Jily oneshots

An English Rose

by stefanie437
slightest bit of smut

James Potter is a lot of things, but stupid usually isn't one of them.

Confident, definitely. Reckless, perhaps. But definitely not stupid.

Until now.

He knows this is the stupidest thing he's ever done. He knows it. But it's really hard to care at all when her hands are raking down his chest and toward his trousers, her fingers fumbling at the button.

His mind goes blank as her hands make contact with his skin. Her fiery hair is falling out of its neat plait, and he pulls at the ribbon so it falls to the floor. Her hair tumbles in waves around her shoulders and he can't resist running his hands through it.

His mind registers one last thought before descending into the bliss that is the taste of Lily Evans' lips:

I could do this forever. I could be here, with her, forever.

Except - he is a lowly stable hand, destined to be spreading hay for the rest of his life, dirt caked under his fingernails.

And Lily Evans is the Princess of Gryffindor, destined to be Queen.

They're going to hang me for this.

It all started in the barn. The day is sunny and bright, but ordinary. James starts the day mucking out the stalls while Sirius tends to the horses' bridles and saddles. They go on in their work in comfortable silence for some time until James hears the startled neigh of one of the horses, followed by a soft "Shhh."

James stops his work and stands up straight, scanning the stalls for the source of the noise. His trained ears lead him quickly to Daisy's stall – he knows each horse so well – and he carefully peaks inside. He's completely shocked to see a woman huddled on the ground near Daisy's back foot, trying to lift the saddle from the floor.

"I'd move away from there if I were you," he jokes. "You're in the line of fire there, and you don't want to be down there when she – " James stops abruptly as the woman whips her head toward him, her hood falling down and her face coming into view. His eyes widen as he realizes who it is he's staring at.

"But – Your Highness – I had no idea it was you there - " James stumbles on his words, pulling his hat from his head in a rushed attempt to show respect.

The Princess stands up gracefully, adjusting her cape so to avoid stepping on it.

"Potter, is it?"

"Yes, your Highness – James Potter."

She smiles gently, but James sees that it doesn't reach her eyes.

"Mr. Potter, can you please ready my horse for me?"

"Of course, your Highness – may I ask, your Highness – why were you hiding?"

Her eyebrows raise in surprise at his question, and James backpedals quickly, internally cursing his stupid mouth for asking such an impertinent question, and to the Princess, no less.

"I didn't mean to imply anything, your Highness – only that – is there something I can help you with? I didn't know you were here until I heard Daisy here – "

"I didn't want to be seen, all right?" her cheeks went a gorgeous shade of crimson. "I really just needed a quiet ride, alone, to clear my head."

"Sirius, mate?" James calls suddenly, and the princess ducks quickly out of sight. In a moment, Sirius is there, making his way to Daisy's stall from around the corner on the other side of the barn.

"Could you go let Pete know we need more carrots for the horses?" James asked. "We're running quite low."

Sirius quirks his eyebrows in response to the random question, but shrugs it off. "Whatever you say, mate. If you think it's so important I do this right now, then I will." A deeper question is obvious in his eyes, and James gives a tiny nod of encouragement. Sirius shrugs again and leaves the barn, not looking back.