Chapter 12
Hi guys! So, I'm really sorry about the wait. I'm a horrid person. But I took a vacation to Nova Scotia and I just got back.
Anyways, I think this chapter is kinda choppy, not my favorite I've written so far, but I hope you like it anyways.
Please review, it will help me write and update sooner, honestly.
James was elated. Lily had asked him (well, attempted to ask him) to one of Slughorn's parties, something he'd persistently tried to convince her to do in fifth year.
Operation befriend Lily Evans was going very well indeed. The beauty of it was, really, though, that he hadn't deceived Lily or pretended one step of the way. He'd been himself, one hundred percent honest and real. And she still wanted him to go with her. Apparently, she actually liked spending time with him! He was glad that she finally knew the real him, not the selfish, arrogant, superficial boy she'd seen him as for the past six years. It was a very fulfilling sensation.
Through Quidditch practice, classes, and head boy jobs and quidditch captaincy duties, her gentle, intelligent eyes consumed his mind. She filled his thoughts, made appearances in his dreams and nagged at the back of his mind throughout the next week and a half. Neither of them had much free-time, but when they did they spent it together. The library might not have counted as spending time together, with Madam Pince's constant hovering and shushing every time they tried to speak, but they quickly developed a steady routine. They met in their common room every morning, ate breakfast together, then classes, lunch, where they sat in a group with Peter, Remus, Sirius, Alice, and Frank, then a quick visit to the library, more classes, dinner together. James typically had Quidditch practice in the evenings, then the two of them studied in front of the fire in their common room. Then they planned and organized for the Christmas Ball, which was coming along suprisingly well despite their late start. Bed. Repeat. The only variable in their schedule was patrolling the corridors, which James was beginning to love.
Even though he was exhausted, James found himself waking up earlier so he and Lily had more time to talk at breakfast and cutting Quidditch practice shorter so he could get to their nightly study sessions. But he was also trying to keep up with spending time with Remus, Peter, and Sirius. He didn't want to leave them in the dust just because Lily was finally responding to his penchant for her.
NEWT work was tough and even if he wasn't crazy about Lily, he would've appreciated her friendship all the same. Between the two of them, homework was easier. She helped him understand concepts and laws in Potions and Charms; he helped her apply them and put her extensive knowledge to use in Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts. They worked on star charts and Herbology sketches together, sometime even copying work off of each-other, something James would've never dreamed Lily would agree to.
He found something new about her that made him fall a little harder every day. He discovered that when she was disgusted she bit the inside of her cheeks and ground her teeth when she was annoyed or angry. He learned about her friends from Muggle school, Joanna and Taylor, friends she had to leave behind when she came to Hogwarts but still saw during the summer holidays. He'd found out that her parent's names were Rosie and Marcus, that her mum worked in Cokeworth's local flower shop, and her dad worked as an electrician - a job that James did not understand but found fascinating. She'd reminisced to him about her Mum's parents, who had died in a car accident during Lily's third year at Hogwarts. She also mentioned her other set of grandparents: her grandfather, who had died of heart disease, and her grandmother, who had gone slightly batty after the loss of her husband and frequently called Lily "Hamper." What this was supposed to mean, neither James nor Lily had any idea, but they laughed about it all the same. They were then unceremoniously kicked out of library by a very angry Madam Pince.
In turn James told Lily about his family, which was very small and extremely interesting to Lily, since she had no Wizarding relatives. He told her about all the Marauder's adventures over the years, how they used to sneak out under the invisibility cloak and pull all sorts of ridiculous pranks. He complained to her that the four of them could most certainly not fit under it anymore, but thought aloud that perhaps it was for the best.
This morning James woke up in a particularly cheerful mood. Tonight was the night of Slughorn's party, and he was actually excited. Yes, throughout the years he had poked fun at the member's of the 'Slug Club', but it wouldn't hurt him to be humble and attend one for once. But, honestly? The Slug Club? It was a name practically begging to be mocked. But he would go to any sort of event to spend time with Lily, he didn't really care what it was. He showered, got dressed, grabbed his books and ran downstairs, stopping before he reached the bottom. Lily was leaning against the side of the banister, her nose in a book.
Merlin, she was beautiful.
"Good morning." he said quietly, appreciating the way her hair cascaded down her back in soft ember waves. It reminded him of the ocean's tide at sunrise. Lily looked up from her book and her eyes lit up at the sight of him. He treasured that: her eyes used to narrow in dislike whenever he entered a room, but now... well, things had changed. She too looked particularly energized today. He was sure their thinking was on the wavelength. They had mentioned the party to each-other a few times since her brave but pathetic attempt in asking him to come with her, but he didn't think they needed words to communicate today. Lily marked her page and stuffed her book back into her bag.
"You ready?" he asked brightly, jumping down one step and leaning against his side of the banister so he was looking straight down into her eyes.
"Yup." she quickly tucked her hair behind her ear, leaving behind a few strands. He leaned over the railing towards her and put the flyaway hairs back in place. She looked up at him with wide, smiling eyes.
