Darling

by : epiphanies

There was dancing and laughter, and she was almost the belle of the ball - being on the arm, supposedly, of James Potter. James Potter, the lovely. James Potter, the top of the class. James Potter, the talented. James Potter, the former Fat-Head who only got a little bit cocky at an event such as this - the sixth winning in a row of the Quidditch House Cup ("Fascinating," he would joke, "How we only started winning again after I joined up!")

However, James was nowhere to be seen (probably, Lily thought, off with some girls in the back corner, re-living his winning shot.) Instead, she sat by the fireplace with his friends - one tall and dark, one thin and pale, and one short and pasty.

"So, Lily," commented Sirius as he poked the fire with his wand, earning a frown from Remus, "Are you getting pissy with old James yet?"

She shrugged, "He can do what he pleases. I don't fancy myself a ball and chain."

Remus laughed, "What a laid-back point of view."

"Especially from the girl who was cursing at Malfoy the entire game after he hit your poor James-y."

Lily punched Sirius lightly on the shoulder, and Peter giggled a little bit.

"I only said damn, Sirius. Shut up, anyway. Malfoy's a git."

Sirius threw his hands up in the air, grinning, "No contest, darling."

She rolled her eyes - it was Sirius' new word, darling. For all of the girls that he'd spoken to, spoken around or spoken about, ever - or, in the past week, at least. And, it seemed, every girl seemed to swoon as soon as it was said. She figured he'd not stop for ages, and it was a pity - he sounded like a dirty old pervert and she had told him so the night before.

Probably why his eyes were twinkling at her from a foot away. She shook her head and turned to Remus.

"How do you reckon you did in Charms?" she asked. Remus had been studying for three fortnights before the N.E.W.T.s had started, and the exam had actually just taken place that day.

Remus' forehead crinkled worriedly, "I don't know."

"Exams are in the past," Sirius interrupted loudly, jabbing the fire again with slightly more vigour, "Let's stop talking about them, please."

"Easy for you to say," Peter said, wide-eyed, "You don't have a chance of failing and having to return next year!"

"Well, maybe you should have studied if you're going to be so worried about it right now," snapped Sirius, and Peter went crimson and curled up in his chair. Lily bit her lip.

"Well," she sighed, "Now Quidditch is over, and classes are over...."

"The only thing left is the feast tomorrow," said Remus in a quiet voice that seemed to echo exactly what Lily was feeling.

The group deflated slightly - even Sirius was looking a bit slack-jawed.

"Hey, mates!" shouted a happy voice from behind Lily's chair - and then there were hands over her eyes. She batted her eyelashes and James' hands disappeared.

"You know that tickles," he winked at her from upside-down and leaned down to kiss her quickly. She smiled, realizing how strange eyes looked from upside-down, and gave the rest of the group a Look.

"What's the matter?" James was twirling a ringlet of Lily's hair randomly from his standing position behind her, and she watched the group from under his eye. They were looking at each other, forcing smiles.

"Nothing, mate-" Sirius started.

"Just a bit peaky-" Remus inclined his head in a friendly way.

"I'm scared to leave here," said Peter thirdly, and they all looked at him.

"Well," said James, looking startled, "I'm sure you won't, Peter."

"What?"

James' face split into a grin, "You're far too dim to have passed everything."

Lily laughed. It was funny how James could channel himself to his friends - hadn't they just been talking about that exact thing moments before?

He leaned down and whispered, "Lil, feel like taking a walk?"

She glanced at her watch, and said, "It's nearly midnight!"

"Well fine," he whispered in a phoney haughty tone, "If you don't want to-"

"Oh, shut up," she whispered back and stood.

"Well, 'night Messyrs," James bowed to his friends, who laughed. When he and Lily reached the front doors of the school, he opened one and held it for her to walk through. He laced his hands in hers as they started through the gardens of the castle, only lit by moonlight.

"How'd I do today, Carrot-top?" he glanced at her, and she smirked.

"I wouldn't know," she teased, "I wasn't there."

He bumped her with his hip, "Then I'd like to know who that girl was that was wearing a hood and snogging me on the sidelines afterward."

She looked at him in horror, and then realized that he was joking.

She hit him playfully with her free hand, and then leaned her head on his shoulder.

"What happens after this?" he asked suddenly, and she stopped, letting go of his hand. He whirled around and stared at her.

She stared back.

"What do you mean?"

He fidgeted, "I mean... we're dating, aren't we? But we go to school together.... but school's ending and...are we?"

"Are we what?"

"Ending?"

She mouthed for a moment, unable to understand what he was trying to say, and yet understanding beyond anything that he could have said - and she was terribly, terribly confused.

"Are you...." she said, her voice breaking, "are you breaking up with me?"

His eyes went as large as saucers and he grabbed her and pulled her close, "No, Lily! No!"

"Then what are you asking?" she said, narrowing her eyes that were half-filled with tears.

"No, no, no..." he was murmuring into her hair, "I just thought... I mean..."

"What, James?" she pulled away and looked at him with a piercing stare, "Did you do something?"

"Not now," he stomped his foot, like he was trying to say something unsayable, "It's just.... you never.... we started dating on a whim of yours, right?"

She nodded - it was true, she had only taken his offer on a bet - something she tried to forget every time he brought it up because she felt so terrible.

"So, I thought that, maybe you'd think, 'Alright, now Hogwarts is over, I won't have to see that bloody sod anymore and I can run away with Remus,' or something."

"What?" she shrieked, pulling herself away, "Are you completely daft, James? Don't you know me better than that?"

"I hoped I did," James said helplessly, reaching for her, "But Lily, you know how I'd been after you since the moment I saw you, I.... I thought that I might be making this entire thing up."

"Well," she softened, turning and taking his hand again, "you do have a pretty elaborate imagination."

"Exactly," James nodded, and she cocked her head to smile his way. He caught her eye and kissed her for a moment.

They walked around the lake and noticed with almost nostalgic sighs how the squid raised a tentacle above the water, as if to wave on their last evening after seven long years.

"And darling?" she said as she was heading up the girls steps once they'd arrived back at the common room.

"Lily?" he gazed up at her, the stars reflecting in his eyes. She winked.

"I asked Sirius and Remus out before you asked me out, and they both said no. So don't count on me running away with either anytime soon."

She lowered her eyelids and blew him a kiss, and her dorm shut with a crisp click. He chuckled and went to bed himself, shaking a little bit and glancing at his sleeping friends with a newfound admiration.

As he pulled the covers over himself, he ran through the night in his head. Now he knew that things were as real as he had hoped they would be - that she wasn't just playing this game for passing time in school - he knew what he had to do next. Tomorrow would come, and he would do exactly what he'd always wanted to do, since the first time they'd met.

She'd always looked beautiful in white, his darling.

She was really his darling.

The End.