned out, I wasn't paying attention," he said and stood up. Lily noticed for the first time that night that James's figure was extremely well built, much better then it was in Hogwarts. Her eyes traveled from his broad shoulders, his chest, his six-pack, his great abs and his strong arms and when she realized she was staring she flushed and looked away. But that gesture didn't go unnoticed by James and he grinned full of himself.
Lily stood up completely forgetting she was topless and began to pace the room. She was extremely nervous about being alone with James. Only today did she find out that she was still arboring some sort of feelings for James and now she was going to be tested. On one hand she didn't want to stay and on the other she knew she shouldn't be apparating under the influence. She was snapped out of her reverie when she felt heat from behind her. Lily turned around to find James standing way too close to her, he was nearly pressed up against her. She looked up and met his eyes and knew that look in them all too well…
"James don't…" but he cut her off by pressing his lips to hers, she didn't dare move but as he kept his hold on her she began to melt, her eyes slowly closed and she began to move her lips in the rhythm he already set.
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A couple of minutes earlier…
James saw Lily walking around deep in thought, he knew she wasn't aware of her state of clothing but he was aware enough for the both of them, she was fingering a strand of red hair that fell out of her high ponytail and James found it endearing but most of all he found this all situation arousing, how could he not?
He was in his house alone with a half naked Lily,
But then again, he found everything about Lily arousing.
There and then he decided he couldn't take it anymore, he stood up firmly and began to approach her at a stealth speed, when he reached her he stopped and savored the feel of having her so near him again, she turned around slowly like she was fearing what was behind her, she looked in his eyes and a flash of recognition passed her eyes,
"James don't…" she said but he wasn't going to let her continue. The fact that she didn't push him when he finally pressed his lips to her full soft ones convinced him to move on and his lips began to move slowly trying to encourage hers to move as well.
As he wrapped his arms around her more firmly she finally gave in and began to kiss back, those small movements were the ones that brought him back to earth.
'Stop this! You know this is wrong, she's drunk, you're drunk and you'll both regret this in the morning,' but he refused to stop,
He was finally feeling her, tasting her again,.
Oh how he longed for this, dreamt about this and now it was finally happening.
'What about your father? If he ever finds out you might lose your job, Lily might lose her job… you might lose her.'
That made him stop, he didn't want to cause her grief with his father, but he wanted her so much!
Lily moaned and pressed herself against his bare chest and as he felt her breast on his flesh all thoughts of stopping were pushed aside.
He moved his hands from her shoulders and he let one hold the small of her back bringing her as close as possible (at that state) while the other explored the source of his sleepless nights-
Her body.
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His hands were everywhere,
Exploring.
Caressing.
Touching.
Memorizing.
Her mind kept telling her to stop, to push him away and put a end to this but she couldn't.
She wanted him, she realized it now.
All this time she was working for him, being near him, talking to him and all the while there was that strange feeling. It wasn't love since she knew it all too well (With that bitter thought she was tempted to pull away but his tongue began making it's way to her neck and she couldn't, not anymore) yet she couldn't place her finger on it.
But now she knew, she still had an attachment to him and of course she still found him attractive and those two things combined were what woke her up at the middle of the night after a sweaty dream and those two things were what prevented her from pulling away.
As Arabella said, she needed closure and this was as good a time as any.
'No no no! What am I saying? I can't do this!' she thought.
Yet she still couldn't stop, she had one of her hands in his soft black locks and the other stroked his chest, liking what she was feeling.
And so all coherent thoughts flew out the window and all there was left was her, James and the bed he was directing her to.
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A/N- Did you like it? Did ya'? Did ya'?
This chapter is full of fluffyness just for you guys! I'm so deeply touched! All the nice reviews saying I should (and some saying I *need*) to continue this story, as I said in the beginning I really didn't expect all this.
I was so depressed after reading OotP (Much larger rant in the end to prevent spoilers) and I couldn't bear to read let alone write but you made me feel so loved so I sat my sorry arse down and finished this in one sitting, my back hurts like hell but that doesn't matter, as long as you're happy I'm happy as well…
Anyway, about the actual chapter, I know you all expected the poker game but I didn't want this to be too long (12 pages, my longest ever!) so I cut it, don't worry you didn't miss a thing, it was quite boring, you know the usual remarks when a girl takes off something and the usual blush when a guy does…
Next chapter: we might have another R rated one, it depends on my mood, some times I just don't feel like describing things (Those times is when the plot actually gets somewhere)…
Okay I want to put a shameless plug now, this is a *very* good L/J story called 'The right king of wrong', the writer, Sarinileni, just started with it but I'm begging you: please go read it and review, I want to know what is going on and I need people to help me encourage her to write, so please, for me *does puppy dog face*, the story and author are on my favorites lists…
I want to thank you all again and again and another million times for reviewing chapter 11 *and* for all the supportive review on my A/N…
I just re-read my summary and realized it's not that good so if anyone is willing to write a new one and post it in a review I'll be eternally grateful!
Thank you for taking the time to read my little story and please take another minute to leave a review!
TTFN,
Liat (who is now going to vent off about OotP so beware!)
Reviews to A/N: To all the people who reviewed my A/N and asked me to continue, Thank you *again*, you are the reason I love to write and enjoy it…
FEAngel258
Hillary Potter
Mirrutsma
browneyedgirl
Heaven
Sarkie
ali-chan
Cheeky Girl
Daman
Latin-SlytherinMuggle
blinky86
im around
Lily Flower
laura
PottersChik
Sweetnessspy
Sarinileni
April
kuro-tenshi_2nd
Millie*A
HPfreak
Almicene
sirius4ever
hOLLy d
high?D
Crimson
me
AzNpHoEnIx
TopazLily
Hessie Elite
angel-dolphin
Dazzle
sirius gyal
Reviews to chapter 11: Thank you for R/R I love reviews, they make me happy *Grins*….
