Unexpected

“Lily Evans, will you make me the happiest man alive and let me take you on a date to Hogsmede?”

James is down on one knee in the middle of the Gryffindor common room, a bouquet of stargazer lilies held out to her like they’re a ring.

Lily rolls her eyes. Carefully, she reaches out and plucks a single flower from the bunch, bringing it up to her nose and inhaling deeply. The flower smells wonderful, and its soft petals tickle her nose, making her giggle.

“I suppose I can’t say no, now that you’ve given me such a beautiful gift,” she answers, and the way Potter’s entire face lights up with his grin makes her heart flutter.

“Yes!” he yells, jumping to his feet and scooping her up in a hug, lifting her from the floor and twirling her around. She lets out a startled laugh, and when Potter puts her back down, she smacks his arm playfully. He blushes adorably, looking sheepish. “You won’t regret it, I swear.”

Lily quirks a brow, then looks pointedly at the now ruined bouquet and the petals scattered around them. Potter’s blush deepens.

“Oops,” he offers, and Lily shakes her head, but her answering grin is fond.

“You can make it up to me this weekend,” she tells him with a wink, turning on her heel and heading back up the stairs to her dormitory. James watches her go, a sappy, lovestruck look on his face.

By the fire, the rest of the Marauders watch on with varying degrees of surprise.

I can’t believe that worked, Sirius thinks bitterly, a scowl marring his handsome features.

“I can’t believe that worked,” Peter says aloud.

“Neither can I,” Remus answers, looking just as shocked as his friend.

Peter’s brow furrows, and he looks at Remus askance. “You’re the one who suggested it,” he reminds, almost like he believes Remus has forgotten.

Remus nods, resting his chin on his hand. “I still can’t believe it,” he says mildly. Then, glancing at Sirius, “What about you, Padfoot? Are you just as shocked as the rest of us?”

Sirius turns towards his friend only to be met with a half curious, half suspicious look. With a jolt, he realizes he’s been glaring daggers at James.

Immediately, guilt washes over him, dousing the fires of his jealousy like an over-powered Aguamenti. His shoulders slump and he sighs, leaning back heavily against the plush fabric of the armchair he’s sat in.

“It’s a right shock,” he answers. He summons a half-arsed smile and shrugs. “Never thought he’d pull it off.”

Remus hums in agreement, still eyeing him warily.

“Where d’you think he’ll take her?” Peter wonders, oblivious to the tension between his two friends. “Think he’ll take her to the Shack, try to scare her into holding his hand?”

The mention of the Shrieking Shack has Remus retreating back into himself, clearly uncomfortable. Sirius scoffs, annoyed with Peter for bringing it up, even if it got Remus off his back.

“As if a little screaming would scare Evans,” he says, shaking his head. “Nah, I bet he’ll take her to The Three Broomsticks. Puddifoots is a bit much for a first date.”

“Too much isn’t in Prongs’ vocabulary,” Peter snorts.

“Maybe, but he hates the place,” Sirius points out. Peter shrugs and looks to Remus.

“What do you think, Moony?” He asks cheerily. “Where’ll James take her? The Three Bs or Puddifoots?”

“Neither,” Remus says. “Lily’s got a mean sweet tooth, I’d bet good money he’ll take her to Honeydukes. Well, I would if I had any.”

Peter laughs, but Sirius narrows his eyes.

“How d’you know she has a sweet tooth?” he asks suspiciously. The fact that Remus knows something about Lily that Sirius doesn’t feels wrong.

Remus raises a brow at him, and Sirius hurriedly smooths his features into a look of nonchalance.

“Whenever we have rounds together, she’s always got some sort of candy or chocolate with her to snack on,” he says. “She always offers to share, too.”

Yeah, Sirius thinks, the memory of Lily’s kind smile at the forefront of his mind. Seems like something she’d do.

Before the silence can linger too long and become awkward, James plops down on the plush rug in front of the hearth, that same dopey smile still stuck in place.

“Lily Potter has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?” he asks dreamily.

Sirius opens his mouth to answer, a smart-arse quip on the tip of his tongue, when something horrifying occurs to him.

James is lying in the exact spot where he’d fucked Lily.

His mouth dries out and his jaw shuts with a snap, face draining of color rapidly.

