2.24.06

Hello my Cheezy Chums!

I have to say, I don't know how long I'm going to make this story. I'm going to see if I can drag it out to 7th year.

It's the end of 6th year now, incase you were wondering, and now I end my unnecessary rambling to give you my story.

Fair Trade

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot….damn.

Chapter One: The Bargain

It was Saturday, A beautiful Saturday as a matter of fact. Not that Lily Evans got to enjoy it. Lily had been up late almost all nights for the past two weeks writing, proofing and editing her Entrance Essay. She was applying for a summer internship at St. Mungo's. It was a one month internship, but that was all she would need. If she could get into this program, she could stay away from Petunia for the better part of the summer. And then if all went well, Marlene would invite her over for the rest of the summer, and dear Petunia wouldn't be a problem.

But she had lost her Entrance Essay.

Dammit, I thought I had picked everything up! Lily thought as she searched the Charms corridor for the billionth time that day.

Lily's day had started as any other, wake up, take a shower, wake up Alice and Marlene, get dressed, go to breakfast, argue with Potter, go to Transfiguration, argue with Potter, go to Potions, argue with Potter, go to lunch, contemplate ways to kill Potter, go to Charms, try not to stab Potter's eyes out with her quill, but it was as she was leaving Charms that something unplanned happened.

She ran into Bellatrix Black.

Now incase you hadn't guessed, Bellatrix wasn't on her list of people she would like to spend her Friday with, and to be fair, it was really Bella who had bumped into Lily not the other way around. But no Slytherin would have seen it that way.

Anyway, that was about the time her bag split and all her school stuff scattered onto the floor. So while she repaired her bag, and stuffed all of the homework and books into it, the rest of the 6th years scurried by, the Slytherins just laughed and jeered and James Potter just waited, with his wand in his hand, in case someone decided to hex Lily until all the Slytherins left.

But he didn't speak to her, he just smirked and walk past her. Which is probably when she should have noticed something was up, because it wasn't like him not to make some sort of suggestive crack at her.

So by the time she got back to the common room after dinner and finished her week's worth of homework with Marlene it was after even the prefect's curfew. It was about that time that Lily realized she didn't have her essay.

Suffice to say that Lily Evans threw a fit. She wasn't allowed out into the corridors so she looked in her dormitory, and all threw the common room.

She looked everywhere until Marlene forcibly dragged her up the stairs and into the dormitory. Where Alice promptly gave Lily some Dreamless Sleep potion from her personal hoard of items-that-should-be-confiscated-because-they-are-potentially-dangerous.

So when Lily woke up this morning she took an extremely hurried shower, got dressed and skipped breakfast to head over to the Charm corridor.

+

Lily's POV:

I've looked everywhere, where the bloody hell could it possibly be? No one but

Lily's closest friends knew about her little language issues, it was only when she was supremely stressed or nervous that she ever swore, and right now would definitely constitute as one of those times.

No one was there, or at least no one that would want anything to do with her essay, she added sarcastically as Bellatrix's face popped into her head. There weren't even any Gryffindors there; they had all left ahead of me. Potter's face popped into her head. Not even Potter would be that mean. She thought to herself shaking her head to clear it, but his face wouldn't go away, then she remembered his uncharacteristic silence after the Black incident. Oh my god.

Lily took off running to Gryffindor common room, it was empty but for a few 5th years who were doing some last minute cramming before today's exams. Where is he? The one time I actually want to see him I can't find him.

"Looking for someone?"

I jumped in surprise and spun around before taking a hurried step back. He was just a little close for comfort, "Yes as a matter a fact I was, but I do believe I just found him."

Potter raised his eyebrows in a suggestive way, "What can I help you with?"

I ignored the underlying suggestion, "I was wonder if you would mind giving me back my essay, I dropped it when my bag split during my little run-in with Black and I was wondering if you would mind giving it back."

The 5th years across the room looked up, then noticing who it was scampered out of the Portrait hole. Smart kids. I thought grudgingly.

"How do you know I have it?" he actually looked surprised, the poor boy, doesn't realize how unoriginal he is.

