Dusty Road

"That's a good story. I think you just can't bear to let a gorgeous guy like me out of your sight." - Han Solo

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Star Wars Episode V: Empire Strikes Back. In addition, in true fan fiction spirit, I have disregarded the fact that the film was not released until 1980, when, in fact, James and Lily entered their seventh year of Hogwarts in 1976. Please forgive me and accept the time discrepancy as diplomatically as you can.

Shockingly, I woke up relatively early on Tuesday – well, for me. Granted, I felt that any day I woke up in the A.M. hours was a major feat in itself, but I was still slightly proud of myself for waking up at 10:02 in the morning. For some reason, my body had not been able to stay sleeping. I was too restless, too anxious, and too preoccupied.

I got out of bed and crossed my room to stroke Calypso's feathers through her cage. She was still snoozing softly, but my touch caused her to reluctantly open one golden eye and then hoot at me to go away and leave her alone. It was nice to know that all those owl treats I ordered last week had really worked to win over my own pet's affections.

"Morning, Callie," I replied back to her.

She blinked at me in response, but I doubted I held much of her interest because she closed her eyes again just as quickly and promptly went back to sleep. I chuckled quietly to myself.

"Goodnight, Callie."

I tapped the top of her cage lightly. I felt bad that I hadn't been giving her more reasons to stretch her wings lately. We were both cooped up in the house together, trapped; only her cage was a bit more literal.

Post had been nonexistent lately. Ever since Hestia's last illegal letter after her parental Spaniard Inquisition, I had not heard from her at all. I could only imagine the tizzy she would get herself in if she heard of my most recent predicament.

Lily, you complete prat! Here I am, wasting away my Spanish tan inside my house, busting my ass as I cater to my evil little brother's every desire (and just in case your mind was going there. Don't, perv!), and you are being "just friends" with a bloke as fit as Potter is! Merlin, Lily! Wake up and smell the yummy testosterone! That boy has been in love with you since he first saw you on the train in First Year, and now he's finally matured to a point where he isn't a total prat, like you are. You know you've always felt something for him. Why do you think you always tried to instigate a fight with him? You two will never just be friends. You know there's something more there, that there's always been something more there. There's undeniable, indescribable, unbridled chemistry between you two. Why can't you just admit it? What the bloody hell is your problem?

I laughed loudly as I pictured her thrusting her long black hair back out of her eyes as she raised her arms dramatically to both emphasize her point and simultaneously smack me in the back of the head. However, as fun as the idea seemed, I doubted Hestia would actually advise me to do this now if I had told her anything about this arrangement. She would die of shock, somehow manage to bring herself back to life, and then get into loads of trouble with her parents by apparating to my house and then kicking my ass till I saw reason.

Yes, that was what Hestia would do. We were morally opposed to marauding. Though, I think deep, deep down she might have fancied Sirius, after all.

As I descended down the stairs and into the kitchen, I fluffed my hair with my fingers so that it didn't look like I had allowed a bunch of Cornish pixies to live in it overnight as much. I grabbed the closest open seat at the kitchen table next to Petunia.

She scowled at me and then scooted her chair in the other direction towards Mum. Ahh, I loved you too, Tuney.

"What are you doing up already?" she asked, her voice sounding more accusatory than curious.

I wanted to ask her why she bothered to get up in the mornings at all when she knew she would never escape her fate of being an insufferable twat, but in a rare moment of tact, I held my tongue. People were never nice to me in the mornings. It was just one of those facts of life I had no choice but to accept like that - unlike my seemingly perfect sister, excepting, of course, that pesky personality - my arms would never be hairless. Ahh, woe was me. I supposed I would just have to find meaning in my life some other way besides painful hair removal. Perhaps I could solve world hunger or find a way to conquer the Killing Curse. But, alas, nothing could ever compare to the satisfaction of having hairless arms. My life was doomed.

"What are you smirking at?" Petunia asked me self-consciously.

"Oh, nothing," I replied in what I meant to be an innocent voice.

Petunia scowled and ran her fingers down her arm.

I stopped myself from breaking out into guffaws by quickly making myself some cereal, grabbing some orange juice, and then sitting back down. As I slopped the milk around in my bowl, I heard a creaking noise to the left of me. I looked over in time to see James ease into the chair next to me. My pink face betrayed me as I fixed my gaze back onto my cereal.

"Well, Lily, I'm glad you decided to actually wake up before lunch is served because now you can get a head start on chores," my mum said cheerfully without bothering to note James's arrival.

Perhaps it was because she wasn't surprised to see him so close to me or that they had already chatted this morning while I was still sleeping. After all, Mum didn't know anything about our fight yesterday, a fight I had never intended to take place. A few words out of my big, fat, stupid mouth, and the whole thing blew up like a game of Exploding Snap. Only, I had been the one left without any eyebrows, so to speak.

