This is the last chapter I had written, so all the new chapters will be written from scratch so I won't update as frequently even though I do have Chapter 19 done and Chapter 20 half way done (Gonna go finish it as soon as I get done with this) I have three days off coming up so based on how much writing I get done, Chapter 19 should be up in the next week or so) Please don't forget to review. :D Also, I am going to (starting with this chapter be personally thanking everyone who reviewed on the chapters. So if you don't want to read all of that, just scroll down until you "Chapter 18" and that's where the chapter will begin! :D
LilyHeartsJames: I know it took a while for them to get together, but I had to make the story interesting. I'm glad you liked it.
Eleos: Haha, yes it was PG-13 action, and there is more to come! Wait is a lovely middle name and I love your new Signature, hehe. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter and thank you for such a lengthy review. I hope to keep you as a loyal reader as your reviews make me giggle.
AriannaSaffyreMalfoy: Hehe you're very perceptive aren't you? Yes they got together. I'm glad you liked it. :D
L-U-N-A 654: I'm glad you liked the entire chapter. That's quite a compliment.
Lafd: I'm really happy you like this story, it's one of my favorite Lily/James stories I've written. Haha I love Snape too but wasn't too big on him when I started the story (that was like five years ago, after all) so he's not really in it that much. That's also why you don't see Peter at all except in the first chapter. Haha I kinda...stopped writing him in, oops.
Jenn222: Thanks for the review.
Makayla: I'm updating hehe glad you're enjoying it. :D
Chapter 18
A few hours later, it was time to go down to dinner. Lily could feel all eyes on her and James as they entered the Great Hall, hand-in-hand. Sirius had been right, news of Lily and James getting together had spread quickly and they were the new topic of interest. Not that either of them were surprised. Their fights in the corridors had been disastrous and witnessed by many. Everyone knew that James had been pinning for Lily, and they also knew that Lily had once detested him. Their finally becoming friends shocked many while others swore they saw it coming.
Lily still hadn't prepared herself for the hundreds of eyes that fell upon her and James as they walked through the doorway. The chatter and rustle of plates and food continued as they made their way across the room. Some students tried to hide the fact that they were staring, whispering behind their hand. Others openly followed their progress across the room, never averting their eyes. Lily had to remind herself to breathe. She hated being the center of attention. Luckily, James standing beside her, squeezing her hand gently calmed Lily's nerves a bit.
She hadn't realized they were at the long table until James had come to a stop. He waited for her to sit down before joining her. Their friends also took their seats around the couple. Lily felt herself blushing.
"I wish they would all stop staring," Lily mumbled to James. Her face felt like it could practically melt from the heat spreading to her cheeks. She could only imagine how red she was. She probably matched her hair. "I mean, we're just like everyone else. There's nothing special about us."
James smiled at her reassuringly as his hand patted her thigh under the table. "You are too special, Lily," he told her. "Don't worry, they'll lose interest soon enough."
And most did through the course of dinner. However, Lily could still feel a few eyes on her. She tried her best to act normal and go about eating. She had a little trouble swallowing her food and took slow deliberate bites. James thoroughly enjoyed watching as she chewed her food for much longer than was necessary and often worried that he would have to remind her to swallow. The rest of the group stared at Lily until she snapped at them, demanding that they stop at once. James had managed to hold back his chuckle, mainly out of fear that she would snap at him also.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the group had finished eating. The others all wanted to stay and chat so Lily grabbed James' hand, pulling him away from the group and making her way quickly to the door.
"That was horrid!" Lily complained, sliding down the wall once they were a few corridors away from the Great Hall. "Why in the bloody hell is our getting together so damned interesting to everyone else? We're no different than anyone else."
James slid next to her, placing his hand on her arm.
"I'm not so sure that's true," he admitted, fighting to hide back his smile. "I mean, no one else had screaming matching in the corridors and then wound up dating two years later. You have to admit, our fights drew quite the crowd."
