"Lily!" Dorcas bursts through the girls' dormitory entrance, her face red from exertion and excitement. "Lily, where are you?"
"I'm here," Lily pipes up morosely from her bed, slamming her book shut with gusto. Dorcas halts at the foot of her bed and frowns, her eyebrows furrowing with concern.
"Lils, you okay?" she inquires. "Did Potter—"
"Don't ever say his name again," she snarls fiercely and spitefully, throwing her book on the bed with vehement force and taking Dorcas aback. "I want nothing to do with that ill-bred, pompous prat ever again!"
"Crikey, Lil, I'm sorry, I didn't know," Dorcas apologizes. "But don't say that about his parents. I've met them. They're actually quite nice. And scoot over, I want to sit."
Lily sighs, moving over to the other side of the bed and Dorcas plops down. "Fair enough. They don't deserve to be associated with someone like him."
They sit in companionable silence until Dorcas, still brimming with eagerness, blurts out, "If it helps cheer you up, we're playing Seven Minutes in Heaven in the Room of Requirement."
Lily turns her piercing emerald gaze to Dorcas, her eyes kindling with interest. "Will he be there?"
Dorcas looks at her lap. "I dunno, Lil, there's not a lot that goes around here without them knowing. There's a good chance."
Lily contemplates for a few moments, studying her hands. "I suppose I'll come," she finally decides. "I mean, I can't avoid him for the rest of my life. As long as I'm friends with the rest of his group, we're going to see each other. So might as well. As long as he doesn't talk to me, I'll be fine."
Dorcas smiles. "Good for you. But what if you have to snog him? What'll you do then?"
"I would rather kiss the Giant Squid than go within a ten meter radius of him," she retorts, a faint smile crossing her lips. "I also hear that the grindylows in the Black Lake are rather hungry."
Dorcas laughs. "Well, I certainly know where you stand on that matter," she quips. "Now let's go. There's a certain pair of lips belonging to a certain hottie that have my name written all over them."
"You mean Remus's?"
"Of course. Who else would I be referring to?"
"...I don't even want to answer that."
"Shit, he's here," Lily whispers in Dorcas's ear as they enter the Room of Requirement. Sure enough, James Potter is there, conversing with Black. Lily straightens and purses her lips.
"Dorcas, if you've ever loved me, even a little bit, please be my impulse control," she stresses, her eyes containing a steely glint as she glares witheringly at Potter, not an ounce of mercy for him residing in her body. If looks could kill, he would've been a medical marvel.
"You know I've got your back," Dorcas replies. She doesn't know the situation, but she trusts Lily unquestioningly. Their loyalty to each other knows no boundaries.
Potter's eyes catch Lily's and he stands up and starts making his way towards her, Black and Remus flanking him. "Lily—"
"Don't ever call me that again," she halts him in his tracks. "From now on, it's Evans to you. But don't bother using it, because I'm never speaking to you again. Life is tough enough as it is. I don't need you making it worse."
Black whistles and Remus elbows him to be silent. Lily doesn't acknowledge them apart from giving them cool glances.
"Lil—Evans," Potter tries, but Dorcas steps in front of her.
"Don't," she says, a hidden threat masked by a icy tone.
"You don't know what you're getting into, Meadowes," Potter retorts, eyes flashing. "This is between me and her."
"I know," she says quietly, "but if you really love her, you will respect her wishes. If you don't, so help me Merlin, I will snap more than just your spectacles. Lily is my friend. And friends have each other's backs."
Potter looks defiant, but Lily looks proud. Neither Black or Remus protest, instead urging him away.
"Merlin, Dorcas, you handed him his ass on a platter," Lily praises her, looking impressed. "Remind me never to piss you off."
"I could say the same to you," Dorcas sends her a quick, cocky smile. "But I meant it. If he harasses you again, I will follow through on that promise."
"I know you will." Lily smiles.
There are a lot of them gathered in that room, but thankfully, the Room of Requirement has limitless space. It's mostly people from every house excluding Slytherin, unsurprisingly.
Dorcas finds herself wedged between Lily and a hulking Ravenclaw whose name she doesn't know. She scoots closer to Lily.
"All right, people, pipe down." It's Black who's in the center, directing the game. "I assume most of you are familiar with the rules of Seven Minutes in Heaven?"
There are several nods and muttered agreements.
"Good." Black surveys the group. "So I won't have to go through the boring procedure of reading the rules and all that shit. It's a shame though, you won't get to hear the sound of my sultry baritone." He smirks and Dorcas shoves back an insult.
"Just get on with it, Black," someone calls.
Black scowls. "Fine, fine." He summons an empty bottle. "We'll take turns spinning this. If you land on someone you like, good for you. If you land on someone who you hate," here, his eyes shift between Lily and James, "too bad. You have to snog them anyway. Lucky for me, I won't have that problem." He smirks again crookedly and Dorcas, once again, stifles the desire to kick his ass to Jupiter. But then again, she wouldn't be caught thinking about his ass.
"There's also a timer in each closet. When you close the door, it will activate. There are four closets, so four couples at a time. Everyone clear?" When there are no protests, he clears his throat. "As the initiator of this game, I will go first."
