Harsh Justice

She sat in the infirmary with her arm in a sling. She looked down towards her feet and saw the bump they made under the white, starched sheets. They were completely restricting but emitted a feeling of comfort and safety. She laughed inside at the thought of how similar the sheets in the infirmary were to the witch that ran it, Miss Pomfrey. Just as she thought of the kindly young woman, she rounded the corner and gave Lily a gentle smile. Lily smiled back but could only think of her feet, which had now started to tingle after falling asleep. Miss Pomfrey came to her side, pulling the already tight sheets closer to Lily’s chin. It was already boiling hot under the covers but Lily simply gave a small grin and murmured her thanks.

“Think nothing of it dear. Oh, you have a guest, and a very important guest at that.”

Before Lily could say a word or form a questioning look, in walked Professor Dumbledore. He glided towards her bed and sat gently on the bed beside her. She had been expecting his visit after what she had done and she had not been looking forward to it. Of course, there would be some sort of punishment that Lily would dread. Everyone in the school dreaded the punishments received by Dumbledore simply because he always had a way of finding the perfect punishment. The punishment was never overly harsh or even difficult in the physical sense. But he always seemed to know everything about his students, including their biggest annoyances and fears. The punishment would be simplistic but would make her wince when she heard it. It would be fitted perfectly to her and would drive her up the wall.

“Good morning Miss Evans. I do hope you are feeling better. I told Miss Pomfrey to not heal the break quite yet. I figured a little physical pain would help you learn your lesson.”

Inside Lily let out a sigh. Perhaps that was her punishment. Perhaps she would simply have to let the arm heal naturally. But it seemed too easy. No, the punishment could not possibly be the arm because her punishment would be sure to test her mental and emotional state instead of her physical. She was again holding her breath in anticipation for his words to come.

“I am feeling slightly better Professor. But I must say that awaiting your visit was causing me more pain than this broken arm.”

“Oh, I am terribly sorry that I would cause such dread within you Miss Evans. So why don’t we just decide what to do with you so I can relieve you from that inconveniance.”

He smiled a warm smile at her and she knew that Dumbledore would always remain her favorite here at Hogwarts. Despite the punishment, he was a kind man who was completely fair with all his students. She felt comfortable and safe whenever near him and his graceful movements and old smile made her feel only tremendous respect and love for him. Whatever the punishment, she knew it would be just. But that didn’t make it any easier to deal with.

“Well, as you very well know, what you did this afternoon was completely unacceptable at Hogwarts. I know that you believe that he deserved what you did, and I partially believe he did as well, but that does not make it right. And you also know that reason you got hurt was because you could not properly operate that broom you were riding. You a very talented young lady Lily but you simply are terrible at flying. So this punishment seems only to proper. Every day after school from now until the end of the school year, you shall be taking flying lessons.”

Lily waited a second expecting more before she spoke.

“Is that it Professor?”

The professor had been right. Lily was just awful at flying. She like everyone else was amazed to find that she was bad at it because she was, well, good at everything. She excelled in all her classes and was a natural leader. Just this year she had become a perfect. The idea of flying lessons actually sounded like a wonderful idea. That way she would be good at everything. Where was the part she was dreading? Perhaps there was nothing else. She slowly let a smile slip across her face, not waiting for the Professor’s response.

“Well, I’m afraid not. When I say you will be taking flying lessons I did not give you all of the details. For example, who you will be taking them from.”

She gave him a puzzled look before asking, “Who?”

“The same boy you delivered your actions to this afternoon.”

Her heart dropped along with her jaw and she couldn’t breath. He couldn’t possibly mean him. She hated him more than, than, well than the worst punishment one can think of.

“You can’t be serious Professor! You can’t possible mean that, that you want me to, to take lessons from…”

“That’s right Miss Evans. You shall be receiving instruction from James Potter.”

She couldn’t speak. No words would come out. She was in utter shock and it took a gentle shake from Professor Dumbledore to make her come out of her short coma. She shook her head slightly and turned towards the headmaster. The glazed look on her face was soon replaced with a look of sheer panic.

“Professor, this is too harsh! I couldn’t possibly do this. You know how much we hate one another. Why would you wish me to go through such torment?”

“For the same reason that you put me through such torment this afternoon with your little escapade Miss Evans. This is your punishment and you must deal with the consequences of your own actions. Do you realize how much damage you could have caused this afternoon? I hope you realize how lucky Hogwarts and the students within it were when only you were injured.”

Lily was slightly offended by this remark before she realized that Dumbledore was only speaking the truth. She lowered her head and squeezed the bridge of her nose as her migraine formed behind her eyes. She looked up at she heard the springs of the bed next to her squeak softly. The headmaster had risen from her side and was walking towards the door. She spoke quickly so as to say it all before he was walking down the hallway away from her.

“Wait! Professor, I’m sorry for disappointing you this afternoon but I beg for you to reconsider.”

“I’m afraid that will not happen Miss Evans. But have no fear, my respect for you has not been lowered a bit.”

With those last words, he gave her a quick smile and exited with speed Lily did not know the old professor possessed. She was left alone in the room on the brink of tears. Why was she almost crying? She never cried; it was so unlike her. She twiddled her fingers unconsciously and wondered how she was going to do this. Maybe James would flat out refuse to do it. He hated her just as much as she hated him and perhaps he couldn’t possibly bare the thought of them together for that long either. She took a hold of herself and shook her head slightly, as if to shake off the oncoming tears. She scooted up in her bed holding on to James’ refusal as her only hope in life. She continued to twiddle her fingers as her best friend walked in. Lily failed to notice her entry and Rose quickly sat down on the end of her bed and pinched Lily’s toe through the crisp sheets.

“Owww! What the… Oh hi Rose.”

“Why the glum Chum?”

“You have no idea. This glum will be lasting for the rest of eternity or at least for the rest of the school year.”

“I think I know why. I saw Professor Dumbledore in the hallway and he said that he had been visiting you. He told me to hurry to your side because I would need comforting. I asked what had happened and he just smiled and said justice had been served. How cheesy is that? That’s like a line from a Muggle comic book! So anyways, I’m here and ready for comforting. What happened?”

“My punishment is… whew, I have to take a deep breath to even say it… is to get flying lessons from my worst enemy.”

Rose instinctively knew who that was and what that meant. She gasped and covered her dropped jaw in shock. She had known Lily since the day that had stepped into the Great Hall for the first time and from that moment on she was always there for her. And when she had been there for her in the past, it usually involved comforting her after a wicked comment from the Potter boy or such as this afternoon, helping Lily get him back. She looked back on the afternoon and a small grin played across her gentle features.

