Lily collapsed happily onto her bed. "I love Hogsmeade," she declared.
Arabella rolled her eyes as she came in. "Judging from the ridiculously large amounts of money you've spent today, I think it would be safe to say that yes, you do."
Lily grinned. "You have to admit it was worth it. Those robes looked fantastic on me."
"That they did," Arabella admitted. "James is going to die when he sees you in them."
Lily's grin grew wider. "He is, isn't he?"
Arabella shot a look at her friend. "Like that, don't you?" she suggested, wagging her eyebrows.
Lily rolled her eyes. "No, it's just…nice to know you can stop a guy dead in his tracks." She grinned, picturing the look on James's face. It was a nice image.
Arabella grinned back at her. "It is nice, isn't it?" she smiled. "You almost feel sorry for the blokes…what kind of pathetic creature can be manipulated by a piece of fabric?" she demanded, shaking her head in disgust.
"Comes in handy though," Lily said, grinning. "I remember last summer, my cousin Florine came to our house for a week, and none of the boys in town could keep their eyes off her. She didn't discourage it either," Lily added, laughing.
"It depends though," Arabella said thoughtfully
"On what?"
Arabella grinned wickedly, something she'd picked up from Sirius. "On how short the hemline is or how much the neckline plunges."
Lily choked. "Bella," she said, giggling even harder, "I think Sirius's been rubbing off on you too much. He's polluted your mind." She smiled at her friend. "He's going to love you in those robes though."
"He'd better, considering how much I paid for them," Arabella sniffed. "And just for the record, my mind was already polluted before I met Black."
"No kidding," Lily said, snorting. She smiled again. "So, I got the perfect present for James."
"Yes, and you won't tell me what it is!" Arabella pouted.
Lily smiled. "I want it to be a surprise."
"It better be worth it," Arabella muttered, still pouting. "You spent half the day in that bloody shop bargaining over whatever it is you bought."
"I spent twenty minutes in there," Lily corrected, smiling. "Besides, it was worth it. James is really, really going to die when he sees this present."
Frank slammed the drawer shut rather forcefully. Granted, he was having a rather bad day. He couldn't find his Potions text, he was already late for his study session with Diane, and James Potter was apparently hell-bent on driving poor Frank absolutely insane.
"James, for the last time, I really don't have any idea what Lily is getting you for your birthday," Frank said tiredly. "Now will you please leave me alone?"
"Oh, come on, Frank," James wheedled. "You've got to have some idea of-"
"No, I really don't!" Frank declared, exasperated. "And if you want her to give you a birthday kiss, then you're just going to have to admit you're in love with her!"
James's eyes grew huge. He choked, finally stammering, "Wh-what? I am not in love with Lily!"
Frank rolled his eyes. He hadn't planned on confronting James, but he decided to just go with it. "Uh huh, James. And Lucius Malfoy isn't a bigoted git, he's just misunderstood."
"But-I-"
Finally, Frank found the Potions book halfway under the bed. He picked it up, and turned to James, "Now. I have to go meet Diane. I strongly suggest you just admit how you feel to Lily, because trust me, she won't figure it out on her own." Smiling at a shell-shocked James, Frank said cheerfully, "Have a nice day."
Frank walked away whistling, and somehow he was feeling a lot better.
"I mean, how did he figure it out?" James wailed to the other Marauders. "Which one of you gits told him?"
Remus shrugged, not taking his eyes off the essay that was due tomorrow. "James, you aren't exactly subtle. Maybe Frank just figured it out on his own."
James started to pace. "This is terrible. What am I supposed to do now?"
Swallowing the rest of his Chocolate Frog, Sirius suggested, "Why don't you just take his advice?"
James stared at his friend. "Padfoot, that is not an option."
"Why the hell not?" Sirius demanded curiously.
James gaped, spluttering. "For—for about a million reasons!"
Remus groaned. "James, I highly doubt you have a million reasons. At the most, you've got five, and I'm positive that most, if not all of them, have absolutely no merit and could be debunked within a few minutes."
Sirius rolled his eyes. "Moony, you have got to stop channeling your dad and act your age. What fifteen year-old boy knows what the word 'debunked' means?"
Remus turned red. "Plenty of people!"
"I don't," Peter piped up.
Sirius gestured towards Peter triumphantly. "See! I rest my case!"
"Will you three wankers focus?" James yelled. "I'm having a crisis here, and you three are arguing over vocabulary!"
Remus dipped his quill into the inkwell. "James, you're overreacting. Besides, I agree with Frank. Lily's not going to figure it out unless you say or do something that makes it clear. And staring longingly at her while she's looking the other way isn't making it clear."
