Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling is a beast, i just try to match her skills.
I looked at everyone all around the room, shocked that this many people could even fit into the common room.
"Lily! Happy Birthday!" Sirius pushed his way through the crowd of people to give me a big hug. "Hope you like the party, all my idea of course." he winked at me.
"Actually, the credit goes to me in that aspect." said James draping a hand around my waist lazily and raising an eyebrow at Sirius. He pulled me in tighter and leaned down to whisper in my ear, "Happy birthday Lils."
"Thank you. All of you." I looked around the room to see a huge collection of friends. Mostly Gryffindors, a lot of Ravenclaws, and a few Hufflepuffs.
They all raised there glasses to me and then continued on with their conversations or with dancing, as I noticed a huge dance floor in the middle of the room, with many couples dancing, some inappropriately at that and I recognized Emma being the one with that, and I rolled my eyes.
The first half of the party went by rather quickly, I walked around the room with James at my side, thanking people for coming and thanking them for the presents that were all on one huge table to the side of the room, almost overflowing.
"Hey Lily, you know this is suppose to be you enjoying yourself, not playing host. Let's go dance." James said, slightly seductively in my ear, making me shiver.
He grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the dance floor just as a slow song started to play. I put my arms around his neck and he put his hands on my waist. I laughed lightly and answering his questioning look, said, "it's just the last time we danced like this, it was when I started to fall for you."
Instead of responding he pulled me to him even closer and I rested my head on his chest, basking in the warmness I felt whenever I was with James.
I couldn't even begin to describe the feelings I felt for James. He helped me, he wanted me to be the best person I could, he never let me fail. He was always there, next to me, always there for me. He was so kind to me, and never ever pushed me into doing anything I didn't want to do. As I stood there, going round in circles, hugging James, I realized I had finally figured out what love was.
Almost bursting with happiness at this discovery, I looked up at him and beamed. He smiled back and kissed my forehead, "What's got you smiling so much Lily Flower?"
"You do James. I just realized. I'm in love with you. I love you James Potter." his eyes widened slightly and he stopped dancing, just stood there, holding me. And then the panic settled in. What if I had said that too soon? Oh Merlin, this was going to be embarrassing. Just as I opened my mouth to say sorry he pushed his lips against mine, gently, lovingly.
He pulled away quickly and bent down so his mouth was at my ear. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to hear you say that. Lily, I love you too. I always have."
hearing those words, I beamed again and he reached the distance between us quickly and pressed his lips against mine once again, wonderfully gentle and just James.
"I'm so" I paused, not sure what to say, "I'm just so happy. How can I be this happy when all these people are dying and the war and,"
But James cut me off. "Lily, that's why you should be happy. We need to be happy in a time like this. It's the only thing to keep us going."
"You're right, I'm sorry for ruining the mood." I said glumly.
"Lily, you just told me you loved me. Nothing could ruin that mood. Trust me. Now let's go open your presents!"
The rest of the night flew by. I never left James side, and he never parted from mine. My presents were very nice, but uneventful compared to the man by my side.
One by one as the guests left, I felt a sort of anticipating settling in my stomach, like something big was going to happen. As the last person left, Sirius, slightly drunk from all of the Firewhiskey he had brought, James swept the door closed behind him. Before it even closed completely, his lips were on mine.
Here was the hunger again. Where I couldn't settle the insane desire, couldn't feed the hunger, my need of James. Half carrying, half dragging, he led me to one of the desks in the corner of the room, barely stopping to breath before catching my bottom lip in between his teeth and pulling gently, causing me to whimper slightly with pleasure. He lifted me up and I sat on the desk, him leaning down with both hands resting on the desk on either side of me. Wanting to get closer to him, I wrapped my legs around his waist and yanked him as close to myself as I could without falling off the desk. He responding enthusiastically, closing the gap between us. My body was pressed up against his, I could feel his heartbeat against my chest. There wasn't a single sliver in between us, and yet it was not close enough.
The fire was everywhere, not just in my lips, but in his hands, which were now trailing up and down my arms, resting tantalizingly on my hips. I broke off to breath and he continued down my neck, finding the spot between my neck and collarbone with perfect precision. And that was when I realized that I couldn't live without James, I was his, and he was mine. So I decided…to be slightly…bad.
My hands trailed hesitantly down to where his shirt reached his pants, and lifted it ever so slightly. He stiffened against my neck, but only paused for a second, so I could life the shirt above his head. I had seen him shirtless of course, living together would cause that, but I still couldn't stop to marvel the beauty of him. His perfectly sculpted muscles, well-defined because of Quiddich, seemed to scream for attention. He had the body of an angel, or a god. I put my hands against his chest and then trailed along up the contours of his chest and abs, finally reaching up to his face to caress it gently before pulling it down towards my mouth, where I kissed his cheek, his jawbone, and then went further and further, before I had him gasping slightly too. I couldn't believe that I could make him feel even half as good as he made me feel, and this gave me some slight satisfaction. But then, it wasn't enough, so I brought my lips back up to his. But I needed more, and I knew James did too, but also knowing that he was too much of a gentlemen to do it himself.
