Disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR
Author's Note:
Thankyou to everyone who reviewed! You guys are great and I love hearing from you! All your encouragement and support just makes me want to write as fast as I can to keep you all happy :)
To WisConSin-BloNde I'm really glad you are enjoying the story! I haven't had time to look and see what Lily/James stories are out there that I really like but there are a few I'll try and find them for you soon! And as for you letting your readers know about this story that is fine with me as well, especially if they are as great of readers and reviewers as you say they are :)
For all of you out there waiting for more romance you are going to get some of it in this chapter and more of it than you can probably handle pretty soon as I get through the next few chapters. As I've stated before I know I'm off to a slow start but this story will most definately end up earning it's M rating later on. And in case anyone hasn't read it before I do post a short summary of what the next chapter will be about and the current title of it that is floating around it my head at the moment on my profile, so if you are the type that wants to know some of what is coming next feel free to have a look.
I'm really glad you are all still enjoying it so much...please keep the reviews coming I absolutely LOVE them! And I kinda need them for moral support ;)
Well here goes...
CHAPTER 15
Sweetness, Squabbles and Some Serious (& Sirius) Stuff
After what Lily considered to be a fiasco at James' she felt somewhat awkward. She had slept the rest of the day away on the Potter's hammock with James sitting beside her, his back against the ancient looking tree that made up half the hammocks' support. She had dozed until suppertime in which she'd nearly fallen asleep in her mashed potatoes as James' father regaled her and her friends with interesting tales about being an Auror.
"Lil, snap out of it." Marlene chortled snapping her fingers under Lily's chin. "You look like you are about to start snoring."
"I don't snore." She bit back defensively.
"Keep telling yourself that." Marlene teased.
James' mother frowned at her. "The potion I gave you today shouldn't have made you so tired. I noticed you slept outside all day as well."
"I haven't been sleeping well at all lately." Lily supplied. "I'm sure my body is just trying to catch up."
Now it was Dorcas' turn to frown at her. "What do you mean you haven't been sleeping well? For as long as I've known you, you've pretty much slept like the dead."
"Well I'm sure with Petunia vomiting the night away outside your door, that it would be hard to get any sleep at all." James provided with a grin.
Lily shot him a grateful smile as her friends chuckled at the joke. She didn't know why she felt okay telling him that she'd been having the worst dreams of her entire life when she didn't even want to admit to her friends that anything was wrong at all.
After dinner they all gathered back in the living room, where Lily assured James' parents for the sixtieth time that she was indeed feeling better and that the trip through the floo to Alice's wouldn't be a problem.
"I promise if I don't feel well once I get there I'll just stay with Alice." She assured them.
James crossed his arms over his chest and frowned at her.
"I don't like it. You were sick as could be yesterday and you've been exhausted all day. I really wish you'd just agree to give it one more night here."
Lily smiled at him. "I appreciate your concern Potter but I promise you I'll make it home safe and sound. I'll be owling you before you know it."
James sighed in defeat still obviously displeased with her leaving. He hugged her briefly, too briefly, and then Lily was stepping into the flames and flooing to the Prewetts' house.
Over a month later Lily still wasn't sure what she thought about any of it. The way James had treated her while she was sick had been extremely sweet. He'd even sacrificed spending time with the others to help take care of her. She'd later even heard from Alice that he pretty much spent most of the day of the party at her bedside reading a novel in case she woke up and needed anything. Sirius had had to drag him to the kitchen when it was time for cake.
It was difficult for her to understand just what it was that made him so devoted to her. Sometimes the intensity of it all was a tad bit unnerving.
In the time since the party their owling had continued and Lily had done her best to be as honest as possible with James. She had told him more about the dreams she was having and about what she wanted from the future. Afterwards she had received a letter from James that sounded so filled with yearning that it made her heart-rate pick up.
My Lily,
When you say things about life after Hogwarts and about having a family I find myself wishing I could jump forward in time to make sure I'm there with you. I know you wish I would rather not but I can't help saying that when I think of you, years from now, with children all about you I can only wish that I'm a part of that life. If my dreams were reality then I would be an even bigger part than you know.