SpiritedPhoenix- Thank you for reviewing! MWPP means: Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, meaning the Marauders.
NattyNatterz- Thank you! The code you gave me has already been used, strange! Anyway, about the HP site, how do I get the colour to work in my sig? And how do you find the threads you want to find? I have more questions but I can't remember right now, thanks any way…TopazLily- I feel for you… Really, but the important thing is that you got it and read it, even though you-know-what happened to you-know-who…Thanks for reviewing!
blinky86- I'm glad you find my story funny, I like it to be light-headed and not so angsty like some L/J stories… Raven? He will come up again, I won't say anything else ^_^ Thanks for the help and for reviewing!
Excalibur- Yes I'm carrying on, as you can see ^_^ Yes, James's room will come up again, you'll see… Hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you so much!!!
Erika Skyfire- Thanks! And yes, you're right about the song, I changed it *Stupid, stupid, stupid!* Thanks you for reviewing!
Princess Pixie Ice- Don't worry I like rambling! Anyway, when I read your review I still didn't have OotP (Shipment got delayed) so I couldn't figure out why you said you couldn't smile and to tell you the truth I was a bit worried and apperhensive about reading it (Of course when I got it I didn't hesitate and began reading) and when I finished (after crying for hours on end) I knew exactly how you felt…
Almicene- Thanks for the review! The poker game- I had a bit more planned out for it but, as I said, I had to cut it. Raven and Lily- I won't say anything about that… You'll just have to wait and see, I just realized I've been telling you far too much ^_^ About all the other questions- Same as the last, I won't say any more, you'll see in future chapters…I still want you as a second beat so I'll send you the chapters when my first beta sends them back, but I don't want to loss you as a reviewer, I always anticipate your reviews…
And a another special thank you with hugs and kisses to: SaM, high?D, FEAngel258, hOLLydeLiLah, elle, cute-crazy-chick1, angelface58, me, Sarkie, Hpfreak, Cheeky Girl, Quack Quack 88, I love you guys so much!!!
To the people on HPFF.com: I'm sooooooo sorry! Kaydee mentioned that I never thank her/him for a review and I realized I have abandoned you all, I always forget that I'm posting this on HPFF.com as well as on FF.net (And sometimes I forget to post at all), so thank you all for the support and feedback! I suggest you'll read this story (same title and author name) on Fanfiction.net since, as you've noticed, I can't seem to work the format here and it's better on the eyes on FF.net… KyrieBear Kaydee Nellfroglover9
Katie
Mich
Frodo Rules
Ali
Steffie
Erinn
Bell
Remembercedric
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Okay these are some things I have to say about OotP, this contains spoilers so if you haven't read OotP TURN AROUND, you do *not* and I repeat *do not* want to read this!!!
Spoilers ahead, beware!
Spoilers ahead, beware!
Spoilers ahead, beware!
Spoilers ahead, beware!
Spoilers ahead, beware!
Spoilers ahead, beware!
Spoilers ahead, beware!
Spoilers ahead, beware!
Spoilers ahead, beware!
Okay last warning--- SPOILERS!!!!!
WWWWWWHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYYY??????????? WHY?
Why would she do *that*?!?!
Hasn't Harry suffered enough already? Why must she take away the only family he has left? Haven't *we* suffered enough?
And of course the evil writer (j/k I still love her) has to do it just so… so suddenly!
I mean *he* (I don't write his name not because of spoilers but because I just can't) was hit by a stunning charm, nothing else and then he fell through the veil (which we, on the message board, have decided is death) and into the arch way…
I don't know why I took it so badly, I mean I know Lily and James died and yet I still live with it and write about them without having that fact constantly on my mind but now when I write about *him* I get so teary-eyed, and I like Lily and James better (though *he* is a close second runner)…
And why is Remus such a minor character in the book? I mean you hardly ever see him and why does she call him Lupin and not Remus? And she calls Peter Wormtail though that doesn't bother me in the slightest…
As I said in the A/N, I knew *he* was going to die but I didn't cry when I found out, only when I saw it written, you know when she wrote his eyes widened in shock, I began to cry, I had to put it down and compose myself before I could continue reading and even then sobs escaped once in a while and *than* there was the conversation with Dumbledore and Harry's reaction and I just couldn't take it anymore! I was hysterical! I had to stop reading like five times!!!
I'm sure you all agree with me when I say we need to stand up in silence for a minute in remembrance of one of our favorite characters, *stands up and times clock while holding an 'In loving memory of Him' sign*, thank you, you may all sit down.
And I think we should all wear an "OMG, I just finished book 5! Did that really happen?" (All rights to that sentence are reserved to Zetta) buttons in expression of our shock and grief… okay I think I went over board with that, don't mind me, I'm sleep deprived and have just been writing for 6 hours straight, I can't even see clearly anymore…
Okay I think I ranted enough… But I still have to say I loved this book, it was wroth every minute of that long wait…
P.S- Don't think this is the end of my OotP musing, I'll probably continue with it for several more weeks, it'll be hard to get over it….
Disclaimer- Don't bug me okay? I'm tired and cranky so don't mess with me! Didn't you get it already? I don't own anything except the plot and some minor things, it all belongs to the evil (but still lovable) JK Rowling…