Author's Note:
Hey Everyone! I hope you're all doing great! Thanks so much for all the Reviews! They really do make my day :)... So this is more of a filler chapter, with one important even included, and it helps me lead into what will happen in the next few. I changed a few things around after looking at my plotline and I think I'm now set to go for the next couple chapters!
I just wanted to say thankyou to all of you who have stayed with me this whole time or who have really enjoyed this story so far! I know it's been slow going for some of you who were probably hoping that this story would live up to its M rating a lot earlier (I promise I'll get there though, its not too far off) It really means a lot to me that all of you have been so wonderfully supportive! Please continue to review and let me know what you think!
To It Rhymes With 7 I hope you had a happy birthday and I'm sorry I was one day late with this chapter!
Well as usual here goes...
CHAPTER 20
A Date, A Kiss and What's to Come
A little after a month and a half into term was the first Hogsmeade weekend followed the next weekend by the first quidditch match. Everyone was excited, especially the seventh years who had more work than they ever would have imagined possible in their NEWT classes.
Walking into their common room after quidditch practice one evening James spotted Lily pouring over her Defense Against the Dark Arts book and working on their latest essay.
He moved to sit next to her and she looked up at him with a smile.
"Hi, how was practice?"
"Pretty good. I think we'll be ready for sure come next weekend." He said leaning forward to kiss her lightly. "What are you doing?"
He followed her movements with his eyes as she sighed, stretched her arms above her head and then rolled her neck saying, "Working on this week's homework so that I can actually have a good time this weekend and not have to feel guilty."
"I see." He answered back gruffly his eyes still on her body. "You've been working hard a lot lately."
"Well not all of us are blessed with a ridiculous amount of talent." She teased. "I actually have to study this stuff a little to understand how it works."
James nodded and leaned back against the couch letting his left hand move to her lower back to knead the tense muscles there.
"That feels good." She moaned lightly, then asked quietly. "So how is it that you get everything so easily? With school I mean. It seems like we sit and listen to the lecture, which you don't always pay attention to, and then suddenly you just do whatever it is without any real thought or effort."
James shrugged closing his eyes and continuing to rub circles on her back.
"I can't really explain why I get it, I just always have. Magic comes naturally to me. It's like flying. When I'm flying I don't really have to constantly sit there and think 'okay I have to tell the broom where I want it to go', it's just instinctive. It's the same with magic." He explained lightly. "Sirius has always been the same way; I think it's why we understand each other so well. I mean don't get me wrong there are things I've had to look over to study, like the theory behind a certain spell, or what to do if it goes awry. But it's almost as if magic has just always been so much a part of me that I just understand it without having to know the specific how or why."
He heard her sigh heavily. "That must be nice. I wish I didn't have to pour over all of this all the time."
"You go overboard and you know it." He smiled. "You always want to be sure you have it absolutely right before you attempt it. Either that or you want to perfect what you learned in class so you do things over and over until you're satisfied. We both know you can do most things without having to study so much."
She laughed at his words. "Well I suppose you're somewhat right." She admitted. "I could be a little less serious about it all."
"Mmmm." James breathed back. "Just don't go changing on my account, I like that you're hardworking and I'm glad you take such an interest in your studies."
She beamed at him, though he didn't see it through his closed eyes and began to gather up her things.
"I've had enough of this for tonight though I think."
James reluctantly sat up and rubbed his eyes tiredly beneath his glasses.
"You look like you should go to sleep." She informed him as she stood to take her things to her room.
He caught her about her waist and pulled her over to him, positioning her so that she stood facing him between his knees. He leaned forward holding her about the hips to let his head rest against her stomach and said, "Sleep can wait. I want to see you for a bit first."
He breathed deeply against her stomach and smiled as the smell that was so very Lily filled his senses.
"What is it that you smell like?" He asked. "I never have been able to figure it out."
"Well my soap smells like flowers." She answered back; James could sense the blush that was creeping up over her.
"Do you ever wear perfume?"
She began running her hands through his hair as he kept his forehead pressed against her belly. "Not usually, though I have some that I wear on special occasions and the like."
