Hmm… My schedule's getting crowded. But I refuse to stop writing. And I promise I'll finish this story before the week is out. Oh, and Boy Who Lived readers, the sequel will start Friday!
I have 105 reviews for this story! Woohoo! So, here's thanks to the latest batch!
The Naz: I can't help it. I like the name Inigo. And it's much more fun than 'Harold.'
shady gurl: They'll be out of the literal closet in this chapter. The metaphorical closet… not sure yet.
Bookworm Rose: Speechless is goooood! And I PROMISE they'll end up before I run out of chapters! That's the point of this whole bit of fluff, is pairing people off. Poor Peter, though. I don't have anyone for him. Guess he'll just have to have his chessboard.
CaptainSatsuma: Well, it's a slow update as far as this story goes, but a fast one as far as most fics are.
sesshomaruhasafluffytail: Huzzah!
Tanya J Potter: Of course she'll find the portrait. It wouldn't be nearly awkward enough otherwise.
TrunkZy: I personally have no problem with green hair. One of my fave RP chars has green hair, in fact. But a Gryffindor wouldn't want to walk about with green hair, most likely.
S.c.ou.s.er.4.li.f.e: I'm quite fond of the word brilliant… but sometimes I feel sorry for it's neglected cousins. Let's start a campaign to bring them into more common use! Come on, people give these words a chance: coruscating, effulgent, fulgent, incandescent, lambent, lucent, refulgent, and scintillating! … And now they're trying to take away my Pixie Stix. Nooo! My precious!
Becky Silver Black: OoooOOOoooo! CANDY CANES! Almost as good as crack-inna-straw… I mean… Pixie Stix. Yes. Mmm, chemically-enhanced colored sugar. :3
SlashyKitty: Heheh… I debated a looooong time before putting the closet part in. But I decided the fun was worth the cliché.
uknowho: Well, there is a confrontation, and it is awkward. Good you'll have to judge for yourself!
Grim Lupine: Well, if you think about it, he had better raising than Sirius did, so…
HanSolosGal: Yeees. Only he's about as slow about it as I am. But at least he can draw people. I sure can't.
I love my reviewers! Aaand… (Insert disclaimers and warnings here). Onward!
Lily had never been one to dawdle about waking up. When she was awake, she was completely awake, even if she chose to stay in bed for a little while longer. Only this morning she was most definitely not in her bed. She was, in fact, on a couch in the common room snuggled close to James. And it was wonderful.
This was the closest she'd ever been to the dark-haired boy, and it was an educational experience. Up close he smelled like grass and cologne and athletic maleness. His arms around her were surprisingly gentle and strange as it sounded, gentlemanly. For some reason she would have expected him to try to cop a feel. Instead, his hands were at her waist and shoulders, respectively. She could feel his heart beating under her cheek, keeping almost perfect time with hers.
It would be very nice to lie here like this forever.
She stirred a little, and his hand moved off her shoulder. Green eyes opened in dismay, afraid he was waking up and the moment was coming to an end, but the hand simply fell limply off the edge of the couch. Lazily, Lily studied the strong sinewy hand, with its well-defined angles and chewed-off fingernails. He only bit them when he was studying for potions… Sweet Merlin, she was obsessed.
While her mind was trying to process that fact, a motion caught her attention. At first she thought it was a rat, but apparently it was simply a draft that had blown through and disturbed a piece of parchment on the floor. Curiosity finally got the better of her, and Lily reluctantly slipped out of James's embrace to look at the scrap of paper. She turned it over and her eyes widened.
It was like looking into a mirror. The paper-Lily laughed up out of the page, her eyes sparkling. Tucked behind one ear was a perfectly-drawn orchid. How did James know what her favorite flower was? There was no question of the artist. No one else would have written 'Lily Evans Potter' across the bottom of the page. She was still trying to decide what to think when the portrait-hole opened.
Remus and Sirius entered, looking exceedingly happy and slightly disheveled. Lily was relieved; having secretly feared the pair wouldn't admit their true feelings and therefore break the spell. They spotted the sleeping James, exchanged mischievous smirks, and pounced. James yelped in shock and terror as he awoke with his throat in the hands of an apparently enraged Remus. Tossing sandy hair out of his eyes, the sickly-looking boy snarled, "I just spent eight hours in a very small room, and someone seems to have forgotten that I'm claustrophobic!"
