A/N: Ooh, such fun. Such excitement! Thank you so much for all the reviews… you know I love them! Some of you will love this, some not so much… R/R!
Disc.: If I created the world of magic, I would be all powerful! Since I can't even fly, we have to assume I didn't create the world of magic. I did, however, create these scenes with bad spelling/grammar and all.
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Chapter Twenty-Two
Lily was sitting casually at a table in the library. James, Sirius, and Remus had just walked into the library to start working on planning James' second attempt at a date. They figured that between the three of them, they should be able to figure up something perfect for her. Sirius put his arm out to stop the other two for going any further. Remus and James looked to where Sirius had nodded. They watched as she wrote something on a piece of parchment carefully.
"Do you think she is penning another letter to her boyfriend?" Sirius teased in a whispered voice.
"She still hasn't given me the last one," James said shaking his head.
"Have you asked her to be your boyfriend?" Remus asked raising an eyebrow suspiciously at James. James grinned and shook his head again. He went to open his mouth and say something when Lily's giggling shattered the silence. They looked over at her, reading what she had just written looking mighty satisfied. She was holding the parchment in her right hand, a quill in her left hand.
"Hey, she has my quill," Sirius said as he pushed through and marched over to the table where she was sitting. He threw himself into a chair beside her. "Lily Evans, that's my quill."
"Yeah, it is," Lily said grinning as she held on to it.
"Well, can I have it back?" Sirius asked. Lily twirled it in her hands as she watched James and Remus coming to sit down at the table with her.
"Where's Alice?" Remus asked. Lily rolled her eyes.
"Off with Frank," Lily said. "Doing whatever the two of them do in your room when they are alone."
"My quill," Sirius reminded her.
"Alright, alright," Lily said as she held it out to him. "I was just having a good time with it."
"When did Lily take your quill?" James asked Sirius. Lily grinned.
"Like the first week of school," Lily said. "He was tapping it here in the library irritating everyone." Understanding lit the boys' eyes.
"This is my favorite quill," Sirius said as he held the quill in his hand. Lily smirked.
"As if," Lily laughed. Sirius pulled the parchment toward him.
"What in the world is this," Sirius asked as he begun to glance at the parchment.
"It was supposed to be my paper for Transfiguration," Lily said grinning. Sirius shook his head, and begun to write on the parchment. He burst out laughing.
"What in the world happened to my quill," Sirius asked as he pushed the quill and parchment towards James. He looked down at what should have been a serious paper written about the theory of human transfiguration. Instead, the paper was full of smart-mouth comments, insults, and obscenities. James laughed.
"Well, I don't think you ought to turn this in to McGonagall for your paper," James said. Lily shook her head.
"I wasn't going to. I actually pulled out my own quill and wrote it already. I had a great time with it though," Lily said. Sirius nodded.
"A little creation of Marauders Incorporated," joked James. Lily grinned.
"So, what brings you three to the library?" Lily asked as she crossed her arms.
"We were coming down here to plan our next date," James said. "I screwed it up so much last time, that I thought that I'd get some help. Granted that I don't think I could do as great of a job as you, but still, I have to try."
"It's not a competition, James," Lily said shaking her head. James nodded.
"I know," James said. "I just want it to be perfect."
Lily didn't say anything further, just retrieved another quill from her bag. She began writing on the parchment, disappointed that what she wrote remained as she wrote it. She sighed, and took the smarty quill from Sirius with an apologetic smile.
"I'll buy you a new quill," Lily said as Sirius tried to take it back from her.
"Give me my quill," Sirius laughed as he tried to wrestle it away from her. Without warning, she bolted out of the library with the quill in her hand, laughter trailing behind her. James sighed and shook his head.
"I'll go get it," James said. "You start working on some ideas for my date with Lily."
James ran out of the library, calling after her. He was met with laughter as she continued to run from him. She ducked down the hallway near the room of requirement, and James picked up his speed. If she disappeared into the room of requirement, he might not be able to follow her. She slipped through a door and James slipped in just before the doorway disappeared.
"Lily?" James asked as he stood in the middle of what looked like any ordinary room. "Lily, give me the quill."
"Come and get it from me," she laughed as she stood beside the fireplace. The room was stifling warm, causing a sweat to bead up on James' brow. He wiped his forehead quickly with the back of his hand. James laughed and ran to where she was standing, just for her to slip away from him just in time.
"What's your fascination with Sirius' quill," James asked suggestively. "You've seen one quill, you've seen them all."
"Are we talking quills or are we talking quills?" Lily smirked. James ran at her again, catching her off guard. His hands encircled her wrist and he pulled her against him.
"I caught you," James laughed. Lily grinned.
"You certainly did," Lily said as she bit her bottom lip slightly as she looked up into his warm, hazel eyes. "I guess you deserve a prize."
"Good," James said as bent down and pressed his lips to her. He released her wrist and pulled away.
"You are always trying to push things with me," Lily laughed. She handed him the quill and crossed her arms. "I guess that I'll catch you later."
"Your birthday," James blurted out. Lily turned around with a dumbstruck look.
"What?" Lily asked.
