The Marauders: Year Five #Wattys2017

Intentions

Intentions

James didn't like pickles. "Take it away," he begged, holding out the lower half of his hamburger, the top bun in his other hand. He waved the thing at Lily, making a face at the green circle lying in the midst of the cheese and onions. "I hate the bloody things."

"They don't bite," Lily laughed, "Bloody hell, you're acting like it's going to jump off the burger and attack you or something."

James whimpered.

"Alright," she reached out and pinched it off the burger and stuck it in her mouth, chewing it loudly, "Mmm. There, I've defeated the evil pickle, are you quite satisfied?"

James nodded and pulled the rest of his burger back to himself and returned the bun to the top. "I will forever be in debt to your chivalrous nature, Evans," he said and he bit into the burger quickly. "Uhdiffnt wuhhwusse huh hunnahheee haii washh tuh huh washh hurhh," he said his mouth full.

Lily laughed. "What?"

James swallowed, a big gulp, "I didn't realize how hungry I was until I was here." He grabbed some a napkin out of the dispenser thing, and looked fascinated with the next one showed up behind. He handed her the first one then grabbed at the next and the next and the next, then popped it with his fingers, pushing it in and out. "How's this thing work then? Like it's apparating napkins?"

"It's a spring. Pull enough and it'll run out. Some poor underpaid man will come over and refill it at some point, or else it'll just sit there all empty and napkinless for ages."

James looked at her.

"Oh go on and pull them all out, you know you want to."

So he did, one at a time, and soon he had a pile of close to a hundred napkins and an empty dispenser and he grinned, "Muggles. Odd bunch, aren't they?"

Lily rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. It felt very strange to smile and to laugh - she hadn't done a lot of it since McGonagall had told her about her Dad. She'd read in the paper about the other students and their parents and her heart had broken for them all - especially for Oliver Kent, whose mum and dad were both killed according to the obituaries in the Prophet. She'd had precious little to smile and laugh about...

But then there had come James Potter and his crooked tooth and his mischievous chuckle as he tried to tuck the extra napkins back into the dispenser, his eyes sparkling as though he'd discovered some unspeakable form of magic. She ripped her hamburger in half and studied it a moment before taking another bite. He was eating at the same time as messing with the dispenser, one hand holding his burger to his mouth as he chewed, the other prodding at the mechanism...

"Thanks for coming to see me," she said.

James looked over, stopping messing with the dispenser. He left the rest of the napkins sitting in front of it and put his burger down, wiping his fingers over his sweater vest (despite having just messed with the napkins for eons of time, he managed to forget that he had any).

"I'm sorry you're missing the Yule Ball," she added.

"That cruddy thing?" James waved his palm. "It wasn't the ball I said yes to, Evans. It was going with you that I said yes to. I told you I'd go to the ends of the earth with you. Cokeworth isn't quite the end but I reckon it's close."

"It's not the end, but you can see it from here," Lily smiled.

James smiled back.

"Still. It's a little sad, isn't it?" she asked, "No dancing, no music... no pretty trees."