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The Stuff Of Great Romance
by Nicola
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Order of the Phoenix
They were on the bridge over the cliffs, its corridor swaying slightly in the wind, when James first kissed Lily. He wrapped his fingers around her wrists, pinning them lightly at waist level (a vague precaution against any attempts to slap him away). Other than that, their lips were the only point of contact.
It was a quick kiss, impulsive and over before it had begun, really.
(Sirius was always telling him that he should learn to curb his impulses. Of course, Sirius never seemed to complain when it was his impulse to throw him against the back wall of the dungeons, as the final students were pouring out of Potions class.)
As he pulled away, releasing her arms, James grinned at Lily's surprise. They'd been arguing (about nothing, about everything), and now she was speechless. That had to mean he'd won, right?
(He was reminded irresistibly of the first time he had kissed Sirius — the other boy's eternal calm shattered, at least momentarily; the lazy smirk wiped away by a trace of lips. He couldn't surprise Sirius like that anymore. He supposed it bothered him a little.)
Lily's surprise was fading into resentment and annoyance, but she still looked gloriously flustered to James's eyes. The breeze pulled at her hair, whisking it into her mouth. He could still feel slight movement beneath his feet, and he realised that he wanted to kiss her again.
James grinned once more, before turning to walk away. He allowed a slight swagger in his step, as he chewed absently on his lower lip, feeling pleased.
*
"I kissed Lily Evans today," James announced loudly. In the Gryffindor common room several people looked around, but their attention diverted as James sat down next to Remus.
Remus frowned. "What on earth did you do that for?"
James shrugged, rumpling his hair lazily, and Remus could tell that he was genuinely considering the question. Remus sighed, and closed the book he had been reading, carefully marking his page with a feather-capped bookmark that quivered gently, before sinking imperceptibly between the pages. James lifted the book idly from his hands and examined the cover.
"The Great Gatsby," he read the title derisively. "What is this? Muggle shit?"
"It's great literature, James," Remus explained patiently, taking the book away from him. "Now tell me about Lily."
James smiled, enjoying the way Remus pronounced James, shaping the vowels carefully with his tone and panting the final s. Remus only used his name — his real name — when he was feeling angry or frustrated.
"She's pretty, isn't she?" James considered. "Evans. No, she's— beautiful. Yeah." He squinted into middle distance, as if trying to conjure her image before him. "It's the eyes, I think. Nice eyes." He blinked, and grinned suddenly. "Of course, Padfoot has nice eyes, too. I don't think he'd appreciate being called beautiful, though." James laughed, and Remus smiled in spite of himself, as well.
"Do you think Lily is beautiful, Moony?" James asked after a moment.
Remus seemed startled. "I— I haven't really thought about it," he said. "But I suppose so. You're right, it's the eyes. A pair of fine eyes in the face of a pretty woman, et cetera . . ." he finished vaguely.
"Are you in love with her, Moony?" James said suddenly. Remus's face registered faint surprise at the question, his eyebrows drawing together into another frown.
"No," Remus managed to say, and James laughed a little at his difficulty. He leaned over and kissed him lightly on the cheek, before climbing to his feet.
"Well, I think I might like to fall in love with Lily Evans." He grinned broadly at Remus, and ambled off without saying goodbye.
Remus sighed, and retrieved his book. He stared at the words on the page without taking any of it in. His mind was elsewhere.
*
Sirius found Lily in the library.
"Hey, Evans," he said, sinking into a chair next to her. He spread his arms across her papers, so that she was forced to look up. "I hear you have a new admirer."
"Oh, do shut up," she said loudly, in annoyance.
Madam Pince stirred nearby, but Sirius flashed her his most charming smile, and her hard expression softened, albeit only slightly. She disappeared behind some stacks, and could be heard making loud shush-ing noises at a group of first year Slytherins.
"I hear you've been snogging Potter," Sirius persisted.
"Hardly." She rolled her eyes.
"Really?" Sirius pressed, looking unconvinced.
"Yes, really. And if that doesn't convince you, then the fact that I see James snogging you around every corner should."
"You shock me with your vicious lies, young lady." Sirius smirked.
"Oh, please. You and James make sure it's the worst kept secret in the castle. And you know that it's every girl's dream to snare one of you away from the other."
"Except you. Not your dream."
"Well, no. My dream is to pass my NEWTs and live a long and happy life," she said in exasperation, indicating to her thick sheath of papers on the table.
Sirius reclined in his chair, looking thoughtful. "He thinks he's in love with you, you know."
