Chapter 6

The Power of Suggestion

James lounged in the Three Broomsticks, surrounded by Sirius, Remus, and Peter, who were all joking and laughing. James joined in occasionally, but under the surface he analyzed his date with Lily Evans. He had been shocked when she asked him out. If someone had given him a multiple choice question asking what Lily Evans was least likely to ever do, he would have chosen "asking James Potter out on a date." It wouldn't have mattered if the other choices included "attending class naked" and "snogging Severus Snape." He would have bet his family fortune on her never asking him out.

That had been the reason behind his practical joke. Without knowing why Lily had asked him out, he hoped to avoid romance on the date. Scaring her silly with false ghosts seemed a good way to do so, even if he did feel a little bit guilty about it now. Maybe they would have a romantic date eventually, but that would be up to her. He had meant it when he told her that it was up to her to decide what their relationship would be. He would wait, watch, and read her actions. If she started to warm up to him more, he would ask her out, and then they would have their romantic date. Besides, he couldn't leave Hogwarts without asking Lily out just one more time.

Lily quickly realized what "that is up to you to decide" meant. It meant she had to make all the moves. Over the next two weeks she waited for James to say something to her. He said nothing. She did noticet he was exceptionally open to her advances though. If she was doing her homework in the Common Room, he would not join her unless she asked him to. If he was sitting by the fire, he would welcome her with conversation if she sat down beside him. However, if she were by the fire, he would sit elsewhere. He would talk about their date only if she brought it up. Lily was bright enough to know that he wasn't acting this way by accident. She had to sort out her feelings about him before he'd reveal his true feelings about her. Unfortunately, figuring out her own feelings was interrupting both Lily and Anne's study time.

"I hate how he just sits over there, so smug. That…" Lily launched into a string of less than complimentary adjectives to describe James.

"Well if that's how you feel, I don't see what you are stressing over," Anne replied, slightly annoyed. "Stop thinking about James and focus on your Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, and the billion other things we need to concentrate on in order to pass the N.E.W.T's."

"This is his fault," Lily hissed, "that I can't concentrate. Why couldn't he have just given me an answer to my question about our status?"

"And if his answer would have been, 'we're a couple,' what would you have done, honestly?"

Lily was silent for a moment. "At least I would be able to study right now."

Anne mumbled something into her essay that sounded suspiciously like "or snog in a closet."

"Excuse me?"

Anne smiled widely. "Nothing, Lily dear. I don't know why you are having such a hard time with this. Do you, or do you not, have feelings for him? It's not a hard question, really. And you shouldn't be embarrassed. Practically every girl in the school has been given the love bug by James Potter. Remember my little obsession in second year?"

"I don't know what my feelings are," Lily moaned.

"Ok, let's play emotion association. I'll give you two phrases and you tell me what emotion they cause in you." As Lily nodded consent, Anne whispered under her breath, "then at least we might get some studying done." Lily ignored it.

"Ok, ready? If I say Head Boy and long patrols together at night, you feel?"

"Comfort."

"Gryffindor Chaser and death defying plummet to Earth."

"Worried."

"Albatross and banana."

"What?"

"Well, I decided I needed a control group. Ok, last one. James Potter and a condom."

"Anne!" Lily screeched, trying to will the blush that flushed her face, and at the same time blink away the unwelcome mental image. "That emotion would be disgust!"

"Does disgust usually make you blush?"

Damn her.

"If you want a sure fire way to figure out your feelings, I can give you one, but I promise you won't like it," Anne continued.

Lily eyed up her best friend, trying to decide if she really wanted to hear the advice or not. Anne, however, didn't wait for a reply. She just rambled on, "If you really want to find out how you feel about James, just kiss him. He's right over there, just go up to him and plant one on his lips. You'll know how you feel afterward."

"Yeah, embarrassed," Lily returned. "I'm not kissing him in a packed common room."

"So if it was an empty common room?"

"Anne!"

"Lily, if you don't figure out your feelings soon, not only will you be confused about him, but you'll be doing your homework alone. I have no intention of letting James ruin my N.E.W.T scores."

