A/NAlright, so this is completely random and out of the blue. A little mental as well. Thoughts are appreciated.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter, names, characters and indicia are solely JK Rowling's. I do not take credit for any thing you recognize in this story.
-Good Luck Charm-
If Lily Evans was notorious for something, it was for the fact that she was extremely superstitious.
When she first got to Hogwarts and discovered her dorm, she changed the whole disposition of the room just so that her bed wouldn't be facing north or south, because it was bad luck.
She always got out of bed on the same side she got in for fear that she'll have bad luck for the rest of the day otherwise.
She never killed a bee whenever it snuck through her window, because it was bad luck, even though she was deathly afraid of bees. She simply left the room.
She never cut her fingernails on Friday or Sunday, because it was bad luck.
And, ironically, she always wore a blue bead to protect herself from witches, even though she was a witch herself.
So when she woke up on that dreadful Friday the Thirteenth of November, she knew her day was going to be an awful one. The fact that it was also her birthday didn't really help matters.
From the first moment her eyes blinked open, she groaned upon realizing she had overslept and only had fifteen minutes to get to class.
With all the fuss about this much bad luck before the sun started shining above the horizon, she didn't notice that she had gotten out of bed from the wrong side. And that was why she tripped over her feet while going for the bathroom.
Moaning miserably, she took deep breaths to calm her rasping breath and to convince herself out from crawling back under the covers and staying there till the next morning.
After discovering that her school shirt had a huge mustard stain on the left breast, her robes were missing, her school bag had a tear in the bottom, her ink bottle had spilled all over her Charms' essay and that she only have five minutes left to get to Transfiguration, Lily was all about hysterical.
Running madly towards the staircase, the moment her foot stepped on the first stair, the stairway gave a sudden leap before turning into a slide. And down came Lily Evans, shrieking and cursing only to land at the feet of a certain tosser named Sirius Black.
Huffing exuberantly, she stood up, awkwardly blowing hair out of her eyes. "Black," She hissed, through clenched teeth. Sirius was watching her with wide eyes, his posture tense and rigid. No one liked a feisty Lily Evans at eight o' the clock.
He slowly and tentatively gave her a half-smile. "Lillian," He started cheerfully, immediately regretting ever opening his mouth.
Lily did not approve of anyone calling her Lillian that wasn't her mother.
Eyes narrowed into slits, she took a step closer to Sirius who perfunctorily took a step back.
"Black, if you're not out of sight in the next two seconds, I will chop off your balls and have them for breakfast."
Never one to ignore an irate redhead's threats, he immediately stepped aside and let her pass through.
Once in the corridors, she skidded into a run, praying for the Gods to make McGonagall late for class for once in her life.
Yet all thoughts of McGonagall and Sirius's balls left her mind the moment she turned a corner and ran face first into someone's chest.
"Fucking Hell!" She cried, her already torn bag breaking loose and sending all of her belongings to the floor. "This is just sodding perfect! God damn it!"
"I never knew you had such a colorful tongue this early in the morning," The person she bumped -collided, more likely- into chortled, and her breath seemed to be stuck in her throat.
Her gaze slowly moved from her things sprawled on the floor and up to the face of James Potter, hair a mess, clothes a mess, and a smirk splitting his face in two.
"Morning, Lily," He tried, his smirk turning into a polite smile.
"Umeringjams," She mumbled distractedly, bending down once more to gather her things.
James cocked an eye at her. "You seem quite eloquent this morning, Lily. I'm quite surprised," He joshed and she sent a murderous glare his way.
"Don't you have a tower to jump off of?" She bit, and something flashed in his eyes that made her heart clench.
He tried to pass it off casually and grinned forcedly instead. "I take it back then. I guess your tongue always seems to lash out in my fortunate presence."
"The day your presence near me ever becomes fortunate, Sirius will have known what 'dimwitted' means, Peter will be thin, and your ego will have deflated from the size of the entire European continent that it already is to the size of England," She shot back, and immediately winced.
She tried, she really did, and even though she had taken a certain liking to the bloke, she just couldn't bite back her sarcastic comments when he was around. It was pure animal instinct.
Then the bell rang announcing the start of classes and another flow of blaspheme escaped her mouth that left James speechless.
"Do you kiss your mother with that mouth? I ought to scrub that tongue of yours with some soap," He informed her good-naturedly. She scowled.
"This is just perfect! Now I'm late for transfiguration because of you!" She exclaimed, stomping her feet angrily. "This day cannot get any worse!"
