: innocence vs. trouble :
: disclaimer : I don't own any Harry Potter settings/characters. :
: Chapter 3 : Midnight's Kiss :
"Are you absolutely sure that you don't want me to hold your hand across the street?" James Potter asked Lily Evans as she angrily rejected him for the fifth time.
Once everyone was settled in at The Three Broomsticks, the girls scurried to the back to get ready and the boys found a table near the front.
"Wow…there are more people here than I expected." Remus said, looking around.
"So Remus, you dirty devil, you; who are you going to spend your money on?" Sirius said, nudging Remus on the shoulder.
"Um…I dunno, haven't given it much thought. Who are you going to auction on, Prongs?" Remus asked but then after receiving obvious looks, he quickly grinned. "Of course, the lovely Miss. Evans, how could I have been so stupid?"
"Hey, Moony, I love you like a brother and all, but don't go hitting on my girl. Calling her lovely and what not. She's mine" James said playfully.
"Funny, by the way she ignores you, I'd say she was up for grabs" Remus replied smartly and just as James was about to yell, the lights went out except for a light on the stage.
"SHH! It's starting!" Peter cried out, pulling James down while Sirius tried to calm a laughing Remus.
"Hullo everyone," Madame Rosmerta started as the whole room went quiet. "I'd just like to thank you all for helping me reach my goal of buying my own place. As we all know, difficult times are coming to all of us, and your support really, I mean really, helps me get by. So thank you all and let the auction begin. The lucky lady will get to spend 2 hours with the lucky gentlemen until the last midnight's kiss."
Applause and whistles later filled the room as Madame Rosmerta stepped down.
"Right! Let's begin, shall we?" She began again from a corner on the stage. "Our first lady is named Cindy Bullstrode. She is lovely lady, graduated from Hogwarts last term and is currently unemployed. Lets give it up for Cindy! We'll start at 5 sickles."
"I have 5 sickles" Cried a man from the back.
"10 sickles!"
"I got 15 sickles"
"20 sickles!"
"20 sickles, going once, going twice…SOLD to the man up front," Madame Rosmerta smiled. "Next is a Miss. Rosie Pitts." A few chuckles could be heard throughout the room while Jasmine walked onto the stage with a scowl on her face.
"This one's on me, boys." Sirius smirked.
"We'll start with 10 sickles"
"I've got 25!"
"30!"
"40!"
"65!"
Jasmine looked shocked at her luck but glowed at the men anyway.
"1 galleon!"
"We've got 1 galleon, going once…going tw—"
"5 galleons!" Sirius shouted and the men sighed in defeat.
"SOLD! To Mr. Sirius Black." Rosmerta smiled at him.
"Next is Miss. Lily Evans Potter." James heart leapt at how good the name sounded. Lily walked out shyly, her cheeks turning baby pink, which, in James mind, made her look extremely pretty. James was just about to bid on her when another guy shouted out before him.
"I'll give you 1 galleon!"
"Whoa…starting a bit high now, are we? Ok! Anyone for 2 galleons?" Madame Rosmerta called out.
"I've got 2 Galleons!"
"I've got 5!"
James looked at his friends in shock. Apparently, Lily was going to be worth more than he thought. But he wasn't going to lose her to some crazy blokes.
"I've got 10 galleons!" James finally cried out. The whole room went quiet. Yes James thought as Lily looked down on him.
"I've got 10 galleons and 5 sickles!" shouted a fairly good-looking guy about James age from across the bar.
"I've got 10 galleons and 6 sickles!" James retaliated.
"I've got 11 Galleons" The boy was now glaring at James.
"12!" James shouted back.
"12?" Remus whispered at James. "I thought you only brought 10 galleons!"
"Oh shit…Moony, let me borrow a couple galleons!" James said hurriedly.
"Going Once…"
"What! This is my savings we're talking about!" Remus said
"Please, Moony! I swear I'll make it up to you!"
"Going twice…"
"Fine! But you owe me Prongs!" Remus said handing him 5 more galleons.
"So—"
"I've got 15 galleons!" James finally shouted, relieved.
"15 galleons and 1 knutt!"
"AHH! Who is this bloke?" James shouted, frustrated. "C'mon, c'mon…there has to be a sickle somewhere in here!" he felt feverishly around the floor. Lady Luck must have been on his side because one randomly appeared under his chair.
"15 galleons and 1 sickle!"
Madame Rosmerta turned to the other guy and when he bowed his head in defeat, she cried out "SOLD!" James danced around happily.
"You owe me 5 galleons" Remus smiled, but James didn't care. Lily's was his for a whole 2 hours.
Peter ended up bidding on Melanie and Remus just tagged along on their "date"
"So, Mrs. Potter…looks like you're mine for the day." James smiled as the girls approached their table.
"You had this whole thing planned, didn't you? And it's only for 2 hours and it's Miss. Evans to you!" Lily shot James a dirty looks.
