The Marauders Era

Just Friends

After that Lily got closer to all the Marauders. She would sit with them in the common room and they'd do homework and tell jokes. She'd sit with them at breakfast and help James with his Potions homework, he would return the favour by helping her with Transfiguration. Although she denied it over and over Lily loved the way James' messy hair would tickle her face as he helped her write an essay. She loved the way he would lie back and laugh when someone told a joke. She loved the way he gazed at her while she explained a recipe for some potion. But Lily didn't even realise that she liked him. She never noticed the way she would sniff his aftershave and mess up his already messy hair. She never noticed herself staring at him as he did a push up competition with Sirius, just so happening to be shirtless, showing off a few of the tattoos she hadn't yet seen.

James never noticed the way she hugged him after he helped her with homework was anything more than friendship. He'd accepted the fact that she only wanted to be friends and any hope of romance had disappeared. He loved just being around her, sitting in the common room or out walking in the grounds which they sometimes did.

When they were together they would forget everything that was going on outside of Hogwarts. They would forget about Voldemort getting more and more powerful as they bewitched sweets to race each other around the table. James would look into Lily's eyes and she would look right back, feeling warm inside but never noticing it was anything more than the crackling fire beside her.

One wet and cold afternoon just after the Christmas break, James led his team back into the Gryffindor common room. It was raining outside, James' hair was dripping. Remus and Sirius sat together in front of the fire, Sirius in a newly stolen sweater, Remus secretly thinking he would willingly give Sirius one of his sweaters everyday. Lily and Peter sat talking about something or other when James and Marlene came over. "Just going to get changed." James told Sirius and Remus, although he didn't think they heard and he went upstairs to the dormitory.

James pulled off his wet Quidditch robes, threw them down the laundry shoot, toweled his hair dry and pulled on his Quidditch hoodie. James never wore it for actually playing Quidditch, but it was very comfortable and warm.

He went back down to the common room and sat beside Peter who asked him about practice. James and Peter were talking about the upcoming game that week when Lily looked around and said "James, do you want to come with me to the library?" "Yeah, see you Wormy." James replied, getting up and patting Peter on the shoulder. He and Lily left the common room and walked down to the library. Lily handed Madam Pince a library book and then took James by the arm and led him out again. "That was quick." James said. "I want to show you something." she replied and ran away up a corridor, James jogging along behind her.

Lily led James into an empty room with a massive window, looking over the grounds of Hogwarts. "Woah." James said, looking down at the Whomping Willow. "How did you find this place?" James asked, turning to Lily. "I just came across it, I thought you'd like it." Lily replied. "It's awesome, you can see everything." James replied. Lily shivered. Without a second thought James pulled off his hoodie. As Lily watched James' hoodie rise his navy blue shirt came with it, showing his muscled stomach. Even though it was the last thing she wanted to do, Lily reached for his shirt and pulled it back down as the hoodie came off. James arrived from the neck of the Quidditch hoodie, his hair rumpled and his glasses slightly lopsided. He grinned, straightened his glasses and handed the hoodie to Lily. "It'll keep you warm." he said, and so Lily pulled it on, smelling James' hair and aftershave on the fabric. It was indeed warm, and slightly too big, with POTTER printed on the back. James grinned again and took Lily's hand, pulling her closer to the window, pointing out a tentacle rising from the surface of the lake. James let go of Lily's hand, he didn't want to make things awkward, although they both wished they could touch again.

After several minutes they left the room and Lily put an arm around James' shoulders, pulling him down slightly as he was taller. He laughed and put an arm around her, wishing he could pick her up and kiss her. James never wore that Quidditch hoodie ever again.

