Just an FYI there is a section of this chapter that is from Padfoot's point of view, so Sirius but in his animagus form. It's low-key a little confusing but I think it'll be fine. I wanted to try something different but if you guys absolutely hate it, let me know.
Both James and Lily gave a heavy sigh of relief the moment they stepped through the heavy wooden door of The Three Broomsticks and into the heavenly heat. They exchanged looks, laughing softly at their state of soggy, frozen disheveledness, and raised their wands in unison to dry each other off with a quick charm.
It was much louder here than in the Hog's Head; an excited buzz of laughter and chatter from their fellow students filled the air. Even with the dull roar of countless conversations around the dining area, Rosemerta never missed the sound of someone entering her Pub and she beamed happily across the bar at them.
"Well, hello there, Mr. Potter! Miss Evans! Come in, come in, you'll let all the heat out!"
James pulled the door closed tightly behind them, shrugging off his heavy coat and holding his hand out to take Lily's as well as they approached the bar.
"Shall I get you the usual booth, then James? I reckon Sirius, Remus, and Peter will be coming along shortly. Mary, Marlene, and Dorcas as well?" The barmaid nodded to the large booth in the corner that the boys normally occupied, tucked away and private so they could plot without being overheard.
Lily and James both shook their head, smiling and blushing a bit.
"Er, no, actually."
"It's just us, you see."
"It's…"
They both stumbled over their words, finding it quite strange to admit out loud to anyone else that this was, in fact, an official date. Rosemerta's welcoming smile widened into a grin and her eyes lit up.
"Ooooh," she sang, exaggerating the word and giving James a look that made him wish his animagus form was a tortoise so he could disappear into a shell. He was finally starting to regret having been so vocal about his feelings for Lily all these years. "A date then, is it?" Rosemerta teased, knowing very well how much she was embarrassing the young couple. James was sure he deserved it for all the times he and Sirius had gotten rowdy or caused trouble in the pub.
Well deserved or not, James thought, two could play that game.
He grinned. "I'm afraid so, Rosie dear. Alas, it seems our illicit affair must finally come to an end." He winked at her and she rolled her eyes, still smiling fondly. "Do try not to lose too much sleep over it. There are plenty of fish in the sea."
Rosemerta laughed and shook her head. "It'll be tough, but I reckon I'll manage, Mr. Potter." She set down the mug she had been cleaning with a rag and pulled her wand from where it had been holding her tangled, dark curls up in a knot at the top of her head. She flicked it towards a smaller booth by the fire and two place settings appeared. "You two go and have a seat. I'll be right along in a moment."
They settled across from each other in the booth, both grimacing slightly at the candle Rosemerta had jokingly added to create a more romantic setting and further humiliate James.
It was then, sitting face to face in a cozy booth in a warm, familiar pub that they both found themselves suddenly riddled with nerves. They fidgeted, James fiddling with the corner of the list of the day's specials and Lily absently fidgeting her fingers, avoiding eye contact as they searched their brains for what to say. What did one talk about on a date, anyway? With no spontaneous ice skating rink or dodgy bar owner with too many goats to distract them, they were at a loss.
Rosemerta came and went with their drink orders and still they remained silent.
"So…" They both started awkwardly, trailing off into equally uncomfortable laughs.
Lily cleared her throat before smirking and lifting an expectant eyebrow at him. "Nothing in that epic dating journal about good conversation topics, Potter?"
James snorted, chuckling and shaking his head. "Honestly, even my fantasy dates never lasted long enough to actually have a conversation with you that didn't end with you casting an itching hex on my underwear."
Lily hissed, biting her lip and looking apologetic. "I did do that to you once, didn't I?"
James laughed sharply. "Once? It was your specialty in fourth year!" He leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest and fixing her with an accusing stare. "You have quite a malicious streak, Evans. And brilliant aim, might I add. Got me clear across a crowded corridor once. You have no idea how embarrassing it is to have to go to Madam Pomfrey for that!"
Lily gasped, eyes widening both in surprise and amusement. "You had to ask Pomfrey for help-"
"Nah," James smirked and waved her off with one hand. "Sirius had owed me for some humiliating stints he had gotten himself into… Although, looking back it wasn't all that smart to trust a fourteen-year-old pointing his wand at me when he can barely say the incantation without bursting into laughter. He could have caused some real damage."
"Hmmm," Lily nodded, adopting a very serious expression. "I suppose that must be what happened… you know, all those rumors one hears. At least, I thought they were rumors-"
James frowned. "Rumors about what?" He asked, affronted.
