"Merlin's baggy pants, it's freezing." Complained Lily, as they cleared Filch, who was checking permission slips.
"Don't talk, or it'll look weird." Said James, who was under his invisibility cloak.
"Good point, I'll shut up now." Replied Lily, as they made their way to Madam Pudifoot's, hopefully away from the crowds of Hogwarts kids on their Hogsmeade visits. Thankfully, there seemed to be far fewer children on the Hogsmeade trip than usual. Most of the Gryffindors were probably up in the Common Room, celebrating the amazing win, the Slytherins would be cooped up in their dungeon, moping and sulking due to the end result of the Quidditch, and hell knows what the Ranvenclaws and Hufflepuffs were up to. Actually, Lily knew exactly where one Hufflepuff would be. Tonks. She'd be in McGonnagall's office.
"Lily?" Asked James from under his cloak.
"What?" Replied Lily.
"Madam Pudifoot's is back there, you walked past it." He said. Lily looked up, and realised that she had in fact walked past the little side street that led to Madam Pudifoot's.
"Oh!" She exclaimed, and hurried back and headed down the alleyway. She reached the door, and looked in through the window. There were only six people in the shop, and none of them were really friends of Lily's, except Frank Longbottom, but he appeared to be a little too busy with Alice to notice anyone else. The pair were leaning over their table, lips locked and holding hands. She turned around, and suddenly James was standing right in front of her, as he had taken off the Cloak. She jumped, as she had just got used to him being invisible.
"Sorry, did I startle you? Asked James, grinning broadly.
"No." Said Lily defiantly.
"Hey, Lils, it's bloody freezing, let's go in." Said James, grabbing Lily's hand and dragging her into the coffee shop. As she looked around, Lily noticed that this was obviously a place for couples. It was small and cosy, and there was a nice fire going to keep the place warm. "What do you want to drink?" Asked James.
"Oh, um, Pumpkin Juice, please." Said Lily.
"You don't like Butterbeer?" Asked James.
"Not particularly." Replied Lily. James looked at her for a moment or so, seeming to see right into Lily's soul.
"Strange girl." He said after a minute or so, and headed off to buy the drinks. Lily stood awkwardly by herself for a moment, then decided to go and find a table. It wasn't hard, as only three tables were taken. She chose the table in the corner, as it was almost hidden by a dividing wall between the table and the one next to it. She sat herself down, and watched James shift from one foot to the other while the bar lady fetched their drinks. James spotted Lily watching him, and turned around and winked at her, making Lily blush. This didn't do anything to complement her red hair, and Lily sarcastically mouthed the word `git` at James. The bar lady then handed over two glasses, and James payed for them. He carried them over to the table Lily had picked, and set them down before settling himself onto the seat opposite Lily.
"Thanks, James." Said Lily, sliding her Pumpkin Juice along the table towards her.
"You're welcome, Lady Lily." Said James, taking a mouthful from his glass of what appeared to be Butterbeer.
"Erm, what do you want to talk about?" Asked Lily, feeling very awkward.
"I dunno." Said James. "I noticed your owl hasn't brought you any letters in a couple of weeks, what's up?"
"You watch to see if I get any mail." Asked Lily, raising her eyebrows.
"I've SEEN you getting mail, I'm not sure if that's the same as watching." Said James. "And I've SEEN that your owl hasn't come in about three weeks."
"I've kind of fallen out with my sister." Admitted Lily.
"Oh, that Petunia girl?" Asked James.
"Yes, `that Petunia girl`. We've haven't really been that close since I came to Hogwarts, but now she's stopped sending me letters alltogether." Said Lily. It felt good to talk about it to someone other than Charity, who would only bombard Lily with questions about Muggles when she mentioned her family.
"Well, if she's not going to talk to you, don't bother to talk to her." Said James.
"You don't understand; she's my sister, for Merlin's sake." Said Lily. "And you're an only-child anyway."
"Yeah, I'm an only-child." James said. "I guess I'm not really qualified to give advice about sisters, then."
"No, I guess you're not." Said Lily. "But at least you listened to me, which is more than can be said for one Charity Burbage."
"Lily, I could spend all day just listening to you." Said James. Lily laughed awkwardly, and James took another mouthful of Butterbeer.
"How can you drink that stuff?" Asked Lily.
