"I refuse to believe you've never been here before!"

"I haven't!"

"How is that even possible?" She laughed as she pulled herself up to another tree branch, sitting comfortably on it as she looked out over the Serpentine. Somehow, the lake looked even more beautiful in the evening as it did during the day, and every time she looked over the water she thought about all the memories she had about this place. She peered around the trunk of the large tree and grinned at him. He was sitting level with her, one hand holding on to the branch above him and the other running through his hair as he grinned right back.

"I dunno," He admitted with a shrug, a lopsided smile on his lips, "I just never spent a whole lot of time in London until I moved here, I guess."

She hummed softly, "My dad used to bring my sister and I here as girls, we used rent a rowboat and the three of us would go from one end of that lake, to the other and back again… we'd spend all day here," She said with a smile as she looked back out over the water, "By the time we got home we'd all be so tired and sunburnt and my mum would be so mad," Lily laughed at the memory, as she picked at the bark of the tree absentmindedly, "And my dad, he'd pull a huge bunch of flowers from behind his back, ones that he'd pinched right out of the gardens. And my mum, she'd give him this look… like… like she was trying so hard to stay cross at him, but she just couldn't do it."

"He sounds like a good bloke." James said, the same smile plastered on his face. Lily began to wonder if that grin was just permanently attached to him. She nodded slowly as she turned her attention back to him,

"He was. He was the best."

His smile faded quickly when the gravity of her words sunk in, "Was?" He asked gently, dreading her answer.

She nodded and explained quietly, "He died," There was a heavy silence in the air that always followed whenever she spoke those two words, and she hated that damn silence, "About six years ago now. Cancer, in the end." She said with a shrug, returning to picking bark off of the tree. They sat high off the ground, but somehow this conversation made her feel even further from the grass beneath them, "It was strange, watching him go. He was still so… so happy. He was in so much pain, and he was still so fucking happy." Her voice trembled slightly. If the topic ever came up, she'd say as little as possible – she had no idea why she was telling him so much, or why she was finding it difficult to stop her mouth from moving.

There was another silence, though this time it wasn't uncomfortable or forced or weighted. It was as though she had said everything she had to say, and he didn't have anything to say in return. He didn't know what it was about her. There was something about this redheaded girl that was already driving him crazy. She'd drunkenly propositioned that they go somewhere together, and he would have been barking mad to refuse. She was gorgeous of course, but there was more to her than that. She was brilliant and clever and witty, her laugh made him feel lighter and every slight touch set his skin on fire. Though when she'd suggested they leave the pub, he hadn't been expecting to be sitting up a tree in Hyde Park an hour later, he'd been expecting to be snogging her in a cab on the way back to her flat… but he had to admit, he was enjoying every moment with her up in that tree. He didn't know what it was about her, but this bloody girl was a game changer.

He glanced down the bank of the lake and smiled softly, "Any chance you want to go on one of those rowboats you were talking about?"

She laughed softly at the suggestion, pulling her hair over one shoulder as she kicked her legs slowly through the air, "That's a nice thought, James. But the hire place is only open during the day."

He bit down on his bottom lip as he grinned, and she thanked God she hadn't been standing when he did. She was convinced that act alone would have been enough to send her weak at the knees. He jumped swiftly from his branch and she gasped as he plummeted to the ground, miraculously landing elegantly on his feet.

"Are you barking?" She exclaimed from her branch, her eyes wide as he grinned mischievously up at her,

"Come on!" He called up at her, running a hand through his hair, "I'm getting old down here."

"I am not jumping from this tree, you lunatic!" She laughed incredulously, holding onto the branch so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

"I'll catch you, I promise."

She trusted this madman and she didn't know why. But she squeezed her eyes shut, and she jumped. She bloody jumped from that tree branch with a small squeal, and before she knew it she dropped softly into his arms. She felt his strong arms beneath her, and she slowly opened her eyes to meet his,

"That was stupid." She told him with a sharp breath in as she realised that she was unscathed, laughing disbelievingly once more.

"Fun though, huh?" He smirked, lowering her so that she was standing in front of him as she shook her head defiantly, but he could see the look in her eyes. The adrenaline that was pumping through her veins, the way it made her heart race and the way it made her muscles shudder. He grabbed hold of her hand, and realised it wasn't the adrenaline that made him feel that way; it was her.

"C'mon. Let's go on that boat ride." He smiled cheekily, tugging on her hand as he headed towards the lake.

"I'm telling you, the rental place is closed!" She argued as he pulled her towards the bank. But it wasn't long before she realised what he had planned. There was a glossy white rowboat pulled up onto the sand, it's oars tucked safely inside. He grinned as they reached it,

"We could get in trouble!" She protested as he began to attempt to dislodge the boat from the sand, and he laughed at her objection,

"Seems to me like you worry too much about getting in to trouble."

