InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "The boy who scored."

James C. Potter (stagswagger) wrote in loremrpg,
@ 2011-03-19 22:08:00

Entry tags:

!incomplete, james potter, lily evans

Characters: James and Lily
Note: Backdated to before this thread.
Setting: September 19th, 9:00 AM, at the paddocks and then some
Content: SFW
Summary: James and Lily have a 'just friends' date.

Something within James must have anticipated the morning because he woke up well before 9 AM without so much as an alarm or water to the face. He had enough time to soak in the shower, using shampoo he'd stashed in his trunk after what he'd seen of the multiple hair catastrophes from the former week, and even enough time to sort out events that would follow the morning. To be honest, James wasn't much for planning. He had plenty of ideas, but for the most part preferred to let the day lead him where it might. However, considering this was his first and perhaps only chance to show Lily he was serious about her, James decided he couldn't leave everything to fate. After all, you have to help her out sometimes. She's a busy lady! For that reason James paid the kitchens a visit at about 8:15, going out of his way to be somewhat cordial to the house elves as they prepared him a breakfast for two that would last for as long as necessary. James wasn't sure if Lily would eat or not, but just in case decided it was for the best to have food at the ready. He didn't want to give her an excuse to cut their time short. The basket prepared for them contained an assortment of blueberry (in honor of Lily's new hair colour), chocolate chip, and cinnamon muffins, little containers of freshly cut fruit, two glass bottles of chilled orange juice (in honour of James' new hair colour), and two slices of the breakfast casserole the house elves would be serving the rest of the student body any second. If it turned out Lily was among those students, James would just suck down a muffin and hand off the leftovers to the animals at the paddocks who could tolerate such foods. Doing something very uncharacteristic of him, particularly when he was around Sirius, James thanked the house elves and carried the food with him down to the paddocks. Draped over one arm he had his cloak of invisibility because, let's face it, James didn't really go anywhere without it if manageable. Rolled up through the handle of the basket was what appeared to be an ornate, ancient looking rug. This was all he needed for starters. The rest would come with time.

Once James had made it to the paddocks, he set the basket down on the ground near his feet, then propping the rolled up rug against the fence with the cloak just over the top. He didn't want to get things out of the basket prior to figuring out whether or not Lily had eaten because, well, he didn't want to appear desperate or foolish. Though today was all about allowing himself to be genuine with her, and maybe even vulnerable, James still couldn't help but maintain some of his pride in the process. It was just his way. Climbing over the fence and swinging his legs over the top so that he could sit on the highest part, James clicked his tongue to call for one of the hippogriffs. Of course it had been kept on a leash so as to prevent it from flying off, but it was still fully capable of meeting him at the gate. "Aeolus. Come along, boy," James interjected, clicking his tongue some more to get the creature to stir. He hopped down from the fence when the hippogriff began walking toward him, causing the creature to stop short and huff defensively. Granted, the animal had seen him many times before. Hippogriffs had brilliant memories. Still, James always met the animal with the same greeting, as was taught in CoMC--a respectful bow. Bending down at his waist, he folded his entire torso toward the ground, not taking a single hint of caution around the animal. Most students would keep their guard about them just in case, but James had long since become too trusting of the majestic, albeit strong, beasts. When he heard Aeolus prance his claws against the ground, James knew his mind had been made up. True to what he expected, the hippogriff was receptive to him. James smiled as he reached for the basket through the fence. He dug out his piece of breakfast casserole, deciding he could do without that morning. Breaking off a large portion in his hands, he tossed some to Aeolus who caught it before it made the downward spiral. James dared to walk closer to the creature, keeping his hand outstretched so it could finish off the casserole. The beak nipped his palm as it tended to do in such circumstances, but there was hardly more than a dull pain resulting from it. James smiled and patted the hippogriff's neck as he looked back toward the castle at the distance. "Reckon she'll show, old fella?" he spoke affectionately to the bird, ruffling the feathers on its neck upward before smoothing them down again. He knew Lily had come close to breaching a pretty intense topic the other night on her journal, and though James had put a halt on the thought process at that point in time, he truly did want a chance to discuss it in person. Yet he couldn't help but consider Lily's alternatives. After all, James knew as well as anybody else that Lily enjoyed humbling him. Standing the boy up would have been an ideal way to manage just that!

