"You can't be so stubborn, Lily," insisted a frustrated James. "You're going to have to learn some time or another."
"I'm the stubborn one?" shrieked Lily. "I told you, I am in no way ever going to try it."
"But it's fun!"
"I'll show you fun!" she screamed, running after him with his own broomstick.
"Lily, I don't see why you're so terrified," tried James rationally. "I'll be right there, I swear; you can't get hurt."
"You're going to try some crazy Quidditch moves on me and I'll fall for them and go crashing to the ground."
"I swear on my life that I will not," promised James.
"Fine, even if you don't, I will still look like an idiot," persisted Lily.
"Lily, if I do a single thing that would hurt or embarrass you, you have my full permission to take my very own broomstick and shove it up my ass," said James, struggling to keep a straight face.
"That's absolutely disgusting, and I would never do such a thing," Lily stated with a horrified look on her face. "Point taken."
"Now mount it."
"Excuse me?" asked a shocked Lily.
"The broom." James rolled his eyes. "If we're going to get through this, you're going to have to be a bit more mature."
"Oh, look who's talking now," quipped Lily. Taking a quick look at James' stern expression, she adopted a more serious attitude. "All right, how do I get on it?"
"You have to talk to it like you're the boss," explained James.
"You talk to your broom…" muttered Lily. "No wonder you're so mental."
James cleared his throat. "If you're going to be so difficult, I'd rather not teach you at all."
"James, you know as well as I do that you're dying to teach me, so let's not fool ourselves."
"All right, then let's get a move on," continued James. "You put your dominant hand- that's your right, I believe- over the broom while standing to the side and say 'Up!' in an extremely firm voice."
Lily performed the prescribed orders with Sirius's borrowed broom while James did the same a few feet away. She surprisingly had no trouble.
"Excellent, you're a natural," complimented James.
"Great, next thing you know, you'll want me playing on the team," complained Lily.
"Actually, that's not a bad idea," thought James aloud. "You know, we do need a back-up-"
"Don't even think about it," Lily cut in. "Now hurry up, I'm absolutely freezing."
"Whine and complain, that's all girls ever do," murmured James. "It's hardly freezing temperature out here; you don't even need a jacket."
This time, Lily had a right to be protesting. It was mid-November, and despite her many layers- including gloves, scarf, and mittens- she kept shivering as the first snowflakes of the season floated to the browning grass.
"Swing your leg over your broom like so," demonstrated James, "and hold it with two hands while you straddle it."
"Is this a Quidditch or an innuendo lesson?" wondered Lily.
Ignoring her comment, James pressed on. "On the count of three, I want you to push off the ground gently. If you go too hard, I'll have to come after you, and let me tell you, you way a hell of a lot more than the Snitch."
"I beg your pardon!" exclaimed an enraged Lily.
"It's true," defended James. "I'm just saying the Snitch weighs a couple ounces, and obviously you don't. Now don't keep getting so mad at me."
"How gentle am I supposed to go?"
"Just…do it already," James said impatiently. "Three, two, one!"
With a damn near perfect kickoff, Lily went soaring into the air and across the Quidditch pitch.
"Get over here!" she yelped from a hundred yards away. "What am I supposed to do?"
James took off after her and made it to her position in less than a quarter of the time.
"Hey, that was impressive," he said, flying alongside her. "I nearly expected you to fall off your broom on the way up."
"Please, I'm good at everything," she laughed.
"And you yelled at me for being arrogant," he snorted. "Okay, 'Miss Perfect.'"
And with that, he dove down, made a full loop around her, and sped off to the other side of the pitch to fly through the hoop.
Putting all worries and common sense aside, Lily mimicked his every move. Clinging desperately to Sirius's broom, she looped and barrel-rolled, heart pounding with every swift maneuver, and came to an abrupt halt behind the hoop next to him.
"Holy shit," he breathed. "What on earth were you so concerned about?"
"I figured if you made it look so easy, it couldn't be that difficult," said Lily. "Plus, I had things to prove."
"Even though that was your first time on a broomstick and you pulled it off perfectly, I will not admit that your skill even begins to approach mine," maintained James.
"Very well," conceded Lily. "We'll just see how you do on the N.E.W.T.s. Last one to the ground is a rotten egg!"
Despite Lily's newfound prowess on the pitch, James still beat her back to their starting point, and as they strolled back to the castle, Lily remarked, "You know, you're awfully difficult to take seriously when you act so professional."
"What are you talking about?" laughed James, taking her hand.
"That was the first time I've ever seen you so focused," smiled Lily. "For once, I was the one getting yelled at for being silly."
"Well, you don't mess with me and Quidditch."
-----
"But why are you so insistent on the Potters, my Lord?" questioned Lucius Malfoy, leaning back into his chair and putting the tips of his fingers together.
"Do not question me, Malfoy," hissed Voldemort. "I will only tell you that I have no definitive reasons... I just sense trouble with them, and that is why I did away with Anne and Brinley."
"Very well, and now it is James' turn?" asked Lucius.
"And that Mudblood with him," said Voldemort dangerously. "I recently heard from Peter Pettigrew, a spy of mine at Hogwarts, that the two are getting a bit friendly, and she will soon know him far too well to be left alive."
"I assume you are expecting something from me?"
