Mischief Managed!

29.

"Can I talk to you?"

Lily looked up, startled, to find James leaning in her doorway looking thoroughly confused and just a little angry.

Lily sat up, patting the bed beside her. "Of course you can. And while you're here, we can have a Head's Meeting too – Dumbledore owled me."

Making his way across the now familiar room, James gave Lily a quizzical look. "Head's Meeting?"

"Well, loads of students are staying here this holidays: their parents seem to think they'll be safer here. SoDumbledore said, you know, why don't we throw a ball? Get a little Christmas spirit going and, oh, perfect! Lily, you can organize it!"

"You're being sarcastic."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Naturally."

Lily watched James as he moved to recline across her bed. The tall, lanky, handsome as hell James Potter was sprawling himself across her bed. Lily bit her lip, secretly furious. Was he flaunting himself in front of her onpurpose?

"You do realize I'm not going to ask you to the ball, right?" James told her, a satisfied smile stretching across his lips.

Which seemed to confirm things, once and for all. James Potter was a tease.

"Not?" Lily repeated, stunned and just a little insulted.

It was all James could do not to laugh. Lily wants me to ask her! His heart sung.

James regained his composure and shook his head. "No, I'm not, Lily."

"What if I ask you?" Lily replied, rather (and overly) loftily.

James just grinned. "Then I'll say no."

James watched her reaction. To put it simply, the Head Girl looked stunned. She was sitting there, and her beautiful eyes were glittering murderously and her messy ponytail looked so… adorable, and there he was, lying across her bed, saying that he didn't want her.

James Potter was a liar.

Lily was considering whether she should hex him or throttle him. Both seemed to be outrageously appealing.

James sat up, and suddenly he shuffled closer. Lily's throat caught in her breath.

"But seriously, Lily, we have something a little more urgent to discuss," he told her, his voice low, and oddly grim. His breath tickled her ear.

Lily looked at him in surprise. "What's wrong?"

"Sirius kissed Emmeline."

Lily quirked an eyebrow. "And?"

"Sirius kissed Emmeline because Peter messed up and did something stupid and Sirius wanted to get him back so he kissed Emmeline and Emmeline doesn't know that Sirius kissed her because he was getting Peter back."

"Oh."

Lily watched James' hazel eyes, and bit her lip again. She liked the way his eyes flickered when she did this. For all that Lily could sense that ominous feeling of impending social disaster that seemed to have spread from James' words, her mind was blank to all but one thought:

Why won't James kiss me?

"You do realize that James is just being a gentleman again," Emmeline muttered disinterestedly, toying with her scrambled eggs the next morning, a dreamy look dancing across her face every time she glanced toward the Marauders.

Lily rolled her eyes and took a sip of pumpkin juice. "I'm sick of James being a gentleman, Em. I'm tired of waiting for him to make the first move. Maybe I'll just have to do something first?"