Never Again-Harry Potter-James & Lily-Chapter 4-The right thing..
Hey guys, sorry it's been a long time.. I had a huge writers block..sort of, and I was away for ages.
Enjoy!
The sun shone brightly outside, one of its rays making its way through the maroon curtains into the closed eyelid of the young redhead.
She slowly woke up, her eyelids fluttering as she came into conscious. She sat up slowly, stretching her arms out wide, she peered at her alarm clock on the bedside table, it was 6:52am.
Lily groaned; she still had an hour and a half left until she was supposed to start class. She flung her curtains open and jumped out of bed, making her blankets rumple.
She looked over to Marlene's bed to find the blonde deep asleep with her mouth wide open and snoring like a pig.
It was lucky no one else saw Marlene in the mornings, for they would be horrified with her morning self. Lily now turned to Emmelines bed to find her already awake and reading, Em looked over and caught her eye before giving her a grin and turning back to her book.
Alice however was not in her bed, which was folded neatly and looked as if it had been empty for a while. "Where has Alice got to?" she asked, fighting back a yawn.
"She's already out with Frank," replied Em quietly making sure not to wake Marlene. Lily pulled out her wand and with a swish of her wand, made her bed fold it self and smooth out the wrinkles, "I might as well wake Mar up, seeing as I will need her help" sighed Lily.
She made her way over to the blonde's bed, took out a golden muggle horn, raised it to her lips, took a breath and blew. Marlene jolted awake, clearly startled.
She glared at Lily and screamed: "What the fuck is your problem?" scowling at her as she hopped out of bed. "I'm going to take a shower" she huffed, stomping to the bathroom and slamming the door with a bang.
"You know you could have just woken her up nicely," commented Em from her bed. "Yeah I realised that, but this is more fun anyway," agreed Lily, pulling on her school robes.
Lily sighed, why was it that no matter what she wore she still looked like a geek, sometimes she wished she was as pretty as Em or confident as Mar. Em groaned, "I know that face Lily, you look fine just the way you are," she stated, shutting her book with a snap.
Emmeline got up from her bed and made her way over to Lily, "Now you listen to me young lady, you are beautiful, you've got amazing red hair that people would pay millions for, gorgeous green eyes and your body is just..I'm so jealous of you Lily," she stated with a grin.
Lily smiled gratefully, "Thanks Em, but I just want to look good for James, she sighed. "And I know just how to do it," intervened a voice from behind them, Lily and Em both turned to the sound to see Marlene, dressed in her school clothes with her hair a dripping mess, but looking like a supermodel all the same.
"Now Lily, you need to go shorter and tighter, but not to slutty," ordered Marlene, already rummaging through Lily's belongings. "Aha, I've got it!" Marlene exclaimed, holding up a school skirt and shirt.
Lily shook her head, "Oh no, I can't wear them, they're to small," she said, sitting on the bed stubbornly. "I don't care just put them on," ordered Marlene, handing her the items.
Lily made a noise of protest, but obliged anyway, she pulled off her school robes and put on the skirt and shirt. After she had put them on she checked herself out in the mirror, the skirt came halfway to her thigh, so that it was short but not to short.
The shirt however was missing a button, which showed a lot of cleavage, that didn't help since the shirt was stretched tight over her bust; so far it was a working progress.
"Lily your looking good," laughed Em, pulling on her own school robes. "Except Lils here is going to be different and wear the Griffindor tie" stated Marlene, as she pulled the gold and marron cloth over Lily's head, she loosened it gently before letting it drop in place.
"There done," exclaimed Marlene, giving Lily a once over with a broad grin. Lily examined herself in the mirror again before pulling her wand and muttering a spell that made her already curly hair, curlier than it already was.
She applied a light amount of make-up, brushed her teeth and was done. She stepped out of the bathroom and was bombarded with hugs. "Oh Lily you look great," said Em, squeezing her arm gently.
"James's eyes are going to fall out of his head," said Marlene as they made there way out of the dormitory.
From the Griffindor Common Room to the Great Hall there were whispers and murmurs about Lily Evans whole new sat down at the Griffindor table, a blush forming on her cheeks with all the attention. She piled her plate with toast and marmalade, feeling like a light breakfast this morning.
