Dangerous Game

James had a hard time sleeping that night, tossing and turning the whole time. Lily said that it was alright for him to tell others about what had happened that night, but strangely he wanted to keep it between him and Lily, at least for right now. He stared at the wall that separated his room from Lily’s and wondered if she was still up as well.

James was right; Lily was laying on her back staring at the canopy above her bed. Her hair had fully dried now, and it was spread around her head like a fiery halo. Sleep was not coming to her, so she gave up; rolling out of bed to fish through her bag for a book her mother had recently sent her. Finding it, she unbent the corner of a page as she walked back to bed. Flopping down, she began to read, and about an hour later, she fell asleep the book still in her hand.

Lily woke up at six fifty when the book crashed to the floor, taking her wand and a glass of water from her night stand with it. Muttering under her breath, Lily got out of bed rubbing her eyes, and dried off her wand with her shirt. With a flick of her wand, she cleaned everything up and sat back down her bed. Everything that had happened the night before flooded into her mind, but she did not regret any part of it. There was no point in going back to bed since it would only be for about fifteen minutes, so she gathered her uniform, and hopped into the shower.

Being the person he was, James did not roll out of bed until around seven forty five. He had fifteen minutes to shower, get dressed, and make it to breakfast in time before class. James bolted for his bathroom; almost face planting from a pair of shoes. Thank god for his short hair, he was in and out of the shower within five minutes. He dressed, and brushed his teeth at the same time, which took a bit of talent. Spraying cologne on him before running for his books James ran out the door before backtracking, running back into his room he grabbed a stray tie off the footboard of his bed, and dashed for the door, while tying it.

Lily was already downstairs in the great hall, and she found herself looking for James. Finally she saw him skid to a halt next to Sirius, adjusting his glasses as he reached for a piece of toast. He glanced her way, and she felt herself blush, but Lily still smiled at him before turning back to her friends. None of them noticed, and Lily appreciated that for now, since her and James were not an official couple, but Lily had a feeling they soon would be.

There happened to be three people who saw the look James and Lily exchanged, as well as the smiles and blush. “Looks like it is going to happen soon then we thought,” Bellatrix said as she picked at her nails, seemingly un-amused.

Severus though showed his feelings; he was jealous, but also anxious about what was going to happen very soon. “We still need to wait,” Severus said as he watched Lily chatter on with her friends. He wanted to strike right when it would hurt Potter the most.

She had finished eating her breakfast pretty quickly James noticed. She climbed out of her bench seat, slinging her books over her shoulder. James could not help but watch her leave between bites of his own breakfast, a smile on his lips. He was interrupted by a sharp jab in the ribs from Sirius, who just rolled his eyes mumbling about how he should just let Lily go, little did Sirius know.

Lily had a pretty packed schedule today, Advanced Charms, Technical Transfiguration, and not to mention Complex Potions. Almost completely drained, Lily made it to potions, and tossed her bag on the table with a sigh. Severus was there as well, but he had known better then to sit near her today, instead he was in the far back. The teacher handed out the quizzes they were hard but Lily was sure that she had passed. After class she rushed out, bumping into Severus along the way, but she did not stop to apologize.

James had been thinking of Lily all afternoon, which was bothering Sirius since James was not paying much attention to him as he talked about his recent girlfriend. Defense against the dark arts was finally over after what seemed to be several hours, though it was only an hour and a half. He tried to think of where he could find Lily, but nothing came to him. He figured he would find in their common room, so he went headed that way first.

He was almost right, Lily had gone to their common room but she was on her way back out to look for James actually. She had spotted him before he had seen her which was a first, but she knew it was because he had been stopped by a fellow Quidditch player. Lingering for a bit, Lily looked out the window, and kept snatching glances at James, who had finally spotted her.

“Hey love,” James said approaching her at the window. He did not put an arm around her like he wanted to, but instead, put his hands on the windowsill next to hers and looked out the window. “How was your day?”

