From that day onwards, James and Lily spent as much time as they could together, away from prying eyes, locked in linen closets, storage rooms and abandoned classrooms, slowly exploring each other's bodies.
In those escapades, they had found an unlikely ally in Professor McGonagall, who had indeed quadrupled their Head duties. She was requesting her assistance for every trivial thing, from asking them to pick out the scents for the Prefects' Bathroom bath products – James was adamant about adding the passion fruit-scented bubble bath to the order – to making sure all the windows of the castle were closed when it was raining. Plus, she had tasked them with cataloguing all the unused rooms on each floor, presumably to examine their possible use as practice classrooms, after Patricia had sent in a relevant request. James had concluded that McGonagall had been testing their limits and, upon realising that they did not intend to shy away from any of her assignments, she was milking them for all they were worth.
He didn't mention to her that he already had all the rooms in the castle very well mapped out; instead, he and Lily dutifully proceeded with examining each and every single empty one and keeping detailed notes of their possible uses, not all of which reached McGonagall's hands.
The other upside to that was that he didn't have to hide from the Marauder's Map anymore. Every time his friends asked him where he was going, he had a ridiculous but true excuse to offer.
That said, they were so many, and so ridiculous, that his friends began to suspect he was hiding something. Of course, even when they checked up on him, he was always where he had said he'd be, and always with Lily.
In the end, Sirius had no other choice but to resort to drastic measures.
"What's going on with James?" he asked Lily one afternoon, a couple of weeks into this nonsense.
"What's going on?" she repeated the question.
"What's wrong with him?"
She snorted. "Plenty."
"I'm serious."
Lily bit back her instinctive response and took a breath to collect herself. "I don't know what you may be talking about."
"He's been disappearing and keeping secrets."
"And how am I supposed to know anything about that? You're his best friend."
"And yet, you seem to be spending more time with him than I do."
"It's true that McGonagall has been running us like dogs. Today I'm supposed to meet him after his Quidditch practice to finish mapping the empty rooms on the sixth floor."
Sirius threw his hands up in despair and started pacing in circles, murmuring something about James and mapping, interspersed with epithets like 'ridiculous', 'absurd' and other, more colourful synonyms. Lily tried her best to hide her amusement behind a façade of concern, although a less frustrated spectator would have noticed the contained curling of her lips and the naughty twinkle in her eyes.
"Do you think he's all right?" Sirius asked her eventually, the worry about his friend evident on his face.
Lily nodded solemnly. "I think he's fine."
"Please let me know if you notice anything off."
She smiled reassuringly at him. "I will."
Wizarding fashion was in severe need of an update, Lily had decided. It was a shame that bodies like James Potter's had to stay hidden under long, loose-fitting robes.
It had taken them several timid, tentative encounters, until he was finally comfortable enough removing his robes before her. He made a habit of wearing sweatpants under them, to stay warm and avoid accidental exposure during Quidditch practice – or other occasions, he had added not-so-innocently.
His undershirt also stayed firmly put for the time being, even though she was dying to run her fingers over his naked abs. She would sometimes slip her hand under it, and his breath would get caught in his throat, but it seemed that he was not ready to share his scar with her.
She had asked him if it hurt.
"No, but it feels weird to the touch," he had admitted.
She was quite sure he would let her touch it if she insisted. In fact, she was quite sure he would let her do anything in the world she pleased, if she insisted. But she respected his discomfort, and actually appreciated their slow rhythm. It gave them the opportunity to experiment, sometimes with tender, delicate caresses, sometimes with hungry, passionate kisses, and sometimes with naughty touches that threatened to unleash all their animal instincts.
Like right now.
They were locked in a supply room on the sixth floor, their only light a floating candle James had Charmed. She had him pinned against the wall, her hands on his chest, her mouth only a breath apart from his. His hands were placed on her lower back, just above her hips, and every time she touched his lips, they would tug on her robes, only for her to retreat until he'd loosen his grip.
After a few minutes of back and forth, she finally kissed him, a deep kiss that desperately sought his taste, allowing his hands to roam freely on her back.
"We need to do something about your robes," James said huskily, when she broke contact. "I'm at an unfair disadvantage."
"Hmm." She tugged at the waistband of his sweatpants. "You think I should get me a pair of those?"
"I could give you one of mine," he said, his eyes gleaming mischievously.
"Ooh." She raised a suggestive eyebrow.
"I'll bring it tomorrow, when we go mapping the seventh floor."
Lily let out a chuckle. "Which reminds me, Sirius asked me about you today. Said you've been disappearing and keeping secrets."
"What did you tell him?"
"Drove him mental."
James laughed, and squeezed her into a hug. "That's my girl. You're learning to be a prankster."
She smiled against his chest, but soon turned to look at him. "Can't say it wasn't fun, but I think he's genuinely worried."
James nodded thoughtfully. "We can try being a little more obvious."
"How obvious?"
"Well, not much. Let Sirius simmer for a bit more." He grinned.
Lily clicked her tongue in fake disapproval. "Shame on you."
"Hey, Sirius is like my brother. Isn't that what you do to brothers?"
She chuckled. "Well, I have a sister, and yes it is."
After a lengthy bout of consideration, and taking Remus's and Peter's contributions into account, Sirius reached the conclusion that James must have ditched his resolution not to bother with Lily anymore and was actually trying to take advantage of their forced time together. Perhaps he'd managed to gain her approval, or at least her tolerance, in the meantime.