"You know, Moony," Peter said thoughtfully, "for a bloke who's never had a girlfriend, you're awfully knowledgeable about these things."
Remus shrugged. "Those who can, do, those who can't, teach," he said.
"Oh, now he's giving out the advice," Sirius growled. "I could have used this a few months ago, you know...spared me months of torment..."
Remus looked at him. "Padfoot, you tormented yourself. Half of that situation was your fault, and I can't be expected to give out advice when I don't know what's going on."
"You're still bitter about the fact that you didn't see it coming, aren't you?" Sirius asked.
Remus sighed. "What good is being the perceptive one of the bunch going to do me if I can't see something right in front of my face?"
James cleared his throat loudly. "If the lot of you could stop digressing, maybe we could get back to discussing my problems."
Remus rolled his eyes. "James, you wouldn't have this problem if you just grew a pair and said something already."
"I already told you that I can't tell—"
Sirius raised his hand. "Excuse me. In an attempt to salvage whatever sanity we have left, I will ask: who here is in favor of withholding advice until James makes a move?" Remus and Peter immediately raised their hands. "Right then." Grinning at his friend, Sirius said, "Sorry, Prongs, but majority rule and all that. Until you make a move, our lips are sealed on the Lily issue."
James opened his mouth, closed it and frowned. "Fine," he grumbled finally. "I'll tell her on my birthday. Happy?"
Peter nodded. "We know you have it in you, Prongs," he encouraged
"Oh, shut up," James glared at the three of them. "Traitors." His voice got louder as he said, "Abandoning me in my time of need...what kind of friends are you?"
A seventh year turned around in his chair and glared at James, who had nearly yelled the last few words. "Potter, we all know you're a Quidditch star and everything, but keep it down!"
The other three Marauders started cracking up, while James sunk into his chair and muttered, "Sorry."
"You ready?" Matt asked.
Lily grinned at him reassuringly as she paced, her broomstick in her hand. "Uh huh. You?"
Matt nodded. "I threw up a few minutes ago," he said brightly, "but other than that, I'm doing great."
"It's his ritual before a game," Adam explained, clipping the twigs on his broom.
Lily nodded, distracted. She took in a deep breath. Here goes nothing.
So far, everyone was at a stalemate. The Ravenclaw Chasers were good, but Adam was a better Keeper. Gryffindor had scored a couple of goals, but the Ravenclaw Beaters kept them from scoring more.
Lily watched idly as Melissa dove to catch the Quaffle. Kenneth MacLean, a Ravenclaw Chaser, swooped towards her. He smiled wryly. "Boring as hell, innit?"
Lily grinned. "Absolutely."
"Blast those Seekers, shoulda found that Snitch by now."
Lily would have answered, if it hadn't been for the Bludger heading straight towards her. She swerved to the right, and the Bludger missed her by a hair. Gasping, Lily turned towards Melissa's cry of "Lily!"
Melissa threw the Quaffle towards her, and Lily caught it. Zooming towards the Ravenclaw goals, Kenneth hot on her heels, Lily tried to think.
Come on, come on, it's not that hard, avoid the Bludgers, keep the Quaffle, and make the goal. It's not that hard, it's what you do, Lily, because you're the Chaser, the star Chaser of the Gryffindor team…
Lily did a couple loops in the air, trying to lose Kenneth. As she came into an upright position, out of the corner of her eye she saw Matt starting to go into a dive—
Oh, let this be the real thing, please, please, Matt, catch the Snitch—What with looking at Matt, hanging onto the Quaffle, and avoiding Kenneth, it was safe to say Lily had her hands full.
So it really wasn't that much of a surprise that she didn't see the Bludger coming. David Baker had sent it towards her and his aim was good. It hit her right in the back of the head.
"…and Evans is hit!" the announcer yelled. "A direct hit to the head with a Bludger, she's swaying….she just dropped the Quaffle…good Lord, I think she's going to fall…and Potter's trying to reach her in time, he's going awfully fast, nearly crashed into Kingsley there…and Evans has fallen off her broomstick! She's falling…Potter's diving now, trying to catch her…he's got her! My God, he's actually caught her! She seems to be unconscious, Potter's struggling…trying to keep both of them from falling…Black and Hornridge are meeting him, trying to help…."
"Lily," James whispered. "Lily, wake up. Come on, Lily, please? Think of it as an early birthday present." James grunted as he tried to hold her up and navigate the broom at the same time. Madam Hooch came towards them now, pulling out her wand.
"Let her go, Potter," she said gently, but firmly.
James shook his head wildly. "No way. I can't."
