OK guys!
I've been a bit busy lately with work as well as with school. It's weird to think that it's only a month or so until Christmas. I hope you like this chapter. It contains a bit JamesxLily.
Cold eyes, warm heart.
James walked through the castle corridors. It had been a little more than a week since their charm lesson challenge. He felt a little happy since he would patrol with Lily. He looked out of the window to see how the grounds looked like. Since Hogwarts was located in central Scotland, the grounds changed with the seasons. It was almost like it was a type of magic that could not be explained.
'Whoa…it's beautiful' thought the male when he saw the courtyard. A thin layer of snow covered the grounds. A layer of frost on the roof made it glitter like microscopic crystals. Hazel eyes looked up at the sky. The stars as well as the moon were peeking through the clouds. He noticed that the moon was almost full. It would probably reach that state during next week or so. "What is it James?" inquired the female next to him. Her worried voice shook him out of his thoughts. He looked down at the redhead on his right side.
"Oh. It's just…the moon" stuttered the raven-haired guy while he tried to recollect his thoughts. She glanced out of the window to see how it looked like. A small frown appeared at her face while her mind was at Remus. A part of her felt quite bad due to his lycanthropy. The guy noticed the change in her facial expression. She looked quite worried. 'I better ask how she feels. Getting things out is better than keeping it in. At least that's what Sirius taught me' decided the guy.
"What's on your mind Lily?" asked the Gryffindor while he bent down a little. She glanced at him with a concerned look before looking behind her. There was nobody in the corridor apart from them. "Well…I keep thinking of Remus. I can't imagine how it must be like to transform into a werewolf. Not to mention that it's the complete opposite of how Remus is" whispered the redhead. "It's simply awful. Especially for someone with a personality that he has" muttered the guy.
He had watched his friend transform every month for the last two years. To see his friend go from a gentle guy to a complete lunatic (pun intended) monster was horrible to witness. Carrying or dragging him to the hospital wing afterwards was equally bad. "I hope they invent something that can make it better" sighed the girl. James nodded in agreement before they continued their patrol. "Let's switch topic. Did you get the message about that double event?" said the male as they walked down the stairs.
The other Gryffindor nodded while looking a bit sideways. She had signed up for the event, but was unsure of the dance. Especially since the girl wanted to ask James. She knew there were many girls who wanted to ask him. "I signed up yesterday. I haven't asked anyone to be my dance partner though" admitted the Gryffindor with a sheepish smile. A part of him wanted to ask her, but there was a chance of getting rejected. That part scared the teenager. Especially since this was the last year of their Hogwarts education. Next year, they would probably work at different places.
The guy was not only doing this for the girl he loved though. James was aware of how lucky he was to have a family like his. Having Sirius living with him had brought some important insight on this. The Potter was doing his best to not hex people or pull pranks with the Marauders. The male had even straightened up in the schoolwork department. He paid more attention during classes as well as spending more time in the library. Even though Sirius teased him, his grades were slightly better in all of his subjects. All this work had paid off in the love department too. The redhead did not seem to despise him as much anymore.
'I just have to keep it up while crossing my fingers' decided the Gryffindor. The duo turned a corner in a rather empty hallway. Said hallway lead to the tower of their house. "Looks like our patrol is over for now" stated the female. She was happy that the patrol was over. The redhead felt quite tired after the long day. Both of them walked onto the stairs, which started to move immediately. "Whoa!" exclaimed Lily when the staircase started to rotate east. She failed to grab onto the railing due to her fatigue. Thankfully, the inky-haired guy managed to catch her moments later. Her back was now up against his torso. The girls' head was under his chin. Both of her feet were trying to find a stair step to stand on.
The female felt a small lump form in her throat. It did not feel that bad to be so physically close to a guy. She was not a shy person, but was not exactly hugging people on a daily basis. 'He's quite warm actually' thought the auburn-haired girl as she regained her balance. "Hey…are you all right Lily?" inquired the guy in a low voice. The girl she shifted her feet a little. She tried to ignore that she could smell his aftershave. It smelt like sandalwood, bergamot plus cedarwood. "I'm fine. Thanks for catching me James" muttered Lily. She got back up on her feet moments later. 'My cheeks are probably bright red now. Good thing that I'm standing in front of him' thought the female.
It did not take long until the staircases stopped moving. Both of them walked towards the painting of the fat woman. James rolled his eyes when she saw she was fast asleep. "Excuse me! We need to get in!" stated the male in a somewhat loud voice. The fat woman blinked her eyes as she sat up on her chair. "Oh, the head boy? Just finished your patrol?" inquired the painted female. "Yes. Could I please get into the tower?" replied the Gryffindor. His civil voice slightly contrasted with his annoyed expression. "Yes you may. However, I need the password first" told the fat woman. "Uhm…wasn't it angel's kiss?" asked the guy. The fat woman nodded before the painting slid aside.
Both of the students climbed into the empty common room. Hazel eyes looked down at the female. 'Maybe I should say something. However, what should I tell her?' thought the raven-haired male while his brain worked at full speed. "I'm going to bed now James. Thanks for catching me down there" told the female Gryffindor. "Uhm, you're welcome Lily. Sweet dreams" replied the male while he tried to keep his voice steady. "You too" replied the Gryffindor. She gave him a sweet smile before she left him.
