Love to Hate: A Jily Fanfiction

Cold Water

James watched avidly from under the tree by the Black Lake as the fiery red head, Lily made exaggerated hand gestures in what looked like a heated argument with Snivellus.

"Prongs, you are border line stalking Lily Evans." Sirius declared from where he sat, his back against the trunk of the tree the Marauders always sat beneath.

"I'm aware." James replied, not tearing his eyes away from Lily and Snape.

He was too far away to be able to hear what they were saying but he caught the odd word that was shouted or emphasized. He was really regretting not buying an extendable ear from Zonko's the week before. If Evans was mad at Snape, then maybe she'd come around to James' way of thinking, making them closer until one day, she agrees to go out with him.

Then, it all happened in slow motion. As Lily threw both her arms up in the air, and turned to leave, her foot slipped off the edge of the grassy bank. Her eyes widened as she fell and she let out an ear-splitting scream as she hit the water surface, the water spraying up all around her.
Before he knew what he was doing, James had dived straight in after her. The water was icy and stole the air from his lungs as he plunged beneath the surface, trying to see Lily. If she had hit her head, she'd be gone; everyone knew the Black Lake was like a bottomless pit. He burst back to the surface to see a swirl of red in the middle of the lake; Lily. Her head bobbed up and down and as he swam closer, he could hear her gasping breath between screams for help. His arms, strong from all the quidditch he played, cut easily through the black water and he was by her side in seconds.

"Lily," He shouted over her screams, and her face flooded with relief. James was even suprised when she grabbed the front of his jumper, pulling herself into him as he treaded water. She clung to his back as he swam back to the grassy bank beneath the tree where the rest of the Marauders now stood out, hooting and cheering, but James didn't care.

Lily dropped onto the ground, coughing up lung fulls of water. He sat beside her, rubbing her back and when she finished, she turned to him, her teeth chattering and lips blue.

"Let's get you to Madame Pomfrey." He scooped her up, and she buried her face into his sodden jumper, as if trying to feel the heat of his body. He supposed he had blue lips and chattering teeth too, but he didn't care.

He strode into the infirmary and lay Lily down gently on a bed.

"Oh dear!" Madame Pomfrey fussed and told James to get out of his wet clothes then to Lily.

He drew the curtain around his bed, since Madame Pomfrey insisted he needed to be checked too, after all, January was not the best time to be in the Black Lake. He changed into the set of clothes that had been brought down for him and drew back his curtain. He spotted Lily in one of the beds and couldn't help but smile to himself. Her nose was red and her eyelids heavy, but when she saw him her eyes opened fully and she flushed scarlet.

"Be warned, Mr Potter. I just gave her a remedy to warm her up as her body was refusing to do so. She may not be...herself." Madame Pomfrey informed him as she left them alone.

"Hey Lils." He murmured as he sat down on the end of her bed.

"Come here." She patted the space beside her so he shuffled up closer to her.

She stretched her arms out towards him, in a childlike manner and he moved forward hesitantly, so she could wrap her arms around his waist. Lily Evans was hugging him. Her face was buried into his stomach, and James stroked her hair that usually smelt of strawberries, but now smelt of the Black Lake; he didn't care. When she finally looked up, her eyes were filled with wonder and he could tell she wasn't herself, remembering what Madame Pomfrey said.

"Okay, come on Lily. Time to rest." He said, removing her hands from his waist and laying her back down, but she scrunched her face up like a child.

"Only if you lay with me." He looked around the infirmary and there wasn't anyone else in there to make a big deal about it, so he crawled under the duvet with her.

As soon as he rested his head back, he felt Lily's small body wriggle as she moved closer to him, her head resting on his chest. He sighed. It was a perfect moment, only he wished she would be aware of it. She would probably have no recollection of it the next day. She looked up at him then, and he could see the cogs whirring behind her eyes. Suddenly, she was kissing him. Her lips were so soft beneath his, and he could feel her hands pressing against his chest. He cupped the back of her neck with one hand, and held her back with the other. He felt her shirt lift up as she climbed on top of him, her legs either side of his waist. He felt the heat radiating off her skin as the kiss deepened. And then he remembered. He drew back and her eyes smiled at him, as she rolled off of him and cuddled up against him. Even if it wasn't real, he couldn't have been happier in that moment. Even though she probably would give him a mouthful for sleeping beside her when she returned to normal, he couldn't help but believe this was how they were supposed to be.