Fic Exchange: Fic for mandyloo
For: Mandy/mandyloo of Hufflepuff
# of words: 1326
Title: With A Little Help (From My Friends)
Rating/warnings: PG/none
Characters/Pairings: Lily/James, Marauders
Summary: An average winter day.
Author's Notes: I messed the timeline, so I apologize for that. Also, this came out more like a genfic.
It had been nearly a month since the end of the Christmas holidays. While February brought the return of Quidditch and trips in Hogsmeade, it also meant the ground was still frozen in winter ice. The weather kept all the Hogwarts students locked away in their respective Common Rooms -- expect for the fifth and seventh years who scurried about the library with piles of books to prepare for their exams. The chilly wind that blew across the castle grounds left five sixth years bogarting the seats in front of the fireplace in the Gryffindor Common Room. James was spread across the entire sofa, his head in Lily's lap and his feet hanging over the edge of the arm rest. Sirius leaned his back against the couch and stared into the fire. Remus and Peter occupied the two armchairs opposite each other.
"And then," James said, excitedly, gesturing up at the ceiling. "He opened his mouth and croaked -- like a frog!" He paused as everyone laughed at the conclusion of his story. "So the moral of the story is that silent spells should be taught during first year -- it would have made school so much more fun."
"I think silent incantations would be a little difficult for most eleven year olds," Lily added, knowing full well Sirius was rolling his eyes at her. Smiling, she leaned forward to kiss the top of James' head but found that with his head in her lap, she was unable to reach it. Instead, she settled on kissing her fingers and brushing those across his forehead.
"That's not the point, Lily," James said, folding his arms across his chest in protest.
"Yes, I know. I was supposed to laugh hysterically and fall maddeningly in love with you."
At that, James sat up and leaned forward on his hands. "You already are maddeningly in love with me," he remind her, pressing his lips to her cheek. This prompted groans from the rest of the Marauders and a solid punch in the shoulder from Sirius. He rubbed his arm in response and shot Sirius a dirty look.
"Now, now, boys," Lily said, unable to hold back her laughter. "Don't you all have something productive to do? Maybe a potions assignment to work on?" She shrugged her shoulders as if it were an innocent question.
"I have Quidditch practice," James answered quickly.
"Me too!" Peter and Sirius chimed in before they all erupted into another fit of laughter. The thought of Peter and Sirius flying around the pitch was too funny to take seriously.
"We can work on the assignment together, Lily," Remus suggested. "Then we can all go watch James practice."
"That sounds fine. But I am not letting anyone copy off me this time."
It only took Remus and Lily about thirty minutes to write Slughorn's essay. Lily knew a lot of the answers without looking them up. It was then another five minutes of Sirius and Peter begging for answers before she relented and let them copy off of her (with slight changes, of course). It was then that they all headed to the Quidditch Pitch to catch some of the Gryffindor team's practice. Lily bundled herself in a heavy red scarf and hat, both of which clashed with the hair she tried desperately to tuck in her jacket collar. And despite the gloves, her fingers could still feel the icy chill in the air.
"I regret agreeing to this," she mumbled through her layers.
When the weather was nice, the stands during Gryffindor Quidditch practices were littered with people. Today, only the Keeper's girlfriend and a few fourth year boys huddled together on the bleachers. Up in the air above them, the Chasers were completing complicated flight patterns while passing the Quaffle, the Beaters practiced hitting the Bludger toward the goal post and Lily could hear the delayed ping as it made contact, and the Keeper drifted around the hoops lazily.
"I don't see James anywhere," she said, shielding her eyes as she searched for him on the pitch. Sirius touched her shoulder then pointed way up into the clouds. There she could make out his figure, laying down across his broom as if he were napping. "Oh," she said, frowning. "So much for practice." The three boys around her laughed.
Suddenly, James sat upright on his broom and, upon spotting his friends, executed and quick and dangerous dive to the stands, righting himself so he could float in the air in front of them.
"I can't believe you guys are actually out here," he said, leaning back on his broom, his breath creating a little white cloud in the frozen air.
"We missed you terribly," Sirius said, clutching his hands to his chest.
"How sweet." James puckered his lips.
"Should we leave so you two can be alone?" Lily asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Very funny," James responded. "I should get back to practice." He turned and flew back up into the clouds, pretending he couldn't hear Peter yell, "You mean back to napping!"
