Author's Note: Dearest and most faithful readers, we regret to inform you that this will be our last update until August. Lindsey will have very limited Internet access at her summer job, and I (Amy) will be busy with my own summer job plus grad school. Of course, the writing bug might bite me so hard that I just might churn out some one shots for you. Or we might find a way to get another chapter or two written. However, if nothing is posted until August, never fear! It is not a sign we are abandoning our story, but a necessary consequence of a busy summer. Thank you all very much for all your support and constructive criticism in your reviews. We love you dearly, and we'll see you in August!
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The next morning found James blearily stumbling through the boys' dormitory over sleeping bodies on his way to the showers. He would have used the Prefect's Bath, but it was early yet (only eleven o'clock!) and he didnt much feel like wandering all over the castle. The events of the previous night had had quite the sobering effect on the young man, and he was thankfully bereft of a hangover. Alcohol, he decided, had been a very bad choice, except for the fact that it somehow won him a moment with Lily. The memory of Lily's lips on his own, her arms around him were enough to buoy his hopes. Little nagging doubts kept trying to convince him that it had all been a dream, a lark, a sham, but he jammed those to the back seat of his heart. Shehadkissed him, as surely as Professor McGonagall had shown up and given them all detention and deducted one hundred points from Gryffindor. The events of the previous night had all happened very quickly, it seemed, as everything seemed to have run together.
But why had she run off? It made no sense. In his moment of lucidity, he had been so sure that the reason for her odd behavior these past few weeks was due to some notion of hers that she fancied him. And she had kissed him back; that truth was undeniable. But it made absolutely no sense that once he realized what was going on, once he finally acted on his feelings of the past several years, that she would dash away from him. Was she continuing this little teeeter-totter game of loves-me, loves-me-not? Girls were maddening creatures, he decided as he stepped into the shower, the hot water soothing his aching muscles from the previous day's match. It was a wonder anyone could stand to fall in love at all.
Once dressed and clean, he took out the Marauders' Map and set about finding Lily. She was not, as he suspected, holed up in the girls dormitories. After six whole minutes of searching, he located her in some small and unremarkable cubby-hole of the Library, somewhere behind the Restricted Section. His stomach gave a jolt and his heart sped up. He took a deep breath and pocketed the map. This was it. He was going to try once more to work things out. Maybe, just maybe, last night hadn't been a mistake. He certainly believed that those fifteen seconds, however brief, were the best yet of his life. If he was exceedingly lucky, and the stars smiled on him, it was good for Lily, too.
Whoever had said that you don't remember anything you do while drunk had lied, because the first thing that had come to Lily's mind when she woke up was the memory of James' lips on hers and his arms encircling her waist. Her mind had then gone into rewind, and she had cringed in her own bed as she mentally relived the debacle of her dancing with Tristan and James' disgusted face as he'd told her he didn't really know her at all. Placing a hand over her eyes, she had flopped back against her pillow and groaned, wondering how she was ever going to face him again. It was out of shame more than a desire to be a good student that she had ensconced herself behind the last row of books in the Restricted Section with a pile of textbooks and parchment in front of her. James rarely set foot inside the library; it was the last place he'd think to look for her.
The fact that she was going to have to face James sooner or later was one that Lily was dead set on ignoring for now. She was quite certain that he now thought she was some sort of horrid, snipey little tart who thought nothing of dirty dancing with one bloke and snogging another five minutes later. Why oh why had she kissed him, when he had made it abundantly clear that he'd moved on? And why hadhekissedherwhen, not ten minutes before, he'd been dancing quite cozily with his Valentine's date?Yes, Lily had seen Leslie's version of "dancing" last night. That was the reason she'd agreed to her third drink of the evening. It was obvious that James and Leslie were together now, so why had he followed her out into the corridor and then kissed her?Lily did not know what to make of his behavior, or of hers for thatmatter, and so she had decided to cloister herself away in the farthest corner of the library and bury her woes in a pile of homework.
Thinking that she had found a very good hiding place, Lily began working her way through the stack of assignments in front of her. Thanks to a great deal of will-power and concentration, she managed to lose herself in her school work, and was greatly surprised when, half an hour later, she heard a very familiar voice greet her: "Er.. Hey, Evans."
