A Case of You
HAPPY INTERNATIONAL @petalsandfishes DAY! Hope you have a good one, you absolute lovely human sunshine! We're so lucky to have you, darling.
Here's my contribution to Grand Petals Fic Festival. Special thanks to @siriuslysnuffles , @alrightginger and @decaffeinatedmouse for the betaing and emotional support.
Read it on AO3
“Fuck James Potter”, Lily said out loud as she took a sip of champagne directly from the bottle.
Fuck stupid, meddling James Potter, with his inappropriate I-think-I-am-so charming jokes in the office and his I-just-got-out-of-bed hair who had just stolen her dream case.
Well, not really.
But still, he was going to be her second chair, per McGonagall’s instructions, and she was not liking it one bit.
This was supposed to be her day. She picked out a beautiful pale blue dress that accentuated her curves and made her green eyes pop. She styled her long red hair like a vintage Hollywood star. She was going to look amazing tonight at McGonagall & Flitwick’s law practice and Co. 20th anniversary party, when they announced she was leading the Doe case.
But her bubble of happiness was burst when she found out who she would have to partner up with in the case. She knew she would have to take another solicitor as second chair in such a big case, of course, she just never anticipated it was going to be him. She should have known better.
“We want you to work with Potter,” Minerva had told her earlier in the evening, right in the beginning of the party. “This is such a high profile case, but having the two of you, the best solicitors in London, I can rest knowing it is in great hands.”
Lily could only nod dumbly at her mentor and wait for a moment until she could slip out of the party unnoticed. Now, she was at the rooftop of the building with a stolen bottle of champagne as her faithful companion.
She did not consider herself someone that didn’t get along well with others. In fact, she loved everyone in the office. Nor did she think she was usually a jealous person. It’s just that ever since James Potter had arrived at McGonagall’s & Flitwick’s, fresh from working at Harvard Law with some old codger named Dumbledore who McGonagall absolutely adored, he had been stealing all her cases! Before that smarmy, smirky bloke was in London, all the best cases went directly to Lily’s desk. She had her pick. It was not that the other solicitors weren’t good. They were all amazing. McGonagall and Flitwick wouldn’t hire anyone less than that. It was just that Lily was the best, and she lived for the job, and they knew it. But then the Potter boy had arrived - and lo and behold, he was just as good as her. Now they had to share. She took another sip of her fancy champagne and it tasted a bit bitter, even though she knew it wasn’t.
“Evans?” she heard a voice call from behind her.
She turned around and found the last person she wanted to see.
“Potter? What are you doing here?” Lily asked, and she could hear the edge to her voice.
“Hm, I came looking for you. I saw you taking the lift, so I figured that’s where you’d be. McGonagall’s about to make the speech now. She’s announcing our case,” James said.
“Oh. I suppose I have to be downstairs then,” she answered, formally.
“Yes, I suppose you should.”
After a final moment of glaring at each other, they both headed for the door, James trailing a bit behind Lily, as she pulled on the doorknob that did not give in. Again and again.
“Potter, tell me you did not close this door,” Lily said snapilly.
“Why?”
“You didn’t know that doors like this only open from the inside? That’s why I left it open when I came up here!” she yelled.
“I thought that was an accident! How was I supposed to know?” he answered, exasperated.
Lily pinched the bridge of her nose. “Okay, okay. Cellphone,” she demanded, extending a hand.
James fished for it in his pocket, taking the device out and frowning. “No signal,” he said, disappointed, as he showed her the screen.
“Fuck,” she cursed, running her long, delicate finger through her face.
“Yeah," James agreed with a irritated twitch of his brow. "What about your phone?”
“I didn’t bring it here with me… It's in my purse at the party,” Lily answered.
“You brought a bottle of Perrier-Jouet Belle Époque with you, but not a phone?” he gestured at her hands.
“Oh my, aren’t we posh?” she teased him.
“Hey, you’re the one who got the champagne,” James pointed out.
“I just picked the prettiest bottle they had downstairs. It has flowers on it, see?!” Lily said, proudly lifting the decorated bottle and earning the smallest tug of lips from James. “You’re the ponce who recognized the fancy drink.”
“Okay, fair,” James scoffed. “Why are you drinking anyway? I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen you drink.”
Lily put her head down, not answering. She didn’t know what to say to him and she was sinking in the knowledge that James noticed these things about her. She put the bottle down on the floor - the champagne was lukewarm now anyway - balancing her foot on her heel when she stood up, still in silence.
“Oh, I see,” James said, understanding her silence. “Not too excited about being my partner, are you?”
Lily scoffed. “Well, honestly, why would I be? I only worked my arse off the past month to bring the most important case of the year to our firm and then you come in right under my nose at the last minute and steal it!”
“Woah, woah, woah, woah, what?” James interjected, surprised. “Are you seriously saying I stole your case?”
“Yes, yes I am,” she said, the tilt of her chin daring him to defy her. Too bad for her that James wasn’t a coward.
