#but it hit me last night and i was like. jily time.

[ohmygodshesinsane]

Abnormal 🪴

Carts before horses, heads over heels; Lily and James decorate the Heads' office in the same way they go about everything else.

words: 842 | rating: T

for @jilymicrofics july prompt 6: garden

on ao3 & under the cut

Lily and James have a garden now. Before a house, before a six-month anniversary, before Lily’s even told her parents (though she will get around to it, she swears, she’s just… something). On the windowsill in the Heads’ office, overlooking the greenhouses and the expanse of shimmering lake beyond it, three little plants grow. Time for the collective noun. A garden.

James laughs and pushes his glasses up his nose. Lily folds her arms across her chest and tilts her chin up and they bat their words back and forth over some invisible net until James’s hands are on her hips and her fingers are tangled in his hair and – shit, they needed to be in Transfiguration two minutes ago. McGonagall will skin them. Shame it’s not Herbology. Could’ve told Sprout we were studying.

It started, actually, with a kind of tribute from a first-year that made Sirius joke about temples and gods and burnt offerings until he decided to grab his favourite ‘vase’ and make some burnt offerings of his own, and Lily and James had left him to it while they trudged down to the office to sit their newest family member in the sun. A week after surprising a little first-year girl stealing from the Potions storeroom, she’d come crawling to them with eyes full of tears and a mouth full of apologies and arms full of this ginormous pot, in which the strangest plant Lily had ever seen stretched towards them. It was a gnarled little sapling with multicoloured leaves that purportedly glowed different shades at midnight depending on the phase of the moon. Lily and James had secreted themselves in a broom cupboard to discuss the appropriate course of action. Was it bribery? Lily had chewed her pinkie nail, envisioning some sort of corruption takedown led by a vengeful, dark-haired Slytherin with whom she was no longer on speaking terms. Was it a prank? James had hit it with half a dozen spells, trying to figure out if it was about to curse them. In the end, it’s spent six weeks on the shelf, has proved perfectly ordinary. Lily now uses its glow as a nice reminder to get the hell to bed.

The second plant was a reject of their Herbology project for the term, in which they were supposed to rear a distant sibling species to the mandragora, which went through similar stages of life, but produced a pungent odour rather than a potentially-fatal scream. It lacked the healing properties, too – despite the stench, it was favoured in beautifying elixirs. Lily had learned that woe would betide any child of theirs. Lily gagged furiously when she had to wipe down the plant’s excess of sap, and James had rocked it rather too aggressively to sleep and bumped it significantly. The poor thing had promptly exploded, and saturated them. She’d nearly broken up with him over that (or so she says, because it makes for a good story; the truth is that even the thought, jokingly, of losing him hurts her heart so much that she can’t breathe, and that is way too pathetic to ever admit to their mates). Fortunately, post-explosion, the plant had become quite docile and completely odour-free, and so they brought their crippled little plant to join its odd elder sibling on their windowsill. An unrespectable pair.

The third plant is today’s edition, a week before Christmas; a confiscated bit of mistletoe cruelly enchanted to attach itself above the head of the most acne-ridden student in any given room, and then shriek, ‘KISS ME’  until the demand was fulfilled, or – as Lily discovered – until it was met with a powerful enough Finite, which most of the third-year students could manage. As she and James had returned to the Heads’ office to fill out the incident report, she’d nearly thrown it out. Nearly. James had swiped it out of her hands and held it above her head, and then pressed his lips to hers.

Needed to check the enchantment really was gone, he’d said. Lily had raised her eyebrows.

Are you saying you don’t trust my spellwork, Potter?

He’d made the doubt up to her. He was exceptionally good at it, too.

So the mistletoe made it to the shelf, and now they’ve got a garden, mismatched and deranged and bizarrely-acquired, all three things. When they return to the office after Transfiguration (and a few minutes of appropriate grovelling and nodding, shame-faced, after McGonagall’s rebuke), James slings his arm around her shoulders and sighs, looking over the plants like a proud father-of-three. She elbows him. He kisses her temple.

Garden before the house. A kiss before the first date. Living together, really, before they ever had feelings for each other. They’ve got mixed up somewhere along the line, of what constitutes proper order and normality, but Lily can’t say she minds. Not when she gets to lean her head against James’s shoulder and count the moles on his neck and the specks of stubble on his jaw.

Perfectly abnormal, thank you very much.  

[gigglesandfreckles-hp]

I AM HERE FOR THE TEENAGE JILY ANGST

So just to be a little more evil to them can you please do "Can we talk?" and "I think we've all said what we wanted to say." 😈😈😈

lily got her drama moment, so it's james's turn because i am nothing if not fair and magnanimous.

from this prompt list

Lily liked it better when she didn’t know all his secrets, didn’t know there was nowhere in this bloody castle she could hide because he has a map. It’s why she’s only startled, not surprised when she turns the corner headed down toward Potions and runs into him on the fifth floor.

“No,” she says, immediately picking up her pace to walk past him.

His long legs meet her stride easily. “Stop running away from me, Lil. Just—”

“I’m late for Potions.”

“Fuck Potions, Evans. I need to talk to you.”

“It can wait.”

“It can’t,” he insists.

“I don’t want—” But her defence is intercepted by a tight grip on her forearm as he grabs her and tugs her straight out of the main traffic of the corridor, ignoring her protests as he pushes past a tapestry and stops them in the secluded alcove just on the other side.

The jerky movement loosens several strands from her plait, which simply won’t do for Potions. As soon as he releases her arm, she reaches up to pull the elastic from her hair, intending to redo it quickly.

Before she can grab a section of hair, James’s hand darts out, snatching the elastic from her fingers and stuffing it into the front pocket of his trousers.

“What are you—”

“Can we talk?” he asks earnestly, leaning toward her.

He smells good. That annoying boy smell that isn’t something Lily would ever want in a bottle of fragrance for herself, but somehow she knows she wouldn’t mind bathing in it, sleeping next to it, living in a house full of it forever.

She chooses her words carefully. “I think we’ve both said what we wanted to say.”

“When exactly did that happen? Because I seem to remember you disappearing as soon as we stopped—”

“Okay,” she says, putting up a hand between them, because she can’t hear him say it. She can’t handle hearing evidence that what they did last night actually happened, outside of her dreams.

They kissed, actually kissed, and Lily thinks she’s going to black out if she doesn’t put some distance between the two of them right now.

“Okay what?” he presses, stepping closer. “This isn't fair. Don’t shut me out just because—”

“I’m not trying to shut you out,” she promises, feeling overwhelmed by his closeness, his intensity. “I just…I don’t know what happened, okay? It—we were caught up in the moment. And—”

“Are you being serious right now?”

She flushes under the harshness of his tone. “Wh-what?”

“Is that the position you want to take? Because that’s fine, Evans. I’m not going to force you to admit that what happened between us was good and a long bloody time coming at that. Whatever. Be delusional. But don’t—don’t act like we were caught up in the moment. What the fuck is that? I care about you. You know that, Lily, and—”

She shakes her head and steps away from them, her back hitting the wall. “I can’t handle this right now. I just…I can’t, James.”

He watches her silently, his expression a mixture of pain and resignation. Then, with a heavy sigh, he speaks again. “So that’s it?”

“What do you mean?” she asks, quietly.

“Maybe you can act like it didn’t happen…but I can’t. I don’t want to. So if you really…if this is how you feel,” a crease appears across his forehead and Lily wants to reach across and smooth it out more than anything, “then we’re done.”

Lily’s heart lurches in her chest. “What do you—”

“I can’t be your friend anymore, Evans,” he says, sounding so wretched Lily wants to cry. “So I’m going to ask you again. But when we walk out from behind that tapestry, no matter what your answer is—there’s no going backward. I can’t…I can’t do that. It’s killing me.”

Lily's heart feels like it's being squeezed in a vice. She swallows hard, trying to compose herself. "James," she murmurs.

He shuts his eyes tight and pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose, then opens them and looks down at her. “Can we talk?” he asks again, his voice strained with emotion. “And that means we don’t leave here until we’ve both been honest. I want to be with you, Evans. You know that. Just…" Something a little desperate seeps into his tone. "Don’t you want to be happy together?”

Her lip quivers, and she feels tears threatening to spill over. "I…" she begins, but the words catch in her throat.

“Answer me, Lily."

“James, I can’t,” she whispers, her voice breaking off. “But it’s only—”

James's shoulders slump, and he takes a step back, his gaze dropping from her to the floor for a moment. Without another word, he turns away from her, his footsteps echoing softly on the stone floor as he pushes through the tapestry and moves back into the corridor, leaving Lily alone.

[arianatwycross]

Hi my tumblr name is arianatwycross (this is not my real name but you may call me A or Ari) I'm a pommy that lives in Australia, I have a golden retriever that owns my heart and I'm addicted to cheesy romance novels.

I write mostly Jily but have been known to delve into Romione and am dipping my toe in some wolfstar!

last updated 18.03.24

Jily

Multi-chapters:

The Process of Wanting- University Muggle AU / Jily-microoops March prompts

Headlines - Muggle AU / Popstar James

once upon a dream - WIP Hogwarts AU / Lily has a crush

To send or not to send? - (Two Parts) 2023 April Jily Challenge / Theme: Letters, Notes and Texting

A (not so) bad day - (Two Parts) - Hogwarts idiots in love

We'll be a fine line -WIP a chapter a day for jilytober 2022 / a muggle au

Only for the Summer -WIP Rated E / Muggle Job AU / Friends to Lovers

Beach Reading -  Rated T. July 2022 Jily Challenge / Theme: Summer Prompt: “i really, really need this summer job, so please stop distracting me with your wiles/good looks. you’re going to get me fired”

The Art of Fake Dating - WIP written with @vertraymer / For the Mixed Up Writer Fest 2022 / Prompt: Fake dating AU!

Unlearnable - WIP, Rated M. Muggle AU. Angst.

Strawberry Lipstick State of Mind - Rated E. Canon. Seventh Year.

Just a touch - Rated E

Teenage Kicks - Rated E / Celeb AU with minor wolfstar

you are the sun - Rated M (Three-parts) Muggle AU/Secret Relationship

One Shots:

Skinny Dipping Part 1 - a jilymicrofic

Just the two of us - Hogwarts / Forced proximity, Hurt/Comfort

A Sweet Meet Cute - Muggle AU, small town romance

A romance of their own - Jily Valentine Gift Exchange 2023 / Celeb AU

Wet, Cold & Bothered - Rated M / 2022 Jily Challenge December Christmas challenge; prompt: Snowball fights

Muggle Christmas Traditions - Rated G/ 2022 December Christmas Jily Challenge. Prompt: The night before Christmas

The One Where Remus Has no Filter - Rated G. Jily Challenge December Christmas challenge

a year and 22 days - Rated T. Summer of Jily 2022 / lyric: all that I know is you caught me at the right time —"golden hour" (kacey musgraves) Scenario: late evening with friends in the garden

The One Where Petunia Can't Drive - April JilyChallenge / Meet uglies + prompt "i hit you with my car/broom and was the only one to visit you in the hospital"

two fools - Rated T / Feb 2022 Jily Challenge romance theme + prompt " “It’s not like I've thought about kissing you, or anything…”

Shut up & Kiss me - Rated M / December Jily Challenge, Winter theme. Muggle AU

Crush Phase - Rated T. Muggle AU

A Year Later - Rated M / Jily Challenge August 2021 . Muggle AU

consciously unaware - Rated GA / Jilytober 2021 bingo (5 prompts in one). Canon, friends to lovers.

Say my name - Rated M. Canon.

Romione

Multi-chapters:

Backseat Rider - Rated T / Muggle AU

One Shots:

Willow - Rated GA. Written for M.Windsor for the 2021 HP Romione Discord Secret Santa!

It’s better In the front seat… - Rated M (Backseat Rider One shot)

Confessions - Rated E / Canon

Books & Freckles - Rated T

Nobody Compares - Rated T / Muggle AU, professional football player Ron

Wolfstar

Skinny Dipping Part 2 - a wolfstarmicrofic

Teenage Kicks Spinoff coming soon!

[asmo-d3us]

HIT ME HARD AND SOFT lyrics as Marauders Era characters.

SKINNY:

1. “Fell in love for the first time, with a friend it’s a good sign.” - bartylus, rosekiller, or wolfstar.