Lily tried not to laugh, certain that they were just trying to frighten James for locking them up. And succeeding, somewhat. The bespectacled boy looked horrified, not at the hands encircling his throat, but at the fact that he'd put his friend in a closed space. Rather than asking for mercy, he was babbling apologies. "I can't believe I forgot. I'm sorry!"
Whatever else he said was lost as Sirius spotted Lily. Hidden from James's view by the slender frame of his new boyfriend, the handsome pureblood gave her a look of pure gratitude, and she found herself smiling back. He mouthed a 'thank you,' and then his eyes went impish. A nod toward Remus shifted her attention back to their 'conversation,' which still consisted of apologies and growls.
A few moments of the rather repetitive exchange left Lily wondering why she was supposed to be listening. It did, however, give an interesting insight into Remus's personality. She'd never have guessed that the quiet boy had such an aggressive side to him. And James actually believed that Remus could hurt him if given a reason. Definitely odd.
Suddenly the entire situation changed. James was in the middle of yet another apology when Remus suddenly stiffened, his eyes rolling back into his head. A low purring moan issued from his throat, and his lips curled up into a smile. The cause of the reversal was obvious—Sirius's arms had snaked around the slender boy's waist, and his teeth nibbled an earlobe.
As the hands fell away from his throat, James raised an eyebrow and smirked up at his friends. Reluctantly, Remus pulled away from the nibbling and gave James an arch little smile, and his voice came out as almost a purr. "I do have to thank you, James. If it hadn't been for you locking us in the closet, I'd never have known just how clever Sirius's mouth can be."
It was hard to tell whether it was the innuendo or Lily's scandalized giggle that made James turn bright red and splutter. The messy-haired boy hadn't known she was there, for certain. He looked toward her, and his eyes went slightly wild when he saw the parchment still in her hands. Sirius followed his gaze, and grinned at her. "I see you found his masterwork. Is it finally finished?"
Blushing, she held it out to them, and Remus caught it before James could intercept. After a moment of scrutiny, he stood up, handing the parchment back to Lily.
"Mister Padfoot, I believe we should leave these two alone. They have a great deal to discuss." Sirius might have argued, but Remus took hold of his tie and used it to pull him toward the stairs. They paused on the first step, and Lily found herself under the intense scrutiny of liquid amber eyes. One of them slowly winked at her, then both boys turned and continued up the stairs, but Remus called over his shoulder. "You two play nice, now. And there's a very comfortable closet on third floor, if you need one."
Unable to look at James for embarrassment, Lily watched as the heartthrob of Gryffindor followed after the scholarly boy like a puppy. There were going to be so many disappointed girls when that relationship became public. Especially since Remus was almost as sought after as Sirius, whether he knew it or not. Most girls had given up on James because of his fixation. Which brought her back to the subject she wasn't entirely ready to face.
The silence lengthened unbearably, and Lily found herself studying the parchment. Finally, as often happens in these situations, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "How did you know orchids are my favorite flowers?"
"I asked Rory about it, actually. I don't know how she knew." James suddenly seemed to find his hands fascinating, and the awkward silence descended again.
Desperate to end the unbearably loud quiet, Lily started to ask a question she wouldn't normally have asked. "James, do you--…"
"I was wondering--…" He'd begun at the same time, and they both stopped to laugh nervously. "Ladies first."
"I… Well, there's a Hogsmeade weekend coming up soon, and… Would you like to go with me?" She twiddled nervously with a lock of auburn hair, trying to become accustomed to the fact that she, Lily Evans, had just asked out the boy she'd devoted her entire school career to avoiding.
The look on his face left little room for her to be embarrassed, though. He was practically incandescent with happiness, but he answered simply, "I'd like that very much."
"So would I…" Lily startled as the clock began chiming six. "I should go upstairs and take a nap while it's still quiet…"
As she stood, she remembered the parchment still in her hands. Blushing again, she stepped over and held it out to him. When his hand closed over it, she gave in to another impulse, and swooped in to kiss him on the cheek before scampering up the stairs. A last glance over her shoulder revealed James staring after her, his hand on his cheek and looking like he'd just been given the key to heaven.
Awwww… Yay! I finally got James and Lily together. Certainly took long enough. Their relationship seems to be just a bit more innocent than Sirius and Remus's. Poor James, though. I think he'll probably be frozen like that until someone comes and snaps him out of it. Anyway, next chapter is the epilogue! This story is almost finished! -Sniffle-.