It's not mine; it's all J.K. Rowlings'.

Chapter 4: In Which Lily Eats Fritters

Or

In Which Lily Loses her Concentration

Where we left our favorite heroine:

I broke off as James pressed his lips to mine.

ooo…ooo

He hesitantly reached a hand up and stroked my hair as I pulled him even closer. Honestly, he kissed me this time so I can claim I've gone temporarily insane.

See that? That flying shoe shaped object? Yep, that was my sanity leaving, and it may never come back. His lips were so soft and gentle as he pulled back a little to brush kisses on my forehead, my cheek, and the tip of my nose.

"James," I whispered, as he hesitated near my lips again. Oh great Merlin, I really am insane. Sure, I tolerated Potter when I woke up this morning, but I certainly didn't want to jump him and kiss him senseless. Alright, I admit I want to kiss him senseless, but jumping him would be a bit much. After all, if I play my cards right, maybe he'll jump me and I won't have to jump him at all.

NO! Stupid brain! If I play my cards right he won't jump me and I won't jump him and we'll both be miserable - happy (I meant happy).

I've been noticing the strangest things about James, though. I'd never even noticed before that he is absolutely adorable when he blushes, and his hair is so soft, it just makes you want to run your fingers through it all of the time. Heck, that's probably why James has that adorable – horrible - habit of running his hand through his hair. I used to think it was the sorting hat's insanity that put an arrogant, selfish pig like James Potter in Gryffindor, but he really is selfless and brave. He saved me from the sunflower without a second thought. He could have been horribly injured … oh, wait … he was. Well, he could have died. But the most startling and slightly disturbing thing that I have most officially found out about James Tristan Potter today is that he is most certainly and without a doubt a darn good kisser.

I obviously don't have the experience to say he's the best kisser, but I'm willing to bet he's up there with all those Greek Adonis'. I'm just saying that if a guy can make you feel like you're floating by just pressing his lips to yours, no tongue involved, he's obviously pretty darn good. Or you're just soul mates and the pure bliss of being next to each other is enough to start you with the floating feeling. And we all know that's not what I'm feeling.

"Mr. Potter, get yourself back into your bed this instant!" Madam Jeffries shrill voice rang out, interrupting our kisses. James pulled his lips from mine with apparent effort. I wonder if he's having the same problem with the magnetic lip thing as I am? Probably not, seeing as I'm undoubtedly imagining the whole thing and/or going completely insane. It's probably the insane thing, isn't it?

I helped James off of the floor and onto the bed. I attempted to take my former seat after righting the chair, but Madam Jeffries went off on me and with tremendous amounts of arm waving and many shrill screeches, she shoved me, none too gently, out of the Hospital Wing.

I stood outside of the now closed doors for a bit and I realized I didn't feel too well anymore. I guess all that excitement with the rickety desks and sunflowers made me forget to feel odd ... sickishly odd.

As I walked back to the Transfiguration room to get my books, the unsettled feeling in my stomach grew. I should have just stayed in the Hospital Wing. Now, of course, Madam Jeffries wouldn't let me in unless I was dying because she'll think I just want to make out with James, which probably wouldn't be too great for his health.

But I don't want to make out with James; I don't even want to kiss James. I just don't understand how I've ended up in this predicament ... but I'm pretty sure I can blame that stupid whoosh from breakfast this morning. I hate whooshes. Then again, I could also blame those stupid desks in Transfiguration. I hate desks. Or maybe it's those gods forsaken magnets or invisible strings or whatever they are. I hate those … those … thingys!

I pushed open the door to the Transfiguration room and walked into one of McGonagall's first year classes. I guess I missed class change while I was in the Hospital Wing. I quietly closed the door behind me so I wouldn't disturb the class. Looking at the notes on the board, I smirked a bit. Now this was my level of transfiguration.

I looked at McGonagall and saw she seemed to be quite occupied trying to explain to a red-headed kid that he did not have the proper skills to transfigure his partner and, thus, should refrain from attempting to do so; I decided she wouldn't want me to bother her. Scanning the classroom, I spotted my bag next to her desk.

I pulled out my wand and with a very simple swish and flick, levitated the bag into the air. It rose silently and swiftly over the desks and I whispered, "Accio bag," summoning it to me. The bag was about half-way across the room and, coincidently enough, right above the head of a young boy I recognized as a Slytherin, when an ear piercing yowl of pain rang through the entire castle, startling me.

Let me tell you, I'm not the sort to be distracted from my charms by a loud noise; it's just that at that exact moment my stomach did a remarkable 360 and a few back flips. So the fact I felt like I was on an upside down roller coaster, and the fact that I was pretty sure that scream had come from James, distracted me and I rather forgot about my charms. My bag fell on top of the hapless Slytherin 1st year.

"Sorry," I cried, truly feeling horrible about hitting that poor innocent kid. I was trying to help the little guy up when he jerked his hand from mine and sneered down his nose at me. I was actually kind of impressed that he managed it seeing as he was even shorter than me.