I can't explain the way you make me feel sometimes. Like everything is spinning out of control but you and I are standing still. It's so hard for me to sit here and to be your friend when all I want to do is be more than that.
I'm sorry I know you don't want to hear that either.
There's just so much of you on my mind today that I'm having trouble focusing.
I'll tell you all about what I've been up to in my next letter I guess.
If only you knew how much I miss you!
James
After reading that letter she'd had to take a few minutes before she was able to breathe normally. He said so much in such few words. She wished she had the strength to admit to him that while she was fairly certain she wanted to give things a go with him, that she was also ridiculously afraid of giving him that chance.
Her old fears about not being everything he thought she was were still present and they clawed at her thoughts until she sometimes vowed she would never date James for fear of disappointing him. Yet, she somehow always came back to the realization that she wanted very badly to be more to him than a friend.
She was also still a bit daunted by the realization that there really was a rather large disparity between the two of them in social standing. She had always known the Potter name was big in the wizarding world but she hadn't realized that along with his impressive lineage he boasted a lot of wealth as well.
It had been obvious throughout school that James' things were always of good quality. That all his belongings were top of the line and that he could afford to buy his friends impressive gifts when he was so inclined. Yet, she'd always sort of pegged him as well off and not necessarily as the richer-than-Midas sort. It didn't help that she hadn't liked him enough before to really listen when the conversation shifted to talk of him or his friends or family.
Now that she knew just how wealthy he was she felt rather uneasy about his attention in a whole new way. Her family was lower middle class by definition. Her father worked while her mother stayed at home. She and Petunia had never lacked anything by any means but at the same time they'd also never been spoiled either. It was really the first time in her life that she had ever really considered herself to be somewhat not up to snuff.
While she and James continued to write and he continued to win her over, she also began to struggle internally with the idea of whether or not she was good enough for him.
"For Merlin's sake Evan's," She growled irritably to herself as she was getting dressed to head to Diagon Alley, "since when have you worried if you're good enough for a guy?"
But the thought had already taken hold and as much as she tried to shake it she couldn't. She was seriously starting to debate with herself why a guy like James was even giving her the time of day.
It hadn't helped either that in a couple of the other letters she had received from him he had mentioned that they had once again met up with some friends from school, Rhona Marks and Celeste Johnson, the two Ravenclaw girls that Lily never had the chance to meet due to being sick at the party were mentioned more than once. The thought of James spending time with other girls was a new source of frustration for her. Thinking about him having a good time with them had made her stomach and chest tighten up and she'd begun thinking of ways to hex the two girls until she had astonishingly realized that she was more than a little jealous.
As she made her way down the stairs to the breakfast table she could hear her mother and Petunia talking about the dinner party that her sister was going to attend that weekend. It was for Vernon's sister and had in fact been the source of their biggest row so far that summer.
Lily had come down the stairs the day before to find Petunia telling her mother that she needed her to take her shopping the next day. Rose Evans had inclined her head at Lily and informed Petunia that she was taking Lily shopping for school the next day.
"Mother I can't just show up in anything. I want to impress his family. I want them to like me. Why does Lily always come first?" Petunia whined pitifully.
"That's not what I said at all." Her mother admonished. "You know very well that I do my best to be as fair as possible between the two of you. I had already told Lily weeks ago that I would take her school shopping today so that she could work things out to meet up with her friends while we are there if she wished. I'm sorry but you will just have to wait until the day after."
"Can't she just meet up with her freakish friends and shop with them? I want to get this done tomorrow so that I won't be spending another day worrying about it. I've been panicking just since I learned of it yesterday. Please mum can't Lily just…contact someone and go with them?" Petunia pleaded.
Lily opened her mouth to say that she was sure one of her friends wouldn't mind her company and that she could try to work things out with them when Petunia had screeched at her.
"Oh don't even try it Lily! For once just let mum make the decision on her own. You'll do whatever you can to get your way all the time and I'm tired of always having to change my plans to accommodate your freakishness."