Dropping her quill in shock, Lily whirled around to face James. She was so surprised that he had found her this quickly that her response was the first thing that came to mind.
"How'd you find me so fast?" she blurted out. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them. Now he would know she had been trying to hide from him.
James blinked, taken aback by the question, and replied, "Er.. I asked around."
"Okay..," Lily responded, feeling quite stupid. After a beat, she turned back around and resumed taking notes from the giant tome open beside her on the table. Maybe, if she were very lucky, he would just go away.
James, however, did no such thing. He remained standing awkwardly a few feet away from her table and asked, "Could I have a word?"
The quill she had been writing with paused over the parchment as Lily felt her heart begin to pound. Swallowing hard, she nodded, "Sure," and resumed writing, trying her best to remain nonchalant.
Up to this point, Lily's behavior towards him had been anything but encouraging, but James pressed doggedly onward. He had had enough of the weeks of confusion and wondering what she was playing at. It was time things were settled between them. Edging cautiously forward, he took a seat in the chair next to hers. She continued her note-taking and gave no sign that she had seen him move. Swallowing, he glanced down at his hands for a moment and then broke the silence, asking, "Erm, so about last night.. Why... why did you...?" He trailed off uncertainly, hoping she would understand what he was getting at.
Lily's quill paused again, and she stared down at the parchment in front of her. Her heart was literally throbbing in her chest; it was pounding so loudly she was certain James could hear it. This was exactly why she had hidden away in the Library. She wasn't sure she wanted to have this conversation, because she was dreadfully afraid that she would find out the worst: that hewaswith Leslie and their kiss had just been some... odd whim.
When she remained silent, James tried again, "Lily, what happened last night?"
Forcing herself to speak, Lily responded, "I.. I don't know. I'm sorry I yelled at you and.. you know." She risked a glance up at him, but he was staring down at his hands again, and she could not read his expression.
He shook his head, "I just don't know why you.. why you ran off."
This time, Lily actually did look up at him, confusion written plainly on her face. "Because you're with Olcott now!" she said, as if this were the most obvious thing in the world. "Why'd you even want to go..kissingme when you're seeing her?"
James' head snapped up, and the utter bewilderment on his face mirrored Lily's expression. How on earth had she come to that conclusion? He certainly hoped Leslie hadn't begun spreading that rumor about the school.
"Who told you that?" he asked.
"I didn't- well you- isn't it," Lily stuttered. Taking a deep breath, she began again. "I saw you two at Hogsmeade. And at the party. Everyone's talking about it, so.." She trailed off again, unable to finish the sentence and ask if the rumors were true.
James shook his head and said quietly, "Lily, the only reason I've even been hanging around her is so I can
try and get over you."
She stared at him for a full three seconds, trying to process this new information, then asked, "You've... so that's.. but why?"
Even though she'd asked, she wasn't sure she wanted to hear his response. Of course he didn't fancy her anymore. They'd had that huge fight last week. And before that had been that incident at the Prefects meeting when she'd made a fool of herself dressing like a tart.
James grimaced and hesitated just a moment before deciding it was time to let the truth be known.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kissed you, I guess," he said. "I figured out that 'no' meant 'no,' and you wanted me to leave you alone. And I thought I was doing good, but I slipped up last night. I don't know, but it's been really difficult these last few weeks. I guess I've been reading into your-" he broke off, trying to find a way to phrase 'you've been coming on rather strong and I've been using all my self-discipline and respect for women to keep myself from jumping you' delicately. He couldn't. "Er, well, nevermind. You don't want to hear it, I'm sure, but I'm definitely not over you."
As he spoke, Lily's expression changed from nervous to disbelieving to excited.He wasn't over her!So then... last night's kiss had meant something to him after all! Before he could continue, she cut off his speech by reaching out and laying her hand over his.
"James," she began, biting her lip nervously. "I'm not sorry you kissed me at all. And I'm very glad you're not over me."
"What are you on about?" he demanded, not daring to believe what he was hearing.
Lily suppressed a chuckle and asked, "You haven't noticed?"
He remained silent, holding his breath as the hope he had felt last night flamed once more in his chest.
