Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition Season 10, Round 7

Team: Tutshill Tornados

Position: Beater 1

Prompt: A Game Night or A Weekly Tradition (I went with Game Night)

Additional Prompts: (dialogue)"Oh, come on, [name]! What do you have to lose?" / "My pride. My sanity. My lunch."

(song) Gravity — Sara Bareilles

(action) kissing someone's knuckles

Word Count: 3,006

Warning: In this fic, Remus is an orphan who's adopted parents have kicked him out when he came out as gay to to them. It is only mentioned once, and he and Sirius are in a happy, loving relationship. Sirius'difficult relationship with his own family is also mentioned.

Notes: This is a modern AU/AH, set now, in London. There is no magic in it, despite it taking placs at a bookshop called Hogwarts, but I partly did that so I could have the shop's initials be HEA, as in happily ever after.

In a near-forgotten part of London, where the cobblestones shine with the memory of gasoline lamps and the gabled rooftops of nearby buildings hang crooked and uneven like a stack of Jenga blocks, wedged between an old hairdressers and across from a delightful family-owned fish and chip stall, is a bookshop. It's old, the outside painted a midnight, violet blue, with silver stars hanging from the awning like a spray of glitter. Hogwarts Emporium of Adventure, the sign proclaims to all, polished to a high sheen.

Inside said shop, four young men are arguing their heads off while one young lady just wants to enjoy her break.

It all started this morning. Lily Evans was usually the first one into work, waking up with the dawn and getting in at seven sharp to set up for the day. Instead, she found her four other colleagues huddled in the back room like a gaggle of witches around a cauldron, talking in low voices and occasionally shooting curious, darting looks her way any time she needed to update the stock, file a receipt or ask Peter to come fix the antiquated cash register. As the day went on, it only got worse, to the point that when a customer asked Remus about The Time Machine, he waved them off and said to go and watch one of the films, which wasn't like him at all.

Remus had been working there the longest, supposedly. In the four months that she'd been working at Hogwarts, she'd cobbled together most of their individual backstories. Remus Lupin, after graduating school, had been kicked out by his adopted parents for being gay. Sirius Black, his boyfriend, was the rich heir of some awful family who hadn't approved of any of his life choices whatsoever, of which he declared he was perfectly fine with, and yet any time a family came in with their children he always looked a little sad but made sure to make the kids laugh at least once. He and his best friend, James Potter -also from a well-to-do family, albeit a nice and loving one- had both gotten a job here last year, their latest in a string of career ventures: they'd tried to make a go at it as rockstars, only to give up after two weeks and swear to never pick up the flute or the bagpipes again. They'd been circus clowns -although they seemed like perfectly regular clowns to Lily- and telemarketers and travelling salesmen and columnists and accountants and now...here, Sirius working customer service whilst James was in the IT department, organizing stock purchases and cultivating their online presence. Last but not least was Peter Pettigrew, a shy boy who seemed to work here more for the quiet and the fact that Dumbledore had a marvelous collection of pastries that he left out for the staff, and that he could make display windows that looked like they belonged in a museum.

Most of the time, the quartet got on as thick as thieves, jovial and cheerful and making the place come alive. Just not today.

By lunchtime, Lily had enough. Closing her laptop on the TV show she'd been watching, container of pasta salad still in hand, she marched up to group, trying to look intimidating despite the fact that she had a tomato stain on her white cardigan that was as red and prominent as her hair. "Right. That's it. I've had enough. I've been subjected to your extra weird weirdness all day, and it's really getting on my nerves. This is a place of work, people, it's not the back of a shopping center on a Friday after school: stop with the nattering, and the shouting, and the looking at me like I've got two heads because, last time I checked, I bloody well don't. Okay?"

Peter was the first to respond. "We're sorry Lils, honestly. It's just that James wanted our opinion on something and it got blown a little out of proportion, that's all."

Carefully, she set down her plastic fork on top of her Tupperware lid, crossing her arms over her chest -and hiding the stain. "Okay, but what has any of that got to do with me?"

"It's best I explained it all to you myself. In private."

Lily was instantly worried. "I don't like the sound of that, not at all. If this is part of some elaborate prank, some belated hazing or something I swear to God-"

"Chill, Evans, it's not. Don't get your knickers in a twist. Besides, even if we ever did try to pull something like that off with you, you'd see it coming a mile away; you have this really annoying habit of not letting us have any fun."

Lily rolled her eyes. "You're here to work, Sirius, to provide a service to people, not to recreate scenes out of The Breakfast Club."

Sirius grinned wickedly. "But you'd make such a good Molly Ringwald stand-in."

Before she could hit him over the head, Remus reached out and chucked his glasses at his boyfriend, watching as he spluttered and tried to catch them. With an air of over exaggerated dignity, Sirius put them on, squinting up at them all owlishly. "Christ, sweetheart, your eyesight really is atrocious."

