Rain strummed gently against the windowpanes in Boy's Dormitory 3C the next morning. The weak light that filtered into the room did little to stir its occupants, who slept soundly. All, except one. In the middle bed with hangings wide open, James Potter stirred. He lay on his belly, one arm hanging off the side of his four-poster, knuckles nearly brushing the floor. His covers had tangled around his legs as he slept, and they now were bunched around his knees. His eyes fluttered open, and he rolled over onto his back, wiping a bit of dribble from his face as he did so. He yawned, stretched, and reached for the clock that occupied his bedside table along with his glasses, a pack of Drooble's Best-Blowing Gum, and several out-of-date issues ofWhich Broomstick?. Noting that it was half past six, he sat up, his hair standing up in the back, giving him the appearance of an alarmed hedgehog. He blinked slowly, scratched his bare chest, and swung his legs over the side of his bed, headed for the showers. He heard another occupant of the room stir, but padded quietly into the bathroom.
Once under the hot spray, he began to wake up. He had just taken up a bar of soap when his stomach growled. He groaned, suddenly remembering that he had forgotten to ask Lily to eat an early breakfast with him in the wake of the previous day's excitement.
"Oi!" called Sirius' voice as he entered the showers. "Not whileI'min here, you sod!"
"Shove it," replied James grumpily, "I just forgot to ask Lily to breakfast with me this morning."
"Ah. Thank goodness," said Sirius as he stepped into his own shower cubicle. "I thought you were in here for some-"
"I wasn't," James interrupted hastily, flushing at the implication. He shifted back under the water, rinsing the soap from him. "I'm headed down; shall I wait for you?"
"Nah," came Sirius' voice. "I probably ought to do my essay."
James turned the tap off and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist. "Alright, see you in class, then. Write fast, that essay's not exactly a fun one."
"Afunessay?" Sirius asked, incredulous. "Who are you- Remus?"
James chuckled, heading out of the bathroom to get dressed. He wasn't really sure what Lily's day-routine was like. He didn't know very many others his age who were what one might call 'morning people'. He could wake up and get things done if he really needed to, or else if he had something exciting to look forward to, like Christmas. Other than a few special cases, however, he would much prefer to sleep for hours and hours. But Lily-? She was a bit on the responsible side. Perhaps it wasn't entirely unreasonable to hope she might be awake.
Luckily for James, Lily had indeed awoken and was standing in front of the mirror, quietly fiddling with her hair so as not to wake up her roommates. For some reason (probably leftover excitement from yesterday), she had woken earlier than usual and had decided to use her extra time to write her mother and tell her yesterday's good news. So she slid quietly out of bed, dressed, brushed her teeth and applied a bit of mascara. Remembering the brush Mary had given her for her birthday, Lily decided to wear her hair straight. She adjusted her tie, checked her appearance once more, and headed down to the common room with her bag to start her letter home, all the while wondering when James was planning to head down for breakfast. Boys- specifically teenage boys- were notorious for oversleeping whenever they found the opportunity. It would probably be a while before he got out of bed, giving her more than ample time to script a letter home.
Lily had just reached the bottom of the stairs when the sound of footfalls on the opposite stone steps reached her ears. She paused, a little jolt of adrenalin and hope zooming through her body. Was it-? It was! Her lips spread in a grin.
"James?"
The bespectacled boy in question, who had been cramming his tie under his sweater vest, jumped.
"Oh! Lily! IÉ" he grinned, suddenly at a loss for words, "hullo!"
Lily smiled brightly, and James crossed to her, bending to kiss her cheek. She turned her head to catch his lips instead.
"I was hoping you hadn't gone down to breakfast yet," Lily smiled.
James nodded, pleased. "Yeah, I just got up. I was thinking how I should have asked you last night to get breakfast with me, but I suppose it all worked out. Did you sleep well?"
"Mhmm," Lily nodded, reaching for his hands. "And yourself?"
"Absolutely," James replied, thinking that he had gotten an uncommonly peaceful and contented night's sleep.