I knew it had been necessary. Ugh, my heart skipped at the word like I was some pathetic schoolgirl living before feminism was even invented. I tossed my hair over my left shoulder to not-so-secretly steal a peek at James's countenance when I heard my name being called.

I snapped my head back in the other direction guiltily as I looked up at my expectant mother.

"Umm, could you repeat the question?" I asked as I fidgeted in my seat.

My mum sighed resignedly. "Honestly, Lily, sometimes I wonder where your brain goes."

"You mean she actually has one, then?" Petunia quipped.

I stuck my tongue out at her, and she returned the sentiment.

"Tuney," scolded Mum, her stern voice ruined by the hint of laughter behind it. "Ahh," she sighed. "Chores, Lily. Pick your poison. Do you want dusting or vacuuming?"

Couldn't I just shove a bezoar down my throat? I slumped back into my chair moodily. I despised cleaning, even more than I detested getting my nails done or going to shopping malls. Still, Tuesday was always our cleaning day ever since Petunia and I were old enough to clean without making even more of a mess. We cleaned the house while Mum took care of the laundry and ironing, and when Dad came home, he would mow the lawn and perform other seasonal outdoor tasks. I wondered how I had forgotten about a weekly ritual that I had been participating in for years. In typical Lily Evans fashion, I blamed James. Hell, last week we had skipped cleaning altogether to deal with the hullabaloo of his arrival. Bloody James and his bloody ability to distract the hell out of everyone with whom he came into contact.

I sighed and picked the lesser of two evils. "Vacuuming," I grumbled.

"What? No way!" Petunia screeched. "I had to dust last time," she protested.

"No, you didn't! You never dust!" I argued back angrily. "You always make me do it."

"Mum!" Petunia whined.

My mother, bored silly of this recurring fight, sighed. "Petunia is older so she should get priority with divvying out the chores," my mum decided diplomatically.

Great, then why did she even bother to ask me in the first place? Would you like a chocolate chip cookie? Oh, I'm sorry; all we had was lima beans.

"Plus," Mum continued. "Since Lily is only home for about three months of the year, Petunia should get the priority for having to clean the entire house by herself most of the time. It's just one of the many realities of your absence, Lily," she added.

Merlin, Mum, dig the knife in a bit deeper, why didn't you? I was pretty sure she hadn't decimated my pancreas yet.

"So it's Tuney's call," Mum finished.

Petunia preened at me superciliously.

"But, Mum!" I complained loudly, but she held up a hand to silence me.

"However, since Petunia gets to enjoy the perks of being the older sister, I think it is only fair that she invites her younger sister - and James too, of course," she added with a quick glance at him, "to tag along to the movies with her tonight."

Simultaneously, Petunia and I froze in shock. She recovered first.

"But, Mum! Vernon and I don't want to go with them!" whined Petunia.

"That's my verdict, hun, take it or leave it," Mum told her with a grin. "And when I say that, I really mean you'll be letting them go to the cinema with you and Vernon regardless, so you might as well pick the chore you want."

"Fine," snarled Petunia, crossing her arms over her chest to seethe in her chair.

My mum smiled at me, and I reluctantly forced my mouth into what I hoped appeared to be a grateful grin. Of course, she thought she was doing me a favor. Well, thanks, Mum. Now, I had to spend the entire evening with Tuney, Vermin, and my fake boyfriend, and I still had to dust. Tomorrow, she might as well invite a bunch of Pureblood facists to the house so that we can overcome our differences over brunch. Would you pass me the sugar? Sure! Avada Kedavra, you filthy Mudblood!

Blimey, this was fan-freaking-tastic.

I tried to hide my obvious pout, but it was hard. Feeling sorry for myself was so much easier than behaving maturely. I tried to focus on happier things like cupcakes or hyacinths or that new book I was reading with the wonderfully relatable girl and her ghost, now human, boyfriend...

"It's a shame your father can't get away from the office tonight. What the hell is involved in an engineer emergency, I haven't the foggiest. What possibly could have happened? They ran out of coffee and paper airplanes? Or worse, someone ate the last donut!" Mum scoffed in annoyance. "This is the second week your father's been too busy to mow the lawn. Sooner or later, it's going to eat up the whole house, and I'll be there to tell him 'I told him so.'"

"I can take care of that if you like," offered James, speaking for the first time that morning.

"That's sweet, James, but I kind of like telling off Henry," Mum replied. "It's good for my passive aggressiveness."

James chuckled softly. "No, I meant I'd mow the lawn."

