Chapter 4
Happy Hour
James figured he was probably still deceased, but he had somehow made his way to Lily Evans Heaven, a glorious place where the sun was shining, the ice cream was melting, and the girl in question was in his lap. By the time they were done at Florean's, James couldn't remember one thing they'd talked about. All he knew was that Lily smelled like roses, wisps of her hair had tickled his cheek, her arm across his shoulders had seemed to burn through his shirt and into his skin, and holding onto her waist through the thin cotton of her tucked t-shirt had somehow felt more intimate than he'd ever imagined a simple touch could feel. His very soul—not to mention certain parts of his anatomy—protested when she got up, the loss of her sudden after getting rather used to her in his arms.
But, alas, they were all sweating and thirsty, and getting to the Leaky Cauldron unfortunately required physical separation of Lily from his lap.
Sirius elbowed him in the ribs as they followed the girls through the throng of the crowd, muttering in his ear, "Enjoy your ice cream, Prongs?"
James smirked. "Best I ever had."
Sirius snorted but turned it into a cough when Mary looked at him over her shoulder. Though, from the way Mary's head was ducked towards Lily's ear, James couldn't help but wonder if they were talking about the same thing. The thought set his insides fluttering again, and he was suddenly further distracted by Lily's hair from the back, tumbling down in long waves that shone in the bright July sun.
Sirius's voice was a gravely chuckle in his ear. "You're pathetic, mate."
James gave his friend a pointed look and hissed, "You said to make a move."
"Oh, you definitely did that."
James rolled his eyes and followed Mary into the Leaky Cauldron. The blast of cool air from the stone room invigorated his warm skin as his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of the pub. It was decently busy, no doubt drawing a happy hour crowd eager for a respite from the hot sun in the alley. He sidled up to the bar where Lily was already standing as Sirius pulled up on his other side with Mary. Tom the barman raised a hand in greeting and James waved back before tilting his head down by Lily's.
"What do you want?"
"Um, a Butterbeer would be great."
James turned toward Sirius. "Butterbeers?"
Sirius nodded, and James held up four fingers to Tom, who nodded and ducked under the bar before pushing four bottles, dripping in condensation, toward their group. James passed two down, then flipped the cap off his. He was about to pick it up when he noticed Lily hadn't grabbed hers, and a glance over at her, gathering her hair into one hand like she needed to cool her neck, nearly set his head spinning.
"Alright, Evans?"
She smiled up at him. "Just overheated, is all."
James picked up her bottle of Butterbeer, still unopened, and pressed it gently against her neck. She gasped softly at the contact, but her eyes closed as her head tilted back over the bottle.
"Merlin's pants that feels nice."
He chuckled softly, holding the bottle against her neck as he fished a few coins from his pocket for Tom.
"Oh, you don't—"
Her eyes were back open, watching him, and James cut her off. "I ate half your ice cream, Evans. We're square."
She studied him for a moment, but then gave him a small smile. "Fine."
They stared at each other for a moment, James determinedly trying not to ogle the pale curve of her neck, and then Lily broke the silence with, "I should probably drink that before it gets warm."
"Er—yeah." He pulled the bottle away from her neck, unable to stop his eyes tracking the fall of her hair as she let it go, and then he cleared his throat when she caught him watching, quickly flipping off the cap of the bottle before sliding it toward her.
"Thanks." Her fingers brushed his as she took it in her hand, sending his heart skipping.
Just then, from the corner of his eye, he saw a familiar figure with styled, wavy hair lean against the bar on Lily's other side. A pit opened in his stomach.
"Hey, Lil."
The pit promptly turned into a chasm. Lil? Bloody Garrytt Ollivander was at Lil status?
Lily responded cheerfully, "Hey, Gare."
Gare? James felt sick.
"What brings you out here?"
Lily turned slightly, gesturing behind her as she said, "Just hanging out with these guys. You?"
James met Garrytt's eye and the two exchanged an even look. They weren't rivals, per se, but they definitely weren't friends. Garrytt was in their year in Ravenclaw, and he'd always had a rather broody exterior. The whole group of Ravenclaw boys did, really, with their noses in the air and their haughty attitude, like being in Ravenclaw and taking all those N.E.W.T.s suddenly made them too smart and too cool for the good-natured fun James and his friends like to cause.
Or maybe that was just Garrytt.
Or maybe that was just Garrytt toward him.
