"Wait! Lily! Come on, I swear I didn't mean it!" James yelled. I ignored him, running seemed like the only way to go. Except that there really no place to run except outside. Lightning lit up the sky and thunder crashed all silence. James or the storm?

Storm.

Damn, Potter was catching up- and fast. I officially hate whoever created Qudditch. Why did they have to train them to be so fast? Chasers could slow down, it'd be easier to take pictures, that's for sure. Lily remembered sorting through Alice's piles of missed photos from the last game. It was a nightmare.

In a vain attempt to escape Potter I added to my pace, not a smart idea. Not at all. The rain making everything so slippery and so easy to slide is not fun. You can picture what happens next, can't you?

I fell right on my butt (that left a bruise thank you very much!) and slid down the hill, screaming all the way. Potter looked like the lightning had struck him but I must not get too optimistic. He slid down (on his feet in this really cool manner) Stupid Potter and his balance skills. I still wonder how he did that. It looked like one of those snowboarders on grass and no board.

He was really graceful too, I was green with envy. Between you and me, I tried it a couple times, I never got it.

You know what would be bad? Sliding right into the Black Lake. And I'll give you three guesses where I was headed.

Straight into the Giant Squid's tentacles.

"Lily! Hang on!" James shouted over the sound of the thunder. To what? The mud in front of me, I thought dryly.

James went from his feet to his knees and slid down faster than I thought possible. This could not be safe either. Or healthy for that matter. But James never seemed more real.

He'd always seemed like a guy who was just there, doing cheesy pick-up lines, and wanted a no strings attached shag and then 'the end.' But every thought that ever crossed my mind that was like that was completely scratched out.

All I could see was a real person doing the most amazing, heroic thing anyone had ever done for me that anyone could have ever dreamed up. All of a sudden he seemed to be that answer to love. It was the thing that had made me dance with the imaginary prince when I was little. I had a faint memory of asking my dad help me practice my dancing.

I had told my mum that my prince charming would be heroic, make me smile, be devoted to me, funny, and love me for who I am with no editing. And James fit that criteria perfectly.

Uh oh. I felt my body plunge into freezing ice cold water. James's eyes held panic now and tried to go faster. He kept yelling my name, as if that were to stop me.

Finally he reached me. He snatched me protectively to his chest and helped me to dry land - well wet grass and mud. I have no idea what exactly propelled me to do what I did but thank Merlin and everything else I did.

I snaked my hands around his neck and pushed all thoughts away of what I was doing. All I could think of was those amazing hazel eyes and his lips getting closer and closer to steal my first kiss away.

My mind forgot every reason it had carved into my skull why I wouldn't wan to be near him much less loving him. The hormones of the inner hopeless romantic burst through and took charge and pressed my lips to his.

It felt like I had been charmed too many times with the same cheer-up spell and drunk all the hospital wing's pepper up potions. It was like my guts were going to blow up and my heart go right through my mouth and firecrackers were where my heart was supposed to be. My mum had told me that when I'd found 'The One' I'd know it.

Merlin's socks, did I know it.

"James, I take back what I said about if it were between you and the Giant Squid," I breathed, finally pulling away.

"That's brilliant on two points," James said with a smile that made me melt further into his arms. "One, the Giant Squid is a girl but I never had the heart to tell you that. The second, I sorta love you."

"I sorta love you too," I said softly.

The way James looked at me you would have thought I was the most beautiful creature ever to walk the planet. And not a soaked through red head, shaking but never felt more safe and warm than in his arms Lily Evans that stood there.

The rain beat down harder and relentlessly, all I could see was James and I and I wasn't ever happier for that.

"You have no idea how long I've waited to hear that, Lils."

So the storm wasn't such a bad choice after all.