Lily grinned. "That your manhood is the size of a doxy's arm."
James' jaw dropped and he stared across the table at her. "Who the bloody hell-!"
Lily was almost cackling. "Merlin, Potter. I'm joking!"
James deflated, letting out a gust of breath and sinking down in his seat. He narrowed his eyes at her but smiled. "See? Malicious, Miss Evans."
Rosemerta was back, placing mugs of warm butterbeer overflowing with foam in front of them and they took the opportunity to drink heavily from them, buying some spare seconds to think of what to say next.
James wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "So… I suppose we're supposed to get to know each other better, right?"
Lily's brow furrowed. "We've known each other for nearly seven years."
"Right," James conceded, wryly. "You knew me as some spoiled pain in the arse git you couldn't get rid of and I knew you as a stubborn, prissy, unobtainable girl with a wicked knack for hexing my pants."
Lily shrugged. "Well, I'm still stubborn and prissy," she said pointedly. "And my knowledge and talent for hexes has probably increased."
The corner of James' lip twitched up a bit. "You're not as prissy as I thought you were."
"Nor as unobtainable, it would seem," Lily noted with a hint of a smile.
James snickered, taking another sip of butterbeer. "The night's not over yet, Evans. I'm still a spoiled pain the arse git. I could still royally screw this up."
"You won't," Lily laughed, plucking her wand out of her pocket and twirling it between her fingers with a mock-threatening expression. "Not if you don't want another itching charm on your underwear, Potter."
The awkwardness began to fade and they found themselves falling into a comfortable conversation, beginning with the mutual topics of classwork, their Head Boy and Girl duties, and their quickly approaching N.E.W.T.s.
"Mad, isn't it?" Lily commented in awe, running her finger around the rim of her mug and collecting some leftover foam there. "That we're already preparing for N.E.W.T.s and after that… it'll all practically be over, won't it? School, I mean." She shuddered. "It's strange. I can't imagine leaving here and not coming back after the summer, you know? I hate to admit it, everyone thinks I'm so bright and I've got my future all figured out but I have no idea where I'm going to go after graduation…"
James' mouth turned down thoughtfully. "Can't you go home? There's no shame in that while you figure out the next step."
"Hogwarts is my home," Lily said firmly, her eyes meeting James' and holding his gaze for a moment before she softened with a sigh. "I love my mum and dad. I just can't see myself going back to live in the muggle world after this… I won't fit in anymore. I don't belong there… Petunia was right all along."
"Your sister?"
Lily nodded sorrowfully. "We were close once," she recalled slowly, as if she wasn't sure the memory was real anymore or if she had made it up at some point in her life, desperate to have had some sort of connection with her sister. "And then things started to happen to me; wonderful, extraordinary things that no one could explain-"
James bit his lip, reaching out to gently touch Lily's hand. He remembered what Sirius had said about Lily's sister and her understanding of Regulus. "We don't have to talk about it if-"
"No," Lily interrupted. "I want to." She glanced down at their joint hands on the table, and for a moment James thought she was going to pull away, but she didn't. Instead, she laced their fingers together. "When I was seven years old, a big storm hit and my mother's garden was destroyed. My mother was a bit obsessed with her gardening, you see. I'm sure that's no surprise… she did name us after flowers. Petunia and I felt awful and we wanted to try and fix the garden.
"So when the weather let up, I told Petunia I wanted to surprise Mum and replant her garden, so we snuck outside. Petunia told me to stay put while she went to the shed where all of Mum's supplies were. We weren't allowed in the shed, there were too many sharp tools and things on high shelves that we might break or could fall and hurt us." Lily took a deep breath and looked up at James, connecting eye contact with his hazel eyes. "While I was waiting for her, I knelt down among all the dead flowers and I dug my hands into the mud and I felt something strange… like something tingling that started in my chest and flowed straight through my arms to my fingertips." She smiled, eyes shining. "And then I hear a crash and a scream. I jumped up and I saw my mum and dad running to the shed. Petunia had been trying to reach some seeds and bulbs on a high shelf and the shelf had fallen and broken a bunch of pots and planters along with Petunia's arm." Lily worried her bottom lip and James squeezed her hand. "Mum was furious. Dad pulled Tuney out of the shed and was carrying her to the car to take her to the hospital and Mum marched over to the garden to collect me, scolding me for dirtying my clothes and putting my sister in danger but when she got to the edge of the garden, she stopped, staring at me in shock… the garden had grown back all around me, in full bloom."
James smiled at her. "Your first sign of magic?"
