#lily004

He knew he shouldn’t have done it. The night spun on, she with her friends, and he with his. Dancing with Florence, bidding his parents goodbye as they left for the evening with the McKinnons. He shouldn’t have done it. It was what weighed heavily on his mind, unable to truly let go. Have fun. Be himself. James was floating through the room, mingling where it was needed and keeping to himself, wondering in what way he’d find the opportunity. Wondering how the hell he’d fix this, knowing he broke that barrier of trust. The music had slowed down, that shift from the upbeat where students crowded in the center. He’d lost Florence somewhere to her own galley of mates, and James didn’t mind.

Seeing her move from the crowd, James slipped in, arm wrapping around her waist, pulling her back into the crowd. Hand settled on her hip, the edge of tension slipping. “Two minutes, Lily, please—“ He pleaded, his tone unlike that monstrous green-headed thing he was before. His head bowed, not looking at her, but whispering in her ear his endless apologies. For which she deserved. “I’m sorry.” And to keep within the crowd, he moved them both slowly. “I don’t know what the hell came over me, I heard about the rumour from Bertha and I thought she was joking, and then I saw you walk in and I was angry.”

He did. He knew exactly where it sprung from, and why it did. But putting that on her shoulders was something James wouldn’t do. James was trying to get it all out--before she pushed him off, told him to go. “I shouldn’t have acted the way I did, and I shouldn’t have questioned your choices, and I am sorry. You can come to the dance with whoever you want. Even if it is Lockhart.” His head lifted slightly, leaning back to look at her, was she going to run? Sharp intake, catching himself. Maybe it was the liquor from the bowl of juice now spiked gregariously. The way James downed more than a few cups to take the edge off. “I should’ve never said anything, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I feel like a proper idiot, and I am still trying not to be that kind of person, and you didn’t deserve that. You’re supposed to have fun and I ruined that right off for you.”

In the added air of confessionals, a small shake of his head, though he wouldn’t look at her, dropping his head so he could whisper without those swaying slowly to the music could hear. “I saw you walk in.” He admitted, not that others didn’t see the same. “Honestly, Lil, you took my breath away. I mean… red really is your colour, and I couldn’t breathe. And I—“ Was he going to admit it? Wasn’t their partnership to be based on honestly, their friendship to be open with one another? He’d wanted all these things for them, it was the only kind of familiarity he was going to get with her. “I was jealous, I was—I was so blindly jealous you came here with Lockhart of all people, looking the way you do tonight, when it should’ve been me to have asked you.” And then he waited, truth slipping from his lips like he’d been begging for it to be said, as he waited. He waited for her to walk away, and it all to be lost.

Snow had fallen outside Hogwarts on Saturday morning, and naturally, a bunch of students decided to head outside. The Marauders followed suit, and ventured out to the grounds after lunch. The snow had piled up throughout the beginning hours of the day, covering the grass in a thick layer of white flakes. Sirius walked alongside everyone else, all of them talking together about anything and everything they could think of. 

Suddenly, Sirius had an idea, and put on a mischievious smirk as he bent down to pick up a handful of snow, indiscreetly rolling it into a ball a ball and chucking it at his friends. “Snowball fight!” He exclaimed, grinning wildly. It didn’t take long for it to escalate into a full-fledged battle together, the boys throwing snow balls back and forth at each other. Sirius dodged an incoming one that he was pretty sure Peter threw, before grabbing some so he could get revenge. He hurled it towards where Peter had been standing, but realized he’d moved before Sirius could do anything. It was almost comical how the snowball soared past at full-speed (really, it had been a good throw), and smacked right into Marlene, who was standing to the side with Lily and Mary. Sirius couldn’t help but laugh at that as he called out, “All right there, Marls?!”