Chapter XII

Perfect for Each Other

((Lily's POV))

I was so happy, I could barely contain myself.

Every time James walked by, lightly touching my arm or flashing me a smile, I got weak in the knees. People often said that this never happened when they had a boyfriend, but it happened with James and me. Rose and Pansy laughed at me when I'd prop my chin up on my arm in class and look his way when he wasn't looking mine; I'd watch how he mussed his black hair and laughed at the Marauders' jokes, his pearly teeth gleaming.

It was on the next Tuesday, February the eighteenth, and we were all sitting together at the Gryffindor House table. James was sitting beside me, and Pansy was on my other side. Rose was across from her, Remus sitting next to her. Sirius and Peter also sat with us, deciding that wherever one Marauder was, the others had to be there.

"Do we have to go to Potions?" Pansy complained, finishing up her essay. "Slughorn hates me."

"That's because you don't know the difference between a vial and a cauldron," Rose informed her.

"He likes Lily," Remus said, smiling across the table at me.

I smiled back halfheartedly. "He's annoying, though. Always follows me around."

Sirius coughed into his goblet.

"You be quiet, Black," Pansy snapped, examining her face in her little mirror to make sure she didn't have any acne. She didn't.

"I didn't say anything," he said, throwing up his hands defensively.

We all stood once the bell had rung and headed for Potions. Rose, who wasn't taking Potions as a N.E.W.T. class, headed for Muggle Studies.

When we were cleaning up our cauldrons after the bell rang, I went as fast as possible, stuffing my books in my bag and scribbling the assignment down, so as to not allow Slughorn to catch me and invite me to another party. I dropped a few rolls of parchment, though, and dived under the desk to retrieve them as the classroom emptied.

"Lily! I'd like to talk—"

"Professor Slughorn?" I heard James say as I stood and shoved the parchment in my bag. "I wanted to ask you about the assignment. I don't quite understand why a bezoar—"

That was the last I heard, because I had scurried out of the room and down the hallway, where I leaned against the wall. That was so kind of James, to save me from the irritating Slughorn. He left the classroom a few minutes later and came down the hallways in my direction.

"Thank you so much," I sighed, kissing him. He smiled and took my hand, and together we went to our next class.

James and I always talked on our nighttime patrols. He knew I was a little uncomfortable about kissing in public, so we just saved our snogging for when we got back to the Heads common room.

"We should go flying sometime," James said one evening, later in the week. "You know, alone sometime. Since you don't have a broom, you could just borrow Sirius's."

I nodded. "I'm very bad at flying, though."

But that Sunday, we flew around the grounds together. It wasn't prohibited for older students to fly whenever they pleased, as long as they didn't leave the grounds. James was very kind about my issues with it, too. He made me get on the front of his broom with him as we circled the castle, giving me directions and keeping his hands on mine.

We landed on a balcony on the west tower. I was glad to be out of the air, but James was glad that he could finally kiss me without anyone paying attention.

People told me that James and I were perfect for each other. I knew we were, too, because he was changed now that he liked me. He was sweet, the way he carried me on his back sometimes in Hogsmeade, or the way he liked to put his face in my hair and smelled it when we kissed. It was hard to imagine that there was a time when I couldn't stand the sight of him.

((James's POV))

I was almost sure that I loved her.

Love is a strong word. I had never loved any girl before, and I wasn't quite sure that I was ready to use the word. If love meant that warmth spread through me every time I saw her and that I couldn't take my eyes off her, then yes, I was in love with her.

I couldn't concentrate on her all the time, though, because there was Quidditch to worry about. The end of February brought the second Quidditch match of the season, Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff. So far, Ravenclaw was in first, Gryffindor in second, Hufflepuff in third, and Slytherin in last.

"The reason Slytherin's losing is probably because they're all too caught up in their Death Eater business," Sirius joked once in the common room once, receiving several laughs.

Michael Kirke, out captain, would not shut up about Quidditch. He kept stopping us in the hallways and telling us about different techniques we could use that would stump Hufflepuff.

"Not that Hufflepuff isn't hard to stump, anyway," snorted Peter, receiving a few looks from some passing girls from the said House.

"Anyway, Potter, I was thinking you could try and act as though you're going after the Snitch when it's not really there," Kirke yammered. "Or, if you see it, and the Hufflepuff Seeker is closer, you could casually drift in that direction until you're close enough—"

"KIRKE!" I roared. "I'm the Seeker, all right? I think I know how to do it. We'll be fine."

He looked startled. "Well, if you're sure. See you around." And then he rushed off to go corner our Keeper, Ravenwood.

Lily understood completely how stressed I was, what with studying for N.E.W.T.s, our mounting pile of homework, Head Boy duties, and Quidditch. We helped each other study, too, by bringing a book on our nighttime patrols and quizzing each other on things that were likely to come up in our exams.

"You'll do fine tomorrow, James," she assured me as we told the Fat Lady the password and crawled through the portrait hole.

I nodded. The Quidditch match was scheduled for February the twenty-sixth. Just as we were going into our common room, and I turned to go into my dormitory, Lily grabbed my tie, turned me around to face her, and gave me a long kiss as she stood on the tips of her toes. "Get your rest," she commanded lightly, and turned around and disappeared into her room.

A/N: Yay! I know this chapter is pointless, but I wanted to make a chapter explaining their feelings for each other and how they were getting along and such. The next chapter will be about the Gryffindor/Hufflepuff Quidditch match.

Meh, I don't feel like responding to reviews anymore. I still love all of you guys, though. Keep on reviewin'!

Notice how I threw in Professor Slughorn. The mere genious of me. Haha! For those of you who read HBP and don't like it: I don't care what you say. It is freaking awesome.