Thanks everyone, and thanks to Vicarious Leigh for recommending my fic, and cheeringcharm for seconding the motion! I know you guys are my betas, so you're a bit biased, but-I appreciate it nonetheless. Thanks again to cc and Vleigh for their work on this chapter.
Year 6
"Wait, did you remember to put the passage out of Gryffindor Tower that leads directly to the kitchens?" James asked, peering closely at the piece of parchment in front of him. The four Marauders were huddled around a table at the library, working intently on the final pieces of a project that they had been creating since their first year. During their time at Hogwarts, they had painstakingly searched out all of the hidden passages, secret chambers, mystery rooms and obscure tunnels within Hogwarts and on its grounds, and had spent the better part of six years recording that information onto a map to help aid them on future expeditions.
Sirius rolled his eyes. "We put that one on ages ago, Prongs," he said. "Try and keep up."
Peter laughed and clapped his hands together. "Yes, try and keep up!"
James ignored Peter, and sat back, still contemplating the map. "I still think there's something we're missing. Do you have the passage to the Shrieking Shack."
"You didn't seriously just ask that, did you?" Remus asked dryly.
"Yes, of course…," James said, shrugging. "Well, I guess that's it done, then. All that remains is charming it."
"Have you found a charm yet, Padfoot?" Remus asked.
"No luck," Sirius answered. "The charm we're looking for is either so obscure that only Evans would know it, or it doesn't exist."
"Did I just hear my name?" Lily's voice asked from just behind James's right shoulder. "What are you four up to?"
All four boys jumped. "Nothing!" they denied simultaneously, erasing, James was certain, any chance that Lily would believe that they were, in fact, up to nothing. Sirius quickly began rolling up the parchment.
"What are you doing here?" James asked, more defensive than he meant to be.
Check that, this is the library. Of course Lily would be here. Why did we decide to work on this here?
Unless…
Sirius was right. If there was a charm that could do what they wanted to do with this map, Lily Evans would know it. Now the question was how to convince her to help them. Perhaps she would believe that the project was actually to help the teachers.
James directed a winning smile at Lily, his brain working quickly, and the severe look in her eyes softened slightly. "I'm always here," she answered. "The better question is what the four of you are doing here? I haven't known you to spend any quality time in the library since we finished our O.W.L.s last year." She gave the four boys a small smile.
Excellent. Her defenses are down.
Doesn't it seem slightly wrong to you to take advantage of her by misleading her about your intentions?
Oh sod off!
"Funny you should ask, Evans," James said, standing up, and taking the books from her arms. He set them on the table, and gestured for her to sit down. She did, and he returned to his own seat. Sirius, Remus, and Peter all looked confused. "We're working on a project, and we've run into a small snag. We were just saying that it'd be nice if you were here to help us-since it involves Charms, and I know how much you love the opportunity to practice your Charmwork-and now here you are. I think it must be fate."
James looked up at the other three Marauders, who were now staring at him as though he'd gone completely mad. "Weren't we?" he added suggestively, hoping that they would cotton on, and agree with what he was saying.
Remus and Sirius figured out what he was doing right away, but it took a sharp elbow to the stomach from Sirius to get Peter to catch up with them. Peter nodded a little too emphatically, and Lily cocked her head to the side slightly, assessing James.
Her eyes met his, and he winked. She blushed, and looked quickly away, reminding James forcefully of the first time that he had seen her on the King's Cross Platform five and a half years before. Everything that he had learned about her in the years that had passed had only fueled the love that he had felt for her since the first time his eyes had landed on her beautiful face, and strengthened his conviction that she was the girl for him.
"Is that so, Potter?" she inquired, and her voice had a slightly husky quality to it that had the effect of causing James's mind to wander.
I'll bet that's what she sounds like after she's been kissed properly.
Can we focus, please?
Absolutely. What would you like to focus on? What it would be like to kiss those beautiful lips? Or run my hands along her-
Ahem! The map?
Oh, right. The map. Killjoy.
"That's so," he agreed, inclining his head slightly. "So what do you say, will you help us?"
All four boys turned puppy-dog eyes to her, and she laughed. "All right," she agreed. "I'll help you. What do you need?"
"Well, you see, we've created a map of Hogwarts, and-"
James paused for a moment, thinking. There had to be another way to get Lily to help them. She was never going to believe that they were making the map to help teachers find students who were out after hours. She knew them too well after six years to believe that.
But maybe I could make Lily want to overlook the fact that I'm lying. She's not the only one that's good with Charms, is she? Am I a Potter, or aren't I?
You are.
Then I might as well use it.
"-and we want to charm it to show the location of all the occupants of the castle. You know, so that the teachers can use it to find students who are out after hours, or are somewhere that they shouldn't be."
As he had known it would, the look she gave him told him in no uncertain terms that she didn't believe a word that he'd just said. She folded her arms, a slight smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "You honestly expect me to believe, James Potter, that you want to help teachers identify out of bounds students?"
He widened his eyes and tried to look insulted, turning up the charm as only he could. "I'm hurt, Evans. Hurt, and appalled that-"
"That I didn't believe you, even for a fraction of a second?" she queried.
