Hands Down – Chapter 2
James
The next day, Sarah was officially James' girlfriend. James had asked her out after dinner in the Great Hall and they'd then gone for a walk by the lake. He had kissed her, and he'd enjoyed it. But he still didn't feel that goddamn spark that he felt when he looked at Lily.
Okay, so he wasn't in this relationship to get over Lily – quite the opposite, but he thought that maybe he might just like this girl and maybe he could get over Lily and learn to love Sarah. Argh, emotions were so fucking annoying. It would be so much easier to be immune to girls and love. Scratch that, just love. If James was immune the girls… well, lets just say his life wouldn't quite as exciting.
Sarah was a great girl. She made James laugh and he was more of himself when he was with her than when he was with other girls. Maybe this time, in this relationship, he really did have proper feelings for her and wasn't just in it for the kissing and teenage fumbling about in the bushes.
Whatever. This was too fucking much for James. All this thinking, all this emotion, he needed to do some serious fumbling soon – just to prove to himself that he wasn't morphing into a girl.
He had walked Sarah to her dorm at about 11.30 and kissed her goodnight on her doorstep. It was a sweet kiss, not what he was used to. Usually James' kisses were full of lust and sexual desire, and though, this time, he was very sexually frustrated, he kissed Sarah sweetly.
He made up for that back in his room though.
The next day, James woke up bright and early and hurried off to his first Quidditch practice since starting the new term. Everyone was already there, doing circuits of the pitch on their brooms. Aaron, their captain, taught the team some new tactics and they had a five-against-five game until all of them were too tired out to keep playing. Aaron always worked them to the bone, James supposed it helped in the end.
By the time their practice had finished it was almost 11 o'clock and James looked down into the stands to see Sarah sitting with some of her friends. He flew down quickly and stopped in front of her, saying hello and kissing her before flying away again. He heard her friends gasp and start giggling and asking Sarah lots of questions before their voices faded out of site.
When James got back to his dorm, he was pissed off to find that his bathroom had been invaded by Moaning Myrtle A/N She didn't actually exist back then but look past that who was, unsurprisingly, moaning to herself whilst sitting on the side of James' bath. James knocked softly on the door and Myrtle looked up at him, her almost translucent eyes full of tears.
'What?' she asked bluntly, hiccoughing.
'Erm, I was just wondering if I could please have a shower.' Myrtle eyed him suspiciously,
'Go ahead,' she replied but made no effort to move.
James coughed, 'erm, sorry to be rude,' he began, 'but could you possibly leave?'
Myrtle's expression changed to one of complete outrage and screamed at James,
'DO YOU HAVE NO FEELINGS? CAN YOU NOT SEE I AM UPSET?'
'But you're always up-' James started to say but Myrtle flew over to him so she was practically nose-to-nose with him before he could even get the last word out.
'Don't you dare finish that sentence, Potter.' She spat. 'I refuse to move from this bathroom. And if you go into the other boys' bathrooms I shall follow you and prevent you from having a shower in them either. Now, GET OUT before I do something I'll regret.'
James hastily left the bathroom and ran, annoyed, into his room, grabbing some clothes and toiletries – he'd just have to find the Room of Requirement and have a shower there.
He made his way to the correct hallway and, pulling his invisibility cloak around him, walk in front of the wall three times and then went through the door that appeared.
The bathroom he was let into was massive and elaborately decorated. There were numerous showers, steam rooms, saunas and baths dotted around the place, painted in various eccentric colours and covered in different sets of complicated buttons.
James walked to the first bath and, seeing that it seemed simple enough to use, placed his things down by the side of the bath, pulled his sweaty robes off and climbed into the water that had quickly filled it. He plunged under the water and let the heat surround him, relaxing his tired muscles immediately. This is the life, he thought, I could stay here forever.
Lily
Lily was pissed off. And it was Moaning-fucking-Myrtle's fault. Why did she always seem to come to Lily when she was upset? Why Lily, of all people? It wasn't as if Lily was actually that nice to her when she came, crying, to her room and told her everything that was bothering her. Yeah, she listened, but she didn't really care and surely that was obvious?