Lily nodded. "Mum was so stunned by what I had done, she nearly forgot to be angry until Dad and Tuney got home from the hospital. Petunia was grounded for going into the shed, but I wasn't. Even though it had been my idea," Lily looked back down at her hands. "Instead, Mum asked me for help with the house plants." She rolled her eyes. "Anyway… Petunia hated what I could do. She didn't understand why I could do something so amazing and… and so magical but she could not. It only got worse as we got older. She called me a freak and she said what I could do was abnormal and weird and that I should stop using it and maybe it would go away. So I did. I tried."
James' eyes went wide. "You can't just make your magic go away. That's… that's dangerous-"
Lily laughed sardonically and shrugged. "Obviously it didn't work. Things happened around me whether I wanted them to or not. Every year it got stronger and I could do more things and every year she hated me more for it. I felt so alone. Until I met a boy in the park. A strange, lonely little boy my age who could do amazing things just like I could – who told me I wasn't alone." She let go of James' hand, wrapping both of her arms around herself. "James, I owe you an apology. I've owed you one since before I even met you."
"What?" James looked confused.
"I knew from the beginning that Severus wasn't the person he pretended to be when he was with me. I knew what his interests were, and I knew his opinions towards people with non-magical blood," Lily looked away. "Even back then, before Hogwarts, he would say things about muggles – my own sister – and he would tell me that we were superior because of what we could do. I wanted so badly to believe that he was better than that and that he was the kind, sweet boy that made me feel like I fit in somewhere." Lily met James' gaze again. "I wanted to believe it so badly that I let it blind me to reality and ignore it when I saw him with his nose in a book about ancient blood magic and occult spells… it also made me hate you because you saw what I didn't want to see. And you weren't afraid to call it out for what it was." She sniffled, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. "I treated you horribly for six years because you made me realize just how stupid and easily manipulated I had been."
James shook his head, reaching across the table to reclaim her hand. "Lily, stop," he said gently. "You hated me because I was really, really annoying." Lily cracked a small smile and he returned it briefly. "You weren't stupid for wanting to see the good in someone. That's what makes you such an amazing person. More people should be willing to give people a chance like that. I wish I was more like you."
Lily raised an eyebrow at him. "You?" She laughed. "You are like that, James. Look at what you've done for Sirius. His whole family is full of dark magic but you didn't let that stop you from being friends with him and now you're practically brothers. And Remus!" Lily continued. "You didn't turn him away when you found out about his condition. Even Peter… anyone who looks at Peter would never assume that he was friends with people like you or Sirius but you treat him the same as you treat the rest of your friends. You're giving me a chance even after I gave you every reason to think I was some horrible snobby twat."
"Ooh, such language, Evans!" James mimicked offense.
Lily rolled her eyes. "My point is, you're a really wonderful person, James, and I'm sorry it took me so long to see that. I'm sorry that I didn't look past the things I didn't like to see earlier… And I'm really glad we're finally on this date."
—-
"Sirius, for the love of Merlin, I am not playing fetch with you right now!" Remus insisted, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at the dog who was currently wielding what was really more of a small branch than a stick.
Padfoot bowed in a playful stance in the snow, his tail – and most of his body – wiggling excitedly.
Outside! Never get to be outside! Fun! Play, Remus, play!
Wasn't he outside for a reason? Padfoot couldn't remember. He just knew it had been ages since Remus had been outside with him instead of the wolf. Padfoot loved Moony very much. He loved to run and wrestle with him and hunt and kill rabbits to share with his wolf mate, but Remus was much more fun. Remus had hands that could throw sticks, and scratch his ears and his belly, and throw sticks, and give him treats, and throw sticks.
Padfoot growled enticingly, thrashing his head from side to side and waving the stick around to catch Remus' interest. Couldn't he see what a wonderful stick this was? It deserved to be thrown! Padfoot was a good dog. He was a good boy. He deserved to chase the good stick.
"Wromtail will be back any minute now, you know," Remus said pointedly.
Wormtail?
Padfoot cocked his head to the side. Oh, right. Wormtail had been with them, hadn't he? Where had he gone? Oh well…
Play! Outside! Fun! Throw, Remus! Throw!
He rolled onto his back to show his belly the way he knew both the Wolf and Remus liked and his tail thumped triumphantly when he saw the boy's resolve melt away, his eyes softening and a smile starting to form.
Yes. Remus smile. That's why Padfoot exists. Make Remus happy. Make Wolf happy.
He flipped back onto his stomach as Remus approached, his head crouched low to the ground and his backside up with his tail wagging enthusiastically. He growled playfully again as Remus bent down and grabbed onto one end of the stick.
