He had been flying for nearly an hour now and still hadn't gotten her off his mind. Why exactly did he do that? He didn't like Lily! Why was this happening to him so suddenly?!?
Going through the events of the night once again, he remembered a small detail that might be of use.
Sirius, James moaned. What would Sirius say when James got back?
Taking a slight detour, James bought three Triple M magazines. Yep, he thought, satisfied. That'll hold 'em off.
When James got back, he had realized the whole time that he had been flying he only thought of Lily - Evans! - and not one bit about the stop Voldemort had made.
Flying through the open window, James stopped in front of his bed. No one was in bed yet. James threw off his invisibility cloak and ran down to the common room seeing Sirius playing chess against Remus and Peter struggling to do his Transfiguration homework alone.
So far, all was well and James was about to propose that he go up to bed when Sirius spoke. "So, James, what took so long?" Sirius smirked.
"Oh yeah!" Acting as though James had forgotten something, he pulled out the Triple M magazines and gave one to each Marauder. "Maybe a small detour, but other than that I've been upstairs for a few hours reading them," James said, smoothly with a smile. He had always prided himself on his smooth ability to lie. "I bid you all good night." James left behind a struggling Peter, engrossed Sirius, and a suspicious Remus in the warm common room. After all, Remus had been in the dormitory no more than twenty minutes ago and at that time, the room had also been empty.
!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~Lily~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!
Pulling on her silky nightgown, Lily slipped into her bed, seething with anger. Why did he do that? She thought. Well, yeah, it was an act for my parents but why not on the cheek at least?
Lily's mind had been overflowed with these sorts of thoughts ever since James had left.
Knock, knock. "Yeah?" Lily called.
"Sweetie? How are you?"
"I'm fine, mum…" Lily muttered.
"I just came to, you know, tuck you in," she muttered. Christine hadn't tucked Lily in since she was still afraid of monsters under bed.
"Mum, what do you really want?" Lily asked.
"Oh, Lily," she sighed, sobbing into Lily's shoulder.
"What is it, Mum?" Lily asked concerned.
"You're growing up too fast and I can't keep up! I'm not even seeing it happen," she whispered. "You've got a boyfriends now and you'll soon be out of school, getting married, have small Lily's and James' running around the house and you'll have to talk to your baby girl when she grows up - but maybe you won't cry," she said as an afterthought.
"Much," Lily interjected. "Won't cry much. Mum, I'm not graduating that soon and I hopefully won't have mini me's running around all over the place soon either! I'm just sixteen!"
She sobbed, if possible, even harder. "No, Lily! You have no idea how soon it will be!
"Well - uh -" Lily was struggling to find something comforting to say. "We'll have to just play it by ear," she finally said.
After a little more sobbing her mother spoke again. "I guess you're right," she whispered. "Now, lay down." Christine stood up and grabbed a Kleenex off Lily' side table. "You should get to sleep. It's nearly midnight." She pulled Lily's covers up to her chin and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight Lily."
As soon as her mother got to the door, she stopped and turned back around.
"Lily," she said softly, "I will always be worried about you. Always. But I also know that James is the right one. He is your light through the night, your beloved, your one and only: just like your father and I. As long as you are with him, my worries nearly leave me completely. He's yours, Lily. Keep him. Love him while you can. God knows what's going on in the world these days, honey, even your world! Stay with the light and he will bring you home." With that said she left and closed the door behind her.
Mum, Lily wanted to cry out. Her voice wasn't working. "I have no light," she whispered into the darkness, tears rolling down her cheek.
-----------------------------------James-----------------------------------
A few days after James had gotten back, Remus had been following him around a lot more than usual. James knew that Sirius had told Remus and Peter that he went to get back his Shooting Star from Lily but no one else acted as strange as Remus.
He tried to confront Remus once during Herbology but he just put on an airy voice. "It's nothing," he responded. "Nothing at all…" Obviously James didn't believe Remus but since he kept getting "nothing" as an answer he finally gave up.
