disclaimer: All JKR's property; I'm just playing in the sandbox. I'm unsure if Rose Riley is an actual canon character (wikipedia's Harry Potter list of characters tells me that she is).

characters/pairings: Lily Evans, James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Marlene McKinnon, Rose Riley; Sirius/Marlene, undertones of James/Lily, Remus/Rose.

summary: A trip to Hogsmeade during winter mixed with a misunderstanding of a Muggle comic stirs up a bit of trouble for Lily Evans. Sirius and Marlene have a date, James shows off his stalking abilities, and Lily can't help herself but tag along. (Set during Sixth Year).

This was a lot of fun to write. The "." between some of the paragraphs are there because wouldn't let me use spaces to divide them up; they just represent a few seconds or minutes passing before the next paragraph. (Originally posted on livejournal). Unbeta'd; all mistakes are mine. Title is from Coldplay's Violet Hill. Reviews are always appreciated.

there we sat in snow

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It's strange to consider Sirius Black acknowledging the existence of the small bookstore located far past the likes of Zonko's and Honeydukes. The sign hanging above the door has long faded, leaving letters that are hard to translate into any shape of a word.

Lily waits outside with Marlene McKinnon and Rose Riley. The snow is falling in thick clumps. The wind is soft, though it carries a chill that presses itself into the fibres of her long, thick coat. She slips her gloved hands into the pockets and curls her fists.

Rose's teeth chatter as she says, "You sure this is legit?"

"Of course it's legit," Marlene snaps. She looks over her shoulder to the street leading to Hogwarts. Lily sees a few students running and throwing snowballs at each other in the distance. Everyone's scattered into the warmth of the shops along the deserted road. "I wouldn't be here if I wasn't."

"It took me five invitations for lunch to break her," Sirius says. Rose jumps and mutters a "Wear a bell, Black" while Marlene flushes a little.

"I was waiting for you to offer to pay," she says, grinning as Sirius pats down his own thick jacket. Lily tries to stop her heart from beating so fast at his surprise appearance. His Gryffindor scarf is wrapped loosely around his neck; bits of snow sit along the top near his skin.

"I am a gentleman, you know."

It isn't a surprise when the rest of them follow. They don't make the slightest effort to follow in Sirius' footsteps and scare the living daylights out of all of them. Not picking up his feet, James appears beside Sirius. A small clump of snow settles on the front of his worn sneakers. "Could've fooled me, Pads."

Sirius glares at James, though he doesn't say anything as Remus appears beside Potter and offers them a timid, though warm, smile. "Cold out here isn't it?" he says, rubbing his hands together as if that'll cause some sort of spark.

"It is snowing, Remus," Rose smiles.

Sirius pauses before hitting Remus – though lightly (hopefully) – on the back of the head. "Merlin, Remus, I think you'd be a great – er – what's that Muggle profession?" Sirius is looking directly at Lily.

She rolls her eyes. "Weatherman."

"That's it!" Sirius says, clicking his fingers. "Here's Remus, 'There's a ninety percent chance it's already snowing!' and he's out in the snow!"

"You're a riot," Lily says, shifting slightly so she can peer into the window of the bookstore.

Peter looks up at the sky and opens his mouth. Rose laughs. "My sister loves doing that."

"Bet it tastes superb," Sirius says, slapping Peter on the back. Peter stops looking up at the sky with a faint blush on his cheeks. "As much as I'd love to stand here and taste the snow while my bollocks freeze, I think McKinnon and I have a date to taste something much sweeter." Lily pokes her tongue out, scrunching up her face. "You thought it, Evans," Sirius says, laughing.

Marlene turns to Lily and Rose, her hand tilting her woollen hat slightly. Her blonde hair musses up at the side. "I'll meet you back here, yeah?"

Rose nods, pushing back her dark, thick hair behind her ears. "I'm not going too far. My ideal winter fantasy is to curl up with a book and a nice cup of tea."

"Sounds absolutely dull," Sirius says, though he grins. Rose glares at him, her hands fisting against her waist as she watches his attention move and settle onto Marlene. "After you, m'lady," Sirius bows. Lily rolls her eyes as she watches Marlene shake her head with a grin, removing her hands from her coat pockets and slipping one arm through Sirius'.

Lily watches them go. Shifting slightly to face Rose, the boys are in the corner of her eye, standing a bit dumbly as they watch Sirius walk away. She opens her mouth to speak but stops when she watches James try and curl in on himself, which is impossible as he's one of the tallest blokes she's ever had the misfortune of coming into contact with, and turn towards Remus and Peter. It's as if he wants to become invisible. "Alright, Moony, I'm off." She notes the excitement in Peter's eyes.