"You pour some into your mouth, right? Then you swallow it." Said James.
"Oh, ha ha, very funny." Said Lily. "I mean, how can you like it? It's disgusting."
"When's the last time you had any?" Asked James.
"First year, and it made me throw up." Said Lily.
"Here, try it." Said James, sliding his glass towards Lily.
"I'll pass." She said.
"Go on, you might like it now." Said James. Lily picked up the glass, and took a sip. She gagged, and handed the glass back to James.
"Ugh, still as horrid as ever." Said Lily. James was now quietly laughing at her. She joined in after a few seconds, and the two laughed quietly together for a few minutes before they both stopped. When they did, Lily decided to ask James something she had been meaning to ask him for a long time, a couple of years even.
"James, can I ask you something?" Asked Lily.
"Anything." Replied James.
"Why have you never given up on me?" Asked Lily. "I turned you down again and again, and then I started dating Frank, and then even when we broke up, I still kept on turning you down."
"I never gave up on you, Lils, because I love you." Said James, looking deep into Lily's eyes.
"I always used to hate it when you called me that." Said Lily quietly.
"But now you don't." Said James.
"No, I think I like it, actually." Admitted Lily, smiling sheepishly. James rached accross, and picked up Lily's hand that was resting on the table next to her glass, and held it in his own.
"Lily Evans, this has possibly been the best day of my life." Said James.
"Why, because you won the game for Gryfffindor?" Asked Lily.
"No. This is the best day ever because you're sitting here with me." Said James.
"James, how many times have you used that line with your girlfriend?" Asked Lily jokingly.
"More than a few." Admitted James. "But I've never meant it before."
"But you do now?" Asked Lily.
"I do." Replied James.
"You sound like you're saying your wedding vows." Said Lily.
"Who knows? Maybe some day we will get married." Said James.
"Woah, take it back a step or ten, Potter, we're on our first date, don't talk about marriage." Said Lily.
"Why not, I've loved you for six years." Said James, squeezing Lily's hand.
"And I've dispised you for six years." Said Lily.
"Ouch, that hurt." Said James, resting his other hand where his heart was in his chest.
"And that's why I don't hate you now." Said Lily. "You've shown that you actually have a heart."
"Aww, you don't hate me, that's really touching, Lily." Said James jokingly.
"No, I don't hate you, James." Said Lily. "Actually, I, I quite like you." She blushed as she said this. Lily had never really been very good at expressing her feelings.
"Thanks, Lils." Said James softly. He used his free hand to brush a strand of red hair out of Lily's face, and tuck it behind her ear. "You look cute when you blush." He said.
"No I don't." Said Lily, blushing even more.
"You always look cute, Lils. To me, anyway." Said James. He leaned a little closer to Lily accross the table. Inside, Lily was screaming `Oh my God, he's gonna kiss me!`. She wanted to kiss him back; after all, he was sort of her boyfriend now. But at the same time, she was really nervous. Lily closed her eyes for a second to clear her head of any worries, and leaned a little closer. James closed his eyes, tilted his head a little to the right, and puckered his lips a little. Lily then had some strange feeling inside her, and before she knew it, she had thrown up all over James' shirt.
"Oh no!" Exclaimed Lily, covering her mouth with her hand in shock. "It was the Butterbeer!"
"Erm." Said James, not quite knowing what to do with himself.
"James, I'm so sorry!" Said Lily pleadingly, though tears of embarrasment were in her eyes. "I'm so sorry." The tears were now flowing openly.
"Lils, it's fine." Said James, though that did nothing to help. Lily stood up from the table, and ran out of the shop, crying. "Lily!" James called after her, but she didn't look back. James picked up his Cloak, threw it over himself, and just caught the red hair dissapearing out the door. Invisible, he ran after her, out into the cold afternoon. He looked around and heard footsteps and distant sobbing coming from down a nearby alleyway. He headed towards it, and glanced around the corner. Lily was sitting on the doorstep to an un-lived in house, her knees hunched up to her chest, crying openly. James walked quietly down the alleyway, and sat himself down next to Lily on the doorstep. She didn't notice him, as he was still invisible. James pulled off his Cloak, and left it down beside him.
"James, I'm so sorry." Said Lily between sobs.