During practice, the snitch did not zoom too far from the pitch. James flew along behind it, zigzagging a path in the sky. He easily caught it in his fingers then threw it so he could chase it again. Practice seemed almost silly to him, as his job in the game was so personal and easy. But he enjoyed being on a broom so it was never something he missed, even when it was cold out. Knowing his friends were in the stands, he tried to show off a little, flying in loops and doing barrel rolls. He even waved to the "crowd" and he could hear the whoops of his fellow Marauders in response.
Practice ended and James quickly changed in the locker room and met his friends so they could walk back to the castle together.
"Did you guys enjoy the show?"
"Riveting," Remus said, deadpan.
"I can't believe I came out here to watch you. It's freezing!" Lily shivered to prove her point. Smoothly, James took a step closer to her and slid his hand gloved hand into hers.
"We can go back and sit by the fire until you warm up," he suggested.
"Oh, get a room," Sirius sighed, rolling his eyes.
"Okay, Lily, just come up to my room instead," he said, wiggly his eyebrows suggestively. Lily laughed and tugged him closer.
"I don't think Sirius would appreciate us using the room he has to sleep in," she said, throwing a look over her shoulder.
"He's just jealous."
"Okay!" Sirius suddenly exclaimed, holding his arms up in defeat. "That's enough. I can't take it. Let's just get back inside."
No one could stop laughing the whole walk into the castle. Once they passed through the doors, they began to shed their outer-clothes. Lily peeled off her gloves and shoved them into her pockets, then picked James' hand back up.
"You still have that potions essay to write, James," she said, as they approached the portrait hole that lead into the Common Room.
"Maybe you could help me with it. I'm sure you've finished it already."
"You should really start doing your own homework. How do you expect to pass your N.E.W.T.s next year?"
"Maybe I'll drop out of school." Once inside the Common Room, James resumed lounging on the sofa in front of the fire. The others took their appropriate spots as well. "I'll be a famous Quidditch Seeker. And you can stay at home raising our two kids."
"Dream on. We all know you aren't that good at Quidditch."
He leaned over and kissed her quickly on the lips. The other three boys groaned. "I have plenty of time to prove you wrong."
# of words: 1326
Title: With A Little Help (From My Friends)
Rating/warnings: PG/none
Characters/Pairings: Lily/James, Marauders
Summary: An average winter day.
Author's Notes: I messed the timeline, so I apologize for that. Also, this came out more like a genfic.
It had been nearly a month since the end of the Christmas holidays. While February brought the return of Quidditch and trips in Hogsmeade, it also meant the ground was still frozen in winter ice. The weather kept all the Hogwarts students locked away in their respective Common Rooms -- expect for the fifth and seventh years who scurried about the library with piles of books to prepare for their exams. The chilly wind that blew across the castle grounds left five sixth years bogarting the seats in front of the fireplace in the Gryffindor Common Room. James was spread across the entire sofa, his head in Lily's lap and his feet hanging over the edge of the arm rest. Sirius leaned his back against the couch and stared into the fire. Remus and Peter occupied the two armchairs opposite each other.
"And then," James said, excitedly, gesturing up at the ceiling. "He opened his mouth and croaked -- like a frog!" He paused as everyone laughed at the conclusion of his story. "So the moral of the story is that silent spells should be taught during first year -- it would have made school so much more fun."
"I think silent incantations would be a little difficult for most eleven year olds," Lily added, knowing full well Sirius was rolling his eyes at her. Smiling, she leaned forward to kiss the top of James' head but found that with his head in her lap, she was unable to reach it. Instead, she settled on kissing her fingers and brushing those across his forehead.
"That's not the point, Lily," James said, folding his arms across his chest in protest.
"Yes, I know. I was supposed to laugh hysterically and fall maddeningly in love with you."
At that, James sat up and leaned forward on his hands. "You already are maddeningly in love with me," he remind her, pressing his lips to her cheek. This prompted groans from the rest of the Marauders and a solid punch in the shoulder from Sirius. He rubbed his arm in response and shot Sirius a dirty look.
"Now, now, boys," Lily said, unable to hold back her laughter. "Don't you all have something productive to do? Maybe a potions assignment to work on?" She shrugged her shoulders as if it were an innocent question.