"That is what you are here for, no?" retorted Voldemort, lazily stroking the snake, Nagini.
"Of course, absolutely anything, my Lord," sputtered Lucius, afraid he'd said something wrong.
"It is very simple, what I will ask you to do," began Voldemort. "Your only directions will be to make sure that James and Lily are gone- dead, I am implying- as soon as possible. Please do not drag me into this; they are merely seventeen years old, Lucius. You yourself were seventeen not ten years ago. How difficult could it be?"
"Simple would be an exaggeration," smiled Lucius dangerously. "I will have it taken care of, my Lord."
"I should remind you that Dumbledore resides at Hogwarts, obviously," warned Voldemort. "Do not take this too lightly. He is a powerful wizard, but with your shrewdness, I am sure you will find a way around him."
"Am I to employ any help?" inquired Lucius. "Or shall I go it alone?"
"I trust you, Lucius," said Voldemort, and it sounded more like a death threat than a compliment. "Tell only who you must, and you know there will be dire consequences for any mishaps."
"Of course, my Lord," said Lucius, bowing and exiting the room.
-----
Two nights before the long Thanksgiving weekend, the entire Gryffindor Common Room was hushed, and each of its inhabitants was hunched over some sort of book. While this seemed like an unusual occurrence, it was only quiet because Lily threatened everyone younger than the seventh year with immediate death if they did not retire to their rooms at precisely 9 P.M. so that the N.E.W.T.-level students could study for the preliminary exams that awaited them the next day. Therefore, around fifteen scarlet- and gold-clad students furiously attempted to memorize everything they had absorbed so far in the year for their first test.
They had been informed in September that there would be two assessments during the year before the actual N.E.W.T.s in June, and they all believed they would have enough time to review before Thanksgiving break, but now it was upon them, and the panic set in. After all, these two examinations together made up a third of the final grade in June, so messing up now was not an option.
The atmosphere was frenetic and stressful. Every few seconds, someone would drop a quill, swear, or tap their foot obnoxiously against the ground. Remus regularly rose to pace around the room, and Sirius had just about gone through Hogwarts's water supply with his distracting slurps.
After midnight, the students dwindled away one by one until it was past one and James and Lily were the only ones left- left in the Common Room, not left awake, that is. Lily, drooling over her Charms textbook, jerked awake with a particularly loud snore of James'.
Glancing at her watch, she let out a tiny squeal and scrambled to retrieve all her belongings and head off to bed.
"James," she whispered, poking his arm while desperately hoping she would not have to go to great lengths to wake him up. "James, we need to go sleep."
"Yeah, Mom, can I have blueberry pancakes?" He slurred his words together and smiled at the thought of his mother, blueberry pancakes, or both.
"James, I hate to tell you this, but your mother will never make you blueberry pancakes again," said Lily, biting her lip. "We have exams tomorrow morning, and you need to get to your bed right now."
"I like my warm bed," mumbled James. "Do you want to go to bed with me?"
"No, thank you," apologized an alarmed Lily. "Maybe another day."
"That would be really nice…" he trailed off, nestling his head more comfortably into the armchair. "I would like that one day."
"James, are you talking in your sleep?" asked Lily, shaking him by the shoulder. "I would really appreciate it if you got up right now."
"I guess you'll have to find out if I am awake or not," he proposed.
"You have got to be kidding me," said Lily. "You are so obviously awake."
"I bet you can't get me to go upstairs," challenged James, eyes still shut tightly.
"Are you ticklish?" Lily wondered, squeezing his side. When she received no response, she frowned and sat to think. "If you don't get up right now, I will snap your broom in half," she threatened.
"You wouldn't dare," he countered.
"I can tell this is going to be difficult," sighed Lily. "I may just go up to bed."
"You'd feel too bad," pointed out James. "You're too nice to do that."
"Damn it, you're right," said Lily. "Well, I'll just have to come up with something good."
After pondering a few moments, she began to entertain an idea that at first seemed ridiculous but sounded better and better to her the longer she considered it. You can't do that, Lily, she told herself sternly. And why not? the devil on her shoulder asked her. You've been dying to do it for days now.
Taking a good look at James and throwing all caution to the winds, she stooped down by the armchair, lowered her face to his level, and pressed her lips to his.
Needless to say, his eyes shot open immediately. Realizing what kind of situation he'd just landed himself in and intending to enjoy it fully, he closed his eyes and pulled Lily to him.
As she stumbled into his lap, her eyes shot open and she broke away immediately.
"James, I don't think this is the time for this," she breathed, only half saying what she did out of the realization that she had an exam in about six hours. The truth was, she was terrified of what she had just felt- the extreme desire for more, now that she had discovered how it felt to be held up against him, to be wrapped in such a passionate kiss.
"You're probably right." He stood up, cleared his throat, and looked around the room nervously. "Hang on, can we confirm that that just happened?"
"Yeah, I think I just kissed you," admitted Lily. "Why don't we talk about this tomorrow, okay? Good night, James."
"Good night, Lils," he smiled. "A very good night, indeed."
-----
Yaaayyyyy finalllyy!!!! Okay I don't want to write anymore, it's so late and I'm tired. Next chapter sometime soon? Okay thanks, please review!!
-Marina