You wish Potter : A Jily Fanfiction

The Start of Summer

The last few days of the summer term passed in a blaze of sunshine. The Marauders had no exams to occupy themselves with, and Filch hadn't been able to prove their involvement in the pixie prank, so when the last day rolled around, none of them could think of anything better to do than spending the day basking in the sunshine.

They lay on the grass in the shade of a beech tree on the edge of the lake. James was playing with his Snitch, allowing it to fly as much as a foot away before seizing it again; his reflexes were excellent. The sunlight dazzled on the smooth surface of the water and caught James' eye, causing him to notice the girls, who were sitting on the bank, with their shoes and socks off, cooling their feet in the water. He hadn't spoken to Lily since they had almost kissed in the broom cupboard. But they hadn't kissed. They hadn't kissed, and James had decided that this was a good thing. If they had...kissed...then she would certainly have regretted it, and that would mean that there was no hope. So, it was a good thing that they hadn't kissed. He could walk over to her right now and it wouldn't be weird. He wouldn't let it be weird. He could be over Lily Evans, who obviously had no romantic feelings for him.

Moony had pulled out a book and was reading. Padfoot was staring around at the students milling over the grass, looking rather haughty and bored. Wormtail was trying to imitate Sirius and failing to achieve the same casual elegance. James took the opportunity to stuff the struggling snitch into his pocket and slip away.

The walk over to Lily Evans seemed to last much longer than it actually did. When, at last, he reached the opposite bank of the lake, James hesitated before awkwardly tapping her on the shoulder. She turned around and his stomach sort of flipped, as though he had just missed a step going downstairs, but just because it always did.

"Hi," Lily smiled as she put down her book and stood up.

"Hi," said James.

"Sorry, what's your name?" asked Lily, folding her arms. The smile hadn't faded from her lips.

James frowned slightly. "You don't know my name?"

"I might know your name," said Lily with a half-hearted shrug. "I just want to check. It's been so long since you've spoken to me."

"James," he said, but Lily just looked at him. "Potter," he continued, "James Potter."

"Okay. Okay good. I had remembered," Lily smiled.

James smiled too. This was too easy for Lily. Friends. Just friends. But Merlin, this was going to be a lot trickier than he thought.

"You're Lily, right?"

Lily nodded. "Lily Evans."

"Alright."

"Have you been expelled yet?" Lily teased, walking away from her friends on the bank.

James strolled beside her with his hands in his pockets. "No, no I haven't been expelled," he laughed. "Have you?"

"Me?" Lily said. "You're the one who brought two cages of Cornish pixies into the school!"

"At least I protected poor Tammy Tassel from a lifetime of psychological trauma."

"She would have deserved it," Lily shook her head. "She used to pour her apple juice on my seat and tell everyone that I wet myself," she said as though the memory filled her with loathing.

James raised his eyebrows teasingly. "You sound like you really hate Tammy Tassel."

"I do," said Lily, restraining herself from laughing.

For a while they walked in comfortable silence, as James contemplated the boundaries of his new friendship with Lily.

"James?" she said a short eternity later, stopping before they reached the tree where his friends still sat.