The next day another Hogsmeade trip was announced, for later that week on Sunday. Gryffindor was playing Hufflepuff on Saturday and James was spending a lot of time practising, which Lily gladly sat through, even though the weather was awful. On Friday evening he sat in the common room, bent over a moving sketch of the Quidditch pitch, arranging tactics and strategies. Lily came over and snuck her arm around his back, he looked over and grinned. "You're wearing it again?" he asked. "Yep, I don't think you're ever going to get it back." Lily replied. James flipped up the hood of his old hoodie and Lily's face disappeared from view. James immediately regretted this decision and pulled it back down, then tucked a strand of her beautiful hair behind her ear. Lily smiled. "Do you want to go to Hogsmeade on Sunday?" she asked. "Yeah, sure, we can go to Hogsmeade, I love it that we're friends." James replied, wishing he could tell her that he would rather be so much more. "Cool. Night." Lily replied and she wished she could kiss him goodnight, but instead she ruffled up his hair and stepped past him to go to her dormitory. Acting on a split second thought James reached out and caught the back of his (or her) hoodie, standing up at the same moment and spinning her around to face him, pulling her into a hug. Lily accepted the hug happily and enjoyed the smell of his hair that lingered around the hoodie she had stolen, until James' stepped back and bade her goodnight. Lily turned again and when she reached the staircase to her dormitory she looked back, James was leaning over his diagram again, his untied tie hanging around his neck, his laces untied as usual and his muscled forearms on show as he rolled up his sleeves. She knew she liked him, but she wasn't ready to admit it.

The next morning James was in his Quidditch robes, clutching his broomstick, heading down to breakfast with Sirius, Remus and Peter. Lily hurried to catch up with them, slid her hand into James', whispered 'Good luck' into his ear, kissed him on the cheek and then ran off to find Marlene. During the whole game this memory was on repeat in James' mind and Gryffindor managed to get a win. Up in the common room Sirius and Remus were taking shots of firewhisky in front of a cheering crowd, including Peter who was jumping around happily. Usually James would be the life of the party, balancing a bottle of butterbeer on his forehead while Sirius tipped mead into his open mouth, but instead James sat in the corner of the room, his socks half off his feet, which were resting on the back of a nearby armchair and talking to Lily.

After a while a very drunk Sirius pulled him into the party and forced about six drinks on him, while Remus laughed and Peter hovered in the middle uncertainty, clutching a drink in his hand, though secretly he didn't really like alcohol.

It was about lunchtime when James left his chair in front of the fire and went up to his dormitory. He sighed at the sight of Sirius and Remus, fast asleep with their arms around each other, then ripped back the curtains and started jumping on their bed. "Come on guys, I'm going to Hogsmeade with Lily, and you guys are going on a date." he said, jumping back off the bed and tugging Sirius out of bed and onto the floor. "Uh, fuck off James." Remus replied angrily. "If you get the fuck out of bed then I will." James replied, pulling Sirius to his feet and stuffing a shirt into his hands. Remus groaned as James tugged him out of bed and ran his fingers through Remus' hair, making it look much more tidy. He handed both of them a banana, clapped Remus on the shoulder, pulled open the door and was halfway out when he spun around and said "I'm going with Lily into Hogsmeade." then winked and left.

Downstairs in the common room Lily was waiting for James, who arrived from the boys staircase pulling on his jacket and running his hands through his hair, more out of habit than trying to make himself look cool. Lily smiled as he joined her and he grinned back. "Want to go then?" he asked. "Yeah, let's go." Lily agreed and they walked through the castle down to the Entrance Hall. Filch glared at James as he passed out of the doors, James sniggered to himself and buried his hands deeper into his pockets. They walked down towards the gates and a wind started to build. James turned the collar of his jacket up against it and huddled closer to Lily. They entered the Three Broomsticks and after three bottles of butterbeer each they decided to look around the shops. James bought Lily a massive packet of assorted sweets in Honeydukes and Lily bought James a pile of Zonkos merchandise. James couldn't believe how easy it was talking to Lily, they walked around the streets, eating Peppermint Toads and falling about laughing.

At five o'clock they hurried back up to the school when they separated to be interrogated by their friends. Later that night, once everyone else had fallen asleep both James and Lily lay awake, looking at the ceiling, picturing the other laughing.