"You were the only other person in that hallway, aside from the Slytherins, and we both know that those Death-Eaters-to-be wouldn't touch a mudblood's," He looked surprised at my use of the word, "essay."

I waited for his response as he meandered his way over to the fireplace pulling his wand and my essay out of one of the pockets of his robes, I suddenly didn't like where this was going.

"Why on earth would you want to apply to St. Mungo's anyway? We still have a year left at Hogwarts."

"Because," I replied stiffly not taking my eyes off the essay in his hands, "I don't want to be a Healer after I leave school, I'm going to go into the Order." Obviously, we were all invited, all the Gryffindors. He should remember it was only last week.

But Potter looked so stunned that this was obviously not the answer he was expecting. "W-Wha-What?"

"I. Am. Going. Into. The. Order. Of. The. Phoenix. After. I-"

"No your not." He said startled.

"I beg your pardon?"

"It's too dangerous!" He said moving towards me, my essay now levitating over the fire. I dropped my bag next to the couch and took a few steps forward as well.

"You talk as though you have a say in this, Mr. Potter, and I can assure you, you don't!"

"You can't go into the Order, it's dangerous! Voldemort-"

"Voldemort already has his eye on me, Potter, or did you think he was just going to let me live being the most powerful witch in this decade?" I wasn't up for modesty at the moment, plus we both knew it was true. Though the knowledge that Voldemort was already after me startled him significantly. "I want to do something helpful before he hunts me down Potter, and if the Order will let me do that then it's absolutely no concern of yours! Now give me my bloody essay!" My face was flushed and I was breathing hard.

He just looked at me for a minute, then shook his head like he was trying to get rid of some sort of annoying fly. He looked back at me and whispered, "No."

"What?" I said incredulously.

"Not without something in return." He had his signature smirk on his face and a mischievous glint him his hazel eyes. He waved his wand so that the essay bobbed closer to the fire.

"You want me to buy back my own essay? Not a chance!" I was furious.

"Then say good-bye to your essay!" Potter said as he moved my one chance to summer freedom closer to the flames.

"What the hell do you want?"
"I'm not going to take your gold Evans; Merlin knows I have enough of it….No more Hogsmeade weekends, pity…." Lily watched him as he trailed off; knowing that she wasn't going to like whatever it was he wanted from her. She was so deep in thought as to what he could ask from her, that she jumped when he finally spoke. "A kiss."

"What?"

"You heard me; I want a kiss, a real one mind you."

Surly he hit his head, a kiss! As if I'd ever give him that. Potter seemed to notice where Lily's thoughts were headed because he started waving his wand making the essay dance above the flames. "Give me a kiss Evans, or say good-bye to your essay!"

"No!"

He shrugged and moved the essay closer to the flames…closer…closer. I bit my tongue. "Fine! Fine! Just stop."

Potter smirked and moved the essay on to the top of my bag as he walked towards me. He Put his wand away and moved closer to me. I licked my lips; they were dry from all the yelling I had just done. I looked from Potter, who was smirking, waiting for me to make a move, to my essay, to the fire, and then back to Potter. I sighed heavily, and then took a step closer to him. I stood on my tip-toe, and even then he was still taller then me, I put my hand on the back of his neck and forced him downwards.

And I got the shock of my life when our lips met. I felt a zap roll down too my toes. I pulled back gasping, Potters arms now around my waist, and just stared at him. "What the h-" But whatever I had been going to say flew out of my head as I found my lips suddenly attached to his.

The kiss was heated and uncontrolled, when I tried to pull back and protest, I opened my mouth to let out the string of profanities that came to mind, his tongue slid in between my lips and we fell back onto the couch. My arm around his neck and my other hand in his thick forest of spiky black hair, he pushed me down so that we were lying on the couch with him on top. I was surprised by how well our bodies fit together, how well his tongue worked.

Then I realized that I had no idea where my button up sweater was, and that James wasn't wearing his robes any more. That my tank top was up to where my bra was.

And that James Potter's hands were roaming all over my stomach.