It was nothing that had been planned. It was not meant to be an act of retaliation or revenge but it had nicely become an opportunity for Lily to show just how much she hated James. It had begun in the same place where Lily and Rose had first met, in the Great Hall. Breakfast was being served before the biggest Quidditch match of the season, Slytherin versus Gryffindor. The room was busting with noise, everyone thrilled about the match. The talk of the morning was of course involving the ever popular James Potter.

The Gryffindor seeker was most likely the most sought after boy at Hogwarts and the thought of seeing him sweat on the Quidditch field was making many girls sweat at breakfast. Lily and Rose were probably the only ones not tripping over their cloaks when he walked by. Just as Lily and Rose rolled their eyes at a nearby girl’s comment on “James’ favorite ink color”, the infamous boy walked by. He flashed a sparkling smile at the girls and their gasps echoed through the Great Hall. He continued to smile until he set eyes on Lily, who was glaring at him with the eyes of a demon. The smile instantly disappeared and he continued walking with a set scowl, dragging his broom behind him. His mood suddenly improved as he saw Snape bent over a scroll of Potions reading.

“Morning Snape. May I ask how your morning has been thus far?”

“Bugger off Potter. I’m busy.”

“Oh Snapey Poo, you break my heart. Is your Potions reading really more important than moi? I think not.”

With those last words, he snapped up the parchment and threw it behind his back.

“Potter! That is mine! Return it now!”

“Which hand Snape?”

“Give it to me!”

“I would say it is in the same hand as my broom. Gasp!”

He then jumped on the broom with the scroll tangling around his neck. As he flew up to the sky set ceiling, the room became silent. All had their eyes on James once again. The only one who moved was Lily, who stood yelling obscenities at James.

“James Potter get down here this instant before I come up there after to you.”

“Really Evans? I highly doubt you are capable of even climbing a broom much less reaching this height. If you can reach me then I shall replace the snake’s homework.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“You bet your green eyes it is.”

Before Lily could contemplate how James knew what color eyes she had, she grabbed a Gryffindor’s broom and slowly boarded it. And before the Gryffindor could speak a word in protest, she was uncontrollably flying towards James, who now rested near the Slytherin colors that flew like a giant flag from the Great Hall’s left wall. Somehow Lily managed to skid to a stop near the green and silver flag and see James’ laughing face. Lily quickly regained her composure and glared at Potter before looking below to see the Hogwarts students the size of ants.

“So can I, I please have his homework back?”

“Um no. The only reason I got you up here was to confess my undying love for you.”

Lily had no idea what to say and the witty comebacks were nowhere to be found. All that appeared was a look of complete shock. Suddenly James let out an obnoxious burst of laughter.

“Relax Evans. Loving you would be worse than loving little Snape down there. You didn’t actually think I was serious did you?”

“Of course not!”

James gave a smirk and moved closer to her so as to place a hand lightly on her thigh.

“I think you wanted it to be true. I think you, like every other girl in this school, have a thing for me but you are holding it in as your deepest darkest secret.”

These last words came out as a whisper in her ear and Lily was appalled by what she was hearing. The only thing she could possibly think of doing was something that did not require any words. She drew back her arm, making her hand into a fist. Before James could let out another degrading remark, her fist hit him hard in the eye, wiping his lousy smirk from his arrogant face. He stumbled back on his broom and an audible gasp was heard from all below. The face she saw was one turning black and blue around the eye from the punch and red around all his other features from anger.

“Evans! You are going to pay big time for this! Right here, right now. A duel! The two of us. We will finally see who is better than the other. I guarantee that I will have the last laugh here.”

He suddenly flew to the other wall of the Great Hall and turned to face her. The look on his face was one that made Lily reconsider what she had just done. Maybe that punch was a mistake. But she had no choice but to do this. It was time for her to show James and the rest of Hogwarts who was really on top of this long lasting feud. Maybe this would finally put this constant battle to an end. Before she could think of the consequences she heard a spell come from James’ mouth and was only able to dodge it before it bounced off the wall. Her anger suddenly flared. This was war.

“Furnunculus!”

The spell soared towards James and he quickly spoke the shielding spell. Lily had an evil smirk at the idea of him receiving that spell directly in the chest and waking up the next morning with boils all over his body. He wouldn’t be quite as desirable then.

He was about to speak the Tarantallegra spell, which would have caused her to be dancing on her on broom, when someone below shouted “Stupefy!” James and Lily both looked at one another, not knowing who it was directed at. They then looked down and Lily saw James roughly receive the spell, stunning him while still remaining on his broom. Lily then took her opportunity and shouted the spell that would end it all. The Jelly-Legs Jinx hit the already stunned James and what happened next seemed to go in slow motion.

Lily watched as he looked up at her with an oddly placed grin that seemed to give off an impressed expression. He continued to smile as he slowly fell sideways off his broom and landed hard on the Ravenclaw table. It appeared as if the teachers had seen him falling and created a softer surface on the table for him to land on, so Lily felt all pride and no guilt. After everyone saw him land, hundreds of heads in unison looked up at Lily who had a victorious smile across her face. She was preparing to lower herself to the floor of the Great Hall when her leg was caught behind the other. Before she could save her dignity, she was swinging her arms wildly in the air. Her upper half was suddenly over the broom and she fell off the blasted stick onto the hard floor. She lay there unconscious, unaware of the gathering group around her, which happened to contain a quite conscious James bent beside her.

Rose looked back at the incident and realized that James had indeed gotten the last laugh but she would never tell this to Lily, fearing that her own head would get bitten off by the already outraged Perfect.

“So what are you going to do?”

“Well I have no choice but to do it. I’ll have to face him someday, right? Miss Pomfrey should be healing me momentarily and I will be able to go back to the common room. Oh, the thought of our common room when I get there is just terrifying!”

“Don’t you worry Lily. I’ll back you up as always.”

“Yeah I know.”

Rose got up from the end of the twin bed and walked towards the door. She was just about to exit when Lily asked her something she had been wondering all afternoon.

“Hey Rose, how did the Quidditch match go?”

“Well we lost because Potter couldn’t see the Snitch since one of his eyes was sealed shut after that black eye you gave him. The Slytherins are now in the lead for the House Cup. I’ll see you in the common room.”

With those last words, she exited and Lily smacked herself in the forehead thinking that James had indeed gotten the last laugh. The entire Gryffindor tower would be furious at her for more than one reason. She just knew that she would be accosted the next day by a bunch of girls who were angrier about James’ pretty face getting messed up than about them losing the match. She fell back on her pillow, only hoping that she could just close her eyes and redo the entire day. But alas, it would never happen. It a short time she would be forced to face her enemy, apologize, and get on a broom with him. The short thought caused the tears to well up in her eyes once again.

In Gryffindor Common Room…
“There she is!”

The boys on the couch turned towards the portrait hole to see Rose walk in and stroll over to a 5th year girl by the name of Carol.

“Sirius! Please! We are looking for Lily, not Rose.”