He seemed to be stifling a laugh as he looked down at her frustrated form, and this didn't ease her boiling guts. "Er, Lily, has it occurred to you at all why I'm standing here and not in class either?" He asked slowly, as if talking to a small child.
Lily's boiling point was reaching her eyebrows.
"Nooo," She drawled, her left eye taking a nasty twitch. James found it extremely sexy.
He coughed awkwardly. "Um, we have a free period now."
She blinked. "Oh."
An awkward silence enveloped the two as they stared dumbly at each other, with equally erratic heartbeats, until a loud growl broke it.
Lily felt her face flame to the roots of her hair. Honestly, this day kept getting worse. She smiled sheepishly. "Guess I'm a little hungry."
He gave her a lopsided grin, before he bent down and gathered her books to his chest. "Come on, let's go to the kitchens and get a bite to eat."
She scowled and took back her books. "No, there is no way I'm going to the kitchens now! It's against the rules! I'll just wait for lunch. It's not like I'm that hungry anyway."
Her stomach didn't seem to agree with her, since another growl, louder this time, echoed through the empty halls.
James raised her eyebrows at her knowingly and smiled slightly. "You were saying?"
She had the decency to roll her eyes at him, before she sighed dramatically. "Fine, you may take me to the kitchens," She declared, as if giving him permission.
He chose to ignore that, and instead took the books from her grip and slipped them into his own bag. She frowned slightly and mumbled a thanks under her breath.
He gave her a sideways glance as they started down the stairs towards the kitchens. "So, not having a good day, are you?" He inquired.
Her eyes made a slow rotation in their socket. "Do I look like I'm having a good day?"
He grinned. "Well the torn bag and the stain on your shirt tell me you're not."
She smiled slightly. "This should have been a great day, but it's just like my luck that my birthday had to be on a Friday, the thirteenth."
He grinned. "Oh don't be pessimistic. I'm sure you can simply turn your luck to your favor."
She raised her eyebrows. "And how do you suggest I do that?"
He stroked his goatee thoughtfully, seemingly deep in contemplation. "Well, maybe you should… try being nice to other people," He suggested and she narrowed her eyes at him.
"Right. Other people as in you," She retorted and he shrugged.
"You could start off with me. You know, try me out," He nodded.
She bit her lip in thought. "Try you out…" She repeated.
Before she could utter an other word though, James was grabbing her painfully by the arm and shoving her into the opposite wall, behind a suit of armor.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOIN—" She started shrieking until he shoved his hand on her mouth.
"Sshh, you idiot, keep your voice down," He hissed, his mouth brushing her ear and she felt a distinct shiver run down her spine.
Her heart was hammering madly across her chest and she was having trouble breathing. She still had no clue why James had dragged them both behind that armor until a whistling Filch came around the corner, his cat sauntering at his tail.
Eager to get away from James's suffocating body, she was starting to pull away the moment Filch disappeared out of sight when he pulled her back against him. "He'll be back," He whispered, his mouth on her ear again, his warm breath tickling her neck.
She clucked her tongue impatiently as she waited for Filch to pass by again. It was really unnerving, the way their bodies were flushed against each other, and if she tilted her head up, his mouth would be right on hers, and oh sweet merciful Merlin, what was that poking her in the hip!?
As if sensing her tension, James uttered a deep guttural laugh right in her ear, and a tremor shook her to the very core. "That's my wand, Lily," He stated, his voice like velvet.
Filch chose to stroll back at that moment, relieving her from having to answer. The moment the caretaker rounded the corner, Lily shoved James away from her, making him stumble back in surprise.
Fanning her burning face with her hand, she started down the corridor, not having a clue about where she was heading.
"Um, Lily," James called her back.
She froze in her tracks, and slowly turned around to face him, praying the Gods that her blush had faded.
"What?"
She was going for blunt and curt, but her voice came out rather breathless and weak.
"The kitchen is this way," He stated, pointing behind his shoulder.
As she embarrassedly made her way towards him, she was quite glad to note that she wasn't the only one affected by their nearness. His hair was even messier, his shirt had somehow untucked from under his trousers, and a slight blush appeared on his high cheekbones.
She swallowed.
He looked really, really sexy.
The rest of the journey towards the Kitchens was quiet, and the only word spoken was the password uttered by James as they reached the portrait of a bowl of fruits. Ignoring the pear that was giggling when James tickled it, Lily took a deep breath and entered the safety of the large Kitchens.
