It hadn't been lost on Lily that James had been walking on eggshells around her after the Hogsmeade weekend. He was still his usual outgoing self, talking a lot and making jokes, but she felt he was more distant than he had been during the past few weeks. For one, he hadn't touched her again.

Lily wouldn't have imagined it a few weeks ago, but now she was finding herself extremely disappointed by that fact.

She had got an invitation for the second Slug Club meeting of the year, which was scheduled for the following Saturday afternoon; the first one had taken place in the Hogwarts Express during the ride to the school. Lily had enjoyed these meetings in the past; they were a good opportunity to meet and interact with people she didn't normally talk to, and she was on good terms with many of them. However, during the past year and a half, the climate in the meetings, already elitist by definition, had started to encourage sinister tendencies Lily wanted nothing to do with.

And to add insult to injury, there was Severus, who would either stare at her in the creepiest way possible, or try to talk to her and get on her good side, which was decidedly not going to happen.

After a few days of deliberation, she decided to kill two birds with one stone.

She made her move during breakfast, approaching him from behind and putting a hand on his shoulder. "James."

He turned around to face her. "Yes?"

"Can I ask a favour?"

"Sure."

"On Saturday, Slughorn is hosting a meeting. Could you come while I'm there and say my services as Head Girl are urgently needed, or something?"

James raised an eyebrow, amused. "We've already established that Slughorn doesn't like me, and now you want me to steal his favourite girl from him?"

She exaggerated the cutest look she could muster. "Please?"

He smiled. "What time?"

"The meeting starts at five, so around five-thirty?"

"Oh, you're that desperate!"

Lily nodded emphatically.

"I'll be there."

"Thanks."

She smiled at him and left for class, now looking forward to Saturday.

There was some interest in Patricia's idea among the other Houses as well. By the end of the week, Lily had a list of eleven sixth- and seventh-year students who were interested in a non-NEWT Defence class. She approached Professor Webb after Friday's lesson and explained the concept to her.

"We could certainly do that," she said with a nod, taking the list of students from Lily's hands. "I will have to discuss it with Professor Dumbledore, but I'm sure he won't object. Let me work out the schedule and course material and if all goes well, we should be ready to start by November." She looked up at Lily, who was several inches taller, and smiled. "I'm glad to see this kind of initiative. It's necessary in our times. Believe me, I was sad to inform your friend that she couldn't attend the NEWT class, and was trying to figure out a solution." She pointedly tapped the list with her finger. "But this is a good idea."

"I didn't come up with it," Lily said humbly. "I just helped out with recruiting. I'll be at your disposal."

She excused herself and left in a rush to get to History class.

On Saturday afternoon, Lily slid into her burgundy dress robes, put on her earrings and a little bit of make-up, sprayed on some perfume and at five o'clock sharp, she was at Professor Slughorn's office. The invited students were already arriving one by one and being cordially greeted by Slughorn, who was dressed in purple velvet robes and expensive jewellery.

She grabbed a drink – a crystal flute filled with an iridescent, tomato-coloured liquid – and took a seat on a sofa, observing the new arrivals.

There was Regulus Black, Sirius's younger brother. Lily had always wondered why he was the one brother to receive an invitation from Slughorn, when Sirius was infinitely more intelligent, talented and charismatic. On the other hand, you could try dragging Sirius in here tied up, gagged and blindfolded and he'd still find a way to escape. He hated that sort of pretentiousness.

Maybe it was because Regulus was still proudly carrying the family name, unlike Sirius, who had fallen from grace. Slughorn was always looking for people of value, and in the wizarding world, sometimes a name was value enough. Such as was the case for Robert Avery, who was the heir of an old pureblood family, but other than that he was nothing short of mediocre; even in evilness, his friend Abraham Mulciber surpassed him. At least that one wasn't here.

Avery had just arrived with Severus, who looked around when he entered, and his eyes rested on her. She straightened her back, trying to occupy as much space on the sofa as possible, and hastily waved to Emily Rickson, the Ravenclaw prefect and Quidditch Captain, to join her.

The girl, drink in hand, took another friend of hers by the arm and together they went to sit with Lily.

It was a little after five-thirty when a knock on the door was heard. Lily did not miss it, despite being immersed in a conversation with Elaine Linden and some younger Slytherin girls.

Slughorn opened the door and James appeared in the doorframe.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Professor. I was told the Head Girl is here. Could I borrow her for a while? There's been an emergency."

Slughorn looked taken aback, but James's determined expression left him no other option. "Oh, all right. Lily?"

"Yes, Professor," she responded to her name at once.

"It seems your presence is required elsewhere. If you finish soon, do return, we will be happy to see more of you."

"I will, Professor," she said with a nod, already halfway outside.

Lily closed the door behind her and looked at James. "Thanks."

"Don't thank me just yet," he replied. "We have to take care of the emergency first. Come with me."

