Glad you all enjoyed Rachel's drunken sarcasm and thank you for all the reviews! Here is chapter 6 that you all have been waiting for. For old readers: there's a new surprise in this chapter that you haven't seen and won't know what it's meaning is. I do have tricks up my sleeves! As always a list of answers/comments to your questions/comments follows. Thanks and enjoy!
Liadan Sevenwaters – I have never heard of that series. Jeez, shows how much free time I have once I'm in school and such. But I'm intrigued by it. Next time I'm in Barnes & Noble I'll look for it.
Hpandfriendsruletheworld – I'm enjoying this version way more myself. The chapters have changed quite a bit. Not only are they better written, I think, but I'm adding in a lot that should have been in the first time around. I'm looking at the old chapters as I redo the new ones (and making faces all the while) making sure I don't forget things.
Unfeeling – Are you a really big fan of the L/J ship? There will be more L/J stuff this time around, but I'm still keeping R/S as well.
Chuckmuggins – I'm glad you're undisappointed-ed. You'll find a surprise in this chapter! Hope you're competitions went okay!
Snazzysnez- Ah, don't be so certain I won't surprise you or trick you! Lol Good to hear you're still enjoying!
Challenge
Chapter 6: Hangovers from Hell
It felt like they'd been walking for hours by the time they finally reached Hogwarts grounds. "We won't all fit under that cloak," Sirius whispered, tightening his arm around Rachel as she shivered and moved closer to him for warmth.
James shook his head, "We'll just have to be careful." A small moan escaped Lily's throat and James looked down at her, "You okay?"
She started to nod and then viciously shook her head, "I'm gonna be sick," she gasped a second before she vomited. She fell to her knees and continued to heave.
James knelt down beside her and scooped her hair out of the line of fire and looked up at Sirius, "You guys start back. Take the map and keep an eye out. I'll sneak us in under the Cloak when she's done," James said grimacing as Lily heaved again.
"Right," Sirius said and grasped James' shoulder briefly before heading toward the castle with Rachel.
James turned his attention back to Lily and smoothed her hair back again. He sighed, "What did you do?"
"Colorful tubes," Lily gurgled as another wave of nausea hit her.
James' eyebrows rose, "How many of those did you have?"
Lily lifted her head and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, "Four or five," she frowned sheepishly, "I kind of lost track."
"Veela Vodka, is potent stuff, Lil," James said running his fingers through her hair gently. He marveled for a moment at its softness. It slipped over his fingers like fine red silk.
Lily heaved again but she somehow managed to get the words, "No kidding," out. She sat up again a few minutes later. Her face was pale and sweaty and tendrils of her hair curled against her forehead. "I don't feel so good."
"Well, you'll feel even worse tomorrow," James told her regretfully.
Sirius and Rachel arrived in front of the Heads common room without any trouble. Sirius pocketed the map and whispered, "Lemon Drop," to the unicorn statue and then supported Rachel over the threshold. The stone panel slid back into place and Sirius heard Rachel whimper softly, "Spins back?" She nodded mutely against his chest.
"Okay," Sirius said tightening his hold around her again, "You'll be in bed before you know it," he said leading her over to the staircase and up to the Head Boys dorm. He let go of her briefly to close the door behind him. "How you doing?" he asked looking at her concernedly.
"Rooms spinning and my stomach is churning," she mumbled leaning against James' cluttered desk.
"Do you feel like you're going to be sick?"
"Yep," she said confidently.
Sirius helped her to the bathroom just in time. She dropped to her knees in front of the toilet, lifted the seat, and vomited. "Better out then in," he said pulling her hair back and sitting on the floor beside her.
"Not funny," she coughed violently. He smiled. "I am never drinking again," she moaned and Sirius reached around her to flush the toilet.
"You aren't the first person to say that and you won't be the last," he said getting up and wetting a washcloth at the sink. He lifted her hair up and set the washcloth on the back of her neck before resuming his previous seat.
Rachel coughed again, "Okay, then I am never drinking raw hard alcohol again." She said leaning back against the wall and closing her eyes. Silence fell for a minute or two. Rachel shook her head and whispered something to herself.
Sirius didn't hear her speak, but he saw her lips move, "What?"
"Stupid," she said running her fingers through her hair. Sirius stared at her. She banged her head against the wall repeatedly as she muttered "stupid, stupid" over and over again.