She had just taken a bit when she saw James Potter enter the Great Hall, his usual gang of mates or gaggle of fan club girls didn't surround him, and instead he strode in with his usual swagger.
He flashed grins at certain girls making them swoon. He reached up with one hand and tousled his ebony locks, and a fifth year next to them moaned. "My god woman, get a grip," snapped Marlene, with an irritated scowl.
She turned her back on the pathetic girl and went back to the Prophet. It wasn't until James passed by Lily, giving her a small smile, did he notice what she was wearing.
His eyes travelled over her body as he stopped short and gaped, Lily giggled and felt a blush forming on her cheeks. "James?" she asked softly, snapping him out of his daze.
"Oh right, erm yeah?" he replied, running his hands through his hair nervously. "Is that offer for the Hogsmeade trip still there?" she asked, lowering her head and peering at him through her lashes.
"Oh!" he exclaimed, "Oh, um ye-yeah it's still there," he spluttered, looking extremely flustered. "Well I would like to accept," she said, smiling softly at him. James looked stunned for a moment, not believing her one bit.
"If this is some sort of prank, I don't find it very funny," he warned, taking a step back. "No James, this isn't a joke, I really do want to," she replied, giving him an affectionate smile.
"Oh in that case." He gave a shout and picked her up, twirling her around. She laughed as he set her down and had to hold onto him to keep from falling. "So Lily, what did you want to do?" he asked, a huge grin plastered to his face.
"Well I was going to finish my breakfast, but you could join me if you wanted," she replied with an amused smile.
"Yeah, alright I will thanks," he agreed, taking a seat beside her. "Well I was also talking about what you wanted to do this weekend, like where did you want to go?" he stammered, looking slightly flustered as he buttered his toast. Lily paused, chewing thoughtfully.
"Well for one I defiantly don't want to go to The Three Broomsticks, as it's always so crowded there." He grinned in acknowledgment, before taking another bite of his toast.
They ate in comfortable silence, before making their way to there next class. It wasn't till they were taking there seats did Sirius catch up with them. "My my, Prongsie, what have we here?" Asked a grinning Sirius, sliding into the seat next to them.
"Did you say yes?" He asked a blushing Lily, when no one answered. She gave a curt nod before pulling out her textbook and hiding behind her curtain of auburn hair.
Sirius nudged James with his foot and hissed frantically, " that means your date is at the festival!" James must have looked confused because Sirius beckoned him closer, before whispering, "There is a festival at Hogsmeade next weekend, perfect for your little date."
James turned back round to face Professor Flitwick and felt a familiar tugging at the corner of his mouth, he just knew that this date was and had to be perfect. It wasn't until they both had perfected the water conjuring charm did James and Lily speak again.
"James?" Lily asked softly, her emerald eyes becoming wide and doe-like. "Yes?" He answered, a hesitant look in his eyes. She studied him for a moment, watching as he fidgeted under her sharp gaze.
"Do you think were doing the right thing?" She asked, lowering her gaze to her hands, which were clasped together tightly. "Who knows," he replied, taking her hand in one of his large ones. "But what I do know is that if you really like someone, then you should go for it."
She peered into his eyes before whispering "good". The bell rang signalling the end of the lesson; they both stood up and collected their books. It wasn't until James watched Lily walk out the classroom door with her friends did he question himself, "I hope I'm doing the right thing."
Lily peered into the mirror for what felt like the 6th time, before anxiously fiddling with the hem of her skirt. Did she look okay? Would James like it? These were some of the questions she been asking herself since the moment she'd woken.
She sighed and walked back over to her wardrobe, aimlessly pulling things out, with a frustrated scream she threw her arms in the air, accidently knocking over a portrait with a loud bang.
Ironically this same bang woke up a very sleepy, very grumpy blonde in a nearby bed. "Lily," she whined, rubbing her eyes with her fists. "It's just a date, not a fricken fashion show."
"No Mar, you have to help me find something to wear, PLEASE!" Lily ordered, stomping over to Marlene's bed and flinging back the covers. "Woman you have no mercy," the blonde whimpered, staggering to her feet.