Either way, James didn't care, because the crux of the matter was that Garrytt had taken Lily on a date earlier in the spring, and one night James had seen them snogging outside Gryffindor Tower on his way back from Quidditch practice. It had started raining halfway through, he'd been covered with mud, his Keeper had gone to the Hospital Wing with a broken elbow, and the absolute last thing he'd expected to nearly walk into (literally) was Lily mid lip lock. She'd been flushed and awkward, and James had played it off as no big deal, but there was no denying that he'd felt like a Cheering Charm had gone off in his body a few days after that when he'd overheard Lily telling Mary that she'd turned Garrytt down for the next Hogsmeade Saturday.
Garrytt's voice stayed casual, but his jaw looked a bit tense as he took in James standing on Lily's other side and answered her, "Just taking a break. Been working at my dad's a lot this summer, helping him construct."
James willed himself not to roll his eyes. My dad's. As if they all didn't know he was set to inherit the business of the most famous wandmaker in Britain, he just had to go drop wandcraft vocabulary.
Lily's eyes widened as she took a sip of her Butterbeer and then cooed, "Ohh, that's amazing, Gare! You must be learning incredible magic."
James's fingers twitched at the bar. Lily Evans would be turned on by intelligence. He fleetingly wondered if he should tell her his ancestor invented Skele-Gro. Maybe accidentally-on-purpose let slip that he'd become an unregistered Animagi at the age of fifteen?
He knew he wouldn't, but Merlin, what he wouldn't give to hear Lily Evans coo at him like that.
A hand on his shoulder pulled his attention to his other side, where gray eyes were looking at him pointedly.
"Darts?"
James grabbed his Butterbeer with a mumbled, "Please," and followed Sirius to the corner of the pub without a backward glance.
Mary was already sitting at a hightop table with Aiko near the corner, so James and Sirius set their drinks down and turned toward the dartboard.
"He's a tosser," Sirius said quietly, going first.
James adjusted his feet, lining up his shot. "Who took her on a date," he muttered back.
Sirius waited until James's throw landed on the board, then said, "And who got turned down for a second one."
True, but—He snuck a glance over toward the bar, where Lily was still talking to Garrytt. He'd said something that made her laugh, and a pang of jealousy twisted James's insides as he watched her, all ease and smiles and charm. Who was he kidding? Lily had her pick of any bloke she wanted, and she'd already turned him down before, too—and he hadn't even gotten a chance at a real date, whereas Garrytt had gotten that and a snog. Probably more than one, if James was being realistic.
He suddenly wasn't in the mood to be there anymore.
Sirius beat him handily, frowning at him as James downed the last of his Butterbeer and announced, "Bathroom—I'll be back."
After he'd washed his hands, he doused his face in cold water, and he was just patting his face dry with the bottom of his t-shirt, pondering whether he should Irish exit or at least tell Sirius, when the door opened. James glanced up, and even though his glasses were in his hand, he would still recognize that stupid hair anywhere.
"Ollivander."
"Alright, Potter?"
"Yeah." James let his shirt drop back down and slid his glasses on his face. Garrytt was still in the doorway, blocking his exit, and they looked at each other for a moment before Garrytt seemed to realize he was the holdup and moved to the side.
James nodded at him, making for the door, when Garrytt called, "Hang on."
He looked back over his shoulder. "What's up?"
Garrytt rubbed his neck absently. "Are, um—are you and Lily…"
James just raised his eyebrows, momentarily floored.
"…like, a thing?"
His stomach dropped through the floor, probably all the way to the Muggle underground, as his mind raced through possible reasons why Garrytt could possibly think to ask that question.
"Er—"
"It's just—Aiko said she, uh, saw you guys at Florean's—"
Ah. That would explain it. But also: damn, did gossip spread fast.
He blamed it on being shocked, both at what was happening with Lily and with this conversation, but he just shrugged, raking a hand through his hair, and answered honestly. "I, uh—I don't really know."
James wasn't sure how he expected Garrytt to react to that, but he definitely didn't expect him to fucking laugh.
"Yeah, that sounds about right."
James's eyes narrowed. "What does that mean?"
Garrytt shook his head, still chuckling. "She's harder to read than our Arithmancy book, is what it means."
James didn't know what to say to that, so he didn't say anything.
"Anyway," Garrytt went on, "just thought I'd ask. We left things sort of…open-ended last term."
Translation: he was still into her and was going to go for it unless James staked a claim.
Only James had no idea if he was entitled to do that or not.