Sirius slipped his hand behind her head to stop the assault, "You're not stupid." She opened her eyes and looked at him. He smiled, "Misguided maybe, but not stupid." She gave him a small smile, "How's your stomach?"
"Better," she murmured as he removed his hand from the back of her head.
Sirius stood up and reached down for her hands, "Alright, let's get you into bed. Up you come." He said pulling her up.
She caught sight of her reflection in the mirror and grimaced, "I look like something the cat dragged in."
Sirius laughed, "You're quite sarcastic for being as drunk as you are."
But Rachel hadn't heard him. Her eyes were drawn to the brilliant red mark on the right side of her neck. She moved away from Sirius and closer to the sink and shoved her hair over her shoulder. "Oh my God," she whispered.
Sirius looked up and saw what she was looking at. His heart broke when he saw her eyes fill with tears and she ran her hand over the mark hoping that she could make it disappear. She rubbed her hands over her skin desperately trying to rid it of the mark, the reminder of the night's events. She began to rub so hard that tiny cuts were appearing from where her nails raked her skin.
Sirius grabbed her hands before she could do any further damage. She fought against him hard trying to wrench her hands from his tight grasp. "Rachel!" Sirius yelled and her eyes flew open. Tears spilled down her cheeks and Sirius' heart broke all over again.
"I can't believe I let him—I should have done something," she said as more tears fell.
Sirius gripped her hands in his, "No," he said firmly, "Do not blame yourself for this. You did a lot more than you think you did. He had you pinned to a wall and you tried to get away. You told him to stop and he wouldn't. He was a sick pervert and you were prey. The only one to blame is him." A small sob escaped her throat and he pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her as she collapsed against him. "It wasn't your fault," he whispered against her hair.
They stayed that way for quite some time until her fists loosened their hold on his shirt. He looked down at her and smiled to himself. Very carefully he scooped her up and carried her to the bed. He lay her down gently and moved down to pull her boots off. He recognized them as he dropped them on the floor. He found it ironic that even in a crowded bar filled with gorgeous girls he'd spotted her first and it was because of those boots. He covered her with a blanket and gently tucked her hair behind her ear. The hickey on her neck caught his eye and he pulled his wand from his jeans. A few choice words later the hickey and small cuts were completely gone.
He leaned down and hesitantly brushed his lips across her temple and whispered, "Good night Rachel."
"How's your stomach?" James asked. Lily shrugged. It had been a couple minutes since her last heave and James knew that they needed to start heading back. "Think you can walk?"
Lily shook her head slowly and James frowned. "Will you carry me?" she asked in a tiny voice.
James was taken aback by her request, "Y-yeah." He stooped and scooped her up, cradling her against his chest. "Wrap your arms around my neck," he told her and she did, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Okay, here we go."
She was light so James made it the front stone steps fairly quickly. "Lily," he whispered looking down at her. She grunted. "We're on the front steps. Do you think you can walk now for a bit?" his back was beginning to hurt and carrying her would be difficult under the cloak.
She nodded slightly, "I shupposh." She slurred and James held back a laugh. He set her on her feet as gently as he could and she moaned pressing a hand to her head. "That hurt my head."
"That's what happens when you get drunk," James told her pulling his wand and the Cloak from his pocket.
"You're right it was very stupid to get drunk," she said drunkenly.
James looked at her, "You're not stupid. You're the smartest witch I know," he told her seriously. He pointed his wand at the cloak and enlarged it to its normal size.
"What's that?" she asked pointing at it.
"Uh—it'll make sure we don't get caught by Filch," James said quickly. He hadn't lied, he just hadn't told her the whole truth. He sure as hell did not want to get caught by Filch and have to explain to McGonagall why the two Head students were out of bed and reeked of alcohol.
"Or that nashty thing he calls a cat," Lily said and James chuckled softly.
James pulled her closer to him and threw the cloak over them. He wrapped his arm around her and whispered, "Now we have to be really quiet, okay?" She nodded and made a show of zipping and locking her mouth shut and throwing away the key. As childish as it was, James couldn't help but think it was adorable.
They were almost to the hall where the entrance to the Heads common room was when Mrs. Norris rounded the corner. James stopped dead and Lily jolted into him. She opened her mouth to speak and James clapped his hand over her mouth. Her eyes widened and he put his finger to his lips signaling for her to be quiet. The feline stayed longer then James would have liked and he once again thought that Mrs. Norris could see through the Cloak. Or maybe it was the stench of alcohol she'd been attracted to. He didn't really want to know.