"I really don't think you should be doing this," Remus says. All of a sudden, he looks tired. It's like all the lines on his face, lines that should be there years from now due to the stress and harsh hand of life, burrow deep into his skin and stay there.

"Don't worry. I've got the cloak," James says, and he tugs on the lapels of his long coat. Lily cocks her eyebrow at this. Her coat is barely keeping the cold out; she would have set a heating charm on it if Rose hadn't overheard a few Second Years talking about how wearing layers and layers of ridiculously thick clothing was the "Muggle way" of keeping warm. Lily sometimes dislikes it when her friends are solely from the Wizarding World and insist on participating in Muggle traditions. (Though she wouldn't call wearing thick clothes a tradition; just good use of common sense.)

"James –"

"C'mon, Moony, it's freezing out here." James turns to Peter, who is catching snowflakes in the palm of his hand. He gestures to him, which catches Peter's attention and the snowflakes fall out of his hand, continuing their descent to the ground. "You don't want poor Wormtail to freeze his bollocks off before he's got a chance to use 'em, eh?" James grins.

Peter's pale face flushes deep red. Before Remus is even able to speak, James Potter places his hand to his temple and salutes them. Then, he is off.

A sudden feeling of dread settles over her like a heavy blanket. Before Lily can even think about what she's doing, she takes a step and then two before yelling, "Oi, Potter!" She jogs after him, coming to a walk when he stops and turns around. He's grinning. "Where do you think you're going?"

He shrugs. "Going for a walk, Evans." He tosses his thumb over his shoulder, looking quickly over it at the distant shapes of Sirius Black and Marlene McKinnon. "What's it look like?"

She cocks her eyebrow. "Sounded like you were going to spy –"

"Eavesdropping, Evans? Not very Head Girl material, don't you think?"

Lily narrows her eyes. "Sod off, Potter."

"Be glad that I do," he says, giving her a little bow and he turns around and starts walking off.

Lily has to walk fast to keep up with his long legs. "Potter! I don't think they'd appreciate—"

"I don't appreciate you following me."

"—you spying on them!" She breathes hard, watching James' back retreating as she tries to keep up with him. Lily frowns when she catches his words. "If anyone should have a friend spying on their date, it should be Marlene!"

James spins around, walking slowly backwards. His hands are in his coat pockets. He's smiling at her. She notices that his feet still manage to drag the snow, leaving little trails that remind her of tracks of car tyres in the snow back home.

"Not that there is anything wrong with Sirius! It's just that – his track record – will you stop smiling Potter? It's quite unnerving!" Her hands, some time during her little tirade, end up out of the warmth of her coat pockets and planted firmly on her hips.

"Sorry, Evans," he says, though he grins only wider. "Just that, since when did you and my dear old friend Sirius become such good mates?"

Lily rolls her eyes. She doesn't know why she bothers to indulge him, but sometimes she can't help herself when it comes to James Potter and his rather thick head of jet black hair. "He asked me for some help at the library."

James starts laughing. "Padfoot doesn't know where the library is! Wouldn't know his arse from his face, there!"

"There's no need to be crude, Potter," Lily says, frowning. Her hands slip on her hips. "I helped him with the Charms essay. It's quite difficult." She sniffs. "You'd know if you had completed it already."

James continues to laugh, ignoring her dig. "Sirius would never be in the library! You – a comedian!"

"Then he helped me put a book back on a rather high shelf. Merlin, would you stop laughing? It isn't funny at all. It's quite nice to see someone is maturing in your little group, except for Remus, of course."

"Of course," James says through his chuckling. He's calmed down – thank Merlin – but his eyes are still laughing at her. Lily can't handle having him laugh at her, in any way, shape or form. "Remus is a star pupil, after all. The apple to Evan's eye."

She cocks her eyebrow; her arms cross against her chest. "Are you done?"

James is shaking his head, as if participating in a private conversation she's not privy to. Or he's imagining Sirius in the library. Lily shifts her feet in the snow, watching as she enlarges her footprints with a simple drag of her small boots. When she looks up, James is looking at her. It's weird and unsettling how his gaze flutters over her face and the length of her entire body. It settles on her feet; she stops dragging her shoes in the snow immediately. "When one looks at you Evans," he says, his warm eyes travel over her face and settle on her bright red hair, "they notice you're quite short."

She rolls her eyes. "Why thank you, Potter. I'm so fortunate that you're always there to state the obvious."

"My pleasure, Evans," he says, giving her another bow. "As much fun as this is, I have some business to attend to." He turns and starts walking. He says over his shoulder, "I've got two lovebirds to see!"

