A/N: Before you read this chapter, we should all bow down to my amazing beta, Allie. Without her amazing concrit, this chapter would be ten times crappier and would be dying from lack of semi-colons and edits. So please, bow down, because she is amazing! Thanks, Al!
Professor Dumbledore's office was not usually this full. True, the occasional student and/or staff member would end up in there with a complaint or punishment to be given. But apart from the many portraits that adorned the walls and magical objects that covered the cluttered desk, the Headmaster's office was always relatively peaceful and unoccupied by groups larger than three. It was an unprecedented constant at Hogwarts.
That very same constant ceased to exist, James Potter noticed, as soon as the Marauders, Marauderesses and McGonagall had come marching in.
They had been sitting there for almost half an hour already, listening to McGonagall list every offense that both groups committed. James sat there in his chair, drumming his fingers and throwing occasional glances at his friends, feeling more and more uneasy as time ticked by. Considering the rather tight space in the room, the Marauders and Marauderesses were packed rather tightly together in their chairs. Professor Dumbledore sat behind his desk; his fingertips peaked in front of his face as he stared at each of the students, not seeming to even be listening to McGonagall's rant.
Lily sat with her wounded foot propped up on another chair, since she had yet to go to the hospital wing. Every time she shifted in her chair she winced in pain and James would look worriedly over at her.
"In conclusion, these students have committed enough offenses for today, don't you think?" McGonagall finished, readjusting her sleeve. "Pranking, breaking and entering, using firearms in school, tackling a teacher, as well as countless others add up to suspension. Maybe even expulsion."
At these words the seven pranksters looked at each other in horror. Expulsion?
"And do you think that is the proper punishment for them, Minerva?" Dumbledore asked, not taking his crystalline eyes from the students.
The Deputy Headmistress eyed the Marauderesses and Marauders both and then shook her head decidedly. "No, I don't think that deserves expulsion."
James felt his jaw drop and heard an intake of breath from Lily. McGonagall glanced their way as she continued. "But, however, I do think they deserve a Saturday detention every weekend for the rest of the year for three hours each."
In a moment of shock and silence, Lily could have sworn she saw McGonagall smile. Actually SMILE, in a non-sadist way, before turning to Professor Dumbledore. "Of course, their parents will be contacted as well about this offense, but just for the sake of personal shame. And house points will be taken away."
Dumbledore nodded. "I respect that decision."
"But Professor…" Gracie spoke up, looking confused.
The Headmaster acknowledged her with a nod of his head.
"That's it? I mean, we honestly thought you were going to stick us in a chamber with…I don't know, a three headed dog or something."
Professor Dumbledore chuckled lightly and leaned slightly forward in his seat. "No, Ms. Harlow. We have no intentions of putting any students in physical pain, although the thought of a chamber with a three headed dog has a certain appeal to it, I must say." He smiled at the group as a whole. "I see it this way. It's your last year, exams are coming up, and Merlin knows we could all use something to relieve our stress and take our mind off off recent events with the war. If anything helped to get us through the year as a school, it was your…erm…Prankwar, was it?"
Remus nodded and the rest of the group simply gaped.
"Now then," McGonagall began briskly, opening the door to the office, "I would be obliged if you would all get Ms. Evans to the infirmary so she can get her ankle fixed. And get some rest before midnight tonight."
"Tonight?" James raised an eyebrow as he helped Lily to her feet. "What about curfew?"
McGonagall smiled her second normal smile that day. "Mr. Potter, do you honestly think I will have the energy to try and force the entire school back into their beds when there are clearly more pressing matters at hand, such as discovering the winner of the prankwar?"
Sirius opened up his mouth as if to say something but Gracie elbowed him with such force that he had no choice but to walk quickly out of the office.
"Thank you, Professors." Emma whispered, leaving as well with Remus trailing behind.
James left with Lily, her leaning against him and limping along. The door closed behind them with a soft click. Professor McGonagall turned to her employer, shaking her head.
"I was too easy on them, I'm sure." The transfiguration teacher sighed. "But I can't help it. I've always had a soft spot for favorite students."
"Who can blame you, Professor?" Dumbledore smiled, before reaching about his desk as McGonagall turned to walk out. "Oh, and Minerva? Do you happen to have an extra quill? That three headed dog idea really was quite brilliant. It would serve as excellent in security…"
"This is the second time in a week—THE SECOND TIME!—that the pair of you have shown up at my door." Madam Pomfrey shouted, practically dragging Lily over to a bed. "Unbelievable! The Head Boy and Girl, supposedly the least troublesome pair in the school, are now my most frequent patients! This is completely unacceptable!"
James merely shrugged sheepishly at Pomfrey, secretly rolling his eyes for Lily to see. It was true, however, they had been spending a little too much time in the hospital wing. The red head held back a smile as the Nurse bustled about and cursed under her breath.
"Thanks for carrying me the way up here." Lily whispered, blushing and looking down. James nodded and helped her onto a bed.
"It was nothing." He looked down as well.
Silence and awkwardness seeped between them for what seemed to be the billionth time in the past twenty four hours. Madame Pomfrey came back with a potion and some gauze.
"You'll need to take this potion, which may taste nasty, but will ensure you will be ready to stand again by about midnight. So, you'll be able to go to your prankwar judging event this evening."
Lily smiled warmly, already making herself comfortable against the pillows. "That's all I ask."
James looked at her, lips twisting into his own smile as Madam Pomfrey left with another muttered curse. "That was some adventure, huh Evans?"
The red head yawned and stretched out. "Quite, Potter. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to take this nasty potion and heal, please."
He reached for her hand and gave it a slight squeeze. "Alright then. I'll…er…see in a few hours." He opened his mouth to say something else, anything else that might bring up what had transpired in the North Tower that afternoon, but instead began to walk out.
"Bye, James." She replied, staring after him wistfully.
The door closed and Lily sank further into the cot with a sigh, covering her eyes with a hand and stifling a yawn. Her head suddenly throbbed and she eagerly grabbed the goblet on the bedside table. The minute the concoction hit her taste buds she visibly winced, but forced it down all the same. Eventually, the pain began to fade and Lily's mind let loose the events of the day so far to roam about her head. This morning seemed like ten years ago, and the rest of the day appealed to the Head Girl like a delightful yet terrifying dream.
James wanted to kiss her. Kiss. Her. Lily still couldn't get over that simple fact. It was insanity. It was too good to be true. But she still wanted to believe it. The red head sat up, staring at the door to the hospital wing as if her mental will alone would bring James back through the door.
Madam Pomfrey had watched the whole exchange from the other side of the room. Once the sound of James' footsteps faded, she promptly turned to Lily and said, "Barking mad, the whole lot of you. But still, I've never seen a more suited couple."