This trip being her first there, Lily couldn't help the gasp of awe that escaped her mouth as she watched hundreds of elves scurry around the room and succumb to Potter's every need.
They settled on the edge of one of the large tables, an exact replica of the tables in the Great Hall.
Once plates were settled in front of them, Lily dug in eagerly, completely ignoring the looks of amusement that James shot her.
"Hungry, are we?" He jeered and she scowled slightly, finishing off her pudding. "I'm really amazed. I never knew you could eat so much."
She shrugged offhandedly. "I have a fast metabolism."
He gave her a lopsided grin. "Really? I always thought you were one of those girls who only ate celery and cucumber. I'm quite glad you're not," He muttered.
Her spoon hovered in midair as she stared at him quizzically. "Why? What's it to you?"
He faltered for a moment, and another blush tainted his pale cheeks. He scratched the back of his neck embarrassedly and muttered a distracted 'Nevermind'.
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, before shrugging.
"So, Potter," She started suddenly, shoving her plate aside and crossing her arms in front of her chest in a businesslike manner. "Tell me a little about yourself."
He raised his eyebrows at her. "Pardon?"
She rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "Oh really, I think I've made myself quite clear. Tell me a little about yourself. What do your parents do for a living? Do you have any siblings? What are you planning on doing when you leave Hogwarts? What's this special bond you have between you and the rest of your Marauder pals? Do you have a girlfriend?"
She added the last one faintly, but he managed to hear it and smirked.
He chuckled slightly. "Well my Father works at the Ministry, my Mother used to be a Healer but when I was born, she left her job to stay at home with me, as I was quite a handful," He started and she laughed lightly. "I don't have any siblings, although Sirius is mostly considered as the brother I never had, and the son my parents never had." Again, at this, she laughed, before inwardly berating herself. She wasn't supposed to find Potter funny. "I'm planning on playing professional Quidditch when I leave Hogwarts. If my Father approves, that is. I'm not allowed to talk about my special bond with The Marauders. And no, my dear Lily Evans, I do not have a girlfriend, but if you're willing to fill in the position…?" He raised his eyebrows suggestively but she merely gave him the middle finger.
He chuckled at her response and lounged back in his seat.
"So, do you want to know something about me?" She asked expectantly.
He shrugged. "I already know those things about you," He replied unthinkingly and she raised her eyebrows. He shrugged in response and said, "Your father's a dentist, your mother a stay-at-home mum. You have a sister, Petunia, who got married recently. You two fell apart when you got your letter to Hogwarts. When you leave here, you want to be a Healer, or fight alongside Dumbledore for the Order of The Phoenix. Your friends aren't Marauders, but you and Dorcas met on the Hogwarts Express and you've been inseparable ever since. And finally, no, you don't have a boyfriend, but you're secretly pining after me and are too shy to admit it already."
Instead of snapping at him like she usually did, she ignored his last sentence and merely tilted her head to the side and cocked an eye at him. "Should I be scared that you know so much about me?"
He grinned brightly, and she felt her heart tugging painfully. "No worries, I'm no stalker. I'm merely a great observer."
She beamed. "Right."
"So, I want to know something else entirely about you. Something you've never told anyone," He continued. "I don't mean your deepest darkest secrets," He added quickly when he saw her doubtful look. "Just meaningless things you've never told anyone before, like your secret fantasies for example."
"My secret fantasies?" She repeated, laughing. "I'm no scarlet woman, Potter."
He rolled his eyes. "You don't have to be a scarlet woman to have fantasies, my dear."
She leaned on her elbows farther and stared at him for a moment, not able to tear her eyes away from the pools of gold and bronze and hazel staring back at her. "I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours first," She finally declared and he raised an eyebrow skeptically.
"Hm, are you sure you'll tell me? You won't back out of this, right?" He asked and she nodded vigorously.
"Of course, as long as everything we say stays in the confines of this Kitchen."
He held out his hand at her. "Deal," He said and she shook his hand in agreement.
He took a deep breath. "Well my secret fantasy would be the following: a dimly lit room lit by various candles emitting the strangest and most exotic aromas, the floor scattered with petals of red roses, my lover spread on the bed, ready and wanton, begging me to take her alrea—"
"Oh for fuck's sake, Potter, that's the corniest fantasy I've ever heard."
He scowled playfully. "Hey! I happen to be quite a romantic man!" He retorted and she laughed, shaking her head.
"Come on, James, seriously now," She said and he gasped, holding a hand to his chest.
"You called me by my birth name!" He exclaimed, pointing a finger at her.