She swears he's stirring her up on purpose. She follows anyway.

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"Do you have absolutely nothing better to do with your Hogsmeade trip than to stalk your best friend?" she shouts at his back as she finally catches up to him. Walking at a hurried pace in thick piles of snow is quite difficult. She doesn't know how James manages it; it's as though he's gliding.

Finally, she's at his shoulder. He gives her a quick look. "Same could be said for you, Evans."

She looks at the shops they pass. "You started this."

"You didn't have to follow."

"You're so infuriating!" she says, turning to look at him. He's smiling.

He holds out a hand and stops them from moving. She stops within inches of it. "If you keep talking as loudly as you are, they'll catch on."

"Merlin forbid they catch on!"

James rolls his eyes. "You're so dramatic, Evans. Lighten up a little."

"Maybe I'd be a little lighter if I wasn't out in the snow with you."

"No one's keeping you here –"

"Yes! I'm not leaving Marlene alone!"

"She's perfectly safe –"

"Not with you following her!"

"There's nothing wrong with me!'

"There's plenty wrong with you, Potter."

"Yeah?" James crosses his arms along his chest. "Name one thing."

Lily huffs. "You're a prat."

James pauses for a second. "That's an easy shot."

Lily looks to the side, biting the corner of her lip.

"While you're thinking on that, I'm going to move to the alley and hopefully – if you've got any sense left, Evans – you'll follow me."

"Why –"

James grabs her elbow and pulls her gently towards the alley beside a shop that has a few students huddling under its little outside roof. It's clean for an alley. Dust bins are lined along the walls with a few bits of wooden planks leaning against the bricks. He lets go of her elbow, saying, "Our subjects are on the prowl." She cocks her eyebrow at him. When he sees her expression, he rolls his eyes and moves further into the alley. "They're turning around, Evans." He stands in the centre of the alley and watches as a few students pass by.

"Won't they see you standing here?"

James shrugs. "If they do, I'll say I lost my Snitch back here."

"Why would you have a Snitch? You're a Chaser."

James grins when he looks at her. "So you do pay attention."

"You're not very good at this." Lily says, watching the opposite end of the alley.

"Have experience I should know about?" James says. When she glances at him, he wiggles his eyebrows suggestively at her.

She rolls her eyes and continues to watch the other end of the alley. "Tuney and I used to play with these kids in the neighbourhood. Hide and Seek," she glances at him quickly, though his face shows no sign of knowing the game. "I used to look for where everyone was and move away from where they were so I wouldn't get caught."

She can see James looking at her from her peripheral vision. He doesn't open his mouth to say anything.

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It is five minutes until James says it's alright to vacate the alley. "We should go this way," Lily says, starting to move towards the opposite end of the alley she's been watching. James grabs her wrist and turns her around, pulling her to the end where they came from.

"No, Evans. We'll lose them that way."

Lily stops struggling against him and follows him, one step behind. His hand lingers on her wrist until they're ten steps away from the alley. "Don't you know where Sirius plans to take her?"

James shakes his head. "No," he says. "Well," he taps his chin, "yes. But I don't know the order."

"Order?"

He looks down at her, slowing his pace so she can catch her breath. "It depends on the girl you're going with," he says, and when she cocks her eyebrow, he sighs. "Say, I'm going with you –"

"I'd rather date the squid than –"

"We've established that already, Evans." James says a little tightly. Lily looks up at him; he takes this as encouragement to continue. "Say I'm going with you in a hypothetical sense. In the most hypothetical of the hypothetical senses that exist in the hypothetical world of hypotheticals."

"That doesn't even make sense," she says quickly.

He rolls his eyes. "I'd take you to the Three Broomsticks, because it's warm and friendly – and you know that place. I've seen you in there."

Lily grins slightly. She murmurs, "Now look who's doing the stalking."

"I do no such thing!" he says, eyes wide. "Or ever did."

She cocks her eyebrow, biting her tongue to keep from stirring him. "Alright, so you'd go to the Three Broomsticks."

"Then I'd ask if you'd like to go for a merry little stroll up to the Shrieking Shack and have a look at it from a very far and safe distance. There's a nice little rock up there that we can sit on and just watch the snow fall."

"But we wouldn't go in there?"

"No," James says, shaking his head. "Then, after that, we'd go to that small little bookstore you like so much – forgot what it's called as it's rather forgettable – because you like books."

"How do you –"

James huffs, as though irritated she won't let him tell his little story without interruption. "Sometimes you speak quite loudly in the common room. You might want to work on that," he says. "We'd stay in there for as long as you like."

"But you don't like books."