"Let her go. I promise, she'll be all right." Madam Hooch waved her wand, and Lily started to rise up into the air. She hung there, still, for a long, long moment, then slowly started to sink down to the earth. James followed her.
The announcer went on. "…and the Seekers are still searching for the Snitch, wait, wait—Hunter's diving again…I think this is the real thing…and he's got it! He's got the Snitch! Gryffindor wins!"
James heard the crowd cheering, and he understood what the announcer was saying. Matt had caught the Snitch, and they'd won. Wonderful. Fantastic. He'd celebrate later. After, say, Lily was given a clean bill of health and he had ripped out David Baker's heart with a fork. Or maybe a spoon. He hadn't decided yet.
James was grimly silent. Sirius, sitting next to him, kept glancing at him, worried.
"Where's Figg and Longbottom?" Melissa asked, breaking the silence.
Sirius sighed. "They're in there with Pomfrey. Managed to sneak in."
Melissa nodded, and the stifling silence took over again.
"I'm sure she's all right," Matt offered lamely.
"Yeah," Adam agreed heartily. "Evans is tough. She'll be fine." He looked at James and slid his eyes away.
There was a very long pause. Then James said quietly, "I'm going to kill Baker."
Sirius sighed. Here it was.
"Prongs, I know you're worried, but there's absolutely no reason to go off and Avada Kedavra every member of the Ravenclaw team."
"They deserve to be destroyed," James said tightly, fixated on revenge.
"Fine, fine," Sirius agreed impatiently, "They're the scum of the earth, got it. Do me a favor, please? If you're going to kill them, then don't use any Unforgivables. I don't fancy visiting you in Azkaban. And I don't think Lily would like it too much if you missed the ball because you're hanging out with Dementors."
Finally, James chuckled quietly. "Fine, I won't kill him." Another pause. "Can I hex him?"
Sirius laughed. "You know, I think I might just help you."
Lily smiled up at James drowsily. "Hey. Did we win?"
James nodded. "Yeah. Matt caught the Snitch not too long after you were hit."
Her smile grew wider. "Good. Good." A pause. "James, do me a favor?"
"Anything," he said, smiling at her gently. She was okay. Drowsy, yes, but fine.
He still was going to hex Baker, though. Badly.
Lily's smile was wry, knowing. "Don't kill Baker. He was just doing his job."
Dammit. She was on to him. Normally, the fact that Lily seemed to know him so well would have James jumping up and down with glee. Now, though, it was rather inconvenient.
James pouted. "I wasn't going to kill him."
"Uh huh." Lily laughed. "I know you, James. Are you going to get Sirius to help you?"
James marveled silently that she could know him like this, and still know nothing about him, all at the same time. "Okay, okay," he said, laughing. "Maybe there was a plan to hex him."
Lily looked at him for a long moment. "Your birthday isn't until tomorrow."
James grinned. "Wow, Lily. Your powers of deduction are astounding."
"Oh, shut up, I have a concussion." She looked at him for a moment, considering. "Do—do you mind if I give it to you today?"
James shook his head. "No. No, of course not."
"Okay, then. You're getting your present now."
"Now?" James frowned. "Is it here?" James got an idea he knew was insane, but he couldn't help thinking it anyway. Maybe I really am getting a birthday kiss. Or a birthday snog. Bad James. Bad, stupid James, that's not going to happen, not in a million years—
"James?"
He snapped to attention. "Yeah?"
Lily was sitting up on the bed. "Come on. Let's go. I have to get it for you."
"Are you sure? I mean—Madam Pomfrey, well, she's rather fanatical about her patients, and I don't want you to overexert yourself—"
Lily looked at him. "James." She pouted a little bit and added a lethal dose of puppy-dog eyes. "Please?" she asked in a small voice.
James decided right then that Madam Pomfrey could go to hell. "Never mind."
Lily smiled. "Help me up?" She stood up shakily, leaning against him for a long moment. James froze, then started to relax. Lily looked up at him shyly. "I'm kinda dizzy still," she murmered with a small laugh. "D'you mind if—"
"No!" James protested. "No, I—I really don't mind. At all. Whatsoever." He started to laugh, feeling giddy. Lily was all right and very close to him right now, they'd won the match, and tomorrow was his birthday.
All in all, things were absolutely wonderful.
"A book." He blinked at her, and pasted a smile on his face. "I love it."
Lily looked amused. "James, it's a first edition. Open it."
James cracked open the cover of Quidditch Through The Ages and gaped.
"James?"
Somehow he found the ability to speak. "How…where did you find this?"
Lily shrugged. "Hogsmeade. Took me a while, but I found it."