"I don't need help from a mudblood," he spat, his voice filled with disdain. "You'll pay for your stupidity."

Ok, this kid isn't looking quite so cute anymore. I quickly gathered my bag and supplies that had fallen out. I turned to go and I caught a glance of pure disgust and hate directed at me by that little boy. He could only be what? 11 ... 12 ... how could someone so young have so much hate? As I hurried into the hallway, I felt an inexplicable pull around my heart and I felt like crying.

I've never cried when people call me names (except that one time, but that doesn't really count because I'd just found out what mudblood meant). I guess it's just the fact that it was a little kid. I mean, kids are supposed to be the innocents in our society, but they're already being corrupted into hate. I sniffed and decided to go collect myself in my dorm.

Once in the room, I flopped down on my bed, enjoying the silence of the empty dormitories. I snuggled around on my bed a bit, working myself under the covers. Using a carefully perfected maneuver, I buried myself into a cocoon of blankets that enveloped me with warmth, so not a bit of cold air could get in. With a sigh, I fell asleep.

I woke up with a start. I stayed in my cocoon, but I was wide awake ... as if I'd never even been asleep. Normally, I'm a slow waker who needs to hit the snooze button on the alarm clock once or twice just to adjust to the fact that I must indeed wake up, so being wide awake was a new sensation.

But what I really can't believe is that I just took a nap! I haven't taken a nap since I was 7. I sat up on my elbows and shook my head, peering around the dorm room, which was still empty. I spotted Ally's charms book on her bed. She must have dropped it off, so it was either lunch or afternoon classes. My hunch is afternoon classes because the odd sensation in my stomach has been replaced with ravenous hunger.

Great, just great, now I've pretty much missed all of my classes today. I don't see much point in going to class late and getting a detention. Besides, Care of Magical Creatures is pretty boring right now; all we're doing is studying theory about unicorns so we can "prepare" to see a real one. We've been "preparing" for creatures all year and we've only gotten to care for one: flobber worms. I guess Professor Kettleburn is worried about something going wrong, with Potter and Black in his class he probably has a reason to worry, but if you occupy them then they aren't nearly as bad. I really should talk to them about cutting Kettleburn some slack since this is his first year teaching and he needs to build his confidence.

Stumbling out of bed, I made my way to the kitchens, not really caring that I looked like I'd just rolled out of bed since ... well, I had.

The first thing that caught my attention when I entered the kitchen was not the lovely smells, which were very nice if I do say so myself and rather made me want an apple fritter, but the fact that none other than James Tristan Potter was also in the kitchen munching on what looks suspiciously like an apple fritter.

That wasn't fair! I wanted one, too. I hurried over to him.

"Do they have any more?" I asked eagerly. He looked at me in surprise before looking down at his fritter, and then he extended it toward me. I was going to refuse, I really was; I mean, he'd already taken a bite out of it and everything, but I was so darn hungry. I literally had never felt this hungry in my entire life. So I snatched the fritter from his hand and polished it off, trying to appear as though I wouldn't enjoy eating a whole tractor trailer full of fritters. I don't know if I succeeded.

James smiled at me, amused. "Hungry?"

"Starving." He laughed and I joined in, I couldn't help it. His laugh is so contagious.

"New feeling?"

"Yeah, I've never had the made urge to eat anything slightly edible before." Oops, I didn't mean to admit that. I blushed as he laughed again.

"No worries, Ms. Evans, I've got lots of experience in that department, so let's see what we can find you."

With James' help I managed to find and eat 6 more fritters, 2 ham sandwiches (I don't even like ham!), a dozen or so stalks of celery (I talked him into that, he was all for avoiding healthy food), a bag of rice cakes (dang, those things are addictive, especially the caramel flavored ones), and 5 large chocolate chip cookies.

"I've never eaten that much in my life," I told him, as we walked back toward the common room.

He put an arm around my shoulders and said, "Well, anytime you feel like going on another food binge, just let me know." We both laughed and I found myself moving closer to him. Why, I can't say, but I'm just going to write it off as I was feeling a bit chilly and he seemed rather warm.

Fine, I'll tell you the truth, but you can't tell anyone. And I mean anyone!

I just realized as we chatted over our late lunch that James Potter is an ok guy. I've never bothered to talk with him before, really talk with him. Now that I find myself kissing him every time I turn around, I kind of felt like it would be a nice gesture, talking to him. I was a bit surprised at how easy it was. I didn't have any problem chatting about my Muggle family and he seemed completely at ease discussing his pureblood family. It was like we understood each other.

No, it wasn't anything like a deep underlying connection, it was more like we'd spent so much time together fighting that we knew each other well enough to be able to communicate. Oh, another tid bit of information I gleaned from lunch; it was in fact James who was screaming when I dropped my bag. Apparently Madam Jeffries had upset a bottle of peroxide over his leg and ... well, we all know how much that stings even on small scrapes.