She followed him all the way to the fourth floor, to a corridor in the north wing of the castle. When she entered it, her jaw fell. About twenty of the castle statues were there, aligned in two lines, and doing a Scottish country dance. There was no music, but that didn't seem to be a problem.

Lily couldn't decide whether the sight was amusing or disturbing. "What...?" she managed.

"I figured we needed a real emergency, in case Slughorn asked why you were needed," James explained.

She looked at him, pure shock in her face. "You did this?"

"Yes," he said with a proud smile, marvelling at his handiwork. "Well, me and Sirius, because it would take me a long time to Charm all these statues on my own. And Remus and Peter helped by keeping watch. But it was my idea."

Lily stared at the dancing statues, in awe of both his skills and his determination.

"We have to take them back to their places," James spoke again, when it became obvious that she was too dumbstruck to take action herself.

"Right," she said, shaking her head back into gear. "Do you know where everything goes?"

"Of course. Let's start with these two." He pointed at the ones closest to them. "They go to the Entrance Hall."

At his suggestion, they each targeted a statue and led it outside the corridor. They started to walk together towards the Entrance Hall, the statues happily skipping in front of them.

On the third floor, they passed by Professor Flitwick. Lily had the distinct impression that James had chosen this specific route on purpose.

Flitwick's eyes widened. "What are you doing there?"

"We found these statues dancing in a corridor, and we are putting them back," James explained.

Flitwick observed the statues intently. "This is excellent magicianship. Do you know who did this?"

A sly smile formed on James's lips, and he gave a sideways look to Flitwick. "What if I do?"

Flitwick looked around to make sure that no one was listening. "They will get points for their House," he said in a low voice.

James leaned in closer to the professor. "Sirius Black did it."

"Of course," Flitwick said enthusiastically. "It had to be one of you two. Ten points for Gryffindor... for each statue. And ten for each of you for taking care of them."

"Thank you, sir," James said with a broad grin and continued his way to the Entrance Hall, Lily staying close to him.

"I can't believe you pinned it on Sirius," she playfully scolded him, when they were away from Flitwick's earshot.

"I didn't pin it on him, I gave him all the credit," James corrected. "Flitwick's cool, he appreciates a good Charm as long as it doesn't hurt anyone."

"I noticed," Lily said, slightly amused.

"And these two really are Sirius's work." James pouted. "They dance better than mine."

Lily laughed.

It took them a while to put all the statues back. The last ones left were Boris the Bewildered and Brutus the Befuddled, on the fifth floor.

"There we go," James said, pocketing his wand after Charming Boris back into place. "You can go back to Slughorn's now."

"Right," Lily laughed. "No way."

"C'mon, it can't be that bad." He took a good look at her and bit his lip before continuing. "You got all dolled up for it and everything."

"Not for Slughorn," she dared.

He inched a little closer to her. "Got anywhere else you wanted to be, then?"

She took a step towards him, her eyes fixed straight into his. "I'm exactly where I wanted to be."

He leaned into her slowly, his right hand timidly reaching up, the tips of his fingers just barely making contact with her jawline, and his lips touched hers.

James Potter had never kissed a girl before.

He had never cared about kissing anyone who wasn't Lily Evans.

He had been dreaming about kissing her for years, a distant, unattainable dream that burned his heart and made his arms feel empty with longing every time he caught a glimpse of her.

But now he had her close, her lips were soft and inviting, and her skin was warm and she smelled of Amortentia and her hands were sliding up his chest, where his heart was beating faster and faster –

His fingers slowly slid across her skin to the back of her neck, and he gently pulled her closer, his tongue reached hers and his left hand ran up her arm, her shoulder and all the way to caress her cheek, and his arms were no longer empty, he was holding her and she was holding on to him and she was his –

Lily Evans had never been kissed before.

And up to this very moment, she had never thought that her first kiss would be with James Potter.

Even though her thoughts had been revolving around him for days, recalling every time he had ever touched her, however innocently or casually, she had never reached that far as to think that either of them would take that step.

But now he had – or she had? - and despite her lack of experience she knew that it felt right, because it was sweet and tender and it made her heart race, and his fingers were touching her face and they made her want more –

And suddenly her hands were sliding up his chest and tugging on his shirt, and she held on for dear life, because she was starting to melt, as he pulled her closer and his hand travelled on her skin and his breath became her oxygen and still she wanted more, more –

Minerva McGonagall made her way through the Hogwarts corridors, quite miffed at having missed the dancing statues Filius had been raving about for the past ten minutes. Some of the most exquisite magicianship I've seen in this school, Minerva, I'll be terribly surprised if they turn out to be a student's work, they danced better than real people, you should have seen them.

Then again, maybe it was for the best that she hadn't, because the whole thing sounded a suspicious lot like Potter and Black shenanigans, and she didn't want to have to dock points from Gryffindor for magic performed in the corridors.

She came to an abrupt halt just before entering the corridor that led to the Prefects' Bathroom.

Right from where she was standing under the arched entrance, she could see two of the most recognisable masses of hair in the school, entangled together.