“Are you daft, Evans? God, and here I thought you graduated top of the class-”
“Don’t mumble at me about my placement in graduation, I know it, thank you very much!” Lily interrupted.
“-And yet you seem to think I stole your case?” James said increduly. “I’m your second chair! McGonagall was the one who asked me to work this case with you!” He continued exasperated, gesturing wildly.
“And I bet you were real upset about having to work on the biggest case of the firm, huh? The one that’s going to be all over the news for the few months, hopefully help Miss Doe get her life back together and bring both of us a hefty bonus?” Lily asked, sarcasm dripping from her melodic voice as she crossed her arms over her chest.
“ Of course I’m excited to work on the case, Evans, I’m not stupid!” James remarked, throwing his hands in the air in an exasperated manner.
“A-ha! So you admit it then!” Lily said triumphantly. “I bet you really sucked up to McGonagall to get this job.”
“Excuse me, I’m not the one who just bats my pretty eyelashes and gets expensive champagne bottles, I’m here on pure intellect,” James retorted bitterly, jealousy in his voice.
Lily gasped, true astonishment in her wide green eyes.
“You did not just insinuate I am here because of anything other than my hard work, Potter!” She hissed in pure fury.
"I wouldn't know, Evans, it's not like you let me get close enough to you to see it!" James practically yelled.
"And why do you even want to get close to me, huh, Potter?" Lily asked in a huff; her slender, elegant frame stepping closer to his taller one as her hands came to rest on her hip bones. "I cannot phantom the purpose of it. McGonagall must have been out of her mind when she thought about this abominal arrangement for the Doe case! It will ruin everything. You and I are not a good match-"
Lily never got to finish her rant about workplace injustices, because if one second ago, her mouth was yelling at James Potter, now it was kissing him. One of his large hands, warm and calloused - why would a posh boy like him have such calloused hands? - had reached for her neck, gently but firmly pulling her to him; while the other clung to her waist, his fingers dancing over the thin fabric and her body pressed against his as if all her nooks and crannies were made to fit his. She hadn’t thought about kissing him back, but she definitely was.
She'd find it very hard to say they were not a good match after this and mean it.
James released her suddenly, taking a step back as if realizing what he had done.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m absolutely sorry. That was incredibly out of line," he mumbled, running the hands that had been on Lily's body through his chaotic hair.
"Yes. It was," Lily said, her voice an angry breathless whisper as her chest rose and fell; wide, green eyes shining in outrage and confusion. "Why would you do that? Are you trying to mess with me?"
"No! No, Lily!" James answered with urgency, her name soft in his mouth. "Not at all. I just..."
"Just what, James?" she demanded.
He breathed heavily, kicking the dirty gravel from the rooftop's floor, and sitting down with his back propped to the wall next to the door.
"Will you sit with me, please?" he asked her, patting the place on the floor next to him. He took his jacket off and laid it on the ground on his left, saying "Don't want you to get your beautiful dress dirty."
"Don't be silly, James, it will ruin your suit."
"Nah. Will you sit? Please?"
"Alright," Lily answered, seeming appeased after their eyes locked for a moment. She gathered her skirt and sat next to James, setting the champagne bottle on the floor next to her. “Tell me why you kissed me then.”
“You know…" James started, head bent towards the floor as he looked down and then turned to her. "I had heard of you, before coming here.”
“Objection! That’s not what I asked you.”
“Overruled. Patience, Evans, I’m developing the argument. I’ll get there, I promise,” he smiled reassuringly.
“Alright, go on.”
“Well, you see, people in the business told me about you. Some friends I have from back in the day. They said you were the solicitor to go to in London, greatest success rate since McGonagall herself. I was really excited for a chance to work with the great Lily Evans,” James explained.
"Yeah, right," Lily scoffed, putting both of her hands on the floor as she motioned to get up.
"I'm serious!" James said, his hand locked on her wrist, gently holding her in place and reminding her how warm his sunlight skin was. "I swear!" he repeated when she still thrower him a skeptical look.
With a teasing smile on her lips, Lily asked him "James Potter, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"
James' booming laughter filled the chilly night air as he lifted his right hand in oath and answered "I solemnly swear, Evans. Or so help me God."
“Oh, don’t waste your breath, He’s firmly on my side. But continue.”
“So, imagine my surprise when I came to London and you’re not a dignified 50 year old woman, but a gorgeous redhead with legs for days? Yeah, my colleagues forgot to mention that part,” James says looking at the starry sky as if he’s not talking to her. “And of course you’re funny, and kind, and smart as a whip… So you might have to forgive me if I appeared to be showing off in front of you, because, well… I guess I was,” he said, ruffling that hair again. She wished he’d stop doing that, it made her irrationally want to run her own hands through his jet black locks instead. “That was before I realized how much you hated it, of course,” he added, finally looking at her.
Lily scoffed. “Are you really trying to tell me that you’ve liked me since you started working here months ago?” she asked skeptically.
“You’re pretty amazing, Evans,” James shrugged, smirking as he looked at her.