"Lils, honestly, it's fine." Said James softly, taking Lily's hand. "I guess it was my fault for making you drink that Butterbeer."
"No, don't try to balme yourself." Said Lily.
"Lily, look at me." Said James, pulling Lily to her feet. She stood up, but hung her head. James put his hands on either side of Lily's face, and tilted her head up. "It's OK. I really don't care. In fact, that was sort of cute." Said James. Lily laughed through her tears.
"I throw up over your shirt, and you say it's cute?" She asked disbelievingly. "And you call me strange?" Now, it was James' turn to laugh.
"Lily, I could never be mad at you." Said James. "And I hear you can perform a mean cleaning charm, so no harm donw, eh?"
"You want me to clean your shirt for you?" Asked Lily.
"OK." Said James. "You got your wand with you?"
"Didn't McGonnagall tell us not to go into Hogsmeade without our wands? These aren't good times, who knows what the Daeth Eaters would or wouldn't do." Said Lily, pulling her wand out of her shoulder-bag.
"Good point." Agreed James. "Here." He said, and he pulled off his vomit-stained shirt. This took Lily quite by surprise.
"Um, James?" She said.
"What?" He asked.
"It's bloody freezing outside, and you just take your shirt off?" She asked.
"Well, you're going to clean it for me, aren't you?" He asked.
"You really need to stop calling me strange." Said Lily, taking the stained shirt from James, and spreading it out on the doorstep. "Scourgify!" She exclaimed, and the shirt instantly cleaned itself.
"Thatks, Lils." Said James.
"Wait, it'll be wet after it was on the ground." Said Lily. "Hold it up, and I'll dry it for you."
"OK." Said James, and he held out the shirt in front of him, holding it by the sleeves. Lily pointed her wand at the shirt.
"Ventus." She said, and a gust of hot air came from the tip of her wand. It reminded James of a hairdryer. After a minute or so, the shirt was near enough dry, and James slipped it back over his head, and pushed his arms through the arm-holes.
"Lets go back to Gryffindor Tower, it's too cold to be out." Said James.
"Agreed." Replied Lily, and they both set off towards the castle. After a few minutes, James took hold of Lily's hand. They walked back to the castle, hand in hand.
"Don't talk, or it'll look weird." Said James, who was under his invisibility cloak.
"Good point, I'll shut up now." Replied Lily, as they made their way to Madam Pudifoot's, hopefully away from the crowds of Hogwarts kids on their Hogsmeade visits. Thankfully, there seemed to be far fewer children on the Hogsmeade trip than usual. Most of the Gryffindors were probably up in the Common Room, celebrating the amazing win, the Slytherins would be cooped up in their dungeon, moping and sulking due to the end result of the Quidditch, and hell knows what the Ranvenclaws and Hufflepuffs were up to. Actually, Lily knew exactly where one Hufflepuff would be. Tonks. She'd be in McGonnagall's office.
"Lily?" Asked James from under his cloak.
"What?" Replied Lily.
"Madam Pudifoot's is back there, you walked past it." He said. Lily looked up, and realised that she had in fact walked past the little side street that led to Madam Pudifoot's.
"Oh!" She exclaimed, and hurried back and headed down the alleyway. She reached the door, and looked in through the window. There were only six people in the shop, and none of them were really friends of Lily's, except Frank Longbottom, but he appeared to be a little too busy with Alice to notice anyone else. The pair were leaning over their table, lips locked and holding hands. She turned around, and suddenly James was standing right in front of her, as he had taken off the Cloak. She jumped, as she had just got used to him being invisible.
"Sorry, did I startle you? Asked James, grinning broadly.
"No." Said Lily defiantly.
"Hey, Lils, it's bloody freezing, let's go in." Said James, grabbing Lily's hand and dragging her into the coffee shop. As she looked around, Lily noticed that this was obviously a place for couples. It was small and cosy, and there was a nice fire going to keep the place warm. "What do you want to drink?" Asked James.
"Oh, um, Pumpkin Juice, please." Said Lily.
"You don't like Butterbeer?" Asked James.
"Not particularly." Replied Lily. James looked at her for a moment or so, seeming to see right into Lily's soul.