He nodded against her and let himself enjoy the sensation of her hands running through his hair. After a while he reluctantly pulled back even more tired than before and no doubt looking as if he'd just flown through a tornado as his hair was bound to be a disaster.
"I wanted to ask you something?" He said looking up at her intently. "I was wondering if you would want to spend this Hogsmeade trip with me."
She grinned. "Of course. Why wouldn't I?"
He smiled. "Well I sort of meant with just me. As in we leave our friends behind. Like a date."
"You want me to go on a date with you? To Hogsmeade?" She questioned curiously.
James nodded. "I just figured I've never actually taken you on one and when Minnie was lecturing me the other day it occurred to me that while we've done a lot of things together most of it has been with our friends around. Apart from our library time we never really spent a lot of alone time together until we moved into this place." He said gesturing to their surroundings. "So would you want to? Spend the day with just me that is?"
James laughed when she launched herself into his lap, dropping all her things in the process, and began kissing his jaw, his neck, his nose, whatever she could find.
"Of…course…I…will…" She said punctuating each word with a kiss before pulling back and smiling down at him brilliantly. "Have I ever told you how incredibly sweet you are?"
He grinned back, "Only about once a day."
"Well that's because you are and I would love to spend the day with you this weekend."
He leaned forward and caught her lips with his own wrapping his arms around her and pulling her tight against him.
"Good." He said finally. "I can't wait."
"Me neither." She whispered back letting her lips find his once more.
"I need help!" Lily called out entering her old dorm early Saturday morning. "Like seriously! Alice wake up! Marli…Dor!"
Her friends all groaned, each trying to ignore her in their own way.
"I have a date remember? I need you guys…"
"Seriously Lils…It's like 6am. Leave us alone for another hour." Marlene groaned flopping over onto her stomach and trying to bury her head with the pillow.
"I'm nervous okay." Lily answered back moving to sit at the end of Marlene's bed. "I've never been on a date with James. Not really."
"It's Hogsmeade Lily, it's not like you don't know what to expect." Marlene grumbled from underneath her pillow, her hand flapping irritably at her friend. "You guys have spent loads of time there before."
"As friends." Lily stated. "Now I'm dating him. So I need help. What do I wear? How do I do my hair? What kind of…"
"Oh for the love of Merlin!" Alice shouted jumping up out of bed and moving to grab Lily and yank her off of Marlene's bed.
She towed her to the bathroom and shoved her through the door. "Go take an hour long shower for starters. Relax. Wash your hair, shave, soap up and get extremely clean. Then we'll work on the rest of you." She ordered shutting the door in Lily's face.
"Alice I love you." Dorcas called out groggily.
"You lot can thank me later." The petite girl bit out jumping back into her four poster and snuggling down into the warmth.
An hour and a half later Lily was watching in confusion as her friends picked out her clothes, discussed what to do with her hair and began to talk about eye shadow and lipstick. She was beginning to think she must have skipped classes somewhere that explained how one was supposed to go about being a girl. Why had she never learned these things before?
"Because Lily," Dorcas had answered when she'd asked, "you've never needed any of this. You still don't. You've always been very naturally pretty, something for which the rest of us would like to slap you but there it is."
"But I don't think…"
"Oh stop fishing for compliments." Dorcas muttered cutting her off. "I'm right and that's that."
Lily had remained silent after that, taking in all that was going on around her with a curious gaze.
After getting dressed in the outfit Dorcas told her to and sitting down to let Alice do her hair, followed by letting Marlene put her make-up on Lily felt as if she'd run a marathon.
"Stand up and let us see what you look like." Alice ordered as Marlene finished up.
Lily obediently stood and let them look her over. One by one identical grins split their faces. When they began to high five each other she bit her lip worriedly.
"Do I look okay?"
Marlene stepped forward and led her over to the mirror. "Lily honey, you look more than okay."
Lily's eyes widened at the reflection that met her in the mirror. It was her but different. An auburn haired beauty stood looking back at her and Lily couldn't keep herself from stepping forward just to make sure it was really her.
The girl in the reflection had her eyes and features but more so. Her eyes stood out even more than usual thanks to whatever Marlene had done with the eye-shadow. Her lips looked fuller, her skin softer and she wasn't sure if the pretty blush that covered her cheeks was real or not.