Lily snorted. "It's just another game for him to play — for you all to play."
"No," said Sirius clearly.
Lily narrowed her eyes, finally regarding him with her full attention. She let out a short, disbelieving laugh.
"Jesus Christ, Sirius. Have you come looking for dating advice?"
Sirius looked faintly annoyed for a moment, before slipping into the effortlessly charming smile that had won over Madam Pince.
He leaned forward and, giving her scarcely more warning than James had done, pressed his lips against hers. He was more insistent than James, who had been surprisingly gentle, and he kissed with a relaxed ease that echoed every smirk he had ever cast in her direction.
"There is no petting in the library!" a scandalised voice hissed in her ear. "I expected better of you, Miss Evans." Lily blinked, and was aware of Madam Pince's disapproving face very close to her own. The librarian drew away quickly, still clucking under her breath.
"Just seeing what all the fuss was about," Sirius murmured lazily, reclining once more in his chair and looking maddeningly unruffled.
Lily swept her papers hurriedly into her arms and stalked away, past the cackling Slytherin boys and out of the library. To her continued vexation, Sirius remained at her heels, his long strides matching her brisk trot with ease.
"I can see why he likes you," Sirius mused, his lips brushing against her hair. "You've got spirit."
Lily spun around, her resentment boiling. "You two can have your little circus. Go ahead, play your games. I want no part of it." She turned, and continued to walk away from the library's entrance.
"You can't always get what you want," she heard him say faintly, but he did not follow her any further.
*
Hands pushed at James unexpectedly, and he fell hard against the stone wall of the stairwell. He would have winced at the pain, but Sirius's fingers were rubbing in his hair, and his knee was pushing between his legs. He tried to speak, but Sirius's tongue swept the words away.
James couldn't imagine kissing Lily ever being like this. Kissing Sirius was never just kissing, for one thing. It as always biting and clawing, and sure enough, Sirius slammed him back against the wall, swallowing his yelp of pain. James was hard, and his need for Sirius was as raw as anything he was capable of feeling when he wasn't Transformed.
"Fuck," he gasped, forgetting all his other words. His body ached as he realised that Sirius had drawn away and was lounging casually against the other wall. James heard the footsteps and understood. Two girls he recognised as Ravenclaws appeared, hooking their elbows in as they traipsed past. He listened to the murmur of their whispers, punctuated by girlish laughter, and saw that Sirius was smirking.
Sirius continued to lean comfortably against the other wall of the narrow staircase, but he reached for James's hand (which he surrendered restlessly, using the other to flatten his hair), and tangled their fingers together idly.
"So, have you kissed Lily Evans lately?" Sirius asked lightly.
"Moony told you?" James frowned a little.
"Of course. That's why you told him." Sirius narrowed his eyes, and then laughed. He dropped his hand from James's.
James watched as Sirius cast a slow look out of the window (a narrow slit in the stone that expanded into rolling lawns and a shimmering suggestion of the lake). The sunlight from the window and the shadows from the stairwell combined to create a perfect rendering of his face, all angles and concealment. He really was beautiful. Not Lily's easy, airy prettiness; Sirius's beauty unsettled him.
"How long is it till we leave?" James said suddenly. "NEWTs are in, what, a month's time?"
Sirius smiled thinly, his focus reinstated on James. "So you've noticed. It's not like I've seen you crack a book," he said dryly.
James ignored him. "A month, maybe two," he murmured. Sirius moved to catch his hand again, but James swiped it across the air in agitation.
"We're just . . . pissing about, aren't we?" James said loudly, as if ready to argue to Sirius. "All of us. Killing time. Keeping ourselves amused. It's all playing. Pretending every night is a full moon." He paused, and concluded, "It has to end sometime."
James had been speaking to the stairwell — up on a platform, front of the class, another O for debating. Finally, reluctantly, he rested his eyes on Sirius's. (Good eyes. Dark and twisting. Eyes to get lost in.)
"Are we breaking up, Prongs?" Sirius asked. His voice was low and perfectly level.
"What is there to break up?" James shrugged sloppily, trying not to frown. "It's not like we're in love."
James began to back away from Sirius, taking the steps backwards and stumbling slightly. Half a dozen steps and he was gone, disappeared around the spiral staircase's curve.
"No. Never in love," Sirius said quietly, as James hurtled down the stairs to Lily Evans and Great Romance.
June 2004
Note: Yes, I used the bridge from Cuaron's film. Apologies, book purists.
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