Lily giggled, "I knew boys were kind of slow sometimes, but I didn't think you werethatthick."
"You mean you...Really?" he asked.
Grinning and nodding, she informed him, "Mr. Potter, I'm afraid I've been harboring a terribly large fancy for you these past couple of months. I hope you don't mind."
"Mind?" he asked, his grin matching her own. "Hardly. I...er.. was wondering if you'd like to go out with me." Even as the question left his lips, he felt his smile widening. Unless he was very much mistaken, this would be the last time he'd ever ask Lily that question again.
"How 'bout this afternoon then?" was her immediate answer. Realizing that she didn't want to appeartooeager, she amended with, "Er.. unless- I mean unless you're busy."
James merely laughed. Her eagerness was encouraging and, if he did say so himself, adorable.
"Oh, so youdofancy me," he teased, eyes twinkling behind his glasses. If he had had any doubts this morning about what her feelings for him were, they were now vanished entirely.
"Didn't I just say that?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow at him.
"Reinforcement is always a good thing," he explained.
"Oh," she said, smiling sheepishly. "I suppose I did spend rather a long time telling you the opposite."
James waved his hand and said, "It's irrelevant." He hesitated just a moment before leaning forward and asking, "May I...?"
Blushing, she scanned the shelves around them to make sure they were indeed alone. Lily did not intend to have her first sober kiss with James to be ruined by a voyeuristic fourth year or, worse, Madame Pince's tutting disapproval. A glance around their alcove revealed that they were indeed alone, so she leaned forward and touched her lips softly to his. It was every bit as glorious as her drunken brain had remembered. In fact, it was even better, because this time she was not plagued by last night's fears and doubts.
James pulled back after a few moments and grinned down at her. There again was the light in his eyes that had not been there all term.
"Excellent," he murmured, and before Lily could protest that she hadn't been finished kissing him, he leaned forward to claim her lips again.
This time when they broke apart, Lily was breathless and, like James, unable to stop smiling.
"Even better than I remembered," she said, reaching for his hand again. "So um.. does this mean we're.. you know.. official now?"
His answer was immediate: "Yes! I mean, if that's what you want. Cos that's definitely what I want."
If possibly, Lily's smile stretched even wider, and she gave his hand a squeeze as she assured him, "I definitely do."
There was a brief silence in which both Lily and James contemplated their immense good fortune. Then she broke it by asking, "You really never stopped liking me?"
James shrugged and replied, "It's one of the few things I've ever completely failed at."
Much as she had come to admire his determination, Lily was unspeakably grateful that, in this one instance, it had failed him.Laughing, she responded, "Well I'm certainly glad you did. I thought for sure you and Olcott would-"
But James, it seemed, had no desire to discuss his ever-persistent Valentine's date. "Lily, please," he interrupted her, rolling his eyes and leaning forward to kiss her again. This was an ingenious method of shutting Lily up, because the instant their lips met, she forgot all about Leslie Olcott. Indeed, it was difficult to think about anything but James when he was kissing her just like she'd been wanting him to for months.
Before either of them could get too carried away, he pulled away and asked, "Want to get out of here?"
Lily nodded eagerly and began packing her school things back into her bag. As soon as she finished, James reached for the bag and slung it over his shoulder, saying, "Here, let me."
Surprised but pleased, Lily thanked him and linked her hand with his as they made their way out of the library together. Once they were out in the corridor where it was safe to talk again, she asked, "So whatdoyou want to do today?"
James grinned down at her, still hardly able to believe that she was asking him such a question, and replied, "Well I dunno. It's not too cold for a walk, is it?"
"Not with you to keep me warm," she said, giving him a saucy wink.
He laughed and squeezed her hand, saying, "All right then."
"I guess we could get our cloaks too," Lily added as an afterthought.
"Probably a good idea," he agreed.
They continued in companionable silence for a while until a thought occurred to Lily.
"Ohhh you know, if we're going to take a walk, we really ought to go and see Hagrid. Let him know we're dating and all," she said, feeling a little thrill that she had just been able to say they were dating for the first time. Whether or not they made it out to Hagrid's today, she couldn't wait to deliver the news to their other friends.