Lily sighed, a small grin planted on her face at the thought of their fights years prior. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I just wish they would all mind their own business. I'm sure none of them would like to be gawked at."
James shrugged. "What can I say? We're the hot new couple. Luckily, they all have short attention spans and some other scandal will grab their attention soon enough."
Lily nodded. "I hope you're right. I don't think I could go the rest of the term being stared at three times a day by the whole bloody school."
James pulled her into a hug. "Well, even if they don't lose interest, I'll always be right there next to you, holding your hand."
Lily glanced at him and smiled. She felt her heart swell up and wondered, once again, where this version of James had come from, and how she had gotten so lucky as to land him. "You're too perfect."
James laughed, "I thought we already had this conversation, I'm not perfect. Remember the pancake incident?"
Lily grinned as the image of a flustered James standing in his parent's kitchen—or what she imagined it looked like-filled her mind. She pictured the flour covering the walls and floor. "Okay so maybe not perfect, but you're pretty damn close." With that, she pressed her lips to his. The kiss was cut short by a group of fourth years walking by and giving out cat calls.
Lily pulled away from James, wiping her lips and glancing down at the floor. She felt shame rising in her cheeks. She was supposed to be the Head Girl, setting an example for the younger students. How many times had she yelled at other couples for snogging in the corridors? She was vaguely aware of a shuffling beside her. She glanced over to see James standing.
"What do you say we continue this up in my dorm?"
Lily took his hand and allowed herself to be helped up. The two made their way to the Gryffindor Tower. Once in the Common Room, they ignored curious looks from the few people occupying the room as they made their way up the steps.
Reaching the dorm, James pulled Lily to him, catching her lips with his. She responded to him immediately, pushing her hands into his hair. James picked her up princess style and carried her to his bed.
He placed her gently on the bed before lying beside her. She turned to him, catching her lips with his. He returned the kiss, wrapping his hands in her hair. Her hand cupped his face as she opened her mouth to him, allowing his tongue entrance. Her head swam with the feeling and she wanted more. She pulled him on top of her while her hands moved to the hem of his shirt. She toyed with it for a few moments before slowly pulling it up on his abdomen. She pulled her lips from his long enough to pull the shirt over his head. She wasn't sure where this desire was coming from but she wanted to feel as much of James as she could.
She tossed the material on the floor and James grinned at her mischievously.
"You don't waste any time, do you?"
She felt a blush creeping upon her face. "I…well…" she stuttered before James chuckled lightly.
"I'm just poking fun," he told her before placing his lips back on hers once again.
Lily was amazed at how he could make the room spin with a single kiss. She clung to him, desperate for more. She ran her hands over his well-defined torso, loving the way the muscles jumped under her fingers. This was the best moment of her life. It was perfect in every way. Like all good things, however, it came to an end much too soon.
She felt James' warm lips leave hers and she tried to pull him back to her. He kissed her a few seconds longer before pulling away. Lily looked up at him confused.
"What's wrong?" Before she could stop it, her mind swam with possibilities. Was she that bad of a kisser? Had she done something wrong? Was she moving too fast?
"Nothing at all," James answered. Sensing her worry, he reassured her that everything had been perfect.
Lily frowned at him slightly. "Then why did you stop?"
"I just want to lie here," he told her.
Surely she'd heard him wrong. She was offering herself for a snogging session and he just wanted to…cuddle? She was starting to wonder if the boy she fancied had serious mental problems.
"Are you serious?" she asked, raising her eyebrows at him.
"Completely," he told her, rolling off her and pulling her to him.
"Okay?"
Hesitantly, Lily wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest. The warmth radiating from him made it feel as if Lily had said a heat spell. It was comfortable and made her somewhat sleepy. She listened to his heart beat and felt his chest move up and down from breathing. As much as she would've liked to be kissing him, she decided that was just as nice. Every moment spent with him was wonderful, no matter what they were doing. He gently ran his fingers through her hair and it was almost more than Lily could take.