"We're friends," he said, the words bitter on his tongue. Garrytt nodded, a faint smile on his face, and an uncomfortable roiling feeling snaked through his insides as he turned and pushed through the door and down the short hallway back to the main room of the pub, not even looking where he was going, just letting his feet pound the stone in muscle memory as his blood boiled under his skin—
A stabbing pain pierced his arm, and James cried out an instinctive "Argh!" as he twisted to see the dart protruding from the sleeve of his t-shirt. Sirius's barking laughter rang in the background as a loud "Fuck!" met his ears. James glanced up toward the voice—now the second fuck he'd heard Lily Evans utter, neither of them the type of fuck he wanted to cause—and met her eyes, wide as saucers, above her hands clamped over her mouth.
They stayed frozen like that only for a moment, and then she was rushing toward him, her expression only of concern as she stuttered, "Potter, I'm—so sorry—I didn't see—fucking hell, I can't believe—are you okay?"
Her hands fluttered over his arm, like she wanted to help but was afraid to touch him, and James rushed to assure her, "Yeah, fine, just—this is gonna be a bitch to pull out—"
Sirius had wandered up next to him, brow creased as he inspected James's arm. "Who's pulling out?"
James gritted his teeth. "Pads—"
Sirius bit back a smile as he turned his head, inspecting the dart from the side, and then he straightened up and grinned at Lily. "Sucker's in deep, Evans."
Lily flushed but looked boldly at Sirius. "Yeah, because I would've sunk my shot if someone"—she turned her fierce gaze on James—"hadn't walked in front of my dart."
Sirius chuckled and chucked her shoulder. "You got a good arm, love."
Lily just glowered at him, and James was getting distinctly impatient watching his friend banter with his crush while his arm throbbed. "Is one of you going to pull this out or not?"
She turned her green eyes on him, her face immediately softened into a mixture of guilt and worry. Sirius threw his hands up in mock surrender, proclaiming, "I'm out, blood makes me squeamish."
James couldn't risk looking at him. Sirius was anything but squeamish, and they both knew it. Only the month before, he'd sown up a sliced Remus after their friend had been dealt a nasty shot by a wildcat's claws as the feline had made its escape on the full moon.
Lily's eyes narrowed at Sirius, but then she seemed to accept his excuse as she let out a deep breath and placed one hand on James's shoulder to brace herself. She was just about to grab the dart when Sirius said, "Wait, wait, wait, you need to flex, Prongs. It'll, uh, bleed less."
James glared at his friend, who was barely containing his amusement, and then turned to Lily, his stomach flipping at the sight of her red cheeks, saying hastily, "Don't listen to him—"
Sirius smacked the underside of his arm, teasing, "Buck up, Prongs—"
James hissed as the contact jolted the dart lodged further into his muscle, his arm flexing involuntarily, and Lily's grip on his shoulder tightened. "Been training this summer, Potter?"
Heat rose up his neck. "Er, yeah, a bit."
She quirked a brow. "Someone took their modesty potion this morning."
Sirius snorted.
James heard the impatience on his voice as he said, "Can you just get it out, please?"
The tips of her ears camouflaged with her hair, and before James could even register what was happening, a sudden flash of pain burst in his arm. He looked up, gasping, to see Lily holding the dart she'd just yanked out.
"You're bleeding," she said simply, turning her attention to sterilizing the dart with her wand. James tugged up his sleeve to inspect the bubble and trickle of blood oozing down his arm, and before he could reach for his own wand, Sirius had cast a couple of quick spells that vanished the blood and knitted over the small incision.
Lily held the clean dart out to Sirius with raised eyebrows. "Thought you were squeamish, Black?"
Sirius opened and closed his mouth before he said lamely, "It wasn't that much blood."
"Uh-huh." Lily looked between Sirius and James, and then said, "Right. Well, sorry again, Potter. I'll just, erm"—she pointed with her thumb over her shoulder and then turned back toward Mary, still huddled over a table with Aiko.
James only had to exchange one look with Sirius before he was following her, catching up just before she reached the girls. His hand closed around her arm as he said, "Hey, Evans—" and she whirled to look at him, eyes wide in surprise.
"What?"
Behind her, Mary and Aiko had looked up from their conversation and joined Lily in looking at him expectantly. An audience for his awkwardness. Great.
"Er—can I talk to you? For a sec?"
He thought she looked a bit confused, but maybe also a little relieved. Either way, she just nodded, and when he inclined his head toward the side of the room, she followed him around the dominating stone mantle to a little corner alcove behind the stairwell.