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ungilded
2011-03-28 03:13 am UTC (link)

"Sure," she conceded, "but they'd feel even worse if they kept on doing something that hurt you over and over because they didn't know any better. Letting them know makes it better for everyone in the long run." Lily continued to give advice that she believed, but didn't necessarily follow. She had very sweet, considerate girlfriends who rarely stepped on her toes, but Lily felt sure she would tell them if they ever did, because she knew they would be more upset knowing she had kept it from them and denied them the chance to apologise.

Then James proceeded to make a snarky remark about the reason she cared. Instead of playing into his hand, as she was sure he expected, she glanced down at her bottle of juice, bit her lip, and tugged on one of her curls. "You know that I don't believe in cruelty, even to someone as insufferable as you," she said, the corner of her mouth quirking slightly. Her expression shifted a bit more serious after a moment, though, and she looked up, making eye contact with James. "I hope you would tell me if I really, truly hurt you so I could apologize. That's...almost never my intention," she admitted, that slight little smirk returning as she dropped James' gaze.

That moment, however, James decided to filch a piece of her fruit. She gave him a glare with absolutely no heart behind it and stuck out her tongue. Satisfied with her rare moment of immaturity, Lily smirked and returned to the casserole.

Of course he couldn't leave it at that, though. Ignoring for the moment his comment about heights, Lily plucked a grape from her fruit jar and flicked it at James' head with a laugh that sounded suspiciously like a cackle. "None whatsoever," she said in a very self-satisfied tone, one hand covering her fruit jar to prevent further attempts at thievery.

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stagswagger
2011-03-28 06:04 pm UTC (link)

James was oblivious as to Lily's aim with this conversation at the given moment, and for that reason he didn't associate it with anything or anyone. He just saw it as a means of playfully disagreeing with her and perhaps chancing seeing that cute little frowny face she did when he'd pushed the limits slightly. He figured if she made such a face over something so simple as this it would be easy to resolve, so why not push just a wee bit more? "Your plan is flawed, Lil. They wouldn't know they hurt you over and over if you never let it on. Haven't you herd it said before: 'ignorance is bliss?'" James raised his eyebrows proudly before leaning back on his arms a bit more. Sure, he didn't want to jeopardize his chances with Lily, especially considering this was the first chance she'd ever properly given him. That being said, there was only so much self-denial he could muster at one given time. James figured it was best to pick innocent times to be insufferable, that way Lily wouldn't think it horrible enough to leave him there to himself. Of course James wasn't near as keen on the impact an apology could have on the person giving it. He could only see it from his perspective at that given point in time. All the boy knew was that he hated apologies. He'd much rather clap a mate on the shoulder, ruffle the hair, and move forward with no further negative thoughts or words associated. That's how he and the Marauders typically handled things, and it hadn't failed him so far. Why wouldn't that work for everyone?

Though it was true James had assumed Lily would respond to his remark about her caring, he wasn't fishing for compliments. As a matter of fact, he thought she'd take that opportunity to redeem herself back to the act of insulting him. It was just their way, so James found it near impossible to not tempt the waters in that regard. He was somewhat surprised with the direction Lily took his comment, but hindsight told him he shouldn't have been. She was a cunning little thing, despite belonging to Gryffindor, and knew well enough how to play her cards. "Brilliantly executed," James teased, tipping his head down briefly to give her a mock salute. If anyone could make a peace treaty sound like an act of charity, it was Lily Evans. James kept shifting his eyes between her own and her lips, making a point to place that smirk well within his memory. It wasn't often that weapon left her arsenal for purposes other than chopping him down to size, but this time it was more or less in jest. James could see that much.

When she became more serious, however, he cleared his throat anxiously before returning the gaze. The boy leaned in as if she were about to share a secret, but he straightened up just as quickly once Lily had finished her statement. "And when it is?" he teased back, purposely avoiding making any promise to her about letting the girl know when she'd hurt him. That just wasn't how James did things, and it was uncomfortable for him to consider doing that despite her asking him to. Usually those times she'd hurt him lasted very briefly because he'd find a means of jumping back to his former glory. That was James' coping mechanism. Acknowledging the line that had been crossed only meant further discomfort for both parties, and James would rather not cross that bridge. Sure, he was brave, but he wasn't the type to whinge for hours on end. He was the type to blow up, cool down again, and move forward as if all was just a bad dream.