She tried to think of something to say but knew that any words would only ruin the moment. So, instead, she snuggled in closer, burying her face in his chest and breathing in his scent. The whole scene made her giddy and she couldn't stop smiling. She wasn't sure how long they had been laying there. It could've been minutes, or hours, or even days. When she was with him, time didn't exist. It was only James and her.
That is until they got some unexpected company. Sirius and the others burst into the room, not bothering to knock on the door.
"Aww," Sirius cooed. "You two are so cute!"
With a groan, Lily sat up, removing herself from James' warmth. She didn't recall her friends barging in like this when Lily and James had been friends. She swore silently to herself that if this was going to be a common occurrence that someone would pay.
"What do you lot want?" James asked, not bothering to sit up. His hand rested on Lily's back, making small circles.
"We wanted to come see what you two were doing," Sirius answered, joining the couple on the bed, while Summer, Kevin, and Carmen sat on the bed next to James'.
"I see that, but why?"
"We were bored," Sirius shrugged. A slight frown formed on his face but it passed quickly. "And we're gits and wanted to interrupt your snogging. You've thoroughly disappointed us."
"My apologies," James said dryly. He smiled to himself as he felt Lily squirm a little from the fingers on her back through the thin material. "Now can you all just leave us be?"
"Why?" Sirius asked. He, too, had noticed Lily's shudder and couldn't help but grin broadly at her, earning a glare from his best mate's new girlfriend. "You weren't doing anything. You're just lying there."
"It's called cuddling, Sirius, and it is loads better without an audience."
"Lame," Sirius told him.
"Sirius," James said, glaring at his best friend. He loved Sirius and would do anything for him in a heartbeat but sometimes he was a complete and total git.
"No, it's okay," Lily chimed. "I've got some studying to do anyway."
James glanced up at her. "Oh, okay." She could see the sadness in his hazel eyes.
"I'll see you later," Lily said, leaning down to kiss him. Then she hesitated, remembering all her friends were in the room. Before she could sit up again, James propped himself on his elbow and pulled her face to his. He placed a sweet kiss on her lips.
When Sirius began to let out a cat call, James kicked him. Sirius let out a howl but didn't say anything else. Finally, James released the blushing redhead.
"'Bye," he told her.
She was smiling from ear to ear as she left the room, avoiding everyone's eye.
Once in her own room, Lily tried to concentrate on her Charms notes. She couldn't get herself to focus. She had read the same sentence ten times and still had no idea what it said. Her mind kept drifting back to James: his lips; his touch; his warmth; his heartbeat; his breathing; his scent. She couldn't get him off her mind. After an hour, she decided that she was getting nowhere and finally shut the book, placing it in her bag. She turned off the light and rolled over to go to sleep. A smile was planted on her face as she drifted into the world of dreams.
The next morning Lily awoke feeling refreshed and ready to take on the world. She rose from bed, stretching as she walked to the bathroom and headed for the shower. Adjusting the knobs, Lily let the water reach the right temperature before stripping of her clothes. She stepped carefully into the shower, letting the water wash away the dirt and warm her body and heart. She tried, unsuccessfully, to wipe the grin from her face, but as James kept appearing in her mind, she found it nearly impossible to stop her smile. Lily finished her shower quickly, knowing, much to her dismay, that she didn't have time to linger this morning.
The sight of Summer and Faith huddled close together, whispering and giggling, by Faith's bed, filled her vision when she emerged from the bathroom wrapped in a towel. They were so lost in their own little world of laughter and gossip that they didn't take notice of the redhead.
"Good morning, girls," she greeted cheerfully. Making her way to her wardrobe, she whistled her favorite Beatles tune.
Faith and Summer shared a smile before turning their attention to the third girl, grinning broadly at her content state.
