Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue
Chapter Five: Muggle Fun
"Moony," James grinned, loosening his tie, and ruffling his hair in front of the mirror, "today is my day."
"Whatever you say, Prongs," Remus automatically responded, his gaze never wavering from the pages of his book.
"It's a foolproof plan!" he exclaimed before asking, "How did you convince Evans?"
"I smiled, asked her politely, and never once mentioned your name," Remus sighed, closing the book and placing it on the table beside his bed.
"Oi, Prongs, get out of my mirror," Sirius shoved James and checked his appearance whistling, "am I sexy or what?"
"Very sexy," Peter squeaked from across the room.
"All girls, with the exception of Evans, will fall to their knees and worship you," James dutifully repeated Sirius' confidence booster.
Sighing in annoyance, Sirius tapped his foot impatiently, throwing pointed looks at Remus. Remus could feel his gaze on him and with a roll of his eyes he snapped, "Oh, you look fine already! Go before you're late! And make lots of money!"
With a confident smirk plastered on his charming face, Sirius strutted out of the room. "Moony, how do I look?" James cooed, batting his lashes.
Glaring at him in silence, Remus tugged on his robe and motioned for their group to leave. "You want to be first in line don't you?" he ribbed James.
Eagerly nodding his head, James hurried down to the event outside.
"Why did I agree to this?" Lily muttered in disbelief, eying her name on the booth before her, "I never thought Remus had it in him."
The beautiful redhead stared at the large, boisterous font proclaiming KISSING BOOTH with drooped shoulders. Sighing in aggravation, she sank into her seat, eying the growing line before her in apprehension. Her bright gaze traveled over the school grounds, surveying the results with satisfaction. Lily had to admit, the class's hard work had paid off.
Two months ago, the Professor of Muggle Studies issued a final exam that would be based off of a Muggle custom and could turn a profit. It had been Dumbledore's suggestion to donate the funds to St. Mungo's for the aid of those injured in the fight against Lord Voldemort. The class agreed and decided that the age-old tradition of a Muggle fair would turn the best profit. Students weren't allowed to use magic in the design or construction of the fair and were required to either participate or recruit others for the booths. And that was how Lily was suckered into helping Remus for his project.
Shooting a look of disdain at her handsome booth partner, Lily settled more firmly into her seat and prepared for the longest three hours of her life. "Care to make a bet on who makes the most money?" Sirius drawled, draping his arm over the back of her chair; winking at the line of girls before him.
"No, Sirius, I refuse to bet on this event," Lily mumbled, shrugging out of his embrace.
"I was a bit surprised to hear you'd be running this booth with me. You seemed too much of a prude to go around kissing random guys," Sirius shrugged, waving playfully at the growing line before him.
It was a well-known fact that Sirius Black had immediately agreed to run the kissing booth at the fair. In fact, he had begged Remus for the job. He was completely willing to do his part for the war effort, no matter how many young witches he had to kiss.
"Just because I refuse to kiss Potter doesn't mean I'm a prude. I've snogged my fair share of men, but I value my privacy and don't flaunt my conquests for the whole school to see," Lily huffed, crossing her arms in defiance.
"I believe you, Lily," Sirius winked, his gaze roaming over her figure, "a witch as pretty as you should be snogged constantly. Just don't let James know, he can get a tad jealous."
"I'm not with Potter and would appreciate if people didn't lump us together," she gritted, eying her line of kissable wizards with feigned interest.
Maybe this was the perfect opportunity to find some other guy to occupy her mind. A few great kisses and she'd be saying Potter who?
"Lily," Sirius responded solemnly, "you know as well as I do that you two will get together eventually."
Lily chose not to retort, her mind whirling with the giddy sensation of her and Potter together. She was still kicking herself for not agreeing to go out after their greenhouse detention a few weeks ago. The only reason she hadn't jumped James yet was because of her stupid pride. She knew everyone expected her them to be together, which was why she fought it so hard. Sighing at the complications in her last year at school, she pasted on a cheerful smile and beckoned for the first boy to step forward.
"I see her booth," Peter shouted, drawing James' hazel eyes to the growing line of wizards before his favorite redhead.
"What are all these blokes doing here?" James sputtered, his perfect day slowly going down the drain.
"Surely you took this into consideration before you asked me to swindle Lily into working the kissing booth," Remus rolled his eyes, glancing at his besotted friend, "she's required to kiss strangers all day."
James clenched his jaw painfully, his hands diving into his robes, searching for something. "Of course I took it all into consideration," he seethed, withdrawing a scroll of parchment from his pocket, "I just hoped they'd all be too scared to approach her so I didn't have to resort to this measure."