"So!" Lily said cheerfully, "Since we managed to catch each other at the perfect moment, shall we head to breakfast?" The letter she had been set upon writing was far from her mind, and had been the moment James had come down the stairs, smelling like some sort of wonderful. He agreed, and the pair of them headed toward the portrait hole.
James faced a brief but brutal internal struggle as to whether or not it would be too forward for him to put his arm around her as they walked. Then, upon the reflection that it had been Lily who kissed him that morning of her own volition, he figured she wouldn't mind. As soon as the warmth of his arm had snaked around her waist, Lily's insides gave a pleasurable squirm. All those things she had been hoping he would do for the past few months were finally coming true!
They had just passed a large landscape of autumnal oak trees dropping their leaves slowly to the ground when Lily remembered something. "Oh!" she said, "I'd nearly forgotten. What're you doing this Friday night?"
James smiled apologetically. "I've got training until eight. Why, what's up?"
"Oh," Lily said, pursing her lips in a little smile. "Well... I suppose you could just be fashionably late then. This Wednesday," she explained, noting James' perplexed expression, "is Professor Slughorn's birthday, and he's hosting a Slug Club party Friday in honor of it. I was going to ask if you'd come with me." She smiled shyly at him. "It's just going to be a casual affair. Or, as casual as you can get with Slughorn. Just some evening snacks, and a giant cake of course. And there will probably be dancing or something. He loves old 1940's Muggle music."
James' eyebrows rose. "Slughorn? Er..." he smiled hesitantly, thinking of the handful of detentions he had received from the Potions Master over the years. However, the promise of spending the time with Lily outweighed the potential awkwardness of being around Horace Slughorn. "If you think it's a good idea, then I'd love to."
"Really? Oh, good! I don't think he'll mind. He's been warming up to you, remember? Just don't mention crystallized pineapple around him," Lily smirked.
James laughed. "I'll be sure to keep my past transgressions under tight wraps." He paused, a sudden thought occurring to him. "Does this mean you will be wearing a dress?"
Lily looked at the ground, considering. "I hadn't really thought about it yet." She looked up at him, a little color tingeing her cheeks. "Do youwantme to wear a dress?"
James looked down at her, a crooked smile spreading across his lips. "Well... to put it bluntly, yes. I mean," he added hastily, not wanting to overstep himself, "you don't have to. But I think you'd look really pretty."
"I think I ought to, though. Since this will be our first official date and all," Lily blushed a bit more earnestly, a little thrill jumping through her at the very thought.
"Hang on," James said, stopping and turning toward her. "You'reaskingmeto our first official date?" A tiny sense of emasculation poked at the back of his conscience.
Lily's eyes widened as she wondered if she had just made a fateful misstep.
"Well.. You have five whole days until then. To fit in something of your own, I mean," she said hastily.
"That I do," he nodded, already grinning to himself as he began running through a list of potential dates on which to take her. "Didn't figure it would come to an ultimatumÉ"
She nudged his side gently and said, "I am more than confident in your creative powers. We can pretend I haven't asked yet! I just wanted to make sure you were free on Friday, so you can go with me."
James just laughed and assured her, as they entered the Great Hall, "Lily, it's not a big problem. I'm mostly just teasing you."
Relieved, she nodded and said, "Okay." After a pause, she changed the subject and asked, "D'you care where we sit?"
"My mates are all asleep, so it's your call," he answered, shaking his head.
At this announcement, Lily stopped dead in her tracks and slid onto the bench, proclaiming, "Here's good then!"
She had halted too quickly that James nearly ran into her. "All right, all right," he said, laughing, and
slid onto the bench beside her.
The rest of the week passed in a blissful blur for the new couple. Thanks to their nearly identical class schedules and the fact that they lived in the same tower of the castle, James and Lily could spend the vast majority of their time together. And Lily, for one, was eager to take advantage of this. The more time she spent with her new boyfriend the more she realized that she preferred James' company to anyone else's. It wasn't just because she enjoyed snogging him, either (though she definitely did). He was every bit as intelligent as she was, which meant he could actually keep up with her, whether they were just bantering or they were discussing a serious subject. He was also just as good-natured as she was, perhaps even more so, and he obviously enjoyed making her laugh. In Lily's mind, it was impossible not to enjoy yourself around James Potter.
