#james009

After six and a half years of going after the one and only Lily Evans, there was still one trick that James Potter had never tried, for very good reason. He’d never told anyone — not even Sirius — that he had this little skill, but he was quite proud of it. He knew he had to time it correctly, though. That’s why he’d waited until now, when they were just on the verge of getting together. Hopefully, it’d get her to at least agree to a date.

Also, he was buzzed. Verrryy close to drunk. So that’s why he decided to do this now. Reasons were very important. He set his drink aside and stepped up onto the stage, clearing his throat. “Scuze me everyone,” he announced after performing a quick Sonorus charm on himself, so his voice echoed throughout the room. “So some of you may or may not realize —though I really hope you realize by now— that I have a ridiculous crush on that bloody gorgeous redhead right there,” he pointed, miraculously finding Lily’s face the only one that wasn’t blurry right now. “And she is wonderfully stubborn, but I think I’ve finally got something that might change her mind. So, Lil, this is for you.”

He waved his wand at the enchanted gramophone off to the side of the room and it began to play I Just Want to Be Your Everything, which he promptly began to sing along with. And honestly, despite how buzzed he was, he had a killer voice and completely nailed the song. Because he was freaking James Potter.

He didn’t take his eyes off her throughout, and when he’d finished, he stepped off the stage and started making his way toward her, oblivious to everyone else’s reaction until someone caught him by the shoulder.

Things between Lily and James had been going so well lately, even if she was trying not to focus on the fact that they had kissed. They were in a state of limbo but, going by the rest of their history, limbo was good.  Great even.  They were getting along well, she genuinely enjoyed spending time with him during rounds and while they studied for DADA and Potions.  He was more than patient with the fact that she’d not worked things out yet, that even though they’d kissed she wasn’t sure what was going on in her own head.  

But James was James and he wouldn’t have been if he got through a whole party like this without being a little bit of the James she had known over the past six and a half years.  Had he done this last year, she would have rolled her eyes, even stormed out in angry embarrassment.  This year - everything was different.  

When he got up in front of everyone and it became clear he was talking about her, her eyes widened, her cheeks beginning to heat.  “No!” she all but gasped as she started to laugh, a hand covering her dropped jaw.  He started to sing and she threw her head back, laughing.  As the song went on, she buried her face in Marlene’s shoulder, peeking out through her hair as he serenaded her, her laughter barely pausing.  She was sure her face was redder even than she hair but she couldn’t stop the stupidly wide smile that spread across her lips.  

She lost sight of him as he left the stage and - after a brief discussion with Marlene where her best friend informed her it was only right he be rewarded for his gesture and then shoved her in his direction - Lily found him in the crowd, tugging on his shoulder to get his attention.  “I don’t know what to be more surprised by,” she said grinning.  “That you know a muggle song or that you can actually sing.” She laughed, shaking her head a bit.  “Marlene reckons I ought to reward you for the show.”

To be honest, he’d completely lost sight of her once he’d stepped back into the crowd, mostly because he needed to watch his feet in order to keep from tripping. He was thrilled when someone caught him by the shoulder and he looked up to see that it was her. His darling, gorgeous Lily who needed to know that he loved her. But wait, she already knew that. What was he supposed to tell her again? He grinned as she spoke. There was only one kind of reward he could think that she might give him, and he wasn’t going to protest it. “Well, I’m an impressive guy, Lil. Many hidden talents. This is just one of ‘em.” He shrugged and added, “Thanks, though. Means a lot. And you know, I’ve always thought it was a bad idea to argue with Marlene. She’s right about lots of things—just don’t tell her I said that.”

She wondered if he knew how wide his grin was, wider than she was sure seeing her warranted, and she wondered for a moment how much he had had to drink.  The moment was fleeting, however, as he own tipsiness reminded her that it was inconsequential, that he was what was important right now.  He had just serenaded her, after all.  In front of the entire school.  Why, she asked herself, didn’t she realize before this year how fantastic that was.  

