A/N: Sorry I've been MIA for a while, I went on vacation! I had almost no time to write, so I whipped this together in the past three days.
Oh, and thanks to everyone who favorited and reviewed, it means a lot to me :)
The first thing James thought of when he woke the next morning was his conversation with Lily. She needed him to be more mature, and he would prove to her that he could be. James knew it would take time, and patience he didn't know if he had. Even if it took months for Lily to see he that could be mature, it would all be worth it in the end if she finally agreed to go out with him. That was all he could really hope for.
But, the more he really thought about it, the more he realized Lily was right. Pulling all those harmful pranks wasn't funny anymore. Hexing people wasn't funny anymore. It just seemed like a great waste of time and energy. It was time for him to be mature. It was time for him to grow up.
James looked around the room to find Sirius, Remus, and Peter gone.
'They must have already gone to breakfast,' he thought.
James got up, and searched for his school robes. They were nowhere to be found. His trunk had been completely emptied of all his clothes. It only took James a moment to realize who had done it, and why.
"Sirius, you prat."
James looked down at what he was wearing. Dark blue boxers. That was it. Frantically, he searched the other boys' trunks for clothes, but Sirius had thought of everything. They were all empty. Gritting his teeth, James headed for the Great Hall, where he knew Sirius would be waiting with his robes. His best friend would never give him his clothes until he had been properly humiliated.
Ignoring the stares of a few first years, James entered the Great Hall. He saw people turn to watch him as he trudged over to Sirius.
"Fine morning, isn't it Prongs?" Sirius called to him, with a huge smile on his face. Almost everyone in the hall was staring by the time James reached Sirius.
"Delightful," James replied through gritted teeth. "Now give me my clothes back."
"How rude! Coming in here and making demands. You should really learn some manners."
Behind Sirius, Remus and Peter were hiding grins. Lily hadn't come down to breakfast yet, James noticed with relief. His relief was short-lived when a voice spoke behind him, making him cringe, while Sirius burst into a fit of laughter.
"Hello, James," Lily said, and he could hear the laughter in her voice. He didn't dare turn around, or he would become even more embarrassed than he already was. He was quite certain that walking around Hogwarts in his boxers did not qualify as mature.
"Sirius took your clothes, didn't he?" she asked.
"Yeah."
"Sirius..." Lily said, and the tone of her voice was stern. James could picture the look on her face and was glad he was not on the receiving end of it. Sirius stopped laughing, and in an instant, looked very guilty.
"Fine, here are your clothes," Sirius said, scowling at Lily and giving James his clothes. Quickly, James put on his pants and white dress shirt, but stopped short when he noticed his tie was undone.
"Ugh, Sirius! You undid my tie!" James said, frowning.
"So? Just do it up again," Sirius said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"I can't. I don't know how. That's why I always leave them tied!"
"Oh, honestly, James," Lily said, walking in front of him and grabbing the tie out of his hand. She rolled her eyes as she slung it around his neck and tied it expertly.
"There," she said with a satisfied smile.
"Thanks," he mumbled in reply, a blush creeping up his neck.
'This day could not get any more embarrassing,' James thought.
He took his seat next to Sirius, while Lily sat opposite him, at the corner of the table. Lily glanced around the room every three seconds or so, and James could tell she was looking for Ridrick.
"He's not here yet," Lily said with a mixture of anxiety and relief.
"It's alright, Lily. We're all here," James said to her, motioning to himself and his three friends.
"Yeah, just let that git try to come near you, and see what happens! Nobody hurts our Flower!" Sirius shouted dramatically.
James saw Lily roll her eyes at his exclamation, but there was a slight smile on her face as well. Suddenly, her smile vanished and her face drained of color. James whirled around, and saw Ridrick enter the Great Hall. He felt a sudden rush of fury overtake him, and without a second thought, stormed over to Ridrick.
As James neared him, Ridrick turned to face him. Ridrick's eyes narrowed at the sight of James approaching.
"Do you need something, Potter?" Ridrick spat.
"Yeah. I have a message from Lily. And a message from me." Quicker than James had thought possible, his fist connected with Ridrick's nose, and Ridrick fell to the ground.
"Lily is done with you. And if you ever touch her again, I will not hesitate to-"
"Mr. Potter!" Professor McGonagall's voice rung through the hall, cutting James off. She was marching towards him. James took a step away from Ridrick, who was glaring at him from the floor, and silently awaited his punishment. No matter how McGonagall decided to punish him, punching Ridrick had been worth it.