"Alright, boy, drop it!"
Drop? No! Good stick! Padfoot's stick!
"Padfoot," Remus repeated more sternly, tugging despite the dog's refusal to obey. "Drop the stick. I can't throw it if you don't let me have it!"
The scent of a rodent and the sound of frantic squeaking broke Padfoot's concentration on the game and he released the stick, sending Remus flying backward into the snow.
"Dammit, Padfoot!" Remus growled in annoyance, rubbing his backside.
Wormtail scurried towards them as quickly as his tiny legs could manage through the freshly fallen powder, and he transformed back into a boy once he reached them, gasping for breath.
"Date…" He said breathlessly, doubled over with his hands on his knees. "Date was going well."
Date? Oh. Yes! Reason for outside. Prongs and the redhead!
Remus frowned. "Was? Did something happen?"
"Er…well, not yet. They're leaving The Three Broomsticks now and James wants to stop at Honeydukes, but well, Snivellus was in the pub and he saw them-"
Padfoot snarled at the name, hackles rising.
"Down, Padfoot. No." Remus scolded him off-handedly, focused more on Peter. "Did Snape say something to them?"
Peter shook his head. "No. He and a bunch of other Slytherins slipped out to get to Honeyduke's before them. So I figured maybe we should find a way to divert-"
"PADFOOT! NO!" Remus shouted as Padfoot took off, sprinting towards the main street of the village, snow flying behind him.
—-
If I were to be struck down by a killing curse at this exact moment, James thought gleefully as Lily allowed him to put his arm around her, pulling her in close to shield her from the bitter cold air while they walked down the street together. I don't think I'd have any regrets.
Well, perhaps that was an exaggeration. Of course, a kiss would probably be a nice addition, but simply holding the girl like this was enough to make him believe he could die happy. Nothing could ruin this night.
A dog barked, a little too close by the sound of it, and James bit back a groan. Except that.
"James!" Lily gasped, tugging on his sleeve. "James, look! That's the same dog from before!"
Reluctantly, James did look. And he did groan.
There, sitting across the road, was a bearlike, shaggy, black dog with his tail wagging and tongue lolling from his mouth. James glared daggers at him.
"Ahh," Lily cooed, pulling away from James to address the dumb mutt. "Come here, boy!" She bent down slightly and held out her hand to beckon the dog over.
"Lily, don't," James sneered. "Look, he's probably got rabies or something."
Padfoot looked mildly affronted.
Lily tutted and softly shook her head. "Nonsense, Potter." She scratched behind the dog's ears and James revisited the idea of that killing curse striking him down. "Hello, you sweet thing." She looked over her shoulder at James and frowned. "You're not afraid of dogs, are you Potter?"
Padfoot made a noise that was as close to a laugh as a dog could make and James huffed. "No," he insisted. "I am not afraid of dogs, Evans. I just don't make a habit of petting flea-infested mutts on the street."
Lily laughed. "You're being ridiculous." She reached into her bag, and took out a package of shortbread biscuits, breaking one in half and feeding it to the dog, earning her a lick to the face. James seethed with anger.
You are enjoying this far too much, you bastard.
"Maybe we should bring it to Hagrid's?" Lily suggested, petting his head affectionately.
"We should bring him to the pound is what we should do," James grumbled. "And be sure they neuter him while we're at it."
Padfoot yelped, eyes going wide as he stared up at James incredulously.
"James!" Lily scolded. "He's probably only lost." She looked around. "He must belong to someone."
James snorted. "Someone who needs to shorten his leash a bit."
Padfoot went stiff suddenly, looking off in the distance and James – out of pack instinct – froze and followed his gaze, half expecting some sort of danger. He saw nothing, but with one last happy yip and another lick to Lily's hand, the dog ran off, disappearing into the night.
Lily straightened, frowning as she watched him run off. "Strange. Maybe he's gone home?"
James nodded. "I'm sure of it," he said putting his arm back around Lily's shoulders. "Come on, Lily. There's still enough time to stop at Honeydukes before we have to get back to the castle."
Honeydukes was surprisingly empty for the time of year, though James supposed it was rather late in the evening and most of the students had already started to head back to the school. He offered to treat Lily to whatever she wanted in the shop, but she politely declined.
"Really, James. You've done enough. This one's on me." She smiled, her eyes wandering around in search of whatever sweets she wanted to buy. She brightened, gasping excitedly. "Look, there's Remus!"
Of course.
"Wonderful," James muttered as Lily ran over and flung her arms around the werewolf. Remus hugged her back, giving James an apologetic look over Lily's shoulder.
