"James says to hurry up," Hestia called from outside the dormitory door. Lily had asked her and Marlene to keep a look out for James while she got ready. "He also says…" she trailed off and shouts were heard. "Never mind."
Lily could only assume Sirius was downstairs as well saying crude things. She took one last look in the mirror, decided that her jeans looked nice with her white sweater, grabbed her bag and left the dormitory. Hestia handed Lily her school cloak. "Have fun!" she said teasingly.
"Stay safe!" Marlene added with a glint in her eye. Hestia hit her on the arm. Lily rolled her eyes at her two friends and descended down the stairs. James was waiting at the bottom of them for her, dressed in a simple button down shirt and jeans. Lily didn't know he owned any. She supposed she should have known.
When she flounced off the last step, James was grinning at her. "You look…" he was lost for words.
"So do you," Lily agreed shyly. She looked down at her feet, letting her hair fall into her eyes. James, ever the gentleman, used his right hand to tuck it behind her ear.
"Just kiss her already!" Lily heard Marlene yell out from the top of the stairs. She then heard some scuffling and a door closing. James laughed.
"Come on. Time sensitive schedule, you know," he teased. Lily smiled and together they exited the common room. Out of the corner of his eye, he was judging her outfit. "I see you dressed warm," he observed. He was a little disappointed, but he didn't want Lily to be cold.
"You don't exactly seem dressed for the weather either," Lily replied. James shrugged.
"Fashion is pain, Sirius said to me once. Besides," he waved his wand in front of Lily's face. "I'm a wizard. I can conjure something later."
Lily kept forgetting that she could easily cast a warming spell on her clothes and other similar spells, but told herself she preferred the comfort of heaving clothing. It was the muggle side of her.
"What's in the bag?" Lily adjusted her small bag on her shoulder self-consciously.
"Well, seeing as we're skipping dinner," Lily began, but James interrupted.
"Who says we're skipping dinner?"
Lily frowned. "Well I didn't know we weren't! So I grabbed something to eat and put it in here for later!" James gestured for her to hand over the bag but Lily clung tight to it.
"You can't fit anything worth eating in that," James said rationally. At that exact moment, they were passing the Great Hall. Lily could smell the inviting aroma of meat, gravy, potato and so much more. Her stomach growled in anticipation loudly, which James heard. He started chuckling.
"Don't worry," he assured Lily. "I've organised some food out at the paddock."
Lily smiled at his thoughtfulness. "You seem very prepared."
"I am. Got entertainment and everything!"
"Seriously?" Lily asked. James smirked.
"Well, entertainment of some sort. I hope you like it." James began to look nervous. "I mean, it was Remus' idea and I thought it was quite brilliant so…"
Lily hushed him. "I'm sure I'll love it no matter what." This made James grin and nod to himself.
They were now in the entrance hall. "Brace yourself," James joked. He held the doors open for Lily and she bravely went into the cold. It wasn't as cold as she thought it would be, but the chill was noticeable. James looked unfazed.
There was only a light breeze and it was flicking Lily's hair into her eyes. Annoyed, she tied it back into a simple pony tail. Raising her arms lifted her sweater to reveal her stomach which made Lily cold. She tugged it down quickly.
"You must be so cold," Lily said to James sympathetically. James had the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbows, leaving his toned forearms bare. He even had undone one of the buttons, revealing just a sliver of his chest. His hair was swaying occasionally in the breeze.
"Only a little," James said easily. "It's alright. We're nearly there anyway, then I'll be warm."
Lily looked around her and noticed that they were indeed on the edge of the forest. Had she been silent the entire walk here? Did James think she was being rude? Come to think of it, James wasn't exactly chatty tonight either.
"What's got you so quiet?" Lily asked. James looked down at Lily briefly before leading the way into the forest. The fading sunlight easily lit the way.
"I'm not quiet, you are," James retorted. He held a tree branch out of the way for Lily to pass unharmed. "You know your sweater is just going to get dirty, right?"
Lily shrugged. "I'm a witch. I'm sure I can clean it." When James didn't smile, Lily was concerned. "Are you nervous?" she asked. James flushed.
"Maybe just a little," he admitted. He glared at Lily. "It's your fault!"
Lily was offended. "Excuse me? How is it my fault?"
"Because you make me nervous! You're too…" James clamped his mouth shut and strode forward. Lily rushed to stand in front of him, placing her hands on her hips. "Too what?" she demanded.
"Too pretty," James grumbled.
Lily, shocked and pleased, continued walking with a small smile on her face. From behind her, she could hear James' light footsteps following.
"You weren't nervous last time we came out here," Lily said conversationally.
"That was different," James said immediately. "That was a spontaneous decision and I never actually expected you to go along with it. I was more surprised than anything."
"But now?" Lily urged. James ran a hand through his hair.
"Now, it's official, and everyone knows we're on a date, and there's a lot of pressure to make it better than the last time," James huffed. Lily's heart jumped and she slipped her hand into his. James smiled down at her.
"We could be studying and I would have a great time," Lily said honestly. "It's not what you do, James, it's the company you do it with. I have no expectations with you."