Lily gaped at Madam Pomfrey. Was it her imagination, or had the entire Hogwarts Faculty gone crackers? Pomfrey's sly grin definitely gave the answer to the question.
"Now, get some sleep, Miss Evans," the nurse commanded, walking away from her patient, "I'll wake you up when it's time to go and meet your friends."
Madam Pomfrey exited the room, leaving Lily all the more confused and flustered then ever before. Her hand tingled where James had touched it.
What was there to do about her and James? She wondered suddenly. She couldn't possibly keep pretending that they were still on the 'Just-Mates' boat. That specific boat had sunk—she knew for a fact—as soon as she had started having feelings for him at the beginning of the year. So now what?
The prankwar would soon be over, and Lily knew there would be no more beating around the bush with this. James and her were going to have to force themselves to talk, and get everything out there. Figure out what was going to happen between them. But hadn't they already done that earlier today? The mere thought of their friends' embarrassing interference with the relationship brought heat flooding through the red head's cheeks. Despite the pain killer potion she had just taken, her head started to throb again. In an effort to calm herself down, Lily pictured James' face beaming at her as he had been moments before.
And just like that, any worry that was present had vanished. Because as soon as she thought of him, Lily knew, she simply knew, what was going to happen after the prankwar. All those years in Divination had suddenly seemed to pay off because without a doubt, Lily Evans could see the future as clearly as she could see her gradually swelling ankle wrapped in gauze. She knew exactly what to do as soon as soon she got out of this godforsaken hospital wing and down to the fourth floor corridor. She knew exactly what to say to him and how to end this madness forever.
Lily's body thrummed with anticipation and energy and she squirmed in her cot. Because she had a plan and nothing and no one was going to stop her from carrying it out.
The red head sat still as a statue and waited, the smile growing on her face with each passing minute.
"Can I go now?" Lily pleaded three hours later, bouncing her unwounded foot impatiently.
"Just one minute, Miss Evans!" Pomfrey huffed, unwrapping the gauze around Lily's ankle before wincing. "You've got some pretty nasty bruises here, and it might be sore to walk on." She looked uncertainly at the swollen ankle. "Maybe we should keep you here for the night…"
"NO!" Lily shouted loudly, already starting to stand up. "Madam Pomfrey, you don't understand. I have to go to the final tally of points for the prankwar."
"Miss Evans, I don't want you to make this foot any worse." the nurse started to shove Lily back into sitting position. "I need you to sit still."
Lily suddenly felt a wave of hysteria sweep through her system, mixed with panic and eagerness to go to the fourth floor corridor. Eagerness to see the scoreboard. To see James. Lily fiercely grabbed Madam Pomfrey's shirt and yanked her down so they were eye to eye.
"Pomfrey," Lily began, her voice struggling to remain steady, "I'm aware that you want what's best for me. I'm also aware that my foot hurts badly. But most of all I'm aware that if I don't go to the fourth floor corridor right now, that I will never ever again get a chance to tell the Head Boy—yes, the head boy—that I love him. Because if I don't tell him tonight, I'll never be able to tell him. I'll never get up the courage again. And, Madam Pomfrey, I hate to be a holder of grudges, but do you really want to be the cause of my eternal misery?"
With a hard glint in her eyes, Lily stared down the Nurse, who looked rather shocked at this rather intense proclamation. With a sigh, Madam Pomfrey released Lily's hands from her shirt and stalked away. The red head visibly sagged in her cot and put her head in her hands. That was it. The chance to tell James how she felt disintegrated and Lily felt a sob build up in her chest, the exhaustion and pressure of the day finally coming to a climax.
"Do you know how to you use the muggle appliance titled 'crutches', Miss Evans?" Sounded Madam Pomfrey's voice from across the Hospital Wing.
Lily sniffed and raised her head, eyes widening in surprise when she saw Pomfrey standing before her, holding out the aforementioned muggle appliances.
"Y-yes." She answered, her voice shaking. "My sister once broke her leg and I used to steal her crutches when she wasn't looking and use them."
The Nurse looked the Head Girl up and down for a minute more, before saying, "As long as I see you back in this Hospital Wing once a day for the next week so I can check on your ankle, I can confidently clear you for the time being."
Lily hardly dared to breathe. She took the crutches from Madam Pomfrey and stood with them, a little wobbly but still able to stand. Practically overcome with emotion, Lily turned on Madam Pomfrey and smiled. "I would hug you right now, but I'm sure I would knock you over with the crutches."
The Nurse shrugged. "Just be careful not to jostle the leg at all." With a returned smile, she added. "And be sure not to do anymore running about the castle with Mr. Potter, alright?"
Lily nodded eagerly and took off as fast as the crutches could take her, swinging out of the hospital wing and calling out, "Thank you so much, Madam Pomfrey!" as she went.
The nurse stared after the red head, shaking her head fondly. "Like I said, absolutely barking mad."
The corridor was packed. Every student was standing in the throng, Marauderess supporters on one side and Marauder supporters on the other. Everyone wore their t-shirt and was shouting and cheering like the Dickens as the clock on the scoreboard ticked away. Only seven more minutes until the final score was announced.
The Marauders stood together, taking bets and selling last minute Support t-shirts. All around last minute voters were placing their weekly ballots in the tiny box set below the scoreboard, which was frozen until the final tally at midnight.
"I can't believe we cause this much of a ruckus!" Sirius crowed, taking money from Star Hughes (4th year Ravenclaw), who giggled at him. "Go Marauders!"
"I know, right?!" James shouted back, sharing a grin with Remus and Peter. "Who would have thought that boys from such humble beginnings could end up this popular?"
"Because, of course, there's no chance that it might also be the Marauderesses who are popular as well." Gracie laughed, walking up to the 'Bet Booth' wearing jeans and Marauderesses tank-top. Sirius stared for longer then necessary, needless to say.
"Where's Lily?" Emma asked, joining the group and looking just as fabulous in her own Marauderess tank-top and skirt combination.
"You mean she's not with you?" James' voice shot up several octaves in panic as he scanned the crowd for her.
"We thought she was with you!" Gracie snapped, looking worried. "You don't mean to tell me that she's still in the hospital wing!?"
Sirius and Remus rounded on James. "Didn't Pomfrey say she was going to clear Lily so she could be here for the final score?"
James racked his brains for an answer, but found that he didn't recall much of the Hospital Wing conversation with Madam Pomfrey. He had been a little too busy watching Lily…
"I don't know!" James finally shouted, running a hand through his hair and pacing back and forth. "I mean, why wouldn't Pomfrey let Lily go? She's not THAT cruel, is she?"
Emma yanked James around by his collar. "Have you met Madam Pomfrey, James? You know, the psycho nurse who is rumored to be a sadistic torturer of students who annoy her by getting sick and hurt too much? Students like Lily Evans?!"