She frowned at this, before pulling off her heels and tossing them into the boat, "You seem like trouble, Potter." She said, standing inches from his face with a smirk on her own. He leant his forehead gently against hers and smiled, the smell of her perfume overwhelmed his senses and made his heart pound against his ribcage,

"I am trouble." He whispered to her, his hands still holding on to the bow of the boat, "Does that bother you?"

She placed a small hand on his cheek as she bit down on her bottom lip, "Surprisingly, no." She closed her eyes for only a moment, before leaning up on her toes and pressing her lips lightly to his. She felt his lips arch into a smile against hers, and when she pulled away, his eyes stayed closed for a second longer. When he opened them at last, she had her back to him as she climbed into the rowboat. He touched two fingers to his lips as he watched her settle down in the boat, smiling back at him. His lips burned where hers had warmed. He was praying to any higher power that would listen, that she could not hear his heart pounding against his chest.

James pushed hard on the bow of the boat, and pushed it off the sand and in to the water. He jumped swiftly over the edge and onto the seat that sat opposite hers, smiling widely at her.

"So," She said suddenly as she helped him place the oars in their oarlocks, "Is this your move then?"

"My move?"

"Yeah. You know, your big move." She said with an amused smirk on her lips, "Every guy's got a move, the one thing that makes girls swoon and jump into their arms and say 'take me now'." She teased, watching as he rolled his eyes and began to row the boat into the center of the lake.

"Well, you have already jumped into my arms…" He said with a laugh, an oar in each hand as he grinned at her, "So does that make me jumping out of a tree, my 'move'?"

"No," She rolled her eyes as she watched him intently, smirking back at him.

"Bollocks," he chuckled, letting the oars relax as the reached the middle of the Serpentine, "I can do this though, and maybe this is my move." He said hopefully as he carefully placed a foot on the bench of the rowboat, her smiled dropped,

"No, James don't-"

"You wanted to see my move." He countered with a grin as he stepped his other foot onto the bench, and stood up slowly, the boat rocking and the oars tapping softly against the water with each of his slight movements. She watched with wide eyes as he managed to stand up gracefully, holding his arms out as he grinned down at her, "Well, what do you think?"

She looked up at him, and her shocked expression slowly turned to that of amusement. She quickly moved to mimic his movements, slowly placing one foot on the bench before the other and standing up straight. She crossed her arms over her chest as she smirked at him. They began to laugh at how ridiculous it all was, the two of them standing in a boat in the middle of the Serpentine, in the middle of Hyde Park at 2am. They laughed until a voice interrupted, a voice calling from the bank,

"Oi, you two! That boat is private property!"

Lily snapped her head over her shoulder at the sound of the voice, her eyes wide at the sight of the man shouting at them. As a result of her sharp movement, the boat began to rock abruptly, and before they knew it the boat was upside down and they were thrown into the icy water.

She inhaled sharply at the feeling of the water against her skin and thrashed in the water for a moment, "Oh my God!" she squealed, before James' head emerged out of the water with a strained breath. He looked around frantically, and as soon as he caught sight of her not far from him, his face broke into a grin.

"You okay?"

She nodded, her teeth chattering as the icy water soaked through her clothes. He nodded towards the other side of the lake, "Come on," he said quickly before the two of them swam towards the bank, climbing out of the water and making a run for it as the man continued to shout at them. They sprinted through the labyrinth of pathways and didn't stop until they were out of sight, and the sound of the man's yelling had disappeared. Cold and shivering, she looked up at him as her chest softly rose and fell in her attempt to catch her breath. His face was dripping with concern, as well as the water running from his hair, he was out of breath and looked so shocking with his hair stuck down around his face, that she began to laugh. He looked at her, perplexed, for a moment. Before he too began to laugh. They laughed until their stomachs hurt, until they were clutching their sides at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation.

Lily's laughter finally subsided and with a half chuckle, she groaned quietly, "My shoes were in the boat." She explained as she looked down at her feet. The only thing between her feet and the pavement was the thin layer of stockings.

He grinned at her again and said, "Easy fix. Jump on." He turned his back to her and crouched down, and she tentatively climbed onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck,

"You sure?" she asked as she rested her head on his shoulder. He began to walk towards the road and out of the park as he nodded with that bloody lopsided smile,

"Can't have you walking home barefoot, what sort of bloke would I be?"

Lily was only just starting to find out what sort of bloke James really was. He was a man who made her open up about things she didn't tell anyone, he made her laugh, and do stupid things like steal rowboats and jump from trees. He was gorgeous and a gentleman, and she felt safe around him. But there was still so much she didn't know.

A/N: Yeah, I'm not really sure what to put down here anymore. Leave your thoughts, comments, opinions x