Anger bubbled up in Lily and she unthinkingly shot back, "Just because you weren't lucky enough to be born a witch doesn't mean you should be allowed to treat me horribly all the time because I am one!"
Two spots of color appeared on her sisters' cheeks and Petunia's eyes went wide with shock and Lily instantly regretted her words.
"Look I…" She began to apologize.
"No! I don't know where you got the ridiculous notion that I would ever want to be anything like you but understand this," Petunia shouted, "I would never want to be like you! An abnormal, freakish, weirdo who doesn't fit in anywhere! You aren't really like them and you aren't really like us! You're just a whole different breed of strange! I like my normal life and my mostly normal family and my normal boyfriend…"
"Last I checked being the size of a small whale doesn't constitute normalcy!" Lily bit back hotly.
Petunia's words were striking too close to her own fears and insecurities at the moment and she couldn't keep the dread that what her sister was saying was true out of her mind. It made her prickly and angry and confused enough to want to get back at her sister for her cruelty. It didn't help that she'd been completely frustrated about James lately either.
"Now girls, that's enough!" Rose Evans interjected. "Both of you are behaving badly and I won't have it. You'll apologize to each other this instant or neither of you will be going anywhere tomorrow!"
There was a long silence as the heat of their argument still sizzled between them, before Lily sighed irritably, "I'm sorry Petunia, I didn't mean the things I said. Not really."
Before her sister could reply she turned to her mother and said flatly, "Just go to town with Petunia tomorrow. I'll meet up with one of my friends and shop with them."
She had disappeared back up the stairs before either her mother or her sister could say anything more and she hadn't spoken to either of them since then. She had owled Alice and had arranged to meet her near the owl emporium that morning.
Once she finished dressing she made her way down the stairs and called a farewell to her mother and sister before dashing out the door and heading toward the bus stop. She would catch the bus and then the train to take her into London.
Upon entering the Leaky Cauldron awhile later Lily smiled at the familiarity of the place. She waved to the barkeep and headed out the back. After opening the archway she stepped into Diagon Alley and was confronted with a whole different feel from the place than she'd had around Christmas. People weren't as chatty or as lively in general, most seemed to want to get their errands done as quickly as possible so that they could be on their way.
Lily wandered past the shops until she was almost to Eeylops Owl Emporium. Not spotting Alice anywhere she decided to grab an ice-cream while she waited. As she licked the mint chocolate-chip from her cone she watched as people towed their children along closely and how they smiled tightly at one another. While everything was as busy as ever and there was still a magical feel to the place, there was also an underlying current of fear that hung in the air and it made Lily feel oddly unsettled.
She kept a lookout for Alice while she finished her cone and people watched but she wasn't prepared when someone put their hands over her eyes and said teasingly, "Guess who?"
Lily laughed and shrugged, "Um I have no idea."
The hands disappeared and Lily turned to see Gideon Prewett standing behind her. She stood up and smiled warmly.
"How are you?"
He grinned and moved around the bench to hug her and then sit next to her. "Fine, I've been enjoying the summer and Auror training. How about yourself?"
"I'd forgotten you were going to be an Auror. That's great! I'm glad you're getting on well. Things are the same as always for me. Home in the Muggle-world for the summer, so naturally things have been rather slow and boring on occasion. My dad does his best to get us to do all manner of family things this time of year though so that's been a pleasant distraction."
Gideon nodded at her words. "I'm sure. It's good to see that you're feeling better as well. Last I saw of you you were making a right mess of Potter's shoes."
Lily flushed crimson and nodded, "I still can't believe I did that."
"It wasn't a pretty sight let me tell you." Gideon chuckled. "But in Potter's case I think he'd gladly sacrifice his shoes if it meant you were in close proximity to him."
Lily's blush spread further and Gideon laughed harder before inclining his head. "Speaking of James the prat is headed this way."
Before she had even turned her head to look Lily found herself being swept up into a set of strong arms, her head pressed against a solid chest that smelled so familiar she would know who it was by scent alone.