"Thanks." she said breathlessly, a touch of red rising to her cheeks.
"No problem." he forced himself to back away from her - the smell of her was incapacitating, like vanilla and brown sugar. "How did you sleep?" he descended to her level and started toward the portrait hole, trying not to audibly sniff her.
"Not great." she shrugged, the pink fading from her face. "The nightmares have been getting more frequent. I think it's because I've been so busy."
James took her hand and squeezed it. Her hand was so soft, small, and delicate. He felt so obligated to protect her, though he knew fully what a capable witch she was.
"Once you go home for the holidays you can relax." he reminded her. "Two whole weeks of freedom from studying. It should be great." He reluctantly released her hand. Over the past couple weeks, he's been careful. He wasn't going to ruin their friendship by moving too fast for her in the public eye. He didn't know where their relationship was heading, if anywhere, but he was content with being her close friend, her confidante - best friend even.
"It should be nice," she agreed. "as long as Tuney's boyfriend isn't there."
James chuckled softly. "So what's first on the schedule today?"
"Er... What's today? Friday? That would be Arithmacy." He found the way she answered her own questions rather endearing. "What about you?"
"Care of Magical creatures." he replied. "I think Professor Kettleburn is getting a bit tired of teaching. Do you realize how many parts of his body he's lost over the years?"
"More than is reasonable?"
"Definitely more than is reasonable." He opened the Great Hall door for her. As they walked down the aisle, James tried to ignore the people pointing at them. He was getting used to people whispering and giggling when he was with Lily. He didn't mind, really, but he didn't want it to make Lily uncomfortable and chase her away.
"You would think they would've found something more interesting to talk about than the fact that we're - " she faltered for a barely noticeable second. " - friends, now." She pushed her hair back from her face and suddenly became very interested in the stone tiles of the floor.
"You would think." James smiled, pretending not to notice. They took a seat at the Gryffindor table, which wasn't very full yet. They chatted for a few minutes, their voices adding to the din of silverware clattering against dishes and the steady hum of student's conversations. The owl post arrived, and Lily's tawny owl, Bea, brought her a letter. James stroked Bea's feathers and fed her bits of his sausage while Lily untied the letter and read it.
"It's from my parents." she sighed after a few minutes of reading. "What were we just saying ten minutes ago? I guess we spoke too soon. Look at this!" She pointed to the first paragraph. He took the letter.
Our dearest Lily, it read
How are you? How are you doing in your classes? Perfectly, we're sure, but we suppose it's polite to ask anyways. Is being head girl still everything you hoped for? How is James doing?
He paused for a moment at that point. She'd told her parents about him? What had she said? Had she complained about how obnoxious he was or how they were becoming friends? He hadn't thought about it before now, but she had probably complained to her parents about him a lot over the years. Fantastic. He resumed reading.
How's Alice? Tell her hello from us. We miss you very much, so owl us soon.
You are, as always, very welcome to come home for the Christmas holidays, but before you decided we wanted to tell you that Petunia is coming home and bringing her boyfriend Vernon. We would absolutely love for you to be here but we understand if you want to stay at Hogwarts.
The letter continued for another page and was signed at the bottom from Mum and Dad.
Lily was frowning. James made a sympathetic face.
"What are you going to do?"
"I don't know... I'd love to see my mum and dad, but you don't know what Vernon's like. He's a nightmare, honestly." She put her face in her hands. "And I can't even go to Alice's because her family's going to South America on vacation." James's brain was whirling, but he didn't say anything.
"Okay, sorry." Lily emerged from behind her hands. She nibbled on a piece of toast and stared at her plate pensively. James knew she was contemplating, so he didn't bother her. When she finally looked up from her plate, James gave her a tentative smile.
"What's the consensus?" he asked, knowing she'd thought hard and made up her mind.
"I'm staying here." she said resolutely. "I'll be miserable if I go home. I know my mum and dad will understand. They know how much I ha- dislike Vernon." She cocked her head at him. "You're going home for Christmas, right?"
He nodded, noticing that she looked a bit disappointed. Or perhaps it was just his ego.
"Well, have fun for me." she said gloomily. "I'll probably read a hundred books while you're gone."
"Don't exaggerate." he raised his eyebrows. "I bet you'll read... twenty-three."
"Is that a challenge?"
"Five galleons," he offered. "That you won't read over twenty three books over Christmas."
"Deal." she grinned. He loved how quickly he was able to cheer her up.
He raised an eyebrow at her suspiciously.
"Have you told your parents how irksome I've been?"
"What?" She blushed "No. Er, well, maybe."
He raised his eyebrow higher.
"Well, yes, I've complained about you... in the past..." she admitted, sounding sheepish. "But don't worry, I've told them you've changed a lot."
"Oh, good. I wouldn't want them thinking that I'm an 'arrogant toe-rag.'" He flashed a grin.
She scowled. "Bringing up my previous feelings towards you is not making this whole being nice to you thing easy."