"I wouldn’t dream of telling her," she admitted with a grin of her own.  "If she starts thinking she’s right all the time, there’ll be no living with her.  She had to get one thing right eventually though."  Or course, Marlene had advocated a much more to the point type of reward.  It would be a lie to say the redhead didn’t consider it, how could she not when she’d done it once before and had quite enjoyed it.  Insecurity overtook alcohol consumption, though, and since she apparently needed the heat of an argument to kiss him out of the blue, she took his hand instead.  "Dance with me."

His face was kind of starting to hurt, but he didn’t really care because this was Lily Evans and she was worth the pain and so much more. She was worth everything and he wanted her to know that, but he couldn’t find the words because so many of them were buzzing around in his head right now and how was he supposed to say any of them in a coherent manner?

He clung to her every word as he usually did, but his interest in Marlene was at an all time low right now. His focus was one hundred and a gazillion percent on Lily right now, and he wasn’t going to pull any percent away to focus on another girl. Even if Marlene was technically his wife. Hmm. He needed to get that annulled. But did it matter? They’d been four, so it probably wasn’t legitimate anyway. Huh. Who knew?

“Dance?” He repeated when she suggested it—or was she commanding it? Godric, it turned him on when she ordered him around. “Kay, I can do that. I’m great at that.” He wasn’t at all, actually, so this was going to be fun.

He was drunk but she was well on her way to joining him, so she just smiled wide when he agreed to dance.  She’d known he would, this was James Potter after all, but she still was pleased with it.  It was such an odd situation, her slightly addled brain reflected.  He had spent six years telling her she was brilliant and she hadn’t heard him but now every time he did, she blushed or smiled like it was the first time she was hearing it.

She took his hand and they made their way into the throng of people dancing.  Lily had never danced much, if she hadn’t been drinking she was entirely certain she wouldn’t be dancing now at all, but as she had been and as James had sung that great song to her, she wanted to.  She laced her fingers with his as she started to move with the music, the rest of the party and the room and the world falling away as she focused in on James. 

James, in short, was a terrible dancer. He bopped around for a bit, sort of just swaying and nodding his head to the beat before he decided that didn’t work for him. “I’m not drunk enough for this yet,” he told her over the music, laughing. “Just…help me?” There was no way he was going to pull away from her or stop dancing when this was what she wanted to do, but he was hopeless at it and nowhere near wasted enough to stop caring about how foolish he looked in front of her.

Lily wasn’t the best dancer in the world but she couldn’t help but laugh at the helpless look on James face as he professed he was not drunk enough for this. She was, or maybe she wouldn’t have been as liberal with her hands as she was. As he asked for help she took his hands and placed them on her hips. One of her arms draped over his shoulder and the other pressed against his chest. “Don’t think so hard,” she advised with a grin. 

James stared down at her, his hands settling with ease on her hips. This was perhaps the closest he’d ever been to her, and his brain seemed to have ceased to function. “I-I’m not really thinking at all right now, love,” he stammered. “I mean, there is one thing I’m kinda thinking about.” It wasn’t dancing, though.

She maybe wouldn’t have put his hands where she did were she not drunk, but she couldn’t deny that both drunk and sober parts of her were pleased at the feel of them on her hips as they moved.  He called her love and she felt almost giddy at the term of endearment.  “Don’t think,” she said at his words, not thinking herself it would seem.  “Whatever it is.  Just - do it.”

He grinned down at her when he heard her words and gave a shrug. “Well, all right. But you insisted,” he pointed out and leaned down to brush his lips against hers. He stopped swaying, figuring the snogging took precedence.

Lily didn’t expect the kiss but maybe she should have. He’d done it before, kissed her unexpectedly, and it’s not like she hadn’t done the same to him. The first time had been out of the blue. The second had been because she lost her temper. But this one - well, third time is the charm after all. Or maybe being intoxicated was the key. Either way, it only took a moment for her to begin to kiss him back. The hand on his chest tangled in his shirt and she didn’t notice when they stopped dancing.  “Good thought,” she murmured against his lips.