“Oh my God, Potter, stop trying to be smooth!” Lily admonished him, but the effect was ruined by the huge smile she was trying to bite from her lips. “I guess you’re not so bad yourself,” she admitted. “Why did you come here, anyway,” she asked, after a beat. “I mean, as far as I know, you seemed to have a pretty solid career there in Boston with Dumbledore’s firm. Harvard Law - that’s fucking impressive…”
“You think I’m impressive, Evans?” James said with a cheeky wiggle of his eyebrow.
“Not you, you twat,” she teased, bumping him on the shoulder. “The university you happened to attend. Don’t run away from my question.”
“Yeah, I did have a pretty solid career. But then my dad got sick, so I came back home,” he explained.
“Oh God, is he okay?” Lily asked, concerned and hoping she hadn’t touched a sensitive subject.
“Yes, thankfully,” James answered. “He’s in complete remission now.”
“That’s wonderful!” she breathed in relief.
“But I guess I was lonely in the U.S. Harvard Law was my dream and Dumbledore made me a really good offer after graduation, I didn’t feel like letting him down. But I missed my family and friends. So I’m sorry, Evans, I guess you’re just gonna have to get used to me...”
“Well, how would you liked have liked it if waltzed into your office all of a sudden with that stupid hair, and those stupid suits-“
“You think my hair is stupid?”
“All like let’s go for a pint after work, Benjy!, oh, Alice, that looks heavy, let me help you with that! You don’t need to call your husband to come and pick you up, I can give you a ride, Mrs. Jones,” Lily teased.
“ Hestia lives in my building!” James protested. “Also, I do not sound like that at all! ”
“You came here, thinking you could charm your way through everything and then you started getting all my cases!”
“Ah, afraid of a little competition, Evans?”
“Hah!” she threw her head back in mockery. “Afraid of you? You wish.”
“You.were.bored.” James accused.
“Excuse me?” Lily protested.
“You were bored. You had no one to challenge you here. I keep you on your toes,” James said, leaning into her, his hazel eyes smoldering.
“The nerve of you, Potter.”
“Am I lying? Tell me it isn’t more exciting after I came here?”
“More like infuriating,” she rolled her emerald eyes.
“You didn’t answer the question, Evans.”
“I suppose it is slightly more...stimulating,” Lily said, rearranging her position so that she was leaning into him as well, her face inches from his, so close she could feel his warmth.
“What are you doing?” James asked.
“Thinking about kissing that smirk off of your face,” she responded boldly, bumping him on the nose with hers and pulling slightly back so she could look at him. His smirk evolved into a full-blown smile, and it was cheeky and happy and wonderful and the most beautiful thing Lily had ever seen.
“Well, are you gonna do anything about that or should I?” he wondered.
Lily smiled, grabbed him by the collar and pulled him to her, their lips meeting with more certainty - and if the surprise was gone this time it only made them more hungry for each other. Lily moved to straddle James, her pale blue skirt pooling like water on both their laps as his hands reached to cup her arse. His touch teased her over the silky fabric and she buried her hands on his gravity-defying hair like she had been wanting to do for hours. For days. For months.
James’ lips left her mouth to roam over Lily’s neck and the curve of her cleavage. She threw her head back, clutching onto him, running her finger through his torso and clutching them onto his belt buckles so she could get impossibly closer.
But then she felt something.
“James?” she called, her face flushed as her chest rose and fell rapidly.
“Hmm?” he mumbled, frowning.
“Is your arse...vibrating?”
“Maybe?”
Lily put her hand on his pocket, fishing for his cell phone and pulling it out.
“It’s Flitwick!” she announced, showing him the screen. “They must think we killed each other. Answer it.”
James took the phone from Lily’s fingers and touched the green icon, taking it to his ear.
“Hello, Mr. Flitwick… Yes, sir, I’m with her… We’re on the roof here in the building… No, we got trapped by the door… Yes… Okay, alright… We’re waiting here… Thank you, sir. Bye.”
James turned off his phone and placed it in his pocket again as Lily got up from his lap and offered him a hand.
“James?”
“Yes?” he asked hesitantly, removing his jacket of the floor and placing it gently over Lily’s shoulders.
“How long have you known your cell phone was working?” Lily wondered.
“Forty minutes tops!” he swore, hands in the air pleading for mercy.
“And you didn’t use it to call anyone to get us out of here?”
“I wasn’t done spending time with you,” James said with an apologetic smile as he tuck a strand of her red hair behind her ear.
“Stupid boy…” she smiled. “You don’t have to keep me locked on the roof, you know. If you want to spend time with me, you could ask me out.”
“Like on a dinner date?” he proposed, his arm coming to rest on the wall behind her head as they waited for someone to come open the door.
“Yeah, like that.”
“Say...Saturday, at 8 p.m. ?”
“Could be…” she agreed, tugging his tie and playing with it. “But you better take me somewhere nice, Potter, or I’m making you do all the dirty work for the Doe case.”
“Joke’s on you, Evans,” he whispered hotly on her ear. “I don’t mind a bit of dirty work.”