“It was alright, classes were dreadful though, sometimes I hate myself for opting to take all these hard classes,” Lily said behind a smirk as she looked over at James who was still looking out the window. “How was yours?”

He turned his head to look down at her with a smile, “my day was alright, it dragged though. I couldn’t wait to get out so I could see you,” James said and saw her cheeks turn a light pink.

Lily just smiled at him, unsure of what else to say. “Well I am done for the rest of the day; do you want to do something?” She asked him as she turned to face James instead of the window, having to tilt her head back in order to see his face. “What I don’t know, there is not much to do here.”

“Of course,” James said looking down at her eyes which seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. He sat and thought for moment before thinking of something, “how about we go to Hogsmeade?”

“But—we can’t,” Lily said looking a bit confuse. “The next Hogsmeade trip isn’t for two weeks.” She stopped after a second, knowing exactly what he meant now. She was sure the Marauders knew every single hidden passage out of the school like the back of their hand. “What if we get caught? We will be in so much trouble!”

James couldn’t help but smirk at her reaction, “they won’t expel us. I have been caught a few times, and all I received was a detention, and look at me now I am Head boy.” He knew he was starting to convince her. “I bet you we won’t get caught, and if we do I’ll take the blame for it.”

Lily racked her mind, every instinct was telling her no, but one small voice was telling her to do it, and for once she decided to listen to that one. “Alright,” she said looking around the hall before looking back at him. “But if we get caught Potter, it will be your head,” Lily warned, but smiled a bit.

“We won’t get caught,” James said reaching for her arm, deterring from her hand in case she was uncomfortable with it, plus people were around and he was sure they would stare. He led her quickly down a dark hall, and then came upon an old bookcase that was falling apart. One door was missing, and the contents inside were dusty and broken.

Looking up and down the hall, James let go of Lily’s hand, and his fingers looking for that small notch between the bookcase and the wall. “There it is,” James mumbled to himself. He wriggled his fingers under it enough to pull it open, revealing a small round hole. He pulled out his wand, and cleared up some of the spider webs.

“Ready?” James asked Lily as she crawled inside first, it was about six feet long of narrow tunnel, then it dropped about ten feet down. He went first, and jumped down, placing his wand in-between his teeth for light. “I’ll catc’ ‘ou,” James said reaching his hands up.

Lily brushed away any webs that were left when she climbed in, the pulled the bookshelf back by the handle that was on the back of it. She watched James disappear, and his wand light bob in the distance. Lily then pulled out her own wand, and saw where the tunnel dropped off. Leaning her head over she saw James not too far away. With a nod, Lily put out her wand, and pocketed before sliding her feet over the edge, and pushing off.

With ease, James caught her, then set her down lightly, before taking his wand from his mouth. “The hard part is getting back up,” he replied looking up at the tunnel before leading the way. There were rats squeaking and trying to get away, and James hoped Lily was not afraid of them

Luckily for James, Lily did not have a problem with rats, just snakes and spiders. “Where does this lead us to?” Lily asked before she stumbled over a lose stone before regaining her balance.

“Into an old inn at the edge of town, it is abandoned students have been using it for years, my father actually told me about this one,” James said smirking. “Mum doesn’t know that of course, she would have both of our heads.”

After walking for another fifteen minutes, they came upon a large stone blockade, but James did not seem troubled by it, so Lily figured this was the exit. He pulled out his wand muttering a few spells, and the stone swung out of the way, giving off dust, and disturbing a few spiders. Lily followed him out to reveal a very old room the wallpaper peeling off, a portrait long disserted by its inhabitant, and a perfectly made bed, just covered in dust. They had come out from behind the fireplace. “I wonder what made them just up and leave,” Lily asked her finger running over a table in the corner.

“Not sure,” James said opening the door beckoning for her to follow. They headed down an old, creaky spiral staircase, and they had to jump the last few steps to the ground because they were falling apart, and some were missing. Once outside, no one looked twice at them emerging, and Lily figured it was because students were constantly coming out of that place

It was a sunny day, but the sun was not giving off much warmth since it was November. The wind was blowing a bit, but besides the cold, it was pleasant day out. “So where are we going?” Lily asked him as she brushed off her robes from a few spider webs, and dust.