Well, now, it evidently wasn't as Myrtle was ranting on about all her problems and Lily, who desperately wanted a nice warm bath, was forced to listen. She seriously had better things to do. Yes, she did feel sorry for Myrtle and did feel bad about not caring about what she was saying, but she needed and bath and she needed to relax.
She had just come back from a way-too-early prefect duty and now she just wanted to wake up properly, get ready properly and have a relaxing day.
'And then that Potter git,' Myrtle sniffed, 'tried to kick me out of his loo when I was upset! How RUDE!'
Lily stared at Myrtle who now lying across her bed sobbing against the duvet. Okay, I can't take this any longer, she thought.
'Listen, Myrtle,' she began, choosing her words carefully, 'I've just got to go get something, I won't be long. See you in a minute.' And without waiting for a reply, she scampered out of the room as fast as she could.
Earlier that week, Lily had finally found that room that Sirius and Lupin kept talking about, and planned to use it now to get away from Myrtle. She ran up to the corridor, passing a confused looking first year, and then paced in front of the wall three times. When the door appeared, Lily pulled it open quickly and was greeted by the warming sight of lots and lots of baths, among other things, for her to use her disposal.
She immediately placed her bag and change of clothes on the floor and started to undo her jeans. She pulled them roughly down, and then lifted her shirt over her head. She stood in her matching black lacey bra and knickers, a Christmas present from her parents, and looked around the room, trying to decide which bath to choose.
Just as Lily made up her mind to go into the deepest bath in front of her, a voice broke the silence of the room.
'Oh, fuck.'
Lily screamed as she turned around and saw Potter, dressed in only a towel and completely soaking, standing behind her. She snatched her towel up from the floor and wrapped it round herself as quickly as she could. Potter stared at her, looking just as embarrassed as she clearly felt.
'What are you doing here?' Lily spluttered, securing the towel under her arms.
'I'm assuming the same thing as you were just about to do, bathing.' He replied, pulling a t-shirt over his head.
'Did you fucking follow me?' Lily practically shouted.
James looked annoyed now, 'Of course I didn't follow you, I'm not a stalker. I just happened to be in the same place as you at the same time, for the same reasons.'
Lily regarded him with a look of confusion.
'Look,' she said, feeling guilty for shouting at him, 'don't leave because of me. I'll go, you were here first.' She bent down and picked up her shirt, starting to pull it over her head but then James spoke.
'No, it's fine. We might as well both stay here.' Lily wasn't entirely sure but she was almost certain that Potter's voice had sounded slightly excited at the last bit. 'There are plenty of baths in here, enough for us to be able to be completely opposite each other in opposite sides of the room.'
Lily nodded slowly, thinking what he'd just said over.
'Okay,' she replied a few seconds later, 'just as long as we are on opposite sides.'
James pretended to pout but at the serious expression on Lily's face, he stopped and nodded.
'Sounds like a plan.' He said, before turning and walking over to one of the most ornate baths in the far corner of the room.
Lily was confused. Firstly, James Potter had just seen her in nothing but her underwear. Secondly, he hadn't come onto her or asked her out. Thirdly, he was now moving as far away as possible to her by choice – he had even suggested itHe evidently didn't fancy her at all anymore.
Lily didn't really care. If only he hadn't looked so yummy though. Standing there in nothing but a towel with his hair all wet and sticking up everywhere. His body had been tanned, obviously from a hot holiday during the summer, and his muscles were defined, but not huge and menacing – Lily preferred guys that way. Shut up, brain, Lily, thought, she couldn't possibly be thinking this about Potter. James Potter, the one who she'd bitterly hated for the past five years… could she?
Her thoughts were interrupted though as a James' voice asked,
'Are you actually going to have a bath?' Lily looked up at him and nodded. He was already lying in his bath, up to his neck in bubbles, and was drinking water from a glass that had appeared at the side of his bath.
She turned and walked to the opposite corner of the bathroom. Okay, so Potter didn't want to be near to her in this circumstance, but she was going to make him regret this immediately. Lily stood at the side of her bath, put her things on the floor and gently pulled her auburn hair out of its high bun, letting it cascade gracefully about her shoulders. She then dropped her towel and stood momentarily in front of the bath, pretending to be choosing what bubbles to choose. After finally deciding, she pressed the little purple button on the side of the bath and watched as it filled with warm water and pale purple bubbles.