"James," She breathed, as her body seemed to both sag with relief and tingle all over at being near him again.
"Lil, I saw you from over there and I just…" he pulled back to look at her, his smile stretching across his face. "I missed you Lily."
She grinned back and squeezed him tighter, very aware of how closely pressed together they were.
"I missed you too. It's wonderful to see you."
A throat cleared behind them and Gideon stood to shake James' hand. Lily stepped away as the two guys greeted one another.
"So what brings you to Diagon Alley?" James asked Gideon still smiling.
"Just needed to pick up a few things here and there. I saw Lily sitting here by herself so I decided to visit with her for a minute and then you showed up."
Lily thought she detected the slightest flicker of change in James' eyes at Gideon's words but she couldn't be sure before he was saying, "Well I'm glad you were keeping her company. It's not good for her to be wandering around alone in Diagon Alley."
She squared her shoulders and crossed her arms defensively at his tone. "I was waiting for Alice to show up. We arranged to meet at the Owl Emporium."
"What time was she supposed to be here?" James asked quirking a brow.
"Over forty minutes ago." Lily replied looking down at her watch and frowning.
"Well I…"
James was interrupted by a small figure coming and crashing into Lily with excessive force.
"Lils I'm so sorry! My mum is an awful bitch from Hell who wouldn't let me out this morning until every inch of my room was spotless and then she got upset because I was wearing what she called 'awful clothing' and then…"
Lily laughed and hugged her friend saying, "Breathe Alice. It's fine and I'm glad you are here now."
Alice looked up to see who Lily had been talking to and upon seeing her cousin she launched herself at him as well.
"Gideon!" She screeched. "Why do we hardly see each other?"
"Probably because I'm too busy spending time with my sister's rapidly growing brood of children and you are too busy snogging your boyfriend all the time."
"I'm not always snogging Frank I…"
"Alice!"
Turning at the sound of Frank's voice Alice rushed toward him down the street and instantly began kissing him senseless.
The other three laughed and shook their heads in amusement before James said, "Well there are a couple of items in Quality Quidditch Supplies that are calling my name and Sirius has probably already gotten his hands all over them."
Gideon grinned and said, "Well I'm off I'm going to go home and get some sleep while I can. You two have a good day and tell Alice I'm sure I'll see her soon."
He leaned down and hugged Lily goodbye whispering in her ear, "Try not to throw up on his shoes this time eh?"
She blushed crimson and waved goodbye as he ambled on down the street. As he disappeared from sight Lily noticed the frown on James' face.
"What's the matter?" She asked curiously.
He shook his head and smiled at her warmly. "Nothing. Would you like to go to the quidditch shop with me and Alice can catch up with us later?"
She nodded and called out to Alice that she would be with James, before the two of them set off.
He seemed distracted as they walked and Lily wondered what was on his mind.
"So you've been having a fun summer by the sound of it." She said softly very aware of him and how close together they were walking.
"It hasn't been too bad. My friends have kept me rather busy as you know and I've done a lot of lounging around." James shrugged stepping behind her for a moment to let a rather large group of people pass them by. "I've been thinking of you a lot." He said biting his lip as he stepped back into place beside her.
Lily nodded and tried to will away the butterfly sensation that was once again taking over her stomach.
"I've been thinking of you as well."
James sighed at her words and stopped her suddenly, pulling her toward the window of the nearest shop. He gripped her hand tightly as he tried to gather his thoughts.
"I know it's ridiculous of me but I've got to tell you a few things. Things I know you likely aren't ready to hear and things that I know sound comical coming from me but…"
He took a deep breathe and looked down at their joined hands.
"Firstly, I'm afraid to inform you that if you thought I was hopelessly addicted to you before, well I've gotten worse. I can't stop thinking about you. Missing you. Some days I hate myself for being so pathetic but there it is. Secondly I've made a few decisions about us. You aren't going to like them but I've made up my mind and you aren't going to change it. I've decided…"
He took another deep breathe before he raised his golden eyes to hers.