With an overly dramatic sigh, James snapped the scroll open and marched determinedly through the line of boys, causing them to scatter in his wake. "A little over eager there, Prongs?" Sirius barked with his loud laughter, drawing more attention to the determined wizard.
"Really, Potter, wait your turn," Lily scolded, fighting the rosy blush quickly spreading over her as he stopped in front of her.
James winked at her before turning around to face the line of males, "Listen up," he ordered with his Quidditch captain confidence, "since this is a charity event, we've decided to filter some of your kissing options to preserve the dignity of Miss Evans. Under no circumstances are you to kiss her lips. You are restricted to her face, the exception being her hands. If any of you try to breach this contract be prepared for the consequences."
"Potter," Lily growled, all thoughts of wonderful kisses fleeing her mind, "under whose authority?"
"The Marauders," James grinned, slightly wincing at a persistent cough behind him and quickly revised, "the Marauders minus Moony."
"No one's going to listen to you, Potter." Lily spat, "Are you boys?"
She motioned for the support of the wizards in line. A loud chorus of catcalls and "Bugger off James," flew from the group. "I think the only rule I'm prepared to follow is to kiss every wizard except the Marauders minus Remus," Lily exclaimed, smirking at James confidently.
"Ah, Lily," he cooed, "I was planning on you to say that. So I designed something to get the point across."
Enchanting the scroll in his hands, he cast a wordless spell, causing the parchment to fly over to the stand, attaching to Lily's side of the booth with a squelching smack. Gaping at him, she ignored the muffled laughter of the crowd and craned her neck to read the parchment.
Warning:
J. Potter's Private Property
Go for her lips and suffer painful hexes
Courtesy of the Marauders (minus Messr. Moony)
A large moving photo of James frowning and shaking his wand threateningly at the boys in line sent the nearby crowd into hysterics. "Potter, I am not your property!" Lily screeched, whirling a hex at him that he barely dodged.
The jinx hit a young second year in line, "Oh my God, I'm so sorry," Lily gushed as the boy stumbled out of line with Elephant ears.
"Nice aim, Evans," James teased, leaning over the counter to gaze into her eyes, "I'm waiting for my kiss."
James puckered his lips dramatically and leaned closer. "Read your own damn rules," Lily snapped, pointing to the cursed parchment, "no kissing on the lips."
"Love, you didn't read the fine print," he murmured, pointing to a barely distinguishable catch in miniscule print that exempted J. Potter.
Growling in frustration, she ignored the money he placed on the table, turning away from him. "You're an arrogant prick, Potter," she seethed.
"An honorable quality in a wizard," he grinned, tilting her face as he focused on her lips.
"Mr. Potter," McGonagall shrieked, stomping towards the pair, "the Hufflepuffs' stand is malfunctioning; it's been jinxed. Professors aren't allowed to interfere with the final exam. As Head Boy you are in charge to make sure the stands are running smoothly."
"I'll be right there," he promised, leaning in towards Lily, her lips were so damn close.
"Now, Potter!" she ordered, grabbing him by the scruff of his robes and dragging him away from the kissing booth.
Lily smugly smiled as she watched him leave, waving mockingly. "Alright boys," Lily winked, beckoning the boys forward with a confident smile, "ignore the rules and step right up for the best damn kiss of your life. All proceeds go to charity!"
Smiling encouragingly at the attractive seventh year Ravenclaw, Lily realized she wouldn't mind kissing some of these blokes. The young man grinned nervously at her, glancing around to make sure Potter wasn't in sight before donating a few coins and leaning towards her lips. She felt his cool breath wash over hers and leaned up so their noses were barely touching. She felt a brief pressure on her lips and was about to deepen the timid kiss with some added technique of her own when an anguished cry of pain issued from her partner's lips. Reeling back in shock from her customer, Lily's gaze widened in horror at the sight before her. The boy's face had broken out in huge boils causing him to collapse in pain; a few fellow Ravenclaws rushed forward to escort their friend to the hospital wing.
Whirling around to look for James, she found he was nowhere in sight. A slight movement to her right directed her gaze to Sirius slyly sliding his wand back into his pocket as he simultaneously snogged the girl in line. "Sirius," Lily hissed, snatching the wand from his pocket, "you prat!"
He didn't acknowledge her insult or seem to mind that he no longer had a wand. The only hint that he heard was the briefest smirk as he continued to service the witch.
Growling in frustration, she found that the damage was already done as wizard after wizard hesitantly kissed her hand in fear if getting hexed. A full two hours passed and although she made plenty of money for charity, she felt like she was cheating wizards out of their money. Bitterly sighing, she glared at Sirius, noting the besotted expressions on witches in his line; many had returned for seconds. Ironically, she had made more money than the Marauder; of course he spent minutes kissing his customers while she was lucky if her customers' chaste kisses reached five seconds.
