November 5, 1977

Lily woke from her fitful sleep to the wind snapping at the windows in her dorm. The other four girls that she shared it with slept on easily as Lily got out of her four poster and began quietly rummaging for her warmest school robes.

Lily looked out over the grounds of Hogwarts. From her vantage point in Gryffindor tower she could see in the distance the quidditch pitch it's flags blowing in the strong wind.

Lily sighed. It wasn't that she didn't like going to Hogsmeade, she had enjoyed it so much in her first three years going, but now it seemed… like a waste of time. She barely had that between being head girl and all the homework in her NEWT classes. She only went to Hogsmeade because her friends enjoyed going to look at the candy, and guys, though they didn't admit it, and get butterbeer.

I'll have to cast a warming charm, Lily thought as she stared out at the windy grounds.

o0o

At breakfast Lily was distracted. Her friends were chatting about who knew what, probably Alice's boyfriend Frank. While Lily looked on with a dazed expression, she couldn't focus on them when James Potter, and his merry band of trouble makers, were sitting not far down the Gryffindor table in the great hall.

Lily never understood why James had been named head boy. He had mellowed out some she supposed, stopped hexing people whenever he fancied, but that didn't make up for all the years he had been party to some mischievous pranks. Yet he had been made head boy and Lily had learned how to tune him out as they spent hours together on heads duty.

He had also stopped asking her out at every opportunity, which was a real relief for Lily, who had been turning him down every time he asked. Lily supposed that he had always had a nice side, but nowadays he was showing it more and more, which confused Lily to no end. He was supposed to be an arrogant toerag, what was he doing being nice?

His presence at breakfast however had her head trying to be in too many places at once and caused her friends to snap her back into reality several times.

"Lily! Lily, are you with us dear?" Marlene asked her the third time they snapped at her.

"Yeah, just… distracted, sorry."

"Anyway, we were discussing what order we want to do Hogsmeade. What do you think?"

"Sounds good."

Her friends looked at each other concernedly. "Lily, what's on your mind?"Alice asked.

"Just…tired." Lily returned to her waffles and tried to look innocent.

"Right, well… I think three broomsticks then Honeydukes then whatever else we want to do." Mary said.

"I'd like to get a new balance, mine have gotten a bit rusted." Alice added.

"Oh and I need a new quill, the last of mine broke and I've been borrowing from professors." Lily said trying to focus. Her mind slipped back into a sleepless daze for a minute before registering that everyone was leaving.

o0o

Lily had run back to the castle to grab gloves and was surprised to see the castle so empty, with more than half the school gone it was like a ghost town.

"Lily, hello dear, what are you doing here in the castle? Aren't you going to Hogsmeade?" It was Sir Nick, the ghost of Gryffindor.

"Yeah, but I'm just getting my gloves, Nick." Lily told him holding up the retrieved items.

"Well enjoy, especially the candy, oh and the butterbeer…" Nick sighed and floated off.

Lily ran out onto the grounds and toward Hogsmeade to catch up with her friends.

"There you are! We have been walking slowly for ages!" Alice called as Lily wheezed next to them.

"Guess you don't get to do that much." Mary said between Lily's wheezes.

"I'm fine." Lily straightened and they walked. Lily pulled out her hat and put her it on the wind ripping through her warm robes. "Marlene and Dorcas out together?"

"Yeah, probably in some back room…" Alice muttered.

Lily pulled out her scarf just as a large gust of wind picked up from behind them and ripped it from her hands.

"Damn!" Lily cursed running after it. It was her favorite scarf too, she thought brazeningly, running through the streets of Hogsmeade trying to catch it.

At last she had gotten ahead and was backing up arm outstretched before she bumped into something and a hand above her head caught her scarf.

The red and gold colors still whipped around in the person's hand.

"Sorry…" Lily said turning to the person who had caught it. But she stopped seeing it was none other than James Potter.

"Yours? He asked with an impish grin.

Lily nodded unable to form words and not wanting her voice to betray her.

James took a step toward her so they were less than a foot apart and Lily had to tip her head up to look at him. James leaned down and Lily felt her heart flutter traitorously. James lifted the scarf and, still smiling, he wrapped it around her neck and knotted it. He cocked his head looking at his work and still, infuriatingly, smiling.