James, too, felt slightly giddy about the prospect of letting Hagrid (or the whole castle, or actually the whole world) know that Lily Evans had finally agreed to date him.
"All right!" he agreed, then added in more sober tones, "And.. I'm sorry about last night. About punching out your date. I probably embarrassed you."
"Oh..," Lily began to blush again at the memory of her antics last night.
"He wasn't my date, but yeah I sorta think I did a pretty good job of that on my own," she said sheepishly. "I should probably thank you for um.. stepping in. I didn't mean for anything to happen, I just saw-" She stopped and took a breath, deciding to summarize rather than rehash old grievances. "It's been a pretty awful week."
"Yeah," James agreed, smiling down at her as he spoke. "But not anymore. Not now."
Lily nodded her agreement, then her expression brightened as she said, "Oh! I didn't get a chance to tell you yesterday, but congratulations on the win. That was a spectacular game."
"Thanks," he grinned, and his steps slowed as they had now reached the Fat Lady's portrait.
Lily gave the password, then turned to James and reached for her school bag that was still slung over his shoulder, "I can take that upstairs when I get my cloak. Thanks for carrying it for me."
"My pleasure," he said, gesturing for her to step through the portrait hole ahead of him. They entered the Gryffindor Common Room to find that it was not as deserted as they had thought it would be. Several students were already awake and lounging around, among them were Remus and Sirius, who were seated on the Marauders' usual couch doing homework, and Marlene, who was writing at a desk near the window.The boys were the first to look up and notice who had just walked in.
Sirius called out, "Oi, Prongs, where've ya be-" but he stopped mid-sentence when he realized that the two Head students were standing rather closely side by side and that they wereholding hands. After witnessing Lily and James' last, spectacular public row the night before at the party, he certainly hadn't been expecting this.
"Real or prank?" he asked of James.
His best mate grinned and answered, "Real. Definitely real."
"Good one, you two," Remus said, smiling with genuine pleasure at the news.
By this point, Marlene had looked up from her writing and had also noticed James and Lily's linked hands. She rushed over to stand beside the boys' couch and asked Lily, "Does this mean what I think it means?"
Nodding, Lily said, "Yeah. We er.. worked things out."
"Finally!" Marlene exclaimed. "Oh my golly! This is so- Oh just let me go wake Mary up!" Wringing her hands in utter delight, she raced up the girls' staircase, calling for Mary as she ascended.
Sirius watched her go with amusement glimmering in his grey eyes.
"Hm, well all I've got to say is that it's about bloody time, Red," he teased Lily.
She was about to argue back, but decided better of it and merely rolled her eyes as she called after Marlene, "Tell her to hurry up. James and I only came back to get our cloaks."
"Oh ho!" Sirius exclaimed, smirking at James. "Headed out for a littlealonetime are you?"
James flushed and asked defensively, "What's it to you?"
Sirius burst into laughter, but Remus shook his head and said, "Sometimes your immaturity is just plain embarrassing, Padfoot."
At this moment, a pyjama-clad Mary ran downstairs, followed closely by Marlene, and made a beeline for Lily.
"Lily!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around her. "Oh I'm so excited for you!"
Lily released James' hand and staggered backwards a bit as Mary collided with her, but she returned the embrace, saying, "Thanks. I am too."
Mary released her and stepped back to make room for Marlene, who held out Lily's cloak to her with a teasing smirk.
"I went ahead and got your cloak for you, so you two can get back to your.. 'walk'," she teased.
James, who was actually blushing now, said, "I'll just head up for mine..." and darted up the stairs.
"I'll wait down here," Lily told him, then turned to glare at Marlene and Mary, who were both trying half-heartedly to hide their laughter.
"But really, we're pleased as punch, Lil," said Marlene, once she had control of herself again.
"Did this just now happen?" Mary asked. "Is that why you were already gone when we woke up?"
Lily nodded and leaned against the side of the couch.
"Mhm. I was erm.. hiding out in the library, and he found me and-," she began to explain, then paused, realizing this was a very long story that she didn't actually want to get into at the moment. "Actually it's kind of a long story," she amended. "I promise I'll fill you in tonight, but..." And she gestured behind them, where James was descending the boys' staircase, cloak in hand.