He finally dragged his eyes away. "I can't accept this."
"James—"
"No. Lily—do you realize what this is?" James was nearly shrieking by this point.
Lily remained unruffled. "It's a first edition copy of Quidditch Through The Ages with the signature of the author, Kennilworthy Whisp. And for the record, it didn't cost as much as you think it did."
He stared at her. "A first edition."
"Yes."
"Signed by the author."
"Yes."
"How?"
Lily shrugged. "I was wandering around at Hogsmeade, found this…rather disreputable shop. By that point, I was so desperate for a present, I think I would have gone into Knockturn Alley if I thought I could find anything there. So, I went into the shop, looked around until I found the book, and haggled until I got the owner to go to a reasonable price. Luckily for me, the shopkeeper had no clue what this book really was."
James was grinning madly. He gently set the book down, turned towards Lily, and hugged her. "Thank you so much. This is—amazing."
Lily laughed gently, and kissed him on the cheek. "You're welcome."
"Prongs, if you don't move this instant, I swear I'll feed you to the squid."
James turned to glare at Sirius. "Hey, I have to look perfect. Perfection takes time, effort."
Remus rolled his eyes. "James, your hair is not going to behave, no matter what you do to it. We've been over this already."
"Yeah," Peter agreed. "Didn't the Great Hair Experiment of Third Year teach you anything?"
"It's Lily," James said.
"Yes, well, it's Arabella for me, and if I don't look perfect, it'll be me who's fed to the giant squid, so do you think you could move?"
James sighed, moving away from the mirror. "Fine, fine." He let out a deep breath. "Tonight's the night, gentlemen. I'm going to make my move."
Sirius snorted as he adjusted his tie. "That's what you said last time, and Lily still doesn't have a clue."
"No, I mean it," James said. "That present has to mean something, right?"
"I should say so," Peter said. "A first-edition copy, signed by the author…d'you realize Whisp doesn't even sign his books anymore? That book's worth hundreds by now!"
James grinned. "I'm not selling it. Ever." He frowned. "You think I've got a shot? With Lily?"
Remus looked up in disbelief. "Do you really need us to answer that?" He rolled his eyes. "Look at it this way, James: she obviously prefers you to Julian Grey."
"Somehow, that's not so reassurring."
"James?"
James looked up and immediately forgot to breathe. He blinked, and tried to say something, couldn't, and simply settled for staring.
Sirius, coming in, grinned. "That silence means that you look very nice, Lily."
Lily smiled. "Thanks."
"You—you—" James spluttered. "Wow. Wow."
She giggled. In her clingy, floating pale lavender robes, Lily, in James's eyes, couldn't look more amazing. "You look nice too," she said. "Handsome." She started to come down the stairs.
James turned red. "Well, not as nice as you." He lifted a hand to his hair self-consciously. "Sorry, but my hair wouldn't behave."
As she reached him, Lily touched his hair gently. "I'm kind of glad, actually. I like it better this way."
James half-heartedly tried to focus. Of course, it didn't work. There Lily was, looking amazing, smelling like—what was that, strawberries?— and complimenting him, touching his hair…it was a miracle his brain hadn't exploded yet.
"James?"
And those robes were nice too…wait, was that… James's brain ground to a halt. Décolletage. That was it. Lily was here, wearing robes that had actual décolletage, not much it had to be admitted, but still! Décolletage!
"James."
James looked up quickly, hoping—no, praying—that she hadn't noticed. Judging from the amused look in her green eyes—and what lovely green eyes they were too—she had definitely noticed that his eyes were fixated on something they shouldn't have been.
"I was…um…I thought there was some lint on your shoulder," James said desperately.
"Oh?"
"It's gone now." James held out his arm. "We should go."
Lily smiled and took his arm.
"Sirius, you're overreacting," Arabella declared loftily, folding her arms.
"I was gone for a second, and I come back to see you flirting with that wanker!" Sirius roared.
"You were gone for seven minutes," Arabella snapped, "and besides, don't pretend like you weren't chatting up June Simon over there!" In her creamy robes, with her hair down, Arabella looked like an angel. An very annoyed angel, who was five seconds away from hitting her boyfriend.
"She had me cornered!"
"Oh, please," she scoffed. "So it's alright for you to talk to whoever, but I can't? Is that what you're saying?"
"Yea-no!"
As they continued to bicker, Frank, standing nearby, turned to Diane. "They'll never get along, will they?"
Diane grinned. "Let's hope not. I'm getting far too much entertainment out of this."
Frank smiled as he saw James and Lily swaying to the music. "I'm telling you, love," he said, gesturing at the dancing pair, "it's going to happen tonight."
