Inevitable

Chapter Four

Vavations and Snowballs

It is far more impressive when others discover your good qualities without help- Anonymous

At seven o'clock that evening Lily brought her books up to her dormitory, brushed her hair, and headed back down. She paused at the mirror, putting on some of the lip gloss, something she had rarely ever done before, as she hardly wore any makeup but mascara. Closing the door behind her, she went down the stairs, only stopping once to slide a note to Michelle under the fifth-year door.

In the common room she spotted James near the portrait hole, with his bag over his shoulder. She noticed that Sirius, Remus, and Peter were all eyeing him with what looked slightly like contempt.

"Hi James," Lily said. She all of a sudden felt very nervous, which she immediately resented. You aren't supposed to be nervous when you go out with people you hate. Come to think of it, you aren't supposed to go out with people you hate.

"Hello fair Lily," he said dramatically. "Come on, we've got a ways to go."

"Where are we going?" she asked as they climbed out the portrait hole.

"You owe me a Butterbeer," he said simply.

"There are two problems with that," Lily said. "One, you owe me a Butterbeer, two, we can't get one now, we can't go back to Hogsmeade till December."

"Am I or am I not the authority on secret passages in this school?" James asked smiling at her.

"I wouldn't know," Lily replied, "I've done my best to ignore you."

"I know, it's been very frustrating. Listen Lily, I know you're only coming because you feel obliged to. I'm playing along because I want you to feel like you're not cheating." James ran his fingers through his hair on instinct, making it stand up.

"Well, you're wrong," Lily said. "I'm here because I want to be. All those silly girls after the game, hanging off of you like that... It was annoying."

"Were you jealous?" James asked teasingly.

"No," Lily said a little to quickly.

"I see." James looked away, but Lily could see he was trying to hide a grin.

"Did you have a good time in Hogsmeade with your fan club?" she asked him, stressing the last two words.

"Not really," he said smiling. "To tell you the truth, they're all pretty boring, won't contradict anything I say. Besides, they're not my fan club. They've been the James Potter Admirers Anonymous since third year, Remus came up with the name. The 'fan club' is Sirius'."

"I see." That hadn't been at all the answer she had expected. He actually said he didn't like all those people agreeing with him and worshipping him all the time.

They walked along several halls that were not often used. Lily wondered if he actually knew where he was going, but then he stopped and pulled her behind a statue.

"What are you doing!" she demanded, prepared to scream.

"Shhh." James pulled out a square piece of parchment, studied it for a few seconds, then continued walking down the hall.

Lily ran to catch up with him. "What's that?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said. "I heard Mrs. Norris coming, but she didn't turn down this hall. Come on, we're going to be late."

For what, Lily wondered.

They walked down the hall, coming to a statue of a humpbacked witch. James tapped it with his wand and murmured a password. The witch's hump opened, just enough for a person to get through. James climbed in, beckoning her to follow before he disappeared from view. Lily hesitated, then followed.

She found herself sliding down something hard and cold. It was very long. When she judged that she had gone about 400 metres, she suddenly found herself crashing into James. She put out her hands to stop herself, and found herself gripping his arms. Embarrassed, Lily backed up into the slide.

"Lumos." James had turned around and lit his wand, revealing a long passage.

It wasn't quite high enough for James to stand up straight, and Lily doubted she could get both her fists above her head. He waved over his shoulder for her to follow him, then set off down the passage. It wasn't wide enough for them to walk beside each other, so Lily followed closely behind James.

They had walked a very long time, almost the time it took to get to Hogsmeade, with very little conversation. Finally, James turned around.

"There are stairs here, watch out, they're uneven," he said. "Do you have your wand here?"

"Yes," Lily said. She pulled it out and lit it. The combined lights illuminated the passage enough for her to see an uneven staircase going up out of sight.

They began climbing. The stairs took forever and Lily's legs were very tired. At one point, she stumbled, but caught herself before she fell again. Up and up and up, the same view of the middle of James' back. Everything in a six-foot radius of Lily was lit up brightly, but beyond that was darkness. None of the stairs were the same height, so they had to watch where they were stepping.

At last, James' wand lit up a trap door above them. He lifted it a few inches, peered around, then flung it open. He climbed out, then turned around and held out his hand to Lily. She ignored his offer, and pulled herself out. Looking around, she could make out the shapes of several boxes.

"Where are we?" she whispered.

"The basement of Honeydukes," James replied. "They should still be open for a few hours."

*

James led her to the Three Broomsticks, its bright windows a beacon of warmth on the cold night. It had been unusually cold lately, even snowing a few inches two nights before.

