Cough
November, 1977
Lily really had to pee.
Unfortunately, that seemed to be a feeling true amongst the female gender between classes today. She probably could have stood in the line-up on most days, but definitely not today.
There was never a line for the boy's loo. In fact, after a moment of furtive contemplation wherein she stood outside doing a bit of a dance, there didn't appear to be anyone at all in the boy's loo. So Lily, once checking the hall to ensure that no one was going to see her, dashed inside, ignored the odd smell coming from the urinals, and rushed into the nearest stall.
Lily had unfortunately forgotten that boys might come into the room after she had. And wouldn't it be her luck that James Potter might be that boy.
He actually wasn't so bad anymore. Being given Head Boy (for whatever insane reason that was) seemed to have calmed him. They had an all-right working relationship; she realized it was her who kept it distant. They really could get along marvellously sometimes if she didn't shut down. And he only cursed people when being cursed at anymore. It was only ever defensive, too; no more upside-down-by-the-ankles or upper-lip-over-head spells since last year at the latest.
Still, running into him in the boy's loo was not on her list of things she wanted to do. So, as quietly as possible, she lifted her feet up and stood, doubled-over, on the toilet seat, looking quietly at the floor as he did his business and washed his hands at the sink.
There was suddenly complete silence. She didn't hear his footsteps leaving. She rolled her eyes and assumed he was placing his hair in just such a way so that it would look as ridiculous as possible. She ventured a look out the crack between the wall and the door. He was, indeed, looking at himself in the mirror, but he was perfectly still, just staring sadly at himself. Finally he sighed, glanced around to make sure that there really wasn't anyone in the room, and put on a broad but obviously false grin.
"They're... having a ball in Hogsmeade over Christmas... Madam Puddifoot's, you know how it goes. Dumbledore, um, wanted us to, um, supervise... damn, no, you burke, not on the pretence of work, start simple, that's too much too soon, she still doesn't even seem to..." he trailed off. "Cheers, inner Moony," he muttered before clearing his throat and starting over with the same grin. "Listen, I'm tired of all this work. What say we move to... to Hogsmeade for a drink with Rosmerta?" He stopped and cursed again, and this time really did start making his hair look its full potential of ridiculousness.
It was obvious that this was directed at Lily. She would probably have been very touched at what he was saying, and might momentarily consider casually flying out of the stall and strolling by as though she hadn't been there listening to him the entire time in the boy's loo and had only just noticed him.
Unfortunately for them both, Lily's throat chose this time to become extremely scratchy, and most of her energy was going toward not coughing.
"Why is this hard, Potter?" he asked himself in the mirror. "You've asked her out a hundred times and always meant it. Just because you happen to care more than ever and that she happens to be more amazing than you thought, doesn't mean--"
His head snapped up and looked around the bathroom through the mirror. Lily cringed. She had coughed, and he had heard it, and as coughs go, it was absolutely the most girly one she could ever have made. Now they were catching each others' eyes in the mirror and--
"Lily?" he croaked, mortified enough to forget that she wasn't supposed to be in the boy's loo.
Lily panicked. "N-No," she said in the deepest voice she could muster. Then--"Bugger off."
"Lily, I can see your hair."
She cursed. "Being a redhead isn't as fun as some people think." She stepped down from the toilet seat and stepped slowly and sheepishly toward James. He kept looking at her through the mirror.
"Er... how long have you been..."
"Since you first walked in," she said, but immediately reddened and added hastily, "but I've only been watching since you started talking."
Oh, well-played, Evans. That wasn't at all an awkward thing to say.
James finally clued in that she wasn't supposed to be here and willingly shifted his mortification onto her, grinning as she hid her face in her hands. "Line-up, huh?"
Lily nodded and didn't look up.
"It's all right," he said. "Sometimes when I'm wandering around the castle and it's late and there's no one around and I need a loo, I go into the girls' just to see if it's nicer." He paused and shut his eyes at his own idiocy. "But... ah... not in a... perverted way."
But Lily had looked up and began to laugh in short bursts of giggles. James chuckled nervously along after a moment.
"Can we... not be in the loo anymore?" she asked between giggles.
"Oh." He sounded surprised. "Yeah, of course." He started immediately toward the exit.
"Er..." she stopped short and he looked back. "What if people see me?"
He scratched his chin in contemplation. "Well, I know you won't like this plan much, but we can pretend to be a couple and--"
"No," she said immediately.
"Then I don't know how to help you. Sorry."
Lily looked at James and thought. Her options were:
-Appear as though she was dating him and have everyone think she'd have a quickie with him in the boy's loo, or
-Appear as though she'd have a quickie with him in the boy's loo and not appear as though she was dating him, and have everyone think she was trampish.
So she suddenly took James' hand, found that she didn't need to force a blush, and pushed through the loo door, dragging him behind her.
James quickly caught stride with her and tried to suppress his embarrassed grin as they walked down the corridor and to their class, hands clasped as they went. Some people broke into murmurs as they caught sight of the couple; Sirius had broken into enthusiastic applause, quickly echoed by Peter as they sat down in desks beside each other and finally broke grip. After class, James grinned fleetingly at her and left the room without another word.
It wasn't until later that Lily remembered that James carried an Invisibility Cloak with him at all times.