"I've decided I can't be your friend. Not without giving it my best to get you to consider letting me be something more to you. I know you haven't really thought of me the way I've thought of you for so long but damn Lily I can't just sit by and be just your friend without knowing if things could go further between us. I've tried to give you time and space and whatever you need in order for you to not see me as 'that stupid prat James Potter' but …" He paused and ran a hand through his already messy jet black hair and looked at her earnestly. "I've made the decision to pursue you, to try and win you over in any way that I can. I just thought it would be proper to give you fair warning."
He paused and Lily began to shift her weight from foot to foot as her nerves raced out of control. For the life of her she couldn't look away from him though. There was so much feeling in just the way he was looking at her that she found herself breathing rapidly in response to how quickly her heart was pounding.
"So this is your warning Lily Evans." He said firmly, his voice thick with emotion. "I'll leave you be today but…when September first rolls around and we are back at school things are going to be different. I'm going to convince you that I'm enough for you. That I can be what you want. That what there is between us is worth anything. Everything."
He smiled slowly and said softly, "Alright?"
"James I…" Lily began, but stopped as he squeezed her hand and shook his head.
He tugged lightly on her until she was flush up against him and he could place his other hand on the back of her neck, holding her gaze with his.
"Alright Lily?" He repeated softly once again.
She swallowed thickly and nodded.
"Alright James."
The words were no more than a whisper but it didn't matter. They were both aware of what they meant.
Lily didn't know how long they stood like that. Her right hand in his left one, his right hand at her neck with his thumb running along the bottom of her jaw. Her spare hand fisted in James shirt just beneath his ribs. She wasn't aware of who glanced at them or stared openly in curiosity. She wasn't aware that she was breathing deeply. She was only aware of James and of the look in his eyes as he stared down at her.
"When you look at me like that," She found herself saying softly, "It's enough to make me forget everything else."
James grinned and held her tighter.
"Good, just be with me." He rumbled back just as quietly.
She nodded. That sounded good to her.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
James nearly growled when someone pulled on his shoulder, jerking him away from Lily.
"Prongs, what in Merlin's name are you doing? You were supposed to meet me ages ago." Sirius said gesturing toward Quality Quidditch Supplies that was thirty feet away.
"Sorry Padfoot." He said trying to pull himself back into the here and now.
He sighed when Sirius caught sight of Lily and pounced on her.
"Lily-flower! I didn't see you there. Are you school shopping?" He asked enveloping her in a huge hug and forcing her to let go of James hand.
"I…um…yes." She managed shakily.
She looked flustered and off-kilter. James sighed softly. He was more than a little aware of what it was going to take to convince her that they needed each other. It didn't help that he knew she never went about anything unless she was absolutely certain it was the right thing to do. She had a hard time letting people in regardless and the fact that he'd scared away anyone who could ever have been potential boyfriend material for her didn't help him at all either, as she was now probably even more wary about what to expect from him and nervous about what he expected of her.
If only she knew that all he wanted was the right to call her his. To say that she belonged to him and no one else and that she wanted him for her own in return. If she could just give him that he would die a happy man.
"James? Hel-lo! Are you awake mate?"
He snapped his head around when he realized Sirius was speaking to him.
"What?"
"I said are you ready to go look at that new broomstick? Lily's already agreed to come with." His best friend explained.
"Oh…ya, right let's go." He answered looking at Lily again.
She looked at him and bit her lip. A tell-tale sign that she was nervous. James grinned and grabbed her hand.
"Come on Evans," He said trying to act jovial and natural, "We'll have you look over the merchandise and give us your opinion."
He dragged her along into the shop and before long he and Sirius had her laughing and smiling and feeling more like herself. But every time their gazes locked James felt that something, that strange pull that always made him swear there were forces beyond his control telling him he was supposed to be with Lily Evans.
And if he wasn't mistaken, he could swear she was now aware of it too.
OOOOOOOOOOOOO
"So are you gonna tell me what happened?" Sirius questioned as they entered their last shop of the day.