“I’m sorry Prongs, it’s just, well… have you seen that girl? Look at her!”

Even though they had seen Rose everyday, all four boys turned in unison to look at the girl. Sirius was right in every sense. She was gorgeous. As she stood amongst her friends, her shoulder length blonde hair swayed when she talked. Her long limbs looked even longer when set off by the shadows of the fire. Whenever she turned towards the fireplace and left her friends, the flames danced in her golden eyes. All of the boys believed her to be extremely good looking but Sirius saw her differently.

“The only reason you think she is special is because she and Lily are the only girls that you have not conquered at this school.”

“That’s not true. There are a few girls in Hufflepuff that were just to ugly to conquer. No, she’s different. There’s something about her. Something I can’t quite put my finger on. And if that was true I would be attracted to Lily but I‘m leaving her just for you Prongs!”

“Shut up!”

After the boys let out a few stifled chuckles, Peter slipped in a comment and said, “She doesn’t really seem like your type Sirius. I mean she doesn’t have extremely large…assets and she’s not forward or sultry or…”

“I think the word Peter is looking for is slutty.”

All the boys laughed at James’ remark, even Sirius. He knew he past and reputation and was proud of it. But he was determined to get Rose. He wasn’t sure how but his mission this year was her and it would be accomplished. He turned towards her leaving back and spoke.

“Rose, how is Lily?” She turned and saw who is was and her look became one of impatience instead of lust, which Sirius had honestly expected after using his sultry voice.

“Why do you care?”

“Because I am a Gryffindor, she’s a Gryffindor, you’re a Gryffindor. We should all be united. You and I should be united, closely.”

“Are you implying something Sirius Black?” She gave a wry smile. He took this as a good sign and rose quickly to stand before her. He lowered his voice to speak so only she could hear.

“I was wondering if you would like to go out sometime. Maybe to Hogsmeade together?”

“And what would we do there?” She continued to smile.

“Whatever you would like sweetheart.”

With that line he chucked her under the chin. She smiled sweetly before kneeing him in the groin, causing him to double over in pain. The three other marauders almost fell to the ground laughing.

“I would prefer to not be just another notch on your bedpost thank you. Nice try though Sirius. Maybe some other time.”

She then turned and Sirius watched her retreating backside go up the stairs towards her dormitory.

“God, she has a nice arse,” he groaned while still in pain.

As the boys lay on the floor from laughter and Sirius lay there in pain, the portrait door swung slowly emitting only a tiny squeak. None of the boys heard the motions as the sound of their own voices drowned out the door closing and the footsteps slowly crossing the floor. James suddenly stopped and turned and saw Lily Evans creeping across the room so as to not be seen by anyone.

“Well if it isn’t Lily Evans. How is your arm Evans? Better I hope.”

“Well enough to punch you in the other eye. Why don’t you come over here so both eyes are sealed shut.”

“Your punch just happened to cause us to do poorly today.”

“You mean lose right? I know it’s hard for you to comprehend losing but you’ll just have to. You think you would understand the concept especially after I beat you in that duel this afternoon.”

“You did not beat me. Someone from the ground helped you. Without that you would have been humiliated in front of everyone.”

“But they were there weren’t they? And it was you who was humiliated. Just leave me alone. I never want to see your face again.” Lily turned to go to her room.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to at our lesson after school tomorrow.” The boys behind him let out muffled giggles and James smiled a wry grin.”

Lily stopped in her tracks and whipped around to face Potter. She was inches from his face. When she spoke, Potter could hear the edginess in her voice. “You agreed to do it Potter?!?”

“Well, I kind of had no choice. I was forced to do it. You think I would willing spend so much time with you? This is my punishment just as it is yours. I was part of the duel as well, you know?”

Lily had never thought of that. She stood there momentarily, looking at Potter and the small smirk that was spread across his face. She then quickly turned and ran up the stairs towards her dormitory. She had to talk to Rose, she had to talk to someone who knew what she was feeling. Rose would know what to do about this. Rose would understand.

The last thing that Potter heard was a slamming door and then only silence. He turned around to his friends who were all shaking their head at his stupidity. He glared at them all before slumping down on the couch, crossing his arms and a scowl coming across his face. The other Marauders couldn’t understand his tactics. They could see what James couldn’t see; James liked Lily. It was blindly apparent to them all, even Sirius.

“Smooth move Prongs!”

“What are you idiots talking about. I hurt her feelings and that is exactly what I was trying to do.”

The boys stared at him with looks of amazement. Remus was the first to speak up. “Was it? I think that hurting Lily is not what you want to do. You actually want to do something else to Lily. Why don’t you just admit it?”

“I don’t like Evans! I mean she is cruel and down right hideous!”

The boys once again could not believe what they were hearing. Sirius had had enough. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, you think Lily Evans is ugly? Are we talking about the same girl? Lily Evans is probably the hottest girl at Hogwarts and even you have to see that.”

All the other boys nodded their heads vigorously in agreement. They all knew she was beautiful.

“Maybe I am too blinded by my hate of her to see it.”

“Whatever you want to tell yourself James. I’m going to bed.”

Peter and Remus spoke similar responses and headed up to their rooms. James was left alone in front of the fire, looking over the events of the day. He saw Lily’s face in his mind and his body became hotter. He blamed it on the fire, rose, and went to bed, not knowing whether to look forward to the next day’s lesson or dread it.

Lily awoke the next morning and stretched like a cat beneath her down bedspread. She opened her eyes to see the sun shining through the transparent coverings around her bed. At the end of her bed sat her spunky kitten, Calli. She whistled softly and Calli’s chubby head sprung up and looked at Lily. Before Lily could make another signal, the kitten was romping towards her, having trouble with her fat belly almost touching the ground as she came towards Lily. This kitten had probably become her most loved possession and Lily watched over her like an eagle watches over her chicks. She would take out anyone who dared harm her.

She wiggled her toes and Calli pounced upon them, trying desperately to gnaw them off through the thick blanket. But to no avail. Lily slowly moved her feet from the warm of her bed to the coldness of the stone floor. She walked towards the bathroom awkwardly as the sleep had not quite left her limbs yet. She entered the bathroom clumsily after slightly running into the wall and creating quite a racket. She was in the bathroom groggily staring into the mirror when Rose shouted something incomprehensible at her. Lily walked out to her room with a toothbrush stuck in her mouth and asked her to repeat herself.

“I said that you seem to be in a better mood this morning.”

“Why shouldn’t I be? I have not a worry in the world. I am living in pure happiness.”

“What are you talking about? Flying lessons with Potter are not my idea of pure happiness.”

The toothbrush in Lily’s mouth suddenly fell to the floor as her mouth stood agape. Rose looked up from playing with Calli and stared oddly at her best friend.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I had forgotten.”

“Forgotten what?”

“My punishment. I must have completely blocked it out.”