"Oh, so our agreement is still valid?" he grinned wider still. "I thought it was kind of broken when you asked me out."
"Just for the record, I never asked you out." she said in a matter-of-fact tone.
He shrugged. "This is true."
"You invited yourself." she teased, poking him in the side. Her blush betrayed her feigned nonchalance. "That's not a very polite thing to do, you know."
He rolled his eyes.
She finished off her pumpkin juice as she collected herself and stood up. "I'd better head up to Arithmacy. I was late last time."
"All right. I'll see you in DADA, then." He was sad to see her go despite the fact that he would see her in a couple of hours.
"See you." she smiled and brushed her fingers lightly through his hair as she left. Her casual touch sent intense shivers down his spine. He watched as goose bumps raised the hair on his arms, then looked up after Lily with intense longing as she left the Great Hall. If only she knew a fraction of the amount he cared for her. He shook his head and finished breakfast in a daze. He had thought a month ago that his feelings for Lily Evans couldn't get any stronger. How very wrong he had been.
The day passed slowly. James accompanied Lily to lunch, the library, and afternoon classes as usual. He would occasionally lapse into day dreams in class, only to be suddenly aroused by a strange, excited jolt of anticipation in his midsection. He struggled a all day to not just give up on his work and just stare at Lily. He noticed she seemed a bit jittery too, tapping her quill on her desk all throughout DADA and History of Magic. Finally class ended. James thought it was a terrible thing, having the easily most boring class at the end of the day.
"Hey." James said to Lily as they packed up their things and Professor Binns drifted back through the blackboard. "I scheduled Quidditch practice early, so I'll meet you in the common room at quarter to eight, okay?"
"Okay." She gave a nervous smile. "I'll be there."
"I'll see you soon, then." he waved as they left the classroom and headed opposite directions.
James ate dinner with the Quidditch team, then headed down to the pitch. He was incredibly proud of his team. Tonks was getting better every practice, Marlene was making more saves, and he, Sirius, and Emmeline were working together beautifully. James was sure they could win their next match against Ravenclaw. He started practice with showing them some diagrams he'd drawn, then they went out and practiced the moves. They ran, did some conditioning, and worked on blocking, aiming, and maneuvers until quarter after seven.
"Good job, guys." he said as they left the changing rooms. "I'll see you normal time tomorrow, okay?"
"Have fun with Lily!" Tonks called after him, her voice mischievous. He turned around, one eyebrow raised.
"Yeah, good luck." Marlene beamed at him.
"Padfoot, I thought I told you to keep this on the down low." James rolled his eyes.
Sirius grinned sheepishly.
"Sorry, mate. They asked why practice was scheduled earlier!"
James just shook his head and headed back up to the school. When he reached their dorms and headed up to shower, he heard muffled thumps from Lily's room. It sounded like she was rummaging through her trunk and chucking unwanted objects around the room. He gave a silent laugh, thinking that was probably exactly what she was doing.
He showered, taking extra care to make sure all the sweat was completely gone from his body. He dried his hair with a quick spell and tried to get it to lay flat, to no avail. He sprayed on some cologne and donned his dress robes. He checked his watch. 7:40. He exhaled loudly and looked into the mirror, fidgeting with the sleeve of his robes. He nervously flattened his hair again. It seemed to magically pop back up into an upright position. He looked at his watch again. 7:41. He made his way down to the empty common room. The fire crackled cheerfully in the quiet. James sunk onto the couch and let himself fall to thought.
Lily Evans.
She was kind, deep, and innocent. She was remarkably intelligent, interesting, and utterly beautiful. His collected demeanor clashed with her fiery temper, but somehow they seemed to fit together perfectly. He didn't deserve her, he knew that. But that didn't stop him from wanting her.
Did she even know how much he was at her mercy? A few words out of her mouth could easily break his heart into pieces, but he was still incredibly, foolishly, happy.
He was a fool. What was he doing? How many times had Lily made it clear that she didn't like him?
He shook himself. Things had changed. She'd changed. He'd changed.
She likes you, he told himself firmly. She likes you, or she wouldn't be going to this with you.
A moment of strong horror overtook him. Technically, she'd never asked him to come with her. What if she hadn't been trying to ask him out at all? What if he had misunderstood her? He racked his brains, thinking. She'd said Slughorn had just invited her... That she was supposed to bring a friend... That she was wondering if... And then he'd stepped in. But she definitely said
"I was wondering if... Mumble mumble, you would like to-" She had been red as a tomato, too.
Why else would she have been so embarrassed? He breathed out slowly. He was being ridiculous.
"Where's your confidence, James?" He muttered to himself. "Now's not the time to loose your ego." He buried his face in his hands wearily and tried to focus. He mentally went through his body and manually relaxed each part, letting the warmth of the fire sink into his tense muscles.
Neck.
Shoulders.
Triceps.
Biceps.
Hands.
Abs.