"Says the man who apparently can't see when the dishwasher needs emptying."

Getting up from the table, James waved a hand towards the doorway. "There probably going to be like this for a little while, and there really is something I wished to discuss with you, so would you mind..?"

"Sure," Lily sighed heavily, straightening her hair over a shoulder as James tried to squeeze past her. Lord, this room was small. And why did James have to smell so good, like parchment and apples and toffee and something spicy, too, like cloves.

"Don't forget your rabbit food, Evans," Sirius called to her. Lily gave him the finger, but dutifully collected her salad as she followed James out of the room, making her way down the short corridor and to the shop floor, up the winding wrought iron staircase and to the second floor, stopping at a small nook under one of the reading ladders.

"Hey, this is my secret space. How did you find it?"

James shrugged, hands deep in the pockets of his dark jeans. "I pay attention. I noticed that you come up here often."

She didn't know whether to be charmed or creeped out. She settled for charmed.

Sitting down, Lily stretches out her legs, the toes of her blue Converse in stark contrast to the polished wood of the shelves, lunch cradled in her lap. James sat beside her, legs out the other way, just past her hips, looking at her intently. Silence filled the space between them, tentative and strange; Lily was so used to having him talk her ear off, and now that he wasn't, it seemed like the world had tilted out of axis. Not majorly, but enough to be noticeable.

Fiddling with the tines on her plastic fork because Lily believed in protecting the environment amd also liked the fact they were easier to wash up- she prompted him, "You wanted to talk?"

"Yes," James nodded, glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose. "I, um...look, you know how me and the lads have a game night twice a month?"

"I do." It was a big deal, the nights where they'd leave a little earlier and come in a little later the next day, hungover but happy. In all the months she'd been working here, none of them had ever made any moves to include her. Was that about to change?

"Well, the next one is tomorrow night, and I was wondering if you'd like to join us."

Huh.

"You, want me, to join in on Game Night?"

"Yes. Did I not make that clear, with the asking? Because I ran that speech through with Remus and he told me it was fine..."

"No, it was," Lily assured him, watching him with an intensity that surprised even herself. "I just don't get why you're inviting me now; you never have before."

James grinned, shrugging his forest green, jumper-clad shoulders. "Do I need a reason?"

"Most decisions are generally motivated by one, yes."

Pushing his glasses up, he replied with a touch of gravity, "Maybe I just wanted to see you out of work. Maybe I just wanted you to have fun and be able to see it, bear witness to it."

It was tempting. He was tempting, with the jumper, and the white shirt sleeves rolled to his elbows, and the casual smile and the sweet eyes, but ultimately her answer was, "No."

James shot to his feet, shadow dark and long by her feet. "Oh, come on, Evans! What do you have to lose?"

Lily didn't miss a beat. "My pride. My sanity. My lunch," she insisted, watching as a puzzled frown creased his brow. She decided to put him out of his misery and explain, "Well, of you keep pestering me about it -of which I'm sure you will- then I'll have to throw this pasta at you. Which would be a real shame; my sister makes great leftovers."

"Now that's just uncalled for; I would hate to be responsible for the death of such a delicious-looking lunch."

"And here I thought you couldn't eat anything that wasn't covered in sugar."

A grin bloomed across his face. "So is that a yes?"

She should say no. She really should say no, but somehow Lily found herself saying, "Yes."

Game Night always took place at Remus and Sirius' apartment, a few streets away from the shop. After closing down for the evening, James looped his arm through hers, guiding her past empty storefronts bathed in the brilliant orange-gold of the setting sun. After getting out his key and opening the door, he dutifully helped her out of her coat,eyes twinkling behind his glasses. "Welcome to the Marauders Game Night, Miss Evans. Kitchen's over there, facilities are down that hallway, and here..." James spread his arms wide, encompassing the spacious living room. "This is where the magic happens."

Peter waved up at her from the floor, a teacup held in his other hand. "Hiya, Lily. It's nice to have you here."

Remus and Sirius occupied the couch, setting up something on the coffee table that she couldn't quite see. "Welcome to our humble abode, Evans. Please, grab yourself a beer and prepare to be utterly decimated."

"O...kay."

Looking around, Lily couldn't find any bottles, only more of those china teacups that looked like they'd break if you sneezed in their general direction. James handed her one, reading her expression and explaining, "This bit was Sirius' idea. He got them as a gift from his mum and instead of throwing them out the window as he'd originally intended, he decided to use them for something he knew she definitely wouldn't have approved of, which is a far better display of revenge in my book. Cheers, Lily."

Lily looked down at her cup and took a sip. Beer. They'd put beer in their teacups. She really hadn't expected that.

Taking another sip, she watched on in bemusement as James made himself comfortable on the floor, moaning at his two best friends, "Are you bloody done yet? I've been thinking up words all week."

Words? Why would he be...

