Jily one shots

A little bit futile

disclaimer: no idea who wrote this if you know please tell me : )

The small box of chocolates slides across the table and straight into her textbook, too slight a collision to budge her hefty tome from its place, but enough of an impact to prompt Lily into lifting her head from Mosbey's Seven Laws of Magical Linguistics and cock a questioning eyebrow at her boyfriend. James bypasses the chair next to her in favour of hefting himself up on the actual study table. His feet take residence on the vacant chair seat and he rests his elbows atop his bent knees. He grins at her, nodding down at the chocolates.

"Look. I got the crap fruit-filled ones you like—even against my better judgment, seeing as they are, obviously, crap."

Lily lifts the golden box of Honeydukes chocolates off the table. "Well, aren't you the benevolent soul?" She regards the small package with a genuine smile, happy to find that they are indeed the decidedly un -crap fruit variety that she favours and not the nut-filled type that James is so partial to and usually attempts to force on her. The uncharacteristically unselfish purchase causes her to narrow her eyes on him. "You haven't tampered with these, have you?" she asks. "And you know Valentine's isn't for another few days?"

"No and yes," James answers quickly. "But how fortuitous that you've brought it up. That's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Tampering with chocolates?"

"No. Valentine's."

She opens the box of chocolates and selects a morsel at random. She regards James questioningly as she bites. "What about it?"

He doesn't answer immediately, but Lily reckons she knows what he's going to say, anyway. Despite the impending closeness of the aforementioned holiday, they'd yet to make any formal plans. This doesn't much bother Lily, but she's learned over the past few months that James takes his holidays quite seriously. Even the tiniest ones are always acknowledged, usually with some less-than-subtle celebration. Finishing off the rest of her chocolate, Lily wonders what he has in mind for this particular festivity. Honestly, she's as wary as she is intrigued.

"Want?" She offers the chocolate box up to him.

He sneers. "Fruit."

Flipping over the box top, Lily quickly peruses the simply labeled diagram. "There's a caramel one at the top right. You like caramel."

"I tolerate caramel," James corrects, but Lily notices that he grabs the caramel chocolate and pops it into his mouth easily enough. She slips the box cover back in place, then looks up at him. "Valentine's? You were saying?"

James swallows his chocolate. "Right. About that—"

"Please, James, nothing too daft—"

"—I don't really do Valentine's."

Lily stops.

Eyebrows shooting up to her hairline, she regards him with surprise. "Sorry?"

"Valentine's," James says again, as if qualifying the holiday were the issue at hand. He gives a jerky shrug. "I don't subscribe."

"It isn't a magazine, James."

"But it's all the same thing!" he cries, plucking a stubby quill off the study table and twirling it briefly between his fingers before he stabs the tip pointedly in her direction. "Valentine's Day is nothing but a commodity. Do you even know where the rubbish holiday comes from?"

"Saint Valentine," Lily answers automatically. "He married people in secret when there was a ban. Ancient Rome or something. He was killed—"

"Killed!" James echoes the sentiment dramatically, and Lily realises as he clutches at his chest that he's been waiting for just such a cue. She rolls her eyes, but he still continues, slapping his hands emphatically against his thighs. "Exactly! It's not a day of romance, it's a day of tragedy. Bloke's murdered, and what do we all do about it? Buy chocolates and snog!"