Q and A
James went down to breakfast the next morning holding Lily's hand in his. "Come on, Lily," James said, squeezing her hand as she paused in front of the Great Hall's doors. "You've got to eat something. For me?"
"James, it's not fair to do the 'puppy-dog face' on your girlfriend. That's cheating!" Lily said, pushing the doors open and chuckling slightly. James slipped his arm around her waist.
"Nothing's fair in love and war," James said, smirking.
"James, you got the quote wrong," Lily said, truly laughing for the first time since the morning before.
"No," James said, wagging a finger at her. "The person who said it got it wrong. My way's right!"
Lily sighed. "Whatever," she said, and grabbed a muffin off of the plate in front of her. She broke off a piece and shoved it into her mouth hungrily. "Mm…blueberry!" James gave her a questioning glance. "What?" she asked defensively. "I didn't eat dinner yesterday, remember? Anyway," she dropped her voice to a whisper and put her hand on his knee, tracing circles on it, "can we just bring up some food to our common room? I really can't face all these people just yet."
"Okay," James said. "Maybe we should take something for lunch, too…maybe a few muffins?"
"James, you're a 'big, bad Marauder'. You know where the kitchens are," Lily said.
"Right," James said with the air of one discovering a great fact. "Right, I know where the kitchens are. Lily, will you please stop doing that, you're distracting me!"
Lily immediately took her hand off James's knee as though burned; her face was burning a bright red that could almost rival her hair. "Well," she said, in a slightly squeaky voice because she was so embarrassed, "let's go, then?"
James laughed as he stood up; he couldn't believe he had that kind of affect on Lily.
"So," Lily said, sitting on the floor in their common room. "Want to play Questions?"
"What's Questions?" James asked, confused.
"It's a Muggle game. The people who are playing ask questions to each other, and they both have to answer. Truthfully, of course."
"Oh," James said, smiling and sitting across from her on the floor. "That sounds like fun. You ask me a question first."
"No. You ask me first."
"You know what? Let's play wands, parchment, or…or…oh bugger, I forgot the last one!"
"Kisses?" Lily suggested coyly, moving closer to him.
"No, that's not it—wait, I'll go with that!" James leaned over and kissed her, running one hand through her hair and placing the other one on the small of her back, pulling her closer to him, so that they were sitting next to each other.
"You know what, James?" Lily said when the kiss ended, resting her chin on his shoulder.
"What?" James replied.
"I think I might just love you a bit," Lily said, kissing his cheek.
"What, only a little bit?" James said, pouting.
"Okay, maybe more than a bit," Lily said. "Anyway, let's play Questions…I'll ask first." Lily bit her lip, trying to think of a question to ask James. "Who's your least favorite teacher in Hogwarts?"
"Slughorn," James said, adding a dramatic—and clearly fake—shudder. "Okay, so now I ask you something. What's your favorite thing about Hogwarts?"
"Well," Lily said, "I like the food. The food is definitely a plus. And I like the fact that I don't have to argue with Petunia like I would if I were at home right now. Most of the teachers are pretty good, and I like magic…but my absolute favorite thing about Hogwarts would have to be the people; people like me, my friends, and…" Lily paused and whispered the last word so that James could barely hear it, examining her fingernails with feigned interest. "…You. So, what's your favorite thing about Hogwarts?"
James laughed. "That's a given, Lily!" His face turned suddenly serious. "You, Lily, are my favorite thing about Hogwarts."
Lily blushed faintly, and mumbled something that sounded oddly like "extreme exaggeration" before looking up at James again. "It's your turn to ask a question," she said, with cheeks that were still rather pink.
"Okay," James said. "Right, so, when did you decide that you—" James paused and looked around the room awkwardly. "When did you decide that you—you know, fancy me?"
Lily's eyes were focused upon a spot right above his shoulder. "Well, um, maybe over the summer?"
"WHAT?" James said, as Lily's eyes snapped back onto his face. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, his tone much softer than before.
"You wait until the next question to ask me that, James. I have to ask first!" Lily said, blushing. She didn't like the way the game was going, though James did. "Okay. What makes me so special next to every girl in Hogwarts? I mean, why choose me when you could have half the female population?"
"What do you mean, half? I can have all of them if I wanted!" James suddenly looked horror-struck. "Not that I want them, Lily," he said quickly, while Lily laughed.
"Well the other half belongs to Sirius," Lily said, as though explaining that two plus two equals four. "Answer my question, please?"
"Right," James said, distracted. Lily had just put her hand on his knee and was once again drawing circles on it. "What was your question again?"
"Why did you choose me when any other girl would have said yes to you in a heartbeat?" Lily asked, moving closer to him and leaning her head on his shoulder.
"Oh," James said. "Well…that's kind of hard. Let's see, now. You're beautiful. You're smart. You're talented. You've never been like the other girls. Why did I choose you? Heck, I dunno, because you're you!"
"I'm me," Lily said. "Yes, for once you make sense. But honestly, James! Smart? Talented? Beautiful?" She scoffed. "Don't exaggerate."