2. “People say I look happy, just because I got skinny.” - either Peter or Lily maybe??

3. “And you said I was your secret. And you didn’t get to keep it.” - jegulus.

LUNCH:

This song is literally just all the lesbian ships into one. It’s like Marlene finding out she’s gay asf and having a gay panic with this song in the background or smth 💀

CHIHIRO:

1. “Did you, take, my love, away, from me?” - regulus about jily, and barty about jegulus.

2. “I don’t know why I called, I don’t know you at all. // but there’s a part of me that recognizes you. Do you feel it too?” - Sirius and Regulus about each other.

3. “Wringing my hands in my lap, and you tell me it’s all been a trap, and you don’t know if you’ll make it back, I say ‘No, don’t say that.’” - regulus to Sirius before he ran away.

BIRDS OF A FEATHER:

1. “Birds of a feather, we should stick together, I know I said I’d never think I wasn’t better alone, can’t change the weather, might not be forever, but if it’s forever, it’s even better.” - the pantheons, the marauders, & the valkyries about each other. + platonic prongsfoot and platonic rosestarkiller.

2. “It might not be long, but baby, I, I'll love you 'til the day that I die, 'Til the day that I die. 'Til the light leaves my eyes, 'Til the day that I die.” - evan about barty, or regulus about james. maybe even barty about regulus himself.

3. “I want you to see how you look to me. You wouldn't believe if I told ya, you would keep the compliments I throw ya. But you're so full of shit. Tell me it's a bit, say you don't see it, your mind's polluted. Say you wanna quit, don't be stupid.” - james to regulus or evan to barty. Perhaps Sirius talking about how regulus looks up to him but he always denies it??

4. “I knew you in another life. You had that same look in your eyes. I love you, don't act so surprised.” - literally every single ship in this fandom including the black brothers.

WILDFLOWER (there’s so many more references in these songs I’m just so lazy!):

1. “Well good things don't last, and life moves so fast, I’d never ask who was better 'cause she couldn't be more different from me; happy and free in leather. And I know that you love me. You don't need to remind me. Wanna put it all behind me, but baby.” - regulus about jily getting together.

THE GREATEST:

1. “I'm trying my best to keep you satisfied.” - regulus and basically every single pureblood out there towards their parents.

2. “Let you get your rest, while I stayed up all night. And you don't wanna know how alone I've been. Let you come and go,” - regulus about Sirius after he left.

3. “Man, am I the greatest, my congratulations. All my love and patience, all my admiration. All the times I waited for you to want me naked made it all look painless. Man, am I the greatest.” - regulus about james when all he ever wanted was lily and never reg himself.

4. “And we don't have to fight when it's not worth fighting for (Fighting for).” - regulus when fighting with james about the mark he had just gotten and acknowledging that it was too late to fight about this because he already got the mark forever.

5. Basically this whole song is jegulus and the black brothers coded.

L’AMOUR DE MA VIE:

1. “But I need to confess, I told you a lie. I said you, were the love of my life. The love of my life. Did I break your heart? Did I waste your time? I tried to be there for you. Then you tried to break mine.” - regulus after lying to Barty about liking him back romantically when he in fact didn’t. Barty trying to break his heart by dating evan but it not working and resulting in Barty shattering Evan’s heart instead when he finds out it was all just to make reg jealous.

2. “It isn't asking for a lot for an apology, for making me feel like it'd kill you if I tried to leave. You said you'd never fall in love again because of me, then you moved on immediately.” - barty to regulus when asking for an apology for lying and breaking his heart and regulus just saying that he’d never fall in love after barty but then immediately moved on to james.

3. “So you found her, now go fall in love, just like we were if I ever was.” - regulus when he finds out rosekiller is a thing.

4. “Thought I was depressed or losing my mind, my stomach upset almost all of the time. But after I left, it was obvious why. Because for you, I was the love of your life, but you were not mine.” - regulus when in a relationship with barty because it was before he transitioned and it was the regulus that barty was in love with and it felt so toxic and degrading for reg because that’s not who he truly was. For barty, regulus was the love of his life, but for him barty wasn’t because he treated regulus like a girl, and he always would.

THE DINER:

STFU THIS WHOLE SONG SOUNDS LIKE ROSEKILLER WITH TOXIC + STALKER BARTY AND NORMAL EVAN WHO IS IN LOVE WITH BARTEMIUS BUT HE JUST CANT BC HES A CRIMINAL AND HES INSANE AND AS MUCH AS HE HATES IT HE KNOWS HE HAS TO CALL THE COPS AND HE CANT LIVE CALMLY BC SOMEHOW BARTY ALWAYS MANAGES TO ESCAPE AND FIND HIM AND KILL ANYONE HES SEEING OR DATING AND HES JUST GOING TO DIE ALONE BUT ALSO NOT???

BITTERSUITE:

1. “I can’t fall in love with you.” - again, regulus about barty. Lily about James, and if you wanna get really dark with it; James about Peter.

2. “'Cause I can't fall in love with you no matter how bad I want to.” - regulus with barty bc he knows barty would try his best and would understand this change but he just can’t fall in love with him!

BLUE (good god…):

1. “I try to live in black and white, but I'm so blue.” - every single fucking slytherin ever??

2. “I'd like to mean it when I say I'm over you, but that's still not true.” - this can mean so many things, it’s just all up to our imagination.

3. “I thought we were the same birds of a feather, now I'm ashamed.” - Dorcas and pandora about barty, reg, and evan because Dorcas began to work for the order and her best friends didn’t and she was ashamed, yet she thought they’d always still together and they’d choose the right path.

4. “You were born bluer than a butterfly, beautiful and so deprived of oxygen.” - pandora.

5. “Colder than your father’s eyes, he never learned to sympathize with anyone.” - barty.

6. “I don’t blame you, but I can’t change you. Don’t hate you, but we can’t save you.” - all the slytherins (JUSTICE FOR MY SLYTHERINS!!)

7. “You were born reachin’ for your mother’s hands, victim of your father’s plans to rule the world.” - regulus.

8. “Too afraid to step outside, paranoid and petrified of what you’ve heard.” - evan.

9. “But they could say the same 'bout me I sleep 'bout three hours each night means only twenty-one a week now, now.” - Dorcas about herself after leaving her friends who were her true family for nearly her whole life.

10. “And I could say the same 'bout you; born blameless, grew up famous too, just a baby born blue now, now.” - Dorcas about her friends.

[letters-by-tulip]

Love of your life: Jily

based on 21 by Gracie Abrams

wc: 721

I missed your 21st birthday, I've been up at home

Almost tried to call you, don't know if I should

Hate to picture you half-drunk happy

Hate to think you went out without me

Lily was sitting on the kitchen floor staring at her phone that lied at her feet. The clock on the oven read 11:37 p.m. She has watched the numbers change for the past hour. With a sigh she closed her eyes. The 27th of march should be a day like any other: waking up, going to class, chatting with Mary, working her shift at the small secondhand-shop “The Valkyries”, coming home, making dinner and going to bed. But for the past 5 years the 27th of march has been so much more. James birthday was always a big occasion, as sunshine personified many people knew him and wanted to celebrate. Lily imagined that right know he was probably laughing, trying to drunkenly play darts with Sirius in some dingy bar. The entire day she has been debating if she should call. It would probably be weird to call your ex after 7 months to congratulate him on his birthday. She wonders if he wants her to.

I'm sorry if you blame me, if I were you, I would

Thought you'd see it comin', but you never could

I still haven't heard from your family

But you said your mom always loved me

After everything went up in flames at the start of last semester they haven't really talked. Remus has told her he is doing better as of late after she begged him to tell her how he actually is. Lily knows she should be happy to hear that but she can't shake the uneasy feeling. She wonders if James blames her the way she blames herself. If she could just love him the way he loved her. He could never understand her. When she closes her eyes she still sees his face when she told him they should break up. His open mouth, his glossy eyes. Him begging to give them another chance. How they have overcome so many obstacles already. She feels sorry for his parents. They were always kinder than her own. Since the break up she hasn't heard from them. She hopes they're well.

I see the look in your eye and I'm bitin' my tongue

You'll be the love of my life when I was young

When the night is over

Don't call me up, I'm already under

I get a little bit alone sometimes and I miss you again

I'll be the love of your life inside your head

Breaking up with James was one of the hardest things she has ever done. Staying would have been so easy. The perfect guy to marry. Her uni girl friends always told her how she hit the jackpot with a boyfriend like James. Sweet, kind James who is so in love with her. Her prince charming, the man of her childhood daydreams. On days like these when she feels alone at night she misses him and his arms who would hold her close. Then she remembers that she felt even more alone there. He always looked at her with so much love in his eyes but was he ever seeing her for who she was? The Lily she is today? It was like she looked in the mirror and suddenly saw someone completely different than the person James saw. He was so in love with 13-year-old Lily that he didn't realize that she didn't exist anymore and he was living with a stranger.

Just because you're hurtin' doesn't mean I'm not

If it doesn't go away by the time I turn thirty

I made a mistake and I'll tell you I'm sorry

Remus told her that Sirius was furious. How could she betray James? How could she hurt him so much? As if she didn’t cry for a week and had to call out from work because she got a migraine. It still hurts to think about them and she wonders in the darkness of her room if she made a mistake. Mary told her it would get better but what if it doesn't? What if she’s still here on her kitchen floor in nine years? Will she call him and tell him that she's sorry?

[athenasparrow]

“you left your underwear back at my place.” Jily

Because this made me laugh when I read it

I hope this makes you laugh too @liiilyevans 😂

Rating: M

Send me a prompt

When Lily wakes up, it’s to a pounding headache and a bitter taste in her mouth that informs her – in a voice that sounds eerily like Petunia – that she shouldn’t have downed the five flaming vodka shots at the end of the night. But Marlene had already ordered them and it would’ve been such a waste.

Lily groans and reaches for her phone, determined to tell Marlene off for making her feel so damn horrible, but she's rather distracted by the message that blinks innocently at her on the screen.

Unknown: Hi : D You left your underwear at my place. Let me know when you're awake - I can drop them off.

Lily stares at the message...someone has obviously typed in the wrong number; it was hazy, but she remembers getting in the cab alone. And her underwear was still–

Oh no.

Lily frantically yanks up her dress, staring in horror at her very knickerless–

Lily: Who is this?

Had she shagged the cab driver? She couldn’t remember if he was cute or not. Oh god, what if she’d given in to the building super who had been hitting on her for months. He was like fifty! That would explain why he had her number. Shit, double shit. 

Lily: Is this Horace? 

Unknown: Wait, you're shagging Slughorn?

A wave of pure relief swept through Lily; she was not – thank god – shagging her super.

Lily: No! No more questions!

Who are you?

I’ve woken up with no knickers and am now checking the opening hours for my nearest chemist so I can go buy a fucking pregnancy test.

And get an STI screening!

I do not have time for games right now!

Tell me who you are and return my knickers at once!

Unknown:

Woah, hold on a sec

You don’t need a pregnancy test or an STI screening

At least not because of last night

Lily:

And how would you know that genius?

Unless you’re infertile and a virgin there’s a chance of both!

Again, who am I speaking with?????

Unknown: I am neither infertile nor a virgin

Lily: Then you don’t “know” shit, do you?

Unknown: But we did not have sex last night

Lily: Oh!

Unknown: And this is your neighbour, James

Lily: I don’t have a neighbour named James!

James: I beg to differ. Listen, can you answer your door?

Even with that warning, Lily still jumped when a sharp rap sounded in her apartment. She had quite a few things to say to this man! She didn’t have a neighbour named James; she would know, she’d been living in this apartment for three years. Alice and Frank lived down the hall – they were looking for a bigger place since the arrival of their little one – in number seven. Arabella – a lady who had more cats than square metres – lived in number six. Number five held a charming set of twins – Gideon and Fabian – who Lily was happy to flirt with every time they got mail at the same time. She was in number five and number four–

Oh no.

Lily doesn't have time to stop her hand as it reaches out in front of her and opens the door.

Fit bloke from number four.

He looks even more delicious and Lily is suddenly rather regretful he’d said they hadn’t shagged. But she’s distracted from that thought by the sudden assault of memories.

***

“Pads?” James calls, hearing the door slam shut. He barely glances up from his phone as he frowns at the latest next his mother’s sent him. 