Her hair had been tamed into soft curls that fell prettily about her face and shoulders and down her back and her bangs had been controlled to sweep across her forehead in a very appealing way. Lily smiled at the effect it had.
Her outfit finished off the whole thing. She was wearing her tightest pair of dark blue jeans with black flats and a black v-neck sweater that fit her form, perfectly showing off her curves.
All in all the girl who was looking back at her was still Lily Evans but a whole new Lily Evans.
"How did you guys manage this?" She breathed finally.
"Oh please," Marlene said waving her hands in dismissal. "It was nothing. It's not hard at all to highlight your best features Lil."
"Well thankyou." She said suddenly feeling very nervous. "I really appreciate it."
"James is going to flip out when he sees you." Alice said smirking excitedly.
"Do you think he'll like it?" Lily questioned worriedly.
Her friends all rolled their eyes and ushered her toward the doorway. They walked with her out of the Gryffindor common room and all the way to the entrance hall where they converged around her hiding her from view.
"What are you…"
"Shhh." Dorcas hushed. "Let us have our fun."
Lily quirked an eyebrow at her but didn't argue following along to the place they normally met up with the Marauders.
"Damn," Marlene breathed suddenly. "Looks like you weren't the only one who took time to look good today Lily."
Alice nodded and purred teasingly, "You're man looks good enough to eat."
"Oh damn…this was a bad idea. A really really bad idea. Why did I ever…"
"Shut up Lils we're almost there." Alice cut her off tucking in tighter to Marlene to keep Lily from view.
"Hello there Potter." Marlene called out as they came to a stop. "Aren't we looking dashing today?"
"Leave him alone McKinnon he's anxious enough as it is." Sirius chortled.
"Well I suppose we won't keep him waiting then." Marlene answered back reaching behind her to pull Lily forward.
She stumbled a bit before righting herself, looking at her feet nervously. After a time she lifted her gaze up nervously unsure of his reaction.
Marlene hadn't been lying. James looked incredibly handsome. His jet black hair, though messy as always had been cut and it looked good on him. He wore a dark blue sweater with a white T-shirt underneath that made his eyes look even more golden brown. Honestly Lily was stunned that he could look even more handsome than usual.
"Say something." She heard Sirius hiss.
James suddenly closed the space between them and put his hands on her hips gripping her tightly.
"You look…." He trailed off swallowing thickly as he let his eyes scan her whole body again, "wow….I mean really…" He cleared his throat and locked his gaze with hers. "You look incredibly beautiful Lily."
She smiled and flushed crimson.
"Say thankyou." She heard Marlene mutter from behind her.
"Er…thankyou." She managed softly. "You look wonderful as well. I like your hair."
She reached out and ran her fingers through it, comparing it to it's former length and enjoying the softness.
The familiar gesture must have put James at ease because he took a deep breath and grabbed her hand, lacing their fingers together.
"Ready to go?'
Lily nodded and walked along side him toward the castle doors.
"Sweet Merlin what did you do to Evans?" Sirius breathed as he watched them walk away.
"Nothing. We just dolled her up a bit is all." Dorcas answered back smirking.
"Well I for one think we ought to keep the 'doll'-ing to a minimum. I don't know if it's fair to the male population of Hogwarts for that girl to walk around looking like that all the time." Remus answered back sounding just as stunned as Sirius.
"It's not fair to the female population you mean." Marlene said grinning.
"I don't think it's fair to anyone." Sirius stated dazedly. "She like sparkles or something when she's like that."
"That's just your imagination getting carried away Black." Alice said chuckling. "Besides there should be a law against James Potter being allowed to dress like that." She added nodding her head in James' direction.
"Definitely." Dorcas and Marlene added simultaneously.
"Want to follow them?" Sirius blurted suddenly.
The six friends looked at each other mischievously and then rushed forward to get out of the castle.
"So what are we going to do first?" Lily questioned, doing her best to quell the butterflies that were taking over her stomach.
They had reached the village and had had to stand at the entrance and wait for their friends to go by as they cackled madly and shouted things they thought were funny at them.
