Chapter Five: The Almost Kiss, Mudblood, and More Detention
The morning light slowly pulled Lily awake from her dreamless sleep. She yawned and looked down to where the boy with the messy hair had fallen asleep at her bed side. James' face was just inches from her hand. He was out cold and it gave Lily a moment really to examine his face. His hair was always a mess; he had a perpetual case of bed-head hair. He spent a great amount of futile energy raking his hand through his hair in attempts to tame it. He always wore those same glasses, even now; they were askew on his face.
Her eyes lingered on his lips for a while. Perfectly soft looking, she wondered loftily what they might be like to kiss. They were closed together now, not in a tense grimace or a tight snarl, but more like met together in a peaceful union. She wondered if he was a soft kisser or a hard kisser. Remus, she was a bit foggy on how he kissed but she remembered them being intense as if he couldn't get enough of her. He tasted her, devoured her.
Severus' had been very different. He had been restrained, as if he refused to allow himself to enjoy Lily. Perhaps they were a little boring after all these years. Lily remembered they used to have more heat to them, back years before when things were different. Lily blushed at the thought of kissing Remus and Severus, and then blushed harder at the thought that James was probably very good at kissing. Any kiss that James would give was sure to be intense, to say the least. Lily could feel a funny dancing in her stomach, much like expectation and desire. Maybe just one quick kiss-
Lily leaned forward, intending to kiss James' lips. Her eyes momentarily darted to his eyes to find the once closed baby blues were wide open. He had been watching her for a few minutes, while she had been completely unaware. She would have pulled away sooner had she known that he saw her moisten her lips with the tip of her tongue in anticipation, or that she was biting that same lip in anticipation.
"I want to kiss you," James said quietly as he sat up. He raked his hand nervously through his hair, something to diffuse the nervous energy that was building in the pit of his stomach. She pulled away, almost as if she was in slow motion.
"I have to go," Lily muttered climbing out of bed. She ignored the sharp complaint of her ankle and the pain that coursed up her leg. She hobbled away quickly, tossing back to him, "You're going to be late for your match against Ravenclaw if you don't hurry."
Lily went straight to her room, thankful that it was empty. Most of the school would be out at the pitch by now, eagerly awaiting the match. Lily threw herself across her bed carelessly. She closed her eyes against the gold and maroon of her room that strangely reminded her of James, just to have his likeness crop up behind her lids. She closed her eyes even tighter, but she couldn't rid herself of the thoughts of James Potter. She had Potter on the brain.
"No!" Lily shouted angrily to no one in particular. "I can not fall for that pompous jerk!"
James, on the other hand, ran to the pitch to see how his boys faired the night without him there. Remus, Peter, and Sirius didn't look any worse for the wear. They listened as James animatedly told them about the night he had, including how she had slipped on the water, and how they had almost kissed.
"If only I had kept my eyes closed," James chastised himself harshly.
Gryffindor won easily Two-hundred and ninety to thirty points and the Marauders were strutting. While it was not clear which of the Marauders had seen Severus Snape sitting under the tree reading his Defense Against the Dark Arts book, it was James who had disarmed Snape. With a laugh of boisterous cruelty, James suspended Severus Snape up in the air, upside down, by the ankle. Lily had seen the whole thing and ran to Severus' defense.
"Put him down!" Lily warned with her wand raised threateningly at James. He looked at her, a little concerned. He didn't want her mad, and he wasn't doing this to piss her off, either. The other's laughed.
"We're just having a little fun with your boyfriend," Sirius teased as he slipped his arm around her shoulder. "Isn't that right, Snevellous?"
"Put him down now, Potter!" Lily threatened with contempt after she shoved Sirius arm off her shoulder. James began lowering Severus Snape to the ground.
"I am not her boyfriend," Snape snapped at them all. He turned his attentions to Lily. "I don't need your help, you Mudblood." All of the color disappeared from Lily's face as people around them gasped and gawked. Severus had dared called one of the kindest witches a `Mudblood'.
"Fine," Lily said with such sharpness to her word. She cursed loudly using a string of swears she had not been heard pronouncing before. She swung her head in a circle over her head almost like a lasso, sending everyone with in a ten-foot radius flying back twenty or so feet. Witnessed by no less than four teachers, Lily was escorted to Professor Dumbledore's office.
