A/N. I would just like to thank all of my readers who leave anonymous reviews, but ask them to please sign in so that I can respond to their questions promptly. However I will answer the questions in the next chapter.
So Voodoo Duck here are some answers for you:
What happens to Daisy? You'll just have to keep reading to find out! Don't worry I'm not done with her yet, and she'll actually be appearing in the next couple of chapters or so.
Also you said in an earlier chapter that a killing curse can't
kill a Guardian, but ( and again i'm not 100% sure of this, not having read
the books in a while) that both James and Lily Potter were killed with a
killing curse. Yes in the books both Lily and James were killed with the killing curse, but I'm not J.K. Rowling and the term 'AU' allows me to do whatever I want! Again, you'll just have to keep reading to find out how everything works out!
Disclaimer: I don't own any Harry Potter or Harry Potter related copyrights.
"Hey Lily," said James casually as he found her in the library taking advantage of the immense number of books the Potter family had collected over the years.
Lily smiled in response but didn't take her eyes off of the page because she was right in the middle of a paragraph. James knew better than anyone how much she hated having to stop before the end of a paragraph, mostly because he interrupted her the most often.
"Yes?" she inquired as she finally looked up at him, her eyes shining with the excitement of finding a new and engaging novel.
"I was just wondering, do you miss spending the holidays with your family, and by that I mean your dad and sisters and muggle friends?" asked James very seriously.
"No," said Lily very slowly and somberly.
"That doesn't sound like a simple no," James pointed out, a little bit of disappointment saturating his tone.
"It can't be a simple no," Lily retorted bitterly. "You've only really known me when I had family problems. You know nothing about all those years when I had truly wonderful Christmases filled with traditions and happiness. I do miss those years desperately; honestly I would give anything to have my family back the way it was when I was little.
"However," Lily shuddered. "I am extremely grateful to be here with you and your family. This Christmas season has been the best I have had since before my mother died. Being here makes me… not hurt for the first time in a really long time. I had a hole and this new family filled it, but that doesn't mean the hole was never there. Do you understand?" she asked pleadingly.
James nodded slowly. "Tell me about your happy Christmases because you're right, I've only heard about the sad ones."
"Well my favorite part was decorating the tree. We each had our own ornaments and as we unwrapped each one we would laugh about where or when we got it. Then we would throw tinsel all over the tree, and really all over the parlor and each other. Some of it usually made it to the tree… Then at the end my dad always lifted me up so that I could put the angel on top. And then my mom would come in with warm gingerbread men and cold milk, and we would all sit around the fireplace eating them. Then we would sing carols…. Well I can't sing so I would play the piano while my much more talented sisters would sing with my mum and my dad would play the guitar and sing along. I wish that I still had my ornaments; some of them were truly beautiful…"
"I've never decorated a tree before," commented James. "The house elves do it every year."
"That's very sad," Lily told him. "It's one of my fondest childhood memories."
"I guess that you can't miss something you've never had," said James lightly.
"I disagree. I never knew any of my grandparents, and yet I still feel sorrow that I missed out on that experience."
"I don't remember much of my grandparents either; they had all passed away by the time I was nine."
"Maybe next year we can decorate one of the trees together," said Lily sweetly.
"It's a date," confirmed James.
"Now tell me about your childhood Christmases," requested Lily.
James pondered the thought for a moment and replied, "They were pretty much like they are now except without you and Sirius. Rather lonely really. I spent most of my winter holiday before Christmas Eve coming up with nasty things to do to Marlene. Then I spent the party torturing Marlene and pretending to be a nice little boy and be paraded around by my parents. Then Christmas morning I would open all my presents in front of my parents. Then Uncle Harry and Auntie Eileen would come over for brunch, and until there was a family feud when I was nine- over the division of inheritance I think- the extended family would come over for dinner. That's pretty much it."
"Sounds so boring- unlike last Christmas morning," said Lily with a laugh.
"Oh, can we finally laugh about that?" asked James with a teasing grin. "Last I heard we were never speaking about that incidence again."
"It's been a year now, I think it's safe to start laughing."
James snorted. "But you're still embarrassed about it! Look, you're blushing!"
"I blush all the time!" protested Lily.
"Especially when I'm around," said James flirtatiously.
Lily tried not to increase his ego, but she couldn't help but smile as she looked at his cocky grin.
"Ha! You can't resist my charm! I knew this day would come!" he said dreamily.
"Oh yeah?" challenged Lily. "I say that we have a contest to see which one of us can't resist the other. The first person to kiss the other loses."
"And what happens to the loser?" asked James, his eyebrows raised.
Lily had to think about that for a few moments. Finally her brow smoothed and she announced, "Loser has to ask the German Minister of Economy about Germany's economy."
"Wow. I never knew you were so devious," said James seriously. That one question could easily take over an hour to answer and the German Minister never let anyone escape until he had thoroughly exhausted the subject.
"Good luck Mr. Potter," Lily whispered in his ear.
Sometime later the four teenagers of the house were lounging in the parlor. Vicky was idly flipping through a magazine, while Sirius was actively watching James and Lily stare at each other without saying anything.
"Do you know what is going on with them? They're acting stranger than usual…" Sirius commented to Vicky.