Remus pried Emma away from James and spoke calmly. "We should go get her, or at least try to find her."
"But we only have…" Peter looked at his watch, "Five minutes left! We won't make it to the Hospital Wing in time!"
James began to hyperventilate. "We have to have Lily here! She has to be here!"
"James, calm down!" Gracie snapped.
"I have to go find her!" James practically screamed, making the people around him stare. Maybe it was the pressure of the scoreboard looming above them, or a sudden bout of claustrophobia, but James started breathing faster them a hummingbird beats its wings and repeatedly running a hand through his hair.
He paced back and forth. "I'm going to go get Lily!" He turned and started to walk off, pushing the crowd apart in his haste. "Out of my way!"
"Tackle him!" Sirius roared as their friend tried to make a run for it.
At once, Gracie, Emma, Sirius, Remus and Peter did just that. There was a slight struggle and a few shouted curses and painful moans, but five against one is no match at all, as common sense lets us know. James was soon securely tied to the nearest pillar, and no one was bothering to let him go.
Besides, who would want to, what with the five dangerous wizards and witches guarding him?
"Let me go!" James demanded childishly, kicking and making a scene. "I need to find Lily!"
Emma, who looked just as worried as James himself, leaned over and said. "Look, I want Lily to be here as much as you do, but if she can't get here, she can't."
The Head Boy shook his head as if Emma's words were raindrops on his hair. Lily had to be there. She had to.
Lily swung her crutches in front of her legs, going down two…three slights of stairs. If her watch was right, she had thirty seconds to get down another flight of stairs and around two corners to the scoreboard. And at the rate she was going, she wasn't going to make it to the next floor and get to her friends.
She stopped, bringing everything to a halt. She stood at the top of the last set of stairs, overlooking the whole event as if it was playing on a movie screen. Deciding to stick with the better view, Lily simply stood at the top of that staircase, taking a seat and watching the crowd below her. The boys had finally rejoined the girl population and everyone was cheering and screaming and stamping their feet. Even a few of the staff members stood on the outskirts of the crowd, looking rather eager themselves. Lily did a double take when she saw James firmly tied to a pillar and trying to get out, but realized it had to be for a reason.
Time trickled by and Freckles waited.
James looked around frantically for Lily. Twenty seconds to go. Yet within the whole crowd, there was not a single patch of red hair. His heart sank within his chest and his pulse turned to ice. How could she miss this? How could Madam Pomfrey not release Lily? James cursed the batty nurse with every swear word he could think of.
"If anyone has not voted today, please do so!" Sirius shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth.
Ten seconds until the polls closed.
The corridor began to slip into silence as everyone whispered to their friends to make sure everyone voted. It had seemed that there was no one left to vote for the Marauders or Marauderesses.
And then, just as James was wondering where Lily was for the fiftieth time, it began.
The scoreboard began to shudder and whir as numbers began rearranging themselves in a colorful pattern that made everyone gasp in anticipation.
Eight seconds.
Numbers were fixated. Everyone took in a collective breath. A few screams were heard as the score was finally visible.
Marauders: 876.
Marauderesses: 875.
James heard the cheers of euphoria and groans of misery from the girls before he saw the scoreboard. The Marauders were all hugging themselves and shouting. Gracie and Emma shook their heads in defiance.
"We still have seven seconds!" Gracie screamed at the top of her lungs. "Vote if you haven't!"
But then all of a sudden the crowd went silent. No one was coming to vote. It was really over.
Lily crossed her fingers and bit her lip, watching the crowd with rapt attention.
Six seconds.
It was then that the most wonderful thing happened.
It was so wonderful a thing that no one saw it coming.
Professor McGonagall strode into the corridor, giving everyone a level stare that made each student shrink back.
Three seconds.
James sucked in a breath and held it as McGonagall held up a single piece of parchment with a word written on it to her wand.
Two seconds.
One.
"Suffragium." McGonagall announced firmly, blinking once as the parchment vanished.
In an instant, all eyes moved from Professor to the scoreboard as it whirred for one last time.
And then, in what seemed to be a moment that lasted five thousand years or perhaps eons and eons, the last digit on the Marauderesses score changed from a five to a six.
A tie.
The transfiguration teacher looked about the crowd and—with a rather self satisfied smile—said, "Well, I guess that's that."
Screams louder than any explosion sounded from the girls around the room. Lily, up on her little perch, toppled over in mirth as she giggled and screamed with the rest of the crowd. Professor McGonnagall was officially her favorite person, teacher, role-model. Emma and Gracie hugged and soon went to the crowd of girls to celebrate with them (Discreetly, of course. No one knew who they 'were'.)
The boys stood there, utterly dumbfounded as absolute pandemonium erupted. But their complaints were drowned out by the girl's screams. It was all over. James' jaw must have been hanging open for quite some time, because it had been about a minute since the score had changed. McGonagall walked over to him, gave him a disapproving look and announced, "Mr. Potter, I know it will be hard to keep from partying, but do try and keep it to a minimum, all right?"
The Head Boy nodded dumbly, and McGonagall waved her wand and the ropes around James' body vanished. James walked slowly over to his friends, who were looking rather torn between the fact that they hadn't lost or won.
Sirius watched the girls in their jubilance, and a weak smile spread across his face. "At least we didn't lose!"
The gang smiled and all managed to whoop excitedly as they slapped their hands together in mid-air. "Marauders forever!"
A throng of students attacked the group, slapping them on the back and congratulating them. Several girls approached Sirius, batting their eyelashes and cooing patiently as Sirius tried to worm his way out.
James suddenly gasped as he remembered exactly why he had been tied to the pillar.
"Padfoot, Wormtail, Moony!" James had to shout to get their attention as the crowd hoisted them on their shoulders.
"Yeah, mate?" Remus yelled back, looking very uncomfortable in mid-air.
"I need to find Lily." James explained, already looking for her. "Can the three of you organize a party with Emma and Gracie without me alright?"
"Go get her, Prongs!" Sirius yelled. "Don't waste your time here with us!"
Without another word he took off, shoving through the crowd of screaming students as Sirius began calling attention to himself and announcing the celebration party.
Lily stood on her crutches, watching as the crowd swept up the Marauders on their feet. A smile still on her face from the sight of the scoreboard, Lily pulled some parchment from her pocket and quickly transformed a piece of dust into a quill.
Time to carry out the plan.
Running up the stairs, limbs burning with anticipation to see her, James completely forgot the prankwar and everything going on downstairs. Nothing else mattered much at that moment.
It took him all of two minutes to get to the Hospital Wing. He threw the Hospital Wing door open and stormed into Pomfrey's office, beside himself with anticipation to see his favorite Head Girl.