"I suppose that's the best we can ask for," Mary said. Though she was disappointed about having to wait for the full story, she understood Lily's desire to spend some time with her boyfriend to celebrate their new relationship. And, after all that Lily had been through in the past couple of months, Mary certainly did not begrudge her the alone time with James.
Marlene, while she understood as well, couldn't resist the urge to tease her friend a bit more.
"All right, we'll wait, but make sure you return to the castle at a reasonable hour tonight, Miss Evans," she said, wagging her finger at Lily in an impression of their Head of House. "I don't want to see you out past curfew."
Lily rolled her eyes and responded, "Yes ma'am," as James took his place beside her again.
"Ready?" he asked, reaching for her hand.
She nodded and turned toward the portrait hole, calling over her shoulder, "Bye, everyone!"
"You two behave yourselves," Sirius called after them. "Set a good example for the kiddies."
Lily chose not to respond to this comment. Instead, she looked up at James as they stepped out into the corridor and asked, "We're going to have to put up with that for the next couple of weeks, aren't we?"
"Probably," he answered honestly. His eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled fondly down at her and added, "But I'm willing to put up with quite a lot now that I finally have the pleasure of dating you."
"Ditto," she said, smiling as well.
When they reached the castle doors and walked out into the biting February wind, Lily was very glad that she had suggested they go get their cloaks before visiting Hagrid's cabin. James, on the other hand, was glad for the wind, because it gave him an excuse to loop his arm around Lily's waist and hold her closely against his side as they trudged down the snowy path together.
"Cold?" he asked, having seen her shiver the moment they stepped outside.
She responded by snaking her left arm around him so she could huddle closer to his side.
"Not anymore," she said.
As much as they were enjoying their newfound freedom to walk with their arms thus entwined, both James and Lily were glad to reach Hagrid's cabin. Based on the smoke rising from the chimney, they surmised the Gamekeeper was at home, so James lifted his left hand and knocked soundly on the door. A few seconds later, the wooden door swung open and Hagrid peered out into the now-blustering wind.
"James? Lily?" he asked, clearly surprised to see them. "What're yeh doin' walkin' round in this weather? C'm'in! C'm'in. I'll put some tea on." Stepping aside, he motioned for them to come inside and out of the wind. Only when the door was shut behind them did Hagrid notice that both his guests were standing in his doorway with their arms around each other. His brow furrowed further as his confusion mounted.
"Hold on- why're yeh- are yeh really...?" he stuttered.
James chuckled and answered the question he knew Hagrid was getting at: "Yes. We're dating. As of about an hour ago, in fact. That's sort of the reason for our visit."
"We thought you ought to be one of the first to know," Lily explained. "Since, back in November... you know."
Hagrid nodded, remembering the conversation well. He had suspected, even then, that there was something going on between his two young friends.
"Well it's taken yeh long enough," he said, moving into the kitchen to put on the promised pot of tea. "But I'm happy fer both'f yeh. How's the rest of yer school year been goin'? It's been awhile since I've seen either of yeh."
"Well enough, I suppose," Lily answered as she and James took seats around Hagrid's kitchen table. "Pretty soon we'll have to start studying in earnest for N.E.W.T.S., but things aren't so bad right now."
"I don't doubt both of yeh'll do fine," said Hagrid. "But I certainly wouldn't want ter be in yer shoes."
"We'll manage," James said, shrugging off the worry of their examinations with his usual confidence,
"I'm more worried about the Quidditch season."
"Really?" Hagrid asked, "I watched the match yesterday. Yer team made an amazin' showin'."
"Yeah but it's looking as though we'll be playing Hufflepuff again in the final," James explained, "And we've got to win that match. There's a League scout coming, you know."
Hagrid nodded sagely, "And yer thinkin' of tryin' out fer a League team, I s'pose."
"Yeah I'm thinking about it," James answered.
"He's also applying to the Auror Academy," Lily interjected, a note of pride in her voice.
Hagrid gave James a smile of approval and commented, "That's good teh hear. I reckon th'Aurors could use a
talented wizard like you, James." He turned his gaze to Lily and asked, "What about you?"
"I'm applying for the training program at St. Mungo's," she answered.