Without even looking up Vicky responded dully, "They are seeing who can resist kissing the other longer. It's been three hours and they are both going out of their minds."
"I bet you Prongs loses," stated Sirius.
"I agree," answered Vicky. "He has no self-restraint, not when it comes to Lily at least."
A few hours later James was lying on his bed brooding when Sirius happened to walk by. James sighed deeply to get his attention. Sirius contemplated walking by, but instead rolled his eyes and took the bait.
"Hey Padfoot," uttered James miserably and pathetically.
"You are a miserable, pathetic excuse for a man," Sirius informed him.
"Wow, tell me how you really feel," muttered James in shock.
Sirius rolled his eyes again and sighed. "You're being stupid. If you want to win this ridiculous contest you have to make her want to kiss you. We all know you have no self-control around her, but I would have thought you would have made a better effort than this."
James sat in thought for a moment. When he still failed to respond Sirius continued loudly, "Go seduce your girlfriend you moron! It can't be that hard!"
"What if she seduces me first?"
"Then you end up snogging! What a horrible penalty!" shouted Sirius sarcastically and with much anger.
"But I will lose… and have to talk to the Minister…"
"Then by all means continue moping here by yourself!" said Sirius as he strode from the room.
Despite the fact that he was too preoccupied and thick to sense the bitterness latent in Sirius's words, he did manage to get their obvious meaning. His mind began working at a furious pace, trying to remember all the scenarios he had cooked up over the years to try and win Lily's heart.
"Hi James," said Lily smiling confidently. She had a feeling that James's resolve was weakening and had traveled upstairs to find out if she was right. The fact that as she had reached the top of the stairs he came out of his bedroom only solidified her assurance.
"Evans," he acknowledged with a cocky smirk reminiscent of fourth and fifth year.
Lily raised her eyebrow as he continued to approach her, his gait casual yet purposeful. He stopped a few centimeters in front of her and stared down at her, making the height difference between them more apparent than usual.
"I'm not going to cave first," Lily told him firmly, unnerved by his uncharacteristic silence and familiar intense gaze.
James hummed noncommittally.
"Say something!" Lily pleaded. Now her resolve was weakening. She could ignore the cheesy lines, but this was something she had not prepared for. He wasn't undressing her body with his eyes, it was more like he was undressing her soul. There was love in his eyes, and lust too, but mostly respect, understanding, admiration, and compassion- the building blocks of a solid relationship. Lost in her musings and even more in his eyes, Lily didn't even realize that he had maneuvered her away from the stairs and down the hallway a bit until her back brushed up against the door to Mr. Potter's thankfully empty study.
Lily's obvious staring turned to one of questioning. James's steady gaze didn't waver, but his smirk became more pronounced. It seemed as if he knew that he had her just where he wanted her- wanting him. Slowly and deliberately he positioned his arms on either side of her body and locked them into place so that she couldn't possibly escape. And then he waited.
His gaze became softer as he took in her features, wandering from her eyes to her brows and forehead, slipping down the side of her face, only briefly glancing at her ears, following the curve of her cheekbone up to the tip of her nose and down the other side, back to her ear lobe and then plunging down to her jaw until finally her lips were the object of his gaze. This was not the first time he had looked so intently, no, that had been one night in the common room during sixth year. He had been sitting studiously in a dark corner when she had escaped the noise of her dorm room and retreated to the quiet downstairs. Frazzled and irritated she hadn't even bothered to look around before spreading her books and parchment over one of the tables. Perhaps if she had she would have positioned herself so that her back was to James; she had a knack for sensing his presence and an ability to shield herself from him. As it was James avoided calling attention to himself and abandoned his textbook in favor of taking this rare moment to stare unabashedly at her. The common room was empty, the hour was late, and she wasn't paying any attention to anything but the essay that was due in eight hours; he took the rare opportunity and ran with it, soaking up every bit of her face.
That night her face was unfamiliar; he didn't know the feel of her cheekbones under his thumb, or the sensation of her smooth jaw under his indulging lips. This night he knew those feelings and so many more he hadn't even dreamed of; he recognized each freckle, knew the shape of her brow, remembered times when her lips were soft against his, pleading, begging for more, and when they were hard, demanding, challenging…
"I knew you were there that night in sixth year," Lily interrupted him quietly as her eyes made their own journey across his handsome features.
"You didn't say anything," said James lowly as he rested his forehead against hers.
"If I had said something I would have had to yell at you; I was playing the role of your enemy then."
"But you weren't really my enemy?"
"No," Lily breathed. "I liked it when you looked at me, so I pretended not to see you so that you would continue. I fancied you so badly, even then."
"Two weeks later you told me to go screw other girls for the summer," mentioned James stonily.
Lily winced. "I was afraid to get involved with you… afraid that you would break my heart and that I would hurt you or because of me you would be hurt. I was also angry that my abilities, burdens whatever you want to call them, seemed to keep me from being able to have a normal relationship."
"No matter what you are or are not, we never would have had a normal relationship," laughed James casually. "Just look at us right now."
Lily smiled. "You think you're doing an awfully good job at seducing me, don't you?"
James grinned as he pulled his head back so that he could fully look at her again. "You're here aren't you?"
"But I'm not here…" said Lily trailed off softly as she traced James's lips with a slender, cool finger that left fire in its wake.