"Where's Lily?!" He roared.
Madam Pomfrey looked calmly up from her book and said, "Mr. Potter, I'm sitting right here. If you see fit to yell again, I will have to remove you."
James sat, glaring. "Why didn't you release Lily before midnight?"
The Nurse blinked. "I released Miss Evans from the hospital wing at exactly eleven forty five this evening. You did not see her?"
The Head Boy shook his head confusedly.
"Hmmmmmm. My impression from Miss Evans was that she really did want to speak to you. It was a matter of the up-most importance, I believe."
James stood up abruptly, already planning on where he was going to look for her first, and accidentally bumped into the table, knocking over a glass of pumpkin juice.
"Sorry," He reached in his pocket for his wand, so as to get rid of the spill on the carpet. But as he shoved his hand in his pocket, his fingers brushed against a piece of parchment, which he pulled out, not remembering have put any parchment in his pockets.
Prongs-
Did you miss me? Meet me in the Heads Dorm.
-Freckles
It didn't take James even a second of thought to leave the Hospital Wing sprinting at full speed. His mind was a mile ahead of his legs, already opening the door to the portrait hole and imagining her standing there, red hair like a halo about her person. He streaked past hoards of cheering students, some who even tried to engage him in conversation, but it made no difference on his speed.
"Pranking Plonkers!" He shouted at the Fat Lady, who, looking rather affronted swung forward into the Gryffindor Common room.
Up another flight of stairs, James entered the Head's Dorms, chest heaving and not caring a wit about it.
"Lily?" There was no one in there; she was probably still on her way.
James took a seat on the couch and waited for what seemed like hours. The clock ticked by, the fire crackled and the spring breeze blew outside. The Head Boy tapped his foot impatiently. Seconds after what seemed like years, Lily came stumbling into the room, swinging herself in on a pair of what looked to be sticks.
"Lily!" James stood and a smile lit up his features, thought the smile faded when he saw the crutches she was standing with. "What are those for?"
"My foot," She answered quickly, as if it was of no importance. "I was surprised to see you here before I was. I sent the message not five minutes ago and it takes me double the time it takes you to get here."
The corners of James' lips quirked up in another smile and he blushed guiltily. "I can honestly say I was eager to see you. You weren't there to see the winner…well….winners of the prankwar and I thought that—"
"I did see it, James." She cut off him off. "I was at the top of the staircase when McGonagall dropped her ballot. I have to say I was a little more than shocked to find that the Marauderesses did not lose, as you had claimed they would."
"Yeah, well, I never claimed to be a seer." James laughed, running a hand through his hair.
They stood there for a moment. And like all the moments they had shared before, it was one in which their eyes met and a silent familiarity was exchanged between them.
"Lily—"
"James—"
They both cut each other off, and Lily plowed on, "It's obvious we need to talk."
"Because earlier," James finished her thought, "Our friends making us confess that we want to snog each other is clearly not going to fix all this…stuff."
"Yeah. Stuff." Lily agreed firmly, not daring to take her eyes from James' face. "In fact, it seemed to make things murkier. For me, at least. Because, James," She limped forward on the crutches, biting her lip, "I don't want to kiss you."
James' heart plummeted and he nodded, though the very action sent darts of ice into his bloodstream, "I understand. Just mates, got it." James had never believed hearts could break before this moment, but somehow the throbbing behind his rib-cage seemed to define it perfectly.
"That's not what I meant." Lily dismissed, shaking her head vigorously.
He looked up at her again, green eyes sparkling as they met his own. Every object, living or not seemed to hold it's breath in that room.
"I don't want to kiss you," She pressed on, "Just to kiss you. Just because I'm having some weird hormonal rush. I want to kiss you because I want to."
James was barely making any sense of this, but Lily continued, determined not to stop until she said all that she wanted to.
"I want to go on Hogsmeade dates with you, because after all those years you've asked me, I want to say yes. And I want to spend all my free time with you, doing whatever you want to do, whether that means snogging or homework or pranking innocent first years." She could feel her heart slamming in her chest and she could feel James looking at her and for some reason, it intimidated her less and spurred her on more. There really was no stopping.
"James," She gulped and made sure she didn't even glance at him. She didn't want to know what he was thinking right now, "I want to be with you whenever I can. And not because I want to snog you, or because you're my best friend or because I know I'll go absolutely crackers if I do anything else, but because I love you, James."
She paused, and then repeated it again; knowing repetition would make her feel braver. "I love you."
The phrase hung in the air and neither of them was brave enough to approach it for a few seconds. But Lily shook her head, convincing herself there was no turning back, and glanced at him. The way James was looking at her, stoic and impossible to read, made her want to run from the room.
And then he smiled a dazzling smile that made Lily's knees turn all but to jelly.
"Finally," Came his reply, in a relieved and ecstatic sigh, hazel eyes glinting behind his glasses.
That was all the answer she needed.
And though it seemed to be going off a rather high and dangerous limb, Lily let go of her crutches, letting them clatter to the floor. She took two awkward, stumbling steps towards James and threw her arms around him, not even caring if they both toppled to the hard floor as she leaned up and her lips pressed to his own. She would have fallen had he not been there to catch her.
As the first kiss, it was bumbling, hurried, and slightly thrown off balance as they fell back onto the couch. But one kiss became two, three, four, fifteen, and James was suddenly not caring about any awkwardness at all. Fire danced between their meshing lips and Lily's hands (which had been running hungrily through his increasingly tousled hair) were driving him crazy.
Lily had come to find that her plan had worked out better than she had wanted it too. Judging by the enthusiasm with which James gave and received kisses, everything was working out. But Lily couldn't really pay attention to that. Her head was too busy spinning with an onslaught of color and noise that all seemed perfectly choreographed with the way James' mouth moved against hers.
Both agreed silently that this had been put off for far too long.
They—in desperate need for oxygen—had to separate for a second, but James continued kissing Lily, just to make sure she was really there. That this was really happening. A kiss on her nose, her forehead, her freckled cheek, her jaw line…Lily's face was soon warm from something that was not unlike blushing.
"James," She muttered as he continued kissing her, moving down to her collarbone and making her shiver, "I know I sound mad right now, which is fine. But I want you to promise that this will work out."
"That what will?" He murmured against her lips, feeling like a drunken man having to concentrate on walking a straight line. She has that much of an effect on him.
"Us." She breathed, submerging in his lips once more.
He suddenly pulled away, looking very serious and completely sober. "What makes you think it won't?"
Lily raised an eyebrow. "Oh, please James. We'll fight, and drive each other mad, and probably get on each other's nerves more than half the time like we always do."
James smiled slowly, cupping her cheek. "I love you Lily, you know that right?"
