Disc.: All this, I own naught.
Bonfire Destruction
James walked into his room in a daze, a time-warped haze. He began pulling his shoes from his feet before he realized he wasn't wearing shoes. He glanced up at the others in the room, all sitting around watching him with concern.
"Where have you been?" Sirius asked looking at him.
"I walked Lily back to the house," James said frowning.
"You left two hours ago," Remus said. James looked at Frank.
"We left together," James said. Frank nodded.
"And I was back in ten minutes, fifteen minutes tops," Frank said raising his eye brows at James.
"I guess… I guess I lost track of time," James said shrugging. "I was swinging on the hammock with Lily and we got to arguing."
"Jeeze, always with the arguing," Remus said shaking his head.
"Well, so I walked her to the door and… and I came right back," James said quickly. The others caught the hesitation in James' voice.
"You came right back?" Sirius challenged. James fought to suppress a stupid grin. He looked down, focused on his shorts. His fingers fiddled with the ties. Sirius grinned and patted the bed beside him. "Come sit down and tell big brother all about it."
"Nothing to tell," James said as a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. He threw himself onto the bed as the others crowded closer.
"Nothing my ass," Sirius said. James shrugged.
"I went to kiss her cheek and she turned her head," James said simply.
"She turned her head? Like towards you or away from you?" Frank asked. James shrugged.
"Come on, quit being coy," Sirius urged.
"We kissed, that's all you need to know," James said. "On the mouth, hands on face, etcetera."
"So, are you going to ask her out?" Remus asked. James opened his mouth and hesitated.
"No," James said quietly as he looked down at the floor a second.
"Why the hell not?" Sirius demanded to know. James looked up at him and laughed at his best friends outburst.
"I thought you wanted to ask her out," James countered grinning.
"I did, but only because she on the very short list of Hogwarts' girls I've never dated. I don't like her like you do," Sirius said punching James in the shoulder hard. James cringed and rubbed his shoulder. "Now, why the hell aren't you going to ask her out?"
"I… I don't just want a summer thing," James blurted out. He blushed as the others sat in awe. "I mean, she's not perfect, I get it, and she can be a real witch in the complete sense of the word. She's up tight. Sometimes I want to choke her or pour ink on her head, but I think I am falling for her."
"Falling for her?" Frank pushed gently. James nodded once, almost hesitantly.
"I mean, I don't want things to change," James said simply. "So, I'm not going to tell her any of this. I kind of like dating around. It's exciting."
"Dating Lily could be exciting," Remus suggested. James laughed.
"As exciting as spending the perfect Quidditch weather holed up in the library," James said. Sirius laughed and nodded. "Anyways, Lily's that kind of girl that you become steady and staid for. I don't know if I can do that yet."
"God, you're a bit full of yourself," Sirius snorted. "You don't even know if she'd even say yes to you."
"Oh, she would," James said confidently. Remus grinned and raised a skeptical eyebrow at him.
"She's not said yes to you yet," Remus reminded him. James made a face.
"Good point," James said. He shrugged. "All the better not to ask her."
"Let's just talk about this in the morning, a'right?" Peter yawned. "Today's been a long day."
"What with all the knitting you and Mum did?" Frank teased. Peter scowled but pulled himself up off the bed and headed out the room. Frank laughed and joined the boy to the room they were sharing.
"This conversation isn't over with," Sirius warned as James threw himself onto his own bed.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," James yawned. "Whatever."
The morning woke them with a summer storm, but it was fleeting and the sun burned off most of the clouds and haze shortly after lunch. The seven found themselves having a great time wake boarding and hanging out at the coast side. The others watched James and Lily carefully, but it was as if they had never kissed each other. There wasn't that awkwardness that they had almost expected in anticipation. Instead, Lily and Alice chased each other into the waves, leaving the boys in their dust as they went in search of the big waves caused by the storm from earlier.
Their whoops and hollers could be heard all along the beach, and they all looked like they were having a great time. Still, the others were unconvinced that neither James nor Lily were unaffected by each other's seemingly innocent yet intimate moment the previous night and so they watched and waited, half expecting one of them to jump the other one at any minute. James laughed as a huge wave knocked Lily over, the red head jumping up out of the water with seaweed on her head.
"You think that's funny, Potter?" Lily challenged as she pulled a huge clump out of her hair.
"I do," James laughed. With a loud splat, a wad of seaweed caught him opened mouthed in the face. He made a face, the salty water and seaweed gagging him slightly. "Don't start something you can't finish, Lily."
"Who says that I can't finish it?" Lily laughed as she shoved water at him with her hands. He splashed her back hard, and the two proceeded to splash each other to death.
"Give it up, Evans. You can't beat me," James laughed. Lily got a real coy look on her face and started towards him slowly. Her fingers went to the tie at the base of her neck.
"Really, James? You don't think I know your weakness?" Lily said carefully. Without meaning to, James got really nervous and took a step back.
"W-what are you doing?" James stuttered for a second, nervous.
"What do you think I'm doing?" Lily teased as she pretended to tug on one of the ties.
"I-I think I hear Remus calling me," James said as he turned to leave, suddenly very aware of a certain condition cropping up just south of the boarder. He grinned at her nervously and started heading away. He stopped when he felt her hand on his shoulder.
"James," Lily whispered in his ear. He shivered.
"Yeah?" James said swallowing, aware that his friends were watching them from the shore. She jerked him backwards into the water, his feet flying into the air, and she removed his swim trunks.
"I got your swimsuit!" Lily cheered as she ran at full speed back to the shore. James stood in waist high water, looking down as his bits and pieces hung freely in the water. He laughed.
"You think my not having a swim suit is going to stop me from coming to shore?" James called as he followed her.
"You wouldn't dare," Lily said clutching his shorts as a shield. He stopped at the edge of the water, barely covered. Lily's eyes shot south of his belly button and the slightest hinting of a show more to come. She turned beet red.
"Try me," James challenged. He moved to go forward and received his wet bathing suit in his face. Stepping back into his suit, he joined the others on the sand. Remus signaled to James, pointing at Sirius, who was sleeping heavily and had missed James' little almost peep show. James started covering Sirius with sand, carefully as not to wake him, until he and Remus had completely buried the boy to his neck.
"Give him breasts," Remus whispered loudly. James laughed and nodded, forming a pair of two perfectly round sand breasts.
"Bigger?" James laughed.
"Make them more realistic," Lily and Alice both said from their towels.
"They're sand breasts," James said shaking his head. "How in the world would we make them more realistic?"
"I don't know," Lily giggled. She pulled two shells out of a bucket nearby and put them in the middle of sleeping Sirius's sand breasts. The six of them laughed loudly, waking Sirius. He looked down at his new rack and laughed, giving one a gentle squeeze.
"If I had a set of these, I'd never leave my room," Sirius as he pulled himself free from the sand. "Good thing I don't, then."
"Party pooper," Lily said as Sirius started shaking the sand off.
"I don't think I'm going to ask why there's so much sand in my trunks," Sirius grinned peeking down the front of his trunks. "Anyone want to take a peek?"
"No!" the others all said laughing.
"We should do a bon fire tonight and roast weenies," Peter said suddenly. Sirius grabbed the front of his trunks protectively.
"Hell of a thing to say, Peter," Sirius said scowling. "It's a great idea, but hell of a thing to say when I just offered to show you what makes me the best man on the beach."
"I'll go ask Mrs. Longbottom if she minds," James said loudly, changing the subject. Sirius grinned.
"Want me to come up there with you?" Lily asked. James hesitated before he shrugged. Lily joined him on the quick jog back to the house. James glanced back at the others as the crested the top of the sand dunes; they were grinning with their thumbs up in encouragement for James.
The beach house was silent. James pulled a note off the door of the fridge and leaned back against the counter reading it silently to himself. It was from Mrs. Longbottom, stating she'd be out for the evening and that it was a fend-for-yourself night. James went to hand Lily the letter.
"Ah, Alice's parents are out with her," Lily said. She tossed the letter down on the counter.
"Yup," James said.
"Look, James, about last night," Lily started. James grinned.
"Need not say anything," James said shrugging. "It was an accident. I meant to kiss your cheek and it was…"
"Fantastic," Lily said.
"What?" James asked as he crossed his arms.
"It was a good kiss, James. Fantastic," Lily said slightly nervous.
"Uh, thanks," James said sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head, heat rising to his cheeks every so faintly. "I just don't want things to change between us. Not yet."
"Fair enough," Lily said as she stepped forward. "There is nothing worse than changing the things that are working."
"Right," James said.
"So, does that mean you're going to go back to asking me out every day once we get back to school?" Lily asked after a second.
"Only if you promise to turn me down," James teased. "I just don't want this to be a summer fling between us, and frankly I'm not sure I'm ready to throw in my dating towel just yet."
"Me, neither," Lily said. "Sixteen is too young to be tying ourselves down forever and ever. Plus I'm not sure how much I really like you. I mean, School Potter and Summer Potter are two different people. I just don't want to rush things, either, James."
"Good to know," James said as he put out his hand for a handshake. "Nothing changes?"
"Nothing much changes," Lily said as she quickly kissed his lips and rushed out the back door.
"Damn, Lily," James said to the empty kitchen. "You're going to be the death of me one of these days."
Between the five boys, a giant pile of driftwood and the like was collected. Shortly after dark, the boys lit the fire and the group of seven roasted hot dogs and marshmallows on long sticks. Several times, the boys caught their marshmallows on fire and had to launch the flaming ball of sugar into the ocean. They laughed and told ghost stories around the fire, some of which were corny, some of which were quite terrifying.
Sirius, by far, told the scariest story. His was one about a haunted chamber deep within the bowels of the school where a snake was rumored to sleep waiting patiently to attack students and make them their lunch. The others listened as he talked about the snake attacking a girl in the bathroom, spilling her blood on the bathroom floor and how Hogwarts covered it up. Sirius was quiet when finished by stating that the snake remained at Hogwarts waiting until his next attack.
"That's so creepy," Peter squeaked as he shivered in the damp, night air.
"That's a true story," Sirius said. He glanced around. "I overheard a few Death Eaters talking about it, happening back when my aunt and uncle were at Hogwarts. They lovingly called it the Snake of Slytherin."
"Not likely," Alice denied. "Why would they tell you? You're a name-traitor to the house of Slytherin."
"They didn't tell him," James defended. "He just said he overheard them."
"Do you think it could be true? More than just Slytherin boasting?" Lily asked uncertainly. Sirius shrugged.
"I don't know, but I do know they acted like they were thrilled this monster snake killed," Sirius said. Everyone collectively shivered.
"Oh, look," Remus said changing the subject. Everyone looked to where he was pointing in the night sky to see shooting stars. They all settled back on their beach blankets as the fire died down to just glowing embers. James tucked one of his arms behind his head and watched. The air rustled his hair and for the moment, he was completely at ease. He felt Lily drop her hand into his and heard her sigh.
"Muggles believe that you are supposed to wish on a shooting star," Lily said quietly. There was no need to talk much louder than she spoke; everyone heard her.
"Don't muggles know that they are just meteorites?" Frank asked after a few more shooting stars.
"Yeah, they know," Lily said. "Muggles don't have all the wonderful things to entertain them like we do in the magical world. To them, witches are the bad guys, dragons are meant to be slain, and there is no such thing as magic."
The seven were quiet. The air became cool and still. A glowing green light drew their attention, slowly at first as it begun to glow brighter and greener. They climbed uncertainly from their beach blankets and stood, looking in the direction of the beach houses. They looked at each other apprehensively, only just able to make each other's faces out in the green glow.
"Is that a dark mark?" Alice asked hesitantly. "Over my parents' beach house?"
"Alice, wait," Frank said as he went to stop her. She slipped from his grasp and ran full speed toward her parent's beach house. As they drew closer, their feet kicking up the loose sand from the dunes, there were screams and sounds of unimaginable torture. The others were right there with her as she stopped, frozen in fear, as Mrs. Longbottom fought with two Death Eaters, spells bouncing back and forth between the two and Mrs. Longbottom.
"Protego!" Mrs. Longbottom shouted as she back toward the kids. "Into the house kids, ready your wands."
The seven rushed into the Longbottom beach house, their wands already there, as if their wands knew the kids would need them. A little battle worn, Mrs. Longbottom rushed into the living room the kids were all standing in armed and ready. She rushed to the fireplace.
"Incendio!" Mrs. Longbottom said as she pointed her want into the grate. Flames burst out of thin air. She grabbed a handful of powder from a jar on top of the mantle. "Potter Manor, 7 Westchester Lane."
She shoved Sirius in first without as so much as another word. He disappeared into the bright green flames. She repeated the action, shoving Alice and Lily in next. James pushed Peter and Frank to next in line. James looked at her as she sent Remus to the Potter Manor.
"Let me stay and help!" James demanded.
"There will be plenty of time for you to fight, James," Mrs. Longbottom said. "Alice's parents are dead and Lord Voldemort is on his way to get Sirius. Your friends need you now. If anything happens to me, take care of them, James. Take care of them all."
Mrs. Longbottom kissed his forehead and sent James through the floo network, the boy snatching glimpses of other grates as he flew from the fireplace at the beach house. He tumbled out of the fireplace onto a group of struggling bodies as everyone struggled to right themselves. They were covered in ashes and dirty. James's glasses were broken, having smacked his head on someone's hard head. Mr. Potter was there in a flash, pulling people to their feet and trying to brush the ashes free from their sticky bodies.
"What happened? What happened?" Alice cried as she shook James' shoulders. Mrs. Potter stood there, her face encompassing. "Where are my parents', James? Why was there a Dark Mark over my parents' house?"
"Alice," James said quietly. "Your parents are…" He looked at the girl remorsefully, unable to complete the statement. Alice scream-cried something unintelligible and collapsed into James' arms, her fists pounding on his shoulders as she shook her head. James immediately wrapped his arms around her tightly, hoping that he'd be able to keep her together.
"No, it can't be," she gasped through her hot tears. Mrs. Potter wrapped her arms around Alice, allowing the child to grasp her in desperation. Lily followed as Mrs. Potter led the girl upstairs. James sunk down on the small table, knowing his dad wouldn't get on to him about sitting on the furniture improperly.
"James… my mum?" Frank asked hesitantly as he placed his hand on James' shoulder.
"She said…" James started. "She said that if anything were to happen to her, to… to take care of you… all of you."
Frank slumped down in one of the chairs, not even realizing he was getting it dirty. At the moment, it was unimportant. Dirt on a too fancy chair was the least of their worries. James looked at his best friend and for the first time, he was really scared for Sirius. He wondered how far the dark side would go to get to Sirius. As if Sirius could hear his thoughts, he looked at James. James felt even more afraid when he saw that Sirius was just as scared.
"I've put Lily and Alice up in your room, James," Mrs. Potter said as she broke the silent reveries that each of them were in. "James and Sirius can bunk up together, and the three of you can sleep in the spare room."
One by one, the boys headed up stairs showered and changed, and headed to bed in a solemn silence, barely grunting their final good nights. James and Sirius climbed into Sirius' bed, and for the moment they didn't care what anyone thought. They were brothers, and they were terrified. The two of them rested side by side, staring at the ceiling in silence. Lightening occasionally flashed, lighting the room, and rain streaked the window panes. James glanced over at Sirius, uncertain if the shadows on his face were reflections of the rain running down the window pane or if they were tears. James took a deep breath, stepping out on the limb knowing full well that he could be wrong and be ridiculed for it. For Sirius, he was willing to take the risk.
"I'm scared," James whispered into the dark. He heard Sirius struggle to keep a quiet sob at bay.
"Me… too," Sirius said. Nothing else needed to be said between the two. They already knew the bits and pieces to the conversation that neither of them needed to have.
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