“Well you do have a nasty habit of purposely forgetting the bad things that have happened to you. Ouch!”

Rose shook her bitten finger at the tiny kitten before rising to pick up the soapy toothbrush lying on the floor. She handed it to Lily, who absently took it from her, and continued to walk into the bathroom. Lily remained where she was standing, staring blankly at the wall in front of her. Rose’s words were the only thing that brought her back to reality and that her from standing there all day.

“I’m right, am I not? You block out your most embarrassing moments, right?”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Lily thought about it and knew it was the truth. Someone had once asked Lily what her most embarrassing moment had been and Lily had honestly said she couldn’t remember ever having one. It was Rose, who had been standing beside her, who told about the time she had accidently turned her skin green for two days after a potion went awry. Lily had protested, saying that had never happened but she got many more witnesses who all retold the story with the same goofy smile on there face. Rose then continued to help Lily recall her other embarrassing situations like the time she fell out of her chair and revealed her underwear to all in the classroom. Rose’s favorite however had been the time she had dressed up for the Yule Ball as a belly dancer after James had told her it was a costume ball.

Lily had also talked to her mom and her mom had mentioned something about her grandma’s funeral a year early and Lily had no idea what she was talking about. Her mom had gone hysterical, saying it wasn’t funny to make fun of the dead and it wasn’t healthy to act like it had never happened. All she knew presently was that her grandmum had passed away and apparently she had gone to the funeral. Oh well, everyone had their faults. Lily was okay with it. She now took Rose’s word on such matters and forgot them again soon after.

She would probably wake up tomorrow morning with the same happy mood only to be let down with the news of her horrific punishment once again. Now that she recalled the events of the previous day, she remembered that when she came up to her room the night before in desperate need of consolation, Rose had already fallen asleep. Lily suspected that she had been faking sleep, not wanting to discuss the matter again. No matter. They would discuss it now.

“So what should I do?”

Rose continued to look in the mirror and wash her face. She knew that Lily was dreading this but she secretly hoped that something would happen between the two. She along with all the other Marauders was aware of James’ subconscious feelings for Lily. But Rose thought that Lily honestly hated him with the heat of a thousand suns. She only hoped that James could use what he had to change Lily’s mind. She laughed inside and muttered under her breath that James could change her own mind anytime.

“What did you say?”

“Um, I said nothing,” Rose said innocently.

She returned to her thoughts to James. There was a reason besides Quidditch that every girl in school wanted him. He was gorgeous. With his boyish black hair that’s unruliness made him look more charming, he was subject of many girls‘ fantasies. He had amazing blue eyes and the body of a pro seeker. His charm was easily as powerful as Sirius’ except more immature. While Sirius used hushed words and innuendos, James used the classic grade school way. He joked and poked fun at the girls he liked, trying his best to appear as if he didn‘t. If James was slightly mean to you, then it was a good sign. Most girls in the school would kill to be called a name by the dashing James Potter. So the fact that James was willing to duel Lily meant it was more than just a slight crush.

She personally did not enjoy this form of flirtation. She actually enjoyed the innuendos provided by Sirius. That was her own preference and kneeing him the groin last night had been hard to do after hearing his husky words and feeling his light touch on her face. It had taken all of her might to not submit to him. But she managed. Like she had said to him, she refused to just become another on Sirius’ list of conquered.

“Earth to Rose. What should I do?”

She turned towards and Lily and gently grabbed her shoulders.

“Lily, do not take offense but you are being quite a baby about this entire thing, freaking out and whining. This is your punishment and you have no choice but to do it. So you shall show up this afternoon to the Quidditch field and you will look great.”

“Why do I need to look great? It’s James, not some wizarding model.”

“Well, you should always look presentable.”

“Whatever. I think I will go smelling of sulfur and spoiled milk to make his punishment worse.” As she said this, a smile spread across her face.

“No! Do not do that!”

“Rose, why are you so worried about this?” Lily gave her best friend a scrutinizing look while Rose simply shrugged her shoulders and shifted her eyes, not wanting to be under that powerful stare.

“Fine, I will look decent.”

“Well, that’s all I ask. Good, now let’s get ready and go to breakfast.”

They finished getting dressed in their traditional Gryffindor robes and walked down to the Great Hall, both craving pancakes and pumpkin juice. As they walked over the threshold of the Great Hall, they were surrounded by the noise of the four different tables joking, talking, and eating loudly. They smelled the familiar scents of the Hogwarts’ kitchen and saw their classmates enjoying breakfast as they had every other morning. To them, it was just another morning but to Lily, it was a day of dread. But as her mind smelled the delicious aromas, her thoughts drifted to her morning meal and she was content with the thought that she did not have to deal with James until after school.

However, that thought was once again looming in her mind as the day slipped away. The classes that usually seemed to last an eternity, slipped through her fingers and before she knew it she was leaving Hogwarts, headed for the Quidditch field. She took her time, thinking it both wise to prolong this as long as possible and to make James wait for as long as possible.

She finally reached the entrance and pulled open the wooden door that was usually wide open during the hectic Quidditch season. She searched the ground for the little Potter but saw him nowhere. She suddenly heard a large thump behind her and quickly turned to see a sweating James Potter behind her.

“Where the hell did you come from?”

“Did I scare you? A little nervous, are we? The thump was me landing. I was doing a little practicing.”

“Oh okay. Well I’ll have you know that I am not nervous. You simply snuck up on me.”

“Right…”

After that last word, an awkward silence thickened the air. They stared at anything but one another, not exactly sure what to do next. Finally the silence was broken by a soft cough that broke from James’ mouth.

“So…”

“Yeah…”

“Shall we start this lesson?”

“I guess if we have to.”

James gave her a small smile before speaking the words, “Unfortunately, we do.”

He turned and she glared at the back of his head. He let out a sharp whistle and, like a dog, came another broom for Lily to ride upon.

“Now, first I am going to show you how to mount the broom.”

“James Potter, I know how to do that! I am not a first year after all!”

“Well if you know how to do it then do it.”

James gave her a challenging look and it was returned by the familiar glare that he had received a thousand times before. She continued to look at him as she swung her leg over the broom and wrapped each hand firmly on the handle, one in front of the other. James smiled, seeing the fear in her eyes when she thought of falling off. The grip she had on the broom ensured that would never happen. James could imagine her simply hanging upside down as the broom flew across the field with frightening speed. It took all of his might not to laugh.

“Well, there is your problem right there. You need to hold on to the broom but still allow it to move freely under your hands. It should be a mutual relationship of control, not your desperate attempt to stay on it. Trust in the broom and it will trust in you.”

Lily looked strangely at him for a moment before speaking. “Wow, you need a girlfriend.”