Lily could have cursed Anne. She had planted the idea of kissing James in Lily's head and now she couldn't get rid of it. Every time she saw James, her eyes would be drawn unconsciously to his lips. Sirius had even caught her staring at James from across the common room one evening, which had caused a very early retreat to her bed in order to escape the impending humiliation. If she was going to kiss him, and she told herself that she wasn't, but if she was, she wouldn't do it in front of Sirius. That would be social suicide. These thoughts all ran through Lily's head as she walked the lonely corridors, cloak pulled tight against the chill and eyes alert for troublemakers. She found one. Of course, he was also the Head Boy.

"Hello, Lily, having a boring night as well?"

Anne's words flooded back in full force, 'if you really want to find out how you feel about James, just kiss him.' But Anne's voice didn't stop there, it echoed through her brain, picking up Lily's own private thoughts. 'Sirius isn't here. No one is here to see.'

"Lily?"

Oh, wait, he had asked her a question. "Yeah, boring," she responded distractedly. She was going to throw Anne off the Astronomy Tower for planting the kissing thought in her head.

"Lily, are you alright? You seem a little…distant."

A familiar feeling began to overwhelm her body and mind. The same feeling that had engulfed her just before she had asked him to Hogsmeade. Don't do it, Lily, she told herself. Just tell him you're fine and walk away.

"No, I'm fine, just…just tired. Thanks." Good girl. Now walk away. Her feet moved obediently, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, her subconscious had different plans. Her feet pivoted and she felt her arm reach out to grasp James' wrist. Before she could stop herself she had lifted herself onto the balls of her feet, leaned forward, and kissed James square on the lips.

James tensed, for about half a second after Lily's lips met his, before he relaxed again, using his free hand to encircle Lily's waist and draw her closer to him. He could smell the scent of her shampoo on her hair. It was intoxicating. Under her robes, he could feel her slender waist and warm body that brushed against his as she breathed. Forgetting he had been trying to take things slow, and build a friendship first, he kissed her back, deepening the exchange.

Some coherent thought managed to crawl back to the foggy surface of Lily's brain and she became aware of her actions again. Without thinking beyond that thought, she pulled away from James' kiss. For a few seconds they just stared at each other, bodies still pressed together. Lily felt as if her body was on fire. Not like being burned alive, but like standing prolonged in the flames of a fire place before flooing. Pleasant warmth shot up and down her spine. Her heart raced and her knees felt weak. What was wrong with her? The answer came like an unforgivable curse, inescapable and incurable. She tore herself from James' arms and ran back down the corridor she had just come from. She finally stopped near the owlery, but only because her lungs were absolutely demanding it.

"Oh dear Merlin," she exclaimed to no one, "I'm in love with him."

Lily thought the common room would be empty when she finally meandered in. It was hours past the time she should have gone to bed, and her body knew it. She would worry about the consequences of the kiss tomorrow. Right now, she just really wanted to curl up in her blankets and sleep.

However, the common room wasn't empty. James was stretched out on a sofa, but appeared to be asleep. Lily tried to tiptoe to the spiral stairway leading to the girls' dormitory, but he must have heard because he cracked open one eye then sat up, stuffing a piece of parchment into his robes.

"Lily." He jumped to his feet, looking at her. She stood, looking back at him. How could she explain what had happened when she didn't fully understand it herself? Yet, at the same time, part of her wanted to run at him and kiss him again. She was determined to control that part of her, though, this time.

James had moved forward, so that he was only half a foot from her. "Lily," he said again.

What did he want her to say? Lily stared at her hands, but a gentle hand lifted her chin so that she stared back at two hazel eyes. "I'm sorry, James," she whispered. "I didn't mean to do that. You must think I'm such a tease, first the date, then the kiss."

"Lily, do you like me?"

She knew he wasn't talking about friendship as she nodded. He smiled when he saw her answer. Not his usual wide, cocky grin, but a genuine, sincerely happy smile.

"Good," he finally said, breaking the silence once more. "Lily Evans, will you be my girlfriend?"

Lily laughed, she couldn't help it. Those words must have escaped his lips just to meet rejection countless times over the past five years. But as she laughed, she nodded and threw her arms around his neck. Neither moved in for another kiss, but just stood in the dying fire light, arms wrapped tightly around the other.