"I was thinking Gladrags actually. I've got to pick up some new dress robes so if you don't mind coming along…"
Lily shook her head. "I don't mind at all. What do you need dress robes for?"
"I'm not actually sure yet. My mum sent me a letter telling me I needed new ones but she didn't say for what. I think it's one of those instances where she is two steps ahead of my dad. I'm assuming that he'll mention what they are for in his next letter because he probably told her he wanted to give me the news but she couldn't keep herself from mentioning that I needed them." James explained shaking his head at the thought of his parents.
After James found some new dress robes, while Lily browsed through the women's section of the shop, they headed for the Three Broomsticks.
"We could go to Honeyduke's first if you want." James offered.
"Nah, I'm hungry. Lunch sounds like a good plan."
After all the nerves of the morning Lily was finally starting to calm down. Things were feeling normal between her and James again and she wasn't so self-conscious about her appearance.
She was relaxed enough that she merely giggled and kissed him back when he stopped to kiss her in the middle of the lane, even with people passing by on both sides. He had one arm wrapped about her and the other holding her jaw and her palms were pressed against his chest. She didn't even hesitate when he deepened the kiss and began full on snogging her in the middle of Hogsmeade.
"…James!...hello there…"
Suddenly a familiar voice broke in and James jerked his head up swiftly to yelp, "Dad!"
Lily spun around to find herself face to face with James' parents. Who were both smiling brightly and looking more than a little amused.
"Um we were just…That is I…" James stuttered.
"Oh we could see what you were doing just fine. It was kind of hard to miss." His dad teased.
"Jason don't you're embarrassing poor Lily." Charlotte admonished gesturing to Lily who had partially buried her face in her hands as it was as bright as her hair.
"What are you guys doing here?" James asked recovering from the shock and moving forward to hug his parents.
"I had a meeting here this morning. You're father had a little time off as well and agreed to come along to keep me company. It got over a little while ago so we were going to grab some lunch and shop a bit. We didn't realize it was a Hogsmeade weekend until we saw all the students." His mother explained.
"We were just about to go have lunch ourselves." James admitted.
"Well we'll join you then. That is if you don't mind." Jason said still smiling widely.
"Actually Lily and I were sort of on a date and…"
"Don't be silly." Lily said turning to look at him suddenly. "We have plenty of Hogsmeade weekends James. How often do you get to see your parents throughout the year?"
"You don't mind?" He asked her softly reaching out to tuck a stray curl behind her ear.
"Not at all."
Lily gasped softly when he leaned down and kissed her quickly, then slapped him on the arm.
"Behave yourself." She scolded. "You're embarrassing me."
"Oh please, because my parents are here? How many times have I told you they're ridiculously all over each other? It would be a bit hypocritical of them to.."
"Hush. Let's go. I'm hungry." Lily interrupted grabbing his hand and towing him along toward the Three Broomsticks.
James parents chuckled as he rolled his eyes at his girlfriend and gestured for them to follow.
Once inside the establishment they made their way to an open booth in the back and settled in.
"So I see things are going alright between the two of you?" Charlotte said diving right in.
James nodded while Lily blushed again. "They're going great."
"I have to admit I was pretty surprised when James wrote us to say you two were finally together. Mind you it might have had something to do with the fact that he'd charmed the letter and what I heard when I opened it was James' voice screaming.. 'SHE SAID YES! SHE SAID YES!' It took me a few minutes just to get the spell off in order to actually read the letter. Which was also filled with a lot of 'she said yes's." His mum teased.
"Well I was excited." James replied unabashedly.
"Understandably so," his dad chuckled.
Rosmerta appeared just then to take their orders.
"So rumor has it James Potter finally got Lily Evans to go out with him. Is this true?" She asked once she'd written it all down.
"I take it you've already seen Sirius today." James said laughing.
Rosmerta nodded. "Congratulations James. It's been a long time coming eh?"
"Worth the wait though." James answered back looking at Lily and slinging an arm around her shoulders.
Rosmerta nodded and then winked at them before making her way back to the bar.
"Exactly how long have you been waiting to date Lily?" His mum asked once the woman had walked away.
"Six years." James answered.