She rolled her eyes and threw a bread roll at his face. "Shut up!"
He laughed, taking a bite out of the roll. "Alright fine. My fantasy would be doing it on the Quidditch pitch, right in the middle of the field. Or in the broom shack," He added thoughtfully and she tittered.
"Oh that's creative," She rolled her eyes, giving him an annoyed look.
He raised his eyebrows. "Oh you think you could do better?"
She smirked. "Yes, I think I can," She stated simply and he unconsciously licked his lips in anticipation.
"I'm all ears, my dear."
She once again turned a deaf ear towards his pet names and drew a deep breath. "Well, I've always fancied doing it in the Library. Maybe it's the fact that we have to keep quiet that makes it all the more thrilling, you know. So the guy has to see how much he can lube me up before I cry out his name."
He rubbed the back of his neck embarrassedly, feeling the Kitchens grow hotter.
"Am I making you nervous…James," She whispered, her voice taking a throatier, sexier tone and he gulped as she leaned forward in her seat, their faces inches apart.
Her hot breath was fanning across his face, blowing his fringe in his eyes but he didn't mind one bit as he leaned further and watched as she licked her lips.
"You've always made me nervous, Lily," He muttered, before ever so slightly brushing his lips against the corner of her mouth.
She didn't pull away, and instead tilted her head to the side until their mouth were connected. They were still for a few seconds, enjoying the softness of each other's lips, until his tentatively begun to move slowly and purposefully, as if to enjoy something so sweet and forbidden possibly for the first and last time.
Her lips parted instinctively, and he was suddenly sucking on her bottom lip as he slowly stood up to get better access to her mouth, as they were still sitting uncomfortably opposite each other.
She laughed lightly against his lips as she too stood up and climbed up the table to join him, ignoring the quizzical look the elves shot them.
He chuckled gutturally and drew her in closer, running his tongue across her lips, tasting her raspberry lip balm and enjoying the way her mouth seemed to be so pliant under his.
A rather uncomfortable cough broke in through their heavy snogging, and they pulled apart with a suction sound.
Three awkward looking elves were standing near their table, observing them in a would-be serious way, if it wasn't for the fact that they were two to three feet tall and wearing ridiculous aprons.
"We'll be going now," James muttered, before he pulled Lily by the hand and led her out of the kitchens.
"Where are we going?" She asked. "We only have ten minutes left before next class."
"We're only going back to the Tower, don't worry. I just have to give you something," He replied, giving her a mysterious grin. "You don't mind going up to the dorms with me, do you?" He asked, once they were inside the Gryffindor Common Room.
She shrugged, but eyed him wearily all the same. "No, it's alright."
Their hands still clasped together, they went up to James's dorm room, him closing the door behind him inconspicuously.
"I know I wasn't supposed to get you anything, but I just couldn't resist," He started, taking out a package from under his bed.
She stared dumbfounded at the nicely wrapped up present in James hands, before she looked up at him softly smiling. "You – you really shouldn't have, James," She muttered, taking the package.
He shrugged nonchalantly. "It's nothing, really. I just hope you like it."
The present was simple enough but she thought it was the best she had ever gotten. It was a plum colored scarf made from the softest wool she had ever touched, and in the corner of it, her name was sewn in white, slanted writing.
She smiled broadly. "Thank you, James, this is beautiful."
She stood on tiptoe and kissed him softly on the cheek, feeling her entire body grow hot when his hand rested on her neck and the other wounded through her hair.
He was breathing a little heavily, his hot breath on her face and she instinctively closed her eyes, feeling him lean down to close the distance between them.
Yet, the moment his lips brushed hers, the bell rang, announcing the end of the first class and the beginning of the next.
She pulled away, slightly flushed. "Um, we better get down to Potions," She muttered and he nodded dazedly.
The next two hours of Potions went by abnormally slow for the two Heads who were eager to get out of there and join each other again.
Completely ignoring their respective friends, Lily and James shared mysterious glances and flirtatious smiles from across the room throughout the entire two periods.
Once the bell rang, the two bolted towards the door, before, quite unfortunately, Slughorn called them both back.
"Miss Evans, Mr. Potter, I need to ask you a favor, you two being the Heads," He started, packing his briefcase in a hurry. "I need you both to brew up a few beginners' potions for the First Years. You'll find all the ingredients you need in the pantry. I have to go to lunch now, so I'll see you both in a jiffy! Cheerio!" And then he was running out of the door, eager to get away from the protesting Seventh Years.