He spins the bottle and Dorcas holds her breath. It spins, spins, and spins, until it finally comes to a stop.
And it's pointing to the girl next to Remus, who smiles and flutters her eyelashes. Black grins and drags her into a closet which is conveniently behind him.
An awkward silence falls upon the circle. "What do we do while we wait?" asks a blonde-haired girl with a maroon shirt, who Dorcas is pretty sure named Flora.
"We keep playing," Remus speaks up. "We'll go around the circle."
"Of course, Black would forget something important like that in his desperation to snog some unsuspecting bimbo," Dorcas comments snidely to Lily, unable to hold back the barb. Lily chuckles.
It's Potter's turn, and he doesn't even look at Lily as he spins the bottle. It lands on the pretty Hufflepuff on Lily's left. Together, she and Potter disappear into the second closet.
Remus is next. He doesn't bother to touch the bottle, but instead charms it to spin on its own. Dorcas swells with pride; of course, it'd be him who'd do something like that. He's so smart.
And cute.
And sexy.
"Stop!" she commands herself firmly.
The bottle is slowing. She holds her breath. It's headed in her direction. Her anticipation is building.
And then, it stops. On her. Her heart soars euphorically.
Remus smiles that utterly gorgeous smile of his, his gold eyes warm, and beckons her. "Shall we?"
He's such a gentleman, Dorcas thinks dreamily.
Dorcas goes into the third closet with Remus, looking very smitten, and Lily is happy for her friend. It's nice to see some commitment is being made around here...unlike someone else she could mention, but she would rather not say his name.
The brunette girl who had been next to Remus had not emerged yet, so it is the unusually large Ravenclaw's turn. He hesitantly spins in it and Lily silently prays.
It lands on Marlene, one of Lily's bubbly roommates. She is a nice girl, but even she looks slightly discontented. Sympathy flows through Lily like a river as she goes into the fourth closet, just as Black and the brunette exit the first one. Sirius is grinning from ear to ear and has bright red lipstick stains decorating his cheeks. The girl is hastily adjusting her shirt and blushing furiously.
Dorcas is still—ahem—occupied, so now it's Lily's turn. She thanks Merlin that he is not there and spins, watching the bottle go round and round with unbridled intensity.
And then, it stops.
She follows the neck of the bottle up to her snogee—and she finds Frank Longbottom, looking sheepish.
It's a relief for her. Frank is one of the more decent boys in her year, much less flamboyant than Black or him, and a much better prospect in the boyfriend department. He's cute, in a boyish way, and lest Lily admit it, she fancies him a little. Just a little.
She stands. As much she likes Frank, she's not exactly that pumped to snog him. She does manage to force a smile to her face, and Frank smiles back warmly, albeit nervously.
"So, er—" she starts awkwardly, and Frank jumps in.
"We don't have to do this," he offers, opening the door. "If you're not comfortable, or—"
Frank is such a sweetheart, Lily thinks, bless his heart. "No, no, it's okay. I don't mind." And then, to lighten the mood a bit, "Knowing Black, he's probably planted some spying device in there."
Frank chuckles faintly. She goes into the closet and Frank follows her.
"Are you ready?" she says, her hand on the doorknob.
He nods, swallowing.
Their lips crash onto each others as the door closes, but Lily doesn't really notice or care—she's too invested in kissing Frank.
And Frank—holy mother of Merlin, he's a fantastic snogger. She loses herself immediately in him, her hands delving into his hair and her body melding against his.
His hands are wrapped around her bucking hips, pulling her into him, and his lips are intoxicating. He tastes of honey and curling up by the fire and roasting marshmallows over a flame.
It isn't long before her hands are scrambling to unbutton his shirt—hers is already lost somewhere—and she's simultaneously falling apart and being sewn back together in the safety of his arms.
It seems all too short. The timer goes off before they know it and they break apart, flustered and panting. Lily's face is burning, and she's searching for her shirt. Frank's rapidly buttoning up his shirt again and then he helps find hers.
I could snog him again for that, she thinks giddily.
She thinks that nothing can beat the ecstacy pulsing through her, her heart jumping in her chest, but a close second arrives when she pushes the door open and sees his horrified face.
Just to spite him further (and because Frank's hands are so wonderfully soft), she intertwines her fingers with her new boyfriend. Dorcas gives her a thumbs-up (she herself looks rosy and Remus looks suspiciously love-struck).
She has been never more happy in her entire life.
WC: 1853
Written for:
Hogwarts Funfair
Northern - Kissing Booth (M) - FrankLily
Southern- Henna Tattoo Booth - (word) Mercy; (color) maroon; (dialogue) "Life is tough enough as it is. I don't need you making it worse."
Eastern - Ferris Wheel - (color) gold
Others
Seasonal Challenges: Days - Moon Day; Colors - Gold; Flowers - Foxglove; Gryffindor - (color) gold;
Insane House - 847. (song) Breathless - The Corrs
Writing Club - Lo's Lowdown: "Remind me to never piss you off."