Lily elbowed him and he quirked an eyebrow at her saying, "What?"
"You can't count when we were eleven."
"Why not?"
"Because you don't date people when you're eleven. It's silly. What are you going to do sit in the corridors holding hands and telling each other how adorable you think the other persons freckles are?" She stated shaking her head at him.
"Merlin, I'd forgotten you had freckles!" James exclaimed suddenly. "They used to be all across your nose and cheeks." He said tracing the place where they used to be with his finger.
"Don't remind me." Lily said rolling her eyes. "It took forever for them to start fading and even speeding up the process magically took a long time."
"You used magic to get rid of them?" James frowned. "Why? I liked them."
"Well I didn't." Lily wrinkled her nose. "They made me feel conspicuous."
"Sweetheart you have red-hair it's not like you're going to blend in with the crowd." James chortled.
Lily shrugged and turned back to James' parents.
"So how have things been?" She asked pleasantly.
As Charlotte and Jason told them about what they had been up to since the start of term, Rosmerta arrived with their food.
As they were eating and discussing what was going on in the ministry a voice broke in.
"Looks like you're girlfriend's even prettier than I thought Potter. Maybe I'd keep her under me for awhile afterall." Mulciber called as he strolled by heading for the door.
Lily instantly threw herself into James' lap as he attempted to jump up and go after him.
"Don't. You know it's not worth it." She pleaded wrapping her arms around his shoulders and trying to pull his gaze away from the door.
"I forgot I owed that bastard for last time." James said angrily.
"James really, you've got to let this go. They are always going to do this. I'm never going to stop being what I am and they aren't going to stop treating me differently for it." She said cupping his face in her hands and forcing him to look at her.
"You know that's not it. They don't treat the other muggleborns that way. They insult them sure, but you don't hear them saying the things they say about you." James said seriously.
"Yes they do."
"No they don't. I swear Lily if any one of them talks about shagging you one more time…"
"Why does that make a difference?" She questioned tiredly.
"Because it's not like they're making idle threats. Eventually they'll be in with Voldemort and I'll be damned if they think they can-"
"For the love of Merlin don't say it!" Lily shrieked clapping her hands over his mouth. "I don't want to hear it. I know what they say alright!"
She sighed tiredly and shifted across his lap to slide out of the booth.
"Where are you going?" James asked worriedly catching her hand.
"To the loo." She said flatly. "To try and regain some of the poise I walked in here with."
"Lils…" James trailed off as she moved away ignoring him.
He turned back to the table where his parents sat each with an unreadable expression.
"Don't lay in to me alright. I know I shouldn't let them get a rise out of me but you have no idea how vile they've been to her." James supplicated.
"Well judging from what that prat just said, I'd say I have a fair inclination of how they've been." His father said frowning.
"She's right though. My over-reacting about it isn't going to solve anything. I just…" James trailed off lifting his glasses so that he could rub the bridge of his nose, "…I can't stand the things they say about her. Mucliber's the worst. He's always on about how pretty she is and about how he'd like to have a go with her if I get tired of her."
"James," His mum said consolingly, "Things will get better. You'll see. They'll quit harassing her after a while."
He shook his head. "I think you're wrong. They're only biding their time. They're all in line with Voldemort. Most of them are set to be Death Eaters once we're done with Hogwarts. I don't see them lightening up any time soon."
"Why are they so fixated on Lily?" His dad questioned.
"I think it's because of the way she is. Lily is smart and popular with most people, and she's Head Girl this year. I think it bothers them that she's been so successful being a Muggleborn." He sighed. "It doesn't help that she's downright gorgeous either. I mean did you see her today?"
His parents both smiled at his words and nodded.
"She always looks lovely," his mum answered, "but she looked extra lovely today you're right."
"I can't get over it sometimes. I mean she actually said yes. She's been my girlfriend for nearly two months now." James said dazedly.
"Well we're definitely happy for you son. We like Lily a lot." His dad said grinning.
"You're going to need to apologize to her though James." His mum put in commandingly. "I think you embarrassed her further by making a big deal of that whole thing earlier."
"I know. Don't worry I'll make it up to her." He promised.