"You will be," promised James.
Lily grinned and bit down on her lower lip, her eyes never leaving James's.
"You are quite the tease," he said easily.
Lily's smile dimly slightly; he wasn't supposed to be so unaffected! Then a mischievous light entered her eyes. Slowly she twisted the doorknob to the study and opened the door. James was momentarily caught off-guard, but was able to maintain his balance and follow Lily into the dimly lit room. The door closed behind him and he heard the lock click faintly.
Then suddenly Lily's fingers found their way to the hem of her sweater. Surely and quickly she pulled it up and over her head, the blouse underneath sticking to it just enough that a strip of her stomach was exposed as it was lifted up.
"I wouldn't exactly say that this is playing fair," commented James with raised eyebrows as he folded his arms over his chest. "You don't see me taking off my clothes to seduce you."
"When have I ever played clean?" Lily asked him rhetorically as she dropped the sweater to the ground.
"I hope you never do," voiced James with a smirk.
"I thought so," Lily whispered as she proceeded to unbutton James's shirt.
"You're not really into clothes are you?" teased James as he lifted his arms above his head so she could go to work.
Lily didn't answer as she guided the shirt off of his shoulders and onto the floor. James rapidly sucked in a deep breath when Lily pressed her cold fingertips under his t-shirt and roamed across the planes of his chest. James pulled the t-shirt over his head in one swift movement and encircled Lily's waist with his arms, pulling her close to him.
Lily gasped at the sudden movement, but soon relaxed and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I can't believe you've lasted this long," she murmured as she gazed up at him.
"You won't last much longer," he assured her quietly, a glint of determination residing firmly in his eyes. A second later her blouse had joined the ever growing pile of clothing on the floor.
"I think you're confusing me with you," Lily mumbled into his ear as she played with the sensitive hairs on the back of his neck.
He closed his eyes and shivered so slightly that Lily wouldn't have noticed had she not been pressed so tightly against him.
"Why not just give in James, you know you will eventually," she cooed into his ear.
"You would have made a good siren in another life," he commented evenly. Where he had found this immense store of self-control was beyond Lily.
"Since when can you resist me?" pouted Lily.
James chuckled and turned his head to look at her. "I've never not been able to control myself around you, I've just always chosen not to. Honestly do you think that if I really couldn't control myself you'd still be a virgin?"
Lily blushed and broke his gaze, hiding her face in his shoulder which, like the rest of James's body, rumbled with his laughter.
"Mo cuishle," he whispered to her as he ran a finger lightly over her carotid artery. This time it was Lily who literally went weak at the knees. Expecting this, James already had a secure arm around her waist that pulled her in so tightly to him that his body served as a strong pillar keeping her upright. James could only grin as he put his other arm around her and lifted her up, placing her bum back down on the edge of his father's desk. Then he moved his head towards hers until their noses were touching. Eyes locked, lips just barely parted, they were breathing the same labored breaths, their chests rising in sync. They had had moments before- moments of passion, moments of understanding, moments of love, but never had they been this connected, this vulnerable.
Finally Lily couldn't stand it any more; her gaze flickered down to James's lips, which automatically arranged in a smug smirk. He had won; he knew it, and she knew it. The only uncertain element was how long it would take Lily to just move her head a centimeter to seal the deal.
Lily concentrated on breathing. In. Out. The rest of her mind was hazy. In. Why wasn't he kissing her already? Out. Damn he was attractive. In. His eyes were pools of warm chocolate. Out. With flecks of caramel. In. She felt like she was melting. Out. Like the chocolate. In. Melting in his eyes. Out. This was nice. In. But snogging would be so much better. Out. But the contest… In. Screw it! Out.
Lily made the move. The smile on James's face was unquenchable. It didn't go away even when three minutes later his dad walked in to find them snogging on his desk only half-clothed.
-----
"Ummm… Lily?" asked Peter hesitantly.
Lily paused in her reading and looked up. "Yeah?"
Peter looked as if he was going to vomit. He had put off this conversation as long as he could, but it was the day before the Christmas Eve ball and he couldn't wait any longer. The only thing that kept him from fainting was the fact that she was alone, a phenomenon all its own.
"I need t-to ask you so-some-something, a f-f-favor," he stuttered, a childhood habit he had abandoned in all times except those of extreme fear.
"What is it Peter?" she asked softly, hoping to reassure him. "Sit down and just tell me."
He sat on the very edge of the chair across from Lily and fidgeted. Then finally he blurted, "Will you kiss me?"
"What?" asked Lily as she fought back a laugh. Did he wake up and ask himself what the fastest way to be executed by one of his best friends was?
"Oh that came out all w-wrong!" Peter said to himself. "I was supposed t-to work u-up to it and tell ya-you the wh-whole story first."
"Go ahead and tell me the story Peter," she said quietly as she reached over and put a hand on his knee because it looked as if he was about to bolt and she was more than a little curious about his request.
"There's this girl-" he began as a smile formed on Lily's face. "Beth. She works in the Ministry with m-m-me. She's pretty, and nice, and smart, and nice, and really really pretty and I l-l-like her a-a-a lot-t."
"But?" asked Lily as Peter paused.
