The Love of Patronus | JILY

Potter

          James woke up feeling better than he had in his entire life. He was lying on the couch his arm draped around a woman with dark, beautiful red hair. She was snoozing against hi arm and James realized that his other one was wrapped gently around her waist. Immediately, James froze. He would give anything to never move and if he moved and woke her up, it would end.

          This backfired completely on him because apparently being completely still is unnatural. She shifted and blinked her eyes open, turning her head to look at him.

          "James!" She gasped lightly and looked rapidly at herself and then at James.

          "Nothing happened. We fell asleep." He smiled softly. A memory of last night flitted into his mind:

          James and Lily were dancing to a slow, calm song. Lily was laughing and shaking her head as they swayed, but James cleared his throat.

          "Lily," She stopped laughing and looked up at him. "Why didn't you kiss me? Earlier, I mean."

          She watched him for a moment and then her face cracked into a smile that was almost sober.

          "My first kiss with you will not be when I'm drunk." She smirked briefly at him, then spun her beautiful hair and joined her friends on the couches.

          She had implied that she wanted to kiss him later...

          "Lily-" He began to speak, but she got there first.

          "Can we go down to breakfast, I need some sustenance before Hogsmeade." She glanced at him. "I'm sorry, I'm listening."

          Hogsmeade! This was his chance to ask her out and not have it be a wasted mess of words. They made their way down to the Entrance Hall, together. They were early, somehow, and there were only a couple of people but none of their friends.

          They ate quickly, and together, joking and having a great morning before people started shuffling in. James quickly gave up his seat as Marlene came stumbling in.

          "I'll stand, I'm good. I have some thinking to do anyways." He felt Lily's eyes on him as he headed to the end of the table, grabbing a role on his way, and leaned against the wall. He loved to people watch people coming into the Great Hall, trying to figure out if they had done anything they shouldn't have the night before.

          Lily's friends all walked in slower than the rest, and Marlene and Sirius came in separately, but suspiciously close to one another, and James made a mental note to check up on that.

          "James." A high, confident voice spoke his name and he glanced to his left. A short-ish blonde... fifth-year he guessed... walked until she was in front of him.

          He raised his eyebrows at her, and she blushed and continued,

          "You hooked up with my sister last year, Renée Cattermole?" There are more of them? Jesus. "And, well, I was thinking maybe you ought to complete the set."

          James had looked away to watch Lily and her friends joking around, but these words brought his eyes right back down to her.

          "Excuse me?" 

          She put her hand carefully on his shoulder and started to lean up to him but he slid to the right causing her to twist unflatteringly. How dare she! At breakfast! Who does she think she is! Lily could see. He felt dread fill him as he looked over. She was deep in conversation, but he could swear she had just looked away from him.

          He turned his glare at the girl. "You'll have to forgive me, but I have better things to do than run around with a fifth-year." She gasped, and attempted to say something but instead slid off to the Ravenclaw table and sat down looking mutinous. He was nearly. She might have just ruined any chance he had of asking Lily out this morning.

          "James?" His breath caught in his throat. Lily. "Are you alright?"

          He turned to look at her, his whole mindset changing. He smiled down at her, ruffling his hair subconsciously.

          She smiled a little before speaking again. "She definitely has her eyes on you doesn't she."

          James glanced over quickly at the girl again who, it turned out, had gone from angry glare to an awe-inspired stare. James furrowed his eyebrows and turned his gaze back to Lily who was laughing a little.

          "What?"

          "Nothing."

          "No, what?"

          "You're not going to go for it? A girl at James Potter and he is not going to take her?" Her eyes were teasing, but he wondered if this was actually a serious question.

          "I like to think that I've changed."

          Lily nodded along in false agreement. "Yeah, uh huh, now what's the real reason?"

         James laughed and then zeroed in on her face. "She's not my type."

          "Oh? And what is your type?"

          He smirked at her, taking the opportunity to look Lily up and down slowly. She blushed and laughed, shaking her head and turning back to head back to her table. And James lost his composure.

          "Lily," She turned back around to him. "Will you go out with me? Just for the Hogsmeade weekend, I swear." He felt as though pressure on pressure was pressing onto his body waiting for her answer.

          She smiled at him. "Definitely."

          James watched her in complete awe as she walked away. Lily Evans had agreed to go out with James Potter, even for a weekend. He waited until he had turned out of the Entrance Hall and down a corridor heading back to the dormitories before he did anything.

          The second he was alone he squatted down, hands pressed down onto the ground, reliving her "Definitely." over and over again.

          "Yes!" He leaped into the air and the wand in his pocket shot out golden sparks. He had been dreaming about this moment for 6 years and he was not, absolutely not going to blow it.