"Lemon Drop," James whispered to the unicorn statue and hurried Lily inside. He pulled the cloak off them and Lily swayed unsteadily. He caught her by the arms, "Okay, come on. Just a staircase to go."
"I can't," she whimpered, "I'm too tired and dizzy." James sighed. "Carry me?" she asked in the same tiny voice she'd used the first time.
James exhaled loudly, "You are damn lucky," he said scooping her up again. "My back is killing me. If you were anyone else I'd tell them to walk."
She giggled drunkenly, "Thank you Jamie." James fought back a snort and carried her up the stairs to her room. "Where are we?" she asked looking around, obviously not recognizing her surroundings.
"The Head Girls dorm," James said closing the door behind them.
Lily giggled again, "Won't the Head Girl get angry that we're here?"
James smiled. She was so drunk she didn't even remember that she was Head Girl. "I don't think she'll mind," James told her softly setting her on the bed.
"I'm tired," Lily said with a yawn.
"You had a busy night," James replied kneeling down and pulling her shoes off. Lily murmured something incoherently as she laid back against her pillows. James pulled the covers up over her and looked down at her pretty face.
"Night, night Jamie," Lily said snuggling under her covers.
James smiled and brushed some hair off her forehead, "Good night Lily," he whispered and brushed his lips across her forehead.
Sunlight streamed through the windows and over James' sleeping face. He shifted in his sleep and his legs slid off Lily's desk and he sat bolt upright with a start. He groaned putting his head into his hands. His head pounded and his whole body ached. He realized sleeping in Lily's hard desk chair had been a bit stupid and hadn't helped in the slightest. His thoughts about not being as drunk as he thought quickly evaporated.
He got up and stumbled over to the window and yanked the curtains shut. It didn't help his pounding head or churning stomach, but he was no longer squinting. He looked over at Lily sprawled across her bed and smiled a bit. He couldn't help but remember how it had felt to hold her against him last night and early that morning. The way she'd clung to him as they were leaving the bar. The way she'd asked him to carry her and the way she'd snuggled into his arms.
He left the room with his wand tucked into his back pocket and the Invisibility Cloak over his arm with a smile on his face. He'd just reached the bottom step when he heard the door to his room creak open. He saw Sirius wince and James made a mental note to do something about the hinge. "Hey," James called quietly as Sirius descended the stairs. "How is she?"
"She'll be okay," Sirius replied, "She probably won't remember much, which probably isn't such a bad thing."
James nodded, "What happened to your lip?"
Sirius pressed his thumb to his lip and winced, "Bloody idiot got one good punch in when I was trying to get her out of there." He gave James a recap of what had happened before they'd met on the street and then asked, "Did you have any trouble getting Lily back here?"
"We did fine until we ran into Mrs. Norris. She stared at us for a good five minutes before scurrying off. It's a good thing we had the Cloak or we really would have been up shit creek," James sighed. "But Lily crashed pretty much the second I sat her on the bed. She didn't even remember she was Head Girl."
They shared a brief chuckle and then simultaneously winced. Sirius groaned, "I haven't felt like this since Spain."
"I know," James, agreed, "I think we need it."
"Oh, I know we need it," Sirius said and the boys headed out.
Lily pried her eyes open and looked around blearily. She was in her room snuggled beneath the covers of her bed. So, why did she have no recollection of getting there? She rolled onto her back and groaned as her head throbbed. She heard whistling and looked around for the source. She saw the bathroom door ajar and lifted her head a few inches to get a glimpse of the whistler. 'It's only Potter,' she thought laying her head back down, 'A shirtless James Potter whistling and shaving.' Lily's eyes flew open, 'A sexy, shirtless James Potter was whistling and shaving in her bathroom! No—their bathroom. What?' Lily sat up and the room spun dangerously.
"Easy there," James called from the bathroom having seen her sit up. He exited the bathroom patting his face dry with a towel. "Here," he said, picking up a goblet and handing it to her. "Drink this," he said sitting down on the edge of her bed.
"It's not going to turn my hair pink is it?" Lily asked thickly staring down at the goblet as it emitted a light pink steam that smelled like freshly baked cherry pie.
James shook his head, "It'll make you feel better." He loved her hair color. Why would he want to turn it pink or any other color for that matter?
Lily lifted the goblet to her lips and took a small sip. It tasted just like it smelled and she took a second slightly bigger sip. A tingly sensation started in her fingertips and spread throughout her body and all of her aches and pains began to ebb away. She finished and James took the goblet from her and set it on the nightstand.
