Chapter 39 Irrational Worry

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, etc.

A/N: Please read and review. And I'm sorry in advance that this is not the chapter you were hoping for. It's coming I promise. I'm also not sure where this chapter came from. It is not the one I set out to write. However, I am quite happy with it. But oh well, I hope you enjoy it just the same. I had fun writing it.

Lily awoke on Thursday feeling slightly anxious but unsure as to why. She got ready for her day and headed down to the Common Room with Katie and Marlene. As they entered the Common Room Lily spotted James waiting with Remus, who looked rather pale and tired.

Suddenly, she realized the reason for her anxious feelings. Tonight was the full moon. Tonight was the night that James and his friends transformed into animals and hung out with a werewolf. Even though the rational part of her knew that they had been doing this for years and James would be perfectly fine she couldn't help her feelings of anxiety. What if something went wrong? What if James got hurt? She knew that Remus would never intentionally hurt any of his friends but he was not himself when he was in werewolf form. What if something went wrong?

"Lily, are you alright? You look a bit pale?" James asked, sounding slightly concerned.

Lily blinked. She was being ridiculous.

"I'm fine," she said. "Good morning."

She stood up on her tip toes to reach up and kiss James good morning, lingering longer than she normally might have in front of all their friends.

James was grinning flirtatiously as she pulled away.

"Well, good morning to you, too," James said.

Lily couldn't help but grin back.

Lily laced her fingers through James' as they walked down to breakfast, pulling herself closer to him.

"What has gotten into you today?" he whispered quietly into her ear, his voice slightly deeper than normal.

"What I can't be happy to see you?" she asked, smiling flirtatiously back at him and giving him a quick kiss on the lips.

James raised an eyebrow. While Lily certainly wasn't a prude she wasn't usually so affectionate in the corridors either. Not that James was complaining.

They reached the Great Hall and found seats at the Gryffindor table. Lily served herself some porridge and a cup of tea. James, unconsciously, placed his left hand on her knee and began drawing little circles there with his thumb. Normally, Lily would have swatted him away, they were in the Great Hall after all. But for some reason this morning her only reaction was to reach across her lap with her left hand and rest it on top of his.

A small smile spread across James face and he reached up with his thumb to rub her hand affectionately before returning to rubbing his thumb over her knee. Lily saw Marlene and Katie, who were sitting across from her and James exchange a look and then both girls looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Lily just smiled and shrugged slightly before turning most of her attention to her breakfast.

They left the Great Hall and headed for Transfiguration. Suddenly, James veered off course pulling Lily behind a tapestry on the wall. They came out in a deserted corridor and James quickly pulled her into a small broom closet.

"James," Lily said in an admonishing tone.

"Seriously, what's up with you today, love?" James asked in a more serious tone than Lily was expecting, having just been pulled into a broom closet by her boyfriend. "It's not that I'm complaining, a bloke enjoys a little public display of affection every now and then, but it's not like you."

"I…it's stupid," Lily said looking down at the floor.

"Lily," James said gently placing a hand on her chin and lifting her eyes back to his.

"I'm worried about you," she said with a sigh. She took out her want and pointed at the door casting the Muffliato spell she had learned from Severus.

"I know it's ridiculous. I know that you've been doing, what you are going to be doing later, for years, but I can't help it," she explained quickly.

James placed both his hands on either side of her face gently.

"I'll be fine. We know what we're doing. We're always careful. Moony is our friend but none of us fancy joining him in the fury little problem club," James said soothingly caressing her cheek with his thumb.

"I know," Lily said. "And I'm sure I'll get used to it, I just worry."

Merlin, he loved this girl. He entertained the idea of telling her right then but dismissed it almost as quickly. He did not want to tell her he loved her while they were hiding in a broom closet. Instead he leaned down and kissed her. After a moment she pulled away.

"James, we don't have time for snogging right now. We have Transfiguration in, what, five minutes," Lily said.

"Oh, come now, the risk always makes it a little more fun," James said grinning and leaning in to kiss her again this time running his tongue across her lips.

"James," Lily complained half-heartedly before wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him back.

James wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her closer to him.

After what only felt like a few moments Lily pulled away.

"James, we really have to go. We are going to be late. You know how Professor McGonagall feels about tardiness," Lily said her breathing slightly heavy.

James sighed, "Alright, love, you win. Even though we still have plenty of time, see," he held out his watch.

"Crap, no we don't we're already late," Lily exclaimed looking at his watch.

James glanced down and realized that she was right. Class had been going on for five minutes already. McGonagall was going to skin them alive.

They left the broom closet and set off quickly for Transfiguration. It was a good five minutes from their currently location but James new a couple of shortcuts. They reached the door to the class in three minutes.

James glanced at Lily.

"Wait!" he hissed quietly.

"What, James?" Lily asked. They were already going to be in trouble as it was.

James reached out and started playing with her hair.

"What are you doing?" Lily hissed.

"Well, if you want to go into class, looking like you're late because you were snogging in a broom closet be my guest," James said cheekily.

"Oh," Lily said, flushing slightly.

James stopped.

"Better?" Lily asked.

"Than it was," James replied.

"This is all your fault," Lily said poking James in the chest.

But James just grinned and opened door slowly. Lily followed him in running her hand through her own hair and pushing it back hoping to hide any dishevelment that James had not managed to correct a moment ago. Now that she was standing behind him she noticed that his hair was messier than it was naturally as well but this was not entirely out of the ordinary.

James and Lily made their way quietly to their seats.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Evans, class started ten minutes ago," Professor McGonagall said in her most admonishing tone.

"Sorry, Professor," they both mumbled quietly, looking guilty.