He shrugs. "I'd think I'd like the girl I was going with. Besides, there are some Quidditch books in there."

She rolls her eyes. "Of course."

"Then we might go back to the Three Broomsticks for a quick drink, and then we'd walk up to the castle. I'd walk to you the portrait –"

"We're in the same House."

"—and then I'd give you the best snog you've ever had in your life."

She rolls her eyes. "Quite the charmer, I'd say."

"Charmer is my middle name." He grins.

"What about you?" she says. He cocks his eyebrow when he looks down at her. "What about what you'd like to do? You wouldn't sacrifice your Hogsmeade trip for this one bird –"

He shakes her head. "What about me? Spending time with her would be enough."

She shakes her head. "No," she says, looking at the snow. "If we went out – hypothetically, of course – we'd go to the Quidditch store. It's not fair that we'd do everything I'd want and nothing you'd want."

"But I just said –"

"Well, tough love, Potter. If you're on a hypothetical date with me, we do what I want. And that'd be to do what you want, too."

James ducks his head and grins. "I –"

Lily stops, grabbing hold of his arm and holding him back. When she points, she watches James' gaze travel from her shoulder to her finger then to the spot that has caught her attention. "They've gone into the Three Broomsticks!" she says, and she's off like a rocket – or like a Quidditch player at the beginning of a game – and James is the one running to catch up.

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She doesn't know how they end up here, but she can't fathom why they're in here in the first place.

"This is the boy's bathroom, James!" she says as he pushes her through the door and holds it closed behind him. He grins at her as he blocks the door with a bin sitting in the corner. "What?"

"Nothing," he says, and he moves to squat as low as he can to the tiled floor. He leaps like a frog as he checks whether there are any feet under the stalls. He stands up at the end and walks slightly over to her before changing course. The mirrors catch his eye, and he ends up in front of them within seconds, pulling at his scarf and letting loose bits of snow fall. "All clear." He runs his hand through his hair, possibly feeling the snow melting into his scalp.

Lily stays by the door. She feels the the top of her hair is damp, as well as parts of her long jacket. This is the moment where she wishes she was confident in wearing cute little winter hats. "Why are we in here? Why don't we just sit out by the bar—"

"Because Sirius can spot me within a minute," he says softly, still flicking his fingers through his hair. He's so close to the mirror he's almost kissing it.

She rolls her eyes. "Your hair is fine!"

James takes a moment before he pulls away. He approaches her and stops. His hands flick up to her shoulders and brush some snow off of them.

"How will we know when they've gone?"

"Intuition," he says. Lily cocks her eyebrow. He rolls her eyes, "Alright, Sirius spends about twenty minutes here on all his dates."

"All of them?"

"All of them."

"Why?" James cocks his eyebrow at her, as if she should know. In an attempt to rid the feeling of disappointing a professor, she places her hands on her hips and tries to glare him to death.

"It's part of his plan!"

Lily raises her eyebrow. "Oh, his dating scheme."

"When you say it like that, it sounds wrong."

"That's because it is! He isn't being truthful!"

"And what will you say when Marlene McKinnon asks you, 'Lily Evans, what did you do at Hogsmeade today?' What will you say?"

Lily fidgets slightly. "I'll think of something."

James gives a short laugh. "Very unlikely."

Lily glares. Many thoughts whiz angrily about in her head, like the childish 'You don't know me!' to the 'I can lie, you know!' to 'Marlene would never say it like that!' She takes a moment to breathe loudly and angrily, watching James as he looks at his reflection from the corner of his eye. His fingers brush through his hair absently. She wants to snap his wrists off. "Why are you here, exactly?" she says instead, cocking her eyebrow and glaring at him.

James scratches the back of his neck. "That's a long story."

Lily almost scoffs, but seems to think otherwise, and both her eyebrows are now reaching for her hairline. "I'm pretty sure I've got all day," she says, rolling her eyes at the scene before them: countless tiles of the boy's bathroom in the Three Broomsticks and the smallest window possible at the other end of the rectangular room. The window isn't open, and a smell that Lily hadn't noticed before is tying itself around her like a ribbon. Lily wishes she was intertwined with a cup of hot tea or hot chocolate outside those doors instead.

James goes slightly pink. "I wanted to make sure Marlene wasn't some evil spider in her human form."

Lily pauses. "What are you on about?"