He grinned when she reciprocated and held it as long as she would let him. “Mm, I thought so,” he hummed back when she spoke, his heart thudding hard beneath her hand. He wondered if she realized how utterly perfect she was, especially when they were both like this. “Do you wanna get out of here, maybe? It’s kind of crowded.”

She could feel his heart beating beneath her hand and she bit her lip at his question. “Mmhmm,” she answered with a nod, drunk Lily answering before sober Lily could overthink it, before she could think about how she had feelings for James but wasn’t sure the extent of them, before she could worry about him thinking she was offering more than she could give. Drunk Lily just wanted to be with him, and drunk Lily was winning.

James grinned when she agreed. He planted a fleeting kiss on her lips once more before he drew away and caught her hand in his. “I was hoping you’d say that,” he told her before walking out of the Great Hall with her. He’d never stayed for his entire party; why break the trend now?

He kissed her again and she couldn’t help but smile. “Of course you were,” she said with pleased sarcasm. She laced her fingers with his and laughed as they exited the party. She didn’t pay attention to the eyes that followed them, didn’t care if anyone saw or commented that the girl who swore never to care for James Potter was currently caring very much.  Her entire focus was on James as he led her from the Great Hall.

“Did you expect anything less?” He teased as he walked through the castle with her, headed back for their common room. He was sure they’d end up there anyway since that was where they slept, and he would rather get there now than try to stumble back when he sobered up. “So, the entire school knows I can sing now. That was a big secret, and I blew it for you,” he teased and kissed her on the cheek.

They brushed shoulders and arms as they walked, closer together than they’d ever been before, and she frankly could have been closer. She grinned at his words once they reached the common room. “Like you didn’t love all the attention,” she teased as he kissed her cheek. “I’m flattered, though.  No one has ever serenaded me before.”

“You know,” he smiled over at her, “I don’t really care about attention from anyone else. Just you.” He knew he was obnoxious about calling attention to himself, but that was only when she was in the general area and could see him. “Never?” He demanded, aghast at her confession. “Well you deserve to be serenaded all the time.”

Her smile softened at what he said about her attention, looking down as she blushed lightly. “Well, you’ve got it now,” she informed him with a smile. Her attention was completely his and not just because she was drunk. It had been getting more and moe prevalent since they got to school. He took up more of her thoughts every day and by this point, he was the most prominent thing in them. “I don’t need it all the time,” she admitted. “I like it as a special occasion.”

“After six and a half years, I’d say it’s about time,” he teased. He gave the password at the entrance to the common room and swung the portrait open, letting her through first. “Okay, well special occasions are fine, too,” he agreed as he followed her inside. “It’d be better to save it just for you, anyway.”

"What are you planning on doing with it now you have it?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. She entered the common room ahead of him but didn’t go far into the room before stopping and turning to face him again. "And deny all your adoring fans that voice," she asked with a smirk? "Now I really <em>am</em> flattered," she added, taking his hand again.

He shrugged as he stopped in front of her, unable to keep from grinning at the smirk on her face. It wasn’t often he earned a look like that from her, but he loved it. Their relationship had moved to a solid friendship (plus a little extra) and he was thrilled that they could joke around with each other now. “Well you should be flattered,” he told her and leaned in to kiss her again. “Thought I might do that while I had your attention.”

He kissed her again and she suddenly decided she didn’t want to think anymore. She didn’t want to wonder if this was a good idea or if she was ready, she just wanted for once to be more like Marlene and just - enjoy herself. So she smiled against his lips and chuckled at his words as he pulled away. “My undivided attention,” she specified; leaning in to kiss him again. The hand that didn’t hold his room up residence again pressed flat against his chest, over his heart.

He had some smart remark ready, but lost it completely when she kissed him again. If he had her undivided attention, he wasn’t going to do anything to lose it. He slipped his free hand into her hair and anchored it against the back of her head, keeping her as close as they could comfortably be in this position. After a few moments, which he’d given her to make sure she didn’t want to pull back, he ran his tongue carefully along her bottom lip.