"Exactly!" he said, hoping to throw off Lily's defenses by giving her the honest answer that she was not expecting. "Because if you had believed me, then this map would have been the envy of marauding witches and wizards everywhere." He sighed dramatically and flopped back in his chair. "Now, it will just be a map, destined to go down in Hogwarts history as a monumental waste of potential."
His efforts were rewarded by a spontaneous laugh from Lily, and she shook her head, her eyes dancing with amusement. "A bit like your own career at Hogwarts, you mean."
"A bit like that, yeah," he said, looking sheepish. The girls always seemed to love the sheepish look, and Lily was no different. He could veritably see her resolve melting.
Remus, Sirius, and Peter were looking anxiously back and forth between Lily and James, none of them speaking for fear, James guessed, that they would throw off the chemistry that he was creating.
"What makes you think that even if I agreed to help you with this project, I would know the proper charm to use?"
James's grin widened. He couldn't have scripted this conversation more perfectly if he had tried. "Because, Lily, if you don't know the proper charm, it doesn't exist."
Who says flattery will get you nowhere?
Someone who's never seen the Potter charm in action, that's who.
Too right.
Lily laughed again, and pretended to think it over. "Well," she said finally, "since
you put it that way, I can see that I have no choice." Sirius, Remus and Peter erupted in cheers, and Lily held up
a hand to quiet them. "After all, I'd hate to be responsible for the biggest waste of potential in Hogwarts
History since James Potter squandered away his talents on rule-breaking. Let me see the map."
Sirius unrolled the map, and she stared at it for a moment. "You've found all of these secret places without getting caught?" she asked, appearing to be almost in awe.
"Yes," Peter said, puffing his chest out proudly.
Lily fixed James with a stern look, and he felt his chest tighten in fear that she would change her mind, but after a
moment, he realized that her eyes were sparkling behind the sternness. "How?" she asked. "It can't
just have been your invisibility cloak. You four are too big for all of you to fit under it now."
"We're just a great team, the four of us," Sirius answered, beaming at his friends. "Unstoppable when we work together."
James gave Lily the grin that had won her over just a few minutes ago. "A bit like you and me, Lily. A great team. Or at least we would be, if you'd ever agree to go out with me."
Lily looked away from him quickly. "Just be happy that I've agreed to help you with your map, Potter," she answered.
"Oh, come on Evans! I'll flip you for it. Heads, you go out with me. Tales, I flip again. What do you say?"
"Potter, if you ask me again, I'm walking away and not even helping you."
James grinned at her. "All right, then. I guess I'll have to stop for right now. But don't expect me to give up on you."
"I could never get that lucky, Potter."
He smiled slightly. "So, what do we need to do?"
Lily's eyes lit up, and she launched into an explanation of how to perform the correct charm.
So l say why don't you and I get together
We'll take on the world, be together forever
Heads we will and tails we'll try again
So I say why don't you and I hold each other?
Fly to the moon and straight onto heaven.
Cause without you they're never gonna let me in
"When are you going to get over her, Prongs?" Sirius asked James. The Marauders were lounging by the lake, James laying on his back on a blanket, hands tucked behind his head, and one leg crossed across his knee. Sirius was laying on his side beside James, one hand supporting his head, the other contemplating his wand, which he was twirling in his fingers. Remus was leaning against the nearby tree, an open book forgotten beside him. Peter was sitting cross-legged on the grass beside the blanket, pulling blades randomly out of the ground. They were passing the time by alternately talking about their next big adventure-which was coming up next week-and Lily Evans.
More precisely, Remus, Peter, and Sirius were trying to plan out their next big adventure, while James kept steering the conversation back to Lily. They'd had a blazing row in the common room earlier that day, and James was still trying to figure out what, exactly, had gone wrong.
James sighed and hauled himself to his feet. "I am over her," he said, pacing a little and mussing his hair with his hands. "At least, I need to be, don't I? She certainly doesn't see me as anything other than dragon dung marring her brand new shoes."
"That's not true, Prongs," Remus disagreed.
"Really?" James asked, perking up a bit.
"Absolutely," Sirius agreed. "You're actually the fly buzzing around the dung that's marred her shoes."
Remus shot Sirius a disapproving gaze, and Sirius shrugged. "What, Moony? Isn't it better for him to hear the truth from us?"
In answer, Remus shook his head mildly, and went back to his book.
James groaned and threw himself back onto the ground. "Okay, that's it! I'm done with her. I mean it. It's over."
"That's the spirit," Peter said excitedly, clapping his hands together. "I know just the person for you, now that you're over Lily. You should ask Bertha Jorkins out."
Sirius's expression darkened at the name and he reached over and smacked Peter on the head. "Wormtail, you're an idiot. What makes you think that Prongs would want to go out with Blabbermouth Bertha? Besides, he isn't really over Evans, anyway, he just wants to be."
"Oh," Peter said, flushing, and breaking off another blade of grass to inspect it.
James glared at Sirius. "Sod off, Padfoot," James said moodily. "I told you I'm over her, didn't I? I think maybe I will ask Bertha out."