He pauses for a second, as if weighing what he's about to say. He fidgets slightly. "I overheard some Third Years talking about how this kid, Peter, got bitten by a spider and then transformed into some hybrid of one. And then about this guy – forgot his name – turned into a hybrid of a bat. Poor sap, though. Ended up in some romance with a cat lady." James takes a breath; Lily opens her mouth – "But the worst of all. The absolute worst. Is that bloke wearing the tights and the primary colours. No one deserves tights in primary colours. And a cape. That's gotta be a bit of a drag, don't you think? Dragging a cape around. And for what? Flying is a bit pointless when you've got a broom."

Lily blinks. "You're so …"

"Charming?" James grins.

Lily cracks a smile. She mumbles, "Far from it." Lily takes her gloves off and places them on the edge of the closest sink. Pulling her wand from her coat pocket, she mutters the warming charm. She pulls James' hands from his jacket pockets and points her wand at the gloves, murmuring it again. She pockets her wand and slips her gloves back on, saying, "Those were just Muggle stories, Potter. For entertainment. They're hardly real."

James pauses for a moment, as if allowing this bit of information soak into his brain. Lily feels dampness on the collar of her thick coat. "I think I'd rather watch paint dry," he says, a look of disgust on his face. "No!" James jumps up at this slightly, as if excited. It reminds her of when Marlene gets an idea and lifts up from the ground like a rocket. "I'd rather watch Peter try and pick up a girl. Despite the second-hand embarrassment I'm bound to feel, at least that's entertaining."

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They stay in the bathroom for twenty-five minutes. Lily makes sure James will never hear the end of it.

"Twenty minutes my arse!" she says as they exit the Three Broomsticks.

She almost walks into him when he turns around. He mock-gasps, "Lily Evans! Twenty points from Gryffindor for vulgar language!" Before he manages to turn around fully, she catches him rolling his eyes at her.

Lily rolls her eyes at his back in a weak form of retaliation when they start moving again. "Where are we off to now, Potter?"

James shrugs his shoulders a little, as if pushing off some unknown weight. He hums to himself. "Madam Puddifoot's."

Lily frowns, the disbelief evident in her voice when she says, "Really?"

James nods. "But never fear! Remus will be there."

"How can you be sure?"

James slows down a little so she's now walking beside him rather than a step behind. "Because Remus Lupin likes Rose Riley," he says, making sure she's watching him when he rolls his eyes at her as though she's a bit slow on the uptake. It isn't common knowledge of Remus' little crush. It surprises her how well-hidden it is.

Lily cocks her eyebrow. "Still doesn't mean he'll be there, of all places."

"Remus and Rose sitting in a tree –"

"How do you know that rhyme?"

He shrugs. "I overhear things."

Murmuring, Lily looks at her shoes, "You stalk, you mean."

James shrugs, almost skipping, as he mutters, "Potter, Pottah." Lily rolls her eyes at his butchering of a Muggle phrase. "Remus will be there and we can hide with him."

Lily breathes in the cool air deeply. "As long as it's not another bathroom—"

"Live a little," James says, skipping ahead of her.

She watches him go, arms straightening as she tries to bury her hands into the fibres of her coat. "I feel like I'm living too much," she mumbles, moving slightly to align her feet up with James' big footprints. She doesn't bother to catch up with him as she tries to place her feet in his tracks.

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"Hi Remus," Lily says, sitting down beside James. Madam Puddifoot's is packed – which isn't surprising – with people pressing into every corner of the building. They're sitting at a tiny round table somewhere near the back. Consequently, they have a good view of Marlene and Sirius – that is, if Lily or James were to turn around.

"Hi Lily," Remus says, smiling softly as he places his book down on the table. "Prongs."

"Moony," James nods at him. His gaze drifts over to Sirius and Marlene. "Great spot you got here."

"It wasn't on purpose," Remus says, looking at Lily. Lily gives him a small smile as she glares at James' profile. He's almost twisting out of his seat so his back isn't to his targets. "I see you're having fun."

Lily turns her gaze to Remus. "So much I'm about to burst with joy." She looks down on the floor to the bag her foot is pressing against. "Sorry," she says as she pulls the bag away from her snow-covered shoes. "Bought any good books?"

Remus shrugs. "Some."

"There's a lot in here," she says, pushing the lips of the bag open wide. She doesn't pull any books out in fear of her gloves leaving marks on the pages.

"I like to read," he says a bit tightly. Lily doesn't push anymore. Her mind whirls to the moments where Remus Lupin is missing from class once every month.

Lily straightens up in her chair. "James is being a bit of a dolt—"

"Moony, give me a book!" James Potter twirls around in his seat so fast that the legs creak. He grabs the book in front of Remus and opens it to where he's folded the corner. Lily cocks her eyebrow and watches James' eyes scan the print. "This is a bit of a demented book, Remus," he says when he peers at his friend over the top of it.