"Mr. Potter, I am extremely disappointed in you. Come with me, and we will discuss your punishment in my office." She grabbed his arm and led him to her office with a frown on her face.
"I am surprised at you," she began, once they were seated in her office. "You and Sirius Black have always been known for your mischief, but never violence. What caused you to act in such a way towards Mr. Danes?"
"Professor," James said, making a quick decision to tell the truth, "He broke Lily's wrist yesterday. I know it was wrong, but I couldn't just sit there and let him get away with it. I'm ready for whatever punishment you give me."
McGonagall was quiet for so long that James was sure she was concocting a horrendous punishment for him. Finally, she spoke.
"I will need to talk to Lily to verify what you have said; if it proves to be true, I will deal with Mr. Danes accordingly. As for you... While your intentions were noble, they were still inexcusable. Therefore, you shall spend a week serving detention with me, starting tomorrow."
"A week?" James said dumbly. He had received a longer punishment for planting dung bombs in the girl's bathroom.
"Yes, Mr. Potter. Unless you wish for more?"
"No, no!" he said, quickly, standing up to leave. "Um, thanks."
She nodded, and James walked out of her office. He couldn't believe he had gotten off that easy. He had expected at least a month's worth of detention. Instead, he had gotten a measly week. As he entered the Great Hall, the atmosphere shifted for the second time that morning because of him. People whispered as he walked by, and he caught snippets of conversation.
"Did you see him punch that guy, Ridrick?"
"I think he did it out of jealously. You know, because of Lily."
"I heard they got in a fight because of one of James' pranks!"
James hadn't even reached the table before Lily spotted him and jumped up.
"James!" she shouted, running to him and wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug. James wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her lustrous hair. He could feel her hot breath on his chest and it made him shiver with delight. Detention for a week was definitely worth this.
"Thank you," she whispered into his chest.
"Alright, break it up you two! I need to know what happened! What awful punishment did McGonagall give you? Frankly, I'm surprised you came back here alive!" Sirius shouted, making Lily take a step back. James scowled at his best friend before sitting down and answering.
"I got a week's detention." Sirius stared blankly at him, while Remus and Peter looked confused. Lily just looked surprised.
"I'm sorry, mate," Sirius said, "I don't think I heard you right. I thought you just said a week."
"I did," James replied. Sirius had a look of utter confusion.
"But-"
"I know, I was shocked too. I think it's because I told her the truth. Sorry if you didn't want her to know, Lily." He gave her an apologetic look.
"It's fine," she said. "What did she say about it?"
"She said she would need to talk to you to get the full story, and that she would deal with Ridrick afterward."
"That's good," Lily said, looking relieved.
"A week?!" Sirius asked again, taking no account of the topic change. It was obvious to James that Sirius was going to go on about this for a while.
"Yes, Sirius. A week," James said slowly. Sirius furrowed his brow and huffed.
"How is it that you only get a week for punchingsomeone, and I get a month for setting fireworks on all the teachers' desks?! If you ask me, your crime was much worse than mine!"
"Maybe because he's smart enough not to make all the teachers angry at once," Remus said, rolling his eyes. Sirius waved him off while James, Lily, and Peter laughed.
"McGonagall is coming over here," Peter suddenly whispered. They all turned to see the teacher walking over with a sullen look on her face.
"Lily, I need to speak to you. Please come with me to my office." With one last glance at James, Lily got up and followed McGonagall out of the Great Hall. James watched her go, and hoped he had done the right thing by telling the truth, for Lily's sake.
"We should head upstairs to the common room," Remus suggested. They all nodded, and left the Great Hall.
"You really only got a week?" Sirius asked as they entered the common room, making them all groan.
"Yes Sirius! I only got a week!" James shouted at his annoying friend. Shaking his head, James trudged up the stairs to their dormitory, and sprawled out on his bed. Sirius did the same on his bed next to James, while Remus and Peter sat on the floor between the beds.
"We should plan our next prank! It's been a full week since we came to school and we haven't pulled a single prank! Well, besides the war we have, Prongs," Sirius said.
"About that..." James began, knowing what he was about to say wouldn't go over well, especially with Sirius. "I think we should tone down our pranks a bit."
His three friends stared at him blankly for about five minutes. Finally, Remus spoke.
"I agree with James."