Huffing angrily, Lily threw her broken bag on the table, and went for the pantry, muttering darkly under her breath about bad luck again.
Lingering behind, James followed her inside the pantry, where she was already perched upon a small stool and was reaching for a certain jar in the far back of the shelf.
He froze.
Her stomach was exposed.
She tutted exasperatedly. "Potter, could you stop gawking at my stomach and help me out here," She snapped.
Unthinkingly closing the pantry door behind him, James confidently marched inside the closet, not quite expecting Lily's outburst.
"Oh my God, you stupid, stupid idiot!" She cried, jumping down from the stool and dashing towards the door, pulling at the doorknob with great fervor. "You – friggin – fucking – stupid – man!" She kept shrieking with each pull of the doorknob. "The fucking knob is defunct! Now we're stuck in here, until Slughorn comes back from his fucking lunch!"
James stared.
Lily groaned
"This is just… perfect," She muttered weakly, before sliding down the wall and sitting on the cold tiles, her arms wrapped around her knees.
Joining her on the floor, James chose a place opposite her, and stared.
She looked up from her knees with a soft glare. "What?" She snapped.
He shrugged. "I was wondering something," He started and she raised her eyebrows, urging him on. "I was wondering why I'm still alive and intact at the moment."
She blinked and shook her head. "I'm not following."
"Well, firstly, I revealed to you that I'm practically a stalker, I've asked you what your sexual fantasies were and told you my own, I've snogged you in the kitchens, I took you up to my room where I could have probably raped you, and now, I've locked us both up inside Slughorn's dirty Potions' pantry. And yet, here I am, sitting in front of you, still in one piece, my balls intact."
She looked away from him, her cheeks tainted a beautiful red.
It was with a great amount of willpower that James Potter remained seated on the floor, whereas inside, he was skipping and shrieking with joy.
Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself for the worst. "You know, the next Hogsmeade trip is in a couple of weeks," He started tentatively and she looked up at him, biting her lip nervously, and eyes gleaming. "And I was, er, wondering," He continued slowly, coughing, "if you're not too busy that is, maybe you'd like to join me for some, er, butterbeer or something," He fumbled and she couldn't help the uneasy chuckle that escaped her mouth.
She nodded slowly. "I'd like that," She whispered and he grinned jubilantly, crawling closer to her form.
"And, since I seem to be on a roll here, I was also wondering if I could kiss you again," He added, grinning boyishly and she beamed back, straightening up to reach him better.
The floor was dusty and grimy, but she didn't mind one bit as he laid her down and hovered above her, raining butterfly kisses on her skin.
"You know," She gasped as his tongue licked at her lips. "You might just be my good luck charm," She continued, yet the rest of the sentence was muffled when his tongue sneaked its way between her lips and eagerly searched for hers.
He grinned against her mouth. "How is that?"
She flipped them over until she was the one straddling him, and he was pinned under her mouth. She shrugged lightly, nuzzling on his neck. "Everything seems better when you're around," She muttered.
He raised his eyebrows, trying to form a coherent sentence as her mouth continued its assault on his skin, disabling from thinking clearly. "Er, Lily, we –we're stuck in – in a closet to-together. How –how is that better?" He stuttered.
She pulled away slightly, an eyebrow cocked. "Well, if we weren't stuck here, you wouldn't have asked me out. I mean, sure, you would have found some other time to do it, but I might not have been this vulnerable, so I wouldn't have agreed," She stated and he nodded thoughtfully, sitting up and wrapping an arm around her waist.
Her arms went around his neck as they sat intertwined, their noses rubbing affectionately against each other.
"Hm, you know, this might be the best birthday ever," She finally whispered, thoughtfully.
"Really?" He chuckled. "I thought you were saying it was the worst?"
She shook her head, nipping lightly at his bottom lip and he groaned deep in his throat at the feel of her rubbing against him.
"You're gonna have to stop doing that," He grunted, pulling slightly away so he could breathe better.
She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Hm, how about we make that fantasy of yours come true?" She murmured in his ear, lightly licking at it and feeling a chill run down his spine.
His smirked mischievously. "Actually, I was thinking about making yours come true. See how much time it needs me to 'lube you up', as you put it," He drawled and she licked her lips, grinning.
Taking a deep breath, she said, "Deal."
He cringed. "Small setback though," He said and she looked at him quizzically. "The door is still locked."
"Oh."
-FIN-
A/N: Please check out the sequel to this, called "Ladybug Charm". And a review would be much appreciated.