LilyxJames

Lily always loved the great hall festivals, and the pumpkin festival was one of the bes.t She took a bite of her pumpkin pie and happily joked with her group of friends. She smiled as Sirius gave her a charming grin. He had just started warming up to her in the last year, now that she was obviously getting friendlier with James. "Want a bite?" She offered him a bite from her fork, and there were a few stares between those around them.

Sirius jabbed Remus in the ribs. "Oooh, would you look at that Moony? Looks like two owls got replaced with love birds-!" He let out a bark of a laugh.

Remus looked amused, and laughed with him softly. "If only they were brave enough to admit it." He said with a grin leaning forward, as if he expected them to suddenly admit their undying love for each other.

James grabbed a perfectly sweet orange and tossed it at Sirius's nose. "Mind your own, Sirius. You're just jealous." He teased back.

Sirius choked on his drink, nearly spitting butterbeer everywhere at Remus's words. He jerked to miss the orange from hitting his face and heard someone behind them go, "ow! The heck?!" He made a mock solemn face before grinning. "You wish." He winked at James.

Lily couldn't help laughing with them, her smile bright and beautiful. SHe was blushing, unable to hide it when they focused on her and James. She glanced at him and blushed hard, quickly busying herself, passing everyone a treat, even though there were plenty around. She finished with James, her hand lightly brushing against his, a jolt going through her veins and her hand got warm. She lingered there for a moment, just staring at their hands. She cleared her throat.

James smirked over at Sirius. "But you must have a lover. I've seen you woo some of these girls around here. Which one is it? Padfoot?" He asked. Remus tried to smile, but it seemed forced, and ran his fingers through his hair. James thought that was a little strange, but became distracted with Lily. "You all right?" He asked, tilting his head slighlty to look at her face, a warm smile on his lips.

Sirius shook his head slighlty, putting his hands up innocently. "I may flirt, guilty as charge, Prongs. I'm must not interest in a girlfriend... Y'know.... Right now." He chewed on a chooclate frog and offered half to Remus. He never missed a beat. "Hey, no matter what happens, we will always have each other, right, Moony?"

Lily nodded, looking instantly happy again. "Yeah, I'm alright. Thank you, James." She called him by his first name, and for a second, you could literally hear a pin drop between them all. "What?" She asked, looking at them all, then at James. "Do I have something on my mouth?" She asked, cutely brushing at her lips.

Remus and James blinked at her. "Have you ever called him that before?" Remus asked curiously.

James humed, giving her a playful smile. "Say it again." He cooed, a grin on his face, poking her side.

Lily paused when Remus asked her if she had called James by his first name before. She hadn't thought about it much before. Potter was Potter their first few years at Hogwarts. Fifth year was when she had started returning his affections, and now here at the beginning of sixth she realized quite suddenly that she was in fact in love with James Potter. "I supposed it is Remus... Is that surprising?" She teased him gently. When James gave her that flash of a happy smile, she got butterflies. "James." She said softly, and for a moment it seemed like they were the only two people in the fworld. She found herself unable to look away for a long moment. She leaned over and whipsered in his ear. "Meet me tomorrow at the Quidditch pitch, near sunset. I have to tell you something."

James gave her a look of interest, wondering waht she coudl possibly want to talk about that she couldn't say in front of the boys. "Okay." He said with a shrug.

Remus smirked slightly. "Ooooh, a romantic rendezvous by the field~" he said dramatically, leaning against Sirius.

Sirius dropped an arm around Remus' shoulder as they put their heads together. He pretended to be James at the pitch. "Oh, Lily, I never thought the day would come, yet ere we are at long last. Kiss me!" He said a kissy face, howling with laughter again.

Lily really was blushing now. She felt embarrassed and jumped up from the table. "I'm going to bed. WHile some of us can spare to joke all night." She said looking pointedly at the duo across from them. "A few of us actually care to be awake during tomorrow's classes. Good night, boys..." She looked more gently at Potter. "Good night, James." She turned with a toss of her long, fiery red hair and hurried off.

Remus looked at James, a smug look on his face. "Are you going to meet her tomorrow?" He asked, having calmed down after Lily left. Obviously, their behaviors varied between who was hanging around them. Sirius and Remus loved teasing Lily more than anything else, but they also cared deeply for her.

James blushed slightly. looking away. "... Why wouldn't I?" He asked. "You know how I've felt about her." He stuck his tongue otu at them, standing up. "I'm heading to bed, too... That train ride seemed longer than normal..."