"Sorry." The tenor of Lily's soft voice carried across the room from the top of the staircase, immediately sending blood pounding through James's veins again. "I couldn't find my shoes." He looked up from his hands. She looked incredible. Her long, dark red locks were curled into perfectly soft, bouncy ringlets. Her shining emerald eyes seemed larger than usual against her pale, porcelain skin and her pink lips, full and perfect, were turned up into a shy smile. She descended the stairs, her emerald green dress robes sweeping behind her elegantly. James reminded himself to shut his mouth.
"Hi." he managed to speak. His mouth was dry as she approached him. He forced his brain to speed up. "You look-" he groped for a word that could somehow explain the beauty of her. "stunning," he settled for. "Absolutely stunning."
"Thanks." she blushed and bit her lip. "Shall we go then?"
"Er, yes, let's." he replied, tearing his eyes away from the smooth curve of her bottom lip. "Ladies first." he gestured toward the portrait hole.
He followed her out and they walked down the hall in a somewhat awkward silence. James racked his brain, trying to think of something casual or clever to say, but she spoke before he could.
"So I just found out yesterday..." she sounded excited. "Guess who's going to be at the party?"
"Who?"
"Josef Wronksi."
James stopped in his tracks.
"Josef Wronski?" he repeated in a hushed tone.
"Er. Yes..." Lily looked slightly alarmed at his expression.
"The Josef Wronski?" he clarified disbelievingly. "Legendary seeker for the Grodzisk Goblins, and inventor of the Wronksi feint?"
"Yes." Lily's brow furrowed. "Also, the author of Theory of Quidditch."
James slowly began walking again, running a hand through his hair. "Do you think I can get his signature?"
Lily gave a soft laugh. "I would think so." Suddenly she narrowed her eyes at him. "Does this mean we're going to spend the whole night stalking him?" James looked at her guiltily.
"Of course not. Well, maybe a little."
"A little stalking I can deal with." She gave a cute little smile.
James made a mental note not to ignore Lily despite one of his hero's presence. Not that he was really capable of ignoring her anyways. He'd tried a lot last year. He'd tried not to think of her, or look at her, he'd tried to get over her, and he found it impossible. Every couple of weeks he'd cave and ask her out again. And yes, he'd been obnoxious, but she was like a strange addiction. She was irresistible.
Lily laughed her delicate soprano laugh, interrupting his train of thought. "You look like you've just seen a ghost."
He frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh." she said, a look of amused apprehension spread across her face. "Sorry. Just a Muggle aphorism."
"Aphorism?" What was aphorism? He felt really foolish now.
"Er, you know an expression. Axiom, maxim, saw, proverb, saying, phrase..."
James shook his head. "What do you do in your spare time, Lily, read dictionaries?"
"No." she replied seriously. "Though I did try to read through the dictionary when I was nine. I think I got to the B's."
"Well that would explain your extensive knowledge of the synonyms for the word 'aphorism.'"
"Indeed." she smiled as he opened Slughorn's office door for her. Soft classical music drifted out of a phonograph across the dimly lit, red velvet draped room. A long table of delicacies lined the wall; James could detect the subtle aromas of trifle, treacle tart, and crystallized pineapple. Waiters bobbed between students with loaded trays of hors d'oeuvres mulled mead, and no doubt, butterbeer.
James immediately took note of several faces he recognized: Gwenog Jones, an extremely talented, but very conceited Ravenclaw Quidditch player; he also saw Eric Munch and Edgar Bones, aspiring Ministry officials.
Chatting in a circle was Caradoc Dearborn, Strugis Podmore, and a boy called Stebbins, all very high-achieving students.
He saw Doris Crockford, a girl infamous for answering questions incorrectly no matter what class she was in. Alongside her was Bertha Jorkins, another infamously prying, interfering, face. James couldn't imagine that either of the girls was invited by Slughorn, who was mainly interested in young witches and wizards like Lily and Frank Longbottom who were clearly going to go far in life. Bertha in particular was definitely not one of those people.
"Ah, Lily Evans, one of my most prized jewels!" Slughorn's great belly preceded him out of the crowd. His straw-colored hair was plastered against his round head and he looked extremely excited.
"Good evening, Professor." Lily smiled at the potions master. "Thank-you for the invite."
"My pleasure, dear, absolutely mine." He turned his eyes from Lily, and his eyes lit up, surprised, at the sight of James. "And James Potter, m' boy! What a pleasure to see you here too."
"A pleasure to be here, sir." James shook the Potions professor's hand cordially.
"I might have had an invite for you long ago if you hadn't been such a mischief-maker over the years." Slughorn winked knowingly. "The stories I've heard, boy, I can't believe half of them are true. I once heard a rumor that you were the one responsible for Hogwart's Great Centaur Stampede of '75!" He gave a disbelieving shout of laughter.
James tried to laugh along with him naturally.
"Well, you can't believe everything you hear." James replied evasively.
"I suppose so." Slughorn chuckled. "Ah! You must excuse me for a moment. Quirinus!" Slughorn shouted after a pale, uncomfortable looking fifth year and hustled off once more.