Lily rolls her eyes. "Are you always this rude?"

Remus just smiles. "You'd have to read it from the beginning, Prongs."

James' eyes continue to scan the page. Lily is looking at James with what she can only describe as the look Rose gets when she claims she can see a horse pulling the welcoming carriage from the station. It's a look of wonder, though Lily thinks hers looks more like the first time Rose saw what she claimed to be horses back in Second Year – one of disgust. "You do realise your back is to them, right?"

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"A bin, Potter?"

They're hiding behind a few silver dustbins, which are filled to the brim with rubbish. She finds that whenever she shifts, she somehow lands on his feet. Despite her trying to stay on her side of the small alley, she always seems to gravitate towards him.

James' hand darts out to pick out an empty bottle of Butterbeer but is stopped when Lily slaps his hand away. "Don't be foul," she mutters.

James ignores that. He carries on with the conversation like he never leant forward to steal from a bin. "The perfect disguise," he says, shooting her a quick look and a wide grin. "We make a noise behind these and everyone will just think they're wrackspurts."

"Wrack what?"

"You know?" He looks at her as if she should know. He doesn't sigh when her face doesn't shift at all. Snow falls and catches on their coats. His attention is turned to the gap between the bins where he's watching Sirius and Marlene. They're barely visible through the clutter of people standing outside Zonko's. "Creatures that eat your garbage." James pauses for a second. "I don't think that's right."

Lily shakes her head, pushing herself up slightly so she can see over the bins. She immediately squats back down; the smell is foul. "Sometimes I wonder about you."

"So you do, huh?" She turns to face him and frowns at his large grin. "You think about me, hey? Don't worry. I think about me, too."

Lily hits him on the shoulder. "Such a prat." She sighs, shifting on her legs. Sitting down isn't an option – she quite likes this coat – but shooting up like a stalk would be unadvisable as Marlene's bound to see her during that quick second. The soreness in her legs is a sacrifice she has to make. "What is the point of being behind a bin? I understood hiding in the alley and in the bathrooms and behind Remus' books and—"

"Shh, Evans," James says, patting her knee quickly. It's a movement that exists for only a second. She has to shift as her legs continue to ache due to the weight of her body. Glaring at him, he hasn't moved once since they've taken up shop behind the bins. "Talk any louder and they'll hear you."

Sirius and Marlene leave the little group outside of Zonko's. They walk like they're one person, intertwined together like the vines crawling up the poles of the veranda outside of her house. "But they just walked into the Quill—"

"Shh. Marlene may have super hearing or something."

Rolling her eyes, Lily shifts so she's facing him. "Potter, we've been over this—"

James mimics her, rolling his eyes and shifting closer to her. It's so he can get a better look at their targets' location through the gap. "Where is your sense of adventure, Evans? Just have a little fun."

She finds herself shifting again, trying to move a little further from the bins while not losing her sight. She wishes she were at the small bookstore, the room filled with the smell of new books rather than mouldy fish and whatever had decided to die at the bottom of the bin. "Fun doesn't take place behind a garbage bin."

"Then obviously you haven't been having the right kind of fun."

Lily sighs, pulling at her gloves. "This is not how I pictured my Hogsmeade trip to go," she says, eyeing the bins in front of them. What she wanted was her usual Hogsmeade routine; have a nice cup of hot chocolate with Rose and Marlene, have a quick trip to Zonko's where Marlene would try and get glimpses of Sirius Black while telling Lily and Rose what to snatch from the shelves so she can counteract any possible pranks played against her, and ending it at the warm little bookstore hidden at the end of the street.

"On the contrary," James says, snapping her out of her little daze. He's peeking above the bin to watch the door to Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop. It doesn't move. The door of the bookstore only beckons to her like Amortentia from the end of the road. "This is the best date I've had in a while."

Quickly, she says, "This is not a date."

"You didn't let me finish," James says, sounding a bit exasperated at her tone. He's looking pointedly at her before he rolls his eyes.

She cocks her eyebrow, waiting. When it doesn't come, she glares at him. "Well, then, please. Do go on. Don't let my short self stop you."

James looks at her, and then shakes his head. He returns his attention to Scrivenshaft's. "The moment is ruined."

"There was never a moment."

"There was." He turns to look at her, hazel eyes warm with mirth. "We were having a nice moment, Evans."

She turns so he can only see her profile. She tries to stay still on her feet despite the protest of her bones. "You're a bit daft, Potter." She'd cross her arms if it were an option.

"You're so full of yourself Evans," James says.

Lily tries not to look at him, though she glances at him from the corner of her eye, wondering what line of conversation he's following because she's totally lost at his remark. She rolls her eyes at herself and mumbles, "Shut it, you insufferable prat."

