Chasing Lily Evans

Enchanted Mistletoe

A hush fell upon the entire group and all eyes were on Lily and James, as they tried to comprehend what Marlene McKinnon had just said. Truthfully, neither Lily, nor James, had been paying much attention to the game; Lily was trying to keep her attention from the once-arrogant-now-slightly-attractive idiot that she was draped on and James was trying to focus more on the warm, pliable red head discreetly.

"I'm sorry, what?" Lily cleared her throat, feeling very hot all of a sudden.

"I dare you to kiss Potter," Marlene winked, "Or to snog... hmmm... Remus."

Remus gave a start and his eyes widened. He shook his head vigorously and Marlene laughed, "Sorry, mate,  it's her choice."

"No way," Lily said, her mouth feeling rather dry, "I'm not kissing anyone."

"Oh come, now, Lilykins," Sirius said lazily, "You've been skirting around good ol' Jamesie since the feast, and James, well, he's been dreaming about snogging you since first bloody year."

Lily shook her head and made to get up when Marlene sighed. "I guessed you would react like that. So, you leave us no choice." She motioned to Sirius who pulled out a twig from his coat and threw it into the air.

"Mistletoe?" James said in disbelief, a laugh bubbling through his embarrassment.

"Enchanted  mistletoe, my dim witted friend," Sirius showed all of his gleaming white teeth as the words slowly sunk it.

"No," Lily choked in horror, her hands pushing against an invisible wall. "I'm going to throw you off the Astronomy Tower and feed you to Mrs Norris," Lily said vehemently, glaring at Marlene.

James gulped as he backed off towards the other end of the confined space they had been left in. "Do that for Sirius, too," he told her, maintaining a safe distance.

"Oh, Pads," Remus grinned, "How I would love to see what happens when the invisible wall disappears and the proverbial shoe drops." Sirius jumped in mock-fright and wrung his hands.

"Oh, I fear the end is near," he moaned, earning a swift kick to the shins from Marlene.

"When does the charm even wear off?" Lily asked James, her mind trying to fight through the haze of Firewhiskey and Butterbeer.

"Twenty-four hours," Remus said sympathetically.

"I guess we'll just wait it out," Lily said stubbornly and James looked at her with shock; twenty-four hours??

"All right," Sirius smiled, "Say hello to the second years for us, you lovesick morons! I hear they have a tour with McGonagall first thing in the morning."

About an hour or so had passed and Lily and James remained stuck in the little circle of space under the blasted twig. Lily looked determinedly out the window at the clear, night sky and James gazed thoughtfully at his hands, sneaking a glance ever so often at the fuming girl beside him.

Stuck under enchanted mistletoe with Lily Evans, he thought idly, if only his thirteen year old self could see him now. He recalled how consumed he was with feelings for this lovely woman and how stubbornly she hated him, a twinge of regret seeping it's way through his memories. How awful it must've felt, being humiliated in front of the whole school by the infamous James Potter!

Lily was planning a murder. Fifty-two methods, so far, but not one enough to quench her anger. She directed all her senses towards her infernal best friend, ignoring the current situation she was in. Even though she didn't find James that terrible anymore, no way in hell had she been considering kissing him. She had thought maybe they could be friends!