He does jump up at the ensuing crash – and rather loud silence in place of his brother’s usual greeting – running to the hallway and greeted with a rather strange sight.

The beautiful redhead from number five is sprawled out on his floor and seems to be giving her shoe a rather harsh verbal lashing.

“What are you making me trip for, you stupid thing!”

“Are you sure it’s the shoe that made you trip and not the several glasses of whatever you’ve been drinking?” James interrupts with a laugh.

She spins around, obviously caught by surprise, before letting out a triumphant yell as she yanks one heel off, then the other, tossing them carelessly over her shoulder. James winces at the mark the first one leaves on his wall but decides it’s nothing when her second shoe narrowly misses the vase his mother had gifted him.

“I think you’re in the wrong apartment,” James says kindly. She looked quite plastered. “Would you like me to–”

“I’m not in the wrong apartment!” Lily interrupts confidently. “You’re fit-man!”

“I’m James actually?” James says, rather bewildered. “And if anyone is fit here, it’s you!”

The redhead looks rather delighted at his compliment. “That’s excellent that you think so! This will work rather nicely then!”

“What will work nic– Hey! What are you doing?” 

Jame thinks it’s a fair question since she’s hiked up her dress – he was not going to look – and was tugging her deep blue lacy knickers – no looking! – down her pale legs. 

“Well, how are we supposed to do it with them on?” The redhead says, shooting him a look that James thinks is supposed to mean duh when in reality, he’s quite far from understanding anything at the moment.

“It?” James asks, clearing his throat and happy she doesn't appear to notice he sounds like a frog.

“Don’t you know what sex is?” And now she’s giggling at him, bright and free and drunk.

“I know what sex is,” James feels the need to clarify. “But we can’t do it right now.” No matter how much I wish we could.

“Why not?” She demands, her eyes wide – and mesmerising – and horrified as she stares at him.

“Because you’re drunk,” James breaks to her gently, fighting back a laugh. “And I don’t even know your name.”

“Lily.” A pause. “I suppose it would be odd to have sex with me when you don’t know my name.”

James nods vigorously, glad she’s seeing some sense. Hopefully he can convince her to go back to her apartment so he doesn't have to keep telling his cock to stay the fuck down. 

“It’s a pity I’m drunk,” she tells him. “I was really hoping for an orgasm before bed, it really helps me sleep, you know?”

James chokes on the very air he was supposed to be breathing. He does know but he’s not going to tell her that. “I suppose you’ll have to sort that out yourself."

Lily heaves a long sigh like he’s announced Christmas has been cancelled. “Are you sure you can’t help me?” she pouts.

You’re sure James, he tells himself sternly. 

“I’m sure,” he confirms. “You’re drunk.” He says this out loud for his benefit as much as for hers.

“So you would help me if I wasn’t drunk?” 

I would bury my face between your legs and make you cum over and over again.

“Would love to,” James says instead. “If you still want to of course.”

“I’ll still want to,” Lily declares surely and James hopes so, but he won’t hold it against her if she doesn’t. “Oh no!”

“Oh no what?” 

“I’m going to be sick.”

Well shit. 

James scrambles to his feet, thankful the bathroom is in the hallway as he helps her stand and rushes her to the toilet. He holds her hair as she retches into the toilet and offers her a glass of water when she’s done. 

“Now I’ve ruined it” Lily sighs regretfully as she leans her cheek against the toilet seat.

“Ruined what?”

“My sexiness! This is decidedly un-sexy.”

He shouldn’t be flirting – she's drunk – but James can’t help but reassure her. “You could throw up in my toilet all day long and I’ll still think you're beautiful.”

“You would?”

“I would. But let’s talk about this tomorrow, okay? I think you could use some sleep.”

“You’re fit and nice. Do you think I could marry you someday?”

“How about we go on a sober date first,” James proposes, shoving aside the image of her in a white dress that his traitorous mind procures.

“If we must,” Lily hums, letting him pull her up. She grabs a pen off his console and – rather neatly, given how drunk she is – writes her number on his arm. “Now you can find me again!”

She looks so pleased with herself that James doesn’t remind her he only needs to walk three metres to her door. Instead, he grabs her shoes as he guides her out his door and down the hallway. When he sees her safely to bed – her eyes are already heavy – he slips out to leave her in peace. 

Damn. Her knickers.

He grins as he reaches into his pocket for his phone, typing in the numbers neatly scrawled on his arm.

James: Hi : D You left your underwear at my place…

[esorxy]

Reading ATYD Sirius POV after i saw this tiktok which was said "remus is barbie and sirius is ken" with the audio like "barbie has a good day everyday, but ken only has a good day if barbie looks at him" - and ive only read 20% so far but they could not be more correct!! Sirius is down so bad from the very beginning without even realising it

its actually quite good that i finished atyd months ago and can't really remember it because this is like rereading an old fanfiction without the bore of re-reading the same paragraphs.

and i can't really list out the highlights like i do with other fanfics (mostly jegulus) but it's just enjoyably well written with thorough developments for Sirius' characterisation and coming of age experience.

i was like 50k words in when i realised that atyd entails astronomical amounts of miscommunication which i hated the first time around. its too painfully canon... i missed when jegulus would solve everything. watching sirius and regulus' relationship fall apart so far was devastating, and i know sirius is the protagonist but like really, he totally could have still had his brother somewhat on his side. and i love regulus so that makes me sad and want to read jegulus fanfiction.

tldr; pros: so well written and developed, nostalgic; cons: miscommunication as a theme, canon = PAIN & SAD

generalised highlights

- Sirius being so annoyed at peter everyday lmfao

- the way he tried so hard to get through to remus

- i mentioned this last time that Sirius was such a sweet boyfriend to remus once they started dating, but from the very start, he was always considerate and protective of his more so than towards his other friends

- i love this author and i think it must have been fun writing this because the plot is set, and all the dialogue and chapters are set, but they still manage to come up with a full story and somewhat separate plots. I think this is an excellent example of "everyone is the main character of their own life." but secondly, they knew very well what they were doing. sirius was subconsciously head over heels for remus, and the omniscient reader (me) enjoys every second of it.

- sirius' thoughts towards mary so far are so funny i cant. hes like 'i should be feeling something but its just not happening'. boy is so confused. all her flirting and hes just *panics*. meanwhile remus puts a hand on his shoulder and hes like "ive never experienced something so good ever". oblivious gay awakening

~~~

i FORGOT this was the fic where sirius hit regulus with a bludger and gave him head trauma, and then sped all the way down to the ground to him. and IM DISTRAUGHT theres no comfort for regulus in canon. im going to have to read CR or OTB again after this...

the toast bit <3333 actually so adorable.

(edit: omg i FORGOT what the toast bit was so i had to ctrl f the whole fic to find it and omg it was sirius telling reggie that ghouls are afraid of toast so that he will sleep at night omg it IS cute. idk why i thought it would be sirius making moonys toast or something obviously wolfstar is not my cup of tea anymore)

sirius' life is just confusion, anger, confusion again, denial, convince me otherwise