He chuckles.

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They're lurking behind a tree. Lily wouldn't call it that, but there's no other word for what they're doing. She's sitting on a flat rock that's drenched in snow while he stands and flicks snow off of plants.

"There's no logic to Sirius' 'order'," Lily says, picking at a leaf that's half buried under snow. Peeking around the thick tree would show her Sirius and Marlene standing not too far from where they were hiding, looking out at the Shrieking Shack. Sirius' loud voice carries over to where they're hiding; he's telling some wild stories about some of the legends of the
Shack. James grumbles some comments at particular lines.

He continues to kick at some snow. They're lucky they're a few trees away from them or Marlene, with her dog-like senses, would've known someone was lurking. "It's meant to be impressive."

"But there's no logic to his order." She repeats, picking up some snow and pressing it in the palm of her hand, shaping a ball. She pats at it in an attempt to make it perfect. "Though," she sighs, "it does seem impressive."

James only grins. She thinks he'd have jumped with joy and shouted 'I told you so' if they weren't watching their two friends. "Sirius is very impulsive," is all he says minutes later.

Lily hums. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," he says, kicking snow again. "Our date—"

"Hypothetical date."

"Yes," James says, pushing his hands into his jacket pockets. "Was logical. You'd be very impressed."

Lily pauses. "It was very logical," she glances up at him. "Even for you."

"Your words are like daggers, puncturing my heart."

She rolls her eyes. She throws her snowball at him, missing him by a long shot. James' head shoots up at her and he glares at her. Picking up more snow to press into a ball, Lily watches James as he twirls on the spot. He's making her dizzy when he says, "Why are you here?"

Momentarily stopping her hands patting the snow ball, she watches him stop spinning. "Pardon?"

"We discussed, quite thoroughly, why my impeccable presence is here. But we haven't covered yours."

Lily sighs. She figures she may as well indulge him. She wants to know what his hidden agenda is, anyway. James Potter isn't known for his honesty. "I don't trust you watching them." At his cocked brow, she sighs loudly, dropping her snow ball. She takes to rubbing her gloves, with snow sticking to the fibres, against her legs. "Marlene is my friend, you know. I don't trust whatever you've got planned up your sleeve." She looks over her shoulder, seeing Sirius and Marlene together. She says, quietly, "She's quite taken by Sirius. I didn't want to see her hurt by some prank you've got up your sleeve."

"This isn't a prank -"

"I know," she says, looking at him. James takes to kicking the snow again. She thinks it's so he doesn't have to look her in the eye.

"Besides," James says, clearing his throat slightly. She's under the impression she isn't supposed to know he was doing it. "Marlene quite likes pranks. She's out-pranked Sirius a few times."

Lily grins. "It lets her have some fun."

James looks at her, his face inquisitive. "McKinnon's in need of some fun?"

Lily shrugs, feeling that it isn't her place to discuss the inner workings of Marlene McKinnon with James Potter. She hardly understands Marlene McKinnon. "Rose and I don't let her have much, you see ..." she says instead. She knows it's weak, but it's somewhat blatantly obvious.

"Yes," he says, tapping his chin. He doesn't continue with that thought, though. "Marlene's lucky to have a friend like you."

Lily looks up. "Sirius is, too." James starts spinning on the spot. "Though I can't determine whether it's misfortune or not."

James ducks down and picks up some snow, throwing it at her. It doesn't reach her, falling apart as it hasn't been forced together into any shape, but she laughs quietly nonetheless. "One day, I'll teach you how to make a snow angel."

James cocks his eyebrows. "Is that some Muggle thing?"

Lily nods. "It's one of the only ways to enjoy the snow, besides spinning in it rather pathetically."

"I'm a Muggle dancer," he says, spinning again on the spot.

"Ballerinas wear tutus, James."

James tears a few leaves off of a bush and throws them at her.

.

.

.

.

Lily's happy to see the familiar little bookstore before her in the distance. "Finally!" she says. James grins.

"Warmth at last," he says, making a show of rubbing his gloved hands together and breathing into them.

"I can't feel my nose."

"I can't feel my bum."

Lily hits his shoulder. "I didn't need to know that." James laughs loudly as they approach the little shop. Rose and Remus are standing by the large window. Sirius and Marlene stand in the middle of the street.

Remus taps Rose on the shoulder, who whirls around and faces the approaching James and Lily. Her back straightens as her hands descend on her hips. "Where have you been?"

"I kidnapped her," James says as they approach. He dusts some snow off of Lily's shoulders. "She's back in one piece, you see." Rose only continues to glare at him. "Though I wouldn't be too sure of the nose."