Without glancing round to see if he was watching her, Lily reached behind her back and unclipped her bra, dropping it to the floor. She heard a small splash behind her and then an embarrassed cough, but she still didn't look round. She was going to milk this situation for all it was worth.
As confident as Lily was with her figure, the one feature of her's that she really didn't like was her arse. She'd never actually been told that there was anything wrong with it, but she'd always hated it. And as much as she wanted to play with Potter, she was – in no way – going to let him glimpse her most detested feature. Carefully, Lily climbed over the side of the bath and then plunged into the warm water.
Once fully submerged and wet, Lily pulled her knickers off and flicked them over the side of the bath, so they landed next to her things. She then lay back and basked in the warm water, practically forgetting the Potter was even there.
But James didn't forget she was there. No chance.
James
Was she trying to fucking kill him? Standing there in her underwear, fiddling about with the stupid little knobs on the side of the bath, as if he wasn't even there.
Oh fuck. She was unclipping her bra. James thought he might actually die - just there. In the bath, in the same room as a naked Lily Evans. Oh, what a nice way to die that would be, he thought to himself.
James sat up quickly, causing his arm to slip of the side of the bath and splash into the water. He coughed quickly to try to cover up what had happened and he must have covered it up well because Lily didn't even look round.
She is stunning, James thought, I was kidding myself when I thought I might ever get over her. Looks like that aren't so easily overcome. Especially with a bloody awesome personality attached to them.
Lily was now climbing into the bath, delicately placing her feet in and then following after them. She turned slightly to the side as she lowered herself in, giving James the tiniest glimpse of her right breast, before she disappeared under the water. James allowed himself to gasp in frustration before looking back quickly to check she hadn't come up and caught him. But she hadn't. And just as he looked over, a pair of black underwear flew over the side of the bath to the rest of Lily's things and she came up for air, resting on the side.
This can't be what she's normally like. No one could look this sexy whilst having a bath, she's got to be playing it up.
But James wasn't too sure. Why would Lily play up when it was only James in the room with her? It wasn't as if she liked him, she'd made that clear many a time, but if she did then did she have to drive him so damn insane? She was bloody good at it as well, James was having a hard time keeping himself from relieving the growing hardness he could feel in his nether regions.
Think boring things, think of books and pictures… no, not kinky pictures. Okay, that's not going to work. Think of non-sexy things, McGonagall naked…eww. Good, that works… Madame Pomfrey naked, even worse… yes, it's working.
To his relief James felt his hardness start to fade and he smiled to himself.
'What are you smiling about, Potter?' He heard Lily ask. Open his eyes lazily and turning to look at her he said, in the sexiest voice he could muster,
'Nothing but you, sweet cakes.'
Lily's face was a picture, 'Did you just call me sweet cakes?' she snapped,
'Problem, baby?' James asked, keeping his cool enough to be able to still flirt with Lily.
'Argh, sod off Potter. I'm here to relax,' Lily turned around and continued bathing in the warm water and bubbles covering her.
'As am I, Evans – so please stop distracted me with childish, flirtatious comments.' James smirked, awaiting what could only be a hilarious response from Lily.
'Are you bloody joking?' Lily yelled. She'd had enough now. Quickly jumping out of the bath and wrapping herself in her towel, she walked briskly over to James' bath. He yelped in surprise as she reached him and tried hard to make the bubbles on the surface of the water cover himself.
'Stop.' She said, simply. 'Now.'
James, for once in his life, was actually nervous. But yet he still had to say something back, even his state of terrified nakedness.
'Or what?'
Lily's left eyebrow raised delicately. She leant forward so that her face was directly in front of James', just millimetres away – if James had just puckered up his lips, they would have been touching Lily's.
'Just stop,' she whispered huskily, her warm breath caressing his face.
James didn't say anything, he just stared at her as she turned and walked back over to her clothes.
Lily's breathing was slightly quicker than normal as she hid behind a shower and pulled her clean clothes on. She then walked out from behind the shower to see that Potter was still in the bath, staring at the ceiling.
'Good night, Lily,' he said softly.
'Night… James.'