"I thought you weren't coming today!" Lily exclaimed once she released Remus.
"Er, I wasn't," Remus replied, still holding James' gaze. "But I was out of chocolate frogs. Pete tends to sleep walk and he gets into my stash and well… here I am."
Merlin that boy was a shit liar. James thought it was a miracle no one else had ever gotten the truth about his condition out of him.
Lily said something about Remus making sure Peter paid him back what he was owed before excusing himself to find some Ice Mice.
Remus smiled sheepishly at James, who glared back.
"What are you doing?" James demanded.
"Damage control."
"Well, control your damage!" James growled. "Or keep him on a leash!"
Remus sighed and rolled his eyes. "Sorry. It wasn't my idea."
"I didn't think it was."
"Padfoot decided it was prudent to accompany you on your date and make sure it went well."
"Of course he did." James sighed pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Because he cares."
"Obviously. Well, as you can see," James huffed, "It's going perfectly fine despite his interference. What was with his little stray pup act anyway?"
"Damage control," Remus repeated, shrugged.
"You mentioned."
Remus deflated under James' skeptical glare. "Snape and some of the Slytherins saw you at The Three Broomsticks and they were going to head you off here. Padfoot was diverting you to buy you some time. He didn't want you to have to deal with the git with Lily."
James faltered, blinking behind his glass. "Seriously?" He looked around quickly. "You didn't have a run-in with them, did you?" He asked, lowering his voice.
Remus shook his head, smirking. "Nah. Hit them was a confounding charm and made them think the shop was closed. They panicked and thought they were late getting back to the castle and ran off."
James snickered, punching Remus lightly on the arm. "Bloody genius, Moony."
"I know I am," he smirked.
James bit his lip, running the back of his neck. "Well… thanks, I suppose. Tell Pete and your stupid mutt I said thanks too."
There was a series of squeaks from Remus' coat pocket and James Laughed. "Ah, well, thank you then, Wormtail. I think I can handle the rest from here on my own though, yeah?"
Remus smiled and squeezed James' shoulder. "Go get her mate." He caught Lily's eyes at the other end of the store and waved goodbye to her before exiting the shop.
—-
Lily paid for her sweets – and a box of Bertie Botts that James had selected when she insisted he let her buy him something in return for the drinks at the pub – and they left just as the shop was closing. They headed back to the school, walking slowly and picking from the bag of assorted candy Lily had bought herself. They kept the conversation light, with no further signs of dogs or rats as they entered the castle and made their way to Gryffindor Tower.
"Believe me, I know exactly how you feel." Lily groaned dramatically. "For once I'd like to be able to go into my own dorm room without having to worry about walking in on Marly on top of Cas."
James cackled. "They don't remember what bloody bed curtains are for either?"
Lily chuckled and shook her head. "Apparently not." She looked up at the portrait of The Fat Lady. "Flibbergibbet." The Portrait swung open and they stepped over into the common room. "And don't even get me started on-"
"Silencing charms?" James finished with a smirk.
"Exactly!" Lily said exasperated.
They were standing at the bottom of the staircases that led to the dorm rooms. James' stomach tightened suddenly as they turned to face each other, neither of them speaking for a long moment.
Lily licked her lips, looking down and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I really did have a great time tonight, Potter." She met his eyes. "Thank you."
James swallowed hard. "Me too… and.. You know. Thanks as well.' He cleared his throat and nodded towards the stairs to the girls' dorm. "I'd walk you to your door but the last time I tried to go up there in third year, the bloody stairs turned into a slide."
Lily feigned surprise. "Did they? How strange."
"Almost like magic or something," James played along.
They were both stalling. Should he make the first move? He didn't want to ruin such a good night by misreading how she wanted to end it.
What if he kissed her and she got angry at him for moving too quickly?
Or worse…
What if he kissed her and he was just awful at it?
"Well," Lily said softly. "Goodnight, Potter." She smiled turning away to head up the stairs.
Idiot! James cursed himself. Where's your bloody Gryffindor courage, you arse!
"Evans!" He called, and she stopped, slowly turning around and looking at him expectantly.
"Yes?"
He grabbed her wrist. "I just want to have something to brag about to the Giant Squid." He grinned, pulling her back to him and pressing his lips against hers. He felt her smile against his lips.
Finally.
Apologies for the slightly late chapter but there it is. Jily's first date - ending with a kiss 3
You can find me on Instagram and Gmail at Via889Fanfiction or my podcast The Marauders (Olivias' Version) on Spotify or on Instagram at themaraudersoliviasversion.