"And you'll need to teach that git Mulciber what's what as well." His dad put in firmly, holding up a hand to silence his wife. "Don't start Char. You know I'm right. He doesn't have to do it outright but I'm sure that between James and his lads they'll come up with some sort of retaliation. That idiot has it coming."
Surprisingly James mum just sighed and nodded.
Just as Rosmerta was moving away after checking up on them Lily returned.
"Hey," James said jumping up. "You alright?"
Lily nodded and slid back into the booth.
"I'm sorry," She said to James' parents. "I don't know what to say."
"There's nothing to be sorry for." Charlotte insisted.
"So Lily I take it my son has been treating you properly." Jason put in switching the subject.
Lily grinned. "He certainly has. James has been…well nothing short of an absolute gentleman."
"See I told you." James said smiling proudly.
"Well forgive me for wanting to hear it first hand and not through one of your letters." Jason answered smirking at his son.
"So what's you're family like Lily?" Charlotte asked curiously.
They spent the rest of their time together discussing her family and the Muggle world versus the Wizarding one. James parents were especially interested in many of the Muggle inventions Lily described. By the time they exited the building it was already nearing late afternoon and they had finished their lunch a very long time before.
"Well we've stayed far longer than we should've." Jason put in. "It's time we were heading back."
If Lily was surprised when James' mum leaned forward to hug her she didn't show it.
"Goodbye dear. We'll see you both soon. Christmas is just around the corner afterall."
James' dad nodded. "By the way I meant to mention it earlier but forgot, there's going to be a ministry ball this winter. They're trying to keep the moral up I think. That is what you're mother wrote to you about dress robes for James."
"How did you…" Charlotte began flushing.
Jason chuckled and slid his arm around his wife's shoulders. "If I didn't know you that well by now Char, then I'm a poor excuse for a husband."
"Can I bring Lily?" James asked excitedly.
Jason nodded, "Of course."
James smiled at her and she smiled back weakly.
"You don't want to go?" He said reading the hesitation on her face.
"Of course I do. That sounds…great." Lily finished lamely.
"Why don't you want to go?" James questioned.
"It's nothing really I'm just tired. I would love to go with you thank you for inviting me." Lily said seriously grabbing James' hand and squeezing it.
"It's settled then." His dad said jovially, and then he too leaned forward to hug Lily. "We'll see you two around Christmas then. That is unless we can make it to one of your matches James, but I'll be honest it's not looking likely."
After a few more farewells and smiles the two couples parted ways Lily and James heading toward Honeydukes and James' parents heading up the lane to apparate home.
"We'll buy you some sweets and then head back." James said wrapping his arm around Lily's shoulders. "I want to spend some time with you since my parents sort of muddled up our date a bit."
Lily grinned at him and allowed him to lead her away.
"So McKinnnon what's it to be then, Fanged Frisbee or Exploding Quill?" Sirius asked holding both up to show Marlene and grinning excitedly.
"Buy them both you know you want them." She said back smiling slightly.
"Very true." Sirius said.
The two of them made their purchases and then wandered up the lane, heading toward the Three Broomsticks where the rest of their friends were supposed to be waiting.
"Oh look there go Lily and James." Marlene pointed.
Sirius looked up to see the couple walking toward Honeydukes. James arm was slung over Lily's shoulders, as she leaned into him smiling lovingly.
"Those two are completely hopeless." He said chortling.
"I think it's nice." Marlene said smiling. "They are good together."
"I agree. Don't get me wrong I love that James has managed to get the girl of his dreams, and I think it's bloody fantastic that the two of them are getting on so well, I just always sort of knew they would be this way."
"What way?" Marlene questioned.
"Perfect for each other. Like they fit together. You could always just see it when they were arguing. There was so much there even when she was upset at him and he was irritated at her for not understanding. You could always tell that if they would look past what was keeping them apart they would realize there was something there. Something incredible." Sirius said his voice envious.
"I never pegged you for a romantic Sirius Black." Marlene teased.
"It's just that he's my best mate." Sirius supplied shrugging. "I've wanted him to be happy for so long that I guess I just feel a bit relieved that Evans finally came around you know."