"No way," Diane insisted, shaking her head.
Frank pointed towards James and Lily, who were laughing at something. "So sure about that?" As close as James and Lily were standing, the way they were acting—they looked like a couple.
Diane frowned. "I still say James isn't going to risk it." She turned to her boyfriend. "Okay, so we're clear on the terms. James has to kiss Lily by the end of the ball, and if he doesn't, I win the bet."
"But if he does, I win." Frank nodded, grinning. "Excellent. I could really use the five Sickles."
James was rather amazed at how well things were going. He'd danced with Lily, had not tripped over his feet, Lily was smiling at him, and quite a lot of the males populating this dance were glaring at him.
Also, the punch and food were very, very good.
"So, we're going up against Slytherin," Lily said, sipping at her punch.
"Wha—oh, yeah." So James had been distracted by her hair. Lily's hair was very pretty.
"Worried?"
'Not really," James said honestly. "Haven't thought about it too much."
Lily sighed. "I have."
James didn't really like the way that sounded. "You know you're going to be fine, right?"
Lily looked at him with wide, worried jade green eyes. "It's Slytherin."
"So? We've beaten them before," James said flippantly.
"Which means they'll be even more determined to make sure it doesn't happen again," Lily pointed out. Then she added with a little laugh, "Especially since you have a Mudblood on your team."
James went very still, because he knew those words weren't her own. "Who said that?" he demanded. "Which one of those bas—"
"James, shh," Lily said softly. "It doesn't matter."
"Like hell it doesn't," he said furiously. "Listen, I don't ever want to hear you refer to yourself that way again, alright? You're not what they say you are."
"I would hope so," Lily joked, trying to lighten the mood, but James wasn't having any of it.
"You know you deserve to be here, right?" James asked, taking one of her hands in his. "Because you do."
Lily smiled at him. "I know, James. Don't worry about me."
James sent a glare at Rosier, the Slytherin captain. "Slimy gits," he muttered.
"No argument here."
"Cold?"
"No," Lily said, staring up at the sky. "Nice night."
"Yeah," James agreed. He shuffled his feet. "Er, Lily?"
"Yes?"
"Why are we out here?" James asked, gesturing at the gardens. "I mean, it's pretty, but..."
Lily laughed. "I…don't know," she admitted. "I just have this strange feeling—like something's about to happen." She paused. "I've had it all week. Like there's something I'm supposed to do or say…" She shrugged and smiled at James. "Never mind."
He stared at her, something unreadable in his eyes. "Lily…" he paused, then shook his head. "I—nothing."
Lily was intrigued. "Tell me."
He grinned nervously, and it hit Lily. James was adorable. Not that this was news or anything, Lily had always known, in an abstract way, that her friend was an adorable boy.
Only, now, it—just wasn't abstract. Not anymore. Not with the way her stomach was twisting and churning and—wow.
James looked at her, concerned. He stepped closer. Now they were merely inches apart. Okay. She could deal with this—was that cologne?
"Lily? Are you all right?"
"Uh-huh," Lily said quickly, smiling in what she hoped was a convincing manner. As James turned his head up to look at the stars, Lily tried to get a hold of herself.
It's James. James, your friend, teammate, captain—that's all, that's it, no matter how lovely his eyes are—oh, God. No, no, no, I'm not falling for him, I'm not, I'm not—
"I'm not falling for him," she muttered, and James turned to her, bewildered.
"What'd you say?"
"Nothing." She closed her eyes, letting whatever she was feeling just wash over here.
"Lily, you sure you're all right?" James asked, worried. And he was always worried about her, wasn't he? He always worried, always tried to help, was always there for her—
And that realization, if anything, only made Lily even dizzier.
"I'm fine, James," she said, stepping closer to him, definitely invading his personal space. "Absolutely fine."
Now Lily was sure she wasn't the only one having trouble breathing. James's breathing was just as erratic as hers, and it only sped up as Lily wrapped her arms around his neck. "Is this okay?" she asked quietly.
James stared at her, his Adam's apple bobbing. Lily closed her eyes, waiting. For what, some signal? Some sign? But all of a sudden, Lily realized…
…she was tired of waiting for something to happen. Maybe…the weird feeling she'd had, maybe it meant that she needed to make something happen.
Maybe she needed to make this happen.
This is insane, she thought. And I don't even care.
James finally spoke. "Lily," he croaked, "what—?"
But he never finished, simply because in that instant, Lily leaned in and kissed him on the mouth.
A/N: For those of you who aren't sure, décolletage means cleavage. And as for the ending to this chapter: Heh. Heh..