Lily felt her body relax for the first time since her parents had passed away. She felt comfort, and warmth, and love, and happiness all at once. Breathing deeply, a wonderful familiar scent filled her senses. She couldn't identify what it was. Perhaps it was soap, or fabric softener, or cologne, but she knew she liked it. And she knew she had smelled it before, a year earlier, when Professor Slughorn had shown them the Amortentia potion. She almost laughed again at her realization. She never needed to kiss James to find out her feelings, she could simply have just sniffed him.

The following week was one of the best in Lily's entire life. She discovered, despite initially worrying about being a hypocrite, that she really didn't care what anyone else thought. The news, of course, had spread like wildfire throughout the entire school within a day, though neither Lily nor James could trace it back to the source. The culprit was certainly one of their close friends, but no one would fess up to the crime.

Anne had taken the news extremely well. In fact, she gave herself all the credit since she had suggested the kiss. Sirius had taken the news well also. He might have even been happy for his best friend, however, it seemed the most pleasing aspect about Lily and James' relationship was the crude jokes he could now crack about it. Lily quickly learned to apply the annoyance she once felt for James' immaturity entirely on Sirius, who every day acted more and more like an eight year old who knew far too much about the facts of life.

Remus surprised Lily with his reaction. Lily had always liked Remus because of their shared Prefect duties in past years, and tended to see him as being corrupted by James and Sirius. She had also always suspected that he might have a small crush on her as well. So, she was more than pleased when he quietly pulled her aside the hallway and told her how happy he was that she and James had gotten together. He hoped that she might be a good influence on James, and asked if she knew anyone who might be willing to tackle the problem known as Sirius Black. Remus seemed legitimately worried about Sirius entering the real world with the ability to legally perform magic and a rapidly decreasing maturity level. Peter, well, Lily wasn't sure what Peter thought. He never said much to her and in her opinion always seemed to think whatever James, Sirius, or Remus thought, so she guessed he was happy with the news as well.

The hand holding and secret kisses had Lily on cloud nine. However, she felt truly euphoric when she discovered James was planning a surprise date for them. She had accidentally overheard him talking with a fifth year Prefect. He convinced the girl to switch him hall monitor shifts on Friday, so that he would have the night off. Lily had mentioned to him earlier that she had Friday night off for once, so she was sure he was planning a romantic evening. However, Thursday came with no mention of Friday at all, forcing Lily to see if she could weasel it out of him.

"So, James, are we doing anything tomorrow night?" she asked innocently as they sat by the Gryffindor fire, both working on Potions essays.

James barely even lifted his quill from his parchment. "I can't Lil, I have to do a patrol tomorrow night, I'm sorry."

He wants to surprise me with the date, Lily thought. He really can be romantic and sweet when he wants to be.

But by lunch on Friday James was still pretending he had Head Boy duty that night, and the charade was getting a little old for Lily's taste. Lily finally decided she would try and pry the information she wanted out of Remus after their last class. However, he was looking rather ill by the time their final lesson was over, and Lily heard him tell James, Sirius, and Peter that he was going to go see Madam Pomfrey. They all seemed very worried about him, and Lily didn't want to bother him with trivial stuff about her and James.

James, Sirius, and Peter were all far too quiet at dinner. Maybe it was Remus' absence, but Lily had the feeling that there was both great anticipation and great anxiety below the surface of the silence. Sirius and Peter kept sending her shifty glances all through their stew, and James avoided all conversation. What the hell was going on? He had practically worshiped her all week, and now he was acting like he wished she wouldn't eat with him. He had better tell her about the date, or it was going to loose the romance real soon.

Back in the common room, James remained aloof, and while Lily was distracted by Anne, vanished along with Sirius and Peter. Fed up with the game, Lily decided to go visit Remus in the hospital wing and ask him if he knew what was going on with James. Besides, he would probably appreciate some mature company. However, Remus was not in the hospital wing when Lily arrived, and Madam Pomfrey very awkwardly told her that she had not seen him all day. This made matters even more confusing, since Lily was sure she had heard Remus say he was going to the infirmary. Had he perhaps gotten sick on the way, dodged into a bathroom, and had passed out there? Madam Pomfrey, however, ushered Lily back out into the corridor, telling her that her fears were unfounded.

Confused, and more than a little agitated at James, Lily began to walk back to the common room. Through the windows she could see the grounds covered in the thick black of night. The full moon had yet to rise and provide its pleasant glow. Lily had always liked how the full moon illuminated the night.