"Good morning to you, Lily," Faith returned, barely noticing a slight grimace on Summer's face as the girl quickly headed to the bathroom, before turning back to Lily. "Did you have sweet dreams of a certain dark-haired boy?"
Lily paused her rummaging through her dresser to glance back at her friend, her smile returning once again. "I sure did," she beamed, dropping the towel as she snapped on her bra. "And did you, Faith, have sweet dreams of a certain Ravenclaw?"
"Always," the blonde replied, crossing the room to her own bureau to pick out her outfit for the day.
The second of silence was interrupted as a gagging sound filled the room.
"You two are nauseating," Robyn deduced, pushing back the curtains on her four poster bed. "You should be hexed for being so cheerful and pathetic."
"You should be hexed for breathing," Carmen replied. Lily and Faith glanced up to see Carmen sitting on the edge of the bed, pulling off her pajama bottoms.
"I think someone's a little jealous that we have boyfriends and she's all alone because she's too big of a bitch to actually get a guy," Faith half whispered to Lily. She glanced quickly at Robyn to make sure the girl had heard her before turning her attention back to the sorting of her clothes, pulling out a skirt.
Robyn snorted, pulling her covers messily over her pillow, the version of making her bed. She flipped back her hair. "I've had more guys than you two combined will ever have."
"It's usually not a good thing to brag about being a slag," Carmen told her. She frowned at the mess of pillows and blankets on her bed. She was a very active sleeper. She shrugged slightly before pulling shut the curtains.
"At least I've had more than one guy look at me in the past three years." Robyn, in her normal fashion, chose not to look at the dark-haired girl as she addressed her, instead studying herself in the mirror by her bed. Lily noticed that and wondered how someone could be so vain.
"We just went through this," Carmen replied with a sigh, crossing the room clad in only her tank top and knickers. "You can't get anyone to stay with you for that long."
At this, Robyn huffed, finally understanding that she was beat three to one and there was no point in arguing anymore. Also, deciding that the call of nature was a more pressing matter. She made a beeline for the bathroom and was halfway there when the sound of its current occupant throwing up caught the attention of the four girls.
"Summer's in there," Lily told her as she buttoned up her shirt. She quickly glanced over at Faith. "Do you think she's okay? Did she mention to you that she wasn't feeling well?"
Before the blonde had a chance to reply, Robyn interrupted. "She'll just have to let me use it," she sneered, blatantly ignoring the fact that Summer was throwing up. "Shouldn't be too hard; she's always been spineless."
Anger flared in Carmen's stomach. She angrily made her way to Robyn, grabbing her arm and stepping in between the girl and the door in one swift movement.
"Summer is using the bathroom right now and you'll just have to wait," Carmen demanded, fully intent on protecting the sick girl. What the hell was wrong with Robyn? She wondered. What kind of person interrupts another's puking?
Robyn glared at the fingers wrapped around her arm. "Remove your hand from me."
"Fine," Carmen obliged, crossing her arms across her chest and standing her ground. "But you're still not going in."
"What are you? Her bodyguard?"
"No," Carmen answered. "I'm her friend." She herself briefly wondered when that had happened. She supposed it was some point in the past few weeks. Summer had shown that she had changed and had pretty much stopped all contact with Robyn and the likes. "And a damn better one than you have ever been to anyone, especially Summer. Now move away from the door before I move you." She stared down the shorter girl in front of her.
Robyn shot her a glare which Carmen returned. After a few seconds Robyn stepped back.
"Whatever." Robyn flipped her hair again before turning on her heel and walking back to her bed.
Not trusting her, Carmen remained between her and the door until Summer emerged from the bathroom. Tears had pooled around her pretty blue eyes, partly from the puking and partly from the words Carmen had spoken. It hadn't been that hard to hide the tears from Robyn as she had been charging towards the door the second she heard the knob turn. When the door clicked shut, Summer hugged Carmen.