"Your birthday," James said. "I want to do something special for your birthday."
"No," Lily said shaking her head. "I'm not a fan of birthdays."
James watched her leave. He headed straight back to the library. He had heard her, but still it seemed perfect. He would throw her the best birthday party ever possible. He had to move quickly since her birthday was just a week away. James went over his idea with Sirius and Remus, omitting the part where she said she wasn't a fan of birthdays. He knew most girls dreaded getting older, especially publicly.
"You know, that is a really great idea," Sirius said as he nodded. "I don't think she's ever had a birthday here before. I mean we all have these big parties, but I don't think she's ever had one."
"Are you sure she'd be ok with this?" Remus asked cautiously.
"She's not a fan of birthdays," James said honestly. "But she's never had a birthday party thrown by the Marauders."
"We should limit to seventh years, and invite the other houses," Sirius said. "It might be fun."
"That means Slytherin," Remus said. Sirius and James cringed, but they knew it was true.
"Don't tell Alice," Sirius said. "She'll leak it to Lily."
"Where?" James wondered aloud to no one in particular. A smile crossed his face. "I know the perfect place. The room of requirement, that way we won't have Slytherins all up in our common room. We'll get Frank to bring Alice, and then have Peter bring Lily."
"Perfect," Sirius said.
Her birthday. It was a day to celebrate the end of a rather long and painful labor that ended in the birth of a tiny, sickly baby with tiny fists, followed by the birth of another. Born six weeks early, the Evans twins weren't expected to make it. With muggle medicine so inferior to magical medicine in that day and age, it wasn't surprising that the boy died within the first hours of his life. It was Lily's birthday, but it also marked the day of death for her older brother, Liam.
Lily's parents tried to make it a day of happiness for Lily, but she had always felt as if a part of her was missing, so on her tenth birthday her parents finally told her of the passing of her brother. They had reveled in one while mourning for the other. From that day on, Lily swore to never have a birthday again. It was, in her heart, disrespectful for Liam.
Lily pulled out the pictures her parents had given her. The pictures were old and contained two tiny, nearly identical babies. Both had the same color hair and eyes. For someone who would die within hours of taking the picture, in Lily's opinion her brother looked perfect. They were on the small side, yes, but the infants clung to each other, hand in hand. She didn't know if it was true or not, but Lily liked to believe she was holding her big brother's hand when he died.
"Lily?"
Lily looked up to see Peter standing there nervously. Lily realized she was still in the common room, having not quite headed to bed yet. She had been planning to go to bed early, to sleep the rest of the day away if she could. It was nearly six, almost dinner time. She wasn't planning on even going down to dinner.
"Yes, Peter?" Lily asked wiping her cheek with her hand as he remained standing.
"I hate to bother you, because I know you're not on duty tonight, but I can't manage to find a single prefect," Peter said. Lily stored the pictures between the pages of the book she was reading.
"It's ok," Lily said as she stood. "What's up, Peter?"
"It's just that I saw something suspicious," Peter said dramatically. "Some students looked like they were up to no good."
"Ok, where?" Lily said as she tucked the book up under her arm. Peter led Lily out of the common room.
"There were a few very shady looking characters entering this door up here," Peter whispered as he pointed toward the door. Lily handed him the book and pulled out her wand.
"Hang on to this for me, please," Lily breathed as she pressed her finger to her mouth. She crept close to the door. She pushed the door open, wand drawn. She peered into the unnaturally dark room. "Hello? Who's in here?"
"Surprise!" the room shouted as the lights came on, flooding the room with light. Lily shielded her eyes with her arm as Peter stepped up behind her.
"What?" Lily said stupidly.
"Happy Birthday!" They cheered. Lily blinked her eyes, glancing around at all of the seventh year students holding drinks up in celebration to Lily. She looked stupefied.
"I… I don't understand," Lily said as Alice embraced her.
"Everyone has come together to celebrate your birthday," Alice whispered to Lily. "I didn't know, otherwise I would have warned you. That is probably why I didn't know. They didn't know about your issue with your birthday."
"I'll be ok," Lily promised as she pulled away.
"No hogging the birthday girl," Sirius said as he pulled Lily into a giant hug. "Ah, you're all mine for ten seconds!"
"Easy there, Sirius," Remus warned as Sirius wiggled his eye brows at her.
"I can control myself," Sirius said indignantly as he kissed her cheek. He passed her to James.
"Hey there," He said as he kissed her cheek. "I invited the Slytherins but they didn't seem interested in coming, aside from Severus."
"What, Potter? No Snape?" Severus sneered as he hugged Lily next. He kissed her cheek. "I actually have patrol and can't stay, but since I've never been to your birthday before, I wanted to at least wish you a happy birthday."
"T-thanks," Lily stammered. She watched him leave. "Wow, James."
"Do you like it? Were you surprised?" James asked hopefully. "I mean I know this isn't a proper date or anything, and I will plan one of those, but I wanted to do something special for you."
"I… I was very surprised," Lily said nodding. "Thank you."
"I know you said you're not a fan," James said quickly as he put his arm around her waist. "I just thought that if I gave you the greatest birthday party ever, you would change your mind about birthdays."