James scowled at her when the image of him and her together popped into his head completely unexpected. It took him by shock and he quickly shook the notion out of his head. He stomped over to her and looked down at her hands. He suddenly had his own wrapped around hers, guiding her towards the correct position.

“More like this.”

“Like this?”
“Yeah.”

She had the correct position but he continued to lay his hands over hers, gently stroking the soft skin of her palms. He looked up to see her staring at him and he quickly remembered what he had done and tore his hands away, as if he had touched a leper.

“Alright let’s move on. Let’s next talk about your posture. Sit up straight and allow your knees to gently press against the handle. Be controlled but relaxed.”

She readjusted herself according to his instructions and he watched her gently straighten her back and flip her red waves behind her shoulder. He watched as she clenched her knees together, causing her school skirt to slip lightly and expose an inappropriate amount of thigh. James continued to wander her body with his eyes. Her skin seemed to glow from the sun and the wetness in the air that remained after the light shower they had had earlier in the afternoon. It was the perfect tone, fair but not overly white and dark enough for the blush that came to her cheeks to seem to add a hint of exoticness to her features.

Her long limbs were curved perfectly around the broom and her heavy breasts were further put in the spotlight when she straightened her back following James’ orders. James however was more concentrated on the revealed thigh. He had always been more interested in legs than the upper body and he had to say that she had beautiful legs. The way they hung casually from the broom made him groan. He recalled the time he had seen her absently rubbing her leg in Potions and how much he had wanted to do that for her.

He looked to her face, which was contorted into a frown at trying to position herself correctly. She looked gorgeous even with a furrowed brow. He had often heard girls speaking of losing their breath at the sight of a certain boy and he had dismissed it as complete rubbish. However cheesy this might seem, he realized that it wasn’t rubbish at all when he had seen Lily smile at him once. He could only remember that happening once when he had picked something up for her and she had not realized who had done it until he looked up towards her from the ground. The smile had quickly changed to a glare.

None of these emotions seemed unusual to James. He had honestly felt this way towards Lily for as long as he had known her and dismissed them as normal. Now that he thought about what his friends had said many times, perhaps those feelings meant something. He knew though that even if they did, those feelings would never be returned. The actions he had taken against Lily over the years could never be taken back. She would never forgive him. He remembered the first time he had met Lily as an immature first year. She was beautiful even then and he had simply called her some completely false thing, like ugly or stupid, before laughing in her face. He could never figure out why he had said that. It seemed like a reflex so she wouldn’t know the truth. All the mean words and actions had been reflexes to the feelings he felt inside. She would never understand that. Never.

“Potter! Would you stop gawking at me and get back to the lesson.”

He was drawn from the dream of her thigh back to her nasty comments. He decided right then that he would be nice to her. No, he would be more than nice. He would be dashing, charming, down right suave.

Now was the time for change. Now was the time for her to see the real him, not the one he always showed her as a defense mechanism. He walked over to her and stood close to her back so that he could almost touch her shoulder. He then repositioned her lightly to the appropriate position before moving on to his next instruction. His words were no longer strong and orderly, but hushed and softer.

“Now, I want you to lightly kick off and hover in the air for a brief moment. Then settle back down and we shall try again.”

She seemed to notice the change in his voice. She turned her head to ask him a question and was staring him right in the eyes. She gasped at how close he was and wondering why he was almost touching her shoulder. She could feel his breath on her neck and smelled a hint of cologne. It was an aroma like the smell of grass and Quidditch mixed with musk. Different but very appealing. She then wondered why she had even spent so much time thinking about it because she was still staring into his eyes, with him returning the gaze.

She quickly turned around and asked the question again.

“So um, what happens if I go too high?”

“You won’t.”

“But I could.”

“But you won’t.”

“Why don’t you just help me with this? You could do it first and I could then follow your example.”

“You didn’t seem this hesitant when dueling me in the air above our dining hall.”

“That was different. That was a challenge. This, well, this is scary.”

“You’re scared?”

“No! Just a little anxious. Would you just help me?”

He let out a groan and swung his leg over the broom, sliding lightly down behind her. She gasped as he wrapped his arms around her and moved so his chest touched her back.

“What are you doing?”
“Well the example idea would certainly not work. This way you will do it yourself but I will be there every step of the way. You should still do the controls yourself so that you are comfortable in these situations.”

‘This wasn’t the kind of situation I was expecting,’ she thought to herself. This was different. She didn’t like the change. He was suddenly acting so different around her and it made her extremely uncomfortable. He was saying something to her but all she could think of was his head over her shoulder and his hands wrapping around her own. His knees pressed gently into hers and she once again smelled that unique cologne.

Before she could leave the trance of his aroma, he kicked off the ground and they were soaring upwards into the blue sky. She squealed, terrified, and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and held them to her desperately. Her breathing had become irregular and short from the fear she felt. She wasn’t scared of the height, simply scared of the feeling of not being in control of what was happening around her. All she felt was terror.

And all he felt was happiness. The moment he had heard the tiny squeak come from her mouth, a smile had grown across his face. She had leaned back into his chest has she forced his arms to tightly hug her middle. As she had fallen against him her smelled floated up to his nose. It was a scent of lavender and soap mixed together and he decided at that moment that it was the best scent he had ever set his nose on.

“James Potter put me down this minute!”

“But…”

“But nothing! Get me down now!”

He guided the broom back to the ground and she threw his arms off of her and almost flew off of the broom. She was furious and he wasn’t exactly sure why.

“How dare you do a stunt like that, sending me into the air without even giving me a warning.”

“What are you talking about? I told you I was going to do it a few minutes before and was even giving you instructions on what to do. You had even nodded slightly and smiled. I figured you were excited.”

So that was what he had been saying to her as she had been breathing him. She started to turn red at the realization that his smell had caused normal brain activity to come to a startling halt. She didn’t know what to say so she did what she usually did near James.

“Don’t you ever try that again! I never want to do this again.” She then turned around quickly and started her retreat towards the castle.

“Well I don’t ever want to do this again either but unfortunately you will have to be here again tomorrow after classes. So have a good night and let’s hope that the thoughts of broomsticks don’t keep you from sleep.”

He yelled these words at her retreating back. She let out a growl of anger as she continued to walk towards the castle. He was right. She would be returning here again tomorrow much to her chagrin.

Rose jumped as her dorm room door slammed shut. She quickly looked up from her book to see a steaming Lily storm towards her bed. She fell hard onto the mattress and let out a muffled scream into her pillow.

“That bad huh?’

“Depends on what you mean by bad.”

“Go on. What happened?”

She drastically rose and started pacing her room furiously. She chewed on her thumb nail with a look of consternation on her face. She was muttering words under her breath and appeared to be psychotic.

“Um what happened?” Rose repeated the question timidly, trying to avoid the explosion that Lily was on the brink of having. Unfortunately the question only triggered it. Lily whipped around to Rose and spoke.