Peter looked down at the ground as a red color began creeping over his cheeks. "I-I-I asked her out and we- well at l-least I- had a really g-gr-great t-t-time, really great. And then we went out a co-couple of more times. And it's been great, really great, really, really, really great. Cause she's great, really great."
"I get that Peter, now what's the problem."
Peter mumbled his next sentence into his chest and Lily was totally unable to decipher it. When she asked him to repeat himself, he worked up that same Gryffindor courage that had enabled him to ask Beth out in the first place and clearly said, "I haven't been able to kiss her, cause I'm no good at it. She's coming to the ball with me tomorrow night and I think that if I don't kiss her then she'll dump me for sure and I don't want her to dump me because she's-"
"Really great," Lily finished for him, her voice quiet and kind. "So you want me to…?"
"Teach me?" said Peter with a wince as he braced himself to be totally rejected and then beaten to a pulp by Lily's boyfriend.
"I don't know Peter…" said Lily uneasily. "It's not as if I could just talk you through it or anything…"
"I know," said Peter desperately. "But I don't know who else to ask. Marlene would just laugh at me and tell everyone, and Alice isn't that experienced herself so that wouldn't work and I can't ask Beth obviously and I don't know any other girls…"
"You've really put some thought into this haven't you?" asked Lily as she carefully surveyed the young man in front of her.
"Yes and I will do anything to get you to help me! Anything," he begged quite pitifully.
"I would have to ask James about this…"
"No!" shouted Peter. "You can't tell him or anyone else! I would never ever live it down! Ever!"
"So you're asking me to kiss you and NOT tell my boyfriend who is also your best friend," said Lily skeptically.
"Yes?"
"I don't know about this Peter…" said Lily, echoing her previous statement.
"Lily," said Peter very seriously. "I only ever kissed one other girl. Matilda Zachary. She was a Hufflepuff two years younger than us- she was a fourth year when I kissed her. It was her first kiss too and after it she burst into tears, told me I was a horrible kisser and that I had forever ruined her first kiss. She probably also told most of Hogwarts about me and my horrible kissing. Since that day I haven't dared to kiss anyone else. Beth is probably one of the few girls that doesn't know my reputation because she was home schooled, and so I actually have a chance with her. Please, please, please, do this for me. I will gladly take any beating that Prongs will dish out and I will take full responsibility I swear on my Marauder's Honor."
Lily sighed deeply. "Fine. I'll do it."
"And you won't tell Prongs?" asked Peter suspiciously.
Lily sighed again. "No, I won't tell him."
"When can we start?!" asked Peter with so much enthusiasm and relief that for a full minute Lily actually stopped hating herself for agreeing to this ridiculous plan.
"We might as well get this over with now. James and Sirius are doing last minute Christmas shopping and probably won't be back for a few more hours seeing as they hadn't even started shopping yet," answered Lily. "Okay, now where to begin," se mused. "I've never done this before so you'll have to bear with me. It's not exactly an easy thing to teach."
"Just do your best," said Peter patiently.
Lily sat in deep contemplation for another couple of minutes and then finally said, "I think the only way for this to work is for you to kiss me and then we'll go from there. But first I think we should move to my room and lock the door so that no one barges in. I can just say that I'm trying on my dress for the ball or something."
Once they were situated Lily said, "Okay, now I'm going to stand here and you just come over and, well, kiss me."
"O-okay. I can d-d-do that. I think."
"Peter!"
"Al-alright."
Then Peter walked until he was about a half a meter away from Lily, closed his eyes, puckered up his lips and in the process scrunched up his whole face and leaned over and pressed his lips against Lily's, nearly missing and almost setting her off balance.
"Okay, okay!" said Lily as she stepped away from Peter when he didn't move. "That wasn't horrible, but we have some work to do."
"Okay," said Peter, looking like a lost puppy who had just been kicked.
"First of all, if you're going to kiss someone you can't stand a kilometer away," she instructed as she stepped toward him until they were only ten or so centimeters apart. "Next don't close your eyes so quickly; I know it's nerve-wracking but hold her gaze as long as you can. And thirdly, don't scrunch up your face… just don't. Now let's try this again."
And he tried again and again and again and again until Lily felt as if she had kissed Peter more often than James that day. And Lily gave him more and more and more and more instructions until she felt as if she had covered every single aspect of kissing there was. But she was a good, though somewhat impatient, teacher, and finally he had mastered the basics.
"Okay," she said as what she hoped was their final kiss ended. As his kissing became more and more like actual kissing, Lily felt guiltier and guiltier. "Excellent job. Beth will be very pleased I think."
"But Lily," said Peter as his momentary elation dissipated. "That wasn't even proper snogging."
"You want me to teach you how to kiss with tongue?!" she said aghast. "No way! That you have to figure out on your own!"
"Lily you saw how I started out! You had to coach me to even get this far; do you really think I can figure anything out on my own?" he asked her pleadingly.
"If you want me to teach you this then I'm telling James," stated Lily stubbornly.
"But Lily-"
"No buts. It's your choice. You can leave now and he'll never know or stay, I'll continue instructing you and I'm telling James when he gets home. There is just no way I can snog someone else and not tell him, no matter what the circumstances are," she said firmly.
"Fine. Teach me. Beth is worth the beating," he said pitifully.
"I hope you realize that you may not live to see tomorrow," said Lily seriously.
