The Next Great Adventure (A Marauders Fan Fic)

Chapter Thirty Nine

Chapter Thirty Nine

“I hate you so much James.”

“Sure you do.”

“Really I do. It’s true. A hundred percent true. A thousand percent true. I detest you.”

“All this because I tickled you a bit?” he pouted.

“It was more than ‘a bit’!” she cried, her hands crushing his shirt in her fists. From where she was all she could see part of James’ back, his shirt having ridden up as she grabbed at it, and the floor moving away beneath her as he strode down the corridor; James’ arm, which was wrapped securely around her, held her still while her upper body swayed with every step. “Are you ever going to put me down?” she grumbled.

“Probably not,” he replied.

“Why?”

“I need you to decorate the common room.”

“Yeah well I know that,” Lily sighed, exasperated. “I would do that anyway but I don’t see why you have to carry me all the way there.” Suddenly the world tilted as she was righted again, falling quickly through the air before being placed gently on her feet by James and she huffed, crossing her arms.

“There you go,” he said, the corners of his mouth curling up with the threat of a smile. “We’re here.”

“Wow thank you ever so much James.” Her voice was so full of sarcasm that he could almost see it dripping into a puddle on the floor and so, replying in exactly the same tone, he said, “My pleasure Lily. Will you be needing any help with the decorations?”

“Only if you promise to do exactly what I tell you to.”

There was a muffled thud as he slapped his hand over his heart and said, “I promise.”

“Good. Okay so first of all I was thinking that we would cover the walls with black fabric…” Lily span around the empty room as she pointed at various things, describing her ideas for the party and leaving James in awe of her and her imagination. James had sweet-talked the Fat Lady into refusing to let anyone enter the common room so they had it to themselves that afternoon as they filled it with ghoulish pumpkins and flickering candles, stringing cobwebs from corner to corner and transforming the room into an eerie and warped version of what it used to be. Everywhere he looked Lily was standing, flitting about the room and constantly doing something, her hair tied up in a messy bun as she strung lights across the ceiling or levitating pumpkins to float in various places about the room; he had never seen anyone so driven, or anything so beautiful, and it was hard for him to concentrate on the jobs which she had given him. It took barely half an hour for them - though it was mostly her - to make the common room almost completely unrecognisable and James, as he finished carving another pumpkin, said, “Lily?”

“Mmm?” she mumbled from around her wand.

“It looks amazing.”

“It does, doesn’t it,” she smiled.

“Time for a break, maybe?” he suggested hopefully as he moved over to where she was perched on a chair.

Lily laughed and finished pinning up the banner which she had been trying to stick over the fireplace; leaping nimbly down from the chair she landed in front of James and looked around. “I suppose five minutes wouldn’t hurt.”

“Do you know what I think we should do with those five minutes?”

Lily stepped closer to him and cocked her head to one side. “No…” she breathed. “What?”

James closed the gap between them and lifted his hands slowly, placing them on her shoulders and pulling her even closer to him, pressing her body to his chest. “I think we should do this,” he whispered as he leaned in, his lips barely brushing hers; Lily’s eyes shut and she smiled against James who moved his hands down her arms and wrapped them around her waist. She was still waiting for him to kiss her when his fingers began to dance up and down her sides and Lily’s eyes flew open as she squealed and tried to squirm away. “James!” she cried as she pushed ineffectively at him. “I hate you so much Potter!” Her gasps were punctuated by maniacal laughter and tortured screams as she struggled to pull his hands off her; weakened by the tremors shaking her body she failed miserably however, and the only thing she did succeed in doing was in wasting her energy and tiring herself out; as James went in for a second attack Lily stumbled backwards and her flailing arms grabbed his shirt, yanking it free from his trousers - or at least the little bit of it which had been tucked into them - and pulling him towards her. Unfortunately he crashed into her body, knocking her off balance and, with his hands still clutching the sides of her abdomen, he tumbled down on top of her as she toppled over, hitting the hard wooden floor with an ear-splitting smack. The surprise of their sudden fall made James stop tickling her for a moment and Lily’s shrieks were replaced with a groan, muffled by his weight on top of her. “Ouch. Get off me Potter.”