She wasn't surprised to hear it after all the kissing they had just gone through, but the sound of the words themselves sent a fresh wave of warmth through Lily's system.
The red-head nodded, touching her freckled nose to his and smiling into his lips. "I love you, too."
"Good." He grinned, bringing his arms around her waist to hold her closer as he press kiss after repeated kiss to her already swollen lips. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to hear you say that."
Lily didn't have the will to pull her lips away from his long enough to even say, "Me too." Somehow in the midst of it all her hair had come out of its ponytail and her foot had stopped throbbing. Adrenaline rushed through her in continuous bursts and she relished in the feel of James' hands on her waist, making their way under her shirt to the small of her back.
Suddenly, a crash and a cheer sounded from the room next door, and James looked up and Lily followed his gaze with a rather amused expression.
"You think we should be in there?" He asked reluctantly, gesturing to the door.
"At a party celebrating the victory of the prankwar?" Lily smiled, her hair brushing against his face as she once again leaned over him. "Nah. We've got better, more pressing things to do, don't you think?"
They smiled at one another, and as their lips met once again, James had no choice but to whole-heartedly agree with Lily; there really was nothing better to do at the moment than this.
"What's taking them so long?" Sirius groaned, looking at his watch and rolling his eyes. "The pair of them have been in there for over half an hour! How much more snogging do they need to do?"
"Think about it, Padfoot," Gracie began, smiling rather devilishly, "The two of them have been denying themselves from nine months worth of affection. Now they have got the opportunity to get out all that sexual tension. So ask yourself, how long do you think they need?"
The celebratory party was in full swing by now, and all students from all houses were crowded into the seemingly tiny Gryffindor common room (They had finally convinced the Fat Lady to let other students in.). No one seemed to be having a bad time, even with the noticeable absence of Head Boy and Girl.
Remus winced. "I'd rather not guess."
Emma nodded in agreement. "Hear hear. We don't even know what they're up to. They could be fighting, or ignoring each other, or claiming once again to be friends."
"Or," Sirius began sarcastically, "They could be shagging like rabbits in the Head's Dorm."
"Get your mind out of the gutter, you guys," A voice snapped from the staircase.
The friends turned to the source of the voice and all broke into cheers when they found Lily leaning on her crutches at the base of the staircase, James next to her, their hands firmly clasped within each others and both smiling like idiots.
"Took you long enough!" Gracie yelled, while Sirius pretended to get all teary eyed as he tackled James in a bear hug. "Now, come here, Lils, so we can discuss the stalemate done unto us!"
"Congratulations Mate!" Peter piped up, offering James a well deserved butter beer, which James took happily.
The Head Boy then stood on a table and demanded everyone's attention. "EVERYONE! Please listen!"
It took several minutes to get everyone to shut up, but eventually James had all eyes on him. "I just wanted to say thank you for making this prankwar such an ultimate success. We have decided that in the shocking event of the tie, we will not be forcing any team to follow the consequences."
Groans swam throughout the crowd, and someone suddenly shouted, "Why not make both teams do it?!"
James looked uneasily at his friends, who shrugged, not seeming to care whether the consequences were instated or not. Lily grinned and winked as if to say 'Give them a show'.
The Head Boy shrugged and said, "Alright! Tomorrow after classes in front of the Great Hall, alright? Be there to see the Marauderesses' identities revealed, as well as the makeovers that we, the Marauders will be receiving. Thanks for participating in the voting and all!"
James started to step down but someone called out, "To the Marauders and Marauderesses!"
"TO THE MARAUDERS AND MARAUDERESSES!" Everyone boomed back and took a swig from whatever drink was in their hand. The prankers grinned and joined in the toast.
To the Marauders and Marauderesses indeed.
The party that was held in the Gryffindor common room was soon to go down as the biggest party in the History of Hogwarts. Never before had three houses (Of course none of the Slytherins showed up) all piled into one common room and celebrated something until the crack of dawn. Even Sirius said it was a party to be proud of, because no one went to bed that night. It wasn't until McGonagall came in at about four in the morning with her hair up in curlers and shouted herself at hoarse at them was the gig up.
Of course, the Marauders and Marauderesses were forced to clean up the after effect of the party, picking up bottles and taking the younger students that had fallen asleep to bed.
"You'd have thought that McGonagall would have for once given us the slip and not yelled at us for something we did." Sirius groused, picking up a random text book that looked like someone had recently thrown up on it.
"Look at it this way," Gracie yawned colossally, "She kept us from expulsion and gave the prankwar its final score. We owe the madwoman quite a lot."
Sirius nodded, grey eyes scanning the rest of the common room for any signs of rubbish, but, seeing none, finally collapsed on the sofa next to Gracie, who smiled softly with her eyes closed.
"Did Lily and James take the last batch of first year Hufflepuffs back to their dorms?" She asked lazily, leaning back on the couch.
"If they did, I didn't hear them. And I'm pretty sure the others went up to bed." Sirius replied, watching the brunette out of the corner of his eye.
"Guess that leaves the two of us."
"Yep."
………
"Please don't try anything right now, Sirius. I'm in too good of a mood to kick your arse and too tired to reciprocate whatever move you're about to pull."
"Reciprocate?" Sirius' suddenly sat up, eyes wide, "Why Grace Harlow, did you just admit that you—"
"Don't push it." The brunette warned, standing up and walking away. She began to walk up the staircase, but not before turning back and giving Sirius a small, coy smile. "We'll discuss this when I'm more coherent, alright Black?"
The smile on Sirius' face could not have been bigger. "Deal."
Gracie went to her dorm and minutes later, with the expression of a zombie on too many cheering charms, Sirius went to his.
The sun began to rise just barely as Lily and James came stumbling into the common room, looking more tired than all their friends combined.
"Man, I'm exhausted." James complained, leaning over and toppling onto the couch with a sigh, his entire body covering the length of it.
Lily stood there, blinking sleepily at him and said, "Can you at least make it up to the Head's Dorm? I'd rather have you sleep in your bed." She started to reach for him to bring him up but he just yanked her down so she was lying on top of him, knocking her crutches aside. "AGH! James, you prat, let me up!"
James shook his head, making sure that his he did he nuzzled Lily's neck and held her closer. "Beds are totally overrated, Freckles, didn't you know that?"
"Says who?" The red-head yawned.
"Names are overrated as well," He replied and she laughed softly.
"Mmm." She nodded in semi-agreement as she kissed him firmly.
"You know," He said, pulling slightly away from her, "As much as a fan I am of this snogging thing, I think I should get some sleep. So tomorrow, I can snog you and not feel like falling asleep at the same time."
She smiled and nodded. "Agreed."
And with that said, the Head Boy and Girl immediately fell asleep, happily embracing the end of the prankwar and all the madness that transpired along with it.