The day flew by in a blur and night fell upon Hogwarts swiftly. Just as a twinkling blanket of stars swept across the sky Lily appeared riding low on her broomstick as she entered the quidditch pitch. Hey, why walk when you could fly? She quickly dismounted and hid behind a large pillar whispering a spell that caused a glowing trail to point to her briefly hoping James would see it. She felt her heart drumming against her ears. She knew this was risky. What if he didn't come? What if a professor happened to want to take a late night stroll? Not that anyone came up here after dark but still... "shh!" She said aloud to herself and her thoughts fizzled out as she focused on the shadows looking for a sign of the one wizard she wanted to see more then anything in the known Wizarding world.

"Who are you shushing?" A voice asked, coming from behind her. James smiled at her, looking a little nervous himself. What if it was something else entirely, and he was feeling hopeful for no reason? But what else would she need to tell him in the utmost private of areas? "Pretty night, isn't it?" He asked awkwardly, sounding like an idiot in his royally fumbling opinion.

Lily about jumped out of her skin when James popped up behind her like that. She let out a relieved laugh. "Don't scare me like that!" She hit his arm lightly and looked from his face back to the sky. "Yeah it is..." she let a moment of silence pass between them and felt the tension rising. She knew she had to say something or she'd look like a right fool. She wanted to make it special though...and had put a lot of hard work into the spells he was about to perform. "Take a step back. I want to show you something." She closed her eyes shaking a little from the cold air and nerves combined. Whispering under her breath a brilliant red sparkle came out like a ribbon from her wand and as she made an oval in the middle there appeared some of their memories together and finally in a poof rose pedals fell and the sparkly letters read in the air "I'm in love with you James Potter." Lily stared at him from the other side of the sparkles and didn't move. It was up to him to either accept her confession or reject it.

James beamed when she cast her spells, amazed that she could put something so sweet and sentimental in them. He'd joked once that Lily could probably teach the whole class on special effects wizardry. When her confession came up, his smile fell slightly, but only out of surprise. He never thought she'd feel the same way he did. He wasn't as smart, and he wasn't the most handsome boy in school, but he certainly didn't look like a toad. He looked at her, his mouth agape. "You... L-love me?"

Lily looked suddenly very nervous. James was the most popular boy in all of Hogwarts well among three of the houses anyway. His only rival in the looks department was Lucius and Lily had never liked slytherin'so or blondes. She wondered if he thought it was some kind of a cruel joke the way he said that. So she did the only thing she could think of that quickly that would convince him of the truth. She stepped forward as the magic disappeared and got within an inch of his mouth whispering "I guess you could say I couldn't resist the way my heart called for you. No amount of pride is worth forsaking the chance at love...'sides I always was attracted to you. It just took me a while to admit it to myself. Then this past summer when I couldn'the get you off my mind...I...well I..." Lily was never one to not finish her sentences but she found herself just staring into his eyes unable to look away.

James listened to her, searching her eyes for any tell that this could be a joke. That would have been very unlike her, but then again, Malfoy was very cruel. He could have gotten someone to put some kind d of spell on themselves and trick him.
But it was only the first night back to Hogwarts, and he doubted thru would have thought so far ahead. He took a deep breath and closed the distance between them. He kissed her gently, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment. When he opened them, he was blushing and looking at her almost shyly. "I love you, too, Lily."

The kiss happened so suddenly and Lily felt the taste of his mouth still on her lips. She smiled at his words adoring the way he looked at her. "Then stay beside me James and please...kiss me again." She took the initiative this time and kissed him much more slowly, closing her eyes she wrapped her arms around hiso neck tugging him against her body.

James wrapped his arms around her waist again, kissing her a little harder than before, feeling happier than he ever had in his life. How could one woman make him feel so much at one time. "I'll never leave your side." He promised at a whisper.

Lily sighed in contentment, pressing her forehead against his. She hugged him tightly as they swayed softly together, slow dancing in place. "I finally feel accepted and loved. James you've made me so happy." She whispered in the darkness. She kissed him again, exploring his mouth with her tongue before she breathlessly said "should we tell the others?"

James hadnt even thought of his friends in the last fifteen minutes since they met up. They'd find out anyway. Remus had incredible senses and would probably smell Lily on him anyway. "We don't have to tonight, do we?" He asked. He could just imagine Sirius pointing and laughing, making kissy faces. By the time he'd get up to the dormitory again, he'd be much too tired to go into detail.

"Of course not. Tonight is for us. They'll find out instantly I'm sure, especially since they knew we were planning to meet tonight." She let out a gentletter laugh, tugging him back in for another kiss. She moved down to the ground and gently pulled his hand towards her. "Can we stay like this, just a while longer?" She asked softly.