'SWEET DREAMS! WHAT ON EARTH WAS I THINKING ABOUT! Or maybe that's the problem…I did not think AT ALL!' mentally screamed James. He decided to get his frustration out by banging his head on his pillow. "James? Are you trying to reprise the pixie beating Sirius did four years ago?" inquired a mused voice. The guy in question turned his head to see who it was. His eyes could not make out the facial features since he did not wear his glasses. Fortunately, the reddish brown hair as well as the voice was a giveaway.
"No Remus. Especially since there are no pixies inside my pillow case. I'm mentally berating myself for giving the lamest good night wishes in the history. That applies to the muggle and magic history" replied the Gryffindor. His friend was referring to an event in their third year. Sirius had caught some pixies in a laundry bag during their spring break. The guy decided to punched the bag several times before letting the pixies out. They were let out in the janitor's office. Needless to say, Filch was not that happy for the next couple of days. "Who did you say good night to? Sirius?" asked the other guy in a friendly voice. The answer he got from his friend was an eye roll combined with a moody face.
"No…it was Lily. We had just gotten into the Gryffindor common room after our patrol" informed the male as he sat up in his bed. "What did you say to her? It could not have been that bad" assured Remus. The inky-haired guy was actually happy that it was the werewolf who had asked him. Maybe it was because he had a more stable upbringing. Or perhaps it was his sensitive personality. "It could have been worse I suppose. I told her to have 'sweet dreams' or something similar" admitted the guy.
The other male raised an auburn eyebrow in surprise. "That's not bad really. It's a little cheesy, sure. However...wishing someone sweet dreams is not vulgar or anything. Unless you were insincere about it" suggested the brunette with an amused look. "I WAS sincere. Merlin knows how moody she gets after a nightmares" muttered James.
That was only a part of the reason though. Another part of him actually cared for hers. Sure, all of his friends were close to his heart, Lily was something else though. They incident that involved an upside down Snape appeared in his mind. Her outrage had a bigger effect on him than his parents punishment. The male would rather clean a toilet without magic than her "James Potter sucks" speech. The fury in her eyes was frightening as well. The fact that he was a Gryffindor with a werewolf friend brought this home. He knew that he was in love with her for some time. However...had that resulted in anything beyond friendship so far? Not at all. They were just something between classmates and friends. There was no romance there at all.
"Have you signed up for the event Prongs?" asked the other guy as he undid his tie. His friend snapped out of his thoughts. "I-I have. The dance is making me uneasy though" admitted the inky-haired male. "That makes two of us. Especially due to Sirius…I was quite surprised during the Quidditch party we had in June" laughed Remus. Gryffindor had gotten second in the cup last year. Ravenclaw had barely beaten them on the pit. Some of the Gryffindors borrowed a magical gramophone from the requirement room to celebrate. Their friend turned out to be surprisingly good at the dance floor. The male knew both waltz as well as some foxtrot. Sirius admitted that his mother had forced him to take dance lessons. After all, they were a noble family. "At least this is a skill I can impress people with!" stated the guy with a wide grin after showing his moves.
"Are you talking about my dancing debut last year at the Quidditch party? I had no idea my light feet were that popular" stated a voice. It turned out that the Black had returned. His brother turned 15 today, and the older brother had promised to visit him. "I'm just a bit anxious about the dancing" told the male. His eye sight cleared up a moment after the glasses were on his face.
"Eh…it's not really that hard. Want me to show you Prongs?" inquired the Gryffindor with a small grin. 'Hm. I don't have anything to lose anyways' decided James. "I'll be the guy this time since I'm going to lead you. All right Jamelina?" chuckled the guy. "Ha ha. Very funny" deadpanned the bespectacled guy. "Sorry. First thing you need to do is to put your arm on my shoulde. You hold the other one" instructed the raven-haired male. The Potter did as he was told. His friend laid an arm on his wiry waistline. "When you dance with a woman, place your arm at her waist. At least that was what my dance teacher told me" informed the male. "Their what?" inquired the other two Marauders right before Peter entered the room.
"You know that a woman's waistline usually goes like this?" replied the Black as he drew a woman's waistline with his fingers. His friends nodded. "Just lay your hand at the narrowest point. Don't go any further up or lower unless you want a black eye. It happened to me once before you ask" confessed the guy. The trio laughed for a minute while they imagined their friend with a black eye during the dance lessons.
"All right…I need your help on this one Wormtail. Could you please use the color charm to draw a square on the floor around us? It should be about three feet long and wide" said Sirius. "OK. Just give me a moment" muttered the male as he pulled out his wand. He managed to make a somewhat wobbly square around them that glowed in bright orange. "Thanks. Now, we're just going to move to the right. Make sure you stay within the square Prongs" instructed the male before they started to move to the side.
'Imagine you're dancing with Lily…imagine you're dancing with Lily' repeated his friend inside his head. A part of him was glad that they were dancing in a nearly empty bedroom. Especially since his feet were tangled at least twice a minute or so. Not only would this make him look less like a fool at the dance floor. It would increase his chances to finally become more than a friend with Lily. That was something his fifth-year self would have done almost ANYTHING for.
So...how did you like this chapter? I thought it would make sense that Sirius was the one that knew how to dance given his family. Don't be afraid to write a review of what you think so far. Constructive criticism is welcome as well.