~~~

- "actually, im always sirius" 🙄🙄🙄

- jily indifference club

- lowkey bored of wolfstar, sue me

- need to read MC regulus fics rn tbh

~~~

IM done!!!

final thoughts

- why was that so fucking sad

- Every fanfic author has a soft spot for regulus you can't convince me otherwise

-

[practicecourts]

Fic Author Self Rec

Fic authors self-rec! ✨ When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you’ve written, then pass on to at least five other writers ❤️

Thank you for the tag @annabtg

In no real order below you'll find 5 stories that I'm proud of writing.

But first, I want to let you know how much fun it is to receive these kinds of questions that make you think about what you're writing/have written... so thanks for that!! Also, to anyone who takes the time to read any of my stories, I want to apologise for all my writing errors (if you see any feel free to point them out to me;-) If you did enjoy something it's an absolute high for me to hear about that as well. I've learned so much in the past year just by starting to write and post and getting hearts & comments. I've met some amazing people online through this that have become friends I hope, and I've learned a lot from their feedback. I also want to thank anyone who ever wrote me kind comments. You have no idea how much that has encouraged me to try new things (I'd never in a million years thought I'd be writing an alternative Animages story or anything actually smutty, let alone more than just one or two things.), and this encouragement has made writing even more fun! It's something else when someone tells you they like the world or story you've created. (another thing about going back and picking 5 works, is that it made me see some sort of growth in my writing, but also it makes me want to hide a bit under a rock somewhere or edit the hell out of my earlier posted things) Self-esteem is a fickle thing. so again thanks for this ask/tag. 1) It Was a Clear Black Night, a Clear White Moon Jily, 7k. Hogwarts jily-challenge One shot.

Lily Evans, Head Girl, sees Jame Potter, Head Boy, sneak out of the castle on a full moon. She decides to follow him, perhaps not the best idea she ever had.

I'm proud of how this story turned out quite thrilling and not slap-stick (or at least I don't think so- lol) and also has some sweetness, and humour mixed with seriousness. Werewolves & full moons are serious business after all.

2) Beggin' Jily, 7k. One-shot. A tale of Jily moments seen through the eyes of Peter Pettigrew. He tries to make sense of his life, the war and the big things in the world such as love, friendship and how to survive after Hogwarts. He also wants very much to apologise. (see the end notes for spoilers). This idea wouldn't let me go and that's why it's here. Don't read this if you don't like sad things. I feel this is bittersweet and personally, that's something I enjoy reading myself.

3) Head over Handlebars For You Jily, multichapter Muggle AU unfinished 11/15, currently 39k. My first ever Jily Challenge prompt was the following: I hit you with my car/broom and was the only one to visit you in the hospital. Because I ride a carrier bike (with kids, a dog, or groceries in;-) almost every day, I wanted very much to have this crash happen with a carrier bike. As I feel the stigma is very much a family/mother bicycle I wanted James to be riding it. This story also has evolved into something I didn't expect (It's still the general idea I once had but I severely underestimated how much more to the story there was, and I've learnt a whole lot, just from writing this. I think this story is fun, a bit sexy, has some excitement, humour and has some serious moments. And there will be romance. because it's a jily modern fairy tale after all. I'm hoping to finish up the last 3-4 chapters and post them in April/May. 4) Revelation 1,3 K One shot - microfic. I like Lily's thoughts in this, I loved to try to write something short but still have something big happen. And I'm very much in awe of all the people who do that (say a lot in little words) much much better than me! Difficult to pick the last one, as much as I want to hide under a rock, and how much I'd like to improve all of them, there was a lot of love and time put into writing them ;-) but rules are rules... 5) Not the Doctor this is a crazy texting fic that is very much based on real life facts ;-) the hilariousness of having a James Potter Face claim actually work in the gynaecology department, and the horrors of said visit were impossible to ignore and then the story basically wrote itself. It's not deep. I'm sure it's not very good either, but it was fun *to write*. Not to worry, it all ends well (both in this fic as IRL ;-)

Tagging @abihastastybeans @uncertainwallflower @turanga4 @glitterwitch1 @lanaturnergetup

[charmsandtealeaves]

For the wip game snippet from boots??? And the revenge sweetness??? I’m intrigued

Okay I am currently somewhat overwhelmed by the level of love Brown Boots & Breakfast Bagels has been receiving. I woke up to SIX comments this morning after posting chapter 3 last night. Which to me is absolutely insane. So here's a little snippet from the upcoming chapter 4 (which may or may not come out later today 😉).

“You say it like I don’t already know all this Ali. I want a serious relationship! I want someone who I’m happy to come home to everynight and eat dinner with. I want to go to bed feeling safe and warm and loved and all the shit you’ve got with Frank. I’ve tried. I tried with Benji, I tried with Amos-” “No Lily. You didn’t.” Alice interrupted sternly. “You picked men who weren’t ready for serious relationships. You picked men in their mid twenties who still act like teenagers. You went on a few dates and you shagged them. You wanted to fix them up the way you wanted but they didn’t want to be fixed. And when they didn’t want that you didn’t want them. So you dropped them and moved onto the next thing or went back to Snape for a pity fuck. I love you Lily I do. But you’re not going to give Caradoc a proper chance until you’ve settled whatever it was with James. For whatever reason you opened up and trusted James and you feel like he’s thrown it back in your face. You’re angry and you’re hurt. I can understand that. But you don’t just get hurt and move on. You get hurt and try to cause more hurt or shut down. You gotta rip the plaster off this time girl. Confront James, have it out with him and then seriously give it a go with Caradoc. Fuck this ‘don’t screw the crew rule’. If it works out, that’s great. If it doesn’t it just doesn't. He’s already shown he can be mature about it after all the times you’ve rejected him previously. You know how to remain professional so just take the bloody chance will you. You deserve to be happy Lily more than anyone I know. But being happy starts with YOU.” 

As for Revenge Tastes Sweeter. I've hit a bit of a slump with that. I originally planned to have a fair amount written before I started to publish it, but I think I might just roll with it and start publishing it because clearly I can be motivated to write by kudos and comments 🤣

It's an extension/sequel to one of the pieces I wrote for Jilytober Fest, Bad Taste. It's essentially a Jily fake dating fic which I only wrote because @joyseuphoria suggested it. I know I've shared a snippet of it previously but I can't for the life of me find the post (can you tell I'm bad at tagging things? I'm trying to work on that). So here it is again:

James stepped forward and bent down to kiss Lily gently on the lips. The hem of her school skirt touched him just below the knee. Her lips were soft and melded nicely with his. Though only briefly, before he pulled away. She looked up at him slightly disappointed.  “What are you doing with your hands Potter?”  James looked down at his hands which he’d firmly put back into his pockets prior to kissing her. “What am I supposed to do with them?”  “Oh I don’t know. Touch my face? The small of my back? Something other than just shoved in your pockets.” Lily suggested.  “Well I don’t know do I? I don’t exactly want a hexing for putting my hands somewhere they shouldn’t be.” He replied exasperated. 

So maybe two fic chapters will be coming out this weekend... watch this space.

[winryofresembool]

Get to Know Me meme

Thank you @athenasparrow for the tag!!! :)

Last song: Taylor Swift Eras tour spoilers (if I have someone who wants to avoid those following me!)

...

Um, possibly Karma by Taylor Swift since that was the last song she sang in her concert and I spent a /lot/ (too much) of yesterday finding clips from the said concert. Also currently have this is me trying open in a tab but haven’t listened to it yet. 

Last Show: (referring to my previous answer) Watching a concert online doesn’t count, right? In that case, I think it was Diandra’s (a Finnish singer) concert in November. Yeah, I don’t really get to go to these often bc I live in the middle of nowhere :d

Currently watching: I watch very few TV shows these days (aside from certain anime but I’m not gonna list them here) but I currently have a tinykittens (a Canadian cat rescue organisation) livestream open and I take a peek at it every once in a while. Those Bramble kittens are super cute ♥ (I would absolutely love it if I happened to have a fellow TinyVillager following me! So if you do, pls come talk to me!)

Currently reading: While my TBR list is ever growing, I have to be honest, I haven’t really been reading published books for several months now. Blame the Jily fics. They are way better :P But if I have to mention one, I’ve been reading this book by the Finnish translator of Harry Potter (Jaana Kapari) where she tells about her translating process and it’s honestly pretty interesting, makes me wish I was a translator too.

(As for the Jily fics, do not ask me how many fic tabs I have currently open. I literally just visited the Jily tag here and was like :--------O ‘Oh wow, a lot of authors seem to have decided to post stuff last night’)

Current obsession: my poor friend @criis55 who has to listen to my ramblings every day would be able to testify for this: currently it’s Taylor Swift. I wanna talk about what my relationship with her music is because I’m not a long time Swiftie unlike so many of the people I’ve seen here are. I first started paying attention to some of her songs maaaaybe around the time I started writing Caleo fics so ~ 2020 (obviously I knew some of her hit songs before that but I couldn’t call myself a fan) but a year later she released Red (TV), incl. All Too Well 10 minute version and that was probably when I started thinking, hey, this song is wonderful, I should give a chance to her other songs too. Since then I’ve been slowly getting more familiar with her other albums (it’s been a longish process bc she has a /lot/ of songs and as a non native English speaker I need to be able to see the lyrics to know what’s really going on in the song) and found more songs that I enjoy. This very week is an important milestone to me when it comes to me being her fan because she just released 4 new songs/new versions of her old songs and started her tour and I get to follow it from the beginning and as a relatively new fan I find all that really exciting. Hence you may also see me talking about this more here on tumblr as well. 

Well, other than TS, Jily ofc remains high on my current obsessions list ♥

Tagging: @criis55 if you happen to want to do this, no pressure ♥

[booksarelife-stuff]

December Jily Challenge @jilychallenge | Partnered with the amazing @hpeveryonelives​

Prompt: "you are my only competition for this ugly sweater party, but I’ve won the past two years and you will nOT end my streak."

Summary:  She was going to tell him she loved him through the ugliest jumper he had ever seen.

Word Count: 3,622

Read on ao3     Masterlist

It hits her on November 4th, the day after Sirius’s birthday, when she wakes up hungover in her and Mary’s flat.

She drags herself out of bed and quickly crawls to the bathroom, where Mary is already, bent over with her head down on the counter.

Neither of them speak until Lily has her potion down and sat on the floor, her back resting against the cool tub.

“I think we must have had fun last night,” Mary said. “Too much.”

Lily closed her eyes and let out a groan of agreement.

“It makes me miss James ten times more,” Lily said. “He would have given us water and sobering potions before we went to bed.”

“You say you miss him at least four times a day,” Mary mumbled.

And then it hits her like a punch to the gut. So forceful, it takes her breath away. When he first told her that was going to be spending a few months in Germany, studying even more advanced animal transfiguration with some grumpy German scholar for Professor McGonagall, she was sad, yet excited for him.

She spent almost every evening with him. Whether it was James laying on her couch while Lily complained about how her supervisor at St. Mungos was a total idiot, from cooking dinner together to catching James up on all the important Muggle movies there were, James had become an integral part of her day.

And now he had been gone for two weeks and Lily felt like someone had tied her wand arm behind her back.

“Mary?” Lily asked. “How long have I been in love with James?”

Mary scoffs.

“I’d say Christmas of 7th year for sure.”

Lily’s head made a thunk as she threw her head back, trying to process this information. In hindsight, Lily saw how that made sense.

~~~

Lily couldn’t help the sobs that escaped her chest. She had tried to keep it together until she got back to her dorm, tried to hold back the utter devastation that threatened to take hold of her.

She only made it to the third-floor corridor, in a tiny alcove by a window before she started to sob, the letter crushed in her arms as she tried to wrap her arms around herself for comfort.

“Evans,” a deep, familiar voice called. “Hey, are you okay?”

Through her blurred vision, she could make out the tall lanky form of James.

James, who had become one of her closest friends this year.

It had been an unexpected development that year, like a lot of other things. She had been home for one week for the summer holidays when her father was killed in a car accident. Her father, who had been the only one in her household who hadn’t looked at her like she was a freak since finding out she had magic. He was the one to pick her up from the train station and drop her off. He was essentially the only family she had left.

James had sent a letter when he heard. He had lost his own father early in their 6th year. They corresponded frequently over the summer holiday, sharing their grief. And by the time September 1st rolled around, she was happy to see him.

So she welcomed his arms wrapped around her, whispering words of comfort. She buried her face into his chest and just cried.

She didn’t know how long it was before she calmed down before she could hear James’s whispered words and feel the gentle sway he was rocking them as one arm held her tight against him and while his other gently smoothed down her hair.

“My mum told me not to come home from Christmas,” she whispered, her voice breaking.

“What?” James whispered, disbelief colouring his tone.

“My sister, she-she’s engaged,” Lily said. “And Mum said he doesn’t know about me, that if he did, it would ruin Petunia’s life.”

He squeezed her tighter as more tears fell from her eyes onto his chest. She was probably ruining his jumper, just like she ruined everything else.

“Lily,” James said, his voice firm but still soft. “That’s not true. That is absolutely not true. Merlin, Lily.”

He just held her tightly before she pulled away, wiping her face with the sleeve of her robe.

“I’m sorry for that,” she whispered.

“Don’t apologise,” he said, his brown looking so sad that she had to look away from him.

“I don’t want to spend Christmas by myself,” Lily said, new tears falling just when she thought she was out of them.

“You won’t be,” James promised. “Come to mine.”

She looked at him, surprised.

“Mum will love to have you,” James said, his tone leaving no room for argument. “And we live in a bloody manor, so there’s more than enough room.”

Lily opened her mouth to say something, she didn’t know what but she couldn’t possibly impose, but James cut her off.

“I'm going to tell you what Mum told me when I first became friends with Sirius and Remus and noticed that not everyone had a family like I did,” he said, placing a hand on Lily’s shoulder and eyes looking intensely into hers. “Mum told me that some people have limits on their love.

Like for Sirius, his parents could only love him if he just catered to their whims and beliefs and once he didn’t, they had no love. It was conditional for them. But then there are other people who have no limits, no conditions to whom they love. And Mum told me when I was eleven, that all Potter’s have no limit.”

He laughed a little, breaking the tension. “I know it’s a little more nuanced than that, but that’s stuck with me. So Evans, come to our Christmas because there will be more than enough love and holiday cheer for everyone. Mum would probably come here and get you herself if you don’t.”

~~~

“How do I tell him?” Lily asked, clutching her mug tightly in her hands, letting the warmth seep into her fingers.

“How about a ‘Dear James, I’ve been oblivious to the fact that I’ve wanted to jump your bones since 7th year. Get the next portkey please,’” Mary replied sarcastically from the stove, where she was making eggs.

“You’re no help,” Lily grumbled. “My life has been turned upside down and you’re not helping!”

Mary sighed. “I think you should wait until he’s back because if you write him a love letter, he’s going to come back the second he reads it and ruin this opportunity he was given.”

Lily nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

“But when he’s back, just tell him.”

Lily circled the rim of her mug with a finger and frown on her lips.

“What if he doesn’t feel the same?”

Her heart threatened to break at the thought of it. He hadn’t even hinted at having a crush on her since they were 5th year and even then, they had been the best of friends since 7th. What if the ship had already sailed? What if he brings some hot German girl home for Christmas and they’re in love?

She voiced these thoughts to Mary, who gave her a stern glare as she dumped her scrambled eggs on a plate.

“You guys write every day. Has he mentioned a hot German girl?”

“No, but he still has time to find one,” Lily pointed out.

“I think you’re hanging out with Sirius too much,” Mary said, jabbing her fork into her eggs.

“I’m sorry, it just feels like so much, you know? I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way before.”

That was only a half-truth. Since 7th year, James had made her some type of way, she just didn’t know what it was until now. The butterflies in her stomach for the whole second semester of 7th year and that had now morphed into contentment she felt when she saw James sprawled out on her and Mary’s sofa.

“He’s still James,” Mary pointed out after swallowing a bite. “He’s still the person you knew before you learned to call it what it was.”

Lily tucked a strand of hair behind her ears, itching to do anything with her hands.

“What if he doesn’t feel the same, Mary?” that fear clawed in Lily’s chest.

“I personally think he does,” Mary said, easing her anxiety. “But if he doesn’t, you won’t lose him. If he doesn’t love you romantically, that boy loves you deeply as a friend. And I know you can move on.”

Lily rested her head on the table and wished she was still hungover only for the fact she wouldn’t be thinking so hard about this.

~~~

It was November 25th when the invitation to Marlene and Dorcas’s annual Christmas Eve Ugly Jumper Contest and Party. Marlene and Dorcas had taken over one of the old McKinnon properties and used it as headquarters for their luxury wizarding knitwear line. The ugly jumper competition was a way of celebrating their business and handing out free samples to those they wanted to wear and endorse their products, each invitation coming with one of their Easy-Change-Jumpers, jumpers that were made with materials that easily allowed any transfiguration or regular charms.

Being friends since they were eleven, all of Marlene and Dorcas’s friends from school got invited too, along with whatever Witch Weekly model or star Quidditch player.

She could practically hear the trash talking James would be doing if he were beside her right now. He had taken this contest very seriously and had won every year so far.

When she got James’s letter that night, confirming that he would be home just in time for the party, an idea formed so brightly that Lily dashed to Flourish and Blotts as fast as she could apparate, looking for books that had crafting charms and transfiguration spells.

She was going to tell him she loved him through the ugliest jumper he had ever seen.

When Lily and Mary Floo’d to Marlene and Dorcas’s, Sirius and Remus were hanging Christmas decorations.