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stagswagger
2011-03-28 06:05 pm UTC (link)

Lily's tongue was all too tempting to grab between his fingers, and though that was something he would've normally opted for, he just smiled proudly instead. There would be plenty of time for making his own immature flirting tactics work in his benefit.

After the grape rebounded off James' head, he smirked at Lily. Her laughter, though somewhat on the evil side of the spectrum, was encouraging. James leaned back on the rug to reach for the grape, his shirt creeping up slightly to reveal his abdomen before he straightened up again. "A fine way to praise the house elves for all their hard work," he teased the girl, wiping the grape off on his trousers before shoving it into his mouth all the same. He would have left her fruit alone, but the fact her hand was now resting over the top of it was more or less a welcome mat for James. He raised his eyebrows as if to say 'I accept your challenge' and went to burrow his hand under hers. When that didn't work, the stubborn git rested his large hand over Lily's and gently attempted to pry her fingers from around the top of the jar. It was impossible how easily distracted he was from the conversation at hand, particularly when the opportunity arose for him to flirt around with Lily some more. Yet, in an attempt to distract her from his hand and the jar in general, he returned to their former topic. "We'll find out soon enough," he assured her, smiling that cocky grin that typically sent her over the top, his hand still over hers.

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ungilded
2011-03-28 06:47 pm UTC (link)

At James' suggestion, Lily absolutely made that 'cute little frowny face' that he liked so much. "Nobody likes a martyr, James." When he made statements like that, the part of Lily that spent much of its time trying to actively make her a better person was worried that maybe she had hurt him in the past. She knew she could be harsh with him, and if he wasn't going to let on if he was actually hurt, how could she ever know?

She didn't miss him dodging her request for a promise, either. "And if it is I'll tell you and at least you'll know, but more often than not it isn't. That didn't sound like a promise, by the way," Lily admonished. Honestly, how did James think a relationship between them would ever work if they couldn't be honest with one another? Of course, when that thought occurred to Lily, she shut it down almost immediately. They were barely starting to be friends, after all.

She was distracted from this semi-serious train of thought, however, by James trying to steal her fruit. It wasn't so much that Lily didn't want to share as it was that she liked a challenge just as much as James did, and so she kept her hand firmly on top of the jar, no matter how he tried to get at it. A smirk was firmly in place on her face, and when James stopped and left his hand on top of hers, all thoughts of avoiding contact with him were long gone. Lily was focused only on winning. She kept eye contact with him, her own smirk matching his, and slipped her free hand to grasp the bottom of the jar. In one fluid moment, she turned over her top hand and slid it into James', interlacing their fingers, and with her bottom hand, tugged the jar behind her, out of his reach. "I'm sure we will," she responded, just as cocky as him. Though she didn't broadcast it as loudly, Lily was just as much a Gryffindor as James.

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Part 1/2

stagswagger
2011-03-28 07:35 pm UTC (link)

"Au contraire, Lily. Martyrs are only disliked by those doing the martyring." The two could stay at it for days, and James honestly hoped they would. If the two continued teasing one another in such a way it decreased the chances they could properly bicker or even hurt one another. Not to say James ever hurt Lily, at least not that he could recall. Then again, much like him, she had a tendency to guard her weaknesses like a mother would a newborn cub. James honestly didn't have a clue what could get to her because very little seemed to. The only thing he could recall ever causing Lily pain was that one time Snivellus called her a 'mudblood.' The response Snape elicited from Lily provoked James all the more, so it was by mere luck the Slytherin made it back to the castle in one piece. It was easier for him to be pissed off at Snape than to realize he was the one who provoked the sleeping serpent. If not for James and his friends it probably wouldn't have happened. All the same, he didn't think anything justified such comments toward anyone, least of all Lily.