As she passed one of the corridors leading to the Great Hall and the entrance, she heard a familiar voice. James was complaining quietly, but distinctly, about something.

"I still can't believe you got it confiscated, Padfoot. What were you doing with it? Honestly, I let you have it for one night…"

"Shut it, Prongs," came the unmistakable voice of Sirius. She should be able to see them, but the hallway was visible entirely to the other end. Sirius spoke again, but it was further away. They were moving away from her. "I didn't mean for Filch to get his rotten hands on it. I'm going to be dead when he finds out I've skipped detention tonight, but it's worth it for Moony."

"A lot of good it will do Moony if we get caught on our way out, since we don't have the map."

"Can't we just nip it back from Filch's office," came a third voice that Lily recognized as belonging to Peter.

"No," James replied, but his voice was rapidly fading. "If we did that, Filch would think Padfoot took it and he'd get in even more trouble. So unless you feel like explaining how we created that map to Dumbledore- because you know if anyone could figure out how to work it, it would be Dumbledore- we just have to let Filch keep it. Now be quiet, or we'll all get caught."

All of the sudden, a piece of the puzzle feel into place within Lily's brain. James had an invisibility cloak. Pulling out her wand, she pointed it at the floor of the corridor. "Vestigium Nuper," she whispered. The floor glowed for a second before three sets of footprint appeared on the stone, visible to only Lily's eyes. She smiled. She had never thought that a tracing spell would come in handy at Hogwarts. Normally there were too many people walking, but since it was late, and the spell only revealed the more recent footprints, she had a trail that would lead her straight to James.

Lily couldn't help but feel a bit like a spy in one of those Muggle films her father had always enjoyed watching. She walked slowly, to ensure that James, Sirius, and Peter wouldn't spot her, and ducked into doorways whenever she heard a noise. The footprints glowed all the way to the entrance hall, where they proceeded out the door. Lily followed silently, shivering since she had not brought her cloak, having thought she would only be visiting the hospital wing.

She crept along the path of glowing footprints, wishing the moon would rise fully so she could see better, but stopped suddenly when she once again heard the voice of her boyfriend and his two friends. Lily squinted into the darkness, trying to discern where the boys were. She could make out the waving silhouette of the Whomping Willow. It was said Professor Sprout had been highly entertained by it on her travels the summer before Lily's first year, so a specimen had been brought back to plant at Hogwarts. Since then, five people had almost lost their eyes, and countless others had suffered broken ribs while trying to complete a popular dare to touch the trunk. Were those idiots trying to do the same?

The moon finally peeked above the horizon, shedding soft lift across the grounds. Lily shrunk into the shadows cast by the Hogwarts walls to avoid being detected, as the forms of James, Sirius, and Peter became clearer. Having pulled off the invisibility cloak, they stood just beyond the reach of the dangerous branches. Sirius gazed up at the moon wearily.

"Get to it, Wormtail," James instructed.

Peter nodded, and Lily had to bite her tongue hard to prevent herself from screaming as Peter's body began to dissolve into some grotesque form, becoming smaller and smaller as it did so. Finally, Lily could see nothing except a small creature scurrying along the ground, avoiding the branches of the violent tree. It reached the base and suddenly the tree froze. Lily was having a hard time digesting what she was seeing. Peter couldn't possibly be an animagus like McGonagall. He could barely transfigure a teacup properly.

However, her tongue received another hard bite when James and Sirius also began to change shape. They, however, did not shrink to as small a size as Peter. Instead, Lily found herself staring transfixed at a noble stag and huge, furry dog. The dog barked joyfully toward the tree, and both he and the deer moved into the still frozen branches of the Whomping Willow. However, as they reached the trunk they disappeared into a hole Lily had never noticed before. There must be some sort of cavern below the tree, because she could hear the barking of the dog echoing up from below. She moved closer, with every intention of following her boyfriend, but the tree, now unfrozen, prevented her from getting anywhere close to the opening. Finally, Lily admitted defeat and went back to the Gryffindor common room. She still couldn't register what she had seen, but she understood enough to know that James, Sirius, and Peter were all animagi. Just wait till she found James the next day, wouldn't he be in for a surprise.