“About time you slackers showed up,” Sirius said, jumping to hand Remus, who was on a ladder, a string of Christmas lights.

“You know you’re wizards right?” Mary pointed out. “Like, you could do this in two seconds.”

“There’s nothing more satisfying than the manual labour that goes into Christmas decorations, Macky,” Sirius said.

“Said the man too scared to get up on the ladder,” Remus huffed.

“You’re already tall. It makes sense!” Sirius defended, flipping some shoulder-length black hair over his shoulder. “Right, Evans?”

Sirius turned around and his eyes were drawn to Lily’s jumper. Lily watched as his brow furrowed.

“You know it’s Christmas, right? Not Valentine’s?” he pointed out. Mary snorted.

Lily couldn’t help but feel proud that Sirius was visibly repulsed by the sight of her jumper.

On the bodice of the jumper, there was a snowy winter scene, complete with Christmas trees that were glittering with lights but instead of a star or angel on top of the tree, there were big red, glittery hearts, while the sky of the scene was dotted with tiny pink glittery hearts. On the sleeves, there were pink hearts in various sizes covering the sleeve, one could barely make out the black fabric of the jumper.

But the thing she was most proud of was the stag and doe, that were affectionately chasing each other in front of the Christmas trees in an endless loop.

She had made them Christmassy as well, their noses bright red and shiny, but the message was clear as she looked down to see the enchanted embroidered doe nuzzle into the stag.

A love confession in a sweater.

Sirius eyed the animals and then his eyes went wide.

“Oh, you realised it now?” he asked, watching as the doe then took off to go to the back of the jumper, begging the stag to chase her.

“Did everyone know except for me?” Lily asked.

A chorus of “Yes” rang out in the room before Sirius added. “Well, I’m certain James doesn’t know either.”

Her stomach was tied in knots as she helped finish setting up the party. She gave hugs to all her friends as they arrived, all of them eyeing her jumper with knowing looks. Marlene had straight-up cackled when she saw it and Alice quietly prodded with a “James’s animagus is a stag, right?”

Lily tried to pretend that she wasn’t getting more and more anxious by the second. As more and more people arrived, Lily actually felt nauseous at the fact that James would be stepping through the Floo at any moment.

She tried to distract herself with conversations, but she would just end up glancing at the fireplace every few minutes.

She tried her hardest to focus on what Dorcas was saying about ethically sourced wool when the rush of the Floo started and green flames bathed the room in a green glow.

Lily’s heart jumped into her throat as James stepped out of the fireplace.

He looked so damn good, even with his monstrosity of a jumper on. His black hair was longer than she had ever seen it, the ends curling around his ears and on his forehead and there was a shadow of stubble on his face, accenting his strong jaw.

And then he looked across the room, a smile forming on his face which brought out his dimple and Lily ever wondered how she thought her feelings for him were platonic.

His eyes caught hers and she smiled despite the nerves bubbling up in her stomach. She’s vaguely aware of handing Dorcas her half-drunk cup before breaking away to get to James, whose eyes never left hers.

Once they're close, Lily looks down at his jumper and laughs before he pulls her into an itchy and loud hug. It looks like his sweater is actually made out of pine branches, with lights, ornaments, with jingle bells somewhere in the mix, causing his every move to jingle.

“I missed you,” he said, his deep voice rich in her ear. She found she couldn’t care less about the branch that was scratching her face.

“I missed you, too,” she replied. “How was your portkey?”

“It was fine,” he said. “I’m just so happy to be home.”

She smiled widely. “I’m happy you’re home.”

He released her and inspected her jumper.

“Hearts, Evans?” James teased. “Wrong holiday.”

“That’s what Sirius said,” she said.

James’s head cocked to the side as the stag and doe appeared on her front. Lily saw a flicker of something in his eyes. Lily braced herself; this was her moment. Her moment to all down all her cards.

“That’s really cute,” James said, making the words die on her tongue. “And pretty good charms work.”

Whatever was in his eyes was now gone.

“James!” Sirius yelled before coming up and hugging James tightly, jingling as James stumbled backward for a moment.

Lily stepped away as they caught up, but James kept her in the orbit, giving her a look that told her to stay with them and giving her hand a quick squeeze.

“How’s the new transfig you’re learning?” Remus asked after Sirius and James had a contest about who missed who more.

“It was pretty wicked,” James said. “Once you know the exact theories behind transfig, it’s almost as easy as breathing.”

“Who knew you’d turn into such a nerd,” Sirius commented over his cup of spiked apple cider.

“Don’t pretend you weren’t all about this in school,” Remus scoffed.

“Like he wasn’t like this just last year, trying to get that damn bike to fly,” Lily added on. James laughed beside her and she smiled and turned to look at him. He met her gaze for a second and smiled before turning back to the conversation. Lily’s eyes stayed glued to him, eyeing the curls around the nape of his neck.

“Ugh, I don’t want to think about that Sirius ever again,” Remus said, wrinkling his nose. “Couldn’t get him to shower.”

“Slander,” Sirius said, with a frown.

In a moment of bravery, Lily reached up and started twirling a curl around her finger. James jumped a little in surprise, jingling a little, but didn’t pull away from her. In fact, he placed a hand on the small of Lily’s back.

“You wouldn’t stop reading that old Muggle mechanics book,” James said. “Had to pull it out of your hands.”

“Hm, don’t remember that,” Sirius remarked.

Lily didn’t pay much attention to the conversation around her. She just kept twirling James’s hair around her fingers and staring at his jaw, wondering how the stubble would feel against her lips or tongue even. Not that she would just lick his face, but she still wondered.

James pulled her closer at one point and he turned and looked down at her, brown eyes warm, she thought for a second he was about to kiss her, but he had a concerned look on his face.

“Are you drunk?” he asked, low enough for only her to hear.

“No,” she said, frowning slightly. “Only had some alcohol-free cider.”

His look of concern turned into a frown.

“Are you trying to make someone jealous?” he asked.

“No,” she sighed. “Can I talk to you somewhere quiet and private?”

He nodded. Lily dropped her hand from his neck and grabbed his hand, lacing her fingers through his, her heart thumping loudly again.

Everywhere in the house seemed to be filled with people, so eventually Lily pulled him out to the back porch, despite the biting cold, James jingling behind her.

Lily hopped up on the railing on the edge of the porch, her feet dangling as James stood in front of her, a searching look on his face.

“Everything okay?” James asked.

Lily stared at him and bit the inside of her cheek.

“Look at my jumper,” she said.

“I did?”

“See the hearts?”

He nodded.

“And the deer?”

“Yes, Lily. I can see them. I saw them.”

Lily sighed. “What’s my Patronus?”

“A doe,” James replied, a twinge of frustration in his tone.

“What’s yours?”

“A stag,” he answered. “Lily, did you hit your head on something?”

Lily wiped a hand down her face, getting just as frustrated.

“I am quite literally standing in front of you with my heart on my sleeve, James! I love you, okay? I don’t know how else to spell it out for you,” Lily said, jumping down from the railing.

James looked shocked, his mouth agape and his eyes blinking.

The rejection hit her in a wave, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

“God, I’m sorry. This was stupid—so stupid,” Lily said closing her eyes and shaking her head. “Just forget it. Sorry, I’m going to go.”

She started marching right to the door, wanting to get to the Floo before she really started sobbing. She was going to kill all her friends who told her this was a good idea.

Lily didn’t even make it past James, him grabbing her arm and stopping her.

“James, I’m sorry. Please let—”

“Stop.”

His hand cupped her jaw and gently raised her head to look up at him. “Lily,” he breathed out.

James was smiling, his eyes bright. His thumb brushed the corner of her mouth. His hand left her arm and snaked behind her, pulling her to him.

“I love you, too,” he whispered. “I just wasn’t expecting it, okay? I love you so much.”

“Really?” she asked, her voice sounding small to her ears. He nodded.

“I’ve been trying to figure out how to tell you but I didn’t want to—”

“—Ruin our friendship?” she finished with a small smile.

James laughed, low and deep, his sweater jingling. She reached up, and cupped his jaw, feeling the rough drag of his stubble against her palm, her other fisting some of the pine branches on his chest.

She looked up into his eyes, the heat of gaze making her forget about the fact they were standing outside in freezing temps.

“I love you,” he whispered again, leaning his head down.

Lily stood on her toes and met him halfway, capturing him into a sweet kiss. Her heart felt like bursting as his lips slid with hers. It took her breath away, the softness in which James kissed her like she was precious, something to be savoured like her lips were a delicacy. The only thing rough was the drag of his facial hair, but Lily found she loved it. It was just more sensation.

She had never been kissed like that before, never felt like she was being treasured from just a kiss. Lily deepened the kiss and even then, every movement felt like he was praising her.

It wasn’t until James moved, just a little, and jingled. They broke their kiss to laugh.

“Wanna get out of here?” Lily asked, batting her eyelashes.

James hummed.

“No.”

Lily frowned.

“Why not?”

“I have an ugly jumper contest to win and once I do, you can congratulate me properly,” he said, smirking.

“You still think you’re going to win?” she said, lifting her chin.

“Oh, I know I am, Evans.”

“You should probably be rooting for me,” Lily said, smirking. “Considering this jumper is the reason you’re getting laid tonight.”

She pushed him away and started back to the house, smirking at James’s squawk of surprise.

She made it back to the house but didn’t get far when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her from behind.

“Okay, fine. Your jumper is better,” James breathed into her ear.

“Thank you,” she said. “Oh, and James? I love you, too.”

[missgryffin]

Stuck 🎡

@efkgirldetective's Summer of Jily prompt: carnival + we're getting good at this 🎡🎡🎡 It should also be noted that this prompt in turn prompted excessive Googling of the different names around the world for cotton candy 🤣 Typing "candy floss" over and over was very strange for me, ha! Below and on AO3.

Not for the first time that night, Lily wondered what she'd been thinking when she invited her fellow Gryffindors to her hometown's summer carnival.

Well, to be fair, she'd only invited Mary, but she should have known that an invite for Mary is as good as an invite for Sirius, and Sirius didn't do anything without James, with whom he lived, and so what had initially been meant to be a low-key girls night had turned into an evening reminiscent of an awkward double-date when neither couple was actually dating.

Lovely.

Lily picked at her candy floss, shuffling her feet as the line budged up.

"We're next," Mary breathed excitedly. "Ready, Black?"

"No," he mumbled through gritted teeth.

"Still afraid of heights, are you?" Lily teased.

Sirius cast her a glare. "I'm not afraid of heights—"

"Uh-huh."

"—I just don't—" He caught himself, looking around surreptitiously before lowering his head toward Lily's ear. "I don't trust these Muggle contraptions not to drop me, is all."

Lily snorted, stuffing her mouth with more candy floss as the bored-looking teenager working the ride ushered Mary and Sirius toward the next carriage. Just as the safety bar clicked into place, Lily called, "You're right not to, by the way."

His eyes bugged. "What the fuck, Evans?"

But Lily only laughed and waved. "Hope we don't get stuck!"

Sirius turned with a huff to face front as the next carriage opened.

"Guess this is us," James said from her other side, and Lily's heart skipped a beat at the sound of his voice. She'd almost forgotten he was there. Almost being the key word, as trying to forget she was destined to ride the ferris wheel with him necessarily involved thinking about riding the ferris wheel with him.

"Right," she managed, sliding past him and into the rickety metal seat. It moved when she sat, then jostled some more as James slid in beside her.

"Safety bar," the bored-looking teenager drawled. Lily dutifully sat up straight, determinedly keeping her gaze on her shoes dangling in front of her as the safety bar was lowered into place in front of them.

With another jolt, the carriage lurched forward before stopping again to load passengers into the carriage behind them.

"Crikey," James muttered. "It's like riding an expired Cleansweep Seven."

Lily snorted. "What? Brooms expire?"

James blinked at her. "Er, yeah? It's why they have to keep coming out with new models? The spellwork wears off after awhile, though if you care for them properly, they can last longer."

"Sentient things, aren't they?" Lily joked, and James chuckled, reaching to pluck a bite of candy floss from the cloud confection she held on a stick between them.

Their carriage jolted forward again, but this time, it continued on a slow, circular climb. Lily closed her eyes, enjoying the tickle of a breeze on her face.

"I'd say we're getting good at this," James said casually.

Lily cracked a sideways eye at him. "Getting good at what?"

"Coexisting."