"Whatever you say, beautiful" James smiled as Lily rolled her eyes.
"Urgh…let's just get this over with." Lily said as she walked out of the shop with James right behind her.
"Lily! Lily! Wait up!" James said, running after Lily's fast paces.
"Keep up, Potter. You know, for a quidditch star, you're awfully slow." Lily said, not bothering to turn around. James quickly ran up in front of her, blocking her path.
"One, Quidditch is played on brooms, (Lily scowled at him) Two, Where are we going?"
Lily finally looked up into his hazel eyes but once she did, she felt an electric shock run through her whole body so she quickly looked back down.
"Erm…book store." Lily said to the ground.
"Book store? Evans, you really need to get a life out of reading." James replied. Lily, still feeling uneasy, didn't dare look back into his eyes but focused on the ground.
"Then where do you propose we go?" She said a bit irritated now.
A smile slowly crept onto James face. "I'll show you" He extended out his hand for her to grab. Lily stared at his hand but didn't take it.
"Just lead the way, Potter." Nevertheless, James still had the smile on his face and led the way with Lily sulking right behind him.
Lily and James later entered into an old looking living room that seemed to have been deserted some time ago. There were shovels, hammers, old nails, and ripped up toys scattered around the room. Lily lifted an eyebrow and watched James make himself comfortable on a beat up couch.
"So…you're planning on killing me?" Lily said, eyeing the objects before her.
James laughed. "Never."
Once Lily settled herself in as well, they both were chatting away as if they've been friends all this time. They were laughing at each other's jokes, telling stories of their infant years, etc.
"…and I swear, that was the last time I ever let Sirius use floo powder…" James laughed as he watched Lily try to control her own laughter. Once the laughing subsided, James just stared at Lily who noticed and quickly took interest on her shoes.
"Why don't you like me?" James blurted out. Lily looked up, a bit shocked at his sudden question.
"W-what?" She said, not really knowing how to answer.
"You know, ever since we first met, we never became friendly toward each other. Why?"
Lily sighed. "It's just how life is. One day you're pulling on my hair, the next day you're asking me out. You're not serious. And ever since I rejected you, you wouldn't stop being a prat towards me, which only brought more frustration from me to you."
"But…I am serious! Honest!" James said, sounding eager.
"No, you're not." Lily said quietly.
"How can you tell me what I am and what I'm not?"
"Because…I just can—"
"No, you can't." James said, moving next to her. "I really do like you, Lily! You're beautiful, driven, funny—"
"I'm smart too, you know." Lily said, staring seductively into his eyes. James was a little shocked at first but just gazed upon her.
"ye—yeah.." He gulped. "Your…eyes…"
Lily smiled. "What about my eyes?"
"So…beautiful…so…green…" James seemed to have been in a trance.
"Yeah…they're perfect for any man to gaze upon…"
"Yeah…a man like me." James said, unaware that he was even drooling a bit.
"Right…" Lily said so close to him that he could feel her breath on him. "So you can put a collar on me and add me to your collection of bimbos."
"Yeah…" James said still in a trance but then quickly snapped. "Wait! No! No…what?" Lily had already moved away from him, staring tiredly at him.
"Face it, Potter, we're just not meant for each other. And those lines…you're eyes are really beautiful…do they actually work?" She stared at him in amazement.
"No! Lily! You tricked me! And those are not lines! They're the truth." James pleaded to her.
"Right, and Dumbledore is actually Lord Voldemort. Get real, Potter. This was fun while it lasted…but we're just…too different." Lily said, walking toward the door. She actually felt a little bad for James. He looked like he had just lost his best friend.
"C'mon, James…it's 10 minutes till 12, we should get back." Lily said, opening the door for him.
Lily and James walked back to the Three Broomsticks in silence. Once they entered, Lily saw Jasmine give Sirius a sloppy kiss on the cheek. Lily stared, confused.
"Lily…" James said, smirking which made Lily feel better knowing that she hadn't hurt him too badly.
"What?" She asked him and he only smiled wider.
"According to the rules, you owe me a goodnight kiss."
Lily looked at James a bit skeptical but then stood on her tip toes and kissed him lightly on the cheek and quickly walked away, not wanting to stay for his reaction.
"Why are you so smiley?" Melanie suddenly appeared by Lily's side.
"Smiley? Am I smiling?" Lily asked and hadn't really noticed but she couldn't stop smiling.
"Like a fool…had a nice time with James, did you?" Jasmine smirked.
"No! Of course not…" Lily looked back at James who now had a goofy grin plastered on his face while talking to Sirius. Lily rolled her eyes. "No way…"
"Whatever you say Lily." Jasmine smiled.
: a/n : hi! Thanks for the reviews. They're much appreciated:0) I was listening to the song Just the Girl by The Click Five while writing and it reminded me of James and Lily's relationship. Just a thought. Reviews are appreciated :0)