"Yeah, at my funeral just tell Beth what a good kisser I was…" he said jokingly.
"I would certainly tell her that you died for her," said Lily surprised that Peter was willing to go through with this when he was one of the four people who knew James best.
They were halfway through their snogging lesson when there was a knock at the door. Lily put her finger to her lips to shush Peter and unlocked and then answered the door.
"Hey Vicky," she said she as opened the door halfway. "What's up?"
"I have boy problems," said Vicky as she sighed dramatically. "I brought ice cream so that we could talk all about it!"
"Actually I'm going to have to take a rain check. I was taking advantage of the peace and quiet that only exists when Sirius and James are both out of the house and I'm doing some meditating. I'm days behind and I could really use some Lily time. But when I'm done I'll come find you and then we can gorge ourselves on ice cream and while we're at it I say that we add some whipped cream and toppings and make ourselves proper sundaes!" announced Lily.
"Okay, enjoy your meditation," said Vicky shrugging as she walked away.
Ten minutes later Peter was finally getting the hang of snogging- he had stopped slobbering and actually started moving his tongue around in a way that didn't make Lily gag.
"Lily! We're back!" called James as he entered his home.
"Lesson over!" Lily hissed at Peter as she broke off the kiss and pushed him away. "Make yourself scarce!"
"How?" Peter whispered back, a crazed expression on his face as he heard footsteps on the stairs. If he left Lily's room now James would ask questions and he would eventually crack because he always did…
"Aren't you an animagus?" asked Lily testily over the sounds of the shower coming from her bathroom.
"Oh yeah," said Peter nervously as he began quivering.
"Well then change!" called Lily as she moved out of Peter's vision and began rapidly stripping. "Then hide!"
"Ok, ok," Peter murmured to himself. Of all the times he had ever transformed this was one of the hardest because he was under the most pressure. There was no way James could know about what he had done that afternoon! He wouldn't live to see the sun set!
"Lily?" James asked as he knocked on the door.
Sweat dripped down Peter's human face.
The knob turned.
With a pop Peter was gone and scurried under the dresser.
The door opened.
James stepped in and could now hear the sounds of the shower. He was about to leave when he heard Lily turn the shower off. Grinning like the lovesick Marauder he was, he hopped onto Lily's bed to wait for her to get out of the shower.
"James!" gasped Lily in surprise as she, clad in nothing but a towel, stepped into her bedroom.
James smirked as he got off of his bed and walked over to her, unable to control himself for a moment longer. "Hello love," he said as he kissed her cheek and then left a trail of kisses down her neck and along her shoulder.
Lily closed her eyes and moaned lowly, but was very conscious of the fact that James had left the door open and they weren't even alone to begin with, so she kept a tight grip on her towel.
"Why so stiff?" he asked her playfully as he covered her hands with his own.
"Because you left the door open and anyone of your friends or family members could walk in at any moment," retorted Lily. "Like two days ago."
"That would ruin everything," agreed James as Sirius walked in.
Lily's face instantly turned red as Sirius cut himself off mid-sentence and began babbling as he hurriedly retraced his steps.
"Kind of like that," mumbled Lily as James groaned in disappointment and she retrieved some new clothes out of her bureau.
After Lily returned fully clothed, she lay down on her bed next to James and he put his arm around her waist. "Since the moment was already ruined, I think that now is a good time to tell you something."
"What?" asked James, his eyebrows raised in confusion.
"Well Peter needed me to do him a favor…"
His back to the door, Peter didn't see the fires of hell burning in James's eyes and so didn't move when his bedroom door opened.
"This is not good-" said Peter as he began to quiver upon seeing one of his best friends looking murderous. With a quiet pop, Peter disappeared and the rat that was left in his place scurried under his bed.
"Peter!" thundered James as he rushed toward his retreating friend, nearly knocking Lily, who was right at his heals, down.
James crouched down on one side of the bed and began shooting spells at the frightened rat to flush him out. And flush him out he did. Peter sprinted out via the side opposite of James and was darting to the door, getting singed by the volley of curses and hexes that only nearly missed him, when suddenly he was flying backwards through the air. Much to his relief he ended up in Lily's open palm instead of James's clenched fist. He was joined there by the wand of his fellow Marauder.
James skidded to a stop directly in front of Lily and began clamoring for both his wand and victim.
The shouting attracted Remus and Sirius.
"What's going on?" asked Sirius quizzically as he sauntered in.
"Peter kissed Lily!" James spluttered.
"Pettigrew?" asked Sirius doubtfully.
"Really?" asked Remus skeptically. "Are you sure you aren't drunk?"
"Yes I'm sure!" spat James. "Now Lily hand over the traitor and I'll deal with you later!"
"James Christopher Potter!" yelled Lily. "You will not be 'dealing' with me because you are not some abusive street thug and I am not handing over your best friend because you are not in your right mind right now. Now sit down and let Peter tell you his side of the story, seeing as you wouldn't let me finish. Sit down!" she ordered when James just stood dumbfounded in front of her. "You too Sirius and Remus and anyone who stands up before Peter is finished will answer to me."
The three Marauders who were currently human sat down on the floor obediently. Lily then placed Peter on safely on his bed, which caused James to narrow his eyes, but one glare from Lily warned him not to open his mouth. Lily then stood against the doorframe so that she could watch all four boys at once.