It wasn't until dinner one night that James realized something Sirius never brought - and was glad he never brought up!
James had left Sirius' broom at Lily's house. Evans! he mentally corrected.
Well, isn't it ironic?
Disgruntled at getting only two servings at dinner with no desert, James trudged up to his dormitory. Grabbing his Shooting Star and invisibility cloak he jumped out of the window and flew to Lily's house.
Evans!!!
!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~Lily~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!
Yeah, her winter break wasn't the best with Potter at her house getting his broom and her sister not on speaking terms with Lily anymore, but it could always be worse.
This just wasn't her day.
Like her Headmaster had once said to her, "The best of us must sometimes eat our words," Lily felt like she had just swallowed each word of hers one by one whole.
As soon as Lily finished clearing the dishes at dinner, the doorbell rang. Wondering who would be crazy enough to want to make a stop at night to their house, Lily answered the door.
Guess who it was.
When Lily opened the door, she had to place her hand over her mouth to keep a scream from escaping her.
"Good evening, Lillian dearest." James bowed low in front of Lily. "May I come in?"
"What do you want?" Lily hissed. "Are you just trying to give me a heart attack?"
"Lily? Who is it, honey?" With a small apron wrapped around her waist, Christine walked out into the main hallway and saw James. "Oh, sweetie! How are you, darling? It's so nice to have you back so soon!" She ran over and hugged him.
Struggling not to laugh at James' face, Lily spoke. "Mum, I need to talk to James for a bit." Her mother gave her another one of her "knowing" smiles and left the room without hesitation.
Immediately, Lily turned and took out all of her anger on James. "Why are you tormenting me?!? You do realize we have to be boyfriend and girlfriend whenever you're here, right?!? Did you come here for a purpose?!? You also realize it's nearly nine, don't you?" Lily took a deep breath and was about to keep ranting when James decided to take his chance and put in his say in the conversation for a bit. Ok, the argument. James, honestly, couldn't even remember one conversation he had ever had with Lily that wasn't an argument.
"Hey, hey, hey! Lily! Lil, you need to calm down."
"Don't ever call me Lil!" she hissed.
"Alright, just listen to me! When I came here I rode Sirius' broom over and rode mine back."
"Your point…"
"I will get to my point if you will just shut your yap!" James nearly yelled. He was glad to see Lily take a step away from him with a slightly stunned face. "Now, the point is I left Sirius' broom here somewhere. He hasn't remembered yet, though, fortunately. I will just get his broom, turn around, and leave. That's all I'm gonna do! I swear!" he added.
Lily still looked at him suspiciously but regretfully let him in. "Just get the broom and leave - no good-bye's to my parents, got it?"
"Whatever," he mumbled.
"Do you remember where you put it?"
"Er - not really."
Lily let out a moan of frustration and began to drag him from room to room. Finally at eleven, Lily was extremely angry. Then a thought came and she began to worry.
"You didn't go into my room, did you?"
"Well, yeah. I had to get my broom back after all," James said, as if it was the most obvious thing. Then it looked as though there were a light bulb that had decided to turn on. "Oh…"
"Eurgh!!!" Lily stomped up off to her room and, sure enough there was Sirius' broom, out in plain sight. Lily didn't know how she could have missed seeing the broom, but somehow, she did.
She walked out of her room, not seeing a shadow behind her. As soon as she got down to the bottom of the stairs she handed James his broom.
"Lily, you need to get to sleep." Lily jumped at the sound of her mothers' voice behind her. She turned around and saw her in her nightgown with a bathrobe over the top.
"Only Mum," Lily muttered, thankfully. She knew that her dad would have freaked out if he knew that a boy was at her house past ten o'clock. Lily picked her words wisely.
"Mum, James was just about to leave and go home. He just left something here accidentally and came to pick it up."
"Yeah," James said, as he looked at Lily with one of his lovesick faces he gave to other girls who fall in his trap. "Accidentally."