He put his hand in her hair and oh gods did it feel good. She’d never thought she’d like that but she did, liked the feeling of him holding her as close as he could while they kissed and she let go of the the hand she held in order to wrap her arm around his shoulders, palm pressed flat against the back of his neck and when she felt his tongue run along her lip, she parted them to give him better access.

His stomach flipped with nervous —and partially inebriated— excitement as she opened her lips. His tongue darted into her mouth without further prompting and explored around for a bit while a groan pulled from his throat. After a few moments, he decided they’d be far more comfortable on the couch. He only dared pull away from her for a second while he hooked an arm behind her knees and scooped her into his hold bridal style. He all but collapsed with her on the couch, sitting beneath her as he pushed his lips to hers again.

Lily was lost in this kiss and couldn’t help the whimper of protest that escaped her lips as he pulled his away. She would have protested more had he not caught her up in his arms to carry her to couch. Her arms looped around his neck and she laughed as he carried her, the kind of laugh that bubbles up from no where in the midst of a happy moment. She shifted once they were on the couch, one leg on either side of his as she met his lips halfway, her long hair falling like a curtain around them as one of her hands tangled in his hair, the other in his shirt.

He nearly laughed at her whine, but decided she might not like him very much if he was chuckling at a time like this. He settled for a groan while she straddled him, his hands drifting higher up, experimentally at first. It didn’t seem to have a negative effect on her, so he brushed his hand against her breast as nonchalantly as was humanly possible for him.

She felt him groan against her lips and it made her smile. She knew the kind of feeling she felt when that sound dragged from her lips, that she could so easily pull that sound from James pleased her more than she would have imagined it would. She inhaled sharply into the kiss when she felt his hand on her but her back arched involuntarily, her body leaning into the touch as a soft moan hummed against his lips.

No way. No bloody way was Lily Evans letting him touch her boob. This was mental—had he died? Was he actually in Heaven right now and not in the common room? This was bloody mental. He meant to pull away, to ask how drunk she was, but then she leaned into his hand and he blanked. All right, then. If this was how she wanted it. He grinned and slipped his other hand around her waist before giving a gentle tug, twisting them both to the side so he could lay her down on the couch.

She was drunk but she wasn’t that drunk and she didn’t feel at all out of control as she kissed him, pressed against all the places their bodies touched.  Well, she felt out of control in only the best way as he shifted their positions.  She grinned against his lips at the movement, wrapping her arms tighter around him as she settled back against the couch cushions.  Her hands trailed down over him, finding the hem of his shirt and  slipping beneath it, pressing fingers to skin as she ran her hands over his back.

To be completely fair, what happened next was not James’ fault. It was Sirius’ fault for conditioning him to relax every time somebody touched his back. Okay, so maybe it was a little bit James’ fault, because of the amount of alcohol he’d consumed, but no, it was Sirius’ fault.

Despite the painfully obvious fact that snogging Lily Evans like this was something he’d waited his entire adolescent life for, James flat out fell asleep. It was kind of slow at first, as his weight on her increased since he couldn’t hold himself up much anymore, but then it turned into hardcore sleeping that he couldn’t even attempt to deny. He shifted against the back of the couch, his head turning sideways and flopping onto her shoulder, and then he began to snore.

She wasn’t that drunk but apparently he was.  His weight became heavier on top of her as her hands moved over his skin but then it suddenly changed from relaxing to sleeping.  He shifted and fell back and for a moment, she didn’t move at all.  “You have got to be bloody kidding,” she murmured after a moment when she realized James wasn’t waking.  Her cheeks flamed and she knew if he’d opened his eyes he’d see that her face was as red as her hair.  She was mortified.  

Slowly she shifted out from under him, sliding off the couch in one of the least graceful moments of her life.  When she was finally free she all but bolted for her room.  She was halfway there when conscious outvoted humiliation and she turned, flicking her wand so the blanket on the back of the couch floated down to cover the sleeping idiot lying there before disappearing behind her locked door.