“I figured we could grab a butter beer, browse the shops, and grab an early dinner or something before we head back,” James said with a shrug. He was planning on paying for all of it though, almost like a date, just Lily did not know it yet.

“That’s fine with me,” Lily said pulling up her hair. “I am actually running low on ink, and some potion supplies.” And with that they were off, first grabbing a butter beer, then to get Lily’s school supplies, and some Quidditch equipment for James. His goggles were broken in the last rain match, and he needed a new pair. They walked around Hogsmeade for the rest of day, until the sun started to go down, and Lily’s stomach let out a growl.

“Let’s get some food eh?” James asked her with a smile. His stomach had been growling for a while, and when he saw Lily grab her own to silence it, he decided now would be the best time. He led her into a small nook of a place, and they were seated promptly.

“Is this a new place?” Lily asked James as she looked around, no remembering ever seeing it. She looked over the menu, debating on what to get.

“I have been here before with L—Lupin,” James said covering it up quickly, truth was he had brought a couple of other former flings here, but he did not want Lily to know.

Of course Lily had picked up on what had just happened, but she ignored it, and the pang of jealousy. The waiter appeared, and took their order, and Lily smirked as she noticed him staring at her a bit incisively.

“He best keep his eyes in his head,” James said with a glare as he stared at the boy. He then took a sip of water before looking at Lily, who was just smiling.

“Or what James?” Lily asked him teasingly, as her finger rested on her straw stirring her drink with it.

“He will have to deal with a very rude customer,” James replied.

Their dinner went off without a hitch; the waiter had taken the hint when Lily brushed James leg with her own in clear sight of the boy since he was looking down at her legs. James of course blushed greatly, and sputtered in mid sentence.

They headed out of the restaurant, and passed by a book store. “Oh can we stop?” Lily asked James. “I am almost done with the book I am reading now.” When James nodded, she backtracked into the store, and began to wander up and down the aisles. She saw a few books that she would like to buy, but the ones she was really looking for were in the back section.

James followed behind her, looking at a few books in the dating section and made a mental note to buy one of them for Sirius for his birthday, as a joke of course. Looking up he realized that he had lost Lily, and began to walk briskly down the aisles to find her. Finally he passed by where she was, and walked backwards, to get to the right row again. He paused from calling out her name, and instead watched her flip through the pages reading for a moment. James wanted to test the waters a bit more today so he came up with a plan, and walked her way, as he did so Lily glanced up at him, before returning to her book.

James leaned over her shoulder to look at what was in her hands, his hair falling slightly in his eyes as he did so. The book was too far away for him to really see what it said, but it gave him an excuse to stand there. With his mouth right by her ear, James asked her in a quiet raspy voice “find anything you like?”

“Uh—well,” Lily said stumbling over her words for a second. The feel of his breath was sending shivers throughout her whole body, making it very hard to concentrate. Finally she found her words once again, and decided to play along with him. “Yes I think so,” she said before closing the book and placing it back on the shelf, sneaking a glance at him before picking up another.

“Really? But you just put that book back down,” James said his hands slipping around both sides of her waist. He knew that she was flirting back as well, and was glad she did not protest to his hands.

Lily took a sharp intake of breath, but did not falter; in fact she backed up a bit into his arms but did not look at him this time. “Who said it was a book I was interested in,” she prodded before putting this book down as well before picking up yet another one.

“If you found what you liked, but it’s not a book, then what is it?” James asked her. He was way too into what was going on now to let his nerves get to him. His bottom lip barely brushed her ear as he said this, and he awaited an answer.

Lily bit her bottom lip, the truth was coming out now. “You…” she said barely audible. She could feel him smile, and she flipped another page.

“So what would you like to do about it?” James asked her, his hands moving to her hips now, gripping them slightly harder. Having her so close to him, yet unable to fully have her was driving him mad.