Lily swore to herself the second that her and James were alone she would slap him silly.
Christine smiled. "You know, James, it would probably be better if you just stay the night. You know, with all of the dangerous things happening out there at night. Who knows what might happen to you if you were alone at night." Lily rolled her eyes. She didn't care if James got abducted by aliens from Mars and ate him piece by piece. The only thing she might not like about that predicament was that she would have to come up with an excuse for his friends. They would never believe Lily's story about aliens from Mars. Well, maybe Sirius or Peter, but definitely not Remus. He was just too smart.
"You know, Mrs. Evans - "
"Don't be ridiculous," her mother said. "Call me Christine."
"Ok - er - Christine. What I was going to say was that I've flown at dark before - "
"And I bet you're a great flyer, but I'm also a mother." She laughed as if she were laughing at a joke. "I think it best for you to just stay the night and then in the morning we'll have breakfast together and then you could be able to leave - if you want. You're always welcome to stay the rest of the day as well."
"Mum, honestly. He can just go. You wouldn't want Dad finding him sleeping here in the morning or - "
"Lily, relax. I'll tell your father. How about I just grab some blankets and a pillow and I'll set you up on the floor in Lily's room."
The teenager's jaws dropped. Christine ran off in the next room and came back nearly five seconds later dragging behind her a quilt and a flat pillow.
She's not serious - is she?
Lily could hear Sirius' annoying voice in the back of her head. No! I'm Sirius!
She inwardly rolled her eyes.
"Come on, James. Let me you show you to Lily's room."
James was awestruck. He didn't know what to do. Should he keep insisting to leave or sleep in the same room as Lily? He didn't waste anytime making up his mind.
"No, Christine! I'll just go back to Hogwarts. It's not that far!" James crossed his fingers behind his back. "Honestly."
"James." Christine was looking pretty mad at this point. "You two are making it seem as if you don't like each other." Her eyes wandered over the two-foot gap between Lily and James - which James quickly closed by slinging his arm over Lily's shoulders so her mother wouldn't get suspicious. That, however, was not the problem at hand.
"You two," Christine whispered, dangerously. "Upstairs. March."
James, behind Lily, sulked upstairs to the same door he entered to find his own broom earlier.
Christine threw the quilt and pillow in on the ground near the door. Lily, still in her clothes, walked out with her pajamas in hand and went to change. She walked into the bathroom and changed as slowly as possible.
Lily walked back into her room with baggy flannel pants and a tank top on. Lily then noticed that James had taken off his cloak with a small T-shirt left underneath. Lily found her face heating up.
Come on Lily! Snap out of it! she found herself yelling at herself. Don't you remember what he did to you?!?
Immediately, Lily's face changed from pink-with-embarrassment to red-with-anger.
Lily pulled back her covers and climbed into bed. She began to sink into the comfort of her bed and her soft pajamas so much she almost forgot James was standing next to her.
Until he hit her.
"Ow!" Lily moaned. "What do you want? You do realize that my shoulder's gonna have a bruise tomorrow, don't you?"
"…And that's my problem?"
Lily moaned again. "What do you want?" she repeated.
"Your mum said not to go to sleep yet."
"I wasn't going to sleep!" she half-yelled.
James rolled his eyes. "Well! Excuse me for thinking that closing your eyes while you're laying down isn't going to sleep!"
"You're excused."
James crossed his arms and, stubbornly, sat down on the ground.
No more than five minutes later, Lily's mother came traipsing up the stairs carrying a glass of water in her hands. "I'll be in soon, kids."
James raised her eyebrow at being called a kid but let it drop.
Christine came back in with her bathrobe flying behind her feet.
Lily, instinctively, held out her hand and her mother took it. Both Lily and Christine held out their open hands to James who, suspiciously, took them. Both girls began to say a prayer.
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
And if I die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.
Lily began to add on to it. "I pray that Mum, Dad, and - " she hesitated, "Petunia stay safe through the night."