James looked down to meet Lily's accusing gaze.
"Were you responsible for that?" she raised her eyebrows. "I also heard the rumors, but I never actually found out."
"Yes." he replied in a low voice. "But I still blame Sirius."
She opened her mouth to respond, but closed it and shook her head.
"That actually doesn't surprise me at all."
James laughed at her expression, then placed his hand on her lower back and guided her toward the table of food.
"Hungry?" he asked, acutely aware of the spark of electricity that seemed to zing whenever he touched her. He handed her a china plate.
"Sure." she started loading her plate with small bits of everything. He followed her example, then pointed to a nearly empty table in the far corner, across the dancing floor.
"Want to take a seat over there?" he suggested.
"We can try." she nodded solemnly and bravely dove into the throng. James swept up two butterbeers off a tray as they maneuvered through the sea of students, trying not to spill food on anyone. He followed after Lily's very visible hair with many 'Excuse me's and 'Sorry's. A few people greeted him, looking surprised to see him there. "Wow." James said when they broke free from the crowd; sure he had trod on at least four pairs of feet. "There are more people here than I expected."
"Who said we academically advanced students don't know how to throw a party?" Lily grinned and gestured to a table, where a lone Xenophilous Lovegood sat, looking around with a mildly dreamy expression. James noticed that the sixth year Ravenclaw had worn a gurdyroot around his neck and canary yellow robes for the occasion.
James pulled a chair out for Lily and set a glass of butterbeer next to her plate. She sat without questioning his seating choice, but winked at him quickly. He flashed a grin and took a seat next to her.
"Hello Lily Evans and James Potter." Xenophilious greeted them. "When did you two become friends? I appear to have missed this event."
James exchanged an amused glance with Lily. "A couple of months ago, I guess." he shrugged when Lily didn't answer.
"You became friends on September the 19th of 1977?" Xenophilius clarified, peering at James with startlingly blue eyes.
"Er." James said, taken aback, "No, actually, I'm pretty sure she was still avoiding me then."
Lily stepped on his foot under the table. "I wasn't avoiding you." She rolled her eyes. "I just wasn't necessarily trying to associate with you."
"Same thing." James countered, starting on his roasted pheasant. Lily shrugged and reached for her butterbeer.
"I wouldn't drink that if I were you." Xenophilous said mildly as Lily raised her glass to her lips.
She paused. "Why?"
"There's a wrackspurt in it."
"A what?" Lily looked into her glass, then through the bottom, utterly lost.
"A wrackspurt." he replied, as though she should know what he was talking about. "They're nearly invisible little creatures. They float into your ears and make your brain go fuzzy. I heard they enjoy the sweet warmth of butterbeer. My sources seem to have been correct."
He stood and leaned over so he was practically lying on the table, reaching his hand out for Lily's glass. The basket of bread on the table crunched beneath his torso. Lily looked alarmed and thrust her glass at him.
"Here, here, just sit down." she said quickly. James had a feeling she was concerned Xenophilous was going to collapse the table.
He grabbed her glass and plopped back onto his chair. He then plunged his fist into her drink, splashing all three of them with butterbeer. He furrowed his brow and bit his lip, searching furiously for something in Lily's glass.
"Got it!" he declared suddenly. His hand flew out, spraying them with a second round of warm, sticky liquid. He peered carefully at the tiny space between two of his fingers. "Little bugger."
He threw the invisible speck over his shoulder and promptly handed Lily back her glass. It was about a quarter ways full.
The bread basket was oddly squashed.
James tried to choke back a laugh but instead choked on a piece of pheasant.
Lily took her glass and set if back on the table, looking slightly shocked at what had just happened.
James managed to swallow his pheasant and gulp down some of his own butterbeer, avoiding Lily's eyes so he wouldn't spit his drink everywhere. He had a feeling that wouldn't win him the best date award.
"So..." Lily said awkwardly after a moment. "Xeno, what are you planning on doing after school?"
"I'm going on a search for Crumple-Horned Snorkacks in France over the summer."
"Oh." Lily said, her voice an octave too high. "That's... Great."
Suddenly a thin olive-skinned man collapsed into the seat next to James with a large mug of mead. His forehead shone with sweat.
"Whew! Some crowd." he exclaimed. James froze.
"Mr. Wronski?" He gasped, recognizing the famous seeker in a second.
"Oh." the man looked at him with dark but cheerful eyes. "Yes, that's me. And you are?"
"James Potter, sir. I'm a huge fan." he shook his hero's hand eagerly.
"Oh, wonderful." he said breezily. "You play Quidditch?"
"Yes, sir." James responded eagerly.
"Seeker?"
"Chaser." James replied, suddenly wishing he had tried out for Seeker. His dad had been one after all.
"And I still don't know why you walked around playing with a snitch for an entire school year." Lily commented lightly, reaching her hand out to Josef. "Lily Evans, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm a big fan of your work off-field too."
"Oh! Theory of Quidditch?" He looked delighted.