The next day a crowd surrounded a small podium set up to the right of the Great Hall entrance. The Marauders stood on top of it, looking over the crowd with rather smug expressions. They had woken up three hours late to class, and still had trouble staying awake at the moment. Nevertheless, they were excited as anyone to finally wrap up the prankwar and reveal the Marauderesses.
The students in the crowd, already rowdy and anxious, started chanting, "CONSEQUENCE, CONSEQUENCE!" at the tops of their lungs.
Remus rolled his eyes at his friends and then proceeded to point his wand to his throat and mutter, "Sonorous."
"Attention, Ladies and Gentleman." Remus' voice rang throughout the corridor and silenced everyone. "Thank you all for attending the revealing of the Marauderesses and the making over of the Marauders, also known as the Prankwar Consequences!"
Cheers broke out and everyone whooped and hollered, but it was soon quiet again.
"As the Prankwar did indeed end in a tie, we will have to do both consequences for girls' team and boys' team. We'd first like to introduce our mysterious Marauderesses, who are hidden among you in the crowd. These three ladies have been wreaking havoc for you all since the beginning of the year. Ladies and gentleman, give it up for the Marauderesses!"
There was a tumultuous applause and then a silence as no one walked forward onto the podium. Students began to whisper amongst each other and look worried. Where were they?
Suddenly, there was a noise like a clap of thunder and bright light filled the room. Everyone had to cover their eyes as what seemed to be a shooting star swept through the room and landed on the podium.
And there, standing in their everyday school uniforms, were Grace Harlow, Emmaline Vance and Lily Evans (sans crutches. Her ankle was declared perfectly healed that morning by Pomfrey, bless her soul). Gasps, screams and 'WHAT?'s were heard throughout the crowd as the Marauderesses stood there, smiling
"Lily Evans is Freckles, Emma Vance is Midnight and Gracie Harlow is frown." Remus finished. "Give 'em a hand, guys!"
The entire student body seemed to have recovered from their temporary shock and promptly burst into huge applause. Chase Davies looked like he was in a comatose state. Angie White looked like she wanted to wrap her hands around all of their necks. It was as if the hall exploded and there was no way to stop the amount of noise coming from everyone's stomping feet and screaming lungs. The three girls joined hands and gave a great bow, which only seemed to drive the crowd more insane. Sirius, standing to the left of the girls muttered, "Show-offs."
"Now," continued Remus, helping somewhat with getting the crowd to simmer down, "As part of the consequences on our behalf, the Marauderesses will now give the boys makeovers."
James waved his wands and four chairs appeared on the stage as the Marauders took a seat.
"Do we really have to do this?" Peter whined pitifully as the girls closed in on them like a pack of starving wolves.
"Unfortunately so." Remus winced as he saw all three girls draw their wands.
"Do your worst, I'm not afraid." Sirius declared defiantly, jutting out his chin.
Gracie pinched his cheek. "Oh, don't worry, love. When I'm done with you, you'll be so afraid you won't be able to look yourself in the mirror."
James watched Gracie and Sirius with a wary eye before turning to Lily with a worried glance. "Lils, you are going to go easy on me, aren't you?"
His girlfriend said nothing, merely smiled like she had no intention of following his request whatsoever.
"Because," James continued, starting to get really nervous, "You love me. And you wouldn't want to ruin my beautiful complexion just for sport, would you?"
"Prongs," Lily began, "While I do love you, I have to say that consequences are consequences. A makeover is what you'll get. And, besides, your complexion isn't that fantastic, is it now?"
The Marauders spoke no more, merely closing their eyes and hoping they would come out of this at least semi-resembling male specimen.
"You know," Sirius began as he poked casually at his chest, "I've always wondered what it would be like to have breasts.
"And a beard to go with them," Gracie added, poking him in the stomach. "Please don't forget the beard."
"Of course, who could?" He agreed, stretching out on the couch and leaning against Gracie's shoulder. For once she did not pull away.
Lily, who was sitting on James lap on the big arm chair and playing with his long curly red locks said, "I don't think I ever realized how much my head looks like its on fire. I get why you used to tease me about that when we were younger."
"Shut up!" James snapped, pouting like a four year old as Lily laughed at him.
The rest of the day had transpired quite merrily, featuring all four Marauders resembling girls for the entire school to see, giving them their personal spotlight, though in not a very nice sense. The Marauderesses too, were completely given their own spotlight that featured many first years coming up and asking to get their autographs.
The girls found their new fame to be quite rewarding within itself. Because not only were they like movie stars to the students but to the teachers as well. Well, most teachers.
McGonagall had not said a word regarding the prankwar and how her vote had tipped the outcome, but if one were to look close enough, it was possible that they could see a ghost of a smile whenever someone mentioned the word 'Marauders' or 'Marauderesses' in her classroom.
The prankwar was officially over and to be honest, both Marauders and Marauderesses were glad to be rid of it.
"Emma," Remus suddenly walked over, looking rather awkward in the girly high heels he was wearing and addressing the violet-eyed girl as she scanned a book, "Can I talk to you?"
Emma looked up, shrugged in defeat and said, "Of course. Shall we take a stroll?"
Lily gave Emma an encouraging smile and Gracie snorted precariously as the two of them strode out of the Portrait Hole together.
"How long will we look like this?" James asked for what seemed to be the millionth time. He really hated the fact that he suddenly resembled Lily.
The red-head rolled her eyes and answered, "For the last time, anything that we added to you will fall off in the middle of the night. Your breasts will shrink and your hair will shorten and re-color itself."
Suddenly, Lily tensed as someone strode over to the group, blond hair swinging behind her.
"You bitch." Angelina White spat, glaring furiously at Lily. "It was you pranking me the entire time. To get to James and make me look bad."
Lily blinked innocently and then said. "You do enough of that yourself." She stood, facing Angie with a cool expression.
Angie scoffed, flicked her hair and looked at James. "Jamesie, you need to choose. I know you broke up with me while foolishly thinking that Lily Evans—after all these years—would actually have feelings for you. Pathetic. But, anyway, I want you to know that I am not going to wait around forever. Stop being friends with her and we can date again."
The blond looked like she completely believed every bit of crap that was coming out of her mouth.
James stood up to be next to Lily. "You honestly think that Lily and I are still just friends?"
"Of course," Angie replied, "I mean, the rumor is that you two are finally dating, but that's bullshit. Because everyone knows Evans wouldn't give you the time of day."
"Hate to break it to you;" Lily said smoothly, "But James and I are indeed dating."
Gracie and Sirius were watching the whole exchange with rather amused expressions. Neither of them saw a reason to interrupt. The other inhabitants in the common room watched as well, looking rather petrified as Angie seemed to swell with anger.