So I reached down, and pulled off my shirt.
He gasped slightly and broke away looking at me. "Lily, what are you doing? You don't have to-" but my lips were once again on his, and he responded without hesitation. I grabbed one of his hands and placed it on my back, right on top of the clasp.
"Do it." I said, pulling away for a brief moment and then diving back in. But he pulled away first.
"Lily, I can't. If you start taking your clothes off, I won't be able to stop." he said, pleading with his eyes, but I could see the longing and hunger in them too.
"James, I love you. Now do it." and pulled him against me once more. There was slight hesitation again, but his hand shakily made it's way back to the tiny clasp, and struggling for a moment, finally released it, and pulled it off the rest of the way. He gasped again.
And suddenly, I was embarrassed. What was I thinking! I was barely a B-cup. No doubt James was expecting at least a C or something. Mortified, I started to move away but he pulled me against him, skin to skin, and looked me in the eye.
"You're beautiful, perfect. Don't be self-conscious." His eyes were burning hazel orbs, going straight into mine, making me shiver, and then suddenly, his lips attacked mine again, and the clumsiness and embarrassment washed away.
We stayed that way for a long while, lips molded together, never breaking apart, skin against skin. And then he broke away, and traveled down to my neck, and then went lower, and…lower.
I gasped slightly, and then it was just pleasure, and more. But then, I got tired of having all the fun, and pulled him back up to me, attacking his lips with mine, making him moan when I bit down on his lower lip.
But it still wasn't enough.
So I reached my hands down and started undoing his belt. But his hands stopped mine first, and put them on his shoulders. I stubbornly reached back down, but he grabbed them again. And that's when the embarrassment kicked back in again. I pulled away from him and grabbed my bra, hastily putting it back on. He stopped me when I reached for my shirt.
"Lily." he said, but I cut him off.
"Do you not want me or something?" I glared at him, tears threatening to overflow, but only one that seemed to linger on my cheek, just wanting to be wiped away.
And of course that what he did, caressing my face as he did so. "Lily, of course I love you. And of course I want you. But I'm not going to do something you'll regret later. It wouldn't be fair to you."
"But I'm not drunk! I'm not intoxicated, I'm not anything, except completely and totally in love with you." I said with indignation.
He smiled at me. "Lily Flower. I didn't mean that. But I don't want to be your first and take your gift away if someone else were to have you for the rest of your life."
"What if I told you that I want to spend the rest of my life with you?" I looked at him hesitantly, peering up through my eyelashes.
"Well then I'd propose tomorrow. I'm ready Lily, but, and please don't get angry, I'm not sure if you're completely serious right now. You're my first and only true love, and I'll love you for eternity, but I don't know if you really do feel that way, or if you're just caught in the moment. And I don't want you regretting something. I don't want you to make the mistake I did, and waste something that important."
But my mind didn't seem to be functioning properly. He had talked about proposing. Marriage. The word seemed so foreign, and yet at the same time, so right. And then the rest of the words sunk in, and I realized this wasn't about him not wanting me, or anything silly like that. He was just thinking of me, as always. So I beamed up at him, and caught his lips in mine once more. He seemed confused, but kissed me back.
"May I ask why you're kissing me? I thought you were going to be angry with me. In fact, I'm pretty sure this is our first argument." he raised an eyebrow at me.
"Because you just told me that you were considering proposing. Or at least it had crossed your mind." and I smiled again at him.
"But why would that make you so happy?" he asked, a hint of a smile dancing across his lips, threatening to appear.
"Because that means that I would never be alone again." and then he was kissing me, and it was something different this time, because this was a kiss of not just a boy and a girl who had "feelings" for each other, but this was different. It was two people who might just be destined to be.
And it was the best birthday I had ever had.
A few weeks later.
N.E.W.T.'s had arrived, and I was struggling, lashing out at everyone who was in my way of studying, or making too much noise in the common room. If I wanted to be an auror, I would have to get top marks, and this was not working out too well for me. Of course I was smart, I had made head girl, but being with James this year, not to mention my parents death, had sort of taken it's toll on my studying habits, preferring to do my homework in the class before instead of wasting time when I could be with James.
But they were here, and I was struggling, insanely. Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms, and Herbology were the ones I had to get at least Exceed Expectations on. Ancient Runes, Care of Magical Creatures, and Astronomy however really didn't matter, but I still wanted to succeed.
"So what exams do we have tomorrow?" asked Sirius. We were all lounging in the Head's common room, the Gryffindor Common room being too loud for us. Mary, Alice, Emma, and I, along with James, Remus, and Sirius. Peter was once again mysteriously absent.
Emma answered first, checking her list. "Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures, and Astronomy." We all groaned.
"Three? Well at least Astronomy isn't until midnight." Remus muttered, opening his Transfiguration book and getting out an eraser to practice on, making it turn into a guinea pig and back again.
And that's what we all did, all night long, practicing, reading, quizzing, and panicking, not going upstairs until at least 3 a.m., and Sirius just stayed to sleep on the coach, claiming he was too tired to take another step.
