A word from your author:

Hmm . . . oh the bliss of summer. I'm finding that I have too much free time on my hands now that my camps are over. Frankly, I'm bored, and what do I do when I get bored? I write. Well, even if I'm not bored, I write, but that's not the point. So, I am writing this chapter out of pure boredom, and I'm telling you this because I feel the need to get my feelings out in the open. Now that I have, I can go on to a more pressing matter, which is:

I LOVE YOU GUYS!

This chapter was written especially for you. Yes, you…sitting in front of your computer screen. Enjoy it!

CHAPTER 5: OF LEATHER AND GEMS

I should have set an alarm. I should have known that I would sleep in late. But I don't need to dwell on the "should have"s or "could have"s. It all worked out for the best. The convention had been postponed. I had a free day. The only problem with that was the fact that I had to spend it with James. These were the times when I wish I hadn't given him a second chance; that I should have told him to "bugger off" and leave me alone. That I should have made him sleep out in the hallway. That I should have taken up the hotel's offer to look for another place to stay. But I shouldn't dwell on the "should have"s. I was stuck. Damn my soft side.

We were standing in the lift again. James asked to push the "level one" button, so I let him. After all, he wanted to "brush up on his Muggle Studies". He stood next to me, casually glancing my way every couple of seconds, but I was determined to look anywhere other than at his face. I was worried that I was actually going to have a good time that day. I was worried I would let myself go, open up to him, maybe even get the chance to like him. I sure as hell didn't want that. He noticed I was thinking about all of this. I don't know how, but he noticed.

As the doors slid closed in the elevator, he said, "Loosen up, Lily. We have a free day. Smile." The silence was broken. Without looking at him, a huge grin split across my face as Mozart's Concerto rang blissfully through the speaker box overhead. I don't know why I did it. I just got giddy, and all the pent up energy I was harboring was dying to get out. I turned to look at him, and I started laughing. Again, I don't know why. It just happened. God, he was making me crazy.

He stared at me a moment, trying to read me, and then started laughing as well. We stood there as the lift descended to level two, giggling like maniacs for no particular reason at all. Suddenly, there was a ding and the doors slid open to reveal an elderly woman wrapped in a shawl. James and I immediately shut up; she was giving us a look that clearly stated, "What the hell is going on with you two?"

I moved over closer to James, allowing room for the woman that had just boarded and waited silently for the elevator to finish the remainder of its journey. We came to a slow stop and waited patiently for the elderly woman to exit.

"After you, Miss Evans," he motioned, bowing gracefully like a butler would do for the Queen.

"Why thank you, Mr. Potter," I said as I walked out into the lobby. Suddenly, the real world came flooding back, one where James and I were not the only two people in the universe. Men in suits and briefcases could be seen walking along the sidewalks outside the hotel windows. People sat on the sofas inside the lobby, reading a newspaper or a telegram. A couple of children were playing a game of hide-and-seek over by one of the large plants. Our hotel seemed to have taken on a new life since last night, and the marble floors seemed even brighter as the late morning sun shown down through the windows.

We walked across the lobby and made our way through the front doors, onto the busy streets of London.

"Well," James said as we stood there on the sidewalk. "Where should we go first?"

"I'm rather hungry, James. Let's go to that café before I starve to death." My stomach grumbled as I thought of warm bread and coffee.

"Fine by me. I'm pretty empty myself," he said as he patted his stomach. "Lead the way."

So we made our way through the city, pausing every now and then to look into a small shop or marketplace, taking as much time as we wanted.

When we finally reached the café, it was nearly noon. It was just as how I remembered it to be- a beautiful little diner with marvelous decor and even more excellent food. I ordered a steaming cup of soup and for James, a sandwich. We chose a table outside and sat down.

"You know, Lily . . . I don't think I've ever had a sandwich as good as this," he said in between bites. He was definitely cute. I wasn't going to lie to myself. He was wearing a navy blue sweater with a white collared shirt underneath, sleeves pushed up to the elbows, and a very nice fitting pair of dark jeans. He looked incredibly sexy. Yes, I said it. James Potter was ravishingly handsome.

"Mmm...Yeah. My mum always ordered it when we came here. This was our place, back when I was a normal child." I laughed. Since I became a witch, I hardly ever had time to do the things I used to with my mother.

"How is your mum? Come to think of it, I haven't seen her since last year." Since when has James Potter been interested in my personal life?

"Oh she's good. Her accounting firm is going very well right now. She says she's got lots of clients." I didn't expect him to know what accounting was, and he understood that. He just nodded his head. Talking about her made me miss my mother and father even more, so I decided to change the subject.

"What do you think your pals are doing right now?" I asked, giggling.

"Hmm...good question," he said thoughtfully. "Well, Remus is probably studying. You know, it's lunch time there. Sirius, well you know what occupies most of his time."