"You know what, go take a shower while I do my hair," Lily sighed, running her fingers through her long hair.
Marlene staggered to the bathroom, before slamming the door with a bang. It wasn't long till she stepped out of the foggy room, a towel wrapped around her curly locks. "Now lets get to business."
She rummaged through the redheads clothes, muttering quietly to herself as Lily brushed her damp hair. In the end she ended up pulling out a dark green mini skirt, a floral white singlet and a beige cardigan.
Lily admired herself in the mirror,happy with what she was wearing, which was odd as she was never usually cared much about her apperance. She fluffed her hair out, before clipping it to the side.
She added some light make-up, brushed her teeth and skipped down to the Great Hall, stopping only to chat. When she arrived there was only a dozen or so students there; laughing, eating and chatting.
She searched the Griffindor table, before finally finding a familiar looking face. She hurried over to were Alice was seated, plonking herself down on the seat with a happy grin.
"Well isn't someone awfully cheerful today," said the wry, husky voice of Alice's long time boyfriend; Frank Longbottom. Lily just sent him a beaming smile over the blueberry muffin she had just taken from the table.
"Lily, you are looking quite fabulous," said Alice, her eyes traveling over Lily's garments. "I'm guessing Marlene dressed you?" she asked with a wry smile.
Lily nodded surprised, she opened her mouth to ask how Alice knew, but was cut off by Frank. "Marlene always dresses you in green," he said absentmindly, his eyes not leaving the paper in front of him.
"Any news on the Muggle attacks in Ireland?" Lily asked, nibbling at her muffin. "Nah, the only thing here is about that new guy, whats-his-face, anyways he's the new Head of Auror department," Frank replied placing the paper in front of him.
"He's name is Mad-Eye," said a deep masculine voice from behind her, Lily spun round to see the familiar smirk of James Potter in her face. "Mad-Eye?" she asked him curiously, "What kind of name is that?"
"Well for one he's mad, going on about constant vigilance or something and he lost his eye in a duel a while back, so now he has a magical eye that can see though anything," he paused his eyes making a beeline at Lily's chest.
She blushed slightly and crossed her arms across her chest, unimpressed with what he had implied. "Is he any good?" she asked, "I mean I've never heard of him, but then again I don't know who the last Head of the Auror department was either."
James snorted an amused smile on his handsome face, "Of course he's good, extremely different from the last, but still good," he answered. "Who was the last?" she asked, not bothering with titles anymore, James obviously knew who she was talking about.
"Well, erm he was my Dad," James answered a blush settling on his cheeks. "But he retired, getting to old." He ran his hands through his hair, a sign that Lily know knew meant that he was nervous, he avoided her watchful gaze, settling on the empty plate in front of him.
Lily moved closer, giving him an encouraging smile. "Anyways, since he was working so much we barely saw him. It wasn't until Mum got sick that he realized he hadn't spent time with us." James said softly, his head dropping onto the table.
By that time Alice and Frank had wordlessly risen from the seats and slipped away, leaving Lily to comfort James. Lily took his hands in hers, clasping them tightly, she was overwhelmed at how much he had poured his heart out to her.
She bent down till her head was level with his and brushed her rosy lips against his cheek. He stiffened and sat up quickly a red tinge on his cheeks. Thinking she had crossed some sort of boundary she dropped his hands and moved back, avoiding his eye.
Suddenly she felt his hand on her chin, forcing her to make eye contact with him, the met eyes, emerald to hazel. It was a fierce battle that soon turned to unknown lustful gazes.
Finally the pulled back, both muttering the apologies. "Thank you," he whispered, before leaving the seat quietly, leaving Lily stunned and embarrassed.
James raced up the stairs taking two at a time, oblivious to his surroundings. He sprinted down the corridor, coming to a skidding halt at the Fat Lady's portrait.
She looked at him in disdain a sneer on her face, she wasn't to fond of the Marauders, as they woke her up at ridiculous times late at night. She was wearing a beautiful dress the color of a pink rose, she was sitting in a garden with a tinkling water fountain and various flowers surrounding her.