Lily was unsure about his choice of pub, Madam Rosemerta knew them, wouldn't she say anything?

James must have seen the confusion on her face. "Don't worry," he said, "Madam Rosemerta has a very bad headache, she's resting while Robert Montage runs the pub."

"How do you know?" Lily asked.

"How do you think she got such a bad headache?" James said quietly, as if to himself.

"What did you do?" she demanded.

"Nothing- well, just a little spell. I wanted to bring you here, can you blame me?" He put on a puppy-dog face, and Lily smiled in spite of herself.

Walking in, Lily found a much different atmosphere from the one she was used to. Instead of crowds of students, there were families, older couples, and quite a few people that Lily would normally avoid. Some of the wizards at the bar looked especially tough, and she found herself instinctually sliding closer to James, gripping her wand.

"Look," James said, "I was right, it's Montage at the bar. So, what would you like?"

"A Firewhisky would be nice," Lily joked.

"One Firewhisky coming up," said James. He pulled a hat out of his bag and put it on. He then took Lily's hand as if it were completely natural, and walked right up to the bar.

What's he doing? I wasn't serious. We can't drink, if he gets me in trouble... I wish I wouldn't worry so much. Why's he holding my hand? Oh... why doesn't he tell me anything?

"Play along, this guy'll give out anything," James mumbled out of the corner of his mouth. Leading her up to the bar, he casually sat on a stool and looked pointedly at the one next to it until Lily sat.

"'Lo there," said Montage, the bartender. "'Aven't seen you 'hic' round 'eres before."

"I'm Frank Brown," James said. "This is my wife Mary. We're here on holidays. Can I get two Firewhiskys?"

"Sure thing Mishter 'hic' Brown." Montage was obviously drunk, Rosemerta would kill him in the morning. "'Ave a good vavation you two... newlyweds... wovebirds 'hic.' " He passed two brimming glasses over the bar, and James passed a few Galleons back to him.

Lily couldn't believe how easy it was. "Cheers," she said, raising her glass.

"Cheers," James replied happily. His eyes moved from her face to over her shoulder. "Oh shit!"

Lily found herself being dragged from her stool, Firewhisky still in hand, across the room. When in an empty corner, James ripped a cloak out of his bag and flung it over both of them.

"Shit," he whispered again. "I'm sorry, Lily. This wasn't supposed to happen! Why is she..." His voice faded away as Lily stopped listening.

I love the way he says my name... STOP it Lily! What the hell did he drag you over here for?

Lily found that, although under what felt like a thick cloak, she could still see through it. Professor McGonagall was settling herself at the bar with a heavily scarred wizard.

"Oh yes," Lily said sarcastically, once she had grasped the situation, "fling a great piece of cloth over us, now they won't notice us at all."

"Shh, it's an Invisibility Cloak," James whispered back. "Come on, let's get out of here."

He has an Invisibility Cloak! That explains a lot...

They stood up and, walking carefully and slowly, made their way to the door. Lily opened it slightly with her free hand, and they slipped back out into the cold, October world.

"D'you think she saw us?" James asked, as they made their way down the street. They were both trying not to step on the other's feet, as they were still under the cloak.

"Leaving, of course not. But if I were her I might be suspicious of the two people that disappeared as she came in. The door opening on its own is highly unusual." Lily said jokingly.

"I meant when she came in. What time is it? We have to be back before the store closes."

"There aren't any other passages going back to school?"

"I didn't say that. But I'm already in enough trouble by showing you this one, I don't want to make it worse."

"Why?"

"You're Head Girl! The enemy, pure evil. Gorgeous, nice, smart, brutally honest evil, but still evil."

"Oh." Lily remembered the looks of contempt of Sirius, Remus, and Peter's faces when they left the common room. She felt her face flush when he complemented her, and looked at the ground so he wouldn't see.

"Do you know what time it is?" he repeated.

"My watch is in my dormitory."

"I don't even have one. Okay, come on we'll find out this way."

They crept down the street, Lily's teeth chattering, until they reached the first of the residences. Lily realized that she was still holding her Firewhisky, hardly any of it had spilt.

"We just have to look in one of the windows," James said. "Go on Lily... be a rebel," he added, making fun of her.

Lily passed him her Firewhisky as aloofly as the situation would allow, and got out from under the cloak. She slowly climbed the stairs up to the front porch and leaned right up against the wall. She crept along the wall to a large window. She could see the corner of a clock from where she was standing, but not the face. Lily edged a little closer, a little closer.