And then she saw the box, immediately familiar from trips to her grandparents and rainy days at school. It was a Scrabble box. They'd brought her here to drink beer out of teacups and play Scrabble. Not poker or blackjack or even Charades. There was no strobe lighting, no jello shots, no raucous laughter. Just James holding his teacup and laughing as Peter sorted out the tiles and Remus snatched his boyfriend's phone away and said, "No Googleing. I want a clean, honest game."

"Whatcha waiting for, Evans? Get over here!"

So she did.

Five hours later, Lily was extremely tipsy, barely able to keep her eyes open, but was the newly crowned Game Night champion, and if she was being honest with herself...she couldn't remember the last time she'd had so much fun, that she'd just laughed and been herself. Whilst she loved living with her sister in the city and she still kept in touch with friends from school...it wasn't like this. Like them. Lily knew they'd had reservations -all except James- as had she, but she couldn't be more thankful that he'd invited her. And was now hailing a taxi, since he didn't want her going home in the dark.

He was sweet. Insanely sweet. They'd chatted all evening, laughing and joking, and she saw that there was a heart of gold underneath that untidy hair and prankster attitude. And he has one heck of a brain; he'd come in second tonight.

Squinting up at the streetlights, Lily laughed loudly as yet another taxi passed him by. "And here I thought gesticulating wildly at strangers was charming."

Then, like magic, one appeared, stopping a few feet away. Grasping her hand, James opened the door, making sure she was in safely before rounding around to the other side.

Lily frowned slightly. "You're taking me home? But how are you going to get home?"

James shrugged, shuffling through his wallet. "I'll just get them to wait, it's no biggie."

But it was, to her.

When they pulled up at her building, James did indeed get the driver to wait, insisting on seeing her to the door. Leaning against the wall, Lily looked up at him, admitting softly, "I had an amazing time tonight. I really appreciate you inviting me along."

"Of course. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself; I would have been so disappointed if you hadn't."

"Why?" she couldn't help but ask him.

"Because we're kind of a package deal...and I wanted you to see the real me. Goodnight, Lily," he smiled tenderly, reaching out and placing a delicate kiss on her knuckles. "Sweet dreams, o fearless Scrabble champion."

A week later, Lily was still thinking about that kiss. As innocent as it had been, it had still stirred something inside her, bringing together little thoughts and moments that had passed between them since thd first time they'd met. The way he left the chocolate sprinkle doughnuts out for her in the mornings when she mentioned she'd been too busy for breakfast. The way he smiled at her when she left out a book she thought he might like. The way he threw his head back when he laughed, deep and carefree and real.

She wanted to ask James about it, about inviting her in the first place, how he always seemed to go out of his way to make her smile, that he paid attention when she hasn't even realized there was anything to pay attention to...but what if there was nothing there? What if he was just being friendly? What if she was just making it all up inside her head...?

Suddenly, Lily collided with something warm, and solid, and she felt arms going around her waist, holding her steady. Tilting her head, she met a pair of emerald eyes, crinkled with worry. "You okay, Lily? You seemed lost in thought."

"Yeah, sorry, I was."

James shook his head, brushing a strand of hair off her face. "No need to apologize. It's not every day that a guy gets swept off his feet by someone as pretty as you."

Okay, he had to be flirting with her. He just had to be.

Opening her mouth, Lily scrabbled for words, the right words to tell James how she felt, how he made her feel -like she was seen, like she was a part of something, like she was beautiful and could do anything she wanted- but stopped when she felt a pressure on her back, and then she was falling, hitting a row of shelves, James pressing into her front as he tried to regain his balance.

A door closed, then locked, accompanied by a chorus of laughter.

Vaguely, she could hear the opening chords of Sara Bareilles song 'Gravity' playing softly in the background, likely Peter's doing, since he knew that she was a big fan of The Vampire Diaries. That would teach her for watching teen dramas on her laptop at work. Lily had to admit though, it was oddly fitting for the moment, the way James' stare was drawing her in, making her feel safe and exhilarated at the same time. So...the guys had locked her and James in the storage room. So they knew that she liked him. So this was getting more awkward by the second.

"Umm..." Lily worried at her bottom lip, trying not to look at James. "I'm-"

Luckily, she didn't need to say a word. James took her face in his hands, thumbs grazing across her cheekbones, and kissed her.

And she kissed him right back.

She heard the door open, but she didn't care. Lily threaded her fingers through his dark hair, drawing him closer, grinning against his mouth as his glasses bumped against her face.

Sirius whistled loudly. "Good show, old sport. Peter, you owe me a fiver."

Three years later, on the night of their wedding, when vows had been exchanged and toasts made and the cake had been cut, the newlyweds opened the last wedding gift from their friends: Scrabble.

Author's Note: Hi, everyone! I had such a fun time writing this; it was great to do something a little different than I usually do. This is my second Marauders fic and they've quickly earned a special place in my writing heart. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you have an amazing day!

All my love, Temperance Cain.