He muttered the password and she swung open, revealing the Griffindor Common Room, thankfully it was empty. He made his way over to a plush red armchair, sinking into it slowly, he could feel the chair adjusting to his weight underneath him.
James let his head drop back, breakfast's conversation running through his mind. How could he be so stupid? Why did he have to tell Lily everything? It was like when she was around he just opened up and became someone different.
He heard hurried footsteps coming down the winding staircase of the boys dormitory's, It was a wonder anyone was still here, he thought everyone would be at breakfast.
In one motion he had sat up straight, ruffled his hair and pulled a magazine from the table next to his armchair. He glanced at the cover to see Witch Weekly blazing above a blonde-blue eyed veela blowing a kiss and twirling her hair around her finger at him.
He grimaced and swapped the magazine for the paper, pretending to be lost in the words of the paper. The footsteps grew louder and he glanced up to see who it was, just as two black school shoes came into view, followed by the school trousers and school shirt, which were being buttoned up with tanned hands.
A mane of black hair came into view and James knew that hair anywhere, it was Sirius. "Dude what are you doing?" He asked, a bemused smile on his face, Sirius looked up in suprise, his hands buttoning up the last button on his crisp white shirt.
"Maybe I should ask you the same thing," Sirius replied, taking a seat next to James," I thought you went down to breakfast ages ago." James nodded, avoiding the other boys eye, "Yeah I did, but I noticed you were gone so I came looking for you," he said lamely, hoping Sirius would buy his lie.
"That's bull shit," Sirius said bluntly, staring hard at James, "Why are you lying to me Prongs?" He asked soflty, taking the paper out of James's hands. James sighed and dropped his head into his hands, trying to find the right words to say.
"I told her," he whispered softly, Sirius looked bewildered, what on earth was James going on about? "You told who what?" He asked, hoping this would get James to open up.
"I told Lily everything, about...about Mum," the other answered, looking up at Sirius with wide eyes, "Why would I tell her that, why?"
Sirius was stunned, James hardly ever talked about his Mum's condition, even with Sirius, let alone tell the girl of his dreams. "I don't know, why would you?" He asked James, wondering why, in the name of Merlin, would he open up to Evans like that.
"I guess, I just get so nervous around her that I just say anything," James whimpered, closing his eyes, almost as if it caused him pain. "James maybe you should take this whole thing as a good thing, duh, she still said yes didn't she? So just go out on that date and..and date her?" Sirius cried, throwing his hands in the air with enthusiasm.
James laughed and sat up, running his hands through his hair, he looked at his watch and almost had a heart attack. "Sweet Merlin's pants, it's almost 11," he cried, jumping up and sprinting out the portrait hole.
Sirius sighed and shook his head, following him out the portrait hole.
Lily made her way down the corridor, taking her time to admire the scenery outside. She hummed quietly to herself, she was happy that James had opened up to her this morning, she wasn't sure why but it made her feel loved that he trusted her to hear his secret.
She turned the corner, to find the Great Hall entrance packed with bustling students as they chattered and giggle while making there way to Hogsmeade. It seems everyone had come prepared and had there permission slips ready, for these slips held your parents signature, allowing you to enter Hogsmeade.
Lily groaned, of course the one thing she had forgotten was her permission slip, she had it ready to take and everything, she was sure to miss James on the way back to the tower. With a scowl she made he way down the corridor, stomping as she did, she had just made it up to the third step when she heard hurried footsteps from the top of the stairs.
She looked up to see James flying down the stairs taking two maybe even three at a time, he was looking at his watch frantically and muttering nonsense to himself. She smirked to herself, it seemed that James was late for there little date, she cleared her throat before yelling out, "Er, Potter."
His glanced up suddenly, skidding to a halt on the stairs, by this time they were merely steps apart. He cleared his throat nervously and ran his hand through his hair. "Sorry, I'm late, were you heading back?" He asked, his eyes downcast and unusually bright.
"I was on my way to the Common Room, want to come?" She replied, already making her way up the stairs, brushing him softly as she walked past. He was still for a moment before spinning round and running to catch up with her.
"Not that I don't mind walking with you Lily, but um...why are we going back?" He asked, catching her hand in his as they walked. She blushed and hid her face before muttering, "I left my slip in my dormitory."