"Strange girl." He said after a minute or so, and headed off to buy the drinks. Lily stood awkwardly by herself for a moment, then decided to go and find a table. It wasn't hard, as only three tables were taken. She chose the table in the corner, as it was almost hidden by a dividing wall between the table and the one next to it. She sat herself down, and watched James shift from one foot to the other while the bar lady fetched their drinks. James spotted Lily watching him, and turned around and winked at her, making Lily blush. This didn't do anything to complement her red hair, and Lily sarcastically mouthed the word `git` at James. The bar lady then handed over two glasses, and James payed for them. He carried them over to the table Lily had picked, and set them down before settling himself onto the seat opposite Lily.
"Thanks, James." Said Lily, sliding her Pumpkin Juice along the table towards her.
"You're welcome, Lady Lily." Said James, taking a mouthful from his glass of what appeared to be Butterbeer.
"Erm, what do you want to talk about?" Asked Lily, feeling very awkward.
"I dunno." Said James. "I noticed your owl hasn't brought you any letters in a couple of weeks, what's up?"
"You watch to see if I get any mail." Asked Lily, raising her eyebrows.
"I've SEEN you getting mail, I'm not sure if that's the same as watching." Said James. "And I've SEEN that your owl hasn't come in about three weeks."
"I've kind of fallen out with my sister." Admitted Lily.
"Oh, that Petunia girl?" Asked James.
"Yes, `that Petunia girl`. We've haven't really been that close since I came to Hogwarts, but now she's stopped sending me letters alltogether." Said Lily. It felt good to talk about it to someone other than Charity, who would only bombard Lily with questions about Muggles when she mentioned her family.
"Well, if she's not going to talk to you, don't bother to talk to her." Said James.
"You don't understand; she's my sister, for Merlin's sake." Said Lily. "And you're an only-child anyway."
"Yeah, I'm an only-child." James said. "I guess I'm not really qualified to give advice about sisters, then."
"No, I guess you're not." Said Lily. "But at least you listened to me, which is more than can be said for one Charity Burbage."
"Lily, I could spend all day just listening to you." Said James. Lily laughed awkwardly, and James took another mouthful of Butterbeer.
"How can you drink that stuff?" Asked Lily.
"You pour some into your mouth, right? Then you swallow it." Said James.
"Oh, ha ha, very funny." Said Lily. "I mean, how can you like it? It's disgusting."
"When's the last time you had any?" Asked James.
"First year, and it made me throw up." Said Lily.
"Here, try it." Said James, sliding his glass towards Lily.
"I'll pass." She said.
"Go on, you might like it now." Said James. Lily picked up the glass, and took a sip. She gagged, and handed the glass back to James.
"Ugh, still as horrid as ever." Said Lily. James was now quietly laughing at her. She joined in after a few seconds, and the two laughed quietly together for a few minutes before they both stopped. When they did, Lily decided to ask James something she had been meaning to ask him for a long time, a couple of years even.
"James, can I ask you something?" Asked Lily.
"Anything." Replied James.
"Why have you never given up on me?" Asked Lily. "I turned you down again and again, and then I started dating Frank, and then even when we broke up, I still kept on turning you down."
"I never gave up on you, Lils, because I love you." Said James, looking deep into Lily's eyes.
"I always used to hate it when you called me that." Said Lily quietly.
"But now you don't." Said James.
"No, I think I like it, actually." Admitted Lily, smiling sheepishly. James rached accross, and picked up Lily's hand that was resting on the table next to her glass, and held it in his own.
"Lily Evans, this has possibly been the best day of my life." Said James.
"Why, because you won the game for Gryfffindor?" Asked Lily.
"No. This is the best day ever because you're sitting here with me." Said James.
"James, how many times have you used that line with your girlfriend?" Asked Lily jokingly.
"More than a few." Admitted James. "But I've never meant it before."
"But you do now?" Asked Lily.
"I do." Replied James.
"You sound like you're saying your wedding vows." Said Lily.
"Who knows? Maybe some day we will get married." Said James.
"Woah, take it back a step or ten, Potter, we're on our first date, don't talk about marriage." Said Lily.
"Why not, I've loved you for six years." Said James, squeezing Lily's hand.
"And I've dispised you for six years." Said Lily.
"Ouch, that hurt." Said James, resting his other hand where his heart was in his chest.
"And that's why I don't hate you now." Said Lily. "You've shown that you actually have a heart."