"WHAT?!" Sirius shouted. "How can you say that?! We are the Marauders! We are known for our pranks! We can't just 'tone them down'! That's would completely ruin the reputation we have worked so hard to get!"
"Look, Padfoot, I just don't care about my reputation anymore. I'm sick of trying to be the center of attention all the time. What's it really gotten me, or any of us? A bunch of people who want to be our friends because they think it will make them popular. A bunch of girls who want to be with us because they think we will look good on their arms. It hasn't gotten us any real friends and it certainly hasn't gotten us any girls that want to actually be with us," James finished. Remus smiled encouragingly at him, Peter looked as though he wasn't quite sure what was going on, while Sirius had an unreadable expression on his face.
"This is about Lily," Sirius stated. He sounded hurt and betrayed.
"Lily told me that if I was more mature, I might actually have a chance with her. I want to be mature though, not just for her, but for me as well. I'm just sick of acting like a child. It's time to grow up."
"So, what now? No more pranks?"
"We can still pull pranks... But harmless ones. Something that everyone will find funny," James said.
"Ok, I can deal with that I guess," Sirius said, with a thoughtful look on his face. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and a mischievous grin spread across his face. "And I think I just thought of the perfect prank. It would be our most brilliant yet." Putting their heads together, the four began quietly discussing the new plan.
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Lily walked to the Gryffindor common room, still in shock about what had happened. Ridrick had gone crazy. After she had told Professor McGonagall about Ridrick's abuse, the furious professor had called Dumbledore to her office, where Lily retold the story to him. Dumbledore left without saying a word and returned minutes later with Ridrick and Professor Flitwick, the head of Ravenclaw. Dumbledore calmly explained that abuse was not tolerated at Hogwarts, and Ridrick must serve a month of detention.
And then Ridrick snapped. Lily had never been more frightened of him. The look in his eyes as he kicked Professor Flitwick away from him, elbowed the headmaster, and screamed profanities at her was utterly terrifying. It had all ended when McGonagall stupefied him. The teachers unanimously decided that Ridrick was a danger to others and he would, therefore, be expelled. Then they had sent Lily out.
She walked into the common room to find it filled with students, but the four boys she had been looking for were nowhere to be seen. She quickly slipped up the boy's dormitory steps and was in the doorway of James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter's room when she heard James shout "Brilliant!"
""What's brilliant?" she asked, causing the four boys to jump and look at her. James, who had been laying on his bed in a lazy fashion, sat up and ran his fingers through his hair.
"Nothing you need to know about right now, Flower," Sirius said to her, grinning. She rolled her eyes at him.
"So what happened?" Remus asked her.
"Yeah, come sit and tell us," James said, patting a spot next to him on his bed. Lily walked over to James' bed and gingerly sat down. She ran through the events that had occurred earlier, while the boys stared open-mouthed at her.
"He elbowed Dumbledore?" Peter asked incredulously.
"I think it broke his nose," Lily replied.
"Wow," James said. "At least he's gone now."
"Yeah," Lily said, looking relieved. It became silent for a few moments, everybody lost in their own thoughts.
Lily looked towards James while he stared out the window. She had to admit, he was good-looking. His black hair had an un-kept look about it, and despite herself, Lily found it charming. The light from the window was illuminating his eyes, and for the first time, Lily noticed the specks of gold that ran through his hazel eyes. Blushing, she thought of his lean muscles that had been on display that morning while he had stood in his boxers. She was so lost in thought, she didn't notice when Remus, Sirius, and Peter got up and left the room, or when James turned to look at her.
"What are you thinking about?" James asked, cutting her out of her thoughts.
"What?"
"What are you thinking about?" James repeated. Lily blushed. She could tell by the way James suddenly smiled that he had guessed what she had been thinking.
"Were you thinking about me, by any chance?" he said, still grinning broadly. Rolling her eyes, she got up and was about to leave when James suddenly appeared in her path.
"You didn't answer my question," he said, his voice soft.
He was too close to her. She could faintly smell his cologne, and it was making it difficult for her to concentrate. Was it just her, or was he moving closer? The sudden hot breath on her face answered her question. Vaguely, she wondered why he was coming closer. Then realization dawned on her. He was going to kiss her! Though she couldn't remember the reason, she knew that she didn't want to kiss him yet. Struggling to find her voice, she finally managed to breath out his name. He didn't seem to hear her.
"James," she tried again, this time taking a step back as well. "I'm sorry. I just-"
"It's fine. It's my fault," he said. He looked incredibly sad and defeated.