Sirius nodded. "You did say you're over her," he agreed, arranging his expression into one of hurt. "I can't believe you just lied to us, Prongs. What have we ever done to deserve anything other than your total and complete honesty? You know you're not over Evans, and the least you could do is admit it to us, so we can help you with your problem." Sirius's eyes were dancing mischievously, and James couldn't help but feel that his best friend was enjoying his broken heart just a little bit too much.
"I'm warning you, Padfoot."
"You're warning me?"
"Yes, I'm warning you."
"And what are you going to do about it?"
James didn't respond, he simply launched himself at Sirius, knocking him to the ground. Sirius pushed James off of him, and grabbed James by the leg, who went sprawling onto his back. James kicked out, and knocked Sirius's hands out from under him so that Sirius fell face first into the grass. Taking advantage of Sirius's lack-of-balance, James put him into a headlock, and Sirius was struggling to get out of it when Alice Parker, Amelia Bones, and Lily Evans came walking by. Sirius instantly stopped struggling, and James grinned goofily at the girls.
"Hiya ladies," he said, releasing Sirius from the headlock, and standing up, brushing off his robes. "Evans," he added. "Want to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?"
How many times do I have to say this to you? First name. FIRST name!
Now is NOT the time to lecture.
Lily's eyes narrowed. "What do I have to do to get you to stop asking me, Potter?" she asked.
James grinned. "Say yes," he said, running his hand through his hair. "You know you want to! You've said yes to me once before."
"That was a serious lapse in judgment," Lily answered, clenching her teeth together, a light pink tingeing her cheeks. "I won't make that mistake again."
"Oh come on, there must be something I can do! What will it take to get you to say yes again? Tell me what it is, and I'll do it. Just name your terms."
"There is nothing you can do that will change my mind. Let me put it into small words that you can understand, Potter. I. Am. Never. Going. To. Go. Out. With. You."
Lily's eyes were flashing furiously, and James couldn't help but think that she looked even more gorgeous when she was angry. He smiled. "You're beautiful when you're angry," he told her.
Nice line!
Thanks.
"You're impossible!" she exclaimed.
"Impossible to refuse, you mean," James agreed, winking.
Now THAT'S the legendary Potter charm.
Too right. How can she resist me now?
Alice and Amelia were watching Lily in what James would have sworn was amusement before they turned their attention back to the boys.
"Potter," Alice said, tipping her head. "Black. Pettigrew. Lupin."
"Potter. Black. Pettigrew," Amelia echoed. "Remus," she added, blushing and looking away quickly.
"Are you coming to Hogsmeade with me on Saturday, Amelia?" Remus asked, his face nearly as red as Amelia's. She bobbed her head up and down in agreement.
"See how easy it is, Evans?" James asked lazily. "All you have to do is say yes. Or bob your head up and down."
"It isn't going to happen, Potter. Stop asking me."
James contemplated Lily for a moment, and then he grinned. "You really want me to stop asking you?" he asked carefully.
"Yes," she agreed, visibly relieved. "That's exactly what I want, Potter. Why has it taken you three years to figure it out?"
"I'm stubborn," he answered. "But if you don't want me to ask you out again, I won't. So long as you realize that you've just made things infinitely harder on yourself." His eyes were twinkling now, and he felt slightly guilty in his delight at her annoyance.
"How will you leaving me alone make things harder on me, exactly?" she asked, looking genuinely confused, and for the first time, James wondered for a moment-just for a moment-if Lily really did hate him as much as she pretended to hate him.
"Because if I don't ask you out anymore, it means that when you're finally ready to admit that you're hopelessly in love with me-as we all know that you are-you'll have to be the one to ask me out. First you'll have to apologize, of course, for being so mean to me. And I still may not accept right away. What will you do then?"
"I'll risk it, Potter, since there is absolutely no chance that I'm EVER going to change my mind."
"You will," he said confidently. "It's only a matter of time before you succumb to the Potter charm, Evans. It's legendary. And I'll be waiting for your apology when you do."
Are you sure she'll apologize?
Of course I'm sure. Kind of.
KIND OF??? You just hung your entire future on 'KIND OF'?
No…no, I'm sure. Mostly.
MOSTLY??
Can we stop now?
Lily rolled her eyes. "Goodbye, Potter," she said stiffly, "Remus, Black, Peter." She set off in the direction of the groundskeeper's hut. Alice and Amelia quickly said goodbye to the Marauders, and hurried to catch up with her.
James watched her for a moment, admiring the way Lily's hair glinted in the sunlight, and the way her robes swirled about her hips as she walked, accentuating every curve. He rubbed his hands roughly through his hair.
I've never in my life wanted so badly to be a robe.
You've wanted to be a robe before?
Every time I look at Lily.
Maybe Padfoot can transfigure you.
"Oh, who am I kidding?" James asked once Lily was out of ear-shot. He picked up a stick and threw it as hard as he could toward the water. "I'm still completely smitten." Sirius, Remus, and Peter patted him on his back and nodded in agreement.
Slowly I begin to realize this is never gonna end
Right about the same time you walk by
And I say" Oh, here we go again! Oh!"