But I guess it's because James is an ok guy that I didn't protest when he slid his arm down to rest around my waist. Or maybe I'm just cold. I bet that's it; the weather is just so chilly ... kind of.

"Do you eat like that all of the time?" I asked, since James had matched my appetite and even managed a few more rice cakes than me.

"Sure," he said, smiling down at me. I felt my knees go all mushy. What is wrong with me today? Â I think I really do need to go to the hospital wing.

"I'm a growing boy, I need my energy."

I nudged him playfully, "But what happens when you stop growing?" He was already over 6 feet tall, how much more did he want?

"Then I shall grow fat and ugly," he said in a tragic voice.

Then he nudged me back. "But you'll still think I'm devastatingly handsome, right?"

"Dream on, Potter," I said, rolling my eyes, although, I'm sure he's right. Heck, even his voice is devastatingly handsome and you can't even see that.

"How about devastatingly sexy?" he suggested.

"You think you'll still be sexy when you're fat and ugly?" I asked skeptically.

"Oh, ho! Did you just admit you find me sexy?"

"No!" I cried. I hadn't, had I? Sure, he was sexy. He was very sexy, but I hadn't said that, had I? Oh no, I had kind of implied it! I felt a blush creep up the back of my neck. We all agree he's sexy, but you can't admit things like that! Especially if it's me doing the admitting, and I'm not the sort of person who admits to anything!

"I think you did," James said, stopping our walk, "Admit it."

"I really didn't."

"Yes, you did," he said. Is it just me or was he getting closer? I think he is getting closer. Or maybe I'm the one who's getting closer. Darn these stupid magnet/string things make it hard to tell.

Wow. He really smells like apple fritters. Those things were really good. I'd kind of like another one now that I...

I'm telling you, there are invisible stings or magnets or Velcro or something attached to my head because it just moved about three inches without me telling it to.

Not that I'm objecting, but now James will really think I think he's sexy, which he is, but I mean look at the size of his ego. If you feed that thing anymore, he won't be able to fit it through door ways. My line of thought was cut off as James ran his tongue over my lips.

Holy Shitake Mushrooms, he wants me to open my mouth. Calm thoughts ... calm thoughts. Oh Merlin, the calm thoughts aren't working. I know! I'll make a pros and cons list. Good idea.

Pro

1. James is really sexy (I swear I didn't mean to put that first)

2. His hair is very nice (but messy)

3. He is very nice and sensitive (sometimes)

4. I'll be able to say I've French kissed James Potter (although, I don't know who I'd say it to)

5. He saved me from a giant carnivorous sunflower

Alright ... that's enough pros (plus I can't think of anymore).

Con

1. He has a big ego (well, that's a 'no duh' kind of con)

2. He'll think I'm easy (and I am NOT easy)

3. He'll know I think he's sexy (and that's not what we want)

Oh, screw that. I want to know if he tastes like apple fritters...

ooo…ooo

Thanks for reviewing! If you happen on a spot of free time a review would be appreciated.

Lorwyn Daystar – Yeah … I know it sucks … you don't have to tell me. Great now I'm depressed … hehe … j/k … did I have you fooled? Seriously … you better write a nicer review or I won't speak with you anymore (not that I've spoken with you lately, but I won't write to you)! Nah … j/k … I just like to be mean.

Suckerforlove – I do believe this chapter should have answered your questions … I suppose I didn't really address the kneeling … he wasn't hurt too bad … it's just not something to do when you've got a leg injury.

tHe-aRisTocRatiC-aSSaSSiN – I do feel special … Thanks!

Procrastinator-starting2moro – Agreed … what a bloody mess.

GoddesoftheMaan – Wicked? You really think so? I've always wanted to write wicked awesome stuff.

October Tuscany – Well actually the Batman thing was slightly more superficial. Daystar and I were going to go see it in theaters, but we didn't make it. That's awesome about your volley ball team though.

RemmyishMine – James is a trooper indeed. Hehe. You and Lily should have a table breaking contest.

Deceptive shadows – Wow, that's high praise. I hope I live up to it.

Siriusly Sirius Lily Black – Thank you very very … insert a few hundred very's … much! Yeah … the neck thing is more that Lily isn't secure about James in general … so she's sort of letting it out be just being insecure about her neck … it's also sort of vampirish if you ask me … and since I'm the author Lily shares my idea.

Withered Quill – I'm glad you laughed … it burns calories you know. That's what I tell my mother anyway.

Prongsie-Jamesie – I have only one thing to say … insane.

Frilge – I rather like the talking in the head thing too … at first it wasn't working, but it's definitely picking up.

TajM – I've never heard of "Of Human Bondage". It sounds very psychology oriented. Poor James indeed.

Thanks and Hugs! Hpgirl7777, Jen-bob-ohio, cuddlyjill, Seren Lunar Echo, siriusforeva, ST3, MaD-4-u, HarryluvsMoaningMyrtle, and drumer girl.