James smiled even wider and bent slightly and kissed her cheek. Lily's heart nearly beat out of her rib cage at this. It was thumping so loudly and so quickly that she was she sure James heard it. But he just kept smiling as he leaned back.

Lily nodded. "Thanks…" She muttered before turning sharply and fleeing.

o0o

Lily stared down at her butterbeer. What the hell was that. James Potter had been less than a foot from her, he had kissed her cheek! Yet she had thanked him. She was shocked, she was even more amazed that her heart had only calmed down slightly and that her cheek still felt numb where James had kissed it.

What was wrong with her! She had spent years turning James down, years yelling at him, hexing him, and now… what? She liked him? It was ludicrous!

"... I also wanted to see what those new cauldrons look like, I mean I have one already and I won't be getting one but still I want to see…"

"Oh yeah, let's all have a look!" Lily said trying to force the weird thoughts from her mind and focus on her friends.

"Okay! Yeah! This is exciting!" Mary said

They finished their butterbeer and made their way over to the other shops.

"Oh, they're colourful!" Mary said.

"Yeah, Lily you're the potions wiz, want one?"

"Nah, I haven't got the gold for that. They are pretty though."

"Aren't they?"

o0o

It was getting late and Lily was sitting by the fire in Gryffindor commons, people had been peeling off to go to bed slowly for the last hour, but Lily was engrossed in her book.

"Alright gals I'm calling it a night!" Alice exclaimed, standing and moving toward the girls dorm.

"Yeah me too," Mary agreed, yawning.

"Okay I'll be up in a minute, I'm just going to finish this chapter."

"See you then."

Lily returned to her book, but noticed that, now that her friends had left, it was just her and the "marauders" left.

Out of the corner of her eye Lily saw each of them clap James on the shoulder before going up to the boys dorm.

Lily looked at the top of the page in her book, she was on the second chapter ahead of where she was going to stop.

Sighing she closed her book and stood up. James practically apparated to get in front of her.

"Are you going to bed?" He asked softly.

Lily nodded, "I stayed up longer than I should have."

James had a pained sort of look on his face and Lily had the insane desire to kiss his forehead to make his face happier.

"I noticed you didn't yell at me after I kissed your cheek today." Why did he still look pained Lily wondered.

Lily didn't say anything she wasn't sure how to respond. She was starting to suspect that she didn't yell at him because she actually enjoyed it.

"Would you yell at me if I told you your eyes look beautiful in the fire light?"

Lily shook her head and James had the biggest and most genuine smile that Lily had ever seen him have.

"Would you yell at me if I stepped closer to you?"

Lily shook her head and James came within a meter of him.

Lily's heart beat faster as James nearly whispered, "Would you yell at me if I kissed your other cheek?"

Lily held her breath, on one hand she felt her body yearning for his embrace, on the other hand she had spent the last four years telling this boy this wasn't what she wanted. What would happen if she said ok? What headache would Marlene and Alice give her if they found out?

James seemed to sense her indecisiveness and began to step back.

Before Lily knew what she was doing, she had pulled on his tie and planted her lips firmly on his.

She felt him smile beneath her and wrap one arm around her back and the other wound its fingers through her hair. It was like nothing Lily had ever felt before, like fireworks and general merriment. Merlin was all she could think.

Lily pulled away first and saw him grinning ear to ear.

"Don't give me that look!"

"What look?"

"That's the same look you've got when you've won at quidditch."

"You are no quidditch match." He smiled sheepishly and ducked his head.

"What?"

"Just I never thought… I mean I always hoped… I just didn't expect… Do you like me?"

"Now why would you say something like that?" Lily smiled in spite of herself.

James grinned even wider, which was beginning to go past being cute to joker level wide.

Lily looked down. "I've got to go to bed, but James… please don't say anything yet. I don't know how I feel and I don't want the school to know I kissed you so just…"

"My lips are sealed." James smiled.

Lily smiled back and turned to the girls' dorm. She turned at the last second and looked back at him smiling like his dreams had come true.

"Thanks."

A/N: Yeah! First Jily kiss! Hope you enjoyed, leave a review!