Lily hits his shoulder.

"I don't know about you lot," Rose says, though she's looking pointedly at Marlene and Sirius, who are standing in each other's space, "but I'm heading back to school. I need to sit my frozen arse in front of the fire today."

"Alright, Rosie," James smirks, "I know I could do with a hot chocolate."

Lily hums. "Oh Merlin, don't say such lovely, tempting things!" James grins.

"Alright," Rose says, tugging at Remus' elbow. "Let's go before everyone gets weirder."

"I resent that!" Sirius pipes up, his arm hooked with Marlene's.

As the group starts walking back towards the castle, Lily notices Marlene's wearing Sirius' scarf. She lingers by James, though it isn't on purpose. She spends the long walk observing the little gang. Peter's busy trying to catch the last bits of snow on his tongue further ahead of them, while Sirius and Marlene walk at a slower pace, talking – Sirius in a loud, obnoxious tone that makes Lily want to turn around and butt in and Marlene with a hushed whisper. Rose is carrying Remus' shopping bag as she laughs at Peter.

"Pete really likes the snow," James says, watching his friend twirling to catch some flakes on his tongue.

"That's why you spend all your time outside?" James looks at her with his eyebrow cocked. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Potter. You guys are always outside during this time of year. I always wondered why."

"Now you know," he says with a grin.

Lily gives him half a shrug as a response. She pulls her hands out of her coat pockets and rubs them together. James seems to dig his deeper into his pockets.

Hogwarts is in sight when Lily feels courage swell through her, though she doesn't understand why she needs courage to be honest. "I have to admit," she says, looking at James from the corner of her eye before returning her attention to the path in front of her. "I did have fun with you."

James grins, his hand coming to rub the back of his neck before burrowing into his hair.

She turns to look at him, twisting her hands together, when she says, "Though, I find how good you are at stalking to be quite alarming."

James smiles with a laugh. He seems to lose his balance of walking on the straight line he's been on since they left Hogsmeade and almost stumbles into her. He comes to settle close beside her, nudging her arm with his elbow lightly. "What can I say? I'm a man of many talents."

Lily rolls her eyes. "A man with great big feet," she says, looking down at them. His sneakers have snow still clutching to them.

He smirks. "You know what they say, Evans. A man with great big feet has a big -"

She pushes him away, herself stumbling back a few steps, creating a large distance between them. "God, you're an insufferable prat!"

He laughs, moving back towards her. "Prig."

She pushes him again, though he only moves three steps away before regaining his footing.

"Sorry," he says, and Lily moves back from him, her hands sliding back into her coat pockets. "I meant incredibly-strong prig. You been taking any of those Muggle strength enhancements?"

"No!"

James shrugs, "Pity."

Lily looks up at the grey sky. "Merlin help me! You're insufferable!"

James chuckles. He lets the silence settle between them until they're at Hogwarts. Rose seems to take to jogging up to the castle with Remus lagging behind. "I did have fun today," he says. Lily pulls at the end of her hair, flicking some snow sticking on the strands. She looks at him when he doesn't follow it up with some joke. "We should do it again some time."

"It wasn't a date," she says, though she allows herself a small smile.

James shrugs. "You're a good stalker. You walk incredibly quiet."

She copies him. "You know what they say, a girl with quiet feet ..."

James laughs. They climb the steps of Hogwarts, though she feels weighed down by snow. When she enters through the great oak doors, Lily feels her feet move slower along the floor. James seems to slow down as Lily twirls slowly in the hall, feeling the warmth greet her with a thousand kisses, never letting her go. She never thought she'd feel this frozen in a million years. When she stops to wait for Marlene to climb the last of the steps with Sirius stuck at her hip, James runs his hand through his hair, pushing snowflakes out of it.

"Prongs!" Sirius yells, as if they hadn't walked together from Hogsmeade. He climbs up the last step and almost bounds over to James.

James greets him with the same volume. "Padfoot! So glad you could come up for air."

Marlene blushes lightly. Sirius only grins. "Had a great time, didn't we Marlene?"

Marlene rolls her eyes. "I'll see you at dinner," she says, standing next to Lily. She loops her arm with hers. "See you, James." Marlene starts to pull Lily away, walking slowly as the boys stay standing, flicking snow on the floor.

James catches her eye. "Save me a seat at dinner?" He runs his hand through his hair, though this time he pulls at the ends.

Lily looks over her shoulder. "Maybe," she says, feeling the corners of her mouth pull. When Marlene leads her up the stairs, she's still grinning.

.
.

fin.