"How do you feel?"
"I—wow. I feel great. What's in that?" Lily asked.
"A little of this and a little of that," James said, "And cherry pie flavoring. It tasted awful before Sirius thought to flavor it. "
Lily looked surprised, "You made that?"
"Sirius, Remus, Peter, and I did. You're really the first person to try our concoction besides Rachel who's probably getting a dose right now too. The Marauders Fast Acting Hangover from Hell Remedy we call it." He said reaching over for the goblet again and pointed his wand at it, "Aguamenti," he said and the goblet filled with cool water. He handed her the goblet again, "You're probably dehydrated from last night."
She took the goblet from him again and took a small sip. She watched as he got up and grabbed a navy shirt off her desk chair. She frowned when he pulled the shirt on and could no longer see his broad chest and toned abdomen. She realized what she'd just done and coughed. James moved toward her and Lily held up a hand, "I'm fine," she said. He nodded and sat down at her desk to pull on his trainers. "James," she said slowly.
"Hmm?" he murmured.
"What—happened last night?"
James looked up at her. "What do you remember?" he asked going over and sitting on the edge of her bed again.
Lily stared at her lap, "I remember going to Illusion with Rachel and meeting Rich. I remember dancing and he kept buying me drinks." She faltered, "It gets kind of fuzzy after that."
James looked at her for a moment, "I saw you at the club last night with Rich."
"You were there?" she asked looking up at him.
James nodded, "With Sirius. We were probably there for the same reason you and Rachel were." He paused. He had no idea how she'd react to what he was about to tell her. Would she thank him? Slap him? "You were looking quite—friendly with him and he looked ready to—ready to shag you in the corner." Lily's eyes widened. "And I saw the way he was looking at you and I couldn't let him. By the time I reached you two he was leading you outside for air. I stopped you and he and I had words and negotiated a bit aggressively and I got you out of there." He looked up at her trying to gauge her reaction, but couldn't. "You can slap me or yell at me for it. You could never speak to me again or hate me for the rest of your life." He said very quickly and then added more softly, "I don't care. I wasn't about to let him hurt you."
Lily did nothing for a minute and James closed his eyes bracing himself for the fireworks, but they never came. Instead Lily completely surprised him when she hugged him. It took him about thirty seconds to determine that he wasn't dreaming and all of five seconds to wrap his arms around her. No words were spoken as they sat on her bed holding each other and James was reveling in the feel of her in his arms again. He knew that he would never feel the way he felt when she was in his arms with anyone else. It was special and perfect and right.
"Does this mean you're not going to slap me?" he asked quietly. He mentally slapped himself for ruining the moment. 'You idiot.'
Lily giggled and pulled away from him, "No." She tucked her hair behind her ears, "I—I can't believe you would do that for me."
'I'd do anything for you,' he thought but instead smiled and said, "I was just in the right place at the right time. It's what any—friend would do." He swallowed hard and looked away from her.
He missed the slightly taken aback look on Lily's face. 'Friends?' she thought.
James cleared his throat, "So, um, I brought you some breakfast too." He said reaching for a stack of toast he'd wrapped in a napkin. "They're still warm too. Heating Charms are brilliant," he said unwrapping the toast and handing the stack to her, "With raspberry jam." She looked at him and he crinkled his eyebrows together, "You like that right?"
Lily nodded, "How—?"
He rubbed his sweaty palms on his jeans. He never got this nervous around a girl. He was James Potter! The Ladies Man! He never got butterflies or sweaty palms, but one look at her and he knew the reason why. She was Lily Evans and he cared about her. He realized Lily was staring at him and finally spoke, "Last year you said that 'the only way to eat toast was with raspberry jam'." She stared at him and he blushed under her gaze, "I have a good memory."
She smiled and he returned it with one of his own. She was amazed at his compassion, but couldn't help but notice that his smile had seemed a bit sad. She reached out and placed her hand on his forearm and looked him in the eye, "Thank you."
Sirius looked over at the bed as Rachel began to stir. "Morning," Sirius said getting up and crossing the room.
Rachel rolled onto her stomach and stared blearily at him as he squatted down beside the bed. "Hi," she said shortly.
"How do you feel?" he asked trying to ignore the fact that she looked sexy as hell with her hair all a mess.
She yawned, "Like I've been hit by the Knight Bus. Then for the hell of it they backed up over me," she said running a hand through her hair.