It was James Potter and Lily Evans, and they were kissing.

Finally.

She silently stepped backwards, took out her wand and nonverbally cast a spell on the corridor, creating an illusion of a wall of lava for anyone outside it. It would be undone when the occupants of the corridor stepped out of it.

She then turned around to find another way upstairs, sending any students she ran into to the Great Hall for good measure.

There was no time anymore, no space, no people, there was only Lily for James now, her sweet and fiery taste that was overwhelming him, numbing his mind, and her hands that were snaking up his neck and her fingers running through his hair, and he was becoming hers – he had always been but now she was claiming him like a wildfire, he was being consumed and relishing every moment –

And he kissed her with all the desperation of his sleepless nights, the hopefulness of his daydreams and the joy of his reality, now everything was different and there was no pain anymore, she was there and nothing else mattered.

The world had stopped moving, the air had disappeared, there was only James and his lips on hers, and Lily's thirst that only they could satiate, she was dying and they were her salvation – she had never known she was so close to dying and yet her pounding heart left no room for doubt, she needed him, and she held on tight, her hands on the back of his head, never letting go –

And he kissed her with newfound force, taking her in, and the earth was spinning again, everything was spinning, she was drunk and lost to the world, but she knew she was exactly where she belonged.

She let herself surrender, and she drew in one last breath of air.

Her gasp jerked James awake, as though from a dream – because it had been a dream, Lily kissing him, it had been a dream and now they were back at school and she had never liked him, what was he doing –

"I'm sorry," he said, "I'm sorry. I couldn't stop myself."

Her eyes searched for an answer in his, but he missed them; he was looking at her lips, her red lips had captured his life and he would never get it back.

"I'm sorry," he repeated, his hands still cupping her cheeks, and he wanted so badly to kiss her again but he had to stop, she wasn't his, she could never be, it was all a mistake, they had got carried away but soon she'd wake up like he had, and he didn't want to hear it, he didn't want to be pushed away, he didn't want to have to face her disgust at having been touched by Potter, of all people –

"James –"

"I'm sorry," he said again and he ran away.

Lily stood there, watching him run away like a hunted deer, and sighed. For such an intelligent person, James Potter was a bit of an idiot. Wherever had he got the idea that he should have stopped?

She shook her head. Her willingness had probably caught him by surprise – hell, it had caught her by surprise, even though she had planned the whole thing. Or, well, half the thing.

She would give him this evening to sort his thoughts out, and try again tomorrow. She had learned by now where she could get him alone on Sundays.

James ran all the way to the Gryffindor common room, through the portrait, and up the dormitory staircase, without so much as acknowledging anyone.

His friends, after a minute of troubled consideration, concluded that he had probably just had another fight with Lily and left him alone to collect himself.

He fell on his bed, heavy as a pile of bricks, and ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

He realised he hadn't the foggiest of what had happened. It was all a whirlwind in his head. She had approached him, but why? It couldn't have meant anything to her. Just last week she was taking out her anger at him; she still had plenty of it, that was certain.

She had probably just been caught up in the moment; he had complimented her, helped her out like she'd asked, taken quite some trouble for her sake, admittedly. Maybe it was just her way of appreciating all that.

Or, she was purely acting on physical attraction towards him. He knew he'd seen hints of it before. Τhe others had noticed it too. Maybe she had had drinks at Slughorn's and her good judgement had been overcome by her instinct.

Whatever it was, he was not going to let her do anything she would later regret. And he sure as hell wasn't going to take advantage of her.

But Merlin, it had been so good.

He thought back to their relationship over the years. They'd had their ups and downs – more of the downs at first, to be fair, especially during the time she used to hang out with that slimeball, Severus Snape. Since their falling out, however, the ups had come more frequently, and James had cherished them with the secret hope that they would sway her in his favour – only for them to come crashing down on him after her post-Hogsmeade tirade. Sure, she had apologised; James knew she was never unreasonable or unfair, and he hadn't deserved her ire that particular evening, even if dragging her through an underground tunnel was not exactly his smoothest move. Nevertheless, the way the whole situation had played out had cemented it in his head that, despite her friendlier disposition, this was still the same Lily Evans who had once – years ago, but he'd never forgotten – said that she would never be caught dead in the company of Potter, of all people.

He heaved a sigh and covered his face with his palms.

He was being ridiculous. They'd been through so much since then. They'd both changed. He couldn't remain hung up on a line she'd thrown so long ago, in a moment of well-justified irritation. There was something here; he didn't know what exactly, and it was likely that she didn't either, but he had felt her in his arms, present and willing. Was it such a stretch to assume that a part of her had started to like him?

In any case, whatever he chose to assume should be kept to himself. She didn't need the burden of having to deal with him on top of everything else. He was right there, she knew where she could find him, and he had made it abundantly clear over the past few weeks that he would do anything for her. He would give her time; let her take the lead and set the tone of their relationship herself.

And he would hope that he'd be lucky enough to get to kiss her again.