"Well if the Ministry has any sense, they'll accept both of yeh," Hagrid said and rose to his feet to take the tea kettle, which had begun to sing, off the stove. As he returned to the table with three steaming mugs of tea, he added, "Though I don' think Hogwarts'll be nearly as excitin' when both of yeh're gone."
"Yeah...," James agreed, staring rather glumly into his mug. Then he mustered his usual cheerfulness and steered the conversation toward lighter topics. An hour later, he and Lily bid Hagrid farewell and ambled up to the castle. By now, the wind had died down and the sun was beginning to look as though it might peek through the cloud cover. As they neared the front doors of the castle, James looked down at Lily and asked, "What d'you want to do now?"
She hesitated a moment, biting her lip in indecision, then answered reluctantly, "I hate to say it, but I really do have homework to do." Seeing James' face begin to fall, she added, "We could do it together, though. Then we'd be done faster, and we'll have more time to celebrate."
"All right," he agreed, unable to argue with her reasoning. His pile of homework was, after all, rather large. "What do you have to work on?"
"Mostly my Charms essay for tomorrow. But I haven't quite finished our Potions assignment either."
"And I have yet to start either one," he admitted.
"Of course not," Lily teased. "I'll warn you, Mr. Potter. Just because I'm dating you
doesn't mean I'll let you copy all my answers."
"Your lack of faith wounds me to the core," he protested, staring down at her with an exaggeratedly insulted expression.
Lily merely giggled and stood up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. Her prediction, however, did turn out to be true. After just over three hours of work in the back corner of the common room, they had both finished their assignments for tomorrow. They had even found time for a couple of "study breaks," though in their case the term only loosely applied.
"Free at last," James exclaimed, scribbling down the last phrase of his essay with a flourish and unceremoniously shoving his school things to the floor beside the sofa that he and Lily were currently sharing.
She looked up from her book and smiled wryly at him, "See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" She had finished her own essay a short while ago and had been amusing herself with some light reading while she waited for James to complete his.
"Guess not. Must've been the company," he responded, flashing her a teasing grin. "C'mere." Leaning over, he pulled the novel from Lily's hands and gestured for her to join him on his side of their sofa. She willingly obliged, scooting over to nestle underneath his encircling arm and lean her head on his shoulder.
"You know," he commented softly, "I think you're going to be a good influence on me, Lils."
"Really?" she asked, surprised but flattered.
"Mhm," he responded. "I mean, you have been already. I think that's why I'm so crazy over you."
Lily smiled and lifted her head to press a kiss to his cheek, murmuring, "That's sweet of you to say,
James."
"It's true though," he said, turning to his head to catch her lips in a brief kiss. Their assignments completed, they spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying each other's company with some pleasant conversation, several more bouts of kissing and even a brief nap, as neither one had gotten much sleep the night before. By the time the clock over the mantle rang for seven o'clock, they were feeling very relaxed indeed.
Yawning, Lily sat up slowly and stretched her arms over her head.
"Ready for dinner?" she asked.
James smirked and answered, "That's generally not a question you have to ask a seventeen-year-old lad."
"All right then, Mr. Perpetually Starving," Lily said, rolling her eyes, "Let's go get you some food."
Hand in hand, they left the Gryffindor Common Room and made their way downstairs. They were just about to enter the
Great Hall when James spied a familiar blonde head and came to a halt. Leslie Olcott was standing at the far end of the
corridor, chatting with a circle of her friends. Though he did not exactly relish the idea, something told James that,
in order to be a gentleman, he ought to be the one to tell Leslie that any chance she might have had with him was over,
rather than just let her hear it through the Hogwarts gossip mill. Glancing down at Lily, he said, "Wait for me
here, will you? I sort of think she should hear about us from me." He jerked his head in Leslie Olcott's
direction to indicate the "she" in question.
Loathe as she was to let James anywhere near the Hufflepuff girl, Lily understood what he meant. She nodded and said,
"I'll wait."
"Thanks," he responded. "I'll be right back." Then, taking a deep breath, he squared his shoulders and walked over to the circle of Hufflepuff girls.
"Can I have a word, Olcott?" he asked.
An excited titter went around the circle. Leslie grinned confidently and said, "Sure."