"Let's not forget about James, sweetie."
"Yeah, and James." Lily finished.
"Let's also pray for James' family that they stay safe, wherever they are," Christine added.
"Yeah," James whispered to himself. "Wherever they are."
"C'mon, kids." James rolled his eyes. "Hop on into bed."
James lay down on the hard, wooden floor and pulled the blanket up to his neck, but, unfortunately, the blanket was only long enough to cover his ankles. He tried to curl up in a ball but that just didn't work as well as it would on a bed. His shoulder began to dig into the wooden floor and James swore he would break his arm if he stayed in that position. So, James settled with cold feet.
"Goodnight, Lily," her mother said, bending down to kiss Lily on the forehead and give her a hug.
She then turned to James and kneeled on the ground next to him. "Goodnight James," she said and gave him a hug. James had to turn his head away from her afterwards so she would not see the tears forming in the corners of his eyes. The hug she just gave him was one of the first motherly hugs James got after that day.
Christine clicked the light switch off and left. Lily and James hadn't moved since she left with both too afraid to fall asleep in the others' presence for fear of what might have been done to them when they wake up the next morning. James was the first to move, trying to find a more comfortable spot to sleep, but to no avail. Finally, James stood up next to Lily until she realized his presence.
Lily tried to ignore James for awhile but with no such luck. He just kept standing above her until she looked at him. Eventually, she did.
"What do you want now Potter?" she asked, crabbily.
"Can I sleep in your bed?"
Taken aback by the way the question was asked, Lily sat bolt upright in her bed and stared, dumbfounded, at James. "Excuse me?" she asked, shocked.
"Yeah, the floor's too hard. I wanna sleep in the bed."
"No!" Lily yelled, loud enough for James to be surprised but not enough to wake her parents in the next room over.
"C'mon Lily!" James complained. "We'll just switch - "
" - So I can have the hard floor?!? I don't think so!"
"Please, Lillian, for me? For your boyfriend?"
Lily began to smile. "Alright, fine."
James nearly fell down. "You're - you're not serious are you?"
"Well 'course I'm serious! Why wouldn't I be?"
James didn't know what to say. "Well, ok then, I guess."
"On one condition, though," Lily said, standing up from her warm, cozy spot in the bed.
"I knew it," James mumbled. "Ok, what's the catch?"
Lily began to pull all of her covers off of her bed. By the time she was finished, the bed was stripped down to the mattress. She picked up the flat pillow and the small quilt James had been using on the floor and threw it onto the bed.
"Hey!" James shouted.
"Shh!" Lily hissed. "You don't want to wake up my parents - trust me."
"Why did you do that?!?"
"Oh you know, Jamsie!" James rolled his eyes at the use of the "Sirius" language. "I didn't want any 'cooties' in my bed. Would you?"
James grumbled but sat on her bed anyway. Lily began to unfold the crumpled sheets and lay them out on the ground so that her back would be supported while she slept. Then, she lifted up the top cover and slid underneath it. "Now, go to sleep," Lily whispered grumpily. She obviously wasn't much of a morning person considering it was about five past one.
James curled up in a ball facing the wall. Lily's room was pretty bare and didn't have many decorations or anything up. All in all it was just a bed, a dresser, and a chair in a room: nothing special. This made it especially hard for James to sleep considering he normally slept in a messy room with clothes all over the place and two other boys, snoring.
Lily had soon fallen to sleep while James still stared at the wall. There wasn't even a small crack to distract him so he could fall asleep. Her walls seemed to be spotless.
Choosing another angle James lay on his back, looking up and watching her ceiling. Again: nothing special. Man, Lily's room sure is boring. I didn't think it would ever be this boring in another girl's room. But, James harshly reminded himself, this is Lily's room.
He rolled over again. One last chance for distraction. His eyes fell on Lily, sleeping soundly.
She looks like an angel from -
Hell, that voice in the back of his head cut in. And angels in hell are called devils. FYI.
James sighed and fell asleep.
