"Evans!"

Lily paused and waited for James to catch up with her. When he did, she started talking. "I'm glad you're here." At this point, James' heart leapt happily. It slowed down when he realised there was more to that sentence. "We need to go over the prefect patrol timetable again, and we need to begin to organise this years' Halloween decorations for the Great Hall in particular."
James waved his hand. "Yeah, yeah. Look, when's your next free period?" Lily was confused.
"I don't have one today."

James frowned. This put a flaw in his plans.

"Well, what do you have after lunch?"
"Ancient Runes?"
"Excellent! I'll meet you at lunch then." He turned away from Lily, leaving her to ponder what on earth he was planning. As curious as she was, and as much as she would like to spend time with him (that thought shocked her but she shrugged it off), she had that translation due today after all…

Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime of a day, it was lunch, and Lily was too nervous to eat. James had said he'd meet her, but why? What was he planning? Lily couldn't work it out and dammit, why did he want to know what class she had?

"Eaten your full yet?" James asked as he slid into the seat beside her. Lily shook her head, and James sighed. "Are you going to eat anything at all?" Lily shook her head again. "Fine. Follow me then."

James took a moment to grab some rolls before leading the way out of the Great Hall. Lily followed curiously, then started to worry when they exited Hogwarts entirely. "James," she said nervously. "I have to go to class after lunch. So tell me what you've got planned."
"Ditching is healthy, Lily! One class won't kill you," James encouraged. He took hold of Lily's hand; so she didn't run away, he told himself. He tugged on it. "Come on."
"I really shouldn't, James," Lily argued, but helplessly followed him. His grip on her hand was too strong for her. "I have my translation due."
"Hand it in next class."
"But I'm Head Girl! I can't be seen ditching class!"

James' eyes gleamed. "Ah, well that's the beauty of it, Lily! We won't be seen, where we're going."

Deciding that asking any more questions would be a fruitless effort, Lily allowed herself to be pulled by the hand to her mystery location. James' hand was squeezing hers hard, and his hands felt warm and rough against hers. Lily was running to keep up with James' steady jog, which he obviously found amusing based on his grin. She struggled to not stumble as she ran and was trying to hide how puffed she really was. She needed to do more exercise.

"Are you… taking me… to the… Forbidden… Forest?" Lily puffed. James slowed to a walk, which Lily was grateful for. James let Lily's hand slip from his, though he seemed unwilling – his fingertips lingered on hers before finally letting her hand drop.
"Not exactly," James said cheerfully. He pointed to a shady looking area within the trees. "There's a… well, it's nicer there than in the actual forest."
"I certainly hope so!"

James was very much aware of Lily's presence at his right side. How could he not be? She was warm, radiant, and she made James so happy. Her petite frame looked quite fragile as they battled their way through the dense flora; James gladly held back vines, branches and leaves so Lily could pass. Each time she smiled at him and each time his heart skipped a beat.

"Here we are!" James announced, planting himself in front of Lily. She looked up at him curiously.
"What's so special about this spot?" she asked sarcastically, looking down at her feet as if searching for a magical plant. James chuckled.
"Behind me is a place that we discovered a few years ago," James explained, automatically using 'we' to refer to his mates. "But before you enter, you have to promise that you won't reveal this secret to anyone else. Promise?"
Lily pursed her lips. "If I don't promise?" she asked. James frowned.
"Well… I'll never bring you back here again!" he declared triumphantly.
"You know I can find my way back here whenever I like with whoever I like?"
"We could make it an Unbreakable Vow if you like," James threatened. "That way, your promise is binding."
Lily rolled her eyes. "I don't think that will be necessary. I promise not to show this to anybody else."
"Or tell anyone about it," James added. Lily repeated obediently. Finally satisfied, James moved out of Lily's view.

"You can go first," he murmured, pushing her forward. Lily saw a blockage a few feet ahead of her and she realised she had to turn left. When she did so, she was amazed.

It wasn't a meadow, exactly. More like a large paddock, with perfectly trimmed grass and tall, square hedges creating an impenetrable barrier. Sun squeezed its light through the dense leaves of the trees above and Lily could hear the hints of a bubbling stream. She guessed that was at the very end of the paddock, where she couldn't see.

"It's beautiful," she whispered. James was standing behind her with his fingertips resting on her wrists. He smiled. "It was a centaur area," James murmured, "but since they've relocated they left it behind."
"That's a pity," Lily said quietly. "Having such a beautiful place to call home, then having to leave it behind."
James didn't comment. Lily couldn't get over the sheer beauty of the paddock, and observed it greedily. James nudged her forward. "Go on," he encouraged. "Look around. There's lots of interesting things in here."