Lily was late to dinner that evening. She entered the Great Hall and walked quickly past the three other tables to her own house table. Sliding into her seat next to Alice, she didn't say anything. James tried to get Lily's attention. His whispered attempts went ignored by Lily, who was focused on eating her dinner. Alice glanced over at James scornfully, but didn't say anything. The Marauders joined James in his quest to get Lily's attention. They began to fling peas from there seats in her general direction, much to Alice's displeasure. She began fishing peas out of her drink.
"What?" Lily snapped, enraged.
"What punishment did you get?" James asked. It seemed like their section of the table had grown quiet so that they could listen in on Lily's response.
"Detention," Lily said crossly. She brushed a few peas free of her hair and sighed rather audibly, "I have a really long sentence."
"Sucks," James said. Lily rolled her eyes at his sympathies. He was the reason that she had gotten all of these detentions in the first place. She pushed her plate away and left the Great Hall, heading back toward her dorm room. She saw Severus and Lucius talking heatedly in the corridor but opted not to even acknowledge either of them. Severus had called her a Mudblood. Their friendship was over.
Lily sat in the common room for a little while watching as the first years were goofing off with their feeble attempts at the little magic that they knew. She glanced out the window, seeing that the hour was upon her. Rising from her chair, she nearly knocked one of the first years down. The little first year looked at her terrified and scuttled off to be with the others, far away from the scary looking seventh year. Lily sighed and wondered if she had been that terrified of seventh years when she was just a first year.
Dressed in her school robes, Lily headed through the portrait hole. She brushed past James without a word, her robes fluttering around her ankles as she disappeared from sight. James shrugged and joined the other Marauders in teasing and taunting the first years. After a while the four became bored of their childish antics and took their seats next to the fire.
"You are thinking about Lily, aren't you?" Sirius asked as James stared into the fire, watching the embers crackle and pop. James nodded.
"Yeah," James admitted a little grumpily.
"At least with all of the detentions she is getting, she hasn't been able to look for or even think of the dog," Remus reasoned. Sirius sighed.
"I miss her kisses on my nose," Sirius said. He looked a little lost and forlorn, like a slighted lover. He rubbed his nose rather roughly, as if trying to remove an invisible smudge.
"Oh, great," James groaned, looking up at the sky. Night was nearing. "I am late for extra potions with Slughorn." James climbed to his feet and took off to the dungeon to find the professor.
Professor Slughorn was not very angry with James, one of his favorite Quidditch players. Instead, he sent James to retrieve some herbs and plants that he needed for potion class from Professor Sprout. James quickly ran from the dungeon to the greenhouses and began looking for Professor Sprout.
Lily stood surveying the area. She couldn't believe that with the threat of the first snow, fat flakes already dropping from the sky, it was so blazing hot in the greenhouse. The windows had fog on them, and the green house resembled some damp, humid marsh. Lily had peeled her clothes down to the practical bare minimum, standing barefoot in a pair of soccer shorts and a thin tank top. Except for that and her underwear, she was nearly naked. The sweat poured down her face and back, her clothes clinging to her body.
"Professor Sprout? Professor Slughorn sent me," James panted as he burst into the greenhouse, an icy cold wind blowing in behind him. Lily shivered. James' eyes sought out and were transfixed on Lily Evans. She was standing over a huge trumpet weed, a spade in her hand as she attempted to extract a violently purple spotted pod from its mist. James wanted to rush over there and crush Lily again the dirt covered floor. He saw her wet her lips and brush the sweat off her brow, barely looking his way.
Lily watched as Professor Sprout loaded James' arms with various things that Slughorn had requested. She refused to focus too much thought or attention that look that James had given her. It had caused her to shiver with excitement, much to her displeasure. She hadn't wanted a look from James Potter to cause her so much as a pause; much less that racing heart beat feeling. She groaned inwardly and went back to her task. Long after James had left, she found her mind wandering back to that look. Each time, her heart would race.
It was well after midnight when Lily was released from her detention. She crept back into the castle, finding it was eerily silent. There wasn't even a hint of Peeves or any of the usual ghosts that seemed to float around freely after dark. Lily was glad that she was alone and headed straight to the prefects bathroom. She was covered in sweat that seemed almost to freeze her as she had headed back to the castle.