Though the ride was going up, Lily felt her stomach drop as if it had just decided to pull a rollercoaster and plummet to the ground.

"Oh," she said lamely, fixing her eyes on her shoes. "Er, yeah, I suppose."

Next to her, James sucked in a breath, and his next words hit her like dagger to the heart. "At least, it seems like you don't outright hate me anymore, and if we're going to be Heads together, it's good we can, you know. Get along."

Lily swallowed hard, dragging her eyes up to look at him. He had a small crease in his brow, his eyes searching hers from behind his glasses. Though he hadn't asked a question, she could tell he was waiting for an answer.

"Yeah," she agreed, and then she mentally kicked herself. Yeah? That's all her pathetic pea of a brain could come up with?

Yeah, her brain seemed to answer defiantly. It is. Because just the presence of that body so close to hers, its warmth radiating more intensely than any August heat, and just the sight of that hair, endearingly windswept despite the still air, knocked the air from her lungs and the words from her normally witty mouth.

But James just grinned sideways at her, one dimple popping in his cheek, and plucked another bite of candy floss.

"Good."

Good? What was she supposed to say back to good?

"I'm surprised you like candy floss, Evans."

Her panicking thoughts were quickly relegated to the back of her brain with this new distraction. "What? Why?"

James shrugged. "You like sour sweets."

Lily just stared at him. "How d'you know that?"

He gaped slightly, then stammered, "Uh, because I've—I dunno—known you since we were eleven?"

Apparently the sugar had caused her brain to shut off contact with her mouth, because the next words that tumbled out of her were, "Well that makes me feel lousy because I've known you since we were eleven and I've fancied you since last year, and I still don't know what your favorite sweets are."

A collective gasp rose up around them as the carriage swung wildly to the soundtrack of a sudden clanging, grinding noise. Lily's free hand flew to safety bar, bracing herself hard against the seat back, and only when the shock of coming to a (literal) screeching halt had subsided did she look sideways at her seat mate.

Who was already staring at her, mouth agape like he hadn't just lived the same near-death experience.

"You fancy me?"

She sighed, squinting her eyes shut. "Can we forget I said that?"

"Absolutely not."

Below them, a voice called through a megaphone: "Hold tight, folks. We've encountered a small glitch, but we'll have you back up and running in a 'mo."

Despite herself, Lily chuckled. "Sirius is probably shitting himself right now."

"Lily, I'm shitting myself right now."

The sound of her first name in his voice did something to her heart she'd never felt before. She swallowed hard. "I'm sorry," she stuttered, "I know you don't—and now we have to—it's stupid—just, please, can we just forget it?"

The light touch of his thumb to her arm showed her what she'd somehow missed: that in the flurry of blabbing her feelings whilst getting stuck, he'd rested an arm behind her on the seat.

"Lily, what the hell are you talking about? That I don't what?"

There it was again. Lily. Rich and low and kind. And his eyes were boring into hers, the setting sun casting a golden glow across his face, glinting off his glasses.

Her throat felt like it was stuffed with candy floss. "You don't—fancy me. Anymore."

Silence. Lily considered slipping under the safety bar—could she Apparate mid-free-fall? Yeah, she'd back herself on that—

James chuckled softly, a grin splitting his face as he rested an elbow on said safety bar and pinched his nose under his glasses.

Blood simmered under her skin. "Well you don't have to laugh at me about it," she snapped. "It's not like I wanted to fancy an arrogant git—"

"I'm not—"

"You know, I'd thought you'd grown up—"

"I have—"

"But maybe coexistence is the best we can hope fo—"

Lips pressed against hers, soft and sweet with sugar. Lily froze, heart suddenly pounding like mad, mind racing—

James broke the kiss and whispered, "You don't mean that."

"No," Lily agreed, lips still tingling.

Fingers grazed her cheek. "And I do still fancy you."

"I, um." Lily licked her lips. "I gathered that. From the—kissing me."

His mouth quirked in a smile. "So we fancy each other."

"Yeah," she breathed. Drat, there she went again. Yeah? Of all the romantic potential in this moment, she went with yeah?

His smile only widened. "So I'm going to kiss you again, yeah?"

She didn't even get the word out this time, only a small nod before his lips were back on hers, but this time she kissed him back, tilting her head to taste more of that sweetness—

"Oi!"

Lily turned her head slowly, sluggish and dizzy with James, to look down at that familiar voice just a slight ways behind them.

Sirius grinned wickedly. "Toss down the candy floss, we need provisions for the show."

"You're a bloody wanker," Lily called, words apparently no issue when it came to Sirius Black. But she plucked a hearty bite of candy floss for herself before tossing it bridal-style over her shoulder.

Mary's playful shriek told her they'd caught it, but Lily was distracted by the sight in front of her: James, stealing her bite of candy floss with his mouth, his lips rosy as they sucked her fingertips, eyes leveled on her the entire time.

And she did the only thing she could think of, the only thing that made sense amongst her skittering nerves and swooping stomach, and cupped his cheeks in her palms as she kissed him like she'd been wanting to kiss him for months now.

James groaned softly, hands skimming her arm, her thigh, before finding purchase at her waist, her neck, her hair, and only when she felt a new breeze stir on her skin did she realize they were moving again, that the swooping sensation throughout her body was just as much from the ride as it was from snogging James.

James.

Only the feel of his smile against her mouth alerted her to the fact that they weren't snogging anymore.

"Say that again," he murmured.

"Hmm?"

"My name. Say that again."

The realization she'd spoken it aloud somehow did nothing to the already wild thudding of her heart, and the word was back on her lips, tasting sweeter than she'd ever imagined: "James." She nuzzled around his nose. "I rather like being stuck with you."

"Good," he said quietly, thumbs swiping gentle patterns over her skin, "Because you're stuck with me for the whole year, Head Girl."

Lily chuckled into his mouth and teased, "Good thing we're getting good at this."

His eyes flicked between hers, molten in the setting sun. "Good at what, exactly?"

She bit gently on his lower lip before answering with a wink, "Coexisting."

There. Finally, her brain was back to normal functioning levels of cheek.

And before his grin could work across his face, she pulled him back in for a kiss, hands sliding up into that inky hair, thinking not for the first time that night that she'd been hoping something very much like this would happen.

[keepingupwithpotters]

come swim in my ocean

For @efkgirldetective ‘s second week of summer of jily 🌊🌊🌊 with some minor wolfstar thrown in there

swimming with friends + today we're younger than we're ever gonna be (✨vibes✨)

Lily didn’t think they would actually do it.

Sure, it was a fun concept to joke about with your friends, but that’s all it was supposed to be — a dare everybody laughs at but does not try to execute.

She tries to gauge whether it’s too late to chicken out without losing her dignity. She can hear clothes hitting the sand as they’re thrown over carelessly between laughter.

Welp. No turning back now.

She realizes her mistake when she’s the only one left standing with clothes on.

“Well, c’mon Evans. This was your brilliant plan.”

“A plan that made me reevaluate all my previous assessments of you. Who knew Evans had it in her?” She can’t see his face in the dark, but she knows Sirius just winked at her.

She pathetically tries one more time to bring them back from this terrible decision. “You know, I’m starting to think this isn’t such a good idea after all.”

“Ah, come off it Lily,” Marlene yells from… somewhere. “What? You can talk the talk but won’t strip for the walk?”

“It’s not the skinny-dipping part that’s the problem,” she insists unconvincingly, “it’s the night part. The water is probably freezing right now.”

“I’m happy to do this with you again in the morning, Evans.” She tries to resist the usual urge of looking at James when he talks. “But if that’s your only excuse, the water is just fine.”

Peter helpfully flicks some water to Lily to prove James’ point.

Damn it. The water is actually rather nice.

Feeling ganged up on, she sighs deeply to show her displeasure with the turn of events, and starts to work on her clothes quickly. She won’t give them the satisfaction of turning her back while doing it though or acknowledge Mary’s loud whoop – which she shouted in the wrong direction.

Finally out of her last piece of clothing, she grabs the closest hand she can find, and tugs on it once before running into the water.

The loud splashing they make alerts the others to their new location. One by one they come into the sea, sometimes with shrieks and sometimes with swears.

Her companion laughs when the last two dark figures dip into the water as well, it was Remus after all, and turns to her general direction. “I gotta hand it to you, Lily. You’re really committed to cause maximum damage to James’ brain.”

Before Lily can answer him, they are interrupted by Sirius’ loud bellowing, “Wherefore art thou, Moony? Tell that red headed wench it’s not nice to steal my boyfriend for herself.”

“Tell it to the wench yourself,” Lily shouts back before realizing her mistake. Now located by the others, loud splashes fill her ear from everywhere as they all swim to their direction. She makes an honorable attempt to escape with Remus before giving up, not feeling ready for a swimming race with five people on their tail.

James and Sirius are the first ones to reach them, because of course they are, and she leaves Remus to his boyfriend before Sirius starts yelling more Shakespeare quotes. She is just about to swim towards Mary and Marlene to meet them halfway when a hand on her ankle stops her.

“You’re not cruel enough to leave me alone with them when they are naked, are you Evans?”

“Hate to break it to you but I’m very much naked as well, Potter,” she grins cheekily.

“Oh, believe me, I’m aware of that.”

She curses the new moon once more for although providing a very nice opportunity to look at the stars, doesn’t let her see James’ expression.

She can hear the girls catching up to them slowly with Peter not far behind. “Let me save you then, Potter. Are you up for a little swimming?”

Not waiting for his answer, which she can only guess is an enthusiastic nod, she starts to swim away from the upcoming party, knowing he’ll follow.

They are careful not to go deeper, only sideways, until they leave their friends’ earshot. With an unspoken agreement they stop, Lily finally allowing herself to gaze at the sky. She assumes that’s what James is doing too until he interrupts her thoughts.

“I’d hoped it would be brighter.”

She doesn’t answer him, her silence prompting James to explain himself. “The starlight, I mean. Don’t get me wrong, it's beautiful, but it’s not the scenery I want to be looking at right now.”

“Yeah, it’s jarring not to see your face when you’re speaking. Who knows how idiotic you actually look right now?”

James takes her right hand without speaking, bringing it to the edge of his brow. She doesn’t understand what he’s doing until he passes it over the slight lines of his forehead – he's letting her feel his facial expression.

Emboldened by his explicit permission, she lets her fingers rake through the hairs that have stuck on his forehead with water, combing them back with care. She follows the line of his brows, paying special attention to smooth the furrow in between. Her fingers fall dawn to his nose next, and it feels like his breathing had stopped a long time ago. She lovingly touches the cheekbones, wiping drops of water from them slowly. Careful not to skip a line, she trails the arch until she reaches his jaw, feeling it tense and ripple beneath her hand. When her thumb finally touches his lips, she finds them slightly open, just like how she envisioned, and she swears neither of them are breathing in that moment.

But Lily doesn’t want to stop there. She didn’t get James naked to touch his face. She lowers her hand.

If he had stopped breathing before, he certainly starts back when he gasps as her hand passes over his neck. She adds her other hand to grip both of his shoulders, their feet touching every once in a while as they try to stay afloat by just kicking them back and forward. That’s when she realizes James is not using his arms either, standing stock still, afraid to move.

Feeling bolder than ever, she glides her hand until she reaches his, placing it somewhere above her waist, sliding it upwards to encourage him. He practically chokes.

She goes back to outlining his collarbones with her fingers, feeling him shiver underneath her. Or is that her shivering when he slightly caresses the skin over her ribs? She doesn’t know where she ends and he starts under the water.

Which is why she doesn’t react immediately when she feels something touching her foot. A head emerges out of the sea, causing both of them to splash apart. She doesn’t see who it is, but the devilish voice tells her it’s Mary soon enough.

“Oi, lovebirds, pack it up. We’re going back to the house, and we’re leaving no man behind.”

More splashing comes behind Mary, causing all heads to turn that way. “Peter and I lost the water fight, pulling the metaphorical short stick in a sense.”

Peter finally reaches them, and they wait for him to stop his wheezing. “Sirius wanted me to tell you that he and Remus have dibs on the shower first because they are a superior couple who can keep it in their pants while swimming with friends.” An uncomfortable beat. “His words.”

They swim back to the shore soon after that, but she can still hear James grumbling about what pants as they make good use of their time waiting for their turn to shower.