I rolled my eyes. "No doubt off shagging Matilda Yates in a broom closet."

"No," he said humorously. "He did her last week."

"Oh darn." I said, snapping my fingers. "I guess you can't win every time. What about Peter?"

"Oh, probably hanging around Remus since I'm not there."

"I've always wondered about him. He seems so quiet compared to the rest of you."

"That's because he is," laughed James. "He just hangs around because we get along. He's cool, I guess."

We finished the rest of our meal in silence. My soup had gotten cold while talking to James, and I was already too full to even think about scarfing it down.

"Where to next?" He asked me as he picked up his napkin from his lap and put it on the table.

"I dunno. We could just walk around for a bit. There are some clothing shops and trinket stores along this street."

"Whatever, Lils. I'm up for anything now."

"Okay. Well, then let's go." I said as I stood up from the table. He followed suit, walking behind me as we made our way to the shops.

James pointed out a clothing store he wanted to visit, so I followed him in. It seemed to be sort of a costume shop, with rows upon rows of clothing anything but mundane. We explored for a little while, laughing at the various out-of-this-world outfits, when he stumbled upon a little leather number for me. Conveniently enough, it's matching male counterpart hung right next to it, and it didn't surprise me when he wanted us to try them on.

"No way, James! You are not getting me into that." I said, half laughing. Deep down, I wanted to, but on the surface--not so much.

"Aw, come on, Lils. It'll be fun." He put on those sad puppy dog eyes again, and I fell to his charm. Grudgingly, I quickly grabbed the outfit from his hand, turned around, and headed for the dressing room. He followed me and went into the one next to mine.

I stood there for a moment after I had closed the curtain, looking at myself in the mirror. Was this the same Lily that had started out on this trip to London just yesterday? I sure didn't feel like the same person. Somehow, I felt more alive. I had a lust for adventure I had never encountered before, and somehow I had a feeling it had to do with James. Slowly, I let down my hair, unbuttoned my top and cast it aside and did the same with my pants, before slipping into the costume James had so willingly picked out for me.

There I was, standing in an outfit that barely classified as clothing. A black leather top hung to my every curve, the red lace neckline swooping down to reveal cleavage I didn't know I had. The material ended just above my belly button, leaving a fair amount of my freakishly white skin uncovered. A black leather mini skirt rested on my hips, the length barely long enough to cover my ass. I felt so exposed, and definitely like a slut.

"How's it coming in there, Lils?" I heard his voice inquire.

"I can't come out, James. This is too embarrassing." I was already blushing, my face seeming to blend in with the color of my hair. All I wanted to do was to get out of the thing. No way was he going to see me in this.

"Aw, come on. You get to see me. I look like an idiot." He said, laughing . . . seeming to taunt me with a secret I had not yet learned.

I thought about it for a moment, and then decided.

"Okay," I said hesitantly. "But we are going to do this my way. We're going to come out of our rooms at the same time, okay? And we are going to have our eyes closed. Then, I'll count us off."

"Fine by me." He said joyfully.

I gave myself one last look in the mirror, making sure nothing was hanging out anywhere, and then turned towards the curtain that separated me from the outside world.

I took a deep breath. "I can't believe I'm doing this," I whispered to myself as I pulled back the curtain. To the left of me, I heard James do the same.

"Do you have your eyes closed?" I asked.

"Glued."

Okay, Lily. This is it. I took one giant step out into the store, my eyes squinted shut, hoping that somehow my actions would keep anyone else from seeing me.

"Alright. On the count of three, we'll open our eyes, okay?"

"Yep."

Sheesh. I can't believe this is happening.

"One..." I turned toward the sound of his breathing.

"Two..." I crossed my fingers.

"Three!" My eyes flew open and immediately found James', only a few feet from my own. We looked straight into each other's eyes for a moment, daring one another to take the first glance. He couldn't wait any longer.

He looked.

I looked.

He whispered, "Damn."

I laughed.

I had never seen James look so hilarious in my entire life! Well, apart from that one time when I jinxed his robes to resemble a woman's dress, but that's another story. He was wearing a pair of the tightest black leather pants I had ever seen. Just seeing them made me blush. Damn yourself, James, I thought as I looked at him. I tore my eyes away from his pants and scanned the top half of his body. His shirt was a mass of silver sequins, sparkling brilliantly every time he took a breath. On his head, he wore a red bandana, tied around his hair.

"Oh, God James! You're blinding me!" I said through my laughter, squinting at the radiating sequins. I suddenly forgot that I was wearing a skanky outfit and that James was a horny teenage boy. He didn't hear me. He was staring, and his mouth was hanging open. When I noticed his eyes roving over my body, I started to feel slightly self-conscious.