“Seeing as you’re not a book,” Lily said setting the book back down on the shelf. “I can’t really buy you now can I?” Just his whispering and the closeness between them was turning Lily on.

“That’s very true,” James said his breath on her neck this time instead. He could see goose bumps begin to appear all along it. “But you can still have me,” he added his lips barely kissing her neck. He smirked noticing that she had not flipped another page.

Lily’s breath caught as she felt his lips on her neck, “can I now?” She asked. She closed the book softly, turning it over in her hands trying to get her mind straight. It was a simple game of seduction, and James was winning.

“Anytime love,” James said this time fully kissing her neck now. It was short and simple, but he could feel her body tense under him. “You just let me know.” His eyes moved to look at her, but he did not move his head, he was beginning to get turned on by this.

If Lily could have let James have her right there on the spot, she probably would have. Her fingers traced the spine of another book, she could feel her legs beginning to get weak underneath her.

“So are you going to buy a book?” He asked her quietly, his breath on her neck. “Or do you want to get out of here,” he whispered.

“None of these books are catching my eye,” Lily said lowering her hand back down to her side, her fingertips brushing his hand.

“Let’s get out of here then,” he replied pulling away from her slightly. “I have the perfect place in mind too,” he said fully letting go of her then grabbing her hand. It was short distance from the bookstore, and they were already on their way there as it was. Plus, they did not have to worry about any interruptions.

Lily followed, squeezing his hand lightly. She hoped this place was close, because Lily did not want what they had going to die. As they came upon the inn they had passed through earlier she grinned widely. She shut the door behind her with a loud bang before being dragged up the steps by James.

James burst into the bedroom in anticipation, as well as worry that Lily would change her mind. He had been wanting this for as long as he could remember. Once Lily was inside, he shut the door behind her before turning around to face her. He paused for a second looking at her smile, her hands lying by her side. Unable to contain himself any longer, James walked over to her, pulling her into a rough kiss.

Lily shrugged her shoulders, to remove her cloak; it always managed to get in the way at the most important, and inconvenient of times. Once he fell to the floor, Lily kicked it off, and slipped her arms under James cloak and around his body. She opened her mouth for him since he was asking for permission, and she began to walk backwards following James lead.

He walked Lily back toward the bed, and pushed her gently down upon it, before he joined her though, James removed his cloak as well, before collapsing atop of her and kissing her once again. The bed rattled under them, giving off a cloud of dust. Together they moved so Lily’s head rested on the pillow.

Feverishly, Lily kissed James back, all thoughts pushed from her mind. Instead her heart was doing the talking now. Lily could feel the electricity and passion behind every kiss from James. Her hands reached around his back, pulling at him to bring him closer. She could feel his shirt begin to rise up as she did so she pulled more, and then remembered his tie. Her hands slipped around his neck, untied it, and then slowly pulled it out from around his neck, before dropping it down on the bed next to her.

James smirked as she pulled off his tie, then felt her trembling hands reach for the hem of his shirt. He helped her remove it, even though it was a button down, it was easier to get it off this way, not to mention less time consuming. Before leaning down to kiss her again, James watched her look him over shyly. She smiled lightly up at him, and pulled him back down for another kiss.

Lily looked over James body, almost shy about it. She knew that he was fit, but she did not realize how much so. He had abs from Quidditch and working out, though they were not freakishly big, which was a plus, that was actually a turn off for Lily, and he had strong upper arms. Her hands roamed over his shoulders and back, her nails trailing lightly over him. She could not let this go far, Lily had promised herself that she would never give herself freely to a man without having a commitment, it was hard though once she was in the moment to keep her morals fresh in her mind.

He let his kiss move down her jaw, then to her neck, working on leaving a small mark there. His hand worked on pulling the hem of her shirt out of her skirt, and once he succeeded, he worked on the buttons. It was slower this way, incase Lily did not want to go that far. He made it all the way up to her tie, and she still did not fight him, so he undid that then pushed her shirt open, not bothering with removing it just yet.