The sound of Angie's dropping jaw sounded like a faint 'POP'. She quickly recovered, looking disbelievingly at Lily. "You're not. You don't even like him."
James raised a skeptical eyebrow at the blond. How could he have possibly dated and snogged this girl?
Lily rolled her eyes. "Honestly, White, if I wasn't dating James, would I do this?"
She grabbed James' collar and pulled his face to hers, giving a slow and torturous kiss that surprised James as much as it pleased him. Gracie muttered, "Oh, damn!" while Sirius and Peter snickered. Emma and Remus, who had just entered the room, looked rather confusedly at the spectacle, and then proceeded to take seats next to their friends as if nothing was out of the ordinary whatsoever. Angie simply gaped; looking like a heart attack was inevitable.
When the red-head resurfaced from the kiss, she grinned wickedly at Angie. "Does that speak loud enough for you?"
Angie glared, muttered a few choice curse words, and stomped out of the common room, leaving the gang to laugh themselves hysterical at her.
James, however, scolded Lily. "If you kiss me like that in public ever again I can't guarantee my actions will be in my own control."
"Get used to it." She grinned, kissing him just so again.
"GET A ROOM!" Sirius and Gracie yelled simultaneously, glancing at each other wearily when they finished with an uneasy smile.
"You know," Said Remus, grinning happily at his friends, "It's hard to think about Saturday detentions when everything seems to be going so well. I mean, we both won the prankwar and have therefore achieved maximum fame in the school, teachers sort of love us, and we're somewhat becoming a legend of our own."
And despite Remus saying that and everyone agreeing, it came around to Saturday and everyone seemed to be dreading the very event of detention.
Lily and James were the first ones there, lining up outside Professor McGonagall's classroom and waiting in the quiet corridor. Most of the school was at Hogsmeade, a fact that didn't really bother James, seeing as at the current moment he was kissing his girlfriend in the middle of the corridor without anyone watching.
"Won't it be embarrassing," Lily reprimanded into his lips, "When our dear Transfiguration teacher comes out and sees such a spectacle?"
James pressed a kiss to her nose. "Let her come." He honestly had stopped caring about three days ago who saw him kissing Lily Evans. It was the mere act of kissing her that made him believe that he hadn't gone crackers and lost his mind and started hallucinating. This kind of happiness couldn't possibly be broken, despite the bunches of arguments he'd already had with Lily.
"OY!" Emma yelled, walking over with Remus and Peter. "Do us a favor and try not to burn our eyes out, will you?"
Lily laughed and kissed James one more long time just for kicks. Peter mimed gagging.
Five minutes later, McGonagall had still not shown up, neither had Gracie or Sirius.
"Maybe we should look for them…" Lily said worriedly, looking about the castle. "There is no way in hell they're going to miss detention."
Just as the group began to take off, Gracie and Sirius stepped into view from behind a tapestry that was around the corner. Gracie's face was flushed and her lips looked rather swollen, while Sirius' black hair looked properly mussed and his expression properly euphoric. Like Lily and James they held hands.
Everyone sort of gaped for a long time.
Sirius smirked at Gracie and then at his friends. "Yeah, yeah, the apocalypse has happened. Grace Harlow has finally agreed to go out with me."
The group collectively cheered as Gracie turned to Sirius and said, "You know, I don't recall you really asking me. I sort of just remember you coming up to me and saying 'I can't stand this anymore' and promptly snogging the life out of me."
"Think of it was me asking you out." Sirius replied breezily, running a hand through Gracie's brown hair (which was unmistakably down and hanging loosely about her shoulders).
"Oh." She looked thoughtful. "Then you can take my kissing back as an answer. A definite yes."
"Hm…" He tapped his chin pensively, grey eyes sparkling mischievously. "I don't seem to recall that part about the answer. Could you reiterate just once more?"
"Of course." The brunette agreed, closing her eyes and smiling as Sirius dipped her back and kissed her.
"Awwww……" Lily and Emma crooned, bursting into giggles as the boys stared rather hysterically
Gracie, still keeping all attention on her boyfriend, calmly flipped off her friends, whose mirth only tripped.
James looked amusedly at Lily. "Well, look at that. They lecture us on our public affection yet see no problem in performing it themselves. Bloody hypocrites."
The red-head merely kissed him on the cheek and whispered. "Don't be grumpy, Potter."
Gracie finally pulled apart from Sirius and cast a heavy glance in Emma and Remus' direction. "And what about you two? Did you get over your initial weirdness and fix your issues?"
Emma grinned and nodded. "We both agreed that it was better being just friends."
"Even though we both agree that each of us has true boyfriend/girlfriend potential." Remus finished, nudging Emma.
"So…no more problems for us to worry about?" Peter asked eagerly.
"Suppose not." James said, standing behind Lily and wrapping his arms around her. "No problems for us."
"Or so you think, Mr. Potter." Sounded a sharp voice from the end of the hallway. Professor McGonagall had finally made to show up. "Sorry I'm late; I had a staff meeting to attend."
Everyone's head hung, the internal balloons of happiness popped and gradually losing air at the thought of detention. They were sure to all be separated and given equally gruesome tasks that did not require magic. James' arms were already starting to ache at the mere thought of scrubbing cauldrons with a toothbrush.
McGonagall unlocked the classroom door and brought them all inside, motioning for the group to walk inside and nodding to each student individually.
"Have a seat." She announced as soon as they were all inside the classroom.
They sat. The outside sun seemed to be mocking them with a beautiful day.
"Now," McGonagall began firmly, readjusting a pin in her hair, "You know why you're here. Your punishment was not easy to pick, because I wanted something that would stick in your mind and remind you why you don't do things like…prankwars."
Silence. A fly buzzed by the blackboard.
"Every time a general offense happens in this school," The transfiguration teacher continued, pacing the class like a drill sergeant, "We have to document what happened. The offense, the story behind it, and the general picture."
She eyed everyone, who stared blankly back, clearly confused where this was leading.
"The thing about this particular offense, is that…well…we really don't know anything about it. The staff, I mean." Professor McGonagall began to look truly perplexed right now. "We don't know what started it, or what the reason was, or what on Earth was going through your heads when you carried this out. So, technically, we can't document an offense we know hardly anything about."
Lily sat up a little straighter, suddenly looking eager.
"So," McGonagall turned to the group as a whole, "That will be your punishment. Using no magic, you are going to document this entire affair. From the beginning to the end. You can include anything you want. You'll have three hours a Saturday to work on it as a group until the end of the year. That should be enough time. You can get parchment and quills from the filing cabinet next to my desk. Any questions?"
Another silence as everyone tried to make sense of what the hell is going on.
"What you're saying is," Sirius began, "All we have to do for our punishment is to write an autobiography of the last nine months?"
"Are you asking for a stricter punishment, Mr. Black?" McGonagall snapped.