"A party, however wonderful it is, won't change my mind," Lily said simply as she stepped away from him. James looked crestfallen, but his manly pride told him to suck it up, and enjoy the party. He laughed along with students from Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and his own Gryffindor. He glanced at Lily from time to time; she looked like she was really forcing herself to have a good time.
"She doesn't look really happy to be here," James told Sirius as Alice and Frank joined them at the food table. Peter glanced over at Lily.
"She looks happy to me. She's smiling," Peter said.
"She's forcing it," James said slightly disappointed.
"James," Alice said shaking her head. "Lily hates her birthday. This party is beautiful, but it doesn't change the fact that Lily's birthday reminds her of her brother's death."
"Her brother?" James asked as he looked over at Lily. A Ravenclaw boy was talking to Lily, his mouth near her ear. "I knew she had a sister. I didn't know she had a brother."
"Her twin," Alice said quietly. "They were born too early and he died. She lived and he died, on their birthday."
"Oh," James said shaking his head. "Damn, I've screwed it up again!"
"No, you haven't," Alice said as she pushed him toward Lily. "Go save her from Jimmy Peterson and take her for a quiet walk just the two of you."
James strolled over to Lily with two drinks in his hand. The Ravenclaw boy exited with just a single silent look from James. He handed Lily the drink and the two stood in silence. Lily shifted slightly, her arm brushing against James' arm. His mind whirled with scenarios of what he should do.
"Hey, I know this is your party, but do you want to go for a walk, just the two of us?" James asked quietly. "I don't think anyone would mind."
"That'd be great," Lily said as she sipped her drink. James took her hand and led her out of the room of requirement. Once in the hallway, he didn't drop her hand. Instead, he led her through the corridors to the astronomy tower. Together, they sat on the platform used by the astronomy student, Lily tucked under his arm.
"I just want to say that I'm sorry, Lily," James said quietly. "I didn't know about your brother."
"There's nothing to be sorry about," Lily said shaking her head.
"I don't understand how I can be so cool and suave around everyone else, but around you I commit every social blunder possible," James said. Lily rolled her eyes.
"You can't blame me for your social retardation," Lily said lightly. He chuckled.
"I really like you," James breathed in her ear, his forehead rest against the side of her head.
"I like you too, James," Lily said. She felt his lips caress the side of her neck, making her shiver. She turned her face to look at him, allowing his mouth to travel along her neck and jaw line to her mouth. The kiss, while simple, was charged with the tension of all of the years that James and Lily had played cat and mouse.
"Lily, maybe we should go back," James breathed as they found themselves falling backwards toward the ground. His hands cradled her head, her fingers on the nape of his neck.
"Soon," Lily breathed as they continued to kiss. James looked down at her, the nearly full moon spilling its milky glow on two. He felt as if his stomach was on fire, a fire that burned from behind his belly button all the way south. He could tell from the look in her eyes that Lily felt the same burning desire.
"It's snowing," James breathed in between kisses, the fluffy snowflakes melting on contact as they rested on the bare skin of his back. He hadn't even been aware of removing his shirt, his arms were now bare. He could feel himself pressing against her, desiring her like had never desired anyone before.
"It's only snow," Lily had replied as she pulled him closer. For a moment, he could picture them together, making love out in the open with snow falling all around. They were already breathing fairly hard, and tiny whimpering sounds were escaping from both of them when they least expected it. James could picture Lily giving herself to him completely, and she would have. He knew it without a doubt; she would give herself to him.
"We have to stop, Lily," James groaned painfully as he rolled away from her. His bare back burned with the icy coldness of the snow.
"You don't want to?" Lily asked as she struggled to regain control over her body. She pushed herself up on one arm, looking at the definition of his chest chiseled from the endless hours of training.
"Psht! You know I want to," James laughed. "As it is, I need a cold shower and a little alone time with Little James. I just remember you want to wait until we are married, and I intend to tempt you like hell from now until then."
"We're not getting married," Lily said shaking her head and laughing.
"Not yet, but one day," James said as he stood. He offered her his hand, helping Lily to her feet. She handed him his shirt.
"You sure are mighty confident of yourself, James," Lily said as she watched him pull the shirt back on his body.
"I figure," James said as he took Lily's hand. "I still haven't even asked you to be my girlfriend. What kind of girl would it make you?"
"Easy," Lily agreed.
"Yup," James said. He grinned at her. "So, do you?"
"Do I what, James?" Lily asked.
"Do you want to be my girlfriend, Lily," James asked. "Exclusively?"
"I have been waiting for you to ask me since you came back to Hogwarts," Lily said nodding. "Yeah, I want to be your girlfriend."
"Fantastic," James said. "Why don't we head back to the room of requirement for cake? By now, all that should be left is our fellow Gryffindor friends. Then Sirius and Remus can joke about smelling the heat of you on me."
"Gross," Lily laughed as the two of them headed down the stairs from the Astronomy tower. They had been so caught up in their selves that they hadn't noticed a dark figure standing in the shadows the entire time that they were together. The figure remained hidden until the footsteps died down and only the snowy silence consumed the Astronomy tower.
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