[relyingonoldships]

So I posted a snippet and everyone was so nice about it...and then I did nothing to it and wrote a completely different drabble instead. Apologies. 

Jily, Wartime, Angst because I love it.

The radio warbles some cheery tune as Lily paints the bedroom walls. James was out doing one of Dumbledore's 'requests'. They never called them missions because that would suggest they know the objective and more often than not they simply don't. She doesn't know where he is exactly, just that he won't be back until tomorrow, enough time to air out the room of the paint smell she thinks. She'll kip on the couch tonight. It's just one night. 

She's wearing old dungarees, James had made fun of her when she bought them, said she looked like a farmer and had started singing '"Old McEvans had a farm". She'd huffed at him and thrown the hanger at his face as he laughed. He had ducked grabbed her round the waist and thoroughly distracted her. She'd stowed them in a wardrobe later and promptly forgot about them but now they are perfect painting clothes, and she smiles as she imagines his face if he walked in and saw her in them. 

But he won't, not tonight. She sighs, shakes her head. It's ridiculous to miss him already. He left just after lunch and it's only nearing 9pm.

She's on her tiptoes on a stepladder reaching up to the corner above the door when the patronus appears. The stag skids to stop in the centre of the room, the light blinding her for a quick second as she shields her eyes behind her thick paintbrush. 

Then it speaks, no, James speaks directly to her. 

"Lily, I love you," it's a frantic whisper and her heart stops. "There's no time, but I needed to - you're everything to me, fuck I hope you know that? I'll be thinking of you, I always think of you. I'm so sorry, I love you, I love-" 

His desperate voice cuts off abruptly and the paintbrush slips from her fingers. The light fades from the room, the dark shadows cast from its light receding like the breath from her lungs. 

She doesn't remember getting down from the steps with shaky legs, she doesn't remember running to the front door and throwing it open but she does take pause as she passes the garden gate to stare up and down the street willing James to appear in a crack. If she wills it enough...

It takes her three attempts to produce her own patronus and even still it's fading at the edges not quite the confident doe she's used to. She cannot send it to James as much as every cell in her body is screaming for her to do so, she can't because if he's hiding she will not be the one to give him away. 

So she thinks of Sirius, no thoughts of James could possibly work right now, she thinks of him trying to charm that stupid bike of his different colours and his thrilled exclamation when Lily had turned it a hideous lime green easily. 

Her patronus flies through the night to him wherever he is, with a single sentence, panicked, bereft. 

"Please find him, use the mirror, something, oh god Sirius find him." 

She stumbles back into their house. Their house. Her legs finally give out as she passes the ugly armchair that Euphemia had passed off to them, Lily grips the arms as her body caves with a sob. She's never experienced fear like this, suddenly feeling like she may throw up with the rolling in her stomach. 

She doesn't know how long she allows herself to simply break, it feels like moments but when she comes back to herself the room is darker, night has descended. 

She realises she doesn't have her wand, where was the last place she had it? A sudden rush of adrenaline hits her now, how can she help James if she doesn't have her fucking wand. He could be dying somewhere and she's doing nothing to help, nothing. She's frantically running from room to room when she hears the front door open. 

He appears at their door, god it was nearly just her door. He's bloodied, but walking with the confident grace he always has and his face splits into the widest grin as he sees her. 

"I'm dead for not even 2 hours and the dungarees make a comeback? I thought you had more respect for me than that!"

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?" She flies across the room at him and his arms open to receive her and-

She's hitting him, pummelling his chest with her fists. 

"Don't you ever send me a message like that ever again," she's openly crying, pounding every inch of him she can reach and he's flinching away from her. 

"Sorry, I'm so sorry I just-" he grabs her wrists to pull her in tight. His arms surround her, pinning her body close to his. The pressure is almost too much but she needs it, god she needs it. 

"I thought that was it and I was afraid you'd never," he pauses to swallow past the lump in his throat "you'd always wonder what had happened and I needed you to know that no matter what my last thoughts were of you, of course they were." 

Arms raise around his neck, her nose brushes his throat. She knows her tears are soaking through the jumper he wears.

"I love you." she chokes. "But we're going to have a big fight about this later, ok? But not now." She pulls back, hands now soft on either side of his face. He's looking tenderly at her like he's committing her face to memory. 

"Huge fight," he whispers back smiling. "Thank you for getting Padfoot-" her hands tighten, grip his collar, "he um, didn't want to see this, he'll pop by tomorrow."

A hysterical noise burst from her lips, it's half laugh half sob. 

"You're making me a mirror, I shouldn't have to-"

"Tomorrow, first thing tomorrow I promise."

The room is almost completely dark now, Lily's tears have subsided but her heart is still racing, her stomach still feels hollow. 

His fingers toy with the button by her shoulder.

 "We're safe Lily, we're both safe, but more importantly what can we do about getting these off?"

"You prick." 

"Massive fight, tomorrow." 

[startanewdream]

I would love a number 3 Jily from the kissing prompt list.

Also sorry I ordered this like I'm at a fast food restaurant 😂

Hiiii! Considering how long it took me to answer it, it was not fast at all!

Thanks for this prompt! I thought a lot how to fill the idea of a Jily enemies-to-lovers kiss because I thought by the time they shared kisses they would be a lot more friends... then I messed a bit with canon and found this way. Hope you enjoyed it!

Set during their Fifth Year.

Read on AO3 or below:

Seven minutes in heaven

Sirius holds his chin languidly as he considers Peter’s question.

‘Three,’ is his answer, unashamed and not pretentious in a way that James can’t help but feel jealous.

Three .

Sirius kissed three people already and James has never kissed anyone.

It shouldn’t be a competition, because he doesn’t compete with Sirius — for most of the things they are equal, their grades always so close that for a while the professors thought they had to be cheating in exams.

But Sirius kissed three people and he doesn’t even notice all the stares he gets. It doesn’t seem fair.

I’m better than him at Quidditch , James tries to tell himself, but somehow this thought doesn’t bring him any satisfaction. While he was scoring goals, Sirius was scoring something else and though it’s not a competition he can’t help but think he is losing .

The bottle spins again and again and James eyes it with uneasiness. He will pick dare if the bottle points at him, because he always chooses dare on principle, but this time he knows he just doesn’t want anyone to ask how many people he has kissed before.

But the bottle stops at Lily Evans, who watches carefully the person at the other end before saying: ‘Dare.’

Mary grins mischievously. ‘I dare you to tell me who is the most gorgeous bloke in our year.’

James almost rolls his eyes at that, because everyone always says it’s Sirius so it’s not even an interesting question; but to his surprise, Evans just shakes her head, looking flustered.

‘No, that’s against the rules. You can’t ask a question in a dare.’

‘You are no fun, Lily,’ Mary answers, and James feels like this is some inside joke between them; he wonders what's the discussion about who Evans thinks it's gorgeous. ‘Fine, I dare you to try seven minutes in heaven.’

‘You can’t involve anyone else in a dare —’

‘I am not choosing anyone now . You’ll wait there until the next dare.’

Evans seems to consider this before she nods, grimacing, obviously not happy. The rest just watches Evans and Mary; they were the ones that came with that muggle game for animating that chilly October Friday night, and they are the ones that decide the rules.

‘If you are picked, I’ll be spending those seven minutes turning your life into hell,’ Evans warns Mary, her voice amiably, and James almost smiles. Sometimes Evans is funny. ‘The first broom closet to the right, okay?’

Mary nods.

‘What’s seven minutes in hell?,’ Remus asks, curious, watching Evans leaving the Common Room. James feels a little impressed; there are only fifteen minutes until curfew, and for good-girl Lily Evans to risk a detention, she must really take the game seriously.

‘In heaven,’ Mary corrects, grinning. ‘It’s a dare where two people spend seven minutes together in a room. Or in this case, the first broom closet to the right leaving the Common Room.’

‘And what do people do then?’

‘You’ll see if you pick dare,’ Mary answers genially. She indicates the bottle to Remus. ‘Spin it?’

Remus does, but now he is blushing. James looks around; Sirius doesn’t look particularly excited, but Peter has the flushed expression on his face, a little dreamy, and James knows he is far away. Or rather his thoughts are in the broom closet next to the Common Room.

Seven minutes in heaven with Evans ? James tries to imagine it, but he can’t, not really. It wouldn’t be heaven ; she would fulfill her promise of making it a hell, because he and Evans don’t really get along. She gets annoyed with every little thing he and his friends do, never cracking a smile and, most of all, always sticking with her annoying Slytherin friend. Snivellus . There is no way that seven minutes with Evans could ever be fun…

‘James?’

He blinks, coming back to reality. Sirius is looking at him with an innocent expression that doesn’t fit him.

‘What?’

‘I asked, truth or dare?’

‘Dare,’ answers James without thinking, because he can’t risk saying truth ( no, I have never kissed anyone, I’m a failure, ok? ), before he realizes what this means.

And then everyone is smirking at him, knowing looks on their faces that makes James want to flush, except James Potter doesn’t get embarrassed. Not in public. Not evidently. He has an image to uphold.

‘Go on, then, James,’ says Sirius, indicating the portrait. ‘I dare you to spend seven minutes with Evans. Heaven or hell, it’s up to you.’

The girls giggle, and James raises quietly, pretending it’s everyday that he gets to be in a broom closet with a girl, that this is very normal for him. He grins as smugly as he can, but the smile vanishes as soon as he turns his back to him.

Seven minutes in a broom closet with a girl . Not any girl. Lily Evans, really?

And then as he is leaving, he hears Mary’s whisper: ‘Maybe Lily will finally kiss someone, you think?’

Hmm, James considers. So Evans has never kissed anyone either?

He thinks about it; it’s not like he has paid attention to Evans so far, but he knows she has been on a date before. He may have heard something about her meeting the Hufflepuff prefect in the last Hogsmeade weekend, but that was not a thought that had bothered him.

But if he’d think about Lily Evans in a way that he had never really thought before, what would he think? Well, James is not immune to girls , not at all, but it’s just he never looked at Evans because he should feel attracted to someone who is nice to him, right? Like Emme Vance; she winked at him after the first game of the season, and he’d felt something warm inside him. If only he had not been distracted by a comment from Sirius, then he’d have gone talk to her and then his never-kiss-anyone problem would have already been fixed…

But since this is a problem he apparently shares with Evans, maybe, just maybe, they can solve it together?

It’s not a bad idea, he thinks, and when he opens the door of the broom closet, for a split second, he considers that it’s a great idea. Now he is positively considering Lily Evans as someone kissable, for the first time he really notices the thing he may already have noticed about her before, but disconsidered only because he and Evans don’t get along.

And the things is that Evans is a girl and James likes girls. And she is pretty, with her long auburn hair that falls on her shoulders, that fair skin that seems so soft, her full pink lips, and her green eyes that seem to shine under the light coming from the open door. Then his eyes fall to her chest, to the curves that weren't there in the 11-year-old Evans he remembers annoying since their First Year, and, yes, Evans is a girl and James likes girls and his body has a sudden urge to remind him of this.

He looks hastily at her eyes, hoping she didn’t notice where he was staring and trying to look nice and very kissable too; but the first words that come out of Evans’ mouth are not encouraging.

‘Oh, it’s you .’

Her contempt is nearly enough to make him regret everything he thought, but his stupid teenage body isn’t always on the same page as his mind.

He closes the door, only the dim light of the lamp above them illuminating the small closet.

‘Let me guess,’ he begins, looking for the way to most annoy her. It’s a favourite pastime of his and much easier than dealing with his sudden… attraction… to her. ‘You wished it was Sirius .’

She raises her eyebrows, not impressed. ‘I was hoping it was Mary,’ she says without any shame. ‘I had planned to transform one of these buckets into a rat, she hates them.’

‘You weren’t kidding with those seven minutes in hell, were you?’

‘It’s her fault for picking the worst dare,’ Evans says, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall. ‘Seven minutes in heaven , as if.’

His annoyance flares up. He still thinks Evans is gorgeous, especially with the way she crosses her arms under her chest, highlighting some curves very beautifully, but they don’t get along and they never will.

‘Your friends seem to think you’d take advantage of those seven minutes,’ he says, smirking, watching her eyes narrow in what it’s her favourite expression for him. He adores pissing her off. ‘Never kissed anyone, Evans?’