Not knowing what else to do, Lily said a quick goodbye and practically ran out the door and down the steps into the common room. Sirius, Remus, and Peter were all sitting by the fire, and looked at her strangely as she did a speed-walk to her dormitory. She wanted to talk to Alice, and hoped she was in their room. Thankfully, she was.
"Alice, can I talk to you?" Alice looked up from the book she had been reading, and smiled.
"Sure," Alice said, putting the book down.
"It's about James," Lily told her, blushing.
"What about James?"
"He tries to kiss me."
"Well, did you let him?" Alice asked. Lily shook her head.
"Why not?"
"Because... Because." Lily struggled to find a reason. "I don't know," she finally said.
Alice waited patiently while Lily thought about exactly why she hadn't let James kiss her.
"I don't think I'm ready for that yet. Besides, he hasn't proven to me that he can be mature. But, honestly, I'm afraid."
"What are you afraid of?"
"I don't want James to be my rebound."
"Do you think he is?" Alice asked. Lily blew out a breath.
"I don't know."
"Do you care about him?"
"Yeah, but how do I know if the feelings are real?"
"Just give it time, Lily," Alice told her.
"How much time?"
"Only you know that. Trust your instincts."
"But what if-" Alice cut her off.
"Don't worry, Lily. When the time is right, you'll know," Alice said, smiling at her.
"I hope so," Lily said.
"Oh," Alice said, jumping up, "I've been meaning to give you this." Alice rummaged through her trunk and pulled out something black. She threw it to Lily.
"What is it?"
"A skirt. It's too small for me, but I think it will fit you perfectly."
"It looks a little short," Lily said uncertainly, holding it up. Alice laughed.
"Just put it on. It's Saturday; you can wear it to Hogsmeade!"
"If it fits," Lily said.
"Fine, try it on, and I'll go find Frank and see if he wants to come to Hogsmeade with us."
Alice walked out the door, and Lily dug in her trunk for a shirt to wear with the black skirt. She decided on an emerald blouse with a deep v-neck, and got out her black flats for shoes. She put them on and looked at herself in the mirror. The skirt came to her mid-thigh, and hugged her body. It was a bit more revealing than the jeans she had on previously. Just as she was about to take the skirt off, Alice came through the door.
"I knew it would look great on you! Now come on, Frank, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter are waiting for us in the common room." Despite Lily's protests, Alice dragged Lily down the stairs into the common room where she was greeted by four males staring at her. James' jaw dropped. Frank, of course, only had eyes for Alice.
"Alice, can I please go change?" Lily whispered, blushing furiously.
"No way, Lily! You look amazing! Doesn't she?" Alice asked, directing the question mostly at James. It was Sirius who answered though.
"Flower, you look fantastic. I'm pretty sure I heard poor James' jaw hit the floor."
Lily looked at James and saw that he was looking at her as well. They both quickly looked away, blushing.
"You two make me sick," Sirius said, shaking his head. "So, what are we gunna do today?"
The group talked until they got to Hogsmeade, where they all split up. Lily, Alice, and Frank went to The Three Broomsticks to save seats for the large group while the other four boys went off to "get some things." Lily had been about to ask them what they were getting, but then decided against it. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know.
Lily, Alice, and Frank sat at a large booth in The Three Broomsticks. After about ten minutes, Lily and Alice went up to order drinks. On the way back, a tall, brown haired boy blocked their path. Lily vaguely recognized him, and thought his name started with a J, though she couldn't remember exactly.
"Excuse us, Jacob," Alice said politely. Ignoring her, Jacob looked to Lily.
"So, I heard you just broke up with Ridrick," he said.
"Yeah," Lily said, shooting a confused look at Alice, who just shrugged.
"Well, I know it may be too soon, but I was hoping you would give me the chance to show you how a real man treats a beautiful lady like you." He gave her a smile that was supposed to be charming, and put his hand on her shoulder.
"No, thank you," Lily said, trying to keep her composure. She could see Alice fighting back a grin.
"Excuse us," Alice said again, though this time it was not polite.
"If you ever change your mind, you know where to find me," Jacob said, moving aside, and winking at Lily as she walked past him. They managed to get to the table, where all five boys were now sitting, before bursting into laughter.
"What's so funny?" James asked.
"Jacob," Lily said, between laughs, causing Alice to laugh harder. The boys looked at each other, confused.
"I'll show you how a real man treats a lady," Alice said, mocking Jacob's voice, and winking at Lily.