"Oh, that's not good," said Sirius laughing. He picked up a goblet that was giving off a light pink steam that smelled like cherry pie straight from the oven. "Here," he said handing it to her, "This will help."
Rachel stared down into the goblet's somewhat sparkling liquid, "I'm not gonna sprout bat ears or anything am I?"
Sirius laughed, "No. It's going to take away your hangover though."
Rachel immediately took a sip and was pleasantly surprised at how good it tasted. "It tastes like cherry pie." A tingly sensation spread over her body and she felt all her aches and pains fade.
Sirius pointed at himself, "My idea."
Rachel raised her eyebrows, "You made this?"
Sirius nodded, "Well, James, Remus, Peter, and I did. What you're drinking is The Marauders Fast Acting Hangover from Hell Remedy."
"The Marauders Fast Acting Hangover from Hell Remedy," she repeated and drained the rest of the goblet's contents. "Works pretty damn well," she said feeling almost good as new.
Sirius chuckled and took the goblet from her. He pointed his wand at it and clear water poured from the tip. He handed the goblet back to her, "Drink up."
Rachel took a sip, "You're mighty chipper this early in the morning."
"What a bloke can't be chipper?" he asked and Rachel grinned, "It's not that early and I already had my dose of hangover remedy."
Rachel leaned back on one hand and took another sip of water, "So, are you always chipper in the morning?"
Sirius snorted, "Are you always sarcastic when you're drunk?"
Rachel grinned again. "Touché." 'He's really not so bad,' she thought to herself taking another sip of water.
"Rachel Rose Rabb!"
Rachel cringed halfway up the girls' dormitory staircase in Gryffindor tower a half hour later. "You sound just like dad," Rachel replied wryly descending the steps to face her twin.
He stared at her and when she did nothing but stare back he grabbed her arm and pulled her over to a more secluded part of the common room. "What happened to you last night?" he asked, his sapphire eyes swirling with anger and concern. "You were scared," he paused, "I felt it."
Rachel sighed, "I knew you would." She averted her twins gaze for a moment, "Lily and I snuck out to Illusion last night."
"Again?" he hissed.
"Yes, again," Rachel replied, "We met a couple blokes and things got out of hand. Lucky for us Sirius and James were at the club too and stopped anything really bad from happening."
Andy's face flooded with anxiety, "You're okay—you weren't…were you?"
Rachel shook her head, "No, we're both fine. You probably would have felt a stronger feeling if something like that happened. Sirius and James got us out of there and back up to the castle safely."
"Sirius and James?" Andy repeated raising his eyebrows. Rachel shrugged and Andy just smiled pulling his sister into a hug. "I'm glad they were there," he said quietly, "Since I wasn't."
Rachel pulled away from him, "Because you were with Alyssa." Andy looked at the floor and Rachel knew he was feeling a bit guilty. "Hey, it's okay. I'm not mad at your or blaming you."
Andy sighed, "I know," he looked at her, "You know that I'm always here for you right? That I'd do anything for you."
Rachel smiled, "Yes, and the same goes for you." She winked, "I think I'm going to shower and then head down to get some lunch. You want to wait for me?"
"Sure, just don't take all day," Andy teased as Rachel turned back up the stairs again.
-
She grabbed her towel and a change of clothes from her dorm and then headed for the bathroom for a long, hot shower. She looked in the mirror as she pulled her sweater off and noticed that the dark red mark on her neck was no longer there. She stepped closer to the mirror and confirmed the fact that her eyes were not playing tricks on her. The hickey was gone.
Lily stared down at her plate and sandwich she'd barely touched. She didn't understand these new feelings she was having and she wasn't sure if she liked them yet or not. It had started back on the train when James had reamed her out for not giving him a chance to do his job or respecting him. The feelings continued when she and Rachel had made a truce with James and Sirius after the disastrous first task in Challenge. Then there was last night and how he'd rescued her before something terrible had happened and then cared for her. She remembered feeling safe in his arms when he carried her and noticed that her head fit perfectly in the crook of his neck. And then only a few hours ago she'd hugged him and never wanted to let go.
She didn't understand why she was feeling this way. Was it because his ego seemed to have deflated over the summer? Was it because he seemed more grown up and mature? Was it because he hadn't asked her out once that year? She did not know.
"Shit! I'm late!" Rachel exclaimed pushing back from the table quickly and startling Lily from her thoughts.
"What?" Lily asked confusedly, "Late for what?"