Marlene nodded. "And what about you? I'm sure James wants the same thing for his best friend."
Sirius shrugged again and felt heat creep into his cheeks. "Even if I did like someone it could never go anywhere."
"Why not?"
He shrugged again keeping his gaze on the lane ahead of them. "I'm not the type of bloke you bring home to mum and dad. Sure I fool around with a few birds here and there but I'm not the type to settle down with someone when I know they can do better." He said feeling like he was revealing more than he wanted to.
"That's ridiculous. You're a great guy." Marlene protested. "A girl would be lucky to have a lad like you. Especially if you could devote even a fraction of that troublesome nature to keeping her happy."
"If I were ever to get a girl, one I truly cared about that is, I'd devote more than a fraction of myself to her." He put in earnestly.
Suddenly she yanked on his arm, pulling him into a narrow alley between two shops.
"Look…" She said her voice sounding a bit shaky. "I'm going to do this now because I might never get up the courage to do it again. Just promise me you won't go running away afterward alright."
Sirius looked at her in confusion. She was still gripping his forearm tightly as she looked at him intently.
"Alright I promise." He consented, confused as to what she meant.
"Good…alright then I'll…" She looked about her for a moment and then deciding there was no help for it just dropped all her bags onto the ground and threw her arms about his neck.
Sirius was stunned to say the least when her lips met his. He was being kissed by Marlene McKinnon, the girl he'd been dreaming about for half his school career.
He stood still as a statue for a second as shock ruled his body. Then just as suddenly as she had he dropped his purchases as well and wrapped his arms about her.
Her lips were as smooth and velvety as he had always thought they would be. Taking control of the kiss he backed her up against the alley wall and deepened it. She tasted like mint and Sirius groaned pressing himself more firmly up against her.
Sweet Merlin he was snogging McKinnon. And it was hot! He gripped her tightly wanting her closer even though their bodies wouldn't permit it. Her hands had found their way into his hair and were working magic on his scalp. He reached down and lifted her leg wrapping it about his hip.
He wasn't sure how long they were there. He had no idea who might have seen them and truthfully he didn't care. He just kept kissing her, touching her, breathing her in.
After some indeterminate amount of time they both slowed down and pulled away.
Sirius looked down at her in wonder. She was blushing and breathless and he'd never seen her look more beautiful.
"So…I'm not running away." He said his voice sounding strange to his own ears.
She smiled at him.
"Good cause I don't want you to. And you promised."
Sirius shook his head in wonder at her words. Then leaned forward to kiss her lightly.
"Damn Marlene, I'm not sure I know what to do now."
She stroked his hair with her hands and said sweetly. "Don't worry, I'll fill you in as we go."
James towed Lily toward the castle kitchens and, after having a quick discussion with the house elves and managing to acquire enough food to feed six people much less two, they were off again.
They walked hand in hand back to their dormitory where James grinned at Lily as he took of his tie and hung it on the corner of the portrait of Sven the Strong-hearted.
"Just in case." He said winking and making her blush prettily.
They entered their common room and James laid out the food on the coffee table and shoved the couch backward a bit so that they could sit comfortably on the floor in front of it.
Lily conjured some comfy cushions and some blankets and then settled herself on them next to James.
"So I feel I need to apologize," He said as she began to help herself to the food. "You're right about me needing to let things go a bit when it comes to the Slytherins. I know sometimes I only make the situation worse when I let them get to me like that. I'm sorry if I upset you today."
Lily sighed and set the strawberry she was about to eat back on her plate. "I just wish you'd let some of it go James. I know that not all of it can be ignored but sometimes it would be better if we just let the matter drop. Like today, with your parents there. I was…" She stopped and took a deep breath, "…so embarrassed. It was mortifying."
"I know and I didn't help the situation." He added glumly.
"No, you didn't. You made it worse by bringing up the fact that you're afraid they are really going to try and…and…" She trailed off unable to say the words. "I know it worries you. It worries me too. It's just that there isn't much we can do about it right now. Besides you know that while we are at Hogwarts it's all just idle threats. They can't really…"
"Don't put it past them Lily. They don't give a damn about Hogwarts' rules. They're just biding their time until they're out of here." James warned. "I know I've said it a million times but you need to be careful."
