Mischief Managed!

33.

A veryy big chapter again friends..
Plz vote and comment.

"And Emmeline was in Sirius' bed?" Lily raised her eyebrows, surprised. "How'd she explain that one?"

Lily and James sat in the Head's Tower lounge. The fire roared in the grate, casting a great deal of welcome warmth into the chilly night air.

James grinned and rolled his eyes. "Very complicated, I assure you. The upshot is, Em doesn't plan on making a return visit anytime soon!"

Lily rolled her eyes back, chewing on the end of her quill. With a sigh, she looked down at the list they had been working on for the Winter Ball, and sighed. Spread between them over the lounge, the coffee table and a great deal of the floor at their feet, were lists, letters, documents and miscellaneous other pieces of parchment relating to the planning of the Winter Ball. Lily hoped that Dumbledore truly appreciated the amount of effort they were going to.

"All right, lovely story, but that's enough procrastination James, we really need to get this don- mmff!"

Being allowed to kiss Lily was a very convenient development, James decided. He liked the way it felt very much, and the way his pulse quickened and all he could think about was her warmth and her smell and all other manner of romantic thoughts…. Plus, it had the added bonus of being a wonderful way to distract or silence her.

Sirius had accused him of getting soft, but the practical side of James knew better than that… he was just enjoying what he had.

Lily suppressed a smile and kissed James back, somewhat ruefully. As if he could read her thoughts, James smiled against her lips briefly before she prized them away.

"James, really, we're in the middle of a Heads-"

Well, there were worse things she could be doing, Lily supposed as James once again cut her off, bearing down on her until they were lying side by side on the lounge. She could feel the parchment crackling beneath her, and cringed, imagining all their hard work becoming smudged and crinkled. Not that she was complaining particularly. Suddenly, though, and as if he had read her thoughts, it was James who broke away and sat up.

"Oh, so it's all right to stop now, is it?" Lily teased mockingly, lazily reaching beneath her to pull out the layer of parchment that had been offending her so. Done, she leant back into the pile of pillows and draped her legs over his.

James blushed. "It just – wasn't very proper," he managed to murmur.

Lily grinned. "You're such a gentleman," she replied lightly. "Are you willing to talk business now, Mr. Potter, or are you going to kiss me again?"

James frowned. "Not while you're lying down like that," he told her.

Lily nodded, not planning to move an inch. James had a knack for diverting her attention quite successfully, and now that they'd stopped, Lily felt that perhaps they had deserved a break from the checks and balances of their Heads duties anyway.

"Fine then. Since we're slowing down, and completely off the topic, I was wondering if you could help me with something?"

Lily swung her legs off James' lap and sat up; he leant forward, his eyes sparkling with interest.

"Anything?"

Lily bit her lip. Ever since James had revealed his animagus form, she had been curious, but not brave enough to ask him about it. Now, however… Well, if you can't ask the boy you've just been kissing, you'll never be able to ask him, Lily concluded.

"James, I want to become an animagus."

James gulped, frowning. Lily watched him unblinkingly, her face unreadable. Her hair was slightly mussed, and he absently tucked a curl behind her ear.