Shockingly enough, even though her lips were off limits huge crowds of wizards had flocked to kiss whatever they could. Lily Evans was considered the untouchable beauty of Hogwarts. Not only was she smart and witty, but also extremely confident. There was also the small fact that anytime a wizard dared approach her, he found himself the brunt of the Marauders' pranks. It was safe to say that few had managed to seduce Lily and be successful.
Eying the large pile of coins in her jar, she barely noticed Remus' silent presence leaning against her booth. "Your shift is almost done," he stated solemnly, "you have less than an hour."
"Thank goodness," she murmured, holding her hand out for the next wizard.
"I'm sorry I tricked you into helping," Remus blurted, clenching his hands nervously.
"Don't worry about it," Lily shrugged, motioning to the jar of coins and long line, "it hasn't been that bad and I helped raise a lot of money."
"But you're not having any fun," he sighed, "I tried to reason with James."
"We both know that reason and James never go in the same sentence. And although I'm not having that type of fun," she smirked, motioning to Sirius' exuberant snogging, "I will admit that it's rather amusing to see how far Potter's jealously will take him and the way the school accommodates him."
Remus chuckled and nodded in agreement, "I admit it still surprises me how much he can get away with."
"That's why some types of disappointments and rejections can be good," Lily admitted, refusing to meet Remus' penetrating gaze.
"He has changed, Lily," he murmured, "you're not some challenge or passing fancy."
"I realize that," she frowned at his tone.
"Then why don't you give him a chance?" he asked, holding up the line patiently.
"Because I'm afraid," she mumbled, "I feel like a different person when I'm around James and that frightens me. I've come to savor our flirty bickering because that's how it's always been."
"He changed for you Lily," Remus replied, "don't you think it's only fair for you to change for him as well?"
Gaping at the Marauder in wonder and with a newfound respect she squeezed his hand gratefully. Remus was right, she should put more effort into their bizarre relationship. James had been more than patient and extremely mature recently. In fact… "Oi, Moony, get your hand off of my property. If you're not a paying customer, leave!" James shouted from the back of the line.
And just like that, all previous thoughts of his maturity evaporated from her mind. Remus chuckled in disbelief at Lily's once more hardened expression before muttering, "This conversation would have made a much more lasting impression if he had kept his big mouth shut."
With one last comforting squeeze of her hand, Remus stepped aside without a fuss. Lily felt Potter's stare from behind the long line of wizards. His presence had put her customers on edge, as they rushed past her, dropping money and barely kissing her palm. Some younger boys didn't even try to kiss her and just left money. Sooner than she would have expected Potter stood not so patiently behind three wizards, grinning at her with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. Lily felt her heartbeat race, as his presence seemed to disorient her. For Potter meant a kiss… on the lips.
It was sad how long Lily had to think about her last kiss. He was at her parents' Christmas party… hmm, that's all she remembered; there was a lot of alcohol involved that night. Disregarding the almost kiss in the greenhouse, she feverishly prayed that she didn't seem too eager to kiss him.
James tried his hardest to contain his excitement, but it was to no avail. He was so close, one more wizard stood between him and Evans. After so many years of planning and dreaming it was finally coming together. All couples got together after they shared a perfect kiss, it was written in the stars or some type of stupid shite like that.
His plan had gone smoothly, except for McGonagall's interference that pushed him two hours back. But no one had touched his Lily's lips, except that Ravenclaw dolt who obviously couldn't read. His grin stretched even wider when Lily boldly met his gaze as a timid third year kissed her palm. "Potter," a stern hand clasped on to his shoulder, "there's trouble at the pie eating contest."
James wheeled around to face McGonagall's rigid form. "Well, it can bloody well wait!" he exclaimed.
"Mr. Potter, this needs your immediate attention. The pies are eating the contestants," she screeched, her dark eyes narrowing at his insubordination.
Sending one last longing look at Lily, he muttered, "Un-fucking-believable," before stalking off to the pie booth.
Lily solemnly watched him go, smirking when Sirius barked, "Bad luck, Prongs!"
Her final hour slowly ticked by and the wizards seemed to be getting younger and younger. She fell into a type of stupor, rarely acknowledging her customers and offering her hand with a vapid smile. Only when Sirius announced in a loud voice that his booth was closed did Lily snap back to attention.
Ignoring the female sobs of protest, Sirius shrugged at them, picking up his jar of donations before clapping Remus on the back and leading him towards Lily's booth to wait in line. Deciding that she might as well leave too, she gathered up her jar when Peter's shy voice asked, "Please don't close up yet, you still have customers."
Glancing up, she realized that she did still have at least two worthwhile customers, looking behind Peter to find Remus and Sirius beaming; finally, wizards of her own age. Giving them a cheerful smile, she winked and felt a bit of her old fire creep back into her. "I'm not one to deny three good-looking gents their pleasure," she laughed.