"I'm not exaggerating, Lily," James said seriously. "I wish you could see you the way I see you."
"I changed my mind, James," Lily said suddenly.
"About what?" James asked nervously.
"Well, I think I might love you more than just a bit," Lily said, kissing James's cheek as he grinned like an idiot. He leaned over and captured her lips with a smile. Her arms snaked around his neck and her fingers tangled in the mess of hair towards the nape of his neck. Goosebumps tickled his arms.
"I take back what I just said," Lily said, and James looked aghast. "James, let me finish!" she said impatiently, laughing. "I know I love you more than just a bit," she finished, kissing him again.
"Lil—Lily," James mumbled against her lips, trying his hardest to pull back (not that he really wanted to). "I have to ask you your question!"
"Right," Lily said, smoothing out her hair. "James, can't it wait for—"
James cut her off. "Lily, one more question and then we can do whatever you want." He smirked as his eyes flickered to her lips and then back to her eyes.
"Okay, fine," Lily said, huffing. "What's your question?"
"Why didn't you tell me that you fancied me? Why did you wait until now?" James asked softly, looking into her great green eyes.
"I was afraid," she said, looking away from him and twirling a strand of bright red hair around her finger. "I was afraid that you would lose interest. I thought that the only reason why you kept asking me out was to prove that you got me to say yes. I wasn't sure if you were telling the truth, or if you only wanted to use me and drop me."
"Lily," James said softly, turning her head to look at him. "Lily, Lily, Lily. I wouldn't do that to you. Since the moment I first saw you, I've waited for you. Waiting and waiting for six and a half years. I love you, Lily." He paused, then laughed. "You mistook me for Sirius."
Lily frowned. "So Sirius doesn't fancy Shayna, then? He's just flirting with her to show that he can, is he? I can't believe it," she all but yelled.
James's eyes widened in horror. "No, it's not like that at all, Lily!" James said exasperatedly. "I was just making a joke!"
Lily scoffed, her frown etched even deeper on her face as she stood, fists clenched.
"Please, Lily," James said as he stood up, pleading anxiously, almost desperately. "Please, hear me out. Sirius is my best mate, practically my brother! I've known him almost all of my life. He's done that to girls before, but Shayna is different. He really fancies her. More than anything. You should hear him talking about her!"
"Yeah?" Lily screamed hysterically. "What does he say? Does he say that she's got a nice bum? Is that what tells you that he fancies her?"
"Bloody hell, Lily!" James said. "Is that what you think of him?"
"Well, judging by his reputation, yes, it is what I think of him," Lily spat viciously.
"Lily, you've got it all wrong!" James said desperately, willing her to understand. "Sirius thinks of his reputation as a joke! He doesn't take it seriously, and neither should you. He's not like that—well, okay, I must admit that sometimes he is. But he's never done anything more than snog! He gets a bit crazy sometimes, but when he cares about something or someone he really means it. Shayna is more than just a girl to Sirius. Sirius knows everything about her, and she doesn't even pay attention to the fact that he would do anything to get her, if only she would stay with him. In fact, Sirius can't stop talking about her! It's maddening, actually! I've never seen him get like this because of a girl. That's—that's pretty much it," he finished lamely.
Lily flopped down on the couch and put her head in her hands. "I—I—I'm sorry, James," she said meekly. "It's just that in three short days my life has gone from being structured and predictable to chaotic. I guess I just needed to vent. I swear, if I knew how Sirius really felt, I would never have even said—"
James pressed a finger to her lips and put his other arm around her shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Lily," he said, taking his finger off her lips and pulling her into a tight embrace. "I've been thrown into the same situation that you have. Lily, we'll get through this together."
"Promise?" Lily asked, her eyes swimming with tears as she looked up at him. "Will you be saying that tomorrow?"
"I promise you forever," James said with a sigh, placing a finger on her nose.
"You say that like it's a bad thing!" Lily exclaimed, laughing even as a tear rolled down her cheek.
"Well, it is," James said, wiping away her tears. "It's too short."
Lily smiled and buried her face in the soft cloth of the chest of his shirt, feeling James's muscles underneath it. It wasn't long until her breathing grew longer and deeper, and she fell asleep.
"I love you, Lily," James said, lifting her up easily and placing her in her bed. He kissed her forehead, not realizing that she had awoken when he had started to lift her up.
"I love you, too, James," Lily whispered as he walked towards the door. "I love you so, so much."
Lily's soft voice was with him, ringing in his ears throughout the whole night. He loved her. He loved her so, so much.
A/N: Okay, I hope this chapter explained Lily's actions…this is the chapter I promised oh-so long ago when people started getting confused with the way Lily's acting. I promise, it's in there. Tomorrow everybody comes back from Christmas Break. Interesting chapter, I promise. Read that other story, Love Throughout Time by SilverwingsJP, I swear it's amazing. It makes my story hang its head in shame. Review, please!