Lily had to admit that, though her fondness for Quidditch was limited to reading Quidditch Through the Ages and attending the games simply to pacify her friends, the jamborees after were certainly something. The Gryffindor Common Room was packed with people to its breaking point, and Lily was rather certain that if the music blared any louder the tower would pulse with the beat of it. There were absolute hordes of people dancing (though it sounded more like stampeding) to the music; and they did not resemble graceful ballerinas in the least.

Several hours ago, Lily had dropped her worries about being discovered and simply resorted to hoping that Sirius's Silencing Charm would hold. She took a sip of the drink in her hand and continued observing the crowd. Though Gryffindor had not actually won the game, the Gryffindor Quidditch team certainly didn't seem any worse for the wear. Most of them were drunk and had stopped caring about five hours ago.

And as if reading her thoughts, James materialized out of the crowd and wove his way towards her, stumbling once or twice.

"You're drunk," Lily laughed lightly, letting her voice take on a slightly reprimanding tone.

"And you aren't?" James asked; whether in horror or amazement she couldn't really tell.

"Well, not on alcohol," Lily admitted.

James's eyebrows furrowed slightly. "On what, then?"

Taking advantage of his drunken state, Lily teased, "On colons."

After several seconds of silence, James asked, "What's a colon?"

"Oh, you really are drunk, aren't you?" Lily shook her head but grinned. Drunk James really was quite adorable.

She was surprised when he grinned: "Nah, I'm just messing with ya."

He scooped her close and ruffled her hair affectionately. Lily glanced up at him and wasn't surprised to see him glancing down at her boobs. She hoped that he would attribute her red cheeks to the heat of the room as she lightly prodded his side in reproach.

He seemed to understand as his gaze jumped back up to her face, grinning wildly. "I can't help it if you're just so attractive, can I, love?" He asked, still grinning.

"Okay, how drunk are you really?" Lily asked, narrowing her eyes up at him. She blinked and found him suddenly quite close.

"Drunk enough to discard my twinges of nervousness and potentially ruin our friendship, but not drunk enough to forget your reaction when I do this."

His breath fanned across her face, the smell of alcohol laced with something else, something very cozy, in Lily's mind. And then she not only smelled the alcohol, she tasted it on his lips, and that other tang was brought into sharp clarity: it was James. It was the smell she associated with James, something slightly leathery and something that smelled almost like pine. She melted into it and just . . . his arms felt so right, so safe, and so utterly thrilling at the same time. It was as safe as she felt in her father's arms as a young child mixed with something passionate and sweeping and utterly consuming. She felt like her heart was swelling, like she couldn't get enough of it . . . and was brought to reality by the sudden catcalls and whistles around them, but as she flushed and pulled away he pulled her closer, until their foreheads were resting together.

"Lily, I . . . you know I love you. The question is, do you love me back?"

For once letting her heart answer for her instead of her mind, Lily whispered back, "I feel like I could learn to."

And then he smiled brilliantly, so brilliantly it dazzled her; he pulled her back in to kiss and she finally realized that the kiss wasn't sloppy at all.

"James, just how drunk are you?"

He smiled against her lips. "Not really drunk at all."

"Good," Lily whispered back.

A/N: Bleh, bleh, bleh. So sappy it makes me want to vomit. Went and put it up here anyways. Don't really know what goes on in my mind. I'm tired.