"What do you mean?" James asked searching the items in the apothecary for the ones he needed.
"Don't play dumb with me mate. I know something happened. There was so much going on between the two of you today that I felt like I was running full out just to keep up. What happened between you and her?"
James fiddled with the handle of one of the scoops for potion ingredients and thought over what to tell Sirius. Lily had left them once Alice arrived in the bookstore and told her they needed to catch up. James had let her go willingly, well aware that she needed both time and space to think over his earlier declaration. He could only hope that she would realize he was right and that not testing the waters between them wasn't fair to either of them.
"I told her I couldn't be just friends with her anymore." James said finally, moving on down the shelves and trying to sound more casual than he felt.
"What did she say to that?" Sirius exclaimed following closely on his heels.
"She said 'alright'."
"That's it? Just alright? You told her you wanted to be more than friends right?" James nodded and Sirius frowned. "So that's it? You told her that and she said 'alright' and that's all?"
"That's all I would let her say." James replied feeling frustrated. "I wanted her to think about it. To give it time to sink in, to actually consider the idea that I might be right, that we might be great together if she'd just give us a chance. So she said 'alright' because that's all I wanted her to say."
"For Merlin's sake James you could have at least kissed her or…"
"I know okay! I know what I could and could not have done and I know I probably shouldn't even have done what I did, but seeing her with Gideon this morning made my insides scream and before I knew it I found myself telling her that I cared about her more than ever and that I was going to start actively pursuing her in a romantic way!" James fumed. "I don't know what came over me. I planned to tell her later, when we were already back at school and…"
He trailed off and leaned his head against one of the taller shelves.
"I'm a complete idiot I know but…she makes me do crazy things. Want things I shouldn't."
Sirius grinned and put an arm around his friends' shoulders to steer him toward the ingredients they actually needed.
"You're a seventeen year old virgin mate, I think you are entitled to want as much as you damned well please."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
At the end of the day as James and Sirius made their way toward the Leaky Cauldron, where they were supposed to meet up with James' parents their attention was caught by a loud shrieking voice up ahead.
"Godric help me I think that's my mother." Sirius said swallowing thickly and squaring his shoulders as he marched ahead.
As they neared the noise James noticed that a crowd was gathered around two shouting people and his stomach dropped as he realized that apart from Sirius' mother the other figure was Lily.
"…You're nothing but filth! MUDBLOOD trash that isn't good enough to lick my sons feet much less entertain romantic ideas about him! You belong in a back-alley brothel somewhere…"
"Don't play the saint with me you awful bitch! I'm not the one who treated my son so badly he felt it necessary to go and live with someone else! Just because he isn't evil and nasty like the rest of you! Just because he's actually a wonderful person who gives a damn about others! If anyone isn't fit to lick his feet it's you! I may not have your precious bloodlines but at least I have the good sense to treat your son the way he deserves !" Lily shouted back hotly.
"Your nothing little girl! At least my son knows well enough to put you where you're useful! Life on your back won't be so hard as trying to stand on those wretched Mudblood feet!"
Sirius forcefully shoved his way through the crowd and stepped between the two combatants, James was right on his heels.
"Hello mum I see you've been making friends again." Sirius drawled idly his voice betraying the heavy emotion James knew he must be feeling.
"Just chatting with your little Mudblood whore," his mother spat.
"Don't call her that. You don't know anything about me or my friends and it would make my day if you'd agree to never call me your son again either." Sirius bit back venomously.
"Oh trust me I quit claiming you long ago my boy! Still, I'd at least prefer you kept yourself clear of the taint this one brings with her. Good blood is good blood whether you're a bad apple or no and I despise the notion of you diluting it with something as muck-filled as her."
Sirius stared at his mother with pure venomous hatred. He'd never wanted to hurt someone so much as he wanted to hurt her in that moment.
"I hope you die a cold lonely death you fucking horrid bitch!" He bit out scathingly before turning to his friends and ushering them away from her.
As they moved off he heard her call back at him, "At least I still have one good son!"