This was a large part of why she was actually looking forward to the Slug Club event tonight. Although Lily had attended almost every Slug Club meeting during her tenure at Hogwarts, out of respect and affection for her professor, she privately considered them to be rather dry, dull events. But not this one. James would be attending with her, and she was confident that he was more than up to the task of being the life of the party. Or, at the very least, the life of the party for her. Even if he had to be fashionably late, she was glad he was going to be there at all, but of course from the minute she arrived, Lily couldn't stop herself from glancing at the door every few minutes to see if James had yet appeared.
Meanwhile, out on the Quidditch pitch, James was ending what had been a very productive training session. His team had been in particularly good form this evening and had accomplished everything he had planned to practice. Even better, he now had the prospect of an entire evening at Lily's side. The weekend was off to a very good start indeed.
"All right, all in!" he called to his teammates as he dove lightly towards the ground. He dismounted and ran his hands through his sweaty hair as he watched the other six players alight beside him. Glancing around at their faces, he smiled proudly and said, "Good one, you lot. We'll meet again Monday night. You all have the weekend off."
All six faces lit up at this news and one by one, the Gryffindor team headed either for the showers or back to the
castle. James stayed back on the pitch just long enough to strap the balls back into their crate. Once they were safely
stowed, he tucked the crate under his arm and hurried back to the locker room. He had just passed the stands when
someone called his name. Startled, he dropped the crate on his foot and promptly swore under his breath. Then the
identity of the speaker registered in his mind and he mentally cursed again. Straightening, he said quickly but
politely, "Hullo, Leslie."
For the speaker was indeed Leslie Olcott. She had arrived half an hour earlier to watch the last bit of the training session and had been cheering as loudly as she could from the stands. As soon as she had seen the team flying to the ground, she had hurried down the stands to wait on the ground level nearest the entrance to the Gryffindor locker room, with the goal of intercepting James on his way to the showers. It had not been her intention to make him drop a crate of balls on his toe, so her expression was apologetic as she rushed forward to help him. "Oooh sorry! I didn't mean to startle you," she said. "I just wanted to um.. congratulate you. Looks like you lot are in fine shape to trounce Slytherin next month."
"Er, yeah," James nodded, staring at her in some confusion. "What are you doing out here?"
Leslie favored him with a winsome smile and struck a pose, "Just came to watch my favorite Quidditch star."
James frowned, "But Leslie.. it's only training."
"So?" she demanded, unable to understand what difference this made. He was equally as fun to watch in practice as in a real match. Recovering her alluring demeanor, she took a step closer and smiled up at him, saying, "Your flying is as impressive in training as it is in a match. Promise." After a slight pause, she added, "You know, my brother was thinking of coming to the next match. I can introduce you, like I promised."
James paused and pursed his lips slightly. He had some idea where this conversation was headed, and if Leslie actually
thought she could sweet talk him into dating her instead of Lily, she had another thought coming. And speaking of Lily,
he would very much like to get changed and get to that party he was supposed to be meeting her at. He hoped Leslie
wasn't planning on having a lengthy chat.
"That's nice of you," he responded, "But it's all right. I've got a scout coming to the final."
"Oh. Well... congratulations!" Leslie responded, momentarily taken aback. "But no harm in having two League insiders looking out for you, right?" she finally asked. "He's looking forward to seeing you play. I've told him all about how well you fly." As she spoke, she shifted her position so that she was leaning back against the post behind her in a position which displayed the curves of her figure to their best advantage.
"Er... that's nice of you," James said, "Look, thanks loads, but I've got to run."
"Where're you running off to?" she asked almost desperately. "It's Friday night. No need to think about school work until Sunday. Some of the Hufflepuff fellows were talking of an Exploding Snap tournament. Muggle-poker style.."