"An appointment!" Rachel called back over her shoulder hurrying from the Great Hall.
Lily turned back to her half-eaten sandwich, "OK."
-
Rachel rounded a corner and saw Sirius several paces ahead of her. "Sirius!" she called figuring she could be a few minutes late.
He stopped and waited for her to catch up, "Breathe."
She smiled, "Look I wanted to thank you…"
"You already did. This morning," he reminded her.
"For getting me out of there and taking care of me, yes. I didn't thank you for also taking care of the reminder," she said pointing at her neck.
Sirius blushed, "Oh, that," he looked at his feet and shrugged, "It was nothing."
She reached out and put a hand on his arm, "No, it was something. You didn't have to help me last night or take care of me, but you did. And you erased the reminder."
"I wasn't going to let something happen to you," he said honestly looking into her eyes.
It was Rachel's turn to blush, "Thank you," she whispered, "It means a lot to me what you did."
He nodded, "Your welcome." A long pause followed and finally Sirius shoved his hands into his pockets, "Do you um—want to go for a walk or something? And talk." Rachel hesitated. "I won't hit on you, I promise," he added quickly.
"Oh no, it's not that," she said quickly and frowned, "I'm late for an appointment."
"Oh," said Sirius nodding. "Okay, well I won't keep you—" he smiled at her and turned away.
"Rain check?" she called after him.
He stopped and turned back to face her, "You got it," he said and Rachel smiled. He waved and started walking away again unable to stop smiling.
-
Rachel watched him go for a moment and then looked at her watch. "Shit," she muttered and ran in the opposite direction Sirius was headed. She sprinted up several staircases and hurdled around a few corners before stopping in front of an empty classroom near the Arithmancy corridor. She took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
She wasn't in the room for more than a second when a swift punch caught her right in the face. The door slammed shut and Rachel was slammed into the wall, a hand at her throat. "Your guard was down." A male voice said gruffly.
"I—" Rachel started to protest, but stopped, "Sorry."
The hand slipped from her throat and the body moved away pointing his wand at the lamps so that they burst into life. He turned to face her, "Do we need to go over this exercise again?"
Rachel shook her head, "No, sir."
Lily stared at James' bedroom door. 'Just do it,' she told herself and before she could lose her nerve she knocked.
"Come in!" James called from inside. Lily pushed the door open and stepped inside. James looked up from where he was putting fresh sheets on his bed. "Hey," he said.
"Hey. I uh didn't see you at lunch," Lily started conversationally.
"Looking for me?" James teased and then smiled, "I went down early."
"Oh," said Lily nodding.
James threw the comforter back on his bed and straightened it out, "Was there something you needed?"
"I—no," Lily said quickly.
James looked concernedly at her, "Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah-no." James raised his eyebrows. 'What is wrong with you? Stop it!' Lily scolded herself, 'You're acting like a giddy teenager around a rock star.' "I just wanted to thank you again for everything that you did. If you hadn't of…well I really don't know where I'd be right now."
"I wasn't about to let anything happen to you," James said sincerely.
Lily smiled and noticed that his comforter was extremely crooked. She walked over and fixed it muttering, "Boys. Couldn't even hang a picture straight if their lives depended on it. Even with a wand."
"Ouch," James laughed and Lily laughed with him. She finished and straightened up beside him, "Thanks."
"No problem," she said quietly looking up at him. There it was again. That tingly feeling she'd got when hugging him that morning, but she wasn't touching him this time. No, they were only standing inches from the other. Lily broke the heavy silence, "Well, I'm going to go and work on my essay that's due for McGonagall."
"You haven't finished it yet?" James quipped with a teasing grin.
Lily grinned, "No, I was a bit preoccupied with other things," she said and pulled the door open.
He didn't know what made him say it. He didn't know what possessed him to even think it. "Lily?" She stopped and turned back to look at him. "Go out with me?"
Lily studied him for a moment and James felt his heart drop into his stomach. 'You stupid bloody prat! Your trying to be her friend first remember? And refrain from asking her out until you gain her trust! You fucking idiot!' He tried opening his mouth to take it back, but he seemed to have momentarily forgotten how to speak.
"Alright," Lily replied and closed the door behind her.
James stared at his closed bedroom door. 'Did she just?' he thought to himself then spoke aloud, "Blimey, she did."
Okay, you all know what to do! If you read, please review, it only takes a second to let me know what you thought! I think I'm going to make that my motto! hah. Until Wednesday everyone!