James led her a few paces down the corridor, to where they would be out of earshot of her friends.
"Listen, Leslie," he began, running a nervous hand through his hair. "I wanted to tell you that... Lily and I are dating now. I just, er, thought you should hear it from me in light of... last Hogsmeade and all." He paused and looked at Leslie, trying to gauge her reaction to this news.
She had gone very white, and her eyes were burning with fury. James leaned instinctively backwards, unaware that her anger was directed at Lily, not at him. In Leslie's mind, she was the one to blame for all of this. Leslie had beenthis closeto finally snaring James, and then that redheaded tart had gone and stolen him awayagain.
"Well," she said after a long, tense silence. "I think you're making the wrong choice. But thanks for telling me yourself."
"Oh no. I'm finally making the right one," James countered, his expression lightening now that he knew he was not going to be subject to a fit of female rage. "So... we're okay and everything?"
She nodded and managed a flirtatious smile in spite of her disappointment, "When you're free again, you know
where to find me."
"I wouldn't wait around," he advised her, then turned and made his way back to Lily. "See ya, Olcott."
"Well?" Lily asked anxiously as James approached.
He smiled reassuringly at her, "She's fine. I just figured I ought to tell her in person, since I sorta think she had her eye on me."
"That'sthe understatement of the year," Lily muttered under her breath.
"What?" James asked.
For a moment, she didn't respond, having just looked over James' shoulder and caught sight of Leslie. However breezily the Hufflepuff girl has brushed off the news when James had told her a moment ago, judging by the way she was glaring at Lily now, Leslie was not at all pleased to have heard it. The venom in her glare took Lily by surprise, but she recovered quickly and stared haughtily back at her defeated rival. Though Lily was by nature a kind, forgiving young woman, and she would never have actually done or said anything to Leslie's face, she could not resist this one little moment of flaunting her success.
"Never mind," she told James sweetly, then took his hand in hers and tugged lightly. "Come on. I'm starving."
He followed her into the Great Hall, mercifully oblivious to the silent, female battle that had just gone on around him, and asked, "Are we sitting with my friends or yours?"
That question, they soon discovered, had been answered for them. All five of their friends were already seated at
the far end of the Gryffindor table, waiting expectantly for the couple's arrival.
"Evenin', lovebirds," Sirius greeted them cheekily as soon as they sat down. "Glad you've
finally decided to join us."
"Aw, Sirius, you missed us that much? I'm touched," Lily teased.
"Actually, you'd be more accurate in saying he missed the opportunity to rib you mercilessly," Remus
commented.
"I tease because I care," Sirius responded airily.
"What is that, your Marauders Manifesto or something?" Marlene inquired, earning herself a laugh from James.
"I actually tried that one on McGonagall back in third year," he said. "She didn't buy it. Took off double the house points for cheek, if I remember correctly."
"Don't feel too bad," Lily said, patting his shoulder soothingly. "She only did it because she
cared."
This time, the whole group laughed along with her. A moment later, the platters lining the center of the tables magically filled with the feast the house elves had prepared that day, and the group's conversation slowed as they all enjoyed the delicious meal. After dessert, they returned to the common room together and spent the rest of the evening playing a rather haphazard, tournament-style game of wizard's chess from which Mary emerged as the final victor. By this point, it was past eleven o'clock, and they all agreed they had better retire for the night. The group parted ways at the foot of the dormitory staircases. Mary and Marlene headed up the girls' staircase, but James caught Lily's hand before she could follow them.
"Do I get a goodnight kiss?" he asked with a charming smile.
Lily's cheeks tinged a light shade of pink, but she nodded and leaned forward to kiss him softly on the lips.
"G'night, James," she murmured, smiling shyly up at him.
"Night Lily," he answered. "See you in the morning."
Giving her hand one last squeeze, he let go and watched her ascend the staircase. She paused on the landing, and James felt his heart flip-flop in his chest as he watched her turn and blow him a kiss before she disappeared inside her dormitory room. He was certain he was grinning like a fool as he made his way up to his own dormitory, but fortunately there was no one left in the common room to see it. Though it might have taken him the better part of four years to win her over, after today, James could now say with certainty that Lily was more than worth the wait.