After that day, James made it his goal to never cause Lily to hurt like that again, indirectly or otherwise, and that was a huge part of the reason he couldn't make that promise to her now. Once again James opted for redirecting Lily's comment, deciding to take another approach to his evade this time. "All right then. That stinging hex to the boys didn't feel so brilliant," he teased, raising his eyebrows knowingly as he continued to smile. Though his comment was parallel to the truth, he wasn't really looking for an apology or making Lily feel guilty. He just assumed this was the most innocent way to change the topic he could see at that point in time. It didn't even cross James' mind that apologies were necessary for committed relationships, at least not on her behalf. James was always quick to apologize because, let's face it, almost every other word out of his mouth wound up striking a nerve. It was different considering the tables reversed, a discomfort he didn't want to visit any time soon. He'd resolved long ago he'd be in the wrong a majority of the time, and frankly was completely comfortable with this notion.

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Part 2/2

stagswagger
2011-03-28 07:35 pm UTC (link)

Nothing James had foreseen involved the line of action Lily took to keep her fruit to herself. In fact, he would have sooner suspected her of taking a jab at his stomach or shoving him away. This was a more cherished alternative, however, and it served the purpose Lily set out to do. When she rotated her hand and laced her fingers with his own, James' eyes went wide before his smirk faded into a more pacified smile. His gaze shifted to their hands briefly, as if checking to see that it was real. Just following the confirmation, Lily piped up her cocky retort. James laughed gently this his gaze still fixed on their hands, slowly shifting his eyes back to hers. "Clever minx," he teased back, his voice a great deal softer than before. He scooted closer to Lily, taking care to keep her hand laced with his on the rug beside them. Leaning in to Lily's cheek, James simultaneously stretched their interlaced hands transverse and grabbed at the fruit jar behind her back with his free hand. Setting it to the side, just out of her range, James smiled even wider. His face was merely centimeters from her, but still he fought the urge to breach the distance. Moving too fast could ruin the entire thing.

To keep himself from getting too carried away, James decided it was time to switch gears. He shifted around before slowly standing up, still holding Lily's hand as he urged her to stand with him. "Well, Evans. Let's see if you can put your money where your mouth is, shall we?" He backed off the rug, leading her in hopes she'd follow suit. Though he was concerned it would involved her dropping his hand, he figured the thrill of what was coming next would make up for that. With his free hand James reached into his pocket again, giving his wand a flick at the basket to watch it reassemble and float toward the fence. One more nonverbal spell, and his cloak was with him again. Without further ado, the antique rug sprung to life and levitated off the ground. Leave it to James to find illegal magical artifacts and claim them as his own. Fortunately enough he had his cloak on him in case they ran the risk of getting caught. The magic carpet was levitating a little above waist level, so it would take extra care to get them both on top. "Don't tell Minnie," he cautioned with a wink, releasing Lily's hand only to place both of his on her waist and lift her up to sit on the carpet.

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ungilded
2011-03-28 09:24 pm UTC (link)

Lily was gratified by the look of surprise on James' face, however fleeting. She was being goaded on to keep up this little game by her playful side. For once, she wasn't thinking about how this was James, or if he was going to read into this too much, or anything. She was just being a Gryffindor, following her instincts, and enjoying the heady rush it was giving her. When James called her a clever minx, her smirk only widened into a positively devilish grin. Yes, Lily knew exactly what she was doing, and for the moment, she was okay with it.

To that end, when James leaned close to her, she refused adamantly to back down. She wondered if he would try something and she'd have to hex him again. Regardless of what he looked like he was going to do, Lily promised herself she wouldn't budge. Fortunately for James' privates, however, he didn't try anything less innocuous than stealing the fruit jar back, which Lily allowed, for now.

Still feeling playful after their little war, Lily let James help her up, interested in spite of herself to see what the next thing he had planned was. Lily had clearly been right to assume James had plenty of things in store! She watched him move some things around with neat flicks of his wand, not even noticing that their hands were still clasped together.

Even she couldn't pretend she had been expecting the rug they'd been sitting on to be a magic carpet of all things. Involuntarily, she gasped, and then she turned to James, giving him her best look. "Really, James? Do you even have any idea how illegal this is? Professor McGonagall should be the least of--aah!" That was a wholly involuntary noise on Lily's part when James picked her up and set her on the carpet. She couldn't help but direct a glare his way, though it was lacking in nearly all of its usual fury. She couldn't deny she'd been curious about what a magic carpet ride felt like, and she had promised to go along with James' ideas...but that didn't mean she couldn't pretend to be irritated to save her pride.

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