James led them to a small alcove that was near the Leaky Cauldron. Before he could speak Lily launched herself at Sirius holding him about his middle and burying her face in his shoulder.
"I'm so sorry!" She said sounding choked. "I didn't mean to yell and curse at your mother like that…I only…the things she was saying about you were awful! I wanted to hex her for the way she talked about you! Alice kept pulling me back so that I wouldn't just up and slug her…"
Lily pulled back and looked up at Sirius whose eyes were still black as night he was so angry.
"You listen to me Sirius Black. I don't care who your blasted mother is or what she says about you. I know you're wonderful. You are a more loyal friend than anyone could ever ask for and I care about and respect you so much. If your family can't see you for how absolutely amazing you are then they don't deserve you!" Lily paused and James watched as she swallowed back the tears that were threatening to spill over. "If people like you and me let the circumstances of our birth get in the way of who we are or what we are destined to become then we are letting them win. And I'll be damned if I don't go down as the best damn witch this side of Iceland!"
Sirius chuckled at her words and pulled her tight against him.
"Damnit Evans," He breathed roughly, "You really take the steam out of a bloke you know that?"
"Does that mean you forgive me for calling your mother an awful bitch?" Lily asked meekly as her face pressed against Sirius' chest.
"I suppose so considering I called her a fucking horrid one." Sirius said back leaning his cheek against her head.
They were all silent for a moment, Lily and Sirius recovering their calm while James and Alice leaned against one another waiting.
After a time Sirius said softly, "You know Evans if James wouldn't have claimed you when we were eleven I would most definitely marry you right now."
He winked at James over Lily's shoulder and smiled cheekily.
Lily chuckled and pulled back, "You liar, we all know you're sweet on Mar…"
Sirius covered her mouth with his hand.
"Don't even say it." He groaned. "It will only make it worse."
Lily nodded a smile now in her eyes as Sirius lowered his hand away.
"So I guess my reputation is making the rounds then?" She said chuckling softly. "I mean if your mother's heard we're involved then who knows who else it has gotten to."
"My guess is everyone in England at this point. I think they might even have heard my mum's shouting in Ireland but you can't be certain. I just wish she would have mentioned how amazingly satisfied you were." Sirius teased and Lily punched him on the arm.
Alice moved forward and gave Lily a slight squeeze. "Well we definitely had our fill of excitement for the day." She said grinning. "Are you ready to go home now?"
At Lily's nod they moved off.
James kept shooting glances at her as they made their way toward the Leaky Cauldron. She looked alright now but he could tell that they day as a whole had shaken her.
As Sirius and Alice passed through the doorway into the pub he caught her arm and held her back pulling her to the side and pressing her up against the wall.
"Are you alright?" He asked seriously. "I mean really?"
She sighed and let her head fall back against the wall for a moment while her eyes slid shut. After a few seconds she nodded and said, "As alright as I can be after a day like today."
James nodded and when her eyes opened he said softly, "You have no idea what you did for him back there. Telling him those things. Meaning them. I try to convince him all the time that he's better than them, that they don't deserve him. It's not the same coming from me though. I've been his best friend for too long. He's of the opinion that I have to love him no matter what. He needed that. Thank you."
Without saying anything else James leaned down and captured her lips quickly, catching the taste of her and feeling every inch of his body come alive.
"Can I take you home?" He asked softly reaching up and letting his thumb stroke the full lower lip he had just brushed with his own.
She shook her head. "Alice is going to take me."
James nodded and before he could question himself he leaned down and kissed her quickly once more.
"Don't forget." He said knowing his voice was too thick and his grip on her jaw a little too tight. "One way or another I'm going to convince you I'm right for you."
He grabbed her hand and dragged her inside tugging her unceremoniously over to Alice and hugging her fiercely for a moment before marching off to find his parents.
"James…" She called out stopping him.
As he turned and his eyes locked with hers he knew that she was scared. Terrified of everything he was offering her and more.
"I won't forget."
He nodded and tried not to put a hand to where his heart had clenched in his chest as he moved away from her and forced himself to not look back.