Chapter Ten: The Marauders Return
"James?" A voice questioned as James lay there deep asleep. James was in the middle of an intensely pleasurable dream where he and Lily were alone in the Shrieking Shack, doing to each other what they liked to do. He didn't want to wake, but he knew the voice outside of his dream couldn't understand. He slowly opened his eyes to find Sirius, Remus, and Peter standing by his bedside. The three looked at him curiously.
"Hey, guys, how was your holiday?" James asked as he rose from his bed and pulled on his jeans over his boxer shorts, quickly. The physical body betrayed him and expressed what the dream wanted.
"Not nearly as interesting as yours was," Sirius commented as his fingers traces a few of the deep, fresh scratches on James' back. James laughed and pulled a shirt on over his head.
"It's nothing," James said casually. He stretched, unable to suppress a grin. "I am starved!"
"Ooh, what has Prongs been up to while the Marauders were away?" Sirius laughed as he pulled the shirt back up. Remus laughed.
"Nothing, really, so stop touching," James laughed. He pulled his shirt back down and pulled on his shoes.
"So, is she going to Remus' secret?" Peter asked quietly. He seemed unimpressed that James managed to get himself mauled by some unknown person.
"Who? Lily? Yeah, she says she will keep our secrets," James mumbled. He glanced at his watch and grinned. "Let's go get some breakfast! I am starved!"
The four headed down the dorm stairs and practically ran Lily over as she exited the portrait hole herself. She pitched forward but James grabbed her arm and kept her from falling face forward onto the landing. He could feel a smile creeping across his face, but he fought it into submission, not wanting to allow the knowledge of her body to be evident on his face.
"Oh, Jeeze," Lily said as she righted herself. Her cheeks were flushed.
"Hey there Evans, any clue who my boy has been shagging up with?" Sirius asked. Lily shrugged with a smirk on her face.
"No clue, dog-boy," Lily quipped. She turned, flipping her hair over her shoulder and headed down to the Great Hall ahead of the Marauders.
"Well, it is about time that you got over that little hell-cat," Sirius whispered to James. James chuckled and watched as Lily disappeared into the hall in front of them.
"Yeah," James agreed. He grinned at Sirius.
As it so happened, Lily and James were sitting next to each other at the table in the Great Hall. Lily was chatting with Alice, who was telling Lily all about the cute wizard that had visited with his family over the holiday.
"JP, pass the juice and quit hogging the jam," Lily said. James passed both to her quickly. Neither could look at each other longer than a moment without delirious grins spreading across their faces, heat increasing between them every breath they took. Lily felt like her heart was entirely too big to fit behind her breast bone and it was still expanding.
"Fine," James said as he placed his hand on her knee and squeezed. Lily blushed but fought the urge to squirm, instead opting to shove her toast into her mouth. She coughed on a piece that went down the wrong way and Sirius reached behind James and thumped her on the back.
"Thanks Sirius," Lily coughed as she got up from the table. "See you later." Alice nodded and waved, assuming Lily was talking to her. Lily was beaming on the inside, a stupid grin plastered on her face despite her best effort to suppress it.
Lily left the Great Hall, leaving behind Alice and the Marauders, and headed toward class. She barely glanced up at the Marauders as they entered potions class. She couldn't look at James without that stupid smile finding its way on her face. Just the thought of him had her smiling. It was really rather annoying, but in a great way. The Marauders took their normal seats toward the back of the class room; Lily had already taken her seat at the very front of the classroom.
They were all told to start to recreate the potion that was written on the board, and before long, cauldrons were lit and they were all working with their groups. Sirius leaned toward James as the two went to work cutting.
"Hey, Prongs, since you have obviously moved on, do you think you would mind if I tried?" Sirius asked hesitantly as he nodded toward Lily. James looked up at Lily who was standing over her cauldron, looking at it expectantly. He felt himself squirm uncomfortably, not because of Sirius request but because of his desire to run to her side and take her right there in potions class.
"You and Lily?" James asked slowly. He watched as she carefully roller her sleeves up and dipped her ingredients into the potion.
"Yeah, I mean you moved on and she is really pretty and sweet. She is one of the few girls in this school that I have not already dated," Sirius said as he watched her begin stirring her cauldron.
"Oh, ok," James said stupidly as she bent over to pick up something that another student had dropped near her station. Sirius grinned at him, clapping his shoulder hard before heading up to where Lily was working. Sirius sat down next to Lily, stopping only long enough to give James the thumbs-up sign.
"You know, you should have told him no," Remus said as James watched as Sirius and Lily chatted. Sirius was obviously trying to be charming and was striking out with Lily, who looked like she was slightly offended and none the less amused.
"What do you mean?" James asked as he looked at Remus.
"I don't know what you have been up to, but I do know that there is no way that you are over Lily Evans. She is not the type of girl you just get over," Remus said wisely as James' glanced back at Lily and Sirius.
Sirius shrugged and walked back to the other Marauders. He had a look of rejection that he was trying to cover up with just playfulness. He sat back down at the table and began attacking their ingredients with frenzy.
"She said that she would have a hard time kissing me knowing that there was a good possibility that I had been licking myself, you know, there," Sirius growled. Remus and James laughed.
"She seems to know you so well," James teased. Sirius laughed and nodded, the three laughing fairly hard at the notion.
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