There! It's nine thirty-five. AH!

Lily jumped back, there was suddenly a large dog in the window, barking at her. She fled the porch, temporarily terrified, stretching out with her arms until she found James. He grabbed her arm and suddenly she was under the cloak again, holding onto him tightly. She was incredibly embarrassed, not only had she just made a complete idiot of herself, but it was in front of James Potter, whose opinion mattered much more to her in the past twenty-four hours for some strange reason.

"Did- did you get the time?" he asked her between spasms of laughter.

"Yes," Lily said, trying to regain some of her wounded pride, "it's nine thirty-five." Realizing how ridiculous she must have looked, Lily had to smother a laugh.

She was standing so close to James that she had to look up at him, he looked... different. Laughing, not trying to impress anyone, just being himself. Lily suddenly felt a great deal of respect for James well up inside her, although it was she that he was laughing at. Maybe, just maybe, he could be put up with.

"Alright then," James said, still laughing. "We have some time left before we have to go back. What would you like to do?"

"I don't care," Lily said. "Let's finish this Firewhisky so I don't have to carry it around any more."

"Good plan," he said, downing half of it. He handed the rest to Lily, who took it reluctantly.

"Gee, thanks," she said, raising her eyebrows. She took a small sip, it seemed to burn her throat on the way down. Lily had to clear her throat, but then drank some more. She was determined not to let James Potter see that she had never had anything stronger than champagne before.

"Hey," he said as she coughed again, "if you don't like it, don't finish it." He took the cup from her gently.

Lily felt her face reddening, she looked at the ground, unsure of what to do or say in the awkward situation. She retreated into her mind for a few seconds, feeling thoroughly annoyed with herself.

James put his arm over her shoulder, hoping to console her, but not sure how she would react. When she didn't move it, he gained more confidence, hugging her to his side.

"We should be getting back," he said.

"Yeah," Lily said as she snapped back to reality. She shrugged his arm off her shoulder and stepped forward, in the direction of Honeydukes. When James didn't move she looked back, just in time to see his face change from a crestfallen expression to a smile as he began walking.

As they went past the Three Broomsticks once more, Professor McGonagall and the wizard came out.

"We'll be seeing you on the eighth, Moody," Professor McGonagall said.

"Right. Don't let me forget to bring Prewett's report, and give mine to Dumbledore. He said he's bringing some of his seventh years. Don't trust them, personally. Not until they've had a few good years fighting the enemy can they be fully trustworthy." The scarred wizard Disapparated, still ranting to himself.

"Lily," James said suddenly, "this is the perfect opportunity to pay her back for those detentions."

"What?" she whispered, confused.

James was clearly not listening to her. He scooped up some of the sparse, dirty snow and formed it into a ball. Lily gasped, and reached out her arm to stop him, but it was too late. The snowball flew through the air, landing square in the centre of McGonagall's back.

The professor whirled around. She glanced around, a confused yet amused look on her face. "When I catch you, Black and Potter," she said after some time, "you're going to find yourselves up to your ears in lines. Get back to school." Having said that, she turned on her heel and continued back down the street.

"Go on," James whispered to Lily.

Before she knew what was going on, Lily had scooped up another snowball and lobbed it at her Transfiguration teacher. It knocked her hat off.

McGonagall spun around once more, looking all around her for her invisible attackers. Upon seeing no one, she turned once more and continued to Hogwarts, walking much quicker than before.

Lily and James both began laughing. They didn't regain control until they were right outside Honeydukes, and even then Lily had to cover her mouth to stop from giggling.

"Why did she assume it was you?" she whispered.

"She sort of... caught Sirius and me here once, in our second year. Before I had the cloak. It's sort of an ongoing joke, she knows we leave, but she has no proof so she can't do anything about it."

Lily highly doubted that Professor McGonagall saw it as a joke, but she kept her comment to herself.

Somehow, James got them back down into the basement. He found the trapdoor and held it open for Lily. She stood on the third step and held it open above her head for him to get through.

They ran along the passage, laughing, for a reason neither of them knew. Both of them had lighted their wands, and they were pointing them down so they could move faster. After some time, they were forced to walk, but then one of them would say something like, "'Aving a good vavation?" and they would be off again.

To think, thought Lily, she had absolutely no idea! That was, well it was FUN! I just had a great time with James Potter. It's unimaginable, unthinkable even. Maybe I haven't been giving him enough of a chance. That was so much fun... I hope he believes that I'm not here on obligation- anymore. I mean, do I like him? Were Lene and Pat right, am I 'fighting the inevitable'? Making a point to hate him, just because I really don't? Oh I hate it when Lene's right! He's changed though... He's changed.