"James?" I said, finally recovering from my laughing spell. His eyes snapped up to meet mine and the look of bewilderment plastered on his face made me want to giggle even more.

"Lily..." He was speechless. He reached up and pulled the bandana off his head, running his fingers through his hair as he continued to look at me.

"My god, where have you been hiding that thing?" He asked.

"What thing? James, what in the hell is wrong with you?" He was beginning to scare me.

"You're gorgeous." He said, before looking up at me again. Looking back now, I don't remember ever hearing him tell me that.

"I half-expected you to laugh at me, James. Why aren't you?" It still hadn't clicked with me that he thought I was the sexiest woman alive at the moment.

"I can't laugh at that." He said, smiling. It was an eccentric smile, one that told me he liked what he saw…a lot. "I mean, look at you!" Suddenly, it was if I was the only person that mattered to him in the world. I was too caught up in the moment to disagree with him. In that moment, I didn't mind showing my stomach, my cleavage, or my legs. I didn't mind that the outfit I was currently wearing was a size too small for me. James' reaction made me feel confident, which was surprising to me, because no matter how good of a show I put on, I was never confident when I was around him. Even more surprising was the fact I couldn't deny James' opinion mattered to me.

"Turn around." He said. So I did. I spun in a perfect circle, letting my long hair fly about me and all my cares disappear.

"You like?" I asked huskily.

Suddenly, his eyes flickered with an intensity I had only ever seen in my dizziest daydreams. But as quickly as the fire started, it was put out.

"Let's get out of here. These pants are very uncomfortable." He said, jokingly. He turned around quickly, walked straight through the curtain, and disappeared, leaving me standing almost naked in the store.

I got dressed quickly, trying not to keep James waiting. When I walked out, he was standing there, leaning against one of the clothing racks with his hands buried in his pockets, looking straight at me. I felt his eyes bore into me, and I knew at that moment that something had changed in him. And something had changed in me, too. We both understood it, but kept it hidden. It was too scary to contemplate.

"Ready?" I asked him.

"Ready." We left the store, ending up on the street. We walked along the sidewalk, just as we had done only a few short hours ago. But something had changed. We were different.

A few minutes of complete silence passed before I realized we were coming up on a jewelry store I had come to love over the years. My mother and I used to walk past it on our outings and pick out necklaces we liked from the glass showcases in the window. When we reached it, I stopped to look in through the glass as I had done for many years. There it was-- still as beautiful as ever. James had come to a halt as well, looking over my shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse of my obsession.

"What is it, Lils?" He asked.

"That necklace. Do you see it?" It was one of the most breathtaking necklaces I had ever seen. A strand of pure silver held a large, square-cut emerald, encrusted with diamonds. "I've been looking at it for the past year."

"It's beautiful. It would look lovely on you." He said gently. I laughed.

"It's too expensive for anyone to buy. I just enjoy dreaming about owning it some day." It was beginning to get cloudy. I knew a beautiful day like this would have to end. London was not a place for sun.

"Have you tried it on?" He inquired, hardly above a whisper. I could feel his breath on my neck, which made my body tense.

"No, and I don't wish to. It would only make me want it more," I said before turning around to face him. At that moment, I didn't know if I was talking about the necklace or about James. "Come on, let's go. We still have a way yet before we reach the hotel and it looks as though it could start pouring at any minute."

He simply nodded and we continued for another thirty minutes before the rain hit. Fortunately, we were only a block away from the hotel. Unfortunately, I didn't have an umbrella.

The first few drops descended upon us like silk sheets against bare skin. Then it came, barreling down on us like a tidal wave. I was soaked within seconds, and so was James. It was beautiful, to tell you the truth. I loved the rain, and being with James to experience it was magical. His hair hung down on his face, sticking to his skin and raindrops dripped off his eyelashes. He turned to look at me and held out his hand. I understood. Grabbing it, I held on tight and we ran as if there would be no tomorrow. I laughed, opening my mouth to catch the drops, and he smiled.

We made it to the hotel in record time, soaked to the bone. We dripped all the way to the elevator and as we stood there, shivering and cold, still trying to catch our breaths from our run, we laughed just as we had before, only seven short hours ago.

◦◊○◊◦

When we reached our level and I opened the door to our room, I felt the rush of warm air greet me. The fireplace was sparkling, looking more inviting than I had ever seen one look. I pulled off my water-sodden shoes, and turned to James.

"I want some alcohol."

I was no longer who I used to be. I had left that girl behind in an over packed costume store, at the heart of London.

Hey!

Well, another chapter has been successfully written! I surprised myself with the beginning of this chapter...it seemed very "twisted". More formal and slightly...fluffy? I don't normally write that way. It's strange what can happen when you let loose. Oh well. Hope you LOVED it! Thanks to all reviewed for chapter 4! I look forward to reading more for this chapter in the near future!

--Emily