He laughed and stopped, causing her to stop with him, "Why don't we just take the secret passage way then?" He led her down a different corridor, stopping at the statue of the hump backed witch with one eye.
"Not that I don't mind admiring artwork with you James, but what are we doing here?" She asked, an amused smile on her face. He grinned at her before pulling out his wand and tapping the witch, she split open, revealing a secret tunnel.
"Of course, only the Mauraders would know about this," she muttered, following James into the tunnel, her wand lighting up the tunnel. It was dark and semmed to be cut out of stone. "Actually it was the Prewet's that told us about this," he said, a laugh in his voice.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about them," she said, laughing alon with him as they neared the end of the tunnel. "You didn't tell me where we would end up," she hissed at James as the walk became steeper and they started to climb stairs.
"Exactly," he whispered back, placing a finger against his lips, before placing two hands up on either side of what seemed to be a trap door. "Seriously a trap door," she breathed in his ear, making him snigger slightly.
He lifted the trap door up slightly, wincing when it made a creaking sound, when nothing came from above, he lifted it up the whole way, revealing some sort of tile. He lifted that out as well, placing it on the floor with a small thud.
He climbed through, before turning around and helping Lily out too, sh peered around, they seemed to be in some sort of store room. At a closer look, she saw that the boxes were filled with sweets, millions of different sweets were stacked in this very room. Lily's mouth watered at the thought of being stuck here, at Honeydukes.
She grinned at James catching his eye and winking, she started to rifle through the nearest box, recognising only half of the sweets. She was stopped short though, when they heard voices above, making there way down stairs.
She shot James a panicked look, his face mirroring hers, they searched high and low looking for a place to hide.
When the footsteps had almost reached where they were, James shoved Lily inbetween two cabnets, before squeezing in next to her. There wasn't much space there so their bodies were fully pressed together making it even more embarrasing that Lily's breasts were pushed right up to his chest, and her arms were placed on his shoulders.
He placed his hands on her waist making them even closer than they already were and cleared his throat nervously. She avoided his gaze, trying to wiggle free of his closeness. James smirked before leaning down and whispering in her ear, "Shut it Evans."
Her mouth dropped open in shock, she turned to glare at him, how dare he tell her to shut it! "Excuse me?" She hissed, glaring daggers at him. "You heard me," he replied with a shrug.
She attempted to cross her arms, which just resulted in her arms against his well toned chest. "Why are you so bloody perfect?" She muttered quietly to herself, before blushing as his chest vibrated underneath her as he chuckled.
"Perfect? Why thank you Evans," he said, flashing her a pearly smile. Her heart melted at that smile, before cursing herself at the stupidity, heart melting? Never.
She stuck her head out of the cramped space between the cabinets, checking the signs for the owners of Honeydukes, nothing. "All clear," she whispered, squeezing past James on her way out.
They made there way up the stairs, making sure not to make a sound, they needn't have bothered though, as the store was bustling with customers.
They slipped past unnoticed, through the store and out into the street, taking huge gulpfuls of air. "It tastes so good," James said, taking a deep breath. Lily giggled, "How can air taste good?" She asked, grabbing his hand as they made there way down the street, James shrugged, swinging their entwined hands.
They made there way down the street, coming to a stop near the Hog's Head. Lily laughed, "Your taking me to the Hog's Head?" She asked, giving him an amused smile.
James gasped, holding his chest dramatically, "Evans, how dare you accuse me of such...such," He paused, unable to think of the right word.
"What ever, we aren't going there," He said, shruggin his shoulders. He placed his hand in the small of her back, leading her down the street.
"Why is the street so empty," Lily mused out loud, peering up and down the street for a glimpse of people.
"They are all at the market," James replied as they turned the cornor, looking out over a hill she didn't know hill was littered with bright coloured stalls and tents and was bustling with people; students and visitors alike.
Lily gasped in wonder, "I didn't even knnow this was here," she cried, gripping James's arm in excitment. "I completely forgot about the market today,"
James grinned at the red head beside him, "Come on, let's go," He said with a laugh, leading the way down to the market. They browsed through the stalls, pointing out various bits and pieces to the other.