"Since you are Head Boy and Head Girl I think we will make it twenty points…"

"Twenty?" James asked sounding slightly shocked.

"Each," McGonagall continued as though James hadn't spoken her mouth very thin. "You can socialize on your own time, not mine," she added.

"Yes, Professor," they both responded.

Lily could feel her face flushing and glanced over at James to find that his face too was a rather spectacular shade of red. James gave her a look that was clearly an apology. Lily pulled out her Transfiguration book and her notes.

As they were getting ready to leave Professor McGonagall approached them.

"Professor," James began but McGonagall cut him off with a look.

"Don't let it happen again," she said.

"Sorry," they both said looking guilty.

Professor McGonagall gave James a significant look. "Don't be stupid," she said and walked away.

James blinked and felt a flush start at his neck and crawl all the way up to his face.

"Did she just?" Lily asked her face burning.

"I think she did," James said hoarsely. "Let's never be late to Transfiguration again, ever. You were right."

"Forty points," Lily added.

James groaned. They quickly gathered up their things and headed out of the room.

They exited the class and hadn't made it ten steps down the corridor when Sirius threw his arm around James positively howling with laughter.

"Oh, sod off, Padfoot," James grumbled irritably.

Lily leaned around from James' other side and glared at him.

"Oh, come on guys," Katie, who was standing next to Sirius, said. "That was the most hilarious thing that has ever happened in Transfiguration."

"Well, except for the part where Gryffindor lost forty points," Marlene added. "You'd better earn them all back in the Quidditch match next weekend."

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that," James said running his hand through his hair.

"We've got Potions next," Lily said. "I'm sure I can sweet talk a few points out of Slughorn."

Lily was sitting with James, Sirius, and Peter in the Common Room after dinner. Remus had left earlier and the other three Marauders were waiting for the coast to be clear before heading down to the Shrieking Shack to join him. Peter had the map half hidden in his lap watching for Madame Pomfrey's return. James was lying with his head in Lily's lap and his eyes closed while she absentmindedly played with his hair.

"Alright," Peter whispered suddenly. "Madame Pomfrey just reappeared. We should start heading down in a minute."

James sat up and looked at Lily. Lily smiled but James could tell by her eyes that the whole thing still had her worried. He sat up on the couch so that he was facing her and placed his forehead against hers.

"We'll be fine, love," he whispered kissing her gently.

"I know," she whispered back. "I know you've done it before. But I didn't know about it then."

James smiled reassuringly. "We're very careful. Remus would never forgive himself if something happened."

"I hadn't even thought of that," Lily said quietly.

"Don't worry, love," James said. "We know what we're doing. Plus, the risk makes it more fun."

"Isn't that what you told me earlier?" Lily asked raising an eyebrow at him.

"Well, yes," James said. "But you can't deny that was fun."

"We lost forty, points," Lily said. "That's four – zero."

"I'll win them all back at Quidditch," James grinned cheekily.

"Just be careful. I…don't want anything to happen to you," Lily said.

Crap, she had almost just said it. This was becoming more serious. But if James had noticed anything he kept it to himself.

"I'll see you in the morning," James said kissing her gently again.

Lily grabbed his collar gently as he pulled away and pulled him back. James responded by placing one hand on her head and tangling it in her hair.

"Oi, Prongs," Sirius hissed in his ear.

Reluctantly, James broke the kiss.

"Come on, we need to get going," Sirius said quietly.

"I'll see you in the morning," James said to Lily giving her one last quick kiss on the temple.

"See you in the morning," Lily said.

Moments after the boys left Lily was joined by Katie and Marlene.

"Where are they off to?" Marlene asked. "It's almost curfew."

Lily shrugged. "No idea. Marauder business they said."

"I thought you were one of them now?" Katie asked.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I always want to know what they're up to," Lily replied. "Sometimes, ignorance is bliss."

The other two girls laughed.

"So," Katie began with a look of feigned innocence in her eye. "Why were you and James so late to Transfiguration today?"

"Yeah, I swear your hair was perfect when you left breakfast this morning. Not that it was a mess when you arrived in class but it definitely wasn't as neat as when you left the Great Hall. And James' hair was definitely messier than normal. Not that he doesn't often mess it up himself but…"

Lily flushed slightly. "We lost track of time," Lily said.

Katie and Marlene laughed.

"You left before us," Katie said accusingly.

"You had all your things and you said you'd see us when we got there," Marlene added.

"Yeah, well, we may have gotten a little side tracked," Lily said unable to suppress a smile.

"And McGonagall," Katie laughed. "'Socialize on your own time.' I didn't think she had a sense of humor."

"You don't know the half of it," Lily said her face flushing.

"What did she say to you two at the end of class?" Marlene asked.

Lily flushed a brighter shade of red and laughed.

"First, she told us never to let it happen again," Lily said.

"And then?" Katie asked.

"Lily, you are so red," Marlene said.

Lily laughed again. "And then she gave James this look, kind of like the one she gives when you're on the verge of getting in trouble in class, and said, 'Don't be stupid.' And then she walked away."

"What?! Katie exclaimed.

"I think I might have died on the spot," Marlene said. "Though from laughter or embarrassment I'm not sure."

"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up," Lily said laughing.

"Have you?" Katie suddenly asked curiously.

"No," Lily said.

"But you've thought about it," she said.

"Maybe," Lily flushed slightly.

"Would you?" Marlene asked.

"No," Lily said still blushing. "I don't think we're ready to take that step."

"But the snogging is still good," Katie said with a raised eyebrow.

Lily laughed, "I let him convince me that we could have a quick snog and not be late for Transfiguration, with McGonagall, what does that tell you?"

The three girls burst out laughing.