"Did you know that Quidditch was derived from the ancient sport of Snorkditch, a sport played on Crumple-Horned Snorkacks?" Xenophilous stated suddenly.
"Er, no. I've never heard that before." Josef actually looked quite intrigued.
James decided that there was no point in arguing with Xeno and chose to eat with Lily in silence, entertained by the conversation between the famous Quidditch player and the eccentric Xenophilius Lovegood. After a half hour or so, Josef was dragged off by Slughorn to meet Gwenog Jones, leaving the three students alone again.
"Well." announced James, pushing his empty plate away from him. "Nice chatting with you, Xeno, but Ms. Evans and I must leave your company."
"We must?" Lily looked puzzled. "We haven't been here long."
He held his open hand out to her. "May I have this dance?" She blushed furiously.
"Well..."
"I won't even say anything if you step on my feet." he tempted her.
"I don't know about this, James." she said nervously, curling her fingers around his. "The only dancing I've ever done was in ballet class. And that was nearly a decade ago."
James pulled her gently to her feet. "The only dancing I've ever done is with my mum in the kitchen." he told her honestly. "We can embarrass ourselves together."
"Fine." she gave a small smile. "You lead though."
He twined his fingers through hers and guided her through the crowd to where a dozen or so couples circled to the slow music.
"Here." he placed her right hand on his shoulder and took her free hand in his. He put his free hand at her waist, trying not to look nervous. It was one thing to admire the curves of her body from afar, but another thing entirely to feel them. He focused on looking her in the eyes. She looked rather self-conscious.
"Okay, now I step forward," he guided her slowly, remembering how his Mum taught him. "And you step back." She did so. "Then to the right, then forward, left, Repeat." Thankfully her steps were light and his shoes were thick, because his promise to say nothing if she stepped on his feet was sorely tested.
"Just feel the music now." he instructed her once she seemed to memorize the steps. "Relax." He grinned down at her, marveling at her closeness. Her soft hair, which fell down to her waist, brushed lightly against his hand, enticing him to knit his fingers into it. She grinned up at him.
"You know, this is actually not too terrible." Lily said after a moment.
"Not too terrible?" he gave her a mock scowl. "I am the best dancer in all of Scotland. My mum even said so." He swung Lily's delicate frame away from his, then spun her into his arms again, and even dipped her a bit, just to show off. Looking down at her porcelain face sprinkled lightly with freckles, holding her body so close to his own, he couldn't help but notice the feel of her arching back beneath his fingertips, the gleam of exhilaration in her emerald eyes, and the slight shortness of breath escaping her lips.
"You know what?" he breathed, pulling her upright and to his chest.
"What?"
"You're beautiful."
Red rose to her cheeks at once. Which of course, only made her more enticing.
"And you're embarrassing me." She frowned, but her eyes were smiling, so James knew she didn't mind his complement.
Lily looked down and seemed to realize that they had stopped dancing, but were simply standing very close together in the middle of the dance floor. She looked back up at him. Was it his imagination, or had her eyes just flickered to his lips? He couldn't help but to let his eyes drift to her full, perfect mouth. She looked into his eyes again, her gaze smoldering intensely.
"Lily!"
James was brought back to earth with a rather sudden bump, that bump being Alice. Alice's expression quickly changed from excitement to horror and back at the scene. Lily quickly took a short step back from James. He suddenly felt very cold.
Alice flushed. "Oh. Hi. I just saw you two and I just wanted to see, er, how things were going and... yeah."
"Who did you come with, Alice?" Lily asked. She was blushing again. "Or did Slughorn just invite you?"
"Oh, well, I'm here with Frank." Her light blue eyes seemed to crackle with excitement.
"Really?" Lily exclaimed. "When did he- how - why didn't you tell-?"
"We'll talk later." Alice said slowly, her words loaded with hidden female meaning that James didn't understand.
"You bet we will." Lily raised an eyebrow at Alice.
There was an awkward moment of silence.
"Well..." said Alice. "I was going to see if you guys wanted to join me and Frank in a game of exploding snap, but don't let me interrupt you."
James looked down at Lily, uncertain of what she wanted to do.
"We'll join you in a bit." Lily told her, looking back up at him for assurance. He gave a her a subtle wink.
"Sure. In a bit."
"Okay." Alice grinned and backed away into a dancing couple. She blushed, muttered an apology, beamed at thetwo of them again, and vanished into the crowd.
"Alice." Lily shrugged
"Alice." James agreed, taking Lily back into his arms.
"Oh, no." Lily said as a new song began. "Not this song." James listened for a moment.
"Celina Warbeck?"
Lily laughed, probably at the fact that he knew that. "I'm guessing your mum listens to Celina Warbeck?"
"Only every day." James rolled his eyes.
"She's pretty awful." Lily grimaced.
"And I'll brew you up a cauldron full of hot strong love tonight..." James sang along in a truly obnoxious impression. Lily giggled but started singing along.