He hoped they were right. In spite of her constant disapproval of his antics, Sirius actually had a deep appreciation for Lily Evans. She was smart, witty, capable and had a strong and feisty personality. Plus, she really had gorgeous eyes and a lovely smile. It was no wonder James had been smitten with her since the very first time he'd laid eyes on her.
He wouldn't let his friend settle for anything less, but he wouldn't let him hear the end of it, either.
"Tonight it's full moon," he commented idly, as he sat with James finishing their Transfiguration homework. Remus and Peter were at the dormitory, taking some rest.
"I know," James replied, not taking his eyes off his writing.
"Are you coming?"
Now James looked up. "What do you mean? When have I not come?"
"Well, you've never been that busy with Head Boy duties before. You could have arranged something with Lily."
"We never do Head stuff after dinner. I told her I needed to catch up on homework today and I'll meet her again tomorrow after practice."
Sirius nodded. "Does she like you a little better now?"
James scratched his chin thoughtfully. "I think."
"So," Sirius continued, deliberately dragging his words, "does that mean we can talk to you about her now?"
James narrowed his eyes at him and pressed his lips together, then kicked Sirius on the shin under the table.
"Ouch!"
"You git," he said, returning to his homework, but Sirius could swear he could see the sides of his mouth curl upwards.
"I'll take that as a yes," he stated, grinning as now James could hardly hold back his own smile.
The full moon went down as usual, and the boys didn't get a wink of sleep that night. James apologised to Lily for feeling under the weather on Friday, but he devoted almost his entire weekend to her, during which they alternated between snogging on the sofas of unused offices and doing actual work.
By Sunday evening, they had finished their report, and they handed it to McGonagall on Monday, after classes. She accepted it without much enthusiasm, and immediately informed James that he would have to go to Hogsmeade sometime before the Quidditch match to pick up new gear for the players.
"Don't go alone, take Lily with you," she added, not looking up from the report she was already skimming.
James and Lily exchanged meaningful glances and readily agreed.
"Seriously, you're going out with Lily," Sirius said, exasperated.
"We are not going out. McGonagall sent us shopping," James replied, fastening his cloak. It was already November and the weather had started to get quite chilly.
"Why didn't she make you take someone else from the team?"
"Because she's Head Girl? Or because there are no other adults on the team. I don't know, ask her."
"Don't push me, I will."
"Who's pushing you?" James grabbed his wand from his nightstand and stuffed it in his pocket. "See you later."
They were totally going out.
Lily was looking her best, dressed in a warm turtleneck sweater and jeans under her winter cloak, and wearing a cute, white woollen cap with a silver-threaded design and matching gloves. James's face lit up when he saw her.
Filch opened the gates for them with a bit of grumbling. They held hands and Apparated together just outside the village, then continued to walk hand in hand towards the sports gear store, which was located higher up the hill.
James had no trouble picking out quickly all the necessary equipment, while Lily idly wandered about the store, perusing the colourful uniforms.
"Anything you like?" he spoke softly in her ear.
She shrugged. "I don't do sports."
"Nothing at all?"
"I like swimming."
His gaze travelled up and down her body. "I'd like to see that."
They shared a playful look before he went to the cash desk, where the employee noted down everything and James handed him a note signed by McGonagall, with instructions on where to send the bill. He put everything in a large red bag, James picked it up, thanked him and exited the store with Lily.
"Do you think we have some time to spare?" he asked her.
"I think so. We barely spent ten minutes at the shop."
"Have you ever seen the view from the top of the hill?"
Lily's face brightened in anticipation. "No."
"Let's go."
He took her hand and they started to walk uphill. They continued past the village, where the road changed into a dirt path and started to get steeper. It passed through a cluster of trees that blocked what little light came from the moon, but James had no trouble finding his way.
Finally, they reached the top. The dusk had long fallen and the sky was dark, only illuminated by the gibbous moon and the stars sprinkled here and there.
He led her to a clearing and gently put his arm around her, guiding her view. Lily was awestruck by the beauty.
"You can see the lights of Hogsmeade if you look down there." He pointed to the direction they had come from. "That's the lake." It glimmered under the moonlight. "And the clouds of mist you see behind it, that's Hogwarts."
Even in the dark, she could distinguish smoky garlands twisting upwards, the actual castle entirely invisible. "You can't see it from up here?"
"No. It's Unplottable. It's only visible and approachable when you get physically close enough. That's why we can't get back from Hogsmeade by Apparating and we have to walk all the way to the gates."
She nodded.
"And there." He motioned to the direction opposite of where they'd come. "You can see some lights in the distance. They're Muggle towns and villages."
She saw the faint lights, some on flat land and some perched on hills, far away beyond a large, empty stretch of fields and moors.
"It's beautiful," Lily breathed.
"It's even more beautiful tonight," he said, and planted a kiss on her cheek.
She snuggled inside his embrace, her back on his chest, and he wrapped both arms around her. She brought her hands up to caress him.
"Aren't you cold?" she asked, running her gloved fingers over his naked hands.
"No."
She snuggled closer, and he held her tighter. They stayed there for a few minutes, taking in the view, immersed in the stillness of the night, the only sound that of each other's heartbeat.
"It's time to go," James finally spoke, with another kiss on Lily's cheek. "It's getting late, and we have some walking."
She nodded. "Thank you for bringing me here."
"Don't thank me, thank McGonagall."
Lily let out a chuckle.