Very glad she had given him an excuse to bring the up the subject, James was quick to say, "Oh, I'm off to see Lily. Thanks though."
At the mention of her rival, Leslie's expression turned decidedly sour, but she masked it quickly and attempted to laugh it off, "Oh. I guess I'll have to take a rain check then."
A rain check? What on earth? Perhaps he needed to be clearer. Watching the blonde girl carefully, James said, "Yeah maybe. Er... Leslie, you know I told you me and Lily are dating, right?"
"Yes I know," she frowned. "She's not turning out to be one of those clingy girlfriends who won't let you have other female friends is she? I didn't think Evans would stoopthatlow."
"Not at all," James responded, ignoring the slight to Lily's personality. "I just don't want you to get the wrong idea."
Leslie smiled sweetly. "Of course not," she simpered. "I only miss spending time with you, James."
Unsure of how to respond, James shrugged. "Sorry," he mumbled. He glanced at his watch for the sake of having
something to do, and then looked up at the castle where Lily surely awaited him, wearing what was sure to be a very
becoming dress. He was definitely eager to see how she looked, for while she was always pretty, he suspected that she
looked quite fetching when all dolled up. "I'm late," he explained to Leslie, hoping she would catch the
hint and let him end the conversation and stop looking so pathetically forlorn.
Leslie's face fell slightly. "Okay," she said, recovering. "I'll see you around, I s'pose."
Cursing his conscience for reminding him of the fact that Leslie had come out and sat in the cold, James spoke
again.
"Here," he said, "I'll walk with you to the castle if you give me a minute to stow this-" he
indicated the crate of Quidditch supplies "-in the shed."
Leslie brightened as James hastened to put away the box, grab his broom and shoulder it, and begin heading up toward the castle. She followed close behind him, a smile bubbling easily to her lips. "Is your foot alright?" she asked.
James chuckled. "Yeah, you only startled me." Had society favored the blunt, he would have loved to finish his sentence with "because I thought I had told you enough to keep you away for good". But, alas, he could not.
"Ooh," Leslie said, frowning. "I'm sorry!" She reached out to pat his arm, letting her hand linger a bit longer than James would have liked. He quickened his pace, wishing to make this interlude with the Hufflepuff girl as short in duration as possible. Leslie was nearly out of breath from trying to keep up with his longer stride. "Thanks for walking me back, though," she said, buoying the conversation with hope and small talk as they approached the castle. She looked back up at him as a new topic struck her. Quidditch! He would, of course, leap at the chance to talk about his favorite sport.
"Um, so... are you working on a new defensive strategy then? I've never seen those Beater formations before."
James pursed his lips, thinking back to those formations which had definitely improved since the beginning of the training session. Sirius had caught on quickly; the idea was to blindside the other players using drafts and something called the Seaford-Gulley defense. "We're trying some new stuff, but I'm not sure it will carry to the actual match."
"I see," said Leslie, quite obviously disappointed that they reached the doors so quickly. "Well," she said, clearly grasping for an excuse to keep talking, "if you and Evans end things early tonight, feel free to stop by our common room."
James chuckled."I wouldn't wait up," he advised. "But thank you." His mind went to thoughts of Lily, her lips and the feeling of his hands around her waist. It was a heady memory, and he grinned crookedly at the very idea.
A funny look came across Leslie's face. She blinked and forced a smile. "Bye, James!" she said, waving as she headed off down the hallway.
"See you, Olcott," James said, heading toward a bathroom where he had stowed some of his nicer clothes before practice, so as not to show up to the Slug Club party reeking and muddy. He changed quickly into dress pants and a button-down shirt, standing in the bathroom in his socks. He rifled through his bag, searching hurriedly for his dress shoes. He was struck suddenly by an image of the pair in question sitting out on his trunk up in his bedroom so he would not forget them. He swore loudly, and then began to search for an alternative. Eyeing his trainers, he figured them to be his best bet, and set about cleaning them. Drawing out his wand, he tapped them sharply and, hoping for the best, was pleasantly surprised by the sight of extremely shiny patent leather shoes before him. He slipped them on, shoved his muddy practice clothes into the bag, and sprinted off to meet Lily, fully aware he was a good deal tardier than he had meant to be.