We got up early, stumbling down to breakfast in sort of a haze. Almost all of the seventh years and all of the fifth years had books underneath the table, eating anything they grabbed, not even looking, which was how a tweedy looking fifth year accidentally bit a quill instead of a peace of bacon. Some were practicing turning their drinks into other things and what not, causing poor Meghan Dollop's to explode in her face, causing it to turn black with soot. (extra points who can tell me whose mother that is, I'll give you a shout out ;) ) She was ushered out of the hall when she burst into tears to receive a calming potion. We didn't really talk much throughout breakfast, more worried than anything else. And then, it was time for our first class. I walked apprehensively to Transfiguration, separating with James after a kiss for good luck. I had the practical exam first, while he was taking the written exam first.
I followed the directions we had been given and found myself in a crowd of seventh years that I recognized. I went and stood by David Chang, who at least I want friendly with. We didn't talk much, just waited as names were called in no particular order. And then a small, wrinkled old woman came out of the door and called the names, "Samir Patil, Matthew Dunlop, Alex Benson, Victor Brown, and Lily Evans." I rose quietly from my seat and David wished me luck. I couldn't respond properly. I walked into the room and was surprised to see it was the great hall, not knowing that there were doors other than the entrance hall leading out of it. There were small cubicles all around the room and in just a quick glance I saw Remus fighting off a boggart, the full moon in front of him. How people didn't realize he was a werewolf was beyond me. I was led to a cubicle where a old wizard was sitting down in a chair and staring at a clipboard.
"Ah, Miss Lily Evans I believe?" he said, in a slightly squeaky voice looking up from his clipboard.
"Yes, that's me." I said, too formally, but I was so nervous!
As if sensing my feelings he said, "Ah, no need to feel nervous dear. Now if you could just transform this rock into a dog for me now," that was easy. Confident I waved my wand and saw the rock transform into a beautiful Golden Retriever. I looked slightly to my left and saw Amos Diggory do the same thing, even more gracefully than I did.
"Ah wonderful now I would like you to transform the dog into a platypus." and so it went. Overall I felt I did rather well, and the nerves decreased slightly. Near the end my examiner was clapping with delight. "Simply enchanting Ms. Evans. You may go!" he gave me a cheerful wave as I walked away. But then the nerves came back. Time for the written exam.
I walked into McGonagall's room, stomach bubbling with anticipation. The second round of exams according to my schedule were about to begin. I slipped in among a throng of students and sat down in my own seat, all the tables were separated. Once everyone was sitting, McGonagall walked in and waved her wand.
"You now each have an impermeable charm around you. You can not see out of it, nor can anyone see in, except for me. The exams are now on your desk." she waved her wand and the exams appeared. "You have one hour, wait until it is up before turning in your tests. Good luck. You may begin." and she went to sit at her desk.
Question 1: What is the name of the spell that transforms a frog back into a tadpole?" Smiling slightly to myself, I continued on through the questions, getting more difficult as I went along. I glanced up at the hour glass every few minutes, and was glad to see that I only had ten questions left with more than twenty minutes left. They went by quickly, and soon I was done, finally thankful one exam was over.
The rest of the week passed by slowly and fast at the same time. Break periods flying by, answers melding together, and yet the exams seemed to be the longest time ever spent in one place at Hogwarts. At the very end of the week, drained and exhausted, we were all once again in the Head's Room, this time with a plethora of food around us, thanks to Sirius. We were all laughing and having a good time, relaxing and joking around. Not wanting to focus on the exams after they were done was a great idea. I just decided to not stress about it until the reviews came in. It was a waste of time to fret about it now.
"Can you believe that N.E.W.T.'s are over?" Emma said, leaning against Remus' shoulder, looking like she was about to pass out.
"No, I never thought they were going to end." Mary said from the corner, where she was playing Exploding Snap with Sirius.
"Well I can!" Sirius said. "It's about time they're over."
"Yeah, but this means that school is over in two weeks! What are we going to do in our classes now?" Emma responded back.
"I talked to some of the seventh years last year. Apparently most just let you leave, Flitwick throws a party, and with Merrythought we get to finally draw up the Giant Squid and experiment with one of it's tentacles, since it can grow one back in less than a day." Remus said.
"That's kind of sick." I said in response to the squid issue. He nodded his agreement and I tucked my head in tighter to James chest, which is where I was currently laying, my feet tangled with his on the couch. His hand was lightly stroking my hair.
And then it hit me. I was leaving Hogwarts in two weeks. My home. And I wouldn't be coming back this time. Forever.
A/N: I'm so so so so so so so sorry that i haven't updated in forever. Just with school starting and swimming starting back up, i have had literally NO TIME, so i tried to make it up to you in this chapter with loads of fluff. I'll be better about my updates, i promise! If you can tell me the five names of people i added in here that are Harry's friend's parents first, i'll give you a shout-out. And i'm done asking for reviews. If you want to, go ahead, but i'm going to update anyway. Thanks for reading (: