You Left This

lilymione1203

Rating: PG
Genres: Romance, Humor
Relationships: Lily & James
Book: Lily & James, Books 1 - 5
Published: 03/10/2009
Last Updated: 03/10/2009
Status: completed

ONE-SHOT. Lily keeps finding James' things in the common room. What happens when she hand-delivers them?

Chapters

1. ONE-SHOT

1. ONE-SHOT

A/N: I’ve had this idea for a while. I needed a break from “Strangers in the Night” and this idea just came to me. This story has a lot more dialogue than mine typically do, and it’s what I like writing best. I really really hope you like it!! Let me know what you think!!

You Left This

Lavender dressing gown whipping in all directions, she marched with a restless vigor down the dimly lit corridor, completely void of any human inhabitants. She crossed the winding breach between the separate dormitories, dividing witches from wizards with a long spiral stair. Her face displayed an eerie amber glow, reflected from the handful of crackling torches lining the stone covered walls. She avidly reached her foreign destination, stopping abruptly at the rich, mahogany door- exhaling a deep sigh and furrowing her brow.

Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock.

A scuffle could be heard from behind the wooden aperture- a clamor of heavy thunkings and shifting, followed by an ardent groan. A pair of feet shuffled clumsily toward the door, slowly making their way toward the opulent barrier.

A scraggly black tuft of hair poked through a cracked sliver of door, propped open by a rugged sleep-worn face sporting a very skewed pair of spectacles. Drowsy eyes filled with hazel weighed heavily upon their owner, causing him to release an uncontrollable yawn. The boy somewhat regained his composure and slouched lazily in the doorframe, rubbing his eye feverishly with the open palm of his hand.

“Lily?”

“Yes, Potter, I come bearing ‘gifts,’” the redhead replied with a roll of her eyes, her bottle green orbs tinged with annoyance.

“What are you doing here?”

She released an audible sigh of frustration, shoving a battered book under his nose, “You left this,” was all she said before turning fervently on her heel.

“Wait, what is this?” James grunted, blinking his eyes to wake himself up.

“Your book,” Lily snapped, twisting her head back around.

“Well, why did you have it?”

“Ugh! To think I would take an object remotely resembling something of yours, especially considering the fact that I take much better care of my things,” she retorted, flipping the tattered pages of Standard Book of Spells, Grade 7, running a dainty finger down the poorly spello-taped spine. “You left it in the common room.”

“What, are you training to become a house elf? You could’ve just left it-“

“You shouldn’t clutter, James, as Head Boy you should be setting an example for your fellow students by not littering the common room with such rubbish-“

“Since when have you thought a book to be rubbish-“

“That’s not the point!” Lily hissed with eyes glinting, emeralds blazing in fury.

“Well, why did you feel you had to hand-deliver it, personally? Merlin, Lily, it’s past three in the morning! I would’ve picked it up in four hours, anyway-“

“I’m simply tired of picking up your slack- book included. The Heads’ positions are to be equal responsibility and I feel you aren’t pulling your weight.”

“So you’re going ‘round cleaning my things?”

“NO,” she countered swiftly, blushing a deep shade of violet that clashed horribly with her hair. “I just thought you should be aware of the problem so next time we won’t have to go through this.”

“We didn’t have to go through it this time- just wanted to see me in my knickers didn’t you, Evans?”

Lily quickly covered her face in her hands, her mouth popped open in embarrassment as she peeked through her open fingers- spotting the charcoal gray shorts hanging loosely from James’ muscled form, tiny yellow snitches sewn in an abstract pattern on the front.

“Oh!” she squeaked in a tiny voice, whipping in the opposite direction as scarlet locks fanned out behind her. She took off down the corridor at a light sprint, nearly knocking into the banister as her hand still covered her face, James grinning all the while as he watched her go.

Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock.

That familiar shuffle commenced as, the very next evening, James once again stumbled zombie-like across the dorm to open the banging door.

“Can I help you?”

“You left this-” Lily said stiffly, hand firmly held out and draped in a cloak.

“What is that?” James scoffed, rolling his large hazel eyes that were ridden with sleep.

“Your cloak. It was hanging off the back of my chair.”

“You didn’t have to sit there-“

“Be that as it may, it’s still yours.”

“You know, you don’t have to wait ‘til four in the morning to bring me these things-“

“Well, perhaps we just keep different hours. Besides, maybe this will teach you a lesson.”

“To take naps during class so I can be awake when you visit?”

“No, and It’s not a visit, it’s simply a return of your personal property-“

“Well, I didn’t ask you to bring it-“

“Well, you shouldn’t leave the entirety of your school trunk in the common room!” Lily spat, turning around in a huff. “And by the way,” she said with a pertinent glance over her shoulder, “you might want to consider changing your underwear more often, you sported the snitches last night,” and she strode briskly down the corridor with a dumbfounded James staring after.

Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock.

“Prongs, your girlfriend’s at the door again.”

“Sod off, Padfoot,” he grumbled, scuttling to the entrance for the third night in a row. “Yes?” he inquired as he cracked the solemn barrier, his voice dripping with false politeness. He cocked his brow in irritation and gazed at her over tilted frames.

“You left this-”

“My dear Evans, we simply can’t continue meeting like this. I’m afraid it’s affecting my beauty sleep.”

“Clearly,” she droned with a roll of her eyes, “Apparent as that is, you left your broom by the fireplace,” Lily said matter-of-factly, bringing the object in question from behind her back towards the door, holding it at arms’ length and an inch from James’ nose.

James ran his hands down his face, lifting his eyes toward the ceiling and leaned heavily against the frame of the door.

“Look, I’m sorry I keep ‘cluttering’ the common room, is that what you were after?”

“Although an apology is very much appreciated, it doesn’t fix the problem.”

“I don’t know what you want, Lily. The more you keep waking me up in the night the more things I’m likely to forget.”

“With your memory, Potter, I don’t really think it matters,” and she hastily turned to make her leave, but felt a sharp poke in her buttocks forcefully thrust her forward- making her turn around to see a beaming James holding an outstretched horizontal broom.

Knock, knock, knock, kno-

The door burst open from within to leave a frozen Lily standing before it, arm froze in mid-knock.

“Thought you might be back ‘round about now.”

“You waited for me?” Lily asked with an inquisitive brow.

“I catch on quick.”

“Do you now? You know you could just pick up after yourself.”

“Why do that when I’ve got you?” he said with a cheeky smile.

“Indeed,” she intoned, dropping her crumpled brow. “You left this-“

“A quill? You brought me a quill? How do you even know it’s mine?”

“I saw you using it earlier this evening- I found it in your usual corner-”

“Watching me, were you, Evans?” James taunted with a smirk, his wide eyes twinkling in the gloomy corridor.

A blush creeped up her pallid cheeks as she flitted her head towards the carpet, the flickering torchlight bouncing off her dainty features, “I just so happened to be observant.”

“Yeah, especially when it comes to me.”

“Or keeping my personal property from littering a communal living space!”

“Your personal property? So, what’s mine is yours now, Evans? Jumping the gun a bit on vows now, aren’t we?”

“OH! You’re insufferable!” she screeched as she stomped to her respective dormitory, a smirk still glued to James’ impertinent face.

A week went by and the marauder dormitory had no more midnight visitors, leaving the foursome (especially James) to sleep in coveted peace. The following Friday, however, that familiar rap could once again be heard from a petite and feisty caller knocking on the door.

Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock.

A recognizable shuffling ensued as a mess of untidy black hair made an appearance in the entryway, sitting atop a disgruntled-looking Head Boy, glasses lop-sided on his elongated nose.

“Now, Lily, that common room is spotless, nothing of mine is down there-“

“I know.”

“You know?”

“Yes.”

“Then why are you up here?”

“You left this,” she whispered, rising on the balls of her feet and covering James’ mouth with her own. The pair kissed so softly, so tenderly, their lips brushing against the other’s with a gentle warmth, each feeling an electric tingle pass swiftly throughout their bodies. Lily pressed closer to him, losing herself in his melodious scent, intertwining her fingers in his illustrious dark tangled locks.

After sheer seconds of sweet romance, Lily dropped down to her normal height and slowly turned away, her dressing gown softly billowing behind her. She halted briefly at the elegant balustrade, a small smile playing on her lips as she chanced a look behind her, only to find a dumbfounded James standing thunderstruck in the doorframe.

She continued her descent, gliding gracefully down the winding marble flight when she heard a compelling voice from beyond-

“Wait, I think I left some more of those!” James called in desperation, tumbling down the stairs behind her.

A/N: Just a cute little ficlet I wrote in a couple of days. I like to take breaks from “Strangers in the Night”- helps me think better. Anyway, I know it’s short but those are the sweetest : ) Hope you enjoyed! Please REVIEW!!!! <3