They had one last sprint to the bottom of the slide. James started to say that they should stop laughing, but neither of them could stop. They sat there, at the bottom of the slide, until the laughter had subsided. He tucked the Cloak back into his backpack, and moved to the side so Lily could go up first.

Now or never.

"James," Lily said quietly, not knowing how to continue, fighting her sudden urge to kiss him.

"What," he said, looking directly into her eyes. It made it hard for her to look straight back.

"I... had a really good time. You still owe me that Butterbeer."

"I think a Firewhisky ranks higher than a Butterbeer."

"It was fun anyway, we should do it again sometime."

James stopped. "Really? So we're friends then?"

"We could never be friends," she replied with a laugh. "But we still have till we get back to the common room before I have to hate you again."

"You know, you don't have to hate me."

"Oh? And what should I think of you," she asked, imitating his stressing of words.

"Whatever you want, although, I have some suggestions. Talented, athletic, good-looking..." He smirked.

"I thought you'd changed," she said disappointedly, but still with that strange want to kiss him.

"I thought you were changing your opinion of me."

"I was, but I'm not."

"You should, now that you've gone out with me I've accomplished my goal. I could just ignore you for the rest of the year, and where would that get you?"

"Away from you, something I've been working at for the past few years."

"I dunno... You might miss me. I know I'd miss your rejections."

Lily couldn't help but smile at that. Reflecting, she realised that she would be very bored if he wasn't there all the time. As annoying as it was, his constant attempts to impress her were something she would miss. "I might miss you," she said teasingly, "or I might buy myself something really expensive and shiny to celebrate."

"You have to have the last word, don't you?" Stepping closer to her, he reached his hand up to her face, stroking her cheek.

Lily felt a shiver run through her. "Just as much as you do." She took his hand, moving it from her face, but entwining their fingers.

"Point taken, so, being the gentleman that I am, I'll let you have the last word. Want to go out again sometime? As 'not friends'?"

Lily paused before answering: this was the last word after all, she wanted it to be good. "As long as we're not friends," she said with a smile, having nothing else to say.

Oh my Lord... I'm flirting with James Potter. Kill me now. On second thought... don't kill me. I think I do like him, after all. Just a little bit. A very little bit. Miniscule, even. Ugh, who do you think you're kidding? 'Fess up, Lily, you like the git.

James smiled, and seemed to be fighting his grin from getting any bigger, although it didn't look as though it was working.

Finally giving in to her feelings, Lily got up on her tip-toes and kissed him lightly. No fireworks went off, but a strange sensation rushed through her, soft yet powerful, obvious yet illusive. Pulling back, she finally looked directly into his eyes. He had hazel eyes, she had never noticed before. Lily felt like she could see exactly what he was thinking and feeling through those eyes.

If possible, his grin got even bigger. Then in true Potter fashion, he said, "Oh, come on Lily. That wasn't much better than what Snape got this morning. I think I deserve better than that."

Normally, that speech would have thoroughly disgusted Lily. That night, however, she only laughed with him.

She kissed him again, and the same rush went through her. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her against him, and Lily felt herself melting completely as she reached her own arms up around his neck. She forgot about being in a small tunnel, she forgot about everything except for James Potter and how exhilarating it felt to kiss him. The kiss lasted an eternity, and yet, when they pulled back, their noses still touching, Lily found herself sighing, wishing it had lasted longer.

"Lily?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah?" she whispered.

"Does this mean... I mean, do you want..." His face softened as he pulled back further, looking at her nervously.

Lily took a deep breath, trying to balance what her mind thought, and what that other, new feeling was telling her. "Yeah," she whispered again, nodding once.

"Yes!" Suddenly, James picked her up and swung her around, as best as the small tunnel would allow.

He laughed as her feet hit the wall, causing her to burst into giggles once again. (He has such a nice laugh.). James overbalanced, and they collapsed on the floor. Lily was sitting half on him, she started to push herself off when James put his hand on her shoulder, pulling her towards him. He kissed her forehead, her eyelids, the tip of her nose, her cheeks, her chin. Lily, tired of his teasing, slid off of him.

Grinning at her, James stood, and Lily took his hand to help her back up as well. They climbed the slide, silently climbing out back into the school's corridor. Lily put out her wand, but James took out that mysterious piece of parchment and checked it before putting out his own. He tentatively put his arm around her waist, and was thoroughly surprised when she returned the gesture.