Peter clearly wanted to avoid sharing this particular saga with his friends, but he was left with no choice. As he told the whole story there was no laughter. Lily couldn't tell what she thought would have been worse: everyone laughing at Peter, or all of them staring at him stonily. As she watched the scene unfold she decided that the staring was worse because at least laughter would have been indicative that there were all still friends.
At the very end Lily was holding her breath because no one was moving. Then Sirius laughed. Remus joined in. James finally let it out. Peter blushed but looked relieved.
After a few minutes of solid laughter and comments that provoked more laughter, Sirius turned to Lily and said, "You are the only girl who has kissed all four Marauders."
"That can't be right," said James confused. "Have you really kissed all of us?"
Lily contemplated it for a moment, recalling the Marauder kissing instances and then tallied them up. She slowly nodded and said, "Yeah I have kissed all of you blokes."
James exchanged a sly glance with Sirius and then Sirius asked, "So who is the best kisser? We've always wondered but never had any real way of knowing."
"I protest!" exclaimed Remus. "Lily and I kissed during that crazy fake relationship we had at the beginning of seventh year and we only did it because Prongs was walking by. I say that that doesn't count and I get a re-do."
"Well then I get a re-do too!" stated Peter.
James turned to Sirius, "Would you like one too?"
Sirius pondered the thought for a moment and then with a grin said, "Nope. I am satisfied with my previous performance."
Lily blushed as she thought back to that particular night. That had been a good snog…
"Ha!" shouted Sirius. "She's blushing just thinking about it! I say that that automatically makes me the winner!"
James scoffed. "And you think that I haven't made her blush before?"
"She's a redhead- she blushes at everything!" protested Remus. "Therefore it cannot be counted as a measurement of skill."
"You do realize that you blokes are all bonkers don't you?" asked Lily. This was certainly ending up a much weirder day than she had anticipated.
"Lily," said Sirius seriously. "There are many competitions within our group based on things that are important to us. For example, height, weight lifting, lung capacity, tree climbing ability… etc."
"I win in height and lung capacity," Remus stated.
"I climb trees faster and go higher than anyone else and I can lift the most," Sirius offered up.
"Funny how you didn't mention any of the categories that I have won in," said James as he nudged Sirius.
"Or me," Peter added in.
"And what do you two win at," questioned Lily.
Judging from three of the Marauder's chuckles and obvious glances towards a particular part of James's anatomy and James's cocky grin, Lily could take a guess at his claim to fame.
"I also run the fastest, and am the best kisser," boasted James.
"That has yet to be proven!" yelled Sirius and Remus at the same time.
"My girlfriend is the judge, you might as well give up now!" proclaimed James.
"So you think that just because I'm dating you I won't be fair?" questioned Lily intently.
"Well… yes!" laughed James.
"Think again you prick!" said Lily heatedly. "Here's how we're going to do this: you each get one minute to kiss me and the best kiss wins. I will only be judging you on this one minute and this one minute only."
"Hey, we've got to have some sort of rules here," began James. "No touching boobs or butt and no kissing beneath her shoulders."
Slightly rethinking his game plan, Sirius nodded, taking it all in stride and then added, "But you have to follow your own rules; in this competition we're all equals."
"What?! I, unlike you blokes, have earned boob and butt privileges," protested James.
Lily rolled her eyes and addressing her lovely boyfriend saucily informed him that those same privileges had recently been revoked due to his overwhelming pratness. James found this incredibly unfair and rather disappointing. His friends found it hilarious and used their uproarious laughter to let him know.
"Oh great now he's in one of his surly moods," remarked Remus after the laughter had subsided. "There is no way that I can kiss his girlfriend when he's in this kind of mood; it infects everything. I just can't work under these conditions."
"Wait! Why would Prongs be in the room?" asked Peter horrified.
"There's no way that would work," stated Sirius. "We each get a minute alone with Lily."
"And there's no way that I'm going to allow that!" exclaimed James. "How would I be sure that you lads were behaving yourselves?"
"I'll be the judge of that and you will just have to trust me," said Lily silkily as she poked James in the chest with each word to emphasize her point.
"I don't like this," James said lowly to Lily.
"I was not the one who suggested this whole crazy competition-game-thingy," Lily informed him, looking him straight in the eye. "You either go through with this or you call it off."
Sensing the deeper challenge, James backed down saying, "I trust you love." Then he kissed her cheek softly and amid calls of foul play and cheating, James announced, "I call going last."
"Might as well get this over with; I'll go first," volunteered Peter.
"Ouch Peter! I'm hurt!" joked Lily.
Peter turned red, but didn't comment further.
Sirius turned to Remus and said, "After you sir."
"Absolutely," replied Remus just as politely. "I wouldn't want to go right before Prongs; one might become... forgotten or overshadowed."
"You know mate, I think Prongs has the same fears about going after me," Sirius stage-whispered to Remus.
James swiped Sirius as he led everyone but Peter and Lily from the room.
"Time starts now Wormtail!" called Remus through the closed door.
"Time for what?" asked Vicky as she entered the hall.
