Surprises

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and everything related belongs first, and foremost, to JK Rowling, and then to her partnerships with Bloomsbury, Scholastics, Warner Bros., etc.

Summary: Jily Muggle AU: "Geez Lily where did you learn to shoot a gun like THAT?"

Posted: 04/13/15

James Potter has been dating Lily Evans for three hundred and twelve days. He knows she incessantly taps her pencil on the corner of her notebook when listening to lectures, for they had a happenstance meeting when he sat down next to her in a course at university. He also knows she prefers coffee to tea, and he frequently informs her that that makes her an improper English girl, and he loves that she always smiles and happily agrees. He still isn't over the fact that she loves football, maybe even more than he does, and he has nearly no control over his faculties when she puts on a jersey.

James Potter is in love with Lily Evans. And every day he thinks he couldn't fall more in love with her. And most days he is with her, he is proven wrong. Today will be no different.

She is windswept as she enters the library. She gives the lobby one sweeping look before she sets off, as if her radar has picked up the signal, and heads straight for him. He is sitting alone at a prime table that of course only he is lucky enough to get. His eyebrows shoot up in surprise when he looks up to see her perch herself on the table in front of him, her bag hanging loosely off her shoulder.

"Hey," he greets, but she cuts him off quickly.

"I need you to take me on a date tonight," she tells him matter-of-factly.

"Huh?"

"We need to make plans for tonight, James, it's an emergency!"

And there is an urgency to her voice and person, though James wonders if it's because she has a class in fifteen minutes and she has clearly gone out of her way to find him.

"What's wrong?"

"Hestia's having her horrid boyfriend over again tonight, and she's made it painfully clear I need to scamper off before then. I can't go to Mary's because she is doing a large overhaul on her apartment, remember? If I go there I'll wind up having to help her all weekend. Marlene is going out with this new bloke tonight, so I can't go there either. And Emmeline's gone and had a row with Davey so she'll want me to join her at the pub and I'll be hung-over all weekend long. Also, if I were to drive home to Cokeworth, my mum would guilt me into staying for the entire weekend." Her voice is so rapid that James struggles to keep up, though he is also staring at the way her leg is curved under her skirt so that probably doesn't help either. "That leaves you," she tells him, her tone again straightforward.

"I have plans with the lads tonight," he says, forcing his eyes away from her thigh and back up to her face. "It'll be just as boring as you going to Cokeworth or—"

But Lily is not listening to him. "And? The lads like me enough, don't they? I'll just tag along," she prompts, and when James still looks hesitant, she pouts. "Please, James?"

His resolve cracks, and though he knows he'll have to pay for it later, he nods. "Yeah, all right. Come to my place any time before six."

She hops off the table, visibly happy, and leans down to peck him on the cheek. "You are the best, James Potter."

He smiles to himself as he watches her dart back through the library and out of sight, before shaking his head and resuming his studies.

"Hm. Okay… Wait, okay. Now explain this to me again," Sirius goads, later that afternoon when James is back at their flat and has informed him that their plans for the evening have changed slightly. He is smirking at James, who frowns.

"It sounded a lot like a bird chirping, you know? Mary's doing this, Hestia's gone and done that, Marlene's off doing something. At any rate, Lily's coming out with us tonight. She's a good sport, so I don't see why it's a problem," James says, seriously. Truthfully, he can see why Sirius thinks it will be a problem, but he isn't going to vocalize that bit.

Sirius nods reluctantly. "She is the best bird you've ever dated, I'll give you that…"

"It'll just be a one-time thing," he placates, and finally Sirius looks pacified.

The boys whittle away the rest of the afternoon in front of the television, only stopping to answer the door when Remus and Peter and finally Lily arrive.

"Hi," Lily says brightly, when she enters the flat.

James looks pleased when the boys greet her just as kindly, and not long afterward, they leave. As Lily tucks her small hand in his as they walk, Sirius' face breaks into a galling smirk, but James ignores him. He does his best to carry a pleasant conversation between his girlfriend and friends, but there is a slight strain in conversation. Though they have been around Lily for months now, James still sees that his friends often censor some of their words or thoughts around her, despite him telling them they needn't take it so far.

Lily is visibly surprised when they arrive at the indoor gun range, and James realizes sheepishly that he never told her where they were spending the first part of their evening. Nevertheless she seems eager to pick out a pistol and earplugs. James watches as Lily selects an excellent pistol, and though he supposes it's just a lucky selection, he still sends a proud smile to Sirius, who has been watching just as curiously.

After they make their selections and hear a brief lesson on their safety procedures, Sirius leads the group into the shooting range. It's dark throughout, except for a long line of spot-lights that shine on the paper targets at the far end of the room. There's an outline of a human silhouette printed on the white background, and Sirius is the first to line up to take aim at it. Out of the corner of his eye, James sees Lily watch Sirius, and then Remus, and then Peter. When it is James' turn, he addresses Lily.

"If you stand back you can get a proper look watching me do it," James informs her. His eyes are back on the target in front of him before a broad smile appears on Lily's face. Dutifully, she lingers behind him, standing next to Sirius who has also come over to watch.

James' first shot is low, near the stomach of the would-be person, but his next two gradually get higher and his fourth and fifth pierce through the center of the paper, almost dead-on.

"He's always been the best," Sirius tells Lily, his voice a mixture of proud and envious. "Can't best the blighter no matter how often we come here. If you need pointers, I suppose you've picked the right bloke to date."

Lily smiles appreciatively at Sirius. She is still getting to know the boys – there are even things about James she is still learning – but she is grateful when Sirius is forthcoming, because she knows he is James' very best friend. And what's important to James is important to her.

"Excellent," she says finally to Sirius, and then reiterates her sentiment to James when he removes his ear protection and safety glasses. "Well done, James!"

"Thanks," he replies, unable to hold the grin off his face. "Need a few pointers?"

Lily smiles broadly herself as the four boys come closer to the cell of the range she will be shooting from. "Perhaps. How about you just watch me try it and afterward you can give me your pointers?"

"Sounds good," James agrees easily, as they line up behind her.

Lily exhales, straightening her features as she secures her safety equipment and steps forward. She fires quickly, four shots all surrounding the center of the target – where the heart of the person would be – and for good measure hits the forehead for her fifth shot. She studies her target thoughtfully, not entirely pleased with her precision, before turning around.

The boys are gaping at her, and it takes all she has to not burst at the seams laughing.

"Geez, Lily, where did you learn to shoot a gun like that?!" James asks, though she wonders how considering his jaw is on the floor.

Lily shrugs, "Beginner's luck, perhaps? Or maybe I've grown up going to the shooting range with my dad twice a month since I was seven?"

Immediately Sirius, Remus, and Peter break through their stupor and begin praising and questioning her in a loud jumble of voices she can scarcely make out. But she has eyes only for James, and his are only for her, too. The hazel has gone dark and intense, and there's a ferocity in his stare that makes her wish that they were alone somewhere. But there is time for that later – much later, actually. For they stay at the range for the next hour trying to best one another until hunger wins out and they go to the pub for supper and drinks. Sirius is so impressed by Lily that he offers to buy her dinner, which James agrees he can do if he also pays for James' meal. They walk back to Sirius and James' flat, James' arm wrapped around her shoulder as they laugh and laugh, and Lily reflects on how grateful she is for Hestia's prat boyfriend.

Lily isn't at all surprised in the month to follow when James tells her he loves her. When considering all the surprises they have in store for each other, she hopes he isn't surprised to hear her tell him she loves him too.