Blushing, Lily turned her head up to the side to give him more room to kiss, closing her eyes tightly. She was beginning to feel self-conscious despite the heat of the moment. She felt James stop kissing her, and sit up a bit to look at her.

She was gorgeous, her chest was not huge, probably just a C is what he guessed, but he had no problem with that. Her stomach was caved in a bit from lying on her back, and he could see two of her bottom ribs on either side. She had a bit of fat to her, but it was better than being as skinny as a twig, where you could see every rib. She was skinner then he thought she was, which had to be because of the school uniform, since it wasn’t really form fitting. Her skin was a creamy pale color, but he could see a pink blush rising from the top of her white bra up her neck. “There is no need to be embarrassed love,” James said leaning down again, groaning ever so slightly at the skin on skin contact. “You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen,” he whispered in her ear before biting it gently.

“Thank you,” Lily breathed, still embarrassed about what had just happened. There was only one other person that had seen her like this, but she liked not to think about him, the arrogant ass that he was. She turned his head back to hers, her lips crashing against his once again. She felt one of his hands slide up her stomach, which she instinctively withdrew since she was ticklish.

“Are you alright love?” James asked her pulling away from the kiss worried that he had done something wrong.

“Fine—just ticklish,” Lily panted with a smile. She saw him smirk, and knew that it was going to be used against her eventually, but she would have to worry about that later. He went back to kissing her, his hand sliding the rest of the way up to her chest, but he kept his hand on the outside of her bra. Lily moaned at his touch, and pushed her back up towards his hand a bit willing him to continue.

James smirked, and kneaded her chest gently in his hand, the other hand going under her back pulling her close to him. After a second, James moved the kiss down her jaw, then to her neck once more, before removing his hand from her, to move her shirt and strap down a bit to reveal her whole shoulder. Once they were down far enough, James softly kissed her shoulder, looking up at her as he did so.

Lily’s eyes fluttered open when she felt his hand push down her strap; she smiled at how gentle he was, before leaning her head back down on the pillow. She then felt his kiss move to her collar bone, then just above where her bra covered her chest. Her breath hitched a bit, but she did not stop him. Lily felt him hesitate again, and she managed to breathe out, “I’m fine James, I will tell you.”

He nodded very slightly, the hand behind her back lifting her up a bit off of the bed; he kissed her as he pushed off the shirt fully, and then moved to her bra clasp. When she did not say anything, James completely undid it, and removed the bra off of her body. Instead of looking like last time which made her uncomfortable, he just pulled her into another kiss laying her back down on the bed.

She held him close, glad he did not stare at her just yet, she was very uncomfortable with her body to tell the truth. With the adjusting, she could feel her skirt had been hiked up a bit, and she could feel his arousal against her knickers, and she moaned at the touch.

Again, James hand went back to her chest, being even gentler this time. He did not want to hurt her, even though passion was coursing through his veins. James did not want to push it any further, not wanting to rush a thing with her, and have them both regretting things. Moving, James sat up taking her with him, and slowly reduced the kissing, before pulling back. “Lily,” he said very quietly looking into her eyes.

Lily looked at him as well, smiling as she did so. She was glad he had decided to stop there, because otherwise she would have asked him to. She kissed him again before answering his statement. “Yes James?”

“I,” he said before stopping. James did not know how to phrase it without being so blunt, or stupid about it. There was no way around it, his mind a thick fog, “Lily, will you be my girlfriend?” He asked her lamely.

She had to keep from laughing at his face; he looked to confused and nervous all at once, “of course James.” Lily said before kissing him once again, wrapping her arms around him. When she pulled back from the kiss, she just held onto him, resting her head on his shoulder for while as her fingers traced up and down his back.

At seven they decided they best get back to the school, so James turned his back from Lily allowing her to get dressed in privacy, as he pulled his own shirt on. Looking back at the bed, it was easy to tell they were on it, since the blankets were all ruffled, so James fixed it quickly before grabbing his cloak from the floor.