The Marauders exchanged glances; they still weren't sure how much they could trust this new girl. But Lily obviously trusted her and they trusted Lily…
Finally Sirius answered. "Kissing competition."
"And Lily is the judge," Vicky accurately guessed.
"Yup," answered Remus shortly.
"And Jealous McJealous-Pants over there is okay with his best friends all kissing his girlfriend?" she asked as she gestured to James.
"He's more okay with it when he's not reminded of it," said Sirius curtly and with much annoyance. "So if you don't have anything positive to say just move along."
Vicky stuttered for a moment at the harsh tone, but soon recovered both her tongue and her cool façade. She sauntered by the line of boys who were sitting against the wall outside of Lily's room and then paused at her own doorway. She turned on her heel and addressed the three young men.
"You've all thought about how the jealous boyfriend Potter might feel about this little game of yours, but did any of you spend a moment contemplating how Lily might feel about being passed from one friend to another like some inflatable plaything?"
Her words were no louder than the gentle thud of the door closing behind her, but they quickly pierced the Marauders' awareness.
"She doesn't feel that way does she?" asked Sirius in a voice only slightly louder than a whisper to avoid being overheard by either nearby female.
"Merlin," said Remus aghast. "I can't believe what I'm hearing; it sounded like Sirius Black actually cared about a girl's feelings."
"Lily's not a girl…" muttered Sirius.
"I can personally verify that Lily is, in fact, a girl," stated James jovially.
"I'm sure you can," laughed Remus. "Time's up Pettigrew! My turn!"
"Oh buck up Padfoot," said James as he nudged him after the Peter took Remus's place on the floor. "If she didn't want to do this then she wouldn't do it."
"And it's not like she hasn't kissed loads of blokes before," Peter chimed in. "No one is born that good at snogging, so she's obviously had loads of experience."
"Thank you for stating that twice Wormtail," said James dryly as he glared at his best mate.
Sirius suddenly burst out laughing.
James laughed just because Sirius was laughing.
Peter didn't get what was so funny so he laughed.
"What?" asked James.
"Two years ago you knew hardly anything about Lily. You had no idea that she had problems with her family, or was basically a serial dater, or that she was fairly well depressed. You had no idea what you were getting yourself into!" laughed Sirius. "Anyway lads, Lupin's time is up and it's my turn!"
"I don't regret getting involved," said James softly as he stared at his knees after Remus had replaced Sirius.
"Did you ever think you'd get this far?" Peter asked him.
James shook his head slightly and said, "I never imagined I'd fall this hard for her. Sure I fancied her, but I never never thought… no at the beginning I had no idea that she even fancied me back, never mind would end up living here with me."
"It's funny how life works out sometimes," mused Remus.
"So Wormtail, so this Beth girl, the one you nearly sacrificed your life for, she's coming to the ball tomorrow night?" asked James.
"Yeah," said Peter nervously.
"Good," James grinned deviously. "Can't wait to meet her and welcome her to the family."
"He'll play nice I promise Peter," said Lily from the doorway to her room.
"Padfoot, you still have five seconds left," stated Remus quizzically.
"Didn't need it," he said cockily as he sat down again.
After James had followed Lily into her bedroom, Remus asked his friends, "So really do we have any shot of actually winning this?"
"Probably not," answered Peter as Sirius said, "I don't know about you two, but I definitely do."
"You can't possibly think that Lily would pick you over her boyfriend," said Remus skeptically.
"She'll pick the best kisser and I believe that I am him," said Sirius confidently.
Remus looked Sirius over for a minute and the dismissively stated. "Not possible. Your nose is too big."
"What?" shouted Sirius in shock.
Peter, eager to upset the cocky young man next to him, took a long look at Sirius's face and then nodded. "Moony is right; with a nose that big there's no way you could be the best kisser."
"Hordes of women swoon at the sight of this face, nose included!" boasted Sirius defensively.
"When was the last time you even saw a 'horde of women'?" Remus asked him.
"Yesterday."
"Lily and Vicky do not constitute a 'horde,'" Remus informed him.
"Yeah but Alice, Marlene, Lily and Vicky do," Sirius shot back.
"I think a horde is at least eight people," said Peter.
"And even if they were a horde, they certainly didn't swoon at the sight of you," Remus added. "Time's up Prongs!"
"Lily, is my nose too big?" Sirius asked the blushing redhead as she walked into the hallway.
Lily scrutinized his face for a minute and then said, "Not really, I guess it suits your face…"
"What does that mean?!" asked the frustrated narcissist.
"Ignore him," suggested Remus. "So who is the winner?"
"She can't decide," said James testily as he relaxed against the doorframe.
"You're all very different and it comes down to a matter of opinion. Therefore I'm going to get some advice from a few more girls and we'll reach a consensus," explained Lily as she walked to Vicky's door and knocked on it.
"Come on I need you," said Lily as she grabbed her friend.
"Okay," she said as she allowed herself to be pulled out of her room and down the hallway.
Twenty minutes later four teenaged girls were gathered in one of the McKinnon's parlors. Three were confused, one was pacing.
"So what is this all about?" asked Marlene finally.
"I've snogged all of the Marauders," Lily blurted out as she faced her friends.
"Even Peter?" asked Marlene as she scrunched up her face in disgust. "Ewww."
"It was one of their bloody stupid competitions," spat Lily.