"Aww, you don't hate me, that's really touching, Lily." Said James jokingly.
"No, I don't hate you, James." Said Lily. "Actually, I, I quite like you." She blushed as she said this. Lily had never really been very good at expressing her feelings.
"Thanks, Lils." Said James softly. He used his free hand to brush a strand of red hair out of Lily's face, and tuck it behind her ear. "You look cute when you blush." He said.
"No I don't." Said Lily, blushing even more.
"You always look cute, Lils. To me, anyway." Said James. He leaned a little closer to Lily accross the table. Inside, Lily was screaming `Oh my God, he's gonna kiss me!`. She wanted to kiss him back; after all, he was sort of her boyfriend now. But at the same time, she was really nervous. Lily closed her eyes for a second to clear her head of any worries, and leaned a little closer. James closed his eyes, tilted his head a little to the right, and puckered his lips a little. Lily then had some strange feeling inside her, and before she knew it, she had thrown up all over James' shirt.
"Oh no!" Exclaimed Lily, covering her mouth with her hand in shock. "It was the Butterbeer!"
"Erm." Said James, not quite knowing what to do with himself.
"James, I'm so sorry!" Said Lily pleadingly, though tears of embarrasment were in her eyes. "I'm so sorry." The tears were now flowing openly.
"Lils, it's fine." Said James, though that did nothing to help. Lily stood up from the table, and ran out of the shop, crying. "Lily!" James called after her, but she didn't look back. James picked up his Cloak, threw it over himself, and just caught the red hair dissapearing out the door. Invisible, he ran after her, out into the cold afternoon. He looked around and heard footsteps and distant sobbing coming from down a nearby alleyway. He headed towards it, and glanced around the corner. Lily was sitting on the doorstep to an un-lived in house, her knees hunched up to her chest, crying openly. James walked quietly down the alleyway, and sat himself down next to Lily on the doorstep. She didn't notice him, as he was still invisible. James pulled off his Cloak, and left it down beside him.
"James, I'm so sorry." Said Lily between sobs.
"Lils, honestly, it's fine." Said James softly, taking Lily's hand. "I guess it was my fault for making you drink that Butterbeer."
"No, don't try to balme yourself." Said Lily.
"Lily, look at me." Said James, pulling Lily to her feet. She stood up, but hung her head. James put his hands on either side of Lily's face, and tilted her head up. "It's OK. I really don't care. In fact, that was sort of cute." Said James. Lily laughed through her tears.
"I throw up over your shirt, and you say it's cute?" She asked disbelievingly. "And you call me strange?" Now, it was James' turn to laugh.
"Lily, I could never be mad at you." Said James. "And I hear you can perform a mean cleaning charm, so no harm donw, eh?"
"You want me to clean your shirt for you?" Asked Lily.
"OK." Said James. "You got your wand with you?"
"Didn't McGonnagall tell us not to go into Hogsmeade without our wands? These aren't good times, who knows what the Daeth Eaters would or wouldn't do." Said Lily, pulling her wand out of her shoulder-bag.
"Good point." Agreed James. "Here." He said, and he pulled off his vomit-stained shirt. This took Lily quite by surprise.
"Um, James?" She said.
"What?" He asked.
"It's bloody freezing outside, and you just take your shirt off?" She asked.
"Well, you're going to clean it for me, aren't you?" He asked.
"You really need to stop calling me strange." Said Lily, taking the stained shirt from James, and spreading it out on the doorstep. "Scourgify!" She exclaimed, and the shirt instantly cleaned itself.
"Thatks, Lils." Said James.
"Wait, it'll be wet after it was on the ground." Said Lily. "Hold it up, and I'll dry it for you."
"OK." Said James, and he held out the shirt in front of him, holding it by the sleeves. Lily pointed her wand at the shirt.
"Ventus." She said, and a gust of hot air came from the tip of her wand. It reminded James of a hairdryer. After a minute or so, the shirt was near enough dry, and James slipped it back over his head, and pushed his arms through the arm-holes.
"Lets go back to Gryffindor Tower, it's too cold to be out." Said James.
"Agreed." Replied Lily, and they both set off towards the castle. After a few minutes, James took hold of Lily's hand. They walked back to the castle, hand in hand.