Lily looked unsure at first but, with a smile from James, she began inspecting the paddock. A few bushes grew at the entry – Lily identified them as flutterby bushes. To her displeasure, it wasn't flowering. Further on she recognised a dittany plant and some moonstone rocks.
"James, there are some really rare potion ingredients here!" Lily called, gesturing for James to join her. "Plants as well!"

James made his way over to her and squatted to get a better look at what she was touching. "This is a vine of Devil's Snare," Lily said. "It's still only growing so it's not strong enough to kill you yet. These pebbles, I've never even seen before." The pebbles were deep purple with fluorescent green stripes. James recognised them.
"Centaurs use them to help determine the future," James said. He took one in his palm and starting throwing it in the air. "Supposedly, they change colour when danger is coming."

Lily eyed the pebble, almost expecting it to change colour then and there.

"Though, like most divination techniques, it's a shady type of knowledge that can't really be identified." He let the pebble clatter to the ground. "I mean, danger is kind of a broad term, don't you think? And how far away is 'coming' anyway? A day? A week? A year?" James let out a derisive snort as he got to his feet.

"Come on, there are some fairies over by the stream and merpeople in the water. Much more interesting than rocks."

An hour or so later, Lily had investigated the paddock until her curiosity was satisfied, and had gone into countless explanations of the things she saw which James found endearing. Now, they were leaning against the hedge barrier next to the stream, which Lily was dangling the tips of her fingers in. "This is unbelievable," Lily said to James. "How can you keep this a secret?"

James watched the water flow. "I suppose that I didn't want anyone to ruin the beauty of it."
"You didn't think I would?" Lily asked gently. It was obvious that he didn't, seeing as he invited her there, but she wanted to know what he would say anyway.
"Nah," he grinned. "I mean, I know you're clumsy and everything –" Here, Lily gasped and pushed him as hard as she could. James laughed and nudged her back. "You fit in here," he finished.
"What do you mean?" Lily asked. "Are you saying I fit in here, in the middle of nowhere?" She was only teasing and James knew it.
"I meant that you're beautiful enough to suit this area."

Lily didn't know how to respond to that, as that was the first real compliment she had received from James in a long time. "Well, if you have to be beautiful to gain entry here, you better leave now," Lily teased. James looked shocked and put a hand dramatically against his heart.
"And here I thought I was good looking! Ah, well. Sirius was the one wanting to be a model, I suppose."

Lily giggled. "We have to head back soon," she sighed. Lying back on the grass, she could see the sunlight fading through the tree leaves. James lay by her side.
"Not really. We could stay here forever and no one would ever find us," he said. Lily thought it was a tempting idea, as the paddock was far too magical to just leave behind, but her stomach was demanding food and her bladder needed to relieve itself.
"Thank you for showing me this, James," Lily whispered.
"You're welcome," he whispered back.

Together they lay on the grass until the sky went dark. Wordlessly, the two got up in sync and left the paddock. Lily looked back just as she was turning the corner to see little flickers of light, which she knew to be fireflies. She wished she could stay and watch them fly, but sadly she had to return to reality and her friends…

"Oh shit," Lily breathed. "James, what on earth am I going to say to Hestia and Marlene?"
"Nothing?" James suggested. "Why do you have to say anything?"
"Because Hestia is going to be wondering why I didn't show up to Ancient Runes and that means endless questions about where I've been and what I've been doing and I promised you I wouldn't say anything about the paddock so I'm going to be left with nothing!" Lily ranted.

James chuckled. "Just say we went on a date," he said kindly. Lily looked up at him with wide green eyes. "Was this a date?" she asked. James ran a hand through his hair.
"Uh, well, it doesn't have to be, of course, but that was my intention," he muttered. He avoided eye contact with Lily, under the pretence of navigating their way back to the castle. Lily tugged on his hand to get his attention and he reluctantly glanced at her.

She was smiling.

"This was a lovely date, James," she said happily. "Although, next time, you should probably ask me if I wanted to go rather than forcing me with no explanation."
James gave her a lopsided grin. "But if I gave you a choice, you would have gone to class! What would I have done then?"
"I suppose you're right," Lily admitted. "I would have gone to class. But we could have done this on a weekend or another day!"
"I wanted to do it today," James said defensively.
"I'm glad you did. I truly had a wonderful time," Lily said. They exited the forest and saw the castle looming ahead, light shining through the hundreds of windows. It reminded Lily of a Christmas tree. "We really must start those Halloween decorations soon," she added. James smiled and slipped his hand into Lily's. Her heart beat faster but she didn't pull away.
"Tomorrow. I promise."