"Like who can get the most detentions in one day, or whose file in Filch's office is thickest," Alice explained to Vicky.
"Actually around fifth year Filch actually had to add more folders and so the contest extended to number as well as combined thickness," corrected Marlene.
"They also have dumber ones like who can hold their breath the longest," Lily told them.
"Back to today's contest," said Vicky. "Who was the best kisser?"
"That's the problem- I don't know!" cried Lily as she sank into an armchair dramatically.
"Isn't it James?" asked Alice confusedly.
"Well I enjoyed snogging him the most because I'm in love with him, but technically speaking all four were good."
"Even Peter?" repeated Marlene.
"He wasn't bad," Lily amended.
"So what do you want from us?" asked Vicky.
"Well I want to take a vote. I'll give you guys the details and you tell me which kiss you think is the best," explained Lily.
"This sounds juicy," gasped Marlene excitedly. "Spill!"
"So Peter was obviously nervous, but under the circumstances it was understandable. He stood as far away from me as possible and didn't touch me at all really. The kiss itself was short but sweet, and he actually lingered there for a minute afterwards. It was sweet- you know he opened his eyes and just looked at me for a minute… then he blushed and stuttered and stepped back.
"Remus was really good. I think people don't think of him like that because James and Sirius are so much more well known for being ladies' men, but he definitely knows what he's doing. He immediately took charge of the situation; actually surprised me, like I actually gasped. He put one arm around my waist and pulled me against him and then intertwined the fingers of his other hand in my hair. That kiss was very long, long and slow and gentle, very much Remus.
"James was, well James seemed off his game, like he was trying too hard. He was… rough with me, and he usually isn't. It was like he was trying to prove a point. He was actually the only one who kissed me with tongue. He moved fast; he grabbed me and crashed his lips against mine and as I was gasping because I was taken aback he… well he put his tongue in my mouth.
"Sirius is truly a master," she sighed as Marlene nodded in agreement. "Like Remus he put one around around my waist, but he dipped me. And then he said, 'I love you Lils,' and kissed my cheek. Then he smiled at me and set me back on my feet."
"Sirius loves you?" gaped Marlene. "What's really going on between you?"
Lily scrunched up in forehead in confusion. "Sirius and I tell each other that we love each other all the time. It's no big deal."
"It is a big deal," said Marlene breathily. "We went out for months and he never said anything close to that to me."
Lily laughed. "We're not in love with each other, we just love each other as like… brother and sister."
"It's still amazing that the two of you can admit that to each other," said Marlene snippily. "You're both so emotionally crippled it's pathetic."
"I think Sirius or Remus win," said Vicky quietly. "From the way you described them they were best."
"My vote is for Sirius; he was very sweet, and considerate of your feelings and your relationship, both with him and with James," said Alice.
"I vote for Remus," stated Marlene harshly. "He acted like a man; he took charge and he kissed you, but he wasn't a creeper or anything. He was sensitive and gentle, but confident and comfortable at the same time. You made him sound so good, I might go and snog him myself!"
"Regardless," began Vicky. "You have to say Potter wins; he's your boyfriend."
"She's right," sighed Alice. "He's way too competitive to take losing sitting down."
"And he's way too jealous to have agreed to this unless he expected to win," commented Marlene.
"But I can't lie, he wasn't the best," said Lily. "I think Alice is right- Sirius was best. He was so sweet that I actually got butterflies, and he made me giggle like those third year girls that used to follow the Marauders around."
"Now the only question is how to break it to Potter," Vicky accurately pinpointed. "I would suggest a hit and run scenario."
"What if you told each of them that they won?" asked Alice hopefully.
"That ruse wouldn't last long," said Marlene absently. "There is no way the winner wouldn't brag about it."
"I'll just do it by vote," said Lily hopefully.
"You and Alice vote for Sirius, Marlene votes for Remus, and I vote for James," said Vicky sadly. "Sirius wins."
"Unless I vote for Peter," joked Lily.
"You could disqualify Sirius for not properly kissing you," suggested Marlene.
"It's just a silly contest; it doesn't really matter. What really matters is your relationship with James which will suffer if you pick anyone else," said Vicky bluntly. "And none of them honestly believe you'd pick anyone else anyway."
"Announce that James won and then just secretly tell Sirius that he won. He would be able to not tell anyone if you asked him not to. He would understand," said Alice.
Lily smiled in relief. "That's perfect Alice!"
Alice beamed happily.
Lily and Vicky returned to Potter Manor where Lily made her announcement. The news was met by half-hearted groans and laughter from three Marauders and a cry of victory followed by a victory snog from the fourth.
Later Sirius was informed and sworn to secrecy. He understood perfectly and was glad that Lily told him the truth.
A/N. Hope you enjoyed it! Some questions for you my lovely reviewers:
There were a lot of funny and sweet lines in this chapter. Do you have a favorite?
Which Marauder would you have voted for in the kissing contest?
I know that a lot of people are on the fence about Vicky, how do you feel about her after this chapter?
What do you think about Peter's request for kissing lessons? Lily's agreement? James's reaction?
What do you think about Peter having a girlfriend?
Next chapter is the Christmas Eve Ball. Any predictions? Hopes? Fears?
Thank you all in advance!
-AAA