“He touched me and I liked it! I liked it when James Potter touched me! What is going on in this world? Hell must have frozen over because his light touches set me on fire.”

Rose couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Had James actually realized his own feelings and was acting on them like a mature adult? Was he flirting on her instead of teasing her? The idea seemed extremely absurd considering the immaturity of James Potter but from what Lily yelled that was the only logical conclusion.

“So…”

“So what?”

“I want every detail.”

“Well it is too confusing to remember precisely. All I know is that he had his arms wrapped around my waist, his hands over mine, and his nose was gently nuzzled into my neck when I fell back on him. And worst of all he left the most intoxicating scent in my mind. I swear it’s burned into my brain. It was some sort of grass and sweat and musk smell.”
“So he hit on you?”

“Well I don’t think it was intentional. I mean it’s was James after all, my bitter enemy. I’m sure that he would never intentionally do something like that to me. But there was awkwardness as we both realized what was happening. All I could think to do was storm off after yelling at him. I’m just so used to doing that. It’s basically a reflex.”

“Well try to control your reflexes at tomorrow’s lesson.”

Lily let out a groan and once again slammed onto her mattress. Her kitten, Calli, scrambled under her bed at the commotion and only poked her head out from under the sham after Lily was nestled deep into her pillow, trying to make the rest of the world disappear. But all she could think of was that smell.

“Do I have to go?”

“Of course.”

“Well, I’m simply going to tell him that I will not put up with those sort of actions.”

“I’m sure they were unavoidable and only part of the lesson today and they will remain unavoidable and part of the lesson tomorrow. I bet that was all he could do to keep you from falling to the ground.”

Lily had to admit that was completely true. He would just have to think of a new way to teach her that didn’t involve human contact.

IN JAMES’ DORMITORY…
James opened the door slightly and inched into the room with a confused scowl playing across his face. He was mumbling words under his breath as he approached his bed and didn’t look up until he heard a girlish scream.

He jumped back in shock and his head scanned the room, searching for the source of the scream. He finally found it as his eyes landed on Sirius’ bed. James’ eyes widened as he realized what was happening under that red comforter. He suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable and embarrassed. He began walking backwards, trying to leave the room as quietly as possible, but bumped into the furnace placed oddly in the center of the room.

He looked to Sirius’ bed as the giggles and grunts stopped. Sirius popped his head out from beneath the blanket and grinned sheepishly as he saw James.

“James! How are ya mate?”

“Um, fine I guess. And you?”

“Oh just smashing. I’m at the prime of my life and doing what I love if you know what I mean.”

Suddenly Sirius looked under the blanket and another head popped up from underneath the sheets. A pretty, blonde Ravenclaw that James thought was named Claire blushed and let out a wave towards James. She was slim and fair and reminded James of Rose but not nearly as beautiful.

“Hullo.” He mumbled slightly.

James heard another muffled voice and Sirius ducked under the blanket once again and asked her to repeat herself. James was very confused because Claire hadn’t said a word but he was sure he had heard another female voice. His mind was suddenly clarified by what happened next.

“I said that I think you have put your best mate into a somewhat awkward position.”

These words were spoken by a second girl who emerged from under the blanket. James was speechless. Was his best friend actually having… relations with two girls at once? He had only heard of things like this happening to movie stars and bands. He knew his friend had the gift of charm but he had no idea it was this powerful. His mind drifted back to the current situation and took in the second girl. He had seen her but was unsure of her name. She was exotic with olive skin, wavy black hair, and black eyes. He knew little about her except that she was like Sirius in her ability to attract the opposite sex.

“Oh I’m sure he is just fine, aren’t ya James?”

James let out a grunt of affirmation before Sirius continued. “James it is my pleasure to introduce you to Claire and Nicole.

Claire spoke timidly first. “Hi James. We’ve met before. We have Potions together. Um, good to see you again.”

“Yeah same here.”

“Don’t let her shy personality fool you James. She is a tomcat.”

These words weren’t spoken by Sirius by Nicole, who looked at Claire making a kissing gesture, which made Claire blush even more. Nicole’s face was flushed as well but James was sure it was from something other than embarrassment. James could see she had no shame. Sirius looked at James and raised an eyebrow before smiling. James could tell that he was in his element and not a slight bit embarrassed.

“So James, what seems to be troubling you?”

“Are you sure we should be discussing this right now?”

“I see no better time. Plus I am sure this has to do with a certain redhead and who better to give advice then two of her own kind. Don’t you agree girls?”

Both nodded and settled back into Sirius’ pillows. Claire grabbed his blanket and covered herself tightly up to her arm pits. Nicole simply smiled and put her arms behind her head, revealing her perky breasts for all in the room to see. James quickly looked to his feet and blushed, not knowing exactly what to say. There was a awkward silence in the room as the three in the bed sat awaiting James’ words and James’ searched to find them.

He leaned against the furnace and rubbed the back of his neck, taking a deep breath before he began his account of what had happened during the tumultuous flying lesson.

“Well, the lesson was a little different than I had been expecting. Everything that I had been anticipating, didn’t happen. It was great but complete shocking.”

“Well out with it Prongs. What happened?”

“I guess I just came to the conclusion that I liked her. I don’t know how it happened but one second I was looking at her and the next moment all I could think of doing was well… what I saw the three of you doing.”

“I’m just finally glad you realized it. I mean basically the entire school knew about it,” spoke Claire.

“Wait, you knew about it?!?”

This time it was Nicole who spoke. “Of course! It was so obvious all these years and that little flying duel stunt just clarified for all who were stupid enough not to notice it.”

James shook his head. How could he have been so blind to it?

Nicole continued to ask, “What do you think finally woke you up to your feelings for her?”

“I’m not sure.”

“I think I know. I think our little Prongs caught a whiff of Lily’s sweet aroma. Or maybe a glimpse of thigh? After all, you are a leg man.” Sirius smiled at James and he returned the grin.

“You’re probably right. Just thinking of her sends shivers down my spine. She has to be the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen. I can only imagine what she’s hiding under those robes.”

“Yeah, me too.”

Nicole, Claire, and James all glared at Sirius for that comment and he mumbled a quick apology to get away from their probing eyes.

Claire then asked, “What happened next?”

“Well, all I was thinking about was how I was going to get her to like me when something unexpected happened.”

All three of them in unison asked excitedly, “What?”

“She hit on me!”

Sirius was the first to speak in an unconvinced manner. “Excuse me? No offense James, but I highly doubt she hit on you. You aren’t her favorite person.”

“But it’s true. She purposely showed her upper thigh and made her breasts more apparent. Then she asked if I could help her, knowing that I would have to get on the broom with her. Then when we took off, she squealed and leaned against me so I would have to smell her hair and look down her shirt. It was all planned I tell you! All of it!”