"I heard what you said," she explained, sensing Carmen's confusion. A sense of gratitude overwhelmed her. Sirius, Faith, and Lily had friended her weeks ago, but knowing that Carmen no longer considered her an enemy touched her for some reason. "That was really sweet, and I just want you to know that I appreciate it."
"It was no problem," Carmen answered a little uneasily as the girl halted their embrace. "You have real friends now that are actually here for you. Are you okay? Were you throwing up?" she asked already knowing the answer. Being this close to the girl she could smell the toothpaste on her breath, mixed with just a hint of vomit.
Summer nodded her head sheepishly. "Yes. I think I'm okay though. I feel better. Maybe my stomach was just a little upset."
Lily, fully dressed and with her backpack on her shoulders, crossed the room to the two girls. "Do you need to stay in today?" she asked, glancing at Summer. "I can tell the professors that I excused you from class because you are sick."
Summer shook her head, grateful for the girl's offer though. "No, really, I think I'm fine. I should be okay now. I think I just ate something that upset my system a little. I'll be okay, really." Before the Head Girl could argue, she started to walk away. "I do need to get ready, though."
Lily watched her with curiosity. "Okay. Well if you're sure…"
"I am," Summer insisted, smiling at her while she started gathering her books and homework off the side table and sticking them in her school bag.
"Okay, well I'll see you lot at breakfast," Lily told them, heading towards the door. She made her way down the steps and across the Common Room, making her way to the boys' dorm. The need to feel James' lips on hers was almost more than she could take and she knew she couldn't very well snog him in the middle of the Great Hall.
As usual when heading to the boys' dorm, she received looks of confusion and forced innocence from her male classmates. She reached her destination, knocking on the door. Sirius' grey eyes met hers as he opened the door.
"Is James still in here?" Lily asked. She fought the urge to glare at Sirius as he fixed her with an amused gaze.
"Why, yes he is," Sirius informed her, grinning broadly. "Is someone feeling a little randy this morning?"
Lily blushed a little, only adding to Sirius' amusement. She ignored his last statement as she spoke. "Well, may I please see him?"
"Of course," Sirius stated. "Who am I to deny a woman of her heart's deepest desires?"
Lily rolled her eyes slightly as Sirius stepped aside and allowed her access into the cluttered room. She found herself grateful that she lived with relatively neat girls, as she usually did when stepping into the boys' dorm. She liked the Marauders well enough but they were downright slobs at times.
"Hey, Lily," a voice interrupted her thoughts.
She glanced over at the sandy haired boy who had addressed her. He was pulling on a shirt and she took quick notice of the scars on his abdomen. She fought the urge to shudder. How had he acquired something so gruesome? She knew Remus to be a gentle person and couldn't imagine him in a situation to receive such horrid injuries. He noticed her staring and blushed slightly. His small cough caught her attention and she glanced away quickly before meeting his blue eyes with an apologetic gaze. He nodded slightly before speaking again.
"James is still sleeping," he said. Lily followed his eyes to the sleeping form of her new beau.
The boy was sprawled out on his back and she fought to keep her breath from hitching in her throat as she watched his chest move up and down with each shallow breath he took. His mouth was parted slightly and his hair was as unruly as ever. Her attention was snapped back to reality as Sirius' voice interrupted her daze.
"Careful, Evans, you're almost drooling."
She glared at the boy, punching him in the chest as walked past her.
"I was just going to wake him," Remus informed the redhead. "But I figure you would like to take responsibility for that task?"
Lily nodded, walking over to the bed. She sat on the edge of the mattress and pulled shut the curtains. She ignored Sirius' taunt of "Don't forget, there are other people in the room."
She tried to get comfortable on the bed for a few seconds. James had taken up all the whole bed. She soon realized that the only way to prevent falling off the bed was to straddle the boy. "Bugger," she cursed slightly trying to accomplish her goal without falling off the bed. She was usually graceful but James hadn't left her much room to work with, and straddling someone wasn't something she was exactly skilled at.