She blushes, a pinkness colouring her cheeks in the most charming way and James wants to touch her face, feel his cold hands burning with the warmth of her skin.

No, stop it , he shouldn’t want to touch her. He doesn’t stand her. And vice versa.

‘Don’t talk about you don’t know, Potter,’ she tells him angrily, but it’s just the same anger that James would use if the situation was reversed and he knows he hit a nerve.

‘What, been kissing Snivellus?’

‘Don’t call him that,’ she answers immediately. ‘And we are just friends, stop being creepy.’

‘But would you consider kissing his mouth? ‘Cause that’s creepy, Evans.’

‘I said we are only friends. You might try someday.’

‘I have friends,’ James says smugly, and Evans rolls eyes, but doesn’t reply. ‘If you never kissed anyone, what did you and Smith do last Hogsmeade weekend? Held hands like you were twelve?’

She searches her pocket for her wand, but it’s not there, so Evans throws him a look that would curse him if she had this power.

‘It’s none of your business, Potter. And I haven’t seen you having any dates to talk about my life!’

It’s true, but James can’t let her know that. ‘Oh, noticing if I have dates, Evans? What, you were jealous ?’

He takes a step closer to her, enjoying the way she just looks more nervous. That’s something more familiar for him, annoying Evans, and it’s much more comfortable to deal with, especially because if he is not concentrating, he would notice how she smells very nice.

And James is not thinking about that, of course.

‘I would be sorry for anyone who has to endure a date with you,’ she answers evenly. ‘Trust me, these seven minutes are taking way too long — imagine a full day.’

‘One might think you were imagining a full day with me, Evans.’

‘Only if I was in a nightmare.’

‘So I do appear in your dreams.’

‘Nightmares,’ she repeats, her eyes pure steel as she glares at him; James should notice the warning that look gives (he shouldn’t push her too much ), but for once he can only think on how green her eyes are, like the Forbidden Forest at night.

And he enjoys too much walking in the Forbidden Forest.

‘Maybe if you had a date with someone else you’d stop wondering about my dates,’ she declares, hissing. ‘Do you know what I imagine, Potter? You never had any date.’

‘I have,’ he lies easily, his hand running absently through his hair. ‘Just because I don’t go showing off about it —’

‘You? Not showing off? When was the last time you did something and didn’t brag about it?’

‘A gentleman does not show off,’ he says, which is something his father told him once but James didn’t think about it until now.

‘If you were a gentleman,’ she replies, a knowing smirk on her face that tells her she knows she hit a nerve with him too. Evans knows he never kissed anyone, and he can see her smugness about it, and if she tells anyone — Merlin, if she tells Snivellus he will never survive it…

‘Do you know what I imagine , Evans?’, he says, throwing her words back at her desperately. ‘That Smith kissed you and you were horrible at it.’

Her flushes intensifies, but if it’s shame or anger, James can’t know. She uncrosses her arms, coming closer, finger pointing at him menacingly.

‘He didn’t — you don’t know what you are talking about!’

‘I bet you don’t know how to snog.’

‘I can kiss just fine , Potter!’, she replies angrily (it’s anger after all, James realizes) and then she does the last thing James really imagined she would do.

She presses her lips against his.

And for two seconds, that’s all they do, really; he doesn’t know what’s keeping her immobile, and he almost asks if her brain has just turned to jelly too, because that’s what’s happening to him.

And then, in the fogness of his numb mind, other things emerge quietly. Her perfume, so close now that it’s more powerful than any other smell in the closet; the warmth of her skin, very different from that cold night; the green in her open eyes as she stares at him, as in shock as he feels, before the eyes are closed, stopping him from reading her emotions; and the sweetness of her lips, a hint of caramel that he suddenly wishes he can taste properly.

His eyes close and, in the darkness, all he can feel is Lily Evans.

They take a step closer in a synchrony that James knows they never had before, and then Evans’ hands are holding his arm and James holds her face. He moves his lips very tentatively, wanting to share more of that (whatever that is), and Evans raises on her tiptoes, her lips parting just the slightest. He feels her breath — it’s the butterbeer, a part of his mind realizes as if he should already know — and suddenly he wants to taste the drink too in her mouth.

(Is it possible to get drunk on a non-alcoholic drink? Because he feels intoxicated).

His tongue touches her lips, again tentatively (he has no idea what he’s doing, but so far things seem right), and she parts her lips even more, allowing him in. James has another moment of panic ( what is he supposed to do now? ), but then Evans’ tongue meet his and this feels right too.

Not just right. It sends shivers down his spine, it makes the world spins around him as if he is afloat and the only thing connecting to Earth is Evans’ lips and the way they move and Merlin why hasn’t he ever kissed Evans before ? He feels disconnected, as if he is watching them kissing from above, and James nearly laughs at the idea that he is snogging Lily Evans in a broom closet, that’s so unlikely — didn’t they hate each other?…

Then she breaks apart, jumping violently backwards, a look of terror on her face, and when James opens his eyes he sees that along with that kiss Evans was sharing the same thoughts as him.

She was in a broom closet snogging James Potter .

He breathes hard, urging air to fill his lungs; apparently kissing stops his natural reaction of breathing — though not other reactions. His body seems to be working overtime, judging by the way his heart is beating too fast in his chest.

Evans is out of breath too; he sees her chest rising and falling fast — then Evans notices his stares and she crosses her arms protectively, recovering faster than him.

‘I told you I could kiss,’ she says, voice full of dignity and he envies her for that.

James couldn’t form a sentence if his life depended on it.

‘You will not tell this to anyone,’ she adds, eyes narrowed again in what used to be James' favourite expression. Now he isn't sure. ‘I — I will deny it if anyone asks, so you will just look like a liar.’ She watches him. ‘Potter?’

‘Okay,’ he whispers, though he is not sure what he just agreed to. His brain is still not functioning properly.

‘Let’s go,’ she says, walking past him and opening the door, leaving just a hint of her perfume in the air.

He follows her, more on instinct than anything, surprised with the fact that he can walk .

People cheer when they enter the Common Room and James steals a glance at Evans. She looks normal, undisturbed, not at all like she has just shared a kiss with James that he… that he really wants to repeat.

‘You still have two minutes!,’ Mary notices, shaking her head disapprovingly at Evans, who just shrugs.

‘Two more minutes and one of us might not leave there alive,’ she says casually, sitting next to Mary.

‘James?,’ Sirius calls him, watching him closely, and James forces a smile upon his face.

‘Evans is right. One of us might not survive.’

They laugh, and James thinks he handled it well, half-truth as it is; everyone knows they don’t get along, he and Evans, they never had, and yet…

The bottle spins again, and now Remus is struggling to say who was his first crush, but James is not listening, not really paying attention to the game. His lips are still tingling, that lingering taste of butterbeer on his mouth, and he can’t help but steal glances at Evans — next time, he thinks feverish, he will let his hands (that stayed reprovingly still ) touch her face, hold her closer. Next time he will kiss her neck, will hear her sigh into his lips.

He will know what to do next time, he promises, but Evans never once looks in his direction.

The bottle stops pointing at her and it’s James turns to ask.

‘Truth or dare, Evans?,’ he asks, his voice sounding nicer than he ever talked to her before, while his hand runs through his hair nervously. His smile is confident, because Evans has to share that urge too, right?

But Evans eyes him as if she’d rather look at anything else and her voice is nearly dismayed when she calls ‘Dare’.

James doesn’t hesitate. ‘I dare you to go out with me, Evans.’

People whistle, but Evans doesn’t look amused. ‘It’s against the rules involving others in a dare, Potter,’ she tells him, coldly, raising. ‘And I think I’m done with this stupid game.’

She leaves the Common Room, and Mary throws a confused look at James before following her friend. Sirius looks at James with a baffled expression.

‘You stayed with her for five minutes and decided to ask her out? What happened there?’

‘Nothing,’ James says at ease. ‘I just realized Evans isn’t so bad.’

It’s a simple way of putting it, but despite what Evans may think about him, James will keep his word; that kiss (his first kiss) will remain between them only.

[athenasparrow]

No. 30 - Wine | Jily Microfic

@jilymicrofics - second to last one!!!

Read on AO3 | 886 words

This fic takes place after "Oak" which you can read here.

Lily glanced at her husband, admiring the way his forearms flexed as he poured them both a bottle of wine.

It had become a tradition of sorts, ever since they’d met over a bottle.

Not that it had been a meeting of coincidence - Euphemia Potter didn’t like to leave important moments to flimsy things like circumstance. But after their first year together, they’d always made a toast on this day. And today marked four years .

Lily’s stomach knotted with anticipation as James glanced up.

“Four years together, two years married,” he said raising his glass to toast her.

Lily left her glass on the table.

“I can’t toast you love,” she said, biting her lip to keep from grinning.

James looked adorably confused at that announcement, his own glass returning to the original place on the counter.

“What’s the matter beautiful?” he asked, concern furrowing his brow as stepped towards her, his arms finding the familiar place on her hips.

“Nothing James,” she answered truthfully “I just can’t drink wine.”

She saw the moment it hit him. The moment the slight frown on his forehead and concerned eyes underwent metamorphosis to a wide-eyed, cheek-hurting smile of happiness.

“You’re pregnant?” he confirmed in a whisper, as if afraid his voice would shatter the reality.

“We’re having a baby,” Lily answered, her own smile stretching wide to match his.

James let out something between a laugh and a sob as he drew her into a hug. Lily felt the wet press of their cheeks and reached up to wipe his tears only to realise they were both crying.

“You’re going to be an amazing mum,” James murmured into her ear.

“Well then this baby is going to be very lucky with two great parents, because his dads pretty amazing too,” Lily answered, melting into his hug.

“Do you think Remus and Sirius are going to have a tiff over who gets to be godfather?” James grinned.

“I think Remus already knows…or at least has a suspicion,” Lily admitted. “I haven’t told either of them anything, because obviously I wanted to tell you first,” she said, pausing with a smile as she tilted her head up at him, their chests still pressed together from their hug. 

James delayed her next sentence by swooping down for a swift peck.

“But I’m pretty sure he caught me dumping the champagne out last night,” Lily continued, biting her lip. “And then I saw him eyeing my boobs and we both know he’s not checking them out.”

“Where were you dumping your champagne?” James laughed, leaning his forehead down to touch hers.

“In the plant” Lily giggled “If it dies, that’s why.”

James snorted, before gently moving his hands up to cup her breasts.

“I hadn’t noticed them change,” he muttered, looking like the absence of him picking up on a change in Lily’s body was a criminal offence.

“They haven’t yet,” Lily reassured him. “It’s still very early - but you know Dr Remus, I bet he was just checking for all the signs.”

“You were very sensitive the other night,” James hummed, his eyes sparkling mischievously as he brushed his fingers over where here nipples lay beneath her shirt.

Lily shuddered.

“Remus wouldn’t know that,” Lily said coyly. “That’s something only you could know”

“Now I know what to look out for next time,” James said quietly, his hands moving down to the small of her back and pulling her into his chest again.

Next time. Lily liked the sound of that. 

“One kid at a time,” she teased, but her eyes must’ve given her away because James smiled knowingly and drew her into a long kiss.

When she had to come up for a breath, she paused. “How should we tell your mum?”

“I have an idea” James murmured before capturing her lips again.

One kid at a time. But certainly no harm in practising .

“Fleamont, can you get the door darling?” Euphemia called as she stepped into the mud room, tulips in her hands and a smudge of dirt of her cheek.

She hummed softly as she heard the soft steps of her husband making his way to the entrance, but she shucked her shoes off much quicker when she heard the light voice of her daughter-in-law laugh.

“Lily! James!” she said making her way around to greet them. “We weren’t expecting you”. She paused after releasing them from her long hug and looked closer. There was something different about them, Euphemia mused, there was a light in their eyes and a secret in the smile they exchanged. What was–

Her train of thought was cut off as her son answered her.

“No, but we have something for you, so we wanted to drop by” her son answered, handing her a bottle.

Euphemia glanced down where her hand had automatically come up to receive the gift.

It wasn’t just any bottle. It was the same wine Euphemia had sent her son on a chase for, four years ago. And…

Oh.

“ Fleamont ” she breathed, her hand coming to her heart.

She felt her husband move to her side so he could see what had caused such a reaction from his unflappable wife.

Dear Grandma,

Thank you for bringing my parents together. I can’t wait to meet you this summer.