Meanwhile, Lily was trying her very best to enjoy herself at Professor Slughorn's birthday. This was quite a difficult feat, as her attention was only partly centered on the goings-on of the celebration. Though she wasn't cross with James for being a bit later than he had estimated, she definitely would have preferred his presence. She had even dressed up especially for him, making sure she wore a dress that she determined was very becoming on her. It was made of dark navy fabric, with belled sleeves and a flared skirt. Blue, rather than green or the insufferable yellow or purple, was a color that almost never clashed with her coloring. But what was the use of dressing up if James wasn't even here? She spoke rather distractedly with one of the newer Slug Club members, hoping dearly James would arrive before Professor Slughorn cut the cake. Lily glanced toward the door, checking her watch, beginning to wonder if someone- though, hopefully not James- had been injured at training. But the sound of clattering footsteps reached her ears and brought a bright smile to her face. James sailed through the door, his cheeks a bit flushed and his hair in its usual disarray. She excused herself from her conversation and made her way toward him. He moved toward her at the same time, looking relieved to catch sight of her.
"Hi!" Lily said, brightly, reaching for a hug.
"Hey, girl of mine," James leaned down to kiss her cheek, returning her smile.
"I was beginning to think you'd never make it," Lily confessed, slipping her arm around his waist and leading him further into the room. "Did something go wrong at practice?"
"Er, no," said James, "just ran a bit late. I'm sorry; forgive me?"
Lily reached up on her tiptoes to kiss his lips. "Of course!" she beamed. "And I think you're just in time for the cake cutting."
"Oh, thank goodness. I'm starved," James said, looking around before catching sight of the monstrous birthday cake.
Lily's eyebrows contracted slightly. "Youdidget a chance to eat dinner before training, right?"
James nodded. "Well, yeah. But that was three hours ago..."
"So, naturally, you're ravenously hungry again," Lily finished for him, grinning slyly.
James reached over and goosed Lily's sides. She squealed and giggled. "It takes a lot of energy to be this attractive, you see," he said with an air of experience.
Lily, still giggling, nodded. "And I very much appreciate everything that goes into making my boyfriend the fittest one in the castle." She tightened her arm around him and gave him a light tug to the right."C'mon. I bet there're still some appetizers at the table."
James grinned, letting himself be led. Had he been asked, he would have let the beautiful girl lead him to the ends of the earth and back. He then realized that in the hustle of getting to the party, he had yet to compliment Lily's stunning appearance. Once they were at the table, he leaned down and murmured in her ear, "You look really, really pretty tonight."
Lily's stomach flip-flopped, and she beamed, gloriously happy he had notice her effort.
"Thank you," she said, lips curving in a smile. Then, deciding this sort of thing was definitely deserving of a kiss, she glanced around the room to make sure the others were occupied, before pressing a kiss to his lips.
James returned the kiss, trying to somewhat curb his enthusiasm for the sake of anyone who might catch a glimpse of them. However, he was definitely of the opinion that he could go for some snogging later, if Lily was amenable.
She reluctantly broke the kiss before any other students could notice their occupation. "Erm," she said, a
bit flushed, "Do you want to get in line for cake, too?" She had it on good authority that the cake flavor
was chocolate, and was therefore determined to have a piece of the fourteen-tier monster.
"Sure," James said, much more intent on the girl before him than any cake, regardless of flavor.
Keeping her hand firmly in his, Lily walked over to the table at the center of the room where Professor Slughorn had begun to cut liberal slices for all his guests. As they took their places at the end of the short queue, she squeezed James' hand and told him, "I'm really glad you could make it."
"Isn't that what he's supposed to say?" James replied, indicating Slughorn with a nod of his head.
"You're still worried he'll throw you out?" she teased.