James smiled at her words, sitting down beside her. As much as he cared for them, he didnt' want to be thinking of his best friends at the moment. He linked their fingers together, nuzzling her, wrapping an arm around her. "We can stay like this for as long as you want."

Lily curled up against him contently, trailing her thumb over the side of his hand just enjoying being beside him like this with nobody else around. "Have you ever looked in the mirror of Erised?" She asked softly. "I was curious last night and went to take a glance. Do you know what I saw?" She was curious if he could guess what i,age came before her.

James hummed, looking up at the stars. There was a rumor that it was somewhere deep inside the school, but he guessed that wasn't just a rumor anymore. They weren't supposed to go in those kind of places, and he was surprised that Lily would break a rule like that. "No... What did you see?"

"Well..." she began favoring her bottom lip for a moment. "Dumbledore had asked me if I wanted to see it since I explained how I had been feeling and he said if I wanted a crystal clear image of my hearts desire all I had to do was look in the mirror. He seemed playful about it and I was worried. I said maybe it wasn't fair when other students didn't get the same chance and that's when he told me that I wasn't just an ordinary student and this was for the greater good of everyone...which still confuses me but at any rate...he took me to see this large curtain and 2hen he removed it there was the mirror. It looked perfectly ordinary but then there was this smoke like substance within it, almost like a fog and when it cleared I saw..." she took a breath and sighed. "Maybe I shouldn't say. What if it's like the muggle tradition where if you say what you wished for when blowing out your birthday candles, it won't come true?" She said likely confusing the hell out of him since he was a pureblood.

James listened to her ramble, his eyebrows slowly knitting together. He sat up slightly, leaning against his elbow to look down at her, bliknking a few times. "What the heck does that have to do with anything? It's not like your wish will know you told anyone, and suddenly turn around and say 'Nope, sorry, I can't help you since you spoke of my secret.'" He said, indeed looking very confused. "Just tell me, Lily. Even if that was true, I'd do everything to make your wish come true."

She blushed pink and pushed his arm when he poked fun at her. After a long pause playing with the grass beneath them she finally whispered "I saw you and me, married with your hands around my belly. I was pregnant." She tugged harder at the grass finding it very interesting or so it seemed. She was just so embarrassed to have said that out loud to James of all people but she felt better now that he knew. She slowly lifted her eyes to meet him. "Do you think it could...come true?"

James' eyebrows shot up when she said that so quickly that his glasses tried to slide down his face. He cleared his throat, pushing his glasses back up. looking away from her for a moment. He had never thought about having children before, mostly because their teachers wanted them to concentrate on what classes they would be taking to further their futures outside of Hogwarts. He looked at her again, imagining her pregnant... and he didn't hate the idea. He sighed through his nose, smiling slightly, wrapping an arm around her waist, resting his chin on top of her head. "I know it will."

Lily felt a sense of relief and the butterflies in her stomach finally began to subside. She closed her eyes and relaxed against him. "Thank you James....for listening to me and for being brave. I don't want you to feel pressured, as long as I'm with you I know I'll be happy, no matter what." She offered honestly.

James gave her a tight hug, closing his eyes. With the soft breeze of the fall season brushing his hair against his neck, he could fall asleep. "Don't let me fall asleep here, okay?" He mumbled. "They'll never... live it down... if they see us."

Lily nodded gently, smiling lovingly at his words. She felt her eyes beginning to slip closed and relaxed. After a pause she jerked slightly and slowly sat up bringing him with her. "C'mon. We better head back inside. I wish I could fall asleep in your arms and I'm sure we'll have the opportunity shortly. You're right, we definitely can't let them find us sleeping here they might get the wrong ideq." She yawned and straddled her broomstick sleepily, scooting back to make room for him up front. "Give me a ride home?" She let off a chuckle.

James wiped the sleepiness from his eyes before getting on the broom, looking back at her. "Don't forget to buckle in." he laughed, the broomstick floating up, close to the clouds. "Want to take a detour?" He asked her, gliding over the lake. "Can't leave m'lady so unsatisfied."

Lily laughed with him, smiling down at their reflections on the lake as they swept by. She wrapped her arms around his middle lying her head against his back happily. "Mm. I'm not unsatisfied, not in the least." She said dreamily. Her fingers slid up his shirt slightly when the wind whipped past them and she enjoyed how warm he was. "Your skin kiss almost softer then mine!" She said with a laugh.