Her arms were crossed over her chest, usually a tell-tale sign of her annoyance, but now she just looked apprehensive. Hedging his bets, forcing him to think about what Sirius had said yesterday instead of what Garrytt had said in the loo, James took a step closer to her, cupping her elbows in his palms.
"You okay?"
She shrugged. "Yeah, fine."
He frowned, not believing her, but Sirius's words from the day before—she fancies you— echoed in his head like a mantra, and so he said, "I'm sorry I snapped at you. I was just…Sirius was—"
The corner of her mouth quirked upward. "Being Sirius?"
He smiled softly. "Yeah. And I had a dart in my arm."
She offered a rueful smile back. "I am sorry about that."
James shook his head. "It was an accident. Besides, we both know I've dealt with way worse."
She smirked more genuinely at that. "Bicep not too damaged then?"
His cheeks warmed, but he shook his head. "Nah, don't worry, Evans, these goods are still in-tact."
She bit her cheek. "You're ridiculous, Potter."
His hands slid up a little higher on her arms. "And you're treacherous. First brain freeze, then a dart to the arm…"
Her lips pulled under, like she was trying not to laugh, but she released the cross of her arms and tentatively touched his chest. "Too risky for you?"
James hoped she couldn't feel the way his heart was hammering like mad. He shook his head, uttering a quiet, "Never."
Lily's eyes narrowed playfully. "Reckless," she accused.
He agreed instantly. "Yes."
She quirked a brow. "Confident, too."
"Very."
Her eyes flicked to his lips, but she didn't say anything, just looked at him with those doe eyes and the hint of that smirk on her face.
James froze. Did she really—would she let him kiss her? He looked down at her lips, rosy and full, and witnessed the faintest swipe of her tongue set them glistening.
His brain broke. Fuck. Was this really it? The moment he was going to kiss Lily Evans? He tilted his head down a fraction, testing the air, and watched her eyes look down at his lips again. Fucking fuck fuck, it really was. Lily Evans was going to let him kiss her. He wasn't sure his heart could take it. Images of her lapping up her ice cream while those predator eyes fixed on him filled his brain, sent his pulse into overdrive. He was about to feel that tongue, lick those lips. Her hand pressed into his chest, hot as a brand through his shirt, as her head tilted up toward his and the tip of his nose brushed the side of hers. This was it. One small lean and he'd be there. A stab of panic hit him—would he remember what to do? How to move his lips? It had sort of been awhile, he hadn't kissed anyone since his birthday—
"Oi! We're up—"
He and Lily started at the same time, springing apart, and James stuffed a hand in his hair as he whirled around to face Sirius, who was staring at them with his mouth open.
"Shit, were you—"
Lily brushed passed him, shrugging at Sirius as she said, "Just talking," as nonchalantly as if that had been the truth and he hadn't been about to snog her in a stairwell. He watched her make her way around the corner, sealing one last look at her in his mind before her hair swished her out of sight.
Sirius stared incredulously at James. "Prongs. I know I said to make a move, but—in the Leaky Cauldron?"
James sighed. "I didn't plan it, it just sort of—happened. Or was about to, anyway."
Sirius shook his head, reaching up a hand to grip James's shoulder. "Sorry, mate. But c'mon, Mary's leaving, so let's go kick some Ravenclaw arse at darts."
James followed his friend back toward the group of mingling Hogwarts students, suddenly feeling distinctly awkward over the fact that he sensed Aiko liked him while he knew that Garrytt liked Lily and he thought, if she'd been about to let him kiss her, that it was probably safe to assume he and Lily liked each other.
Lily, for her part, was either oblivious to all of that or had no qualms about it, because she squeezed his arm, gave him a dazzling smile, and said, "Bye, James."
And then she winked.
And just like that, pure elation filled him, like every corner of his body had been doused with a Cheering Charm, as his mind raced to process what she'd just said. Not Potter. James.
He grinned back at her. "Later, Lily."
His head buzzed with how good her name felt on his tongue, and he watched as her cheeks pinked before she disappeared, Mary tugging her hand, into the crowd.
Sirius was staring at him, mouth frozen in a surprised smile. James plucked a dart from his hand and turned to face Garrytt and Aiko, feeling rather like he could take on their whole Quidditch team single-handedly.
"Hope you guys are ready to lose."
But it didn't really matter anyway; in his mind, he'd already won.