Gracie, despite her new desire to snog him, kicked him swiftly under the table, making him grunt painfully. "No ma'am."
"Then you should be good to go. I'll be in my office if you have any questions, repairing the damage of the fireworks." With a pointed look at Lily and James, who shrank just slightly in their seats.
"Wait, Professor," Remus stood, "Does this mean that the document will go in the 'Student Offense' filing cabinet in Filch's office?"
"For the remainder of the next eon, yes Mr. Lupin." McGonagall replied. She began to walk off, but then turned again. "Oh, and I think I should tell you that there are no hard feelings."
"Hard feelings about the Prankwar?" Lily asked, trying to risk rolling her eyes. She herself had tackled down Professor McGonagall, and James had blown up her office. It was hard to believe there were no hard feelings.
"Our school has needed a fresh activity for quite a while." Was all the teacher said, smirking slightly. "I, for one, will never forget you pranksters in all my years in teaching here. That is for sure."
As soon as she left the room, Gracie announced, "That woman is mad. Stark raving mad."
Lily walked over to the cabinet and grabbed some parchment and quills. "This is the easiest punishment ever."
"You said it." Said James, waving his wand and drawing together two tables with seven chairs facing one another. "Writing a story about the prankwar? Piece of cake!"
"I like cake." Said Peter softly, taking a seat.
"We have to write a document, not a story." Remus grumbled.
"C'mon, Moony, where's your sense of fun?!" Sirius crowed. "This is going to be brilliant!"
"Alright," Emma began, "First things first. We need a title."
"Em," Remus whined, "It doesn't need a title! It. Is. An. Informational. Document."
"How about 'The Prankwar'?" Offered Gracie.
"Make it the Hogwarts Prankwar!" James added. "We want to specify."
"Of 1977!" Lily and Emma both shouted at the same time. "The Hogwarts Prankwar of 1977!"
"Wait." Remus was looking calculatingly at the table. "We need a beginning adjective, so that when people see this title, they know exactly how kick arse this prankwar was."
"Glad to see you're getting into the spirit of things." James clapped Remus on the back. "But what adjective should we pick?"
"Amazing!"
"Fantastic!"
"Serious!"
"No, I'm Sirius!"
Ten minutes later the group was still sitting there thinking of words to describe prankwar. When suddenly, Remus snapped his fingers and shouted. "Infamous! Meaning having a reputation for being bad, causing trouble."
"Perfect!" Emma turned to the page. "Alright, here it goes. The Infamous Hogwarts Prankwar of 1977."
"Sounds brilliant!"
"Who should we put the author as?" Emma asked, showing off the title page.
"Well, that bit is easy." Lily answered. "The Marauders and Marauderesses."
"Of course. Add a little mystery!" James agreed, squeezing Lily's hand.
Emma wrote it down, her smile getting increasingly bigger. "Okay, here's what we need to do first. Let's figure out where to start writing. We can take turns writing, but everyone needs to pitch in on details, whether it's dialogue or description."
Everyone nodded, ready to start.
Emma sighed and dipped the quill. "Okay, now lets think, where did this all start? Where did the idea of Marauders and Marauderesses start to form? I mean, what with the boys annoying the crap out of us and whatnot."
"Wait," James waved his hand, "We should back up just a little."
"Why?" Sirius asked. "We should get right into the action!"
"No, James is right." Emma agreed, nodding. "We need to give the reader some background history. Introduce them to the characters before the actually plot begins to unfold."
"Okay," Gracie said, "So, why don't we just start, like…two days before we decided to do a prankwar?"
"I have a better idea!" Lily announced much to Gracie's chagrin. "Think about it. We never would have gotten the idea of the prankwar if we hadn't started hanging out with the Marauders so much this year. So, we need to go back to the beginning of that."
Sirius groaned. "I don't even remember when you guys started hanging with us. It was so gradual. What could have possibly made Lily and mates start to want to be around James and the likes of us?"
The Head Girl smiled at James, making his stomach clench with a sudden up burst of butterflies. "I believe James knows."
James smiled at his girlfriend and then at all of his friends. "Well, you see, it all started one day in History of Magic. I was trying to talk to Lily because I needed to borrow her notes. I was practically yelling at her and she was ignoring me."
"Okay, do you remember what you said?" Emma asked.
"I think it was around the lines of 'Pssstt! Lily!'." The red head answered with a smile.
And with that answer, The Marauders and Marauderesses began to write their epic tale.
"Psst! Lily!" James Potter stage whispered across the History of Magic Classroom....
Three hours later, the friends stumbled out of McGonagall's classroom complaining of hand cramps and ink all over their clothes.
"It's not my fault you decided to chuck a bloody ink well at me!"Peter said angrily to Gracie, who merely patted him on the head and cleaned most of the ink off with a wave of her wand.
Emma swung her bag on her shoulder. "I'm off to the library. I need to do some more research on Peruvian Ginger Roots and their properties for that potions essay. See you guys later." She grinned. "Don't have too much fun without me."
"I'm going to sleep." Peter said decidedly. "Once I get out of my inky robes."
Remus. "I'm with you, Wormtail."
Sirius yawned, his arm mysteriously making its way around Gracie's shoulders. "As for me, I believe I have a date with some History questionnaires. Would you mind helping me, Grae?"
"Don't think that we'll be doing anything else but homework." She answered playfully, snaking her arm around his waist. "At least, until we're finished."
Lily smiled as her friends walked off, smiling even larger as James hugged her from behind and whispered. "And us, Lily dearest, what shall we do?"
She turned, knowing full-well her lips would somehow meet his halfway. "That depends. What do you want to do, Jamesie?"
James considered and grinned back at her as he thought of the perfect thing to do.
"You know," He answered slowly, tugging the end of Lily's hair lightly, "I'm feeling a sort of strong craving for cookie dough. You up for going down to the kitchens for a few minutes… or hours?"
Lily smiled into another kiss before announcing. "We might be missed."
"It's a risk I'm willing to take." James smiled, beginning to march off without Lily, eager for cookie dough.
"James?" He turned around to find her beaming at him.
"Yeah, Lil?"
She paused, walking up to him, then leaning close so his heart sped up and his vision seemed to blur. He honestly thought she was going to kiss him again.
"Last one there is a Flobberworm!" She yelled, already ten feet ahead of him by the time she finished saying it.
James blinked, shouted, "You're gonna pay for that one!" and took off, chasing after Lily Evans just like he had done for the past six years of his life. But unlike all the times before, he now knew that, for the first time in the history of chasing Lily, she would eventually let him catch up with her.
And that fact within itself made all the difference in the world, regardless of whether James Potter was a Flobberworm or not.
A/N: And on to the epilogue.....you can review once you read that. :)