"Four!" a rich voice shouted from afar; James Potter was sprinting towards her, sidestepping booths and leaping over obstacles in his path to reach her before her shift ended.
Attempting to conceal her excitement at Potter's exuberant persistence, she patiently awaited Peter's kiss. The young man hesitantly pressed a wet kiss over her knuckles, his pudgy hands sliding coins into hers. Hiding her grimace, she resisted the temptation to wipe her hand and with a happy, "Cheers," deposited the money in the jar.
Remus slowly ambled towards her, pressing a galleon into her upturned palm. He kindly smoothed a strand of hair off of her face before placing a soft kiss on her cheek. Blushing under her genuine smile, he shuffled away from the booth, running a hand nervously over the back of his neck.
Lily raised her brow at Sirius' approaching swagger and teased, "Didn't you get enough kisses today?"
"What can I say," he shrugged, eying her seductively, "I'm insatiable."
Rolling her eyes at his flirty manner, she gulped when he braced his forearms on her booth, entrapping her in his stare. "You must understand, Lily," he drawled, "a bloke doesn't get this type of opportunity everyday."
He gently lifted her palm, idly tracing his lean fingers over the planes of her hand, causing a slight shudder to run through her frame. Leaning down to teasingly let his lips rest over her palm he murmured, "Prongs is going to kill me," so softly Lily bent to hear him more clearly as he smirked, "but it will be worth it."
Before she could question him, he swooped up to brazenly kiss her soft lips. Ignoring the growl of fury behind him, Sirius angled his head to deepen the kiss, sending hot flames coursing from her searing lips all the way to her curled toes. She felt him suddenly freeze his ministrations and wordlessly topple to the ground.
James unclenched his jaw, silently pocketing his wand and ruffling his hair angrily. He stepped over Sirius' stunned form, cursing the laughter shining in his friend's eyes. Reaching down to pry the money from Sirius' tight hold, he added extra weight to his next step onto Sirius' stomach and over his body to stand tensely in front of Lily's; tossing Sirius' fee onto the table. Pausing, as if expecting McGonagall's shrill voice to take him away from the booth once more, he noticed the frown on her lips and the scolding light in her bright gaze. A hot flash of anger rushed through his frame at her stern expression and he muttered, "No bloody way are we going to row again."
He slammed a hand full of coins and they jingled teasingly as if to mock the many times he didn't get to kiss her today. Raising his dark gaze to her own, he frowned when she opened her mouth, no doubt to nag about something he had done. This kiss was supposed to be mind shattering and perfect. It was supposed to express his love and undying devotion. Bugger, it was supposed to convince her that they belonged together.
But after today he was just so damn angry he couldn't think straight, which meant his kisses would undoubtedly be shite. And now she was going to scold him. Murmuring a low, "Fuck it," James hooked a hand behind her neck and pulled Lily roughly towards him.
He paused so that their gazes met, noses brushed, and breath combined. Giving her no time to question him, he seized her lips softly. Gently cradling her head, he deepened the kiss, lovingly tending to her lips. James felt his heartbeat stop for the briefest moment when she decided to kiss him back. Encouraged by her responses, he raised his other hand to cup the side of her cheek, running his fingers ardently over her smooth flesh. Adding more pressure to the kiss, he nipped at her lips, causing her to softly gasp. Briefly flicking his tongue against the roof of her mouth, he quickly brushed against her own.
Lily let out a nearly inaudible groan and ran her fingers through his rebellious locks, grasping them tightly and jerking him closer, slightly knocking his spectacles askew. He tasted warm and sweet and she couldn't seem to get enough.
James gave her one last searing kiss before breaking away, eying her swollen lips in triumph. He ran a shaky hand through her locks, grinning when he felt her tighten her grasp on him. With more strength than he knew he possessed at this moment, he gently withdrew from her hold, firmly tucking her hand in his own as he led her out of the booth. Wordlessly, he carried her donation jar for her and proceeded to escort her around the fair.
It barely registered to the couple Remus' deep voice murmuring the counter jinx for Sirius or the numerous catcalls the majority of the class had made while they kissed. James solemnly swore not to bugger up this moment and kept his mouth firmly set into his cocky smirk. Lily had never felt more alive in her life and realized that if James asked her out right now, she wouldn't say no. But James Potter did not ask her out that day or the next… and Lily panicked.
A/N: Haha, I couldn't resist ending on that note. But don't worry; this isn't THE end. I love this chapter; it never fails to make me giggle. I think I focused more on the Marauders and added more depth to their characters in the story. Good idea or bad idea? Thanks to my beta, Holly, and of course, all of you lovely reviewers! Please continue to review. It's a great motivation.