All three resting on Sirius’ bed covered their mouths to hide their snickers. They realized that James actually believed what he said but they found it very difficult to comprehend. Unfortunately, James’ testimony meant little and they knew that Lily did not intentionally do such a thing.

“So… what are you going to do now?”

“I expect that I can only go to the lesson again tomorrow and just act as if nothing happened just as she will.”

“Well if she hit on you why would she want to act like nothing happened?”

“Well… she wanted me to think that she hadn’t hit on me so at the end of the lesson she basically jumped off of the broom in midair and yelled at me for apparently doing some stunt that I wasn’t even aware of. Then she just stormed off.”

“Hmm. I’m not sure what that means but I guess the only thing you can do is act as if it never happened and move past it. If you forget it maybe she will too.” Nicole spoke these words in a very clinical manner and received nods of agreement from James’ other two advisors.

“Yeah, I guess. Shouldn‘t I talk to her about it though?”

Sirius was the one to respond to this. “Absolutely not! You shouldn’t confront it. This is a situation in which you should run away from your problems so as to avoid an uncomfortable situation.”

James was sure that sounded exactly like what he shouldn’t do but he simply shook that idea from his head and decided that that would be exactly what he did the following day. James rose and said his thank yous before exiting the awkward situation. He could only imagine someone walking in on the scene. Two naked girls and a naked boy, in bed together, giving advice to a fully clothed boy in the middle of the room could look nothing but strange.

The next day brought uncomfortable glances and awkward moments. Lily once again woke up without remembering the previous day and Rose was forced to tell her the events as Lily had relayed them to her roommate in her fury. Rose could swear that she was on the brink of tears from the reminder. But she survived and they both continued on their way to breakfast.

The day continued, more boring than usual, and Lily was faced with seeing James in Potions. Lily had to admit that Snape had one amazing ability; he could sense tension like a bloodhound sniffing out his prey. With the usual sneer, he assigned the flying student and her teacher to be partners in creating a potion that ironically forced the truth and deepest secrets out of the one who took it. James cautiously moved towards Lily’s lab table, approaching the situation with extra care. He slid down into the chair positioned next to her and let out an innocent cough. Lily rolled her eyes at his obvious attempt at trying to get her attention. She continued to look forward, wondering just how much tenser the air around them could become before it spontaneously combusted.

From the corner of her eye she could see him throwing glances her way. She groaned in response and threw her head down onto the table, causing the vials, ingredients, and books on the table to shake as if a slight tremor had occurred.

“I know things are a little weird but we still need to do this lab and continue the flying lessons. So maybe you could try to hide your hatred for me a little more discreetly and we can continue.”

She looked down before nodding, knowing that he was for once being the bigger person and acting mature. Lily couldn’t wait until they were apart; she longed for dismissal. But a sudden thought made her dread the end of class. After Potions was her second flying lesson. Instead of there being more distance between the two, they would most likely be touching. Was it the awkward situation that they had been in yesterday or the way she had liked his hands on hers that caused her to want nothing more than to fly to Antarctica instead of entering the Quidditch field? She wasn’t sure but either way, the dread inside her was overwhelming.

She attempted to hide and leave James waiting but the thought of Dumbledore finding her brought ideas of an even worse punishment to mind and she had no choice but to walk into what she now considered her torture chamber.

She walked into the field on the defensive, hoping he wouldn’t sneak up on her as he had the day before. She looked around and spotted him entering the Gryffindor locker room. She looked down at her watch and noticed she was about ten minutes early. She let out a sigh and ran to catch up with him. She reached the swinging doors of the locker room and paused to catch her breath. She pushed the door open slightly, which let out an eerie creak, and called his name out timidly. She waited a moment without hearing a response before she entered.

The walls were lit with candles and were somehow on a dimmer setting then usual. She walked slowly forward and heard a locker door slam. She jumped from the sudden noise and laughed at her own naivety. She had only entered this dorm room once before to congratulate her second year boyfriend of a game well played when she saw him kissing the catcher. She had been devastated. That was her first boyfriend and her first heartbreak. Since then she had been much more hesitant with anything involving the heart. But of course, she remembered none of this at the moment and didn’t know how exactly she knew where she was going. But somehow she continued down the corridor, knowing to turn right.

What she then saw in front of her took her breath away. James had his back turned to her and was changing from his Quidditch practice clothes into his robes. Nothing but his chest was revealed but the beauty of it made her need to slightly back up into the wall for support. The way the glow of the candles played across his sculpted back made her melt inside. He turned around and she quickly hid around the corner. She had remained unnoticed and now had a view of his chest. She let out a sigh without noticing and placed her hand over her stomach so as to stop the butterflies within it.

She placed her other hand on the wall directly on top of a burning candle. Her hand remained there for seconds before reacting to the pain. She let out a curse causing James’ head to jerk upwards in surprise. She remained staring at her burnt fingers without realizing his eyes were on her. A grin played across his face as he finished packing up his things.

“Evans. What are you doing in the locker room?”

Her head shot up from her finger to his face, but not before traveling over his still exposed chest.

“I, uh, I saw you come in here and wanted to make sure that everything was alright.”

He raised an eyebrow at this lame excuse and walked towards her. He took hold of her upper arm and led her out onto the field.

“Come on. Let’s get this lesson over with.”

He walked in front of her grinning, knowing that she had been staring at what so many girls before her had stared at. He knew what he looked like without his shirt on and was well aware of the feelings in stirred within the opposite sex. He wondered why he had not just taken off his shirt when he had met Lily instead of trying to charm her or be nice to her. He suddenly drifted back to the real world and realized that he did not hear footsteps following him. He glanced behind him and saw Lily rooted next to the door just staring at him.

“Well, come on, let’s go.”

“Aren’t you, well aren’t you going to put a shirt on?”

“Am I making you uncomfortable Lily?” He let a wry smile slip across his lips as he walked back to her and stopped only inches from her.

“No! Of course not!”

He picked up her hand and placed it on his shoulder. “So this doesn’t bother you?”

Lily was presently feeling too many things to respond to his simple question. She desperately wanted to remove her hand, fearing that his hot skin would give her a second burn on her hand. But yet this simple touch made her whole body burn and she felt at the same time that she could keep her hand there forever. She however knew this could not continue so she let her hand lazily slip down his chest, stomach, and hips before removing her fingers.

She let out a sigh as she looked up at his face and saw his own eyes looking into hers. He had been looking at her the entire time and he did not realize what effect it would have on himself as he placed her fingers near his collarbone. She quickly whispered something and walked away. It only triggered moments later that she had said they must begin the lesson.

He stared after her a moment as she walked towards the brooms in the middle of the field before running to catch up to her. He sunk in next to her, stride for stride, and tried to look straight ahead. But he could not help letting his eyes wander to his right and notice that she was slightly out of breath. They had not been walking that fast.