Wand out, she flicked the faucets on, the pool sized bath filling with various soaps and scents. Lily smiled. She glanced around to see that she was, indeed, alone. She removed all of her clothes rather quickly, thrilled to leave behind the sweat and dirt stained clothes. She flicked her wand so that they automatically disappeared down the laundry chute. She stood there, naked and filthy, at the edge of the bath before falling back into the water with her arms spread wide. Gracefully, she dove under the soapy water.
James Potter sat frozen to his spot, his eyes blinking disbelieving. He was unable to pull his gaze away from the scene that had played out before him. Mouth hanging open, he nearly called to her before he realized that she couldn't see him. The invisibility cloak had hidden him from her, and in return she had shown him all of herself. He yearned for her, ached for her, ached to kiss every inch of her.
`I should leave,' James thought as he watched Lily swim laps in the giant tub. She scooped up a handful of suds and blew them into the air, causing her to laugh merrily. He went to move but found that she had moved first out of the tub, and he was fixed to his spot. She had climbed out of the tub and stepped under the gentle rainfall shower, the suds that once clung to her rinsing clean from her body. He nearly groaned aloud at the sight as his pants seemed to tighten on him.
She stood just arms reach from him, naked. She was so womanly he couldn't stand not touching her. He thought about undressing and removing his cloak to let her know that he had been there the entire time, but he knew that she wouldn't understand. She was sure to scream, and the last thing he needed was for the entire school to file down to the prefect bathroom to see them naked together.
Dried and dressed, Lily left the bathroom, leaving James with the image of Lily's pert breast and womanly form burned permanently on his brain. This was one of those things he was certain he would not be sharing with the Marauders. He waited for a while after Lily left. He didn't want to be caught leaving the bathroom after Lily, certain that no one would understand. He climbed through the portrait hole, waking a rather grumpy Fat Lady, expecting the common room to be deserted. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Lily sitting beside the fire place holding a thick book. James was glad he had stowed the cloak before entering the common room.
"Where have you been?" Lily asked curiously as James took the seat directly across from hers. The warmth from the fireplace was welcomed in contrast to the drafty corridors.
"Patrolling," James lied quickly as heat rose to his cheeks. Lily was silent for a moment, an obvious look of surprise on her face.
"Oh," Lily finally replied. A minute or two passed between them, Lily looking at James and him looking right back. He saw her bite her lip gently and had the urge to help her bruise those tender lips. "Sorry about hexing you earlier. I was just so mad about what Severus said and I lost my head. I am just grateful that Professor Dumbledore didn't take away my head-girl status."
"Me, too," James replied. He was unable to look away from her lips as she spoke to him.
"Um, well, I am tired so I guess I am heading off to bed," Lily said as she stood and stretched. Before she realized what she was doing, her lips brushed his cheek, as if it was something natural and common. Tentatively, she stepped away from him, blushing as she was realizing what she had just done; she had kissed James Potter on her own accord.
"Sorry," James murmured as he backed away from her toward the boys dorms. "Sorry," he repeated as he retreated up the stairs and through his dorm room door.
"What took you so long? It's been hours!" Sirius grumbled with his hand out stretched waiting for James to pass along the cloak. Sirius needed it to sneak into the kitchens. He was hungry again.
"Lily kissed me," James breathed.
"What!?" Sirius exclaimed deciding that the food could wait. Remus was up, and flung himself toward them, eager to hear the details.
"Where?" Remus asked eagerly.
"Just now, downstairs in the common room," James explained. He hesitated, not certain he wanted to tell them everything. His pride billowed in his chest and James spilled all of the details from seeing her in the greenhouse, followed by the showers, and ending with the kiss in the common room.
"What did you say?" Sirius asked sitting on the very edge of his bed in anticipation. He was practically salivating.
"I… I said that I was sorry," James said as he raked his hand through his hair nervously. "Then I rushed right up here."
"Stupid!" Remus and Sirius cried in unison, making James flinch. He had known that his reaction was not a smooth one.
"Even I know that was a mistake," Peter said quietly from his bed. James rolled his eyes.
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