"I can't believe he expected to pick me up with that ridiculous line."
"Wait, someone actually used that line on you?" Sirius asked. Lily nodded in response, and he laughed.
They all drank their butterbeers and chatted. Lily kept glancing at James, and more often than not, would find him looking back at her, which caused them both to blush and look away. After one such occasion, Lily looked down at the table and found that she had downed many more butterbeers than she had previously thought. When they all stood up to leave, Lily felt a bit unsteady.
"Alright, Flower? You did drink a lot," Sirius said, as he watched Lily wobble the slightest bit.
"I'm fine," Lily replied, and was pleased that her voice was clear and strong.
Lily walked next to James, and this time, when he looked at her, she smiled back instead of looking away. He smiled too. She dropped back from the group a little, and James did the same, sensing she wanted to talk.
"James," she started, when they were a good distance from the rest of the group, "Are you okay? About earlier in your room?" He smiled sadly at her.
"You're asking me if I am okay with almost getting to kiss you, the girl I've been in love with for years," he said, looking into her eyes. "You don't know how long I've wanted to do that, and then to be so close…"
For the second time that day, Lily forgot why she shouldn't kiss him. All she wanted to do was make the heartbroken look in his eyes go away. So, she did what she thought seemed right. She grabbed his arm, and spun him around so they were facing each other. Then she leaned up and lightly brushed her lips on his before pulling away. It was a short kiss, and Lily was afraid it might have been too short, but then she saw the look on James' face and knew it had been perfect for now. Lily had never seen someone look happier than he did right then.
"I couldn't stand that sad look in your eyes," she told him sincerely. "But that doesn't mean that I agree to go out with you yet." Lily saw his smile falter for the tiniest second.
"That's okay, I can wait," he said. "Though, the waiting would be easier if I had another kiss." He waggled his eyebrows at her, causing her to roll her eyes and push him away.
"Don't push it," she said, and began walking to catch up with the group. James walked beside her, and Lily could see he had a little extra bounce to his step. He was still radiating happiness when they walked through the common room door.
"What's the matter with you, Prongs? Why are you so… happy?" Sirius asked suspiciously. James just smiled in reply and went up to his dormitory. Sirius looked at Lily, and narrowed his eyes.
"What did you do to him?" Lily laughed.
"I'm sure he'll tell you eventually," she said as she walked up her own dormitory steps.
"Those two, I swear!" she heard him shout as she climbed into bed. She fell asleep almost immediately.
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James awoke the next morning, happier than he had been in a while. Lily had actually kissed him yesterday, though she still didn't want to go out with him. James made a mental note to talk to her about that later. It would have to be after the prank he and his friends had planned, which was going to happen this morning. Quickly, James got dressed, and woke up his sleeping friends.
"WAKE UP!" James shouted into Sirius' ear, earning a pillow to the face. "We have to be in the Great Hall before they serve breakfast!"
Reluctantly, Sirius got up, as did Remus and Peter. The four boys hurriedly got dressed and raced down to the Great Hall. Their master prank was going to be unveiled in a matter of minutes. James saw Lily walk in with Alice and Frank, and waved her over to sit with him. She took a seat next to him just as the food appeared. James and his friends exchanged excited glances. Sirius began whispering a countdown next to James.
"Five, four, three, two, one." No sooner had Sirius said one, a chorus of gasps and small squeals filled the Great Hall. Next to James, Lily let out a gasp of her own. Starting from her mouth, a dark blue was spreading across her skin until it covered every inch of her body. The same thing was happening to almost everyone else, though with different colors.
"James! Did you do this?" James just smiled and nodded.
"It's in the food," he told her, taking a bite of food himself. Slowly, he turned a bright red. That had been part of the plan. Prank everyone. Including themselves, and the teachers. That was why it was their most brilliant yet. There was no target, no one person or group of people isolated or humiliated. And since they were turning colors themselves, nobody could pin it on them, which was probably the best part.
Lily laughed, and James was happy to hear the Great Hall fill with laughter from everyone else. Sirius let out a hearty laugh, and James turned to find that Sirius had turned an incredibly dark shade of black. Only by squinting, could James make out any features on Sirius' face, other than his eyes. Remus had turned purple, and Peter had turned a strange shade of green. The friends laughed at each other, and themselves.
"Doesn't this feel better?" Lily asked James.
"What do you mean?"
"This prank. Making everyone laugh instead of just a few people." James looked around at all the smiling faces. Not one person looked upset.