“I’ve gotta go,” he blurts out, already half out of his seat. Before anyone can stop him, he’s running across the common room and up the stairs to the dormitory. Rushing past the beds, he slams open the door of the bathroom, stumbling into the closest shower stall and turning the water on full blast.

The freezing water soaks through his clothes and into his bones, and he leans his forehead against the tile wall, breathing heavily. He shudders, half from the chill and half from the disgust he’s feeling at himself.

I betrayed James, he thinks, and it is only now that he realizes the depth of that betrayal. He’d felt guilty before, sure, but he’s also been in denial. Denial that what he did is unforgivable. Denial that James would hate him if he ever finds out. Denial that Sirius sleeping with Lily Evans would break James’s heart worse than anything else.

But seeing him sitting there, in the place where he’d had sex with the girl his best mate is in love with, opened his eyes. Because Sirius hasn’t just slept with Lily, the woman of James’s dreams. He’s fallen for her, too.

 ***

When she sees James waiting nervously at the bottom of the stairs to the girl’s dorms, Lily can’t help but smile.

He’s holding another bouquet, but this time, they’re pure white calla lilies. The single, cup-shaped petals encasing a tall, yellow center beckon her down to him, and she feels butterflies erupt in her belly, anticipation grabbing hold of her.

When she’s only a few steps away from him, James finally notices her, and his smile turns luminescent.

“You look beautiful, Lily,” he says quietly, and then gently holds the flowers out to her. “I felt quite badly about the last one, so I got you another.”

Lily takes the bouquet from him with a touch of reverence, eyes soft and open when she looks at him.

“Thank you,” she says sincerely. “They’re gorgeous.”

James’s grin turns mischievous. “Not as gorgeous as you,” he shoots back with a wink.

Lily rolls her eyes, but her smile stays stubbornly in place.

“Where are we going?” she asks instead, setting the lilies on the table next to her. Marlene is watching her from across the room, and she knows her roommate will make sure they’re brought back up to their dorm and put in water.

“I was thinking we could check out Honeydukes’ new selection of chocolates,” James answers. He tries to act casual, but Lily can hear the hesitation in his voice — clearly, he’s worried about what she thinks of his idea.

He needn’t be — Lily has been dying to try Honeydukes’ new chocolates. “That sounds perfect,” she says excitedly, and when James smiles, she can see his relief.

“Off we go, then,” he says, holding out his hand for her to take. She does so happily, and when his fingers close around hers, the butterflies in her tummy do a little dance.

The walk through the castle is quiet, both of them clearly unsure what to say. But the moment they step outside, Lily gasps in delight, breaking the awkward tension. It’s snowing lightly, and Lily sticks her tongue out, trying to catch a snowflake.

The childish display startles a laugh out of James, and Lily blushes, glancing embarrassedly at him through her lashes, though she resolutely keeps her tongue where it is. James smiles widely and joins her, eyes crossing as he tries to spot the snowflakes before they land. Lily giggles, grinning triumphantly when she finally feels the familiar cold sensation of snow melting on her tongue.

Just like that, the air is cleared, and they fall into an easy rhythm of conversation. The walk to Hogsmeade seems to take no time at all, but Lily’s nose and cheeks are red by the time they arrive.

The store is crowded, and she has to stay close to James in order to get through. Every brush of his shoulder against hers leaves her feeling giddy, and when they get to the shelf displaying the new collection of chocolates, Lily leans against him fully, their interlocked hands squished between them.

“Caramel-filled are my favorite,” she tells him, eyeing the delicious looking sweets in front of them.

Almost before she’s finished speaking, James has already grabbed a handful of them, placing them in a pouch he pulls out of his pocket.

“How many would you like?” he asks.

“You don’t have to get me any,” Lily protests, though the longing glance she sends at the brightly-wrapped confections says otherwise.

James smiles, squeezing her hand lightly.

“But I want to,” he says simply, and Lily is stunned by the way he says it, as if doing something that will make her happy is the most obvious thing in the world.

She squeezes his hand back, rising up on her tippy toes to place a soft, quick kiss on his lips. When she pulls away, he’s grinning from ear to ear, face red as tomato. Lily just laughs and kisses him again.