She bent down to pick up the broom and straddled it. For some reason, she felt a new sort of courage. She pushed her feet off of the ground and hovered lightly in the air. She grinned at him, expecting him to be impressed but his only reply was a raised eyebrow. She raised the broom up, causing her to rise in the air. She needed for him to be impressed in some way. She wanted to shock him slightly. She continued to raise.

She looked down and he yelled something up to her that she couldn’t quite make out.
“What?”

As she said this her steering hand slipped and she lost her balance, tottering on the shaky broom. As she regained her balance, the broom suddenly took control and she was soaring across the field recklessly. She was in shock at how little she was in control and could only think to scream. An occasional “Help!” flew out of her mouth but she continued to spiral higher in the sky and gain speed.

She was getting increasingly dizzy from the heights and felt as if she were going to faint any moment. Her vision blurred and her breathing increased when a hand suddenly grabbed her roughly around the waist. She fainted at that same moment and didn’t wake up until she felt herself landing on the ground.

“Lily! Lily! Are you alright?”

She came to and turned around to see a concerned James looking over her.

“You saved my life.”

“Nonsense, I did no such thing. After all it was my fault that you even tried that. I was only saving my own ass from trouble. Can you imagine Dumbledore’s face if you would have…”

The sentence was cut short as she wrapped her arm around his neck and pulled him down towards her lips. She kissed him gently with innocent movements. James had never kissed a girl this way. He was used to rough and passionate. This was nothing of that sort. He instantly loved it and would always remember it as Lily’s pure way of romance. As he continued to kiss her, he picked her up off the broom and placed her lightly on the grassy field.

But he soon felt himself growing warmer at the feel of her lips on his. He had never realized how long he had wanted this and been waiting for it to happen. He indeed did love this form of kissing but he felt an urge to make it more intense. He placed his tongue against the front of her lips and she felt a small gasp come from her throat as she parted her lips to let him roam her mouth.

This was indeed new to her. She had to admit that she had kissed very few boys and it had never been more than a peck. So why did it stir so much within her? She instinctively knew that James was better than most at this. She also remembered Rose telling her of how she had kissed boys like this and how she had never understood why some liked it so much. Now she realized that Rose had never kissed anyone like James. How could a person not enjoy this. It was magnificent, spectucular, stupendous!

But as she had this amazing revelation her inner self was screaming at her. What was she doing? Why had she grabbed the boy she had hated all of her Hogwarts career and then kissed him like she had never done before? Just as when she had gently dipped her hand down his chest, she felt so many complicating emotions. She felt that if she did not stop this reckless display of lust at once that it would have consequences she couldn’t deal with. But his lips tasted like sweet butterbeer and his hands wandering her body made these rational thoughts evaporate into thin air.

Her breathing was quickly becoming quicker as James’ hand wandered beneath her blouse. Suddenly James stopped. His lips remained motionless on hers for a few moments before quickly being removed and he sat upright in the center of the field. Lily opened her eyes and used her elbows to elevate herself and look at the wonderful kisser beside her. His hair was messier than usual from her wandering hands and his lips were redder from her tinted lipgloss and swollen from the minutes of mouth to mouth action. Overall, he looked even more appealing than usual, actually having the look of carelessness that he had always tried so hard to achieve from purposely messing his hair everyday.

She was smiling from his attractiveness until she caught a glimpse of the expression set on his face. Her grin turned into a frown, reflecting the look on James’ own face.

“What’s the matter? Did I, uh, did I do something wrong? Did I…”

“No Lily, believe me, that is definitely not the problem. That was… better than I had imagined. I would do it again and again if it weren’t for the fact that…”

“What?”

“That you would break my heart.”

“Excuse me?”

“Lily, when you kissed me it wasn’t for the right reasons.”

“James, I think I know the reasons I kissed you! At least I know better than you!”

“Now Lily, don’t get angry. I didn’t mean it like that. I just mean that you didn’t kiss me because you liked me. You kissed me because of what you saw in the locker room and the shock of the out of control broom and…”

“Wow, aren’t you cocky. Do you actually believe that your body had that much power over me?”

“Well I did end up making out with you in the middle of the Quidditch field only five minutes of you seeing me without my shirt on.”

“That is completely untrue. That is not the reason!”

“So you’re saying you did it because you actually like me?”

James waited about a minute as Lily tried to find the appropriate words. He knew what she really felt though before the answer came out of her mouth.

“That’s what I thought. This is why you’ll break my heart Lily. When I kissed you, it was greater than any kiss I have ever had. Lily, I like you and you kissing me without feeling that back and eventually throwing me aside is not worth me feeling like crap for months to come. I would kiss you everyday but only if you felt the same way towards me. Otherwise, I can’t kiss you anymore.”

After saying this, he walked off the field, leaving Lily in the middle of the field watching his retreat. She still couldn’t form words as to why she had kissed him or how she felt about him. These words had still not been brought to surface as she herself returned to Hogwarts and laid in her bed that evening.

She awoke the next morning, remembering every detail of the most magnificent kiss of her life. But for once she remembered the horrible aftermath of the very same wonderful moment. When she woke, she moaned remembering the sweet taste of his lips and the harsh words he has spoken to her. Her kitten, Calli, jumped forward, pouncing on her forehead. She cursed slightly before lightly picking up Calli, giving her a soft kiss on the nose, and placing her softly on her pillow after rising out of bed. She walked groggily to the bathroom and was shocked to see Rose already awake and combing through her hair. Rose absently spoke a “Good Morning” as she continued to straighten her hair in the bathroom mirror.

Lily let out a grunt in response and walked over to the other sink, setting one hand firmly on each side of the sink before looking into the mirror for several seconds. She groaned, closed her eyes, and dropped her head. This dramatic display caught Rose’s attention and she turned from her aimless fixing to look at her best friend.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Um, nothing. Just had a difficult night, er, afternoon, er, whatever.”

“Why are you talking such nonsense? What happened?”

For some reason, Lily felt the urge to keep the kiss and their conversation afterwards to herself. She wasn’t ready to let her best friend know how she felt about James or how she didn’t feel. In all honesty, Lily wasn’t ready to admit that to herself much less another human being.

“Nothing serious. Just another tumultuous flying lesson.”

“Oh really? What did he do this time?”
“Nothing really. He was just his normal self.”

Inside, she only wished that the James she saw yesterday could be the James she saw everyday, walking around half naked and giving her kisses that made her knees weak. She washed her face, hoping that Rose was satisfied with that vague answer. It appeared as if she was. She finished getting ready, fed her small pet, and left for class. She abandoned the thought of breakfast, dreading the idea of seeing James now.

She walked intently to class and entered the classroom, finding herself to be the first one present. She looked around the classroom, examining certain charts and pictures, anything to get her mind away from the events of the previous day.