"Yeah, I guess this does feel better. It's our best prank so far."
"And no one had to get hurt," Lily said, smiling.
"Yeah," James agreed. He looked at Lily and smiled. "You know something?"
"What?" Lily asked.
"You are the cutest Smurf I've ever seen," he told her. Lily rolled her eyes, but James could see her trying to hide her smile.
"What a way to start a Sunday morning!" a hot pink Dumbledore shouted, standing behind the teachers' desk at the front of the room. "Many thanks to the unknown masterminds behind this prank." The Great Hall erupted in cheers.
"But, unfortunately, we must carry on with the rest of the day in our normal skin tones." Dumbledore clapped his hands twice, and suddenly, everyone looked normal again. Several students groaned.
"Best prank ever!" Sirius said, grinning broadly.
"Agreed," James, Remus, and Peter said simultaneously.
"Hey guys," Alice said from behind James. He turned and greeted her.
"So, did you do that prank?" she asked, receiving nods from all four boys. "Nice. Anyway, I just came over to talk to Lily."
"What is it?" Lily asked her.
"Well, Stanly Wes wants to know if you'll go out with him." Whipping his head towards Alice and Lily, James watched Lily's reaction. Her face became contorted with confusion.
"Who?" she asked.
"Stanly Wes. He's right down there in the blue shirt," Alice said, pointing to an extremely thin boy with blond hair. Stanly waved and smiled at Lily, who just looked away.
"I've never even seen that guy before!" Lily exclaimed. James let out a sigh of relief. Lily was not going to say yes to this guy.
"I knew you wouldn't go out with him, but he wanted me to ask you anyway."
"Why didn't he ask me himself?" Lily asked.
"I guess he's shy," Alice said, shrugging. "I'll just go tell him you said no. See you later!"
"Bye," Lily said to her.
James looked at Lily, conflicted. He wasn't sure how to feel. On one hand, he was glad Lily had turned Stan down. But, on the other hand, he was worried about all the guys that suddenly seemed interested in Lily. Two people had asked her out in the past two days. Sirius- who was known to be a ladies' man- didn't even get asked out that much. What if, before James had a chance to prove himself, a nice guy asked Lily out? Would she say yes? And what about the kiss? It had meant a great deal to James, but what had it meant to her?
"James," Lily said, cutting him out of his thoughts as she always seemed to do. "You're staring at me again."
"Sorry," he mumbled. "I was thinking."
"What were you thinking about?"
"Can we talk outside?" he asked. She nodded, though she looked confused. James led her to his favorite tree out on the grounds, where they sat down under the shade.
"Well… I was thinking about you. And the fact that you have been asked out twice now," he told her, meeting her eyes. She seemed to understand, just through the simple gaze.
"You can't think I would say yes to any of those guys," she said incredulously. He remained quiet, not knowing what to say.
"James," she said sternly, "I am not going to go out with anyone else right now, and I don't want to. It wouldn't be fair of me. I'm waiting this out."
"But why? Why are you still waiting? Yesterday, you kissed me. I thought… I thought you had changed your mind about me. But then you told me we were still just friends, and I tried to play it off, but I don't understand. Why did you kiss me if it didn't mean anything to you?"
"It meant a lot to me!"
"Then why aren't we together?"
"Because I don't want to hurt you!" she nearly shouted. James was taken aback.
"How would you hurt me?" he asked, bewildered.
"Ridrick hurt me. But then, you were there, and everything was okay," she said, pulling her knees to her chest and resting her head on her knees. "I don't want that to go away. I don't want you to be just a rebound. I can't do that to you."
Again, James was stunned. He had never even considered that he might be a rebound for her. But he knew that she was right. He had helped her when she was most vulnerable, and that put him in danger of being her rebound. James knew with every fiber of his being that once he had Lily, it would have to be forever. If she only liked him because he had saved her, then that might just be the end of James Potter.
"James, I need time to sort everything out," she said.
"I can give you time. As much as you want. I need you to be sure. I can't take any more rejection or disappointment," he told her earnestly.
"I know, and I'm sorry I've put you through so much already."
"It's fine. A few more weeks won't kill me," he said, giving her a cheeky grin.
She rolled her eyes, but smiled as she stood up. Lily walked to him, leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. Then she walked to the castle, leaving him sitting under the tree. After a few minutes, James realized he was late for detention with McGonagall, and sprinted to the castle as well.