James was comforted by Lily's honesty and grinned at last. "Well, I look forward to surprising you then."
Once they understood how the other was feeling, the atmosphere was much more cheerful and James returned to his happy, talkative self. They reached their paddock, all smiles, with James biting his lip. "I really hope you're hungry," he said.
Boy, was she ever. Lily's stomach was rumbling the entire walk here. She nodded eagerly and James allowed her to enter the paddock.
Here, there was no wind. The hedges provided enough shelter to block it out. In the middle of the grass, a roaring bonfire provided light. Surrounding the fire were plates upon plates of food. It was a buffet.
"Is this all for me?" Lily gasped. James smirked and led the way to the plates.
"Don't be greedy. It's for me as well."
As they sat, two golden plates appeared in front of them. James began loading his up with everything within reach, and when he had taken a sample from each plate, he pushed them to the left. Lily realised the plates were on a wooden revolving table. This way, she didn't have to get up and walk to each plate.
Lily filled up her plate with mainly chicken but added some potato chips and vegetables (health was important). James, although dissatisfied with Lily's choices, remained quiet.
James ensured that they would not eat in silence, it seemed. Blue bells, which Lily thought were just flowers, were tinkling like actual bells, providing a calming atmosphere. The stream as well seemed louder than usual, coupled with the crackling of the fire. Lily was very much at peace while she ate.
James had finished his plate and was helping himself to seconds when Lily had reached the last quarter of her food. Lily thought it was amusing how quickly he ate and how his stomach seemed never ending.
"This was beautiful," she said when she had cleaned her plate at last. James was just finishing off his last mouthful, making a sound of agreement. "Do you want dessert?" he asked. He spun the buffet around until the desserts were in front of them. Jelly, ice-cream, candy of all kinds – including some plain muggle candy James had picked specifically for Lily – éclairs, popcorn, and more were placed in Lily's sight. Lily was absolutely full, but she always had room for dessert. She reached for her bag rather than the plates.
"I kind of brought my own," Lily admitted. She pulled her chocolate dragon, the very same one James had bought her at Honeydukes, out of her bag. She placed it on an empty plate.
"Undetectable extension charm?" James guessed. Lily nodded shyly. "Impressive. I was wondering how anything could fit in that bag."
Lily broke off the dragon's right arm and offered it to James. He took it and started nibbling. "Perhaps I shouldn't have bothered with dessert," he mused. "You should have told me you'd bring this!"
"You should have told me we wouldn't skip dinner," Lily retorted.
"You should have known I wouldn't let you starve."
Lily sulked. "Don't be mean."
James laughed at her and decided to lie on his side. It was quite warm in front of the fire and he was feeling a little bit sleepy. "So how about that entertainment, huh?" he offered. Lily pursed her lips.
"Not yet," she decided. "I like the silence."
James let her enjoy the setting. He was happy to watch her observe the paddock for a while. When he finished his dragon arm, he decided he couldn't possibly have any more chocolate, so he helped himself to some jelly.
When darkness fell, Lily consented to the entertainment. "If I wait much longer I'll fall asleep," she chuckled. James whistled, three short bursts, and sat up next to Lily. "Enjoy the show," he said happily. "And remember, they all consented to doing this!"
Lily wasn't sure what that meant so she was eager to watch carefully in order to understand. James was content playing with Lily's fingers as well as watch the show. There were some parts he couldn't miss, though.
First into the paddock were some house elves. They pranced about the paddock, staying close to the hedges, dancing with each other and squeaking loudly. Their noses were in the air as they swung their arms. They were dressed in coloured tutus with matching flower necklaces. Lily was a bit shocked that the elves would do this, but remembered James said they consented.
Next were the fairies. Vicious creatures, Lily had always thought, but they seemed friendly enough. In all of the colours of the rainbow (and a couple in between) their wings fluttered as they performed a complicated musical number to the sound of the blue bells. Their wings' light reflected onto the bushes around them. They dropped fairy dust over the grass, leaving it silver and shiny.
After them were the fireflies. They came out and hovered over Lily and James, blinking their lights in an organised fashion. Lily held her hand out in awe, and a firefly bravely landed on her palm. Its light was flickering with happiness.
Lastly, James pulled Lily over to the stream without a word. She looked down to see the merpeople swimming in circles, causing waves and bubbles. The water turned from dark blue to an eerie green, reflecting its light all over the paddock. As a last hurrah, the merpeople jumped out of the water and back-flipped, using their tails for momentum. They reminded Lily of dolphins doing show tricks.
Lily got splashed, but James had ducked behind Lily just in time to avoid the spray. He began laughing at her. Lily bent down, gathered some stream water into her hands – most of which slipped through her fingers – and threw it over James. He stopped laughing, although Lily's throw was pitiful and he barely got wet.
"Was that really necessary?"
Lily nodded firmly. "Now we're even."
James took a threatening step towards the stream. Lily copied him. James smirked as he took another small step, watching Lily mirror his movement.
"Just a warning, James," Lily said as she slyly moved even closer to the stream. "I'm very good at water fights."
James loved the challenge. "Bring it on, Evans!"