"I have Quidditch practice," James answered quickly.
"Me too!" Peter and Sirius chimed in before they all erupted into another fit of laughter. The thought of Peter and Sirius flying around the pitch was too funny to take seriously.
"We can work on the assignment together, Lily," Remus suggested. "Then we can all go watch James practice."
"That sounds fine. But I am not letting anyone copy off me this time."
It only took Remus and Lily about thirty minutes to write Slughorn's essay. Lily knew a lot of the answers without looking them up. It was then another five minutes of Sirius and Peter begging for answers before she relented and let them copy off of her (with slight changes, of course). It was then that they all headed to the Quidditch Pitch to catch some of the Gryffindor team's practice. Lily bundled herself in a heavy red scarf and hat, both of which clashed with the hair she tried desperately to tuck in her jacket collar. And despite the gloves, her fingers could still feel the icy chill in the air.
"I regret agreeing to this," she mumbled through her layers.
When the weather was nice, the stands during Gryffindor Quidditch practices were littered with people. Today, only the Keeper's girlfriend and a few fourth year boys huddled together on the bleachers. Up in the air above them, the Chasers were completing complicated flight patterns while passing the Quaffle, the Beaters practiced hitting the Bludger toward the goal post and Lily could hear the delayed ping as it made contact, and the Keeper drifted around the hoops lazily.
"I don't see James anywhere," she said, shielding her eyes as she searched for him on the pitch. Sirius touched her shoulder then pointed way up into the clouds. There she could make out his figure, laying down across his broom as if he were napping. "Oh," she said, frowning. "So much for practice." The three boys around her laughed.
Suddenly, James sat upright on his broom and, upon spotting his friends, executed and quick and dangerous dive to the stands, righting himself so he could float in the air in front of them.
"I can't believe you guys are actually out here," he said, leaning back on his broom, his breath creating a little white cloud in the frozen air.
"We missed you terribly," Sirius said, clutching his hands to his chest.
"How sweet." James puckered his lips.
"Should we leave so you two can be alone?" Lily asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Very funny," James responded. "I should get back to practice." He turned and flew back up into the clouds, pretending he couldn't hear Peter yell, "You mean back to napping!"
During practice, the snitch did not zoom too far from the pitch. James flew along behind it, zigzagging a path in the sky. He easily caught it in his fingers then threw it so he could chase it again. Practice seemed almost silly to him, as his job in the game was so personal and easy. But he enjoyed being on a broom so it was never something he missed, even when it was cold out. Knowing his friends were in the stands, he tried to show off a little, flying in loops and doing barrel rolls. He even waved to the "crowd" and he could hear the whoops of his fellow Marauders in response.
Practice ended and James quickly changed in the locker room and met his friends so they could walk back to the castle together.
"Did you guys enjoy the show?"
"Riveting," Remus said, deadpan.
"I can't believe I came out here to watch you. It's freezing!" Lily shivered to prove her point. Smoothly, James took a step closer to her and slid his hand gloved hand into hers.
"We can go back and sit by the fire until you warm up," he suggested.
"Oh, get a room," Sirius sighed, rolling his eyes.
"Okay, Lily, just come up to my room instead," he said, wiggly his eyebrows suggestively. Lily laughed and tugged him closer.
"I don't think Sirius would appreciate us using the room he has to sleep in," she said, throwing a look over her shoulder.
"He's just jealous."
"Okay!" Sirius suddenly exclaimed, holding his arms up in defeat. "That's enough. I can't take it. Let's just get back inside."
No one could stop laughing the whole walk into the castle. Once they passed through the doors, they began to shed their outer-clothes. Lily peeled off her gloves and shoved them into her pockets, then picked James' hand back up.
"You still have that potions essay to write, James," she said, as they approached the portrait hole that lead into the Common Room.
"Maybe you could help me with it. I'm sure you've finished it already."
"You should really start doing your own homework. How do you expect to pass your N.E.W.T.s next year?"
"Maybe I'll drop out of school." Once inside the Common Room, James resumed lounging on the sofa in front of the fire. The others took their appropriate spots as well. "I'll be a famous Quidditch Seeker. And you can stay at home raising our two kids."
"Dream on. We all know you aren't that good at Quidditch."
He leaned over and kissed her quickly on the lips. The other three boys groaned. "I have plenty of time to prove you wrong."