Oh, come and stir my cauldron
And if you do it right
I'll boil you up some hot, strong love
To keep you warm tonight
A few nearby dancers stared, but Lily didn't seem to notice. Her eyes were glued to his and a smile played along the corners of her lips as they sang the entire song together.
"We should definitely do this for a living." She remarked when the last few high pitched notes ended.
"What, make a mockery of overrated singers?"
"Sure."
"Or we could just create a singing duo." James grinned. "I do a great harmony."
"Oh, yeah, I definitely noticed that." Lily snorted.
"I'm glad I invited myself to this." James said, smiling widely.
"You're actually a pretty fun person once you get over your hatred for someone."
"You're actually a pretty fun person once you get over yourself." she retorted.
"Touché."
"Do you want to take a break to play exploding snap?" Lily asked, looking around his shoulder. "Frank and Alice look a little awkward over there."
James followed her line of sight over two fourth year's heads. Indeed, Frank and Alice were sitting next to each-other, unspeaking and uncomfortable looking.
"We'd be bad friends if we didn't." James agreed. They squeezed through the crowd, grabbing more butterbeer on the way over.
"Hey, you guys up for that game?" asked Lily in an easy-going tone. James admired the way she could wash away an uncomfortable atmosphere with a few simple words.
"Sure." Frank replied easily.
James didn't miss the grateful glance that Alice cast Lily. He knew that Frank wasn't exactly your classic ladies man, but once he loosened up, he and Alice would be sure to have a good time together.
The four of them gathered around a corner table and started an intense game of Exploding Snap. James found himself truly enjoying the company and light-hearted conversation that was so hard to find during NEWT year at Hogwarts.
Also, there was the fact that Lily did not seem to mind sitting close to him. A couple of times he thought he actually caught her scooting her chair closer to his. Frank won the first round and of course, Alice demanded a rematch.
By the middle of their seventh game, the party was being ended by Slughorn, who let off a party cracker and (sounding somewhat drunk) told everyone how fond he was of all of them.
James couldn't help but zone out halfway through Slughorn's long-winded farewell speech, but he caught several slurred, but well-meaning words such as, elite, favorite, chosen, and success. James thought how great Slughorn's joy must be in this room of precious jewels. He'd learned long ago that that was what Slughorn did. He collected.
In the warmth of Slughorn's office and under the influence of rich butterbeer, James was having trouble concentrating, so he contended himself with the examination of Lily's profile as she listened attentively to the Potions master.
Her small button nose and plump lips... He gazed at her hair, entranced by how the light hit it at a certain angle and made it glow gold, shimmering whenever she moved.
Suddenly, Slughorn's speech was over and James was abruptly roused by the swarm of students boisterously forcing everyone towards the exit. James struggled to keep up with Lily as she bobbed lithely through the crowd and out the door. She was built for this. He, on the other hand, was over six foot tall. He found her waiting for him beside the door.
"Bye!" Frank and Alice waved farewell as they set off together toward Gryffindor tower. Lily looked anxiously after them.
"They'll be fine." James reassured her, becoming more alert at the thought that Lily was his alone again.
"I know." Lily smiled up at him. "They'll figure it out." She slipped her hand into his easily as they headed up to their dorms through the deserted hallways. He squeezed her fingers gently. They listened as the chatter of student's voices faded away. The silence was loud, when,
"You!" The wheezy voice of Argus Filch preceded him from around the shadowy corner. Lily exhaled, sounding exasperated.
"Yes, Mr. Filch?" she asked innocently, concealing their entwined hands behind the fabric of their robes.
"What do you think you're doing? It's nearly three hours past curfew!" he wheezed angrily. Mrs. Norris peeked around his boots, her eyes gleaming maliciously.
"We just got out of Professor Slughorn's party." Lily replied earnestly. "Professor Dumbledore gave permission to the members of the Slug Club to be out past curfew when Professor Slughorn is holding a gathering for students."
"Do you have proof of identity, heerm?" Filch scowled at them unpleasantly. "Permission slip? Note of authorization? Photo ID?"
"No..." Lily glanced at James, as though asking him for help. An idea suddenly struck him. He slipped his free hand into the pocket of his robes.
"Well I'm afraid I'm going to have to put you in detention."
"For what?" Lily replied angrily, loosing her innocent voice a touch. "James and I are head boy and girl. You know there was a party tonight, and it is perfectly acceptable for us to walk back to our dorms after attending an academic gathering..."
"Sirius." James whispered in a nearly inaudible voice. Lily was too busy reprimanding Filch to notice and the caretaker himself was too busy cowering under Lily's rage. Only Mrs. Norris looked up at James, her head tilted in curiosity.
"Code 4." he whispered again, praying Sirius hadn't gone to bed yet.
"And I will go to Dumbledore if you're abusing your power, Filch." Lily finished her speech.
"Is that a threat, little Missy? I'll have you for threatening a figure of power, I will." Filch sneered unpleasantly
"No, Filch, it's a promise."