"Oi," she heard Sirius call. "You all right in there? Be gentle with Prongs, he's just a lad."
"Shove it, Black," she warned in a deadly tone and fixed a glare on her face before she remembered he couldn't see her. She glanced back down at the sleeping boy, quite surprised that the movement and speaking hadn't woken him.
A smile soon spread across her face as James stirred a little. He shifted his lower body and the friction of his hips against her inner thighs caused warmth to spread through her lower regions. She held back her gasp as the new sensation hit her. She tucked her fiery red hair behind her ear as she leaned down, placing her hand next to his head as her other hand rested on his chest. He shifted once again and Lily cursed him as she felt a small bulge press into her most intimate spot. He was really going to have to stop doing that.
She moved her face closer to his and felt his warm breath on her face. After what seemed like forever, her soft lips pressed against his parted lips. She felt his arm wrapped around her waist. A giggle emitted from her lips as he flipped them over, placing his body on hers. She barely had time to wonder how they hadn't ended up on the floor with his movements before he was kissing her roughly.
She felt the bulge growing and grinned through the kiss. Finally, his lips left hers and she smiled up at him.
"Now that's a way to be woken up." It came out almost sounding like a growl from his voice being gruff from sleep.
"I thought you-"
"We're leaving," Sirius' voice interrupted. Lily could practically hear the smirk in his voice.
"Thanks for the update, Padfoot," James replied, not bothering to hide the annoyance from his voice. "We'll be down in a bit." He smiled down at Lily lovingly before pushing himself off the redhead.
Lily lay there confused. Sure she hadn't expected a long snogging session but she didn't imagine that she would only get one kiss.
"That's all I get?" she asked, trying to hide the desire in her voice. James' movements had started a fire in her belly, but she didn't want him to see how desperate she was for his touch.
James glanced back at her from the edge of the bed; he had already opened the curtain. She saw desire darkening James' hazel eyes. "As much as I'd love to lie here and snog you some more, I fear that if we don't stop now, we might very well miss breakfast, maybe even our first class of the day."
Lily could tell how hard it was for him to speak those words and not pounce on her once again. It was nice to know that she wasn't the only one with these feelings, that he returned them. It gave her a sense of pride. She nodded in agreement and finally sat up, swinging her feet off the side of the bed. James was already standing, his arms rose about his head in a stretch. Lily fought to keep control of her breathing as she watched the muscles in his back go taut.
"Thanks, by the way," Lily said, standing from the bed, smoothing down her clothes that had gotten ruffled in the encounter. She held back a laugh as James halted his progress of putting on his trousers to look back at her, confusion taking over his face. "For not throwing me off the bed when you flipped us," she clarified through her smile.
It was James' turn to grin at the redhead. "You liked that, did you?"
"Very much so. You'll have to teach that to me someday."
James turned and made his way back to his girlfriend as he buttoned up his white shirt. "I can try, but it's not an easy skill," he teased lightly.
"I'm a very fast learner," Lily retorted, enjoying their banter.
"That may very well be so, but being able to do that isn't something you can learn. You have to be born with it."
"We'll see about that," she replied, grinning up at him before he pulled her lips to his in a sweet kiss. As they pulled away she fixed a stern look on her face, or at least she attempted to. "Finish getting ready. We don't want to be late for breakfast."
"Yes, ma'am." James obeyed by walking over to his dresser and grabbing the tie off his dresser. "Just let me put on my tie and brush my teeth and I'll be ready."
Before Lily could even nod he was in the bathroom. She sat down on his bed, taking in his scent and remembering the reaction he had caused in her. How could it be that a mere twenty –four hours ago she didn't have this? It amazed her how easily she and James had taken to being a couple. She knew she wouldn't want it any other way. He was all she wanted.
I hope you all liked it. I rather enjoyed writing this last little scene (of course I love any chance to write Sirius being a smart ass). The BIG PLOT is starting next chapter so keep an eye out for the chapter!