She nodded. "I understand. But I also don't want to go through every day being afraid either."
It was his turn to nod. "You're right. You shouldn't have to be afraid."
Lily sighed. "Can we just forget about it all for awhile and maybe go back to trying to have a nice end of our date?"
He grinned slightly and moved over closer to her, pulling her into his lap.
"Of course we can, but you know one of these days we are going to have to deal with it all. With our relationship and where it's going. With the fact that none of it is going to be easy. Dark times are around the corner, everyone can feel it. Sooner or later we're going to have to figure out our place in it all." He said his thoughts growing serious.
"What do you want you're place to be James?" Lily asked curiously. "Where will you be when Voldemort decides he's going to put himself out there for real?"
James eyes were far away for a moment and Lily felt herself shiver instinctively. She was afraid of what he was going to say and yet she knew it before the words ever left his mouth.
"I'll be fighting Lily. I'll be out there doing what I can to stop him."
She nodded and laid her head against his shoulder.
"I'm afraid of it all already." She admitted sadly. "I'm afraid and it isn't even really here yet is it?"
"Everyone's afraid." James told her kissing the top of her head. "That's half of why he's been so successful so far. He knows people are scared. It fuels him. My dad and I have talked and from what the Auror department can tell he's out of his mind. He likes making people afraid. He likes the fact that people are starting to call him You-Know-Who and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He calls himself Lord Voldemort, everyone knows that, but now even his Death Eaters aren't using it. They call him the Dark Lord instead, like even his own followers aren't allowed to address him familiarly." James explained. "The aurors figure he's moving in stages. The first already took place. Doing minor, yet still horrible things, to build a name for himself and to gain followers. The second is occurring now. He's moving on to bigger incidents. Bigger names. He's gone after prominent wizards. Prominent families. He's starting to make people think they'll have to choose sides. Soon they think he'll move on to real scare tactics. Large scale attacks, more useless killings. He'll begin to turn people against each other. After that who knows…It's up to us I guess. To people to decide whether or not they are going to stand against him or let him have his way."
"Why are you telling me this?" Lily asked him pulling back so that she could look into his face.
"Because you need to know what's coming. Even more so than anyone else. He's targeting people like you right now. For some reason he has something against Muggles and Muggleborns. You need to know what is probably going to happen. You need to know that pretty soon me saying I'm going to fight isn't going to just be words." He said his voice sounding older and more tired than Lily had ever heard it.
"I don't understand where all this is coming from James. You've seemed fine up until today." She said feeling panicked.
He nodded and sighed. "You're right I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get all morose on you."
Lily still stared at him worriedly. Inwardly she was warring with herself. She wanted him to tell her everything he had heard. Everything his dad had said. All the things they imagined might happen. She wanted to be prepared. To be able to face the coming storm head on and not feel that she wasn't ready for it.
She also wanted to pretend he'd never spoken of any of it. That she hadn't read the papers the past month or heard the things being said. That there weren't any bad things happening and that people like her weren't the chosen targets at the moment. She wanted to live in her happy little bubble with James. With the carefree, arrogant, silly James who made her laugh and kissed her with enough passion to make her knees give out.
The James who held her now, she realized, was the James he hardly let people see. The one who even she had yet to really get to know. The one she suspected only his closest friends and parents ever really got a good look at. This James was serious, and determined and very aware of the turn their lives were about to take.
"Will you tell me later please?" She finally whispered.
"Tell you what?" He asked trying to grin half-heartedly.
"All of it. What you're thinking about now. What might be around the corner for us. I want to hear it, truly I do. Just…right now, I want to be with you. Just you. I don't' want to think about the world. Or about the bad parts of today. I want to think about what we were doing before you're parents showed up, about how we were the other day when your mates walked in. I want to be so caught up in you that everything else fades out." She stated desperately, her hands coming up to grab his face.
"Well," He said clearing his throat as his voice cracked, "by all means then..."
With that his lips met hers and Lily found herself sinking into the familiar, wonderful, completely pleasurable sensations that came with kissing James.
And for a long while everything else didn't matter.
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