James was saved from having to reply by their reaching the front of the queue. Ever the gentleman, he gestured for Lily to take a plate first, then he stepped forward to receive his own piece.
"Happy Birthday, Professor," he said, and Slughorn looked up.
"Thank you, Potter," the rounder man responded in surprise. "I didn't expect to see you here tonight."
"I'm Lily's plus-one, sir," James explained.
"Ahhh, so the rumorsaretrue then?" Slughorn asked, his lips curving in a genuine smile. Evidently, any association with his favorite student was ample reason for him to form a favorable opinion of someone.
Grinning, Lily reached for James' free hand and looked up at him with a proud little smile as she answered, "They are, indeed."
"Splendid! Splendid," the Potions Master replied, "I must say, you two make a fine-looking
pair."
Lily tore her eyes away from James' long enough to smile at Slughorn, "Thanks, Professor." Then she followed as James tugged her hand to lead her away from the cake table so the rest of their classmates could get a slice. Once they were out of ear shot, she grinned up at him and said, "See? I knew he'd warm up to you eventually. You're too charming to resist forever."
"Thankfully," James chuckled. "Now what do you say we find a comfy sofa so we can sit down and enjoy our cake?"
"Oooh charmingandsmart. I've found a keeper," Lily teased, leaning up to press a kiss to his cheek.
Less than an hour later, after they had both dined and schmoozed themselves out, James turned to Lily and asked, "Want to head back to the common room now?"
"Sure," she responded, looking around for a surface on which to set her now-empty punch glass. On their way out of the room, she spied a table that had begun amassing a collection of empty cups and added hers to the mix.
"Did you have something else planned?" she asked curiously as she and James strolled down the corridor hand in hand.
He shook his head, "Nah. Just tired of making pointless small talk with people I hardly know."
Lily smiled, knowing the feeling well herself. "Ah," was all she said. They reached Gryffindor Common Room in record time thanks to a handy shortcut James had suggested they use, which had sparked Lily's curiosity.
"Do you know every secret passageway in this entire castle?" she asked as she stepped through the portrait hole in front of him.
"Maybe notevery," he responded, "But a fair amount."
"Do I want to know why? Or how?" she asked, the corner of her mouth twitching in amusement.
James put on his most innocent expression as he replied, "You can't be a successful prankster if you can't get around without being seen." This, of course, was only half the explanation for his and his friends' ability to roam the castle without being spotted, but he couldn't go spilling secrets that weren't his to tell. Instead, he kept his answer vague. A quick scan of the common room revealed that all of the seats seemed to be taken by other students. James was about to suggest that they could find another location when he felt Lily tugging his hand towards the far side of the room.
"C'mon. I bet my window seat's still open," she said, leading him over to the quieter side of the room where she usually elected to do her homework. The window seat was indeed vacant, and she climbed nimbly up, with James close behind her. There was just space enough for them to sit side by side, though James wouldn't have complained if Lily had chosen to sit in his lap instead.
"Look," she said, pointing out the window on their left, "This is one of the reasons I sit here so often."
He turned his head, following the direction of her finger, and gazed out the window at the quiet, moonlit grounds of Hogwarts Castle. Not too far in the distance, he could see the lake, with the half moon silhouetted in its pristine waters, and he imagined that in daylight, he would be able to survey most of the grounds.
"Wow. That's an incredible view," James said.
"Yeah," Lily agreed, suddenly aware of how closely their bodies were. A slight blush came over her cheeks, and when James caught sight of her, he felt his body responding to how simply lovely the girl was. He hesitated a moment, and then reached out to turn her face toward his. Leaning forward, his eyes fell shut and his lips met hers. Almost instantly, he felt her hands slide around the back of his head, catching hold of his hair in a gentle grip. He deepened their kiss, her mouth tasting faintly of chocolate. A catcall roused them from their snogging, and James turned, a bit of lipstick smeared on his mouth, to grin at the culprit- Sirius, of course. He reached for Lily's hand, and the twosome exited the Common Room for a bit more privacy.