BANG
A colossal explosion sounded from somewhere above them. Mrs. Norris' hair stood on end as she yowled and shot into the darkness, most likely to find the guilty culprit. James struggled to look surprised, but knew it didn't fool Lily, who surreptitiously looked at him with one eyebrow raised. Filch looked even more infuriated and started raging at the ceiling.
"PEEVES!" he roared. "You blasted, good-for-nothing poltergeist! I'll have you this time!" He followed his beloved cat around the corner and out of sight.
"What did you do?" Lily asked him as the sounds of Filch's rage subsided. James was surprised to see that she looked admiring rather than accusing. Well, he had probably just saved them both from detention.
James pulled the mirror out of his robes, grinning.
Lily looked from the mirror to his face and back, obviously confused.
"Sirius." James told the mirror clearly.
Sirius' flushed but triumphant face appeared. He was breathing heavily, which told James he'd had a narrow escape.
"Hey, mate!" Sirius greeted him. "How'd we do?"
"Perfectly." James replied. "Thanks, Padfoot."
"Do I get a thank-you from the lovely Ms. Evans? I was in bed, and I did drop a crystal ball through the floor for you." Sirius raised his eyebrows expectantly. James turned the mirror so that Sirius could see Lily's surprised face.
"Thanks, Sirius." she gave a small smile. "I owe you one."
"You bet." he replied, as though it were a given. "Next time I deserve detention, you can save me."
"Deal." she grinned. "Shouldn't take too long to long to repay the debt."
"Probably not." he shrugged. "Well, I'm off to bed. I'll see you two tomorrow."
"'Night." They bid farewell and James tucked the mirror back into his robes.
"That's amazing!" Lily exclaimed as they continued their walk back to their dorms. "Did you two design those?"
"Yup." James replied, glad she was impressed.
"Did you use the proteanus orbicularis charm?"
"That's the one."
"That's a charm even a lot of adults struggle with. When did you make these?"
"Fourth year." James replied veraciously. He could immediately tell she didn't believe him.
"No way." she said skeptically.
"I'm serious!" he said earnestly.
"No, you're James. Sirius is the one with the long hair..." Lily cracked a grin. James couldn't help but burst out in laughter at the memory of their first ever less-than-hostile interaction.
"If you would've told me then, where I would be now, I would've said you had too much mead to drink." Lily said honestly.
"Tell me about it." His eyes glanced down to their fingers laced together.
"I know it's a bit late," Lily said, "but I really am sorry for the way I treated you the past couple of years." She blushed. "It's embarrassing to think of how over-dramatic and rude I was."
"Apology accepted." James smiled and gazed into her depthless eyes.
"What can I apologize for? For being an egotistical prat? For harassing you?" He poked her in the side teasingly. "Outperforming you in Transfiguration?"
Her lips twisted into a scowl, but her eyes smiled brightly.
"Apology accepted."
Lily pulled out her wand and tapped on the painting of Hogwarts. They ducked through the expanding hole to their cozy home, the fire crackling merrily. The grandfather clock read quarter after twelve. Lily stifled a yawn behind her hand.
"Tired?"
"Exhausted." They trudged up the stairs. James felt her exhaustion. How many hours ago had he bounded down these stairs full of energy? Eighteen hours? His reserves were wiped out.
"Well," said Lily when they reached her door. "Thanks for going with me. Did you have a good time?"
"Definitely." He smiled at the pleased look in Lily's eyes. "Even though I managed to lose, what, five rounds of exploding snap?"
She grinned. "Six."
"Well besides that, I think the highlight was Xeno hand fishing in your butterbeer." She giggled. "He's very-"
"Different?"
"Insane. Bordering on-"
"Enthusiastic?"
"Psychotic."
They both laughed.
Suddenly, Lily's arms were wrapped around his waist, her head buried in his robes. He was surprised, but held her close, breathing in the sweet smell of her hair, loving the soft warmth of her arms secure around him. She pulled away an inch, and looked up at him, flushed. He beamed down at her, memorizing the exact color of her eyes in the dim torchlight of the hallway.
"I really like you, James." she spoke, her whisper loud in the deep quiet. He never imagined he would hear Lily Evans speak those words. Well, he'd imagined it, but never thought he'd ever actually hear them.
He brushed the knuckles of his fingers down the side of her face gently, reveling in the soft and supple feel of her skin.
"I really like you too, Lilypad." She lightly placed her hand over his. "How many times have I told you not to call me that?"
"Too many." he replied quietly. "Goodnight, Lily." He leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead. A short, satisfied sigh escaped her lips at his touch.
"Goodnight, James."
She slowly pulled her hand away from his and opened her door.
James walked down the hall, his thoughts scattered and his mind unable to complete even the most simple, conscious thought. With one last glance down the hall, he registered Lily' white face and slightly parted lips, still watching him from her doorway. James gave one last smile, and walked into his dorm, exhausted, exhilarated, and in utter euphoria.
Let me know what you think! Yes, this means you! You, right there, reading this! I've almost got chapters 13 and 14 finished... the more reviews I get, the sooner I'll post the next chapter.