It wasn't until they stopped at a particular stall, owned by a kind looking witch, did Lily see something that caught her eye. Untangling herself from James's arm, she made her way over to the table.
There resting on red velvet was a necklace, it was a small silver pendent in the shape of a lily with emeralds and diamonds on the petals, it hung off a simple silver chain. Lily gasped, picking it up gently in her small hands, she checked the price tag hopefully, but was extremely dissapointed to find it well out of her price range.
She stared at it longingly for a while, lost in it's extraordinary detail when two large hands gripped her shoulders. "Whatcha looking at?" James said in a singing voice.
"Oh nothing," she said, hastily trying to hide the necklace from his view, unfortunately for her James saw the beautiful necklace and plucked it from her hands.
He murmured appreciatively to himself as he studied the necklace in his hands, Lily shuffled her feet, not meeting his gaze. He glanced at Lily throwing her a wicked grin before turning around and walking over to the stall owner. Lily squeaked, he couldn't buy this for her, it was way to expensive.
"NO James, don't, I-I don't want it," she stammered, hastily running after him. "Sure you don't Evans," he replied, turning to the lady and gestering to the necklace.
Lily grasped his arm, "James, you don't have to buy this for me, it's to expensive," she cried, watching in horror as the owner wrapped the necklace. "I have the money," James said, shrugging his shoulders, handing over the large gold coins.
Lily watched in anticipation and fear as the owner handed James the package. Almost as if in slow motion, James turned the brightly lit package in hand. He walked over slowly, holding the package out to her, Lily shook her head but her arm unwillingly took it.
He grinned and watched as she unwrapped it slowly, gasping as the gems gleamed in the sun. "It's beautiful," she breathed, clasping it on her neck and touching it fondly.
She looked up at James, noticing how close they were. "Thank you," she whispered, her eyes boring into his. "No thank you," he murmered, his eyes tracing her face.
She unconsciously licked her lips, causing James's hazel eyes to darken, before she knew it he lent in and brushed his lips with hers. She felt her lips move under his, marvelling at how soft they were.
Before she had really started to adjust, he pulled back abruptly, his cheeks stained pink. "Sorry," he muttered, before turning and walking briskly away from the stall, leaving her there..alone.
She touched her tingling lips, remembering the taste of him. Why had he left her here after kissing her? Her thoughts were interrupted when a warm hand squeezed her shoulder.
She turned around in suprise to see the owner of the stall, an amused smile on her face. "Go after him deary, they don't come around looking like that anymore," She said, her eyes looking wistfully behind Lily's shoulder, before giving Lily a push towards Hogwarts.
Lily broke into a run, rushing past people in her haste to get there. She peered up the hill, just glimpsing a head of messy black hair disappearing from sight.
She scrambled up the hill hastily, slipping slightly in the mud. "James," she called out. He turned his head and saw her running toward him, her green eyes sparkling and her auburn hair flying behind her.
She skidded to a stop at his feet, her breaths coming out deep and heavy from running so far, "What are you doing?" he asked quietly, not meeting her eye. "Stopping you," she gasped out, holding her side.
James gave her a small smile, but Lily noticed that it didn't reach his eyes, "I'll see you round Lily," he said, turning his back on her to make his way up to Hogwarts. "No James," she called out, grabbing his arm to stop him from leaving. He spun round to look at her, his eyes full of curiosity and fear.
Lily's mouth opened to tell him to not leave, but she found that she was speechless, she didn't know what to say. James sighed and pulled his arm out of her grasp, taking a few steps away from her.
She drew in a breath, she would show him exactly what would happen if you left a girl after kissing her! She lunged forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and gripping his hair in her fingers. James swayed underneath the sudden weight, his arms clasping her to him, "Don't you ever run off again," she said fiercely, her mouth crashing down on his.
They gripped each other tighter as their mouths moved in sinc, they broke apart, gasping for air. "This sure was the right thing," he breathed in her air, watching happily as her face split into a grin, before pulling his head down to hers.
Did you like? Please Review, and you can tell me what you want to happen next, I'm open for new ideas..and a beta *hint* *hint*