The Marauders Year Five Part 2 #Wattys2017

Are You In or Are You Out?

"And what's your alternate? Laying about the common room like a great lump?" James challenged.

"Helping the first years with homework, revising for the O.W.L.s - they're coming up, you know."

James rolled his eyes, "Nerd," he whispered. Peter giggled.

Sirius grinned at her. "C'mon Evans, you know right well that it sounds like fun. Don't say you don't think so... a night under the stars, kept warm by your favorite animal friends and their thick fur, after a day of romping about and enjoying life, getting into mischief and being up to no good."

Lily stared at him, a slight twitch to her face.

"Jasper's busy, not like you'll be snogging him," James said.

"Yes, I'm afraid we broke your boyfriend," Sirius said.

James nodded, "It's unfortunate, really."

Sirius glanced over Jasper's direction, then grinned wickedly, "He's sort of like having your own Niffler, isn't he?"

Lily scowled, "A niffler?"

"Yeah. He's got black hair and likes finding things. Sounds like a niffler to me."

James snorted so hard pumpkin juice burned his nose and he covered his face with the napkins from the table, choking into one.

Lily rolled her eyes, "Will you knock it off with that, the poor boy's perfectly normal..."

Sirius said, "That's... that's entirely not true but alright." He looked to Peter, covered his mouth with his hand and coughed, half-niffler, under his breath. Lily smacked his arm and Sirius giggled.

"So what do you say, Evans?" James said, clearing his throat to call attention to himself and staring solemnly at her across the table. He didn't want her to circumvent the question. He wanted an answer.

Lily stared at him for a long moment.

Sirius's mouth curved in a daring grin. "C'mon darling," he said, eyes twinkling playfully. "Aren't you curious what it is we get up to out there? Aren't you just itching to find out?"

James looked at Sirius, then turned back to Lily, his lip hung up on his tooth that way she liked. His mouth was dry, he wanted her to say yes so badly that it hurt from his very toes. "Are you in or are you out, Evans?"

"Okay, okay. I'm in," she said finally.

Lily was in her dormitory, packing things up to go with the Marauders out onto the grounds. Extra jumpers, a couple blankets, some snacks she had stashed in her bedroom, a coin purse with some galleons - just in case... She was folding a couple changes of clothes to put in when she knocked over her pink flamingo stuffie, which she'd gotten in Florida over the summer, and he fell to the floor, tumbling beneath her bed by her nightstand. "Aw Miami," she said - which was the bird's name - "I'm sorry." She knelt down to fetch him.
She stuck her hand under the bed to grab the flamingo and it brushed something... She twisted her head to see what it was and found there was a small package there, wrapped up with ribbon. She sat down and drew both the flamingo and the package out from under the bed.

"What is this?" she wondered, tossing Miami back up on the bed and lifting the little box from the floor, turning it over in her hand. There was a note tied to the box and she tore it off and opened it up.

Happy Valentine's Day.
-J.

She smiled and opened the box, her fingers trembling over the ribbon as she tugged it free and ripped the paper off. The box was tiny and white and she lifted the lid and inside was a chain bracelet with a heart-shaped closure and hanging from one of the loops was a charm - a teacup with a saucer beneath it.