The Marauders: Year Six #Wattys2017

Friends That Snog

Friends That Snog

"Alright, Evans. Moment of truth." James and Lily were both sitting on the couch in the common room - cups of tea on the table before them, James's feet on the edge, Lily's curled under her...

They had gone downstairs to the common room to talk about the disappearance of the Slytherins and just slowly adapted into just hanging about. It was funny how natural it seemed, Lily thought, just hanging about with James Potter. They'd started a fire in the hearth and made tea, and James had begun playing a silly game of throwing balls of paper, trying to hit the log they'd put into the fire, which had somehow turned into a sort of conversation starter slash betting game.

"If I make this one into the fire, you have to tell me something about yourself that nobody else knows," James said.

Lily thought for a moment. "Alright. And if you don't, then you have to tell me something that nobody else know about you."

"Deal."

"No cheating," she added and she took his wand from him, just incase.

James smirked, "Evans. Please. I'm the Quidditch Captain for a reason." He aimed and paused a moment, biting his tongue - which was one of her favorite parts about this game, the way he squinted and sort of scrunched up his nose, his glasses inevitably falling down to the very tip of it - and then tossed.

The paper hit the log.

"Aha!" he said, grinning and shoving his glasses back up to the bridge of his nose, turning to look at her. "Confess something to me, love."

She thought about it a moment, then, "When I was six years old, I stole a barrette from a grocery store and I've felt guilty for it ever since."

James laughed. "A barrette?"

"Yes. It was on the floor, it had fallen from a basket of them on the shelf, and I told myself that because it was on the floor it was actually lost and I was simply finding a barrette, and I picked it up and put it in my pocket and I didn't get caught. But that night I had a terrible nightmare that I was sent to jail and I woke up crying and Petunia came over to my bed and told me it would be alright, because we were friends then, you know - best, best friends - and she brushed my hair, which always made me feel better when I was sad. I don't know why. There's something comforting about it, I s'pose. But every time I went to that grocery store after that, I felt a little sick, like maybe they would recognize me and say hey you're the girl that stole the barrette!"

James was staring at her, smiling.

"One day, I left the money the barrette cost on the shelf by them."

James laughed, "You just left it there on the shelf?"

"Yes." Lily laughed, "It's stupid I know, it was probably only like two sickles in pence but still." She shook her head. "I felt like such a cow. I still have the barrette but I've never worn it. It's in my jewelry box back home, tucked far up in the back."

James smirked.

Lily looked at him, "Have you ever stolen anything?"

"Besides motorbikes with Sirius?"

Lily laughed, "Yes, besides motorbikes with Sirius."

"Hmm." He thought for a moment. "Not that I recall."

Lily sighed, "Great, I'm a lonely criminal."

James said, his voice carrying a hint of his arrogance, "I am planning a rather hefty heist, though."