"No, you don't have to," I assured him hastily.

"Yes," Mum agreed. "Really, James, dear, you're our guest."

James shrugged. "I won't have anything else to do anyway," he reasoned. "And I'd like to help out as long as I'm staying her. Consider it my thank you for your wonderful hospitality," finished James politely.

Mum's face glowed, and I fought the ever-familiar urge to roll my eyes. When James finally left, I would have to surgically remove his lips from my mom's ass first. I grimaced. Now that was an image I could have gone without ever visualizing.

"Oh, all right," Mum acquiesced. "You go get dressed, and then I'll show you how to work the mower."

James nodded and then shot her his trademark crooked grin. "Sounds great, Mrs. Evans."

My mum smiled back and then shooed him out of the kitchen. Quickly, I shot up and put my dishes away into the dishwasher before chasing after him.

"James!" I called as I reached the foot of the stairs.

He was already halfway up. I watched as his shoulders stiffened before he turned around to face me. "Lily," he answered simply.

I bit my lip nervously as I climbed up the stairs, stopping two steps beneath him. "How are you?" I asked.

James shrugged nonchalantly. "Fine," he replied.

I sighed, knowing that the word "fine" never actually meant what it was supposed to mean in regards to a person's feelings.

"You?" he posed back.

I fought back a bitter smile. "Fine," I answered.

He nodded and then started to climb up the stairs again. I decided to be brave for once and confront the issue. "Wait, James!" I called as I grabbed his arm to hold him back.

His eyes glued to my fingers around his wrist, he turned around. I noticed his gaze and then removed my hand as quickly as though it had just caught fire.

"Sorry," I muttered as I bit my lip again and mentally chastised myself for being such a bloody coward. Where was that Gryffindor courage? What happened to my redheaded temper? Was I Lily Evans, the girl who had no qualms about verbally brawling smack dab in the middle of the Great Hall, or wasn't I?

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay with everything that happened yesterday," I blurted out finally.

Then, like the twelve-year-old I was, I congratulated myself for being mature and voicing my concern. Then, I realized that mature people didn't need praise for not behaving like a complete moron.

James ran his fingers through his hair. "Well," he said after a pause so long that I thought he might have just recovered from an Impedimenta jinx. "I do feel bad for the things I said about you yesterday, but it's more about how I said them than what I actually said. Still, you were right, too. My own behavior this week has not exactly been exemplary."

I blinked in shock. James had already been here for a whole week? How did I miss things like that when he always seemed to have such a strong grasp on reality? And how come he could form complete sentences, and I had turned into the simpering moron?

"I never should have been so forward with you," he continued apologetically. "I guess I got too wrapped up in the whole idea of us dating and everything that goes along with that."

He wasn't the only one. "So you're not mad about the friends thing?" I questioned.

He stared at me incredulously, and I wondered if I had suddenly swapped faces with Tuney, or something else just as horrible. Now that would have been a grotesque image.

"Merlin, Lily!" James exclaimed. "Do you have any idea how long I've waited just for us to speak civilly to each other? Think about all those years at Hogwarts when we would just terrorize the hell out of each other. Remember that one bad fight back in Fifth Year during O.W.L.s? We couldn't be in the same room without bickering!"

With a slight smile I recalled six years of pranks, hissy fits, and surnames only. "Yeah, we really hated each other," I commented fondly.

"Well, you more so than me," said James offhandedly. "Anyway," he continued with a toss of his hand. "I'm choosing to be optimistic. I think this is actually a really good thing for us." James grinned at me lopsidedly, and I smiled back at him.

It was amazing how much I had blown things out of proportion. Of course, he was right. Lily-Miss-Know-It-All-Evans and James-Pigheaded-Marauder-Leader-Potter were friends? A week ago, I never would have thought I'd see the day. Feeling loads better about life in general, I skipped up the stairs behind him and then threw on a t-shirt and some sweatpants once I was in my room. I didn't see the point in bathing just to get all covered in sweat and muck. Now I was all ready to do some major dusting. Oh, goody.

Unfortunately, Petunia seemed to lack my common sense about the showering idea. I laughed derisively to myself as I heard the water start as I went downstairs. Petunia would even curl her hair just to go swimming. I stumbled into the kitchen and squatted down to open the cabinet underneath the sink that I had deigned the "Death Drawer" when I was ten and hated always having to be the one to do the dusting.

As I searched through variously covered bottles of toxic chemicals, I realized that very little had changed in my maturity level since my prepubescent days. Now, I just had boobs. Aha! I found the right bottle. I grabbed it and a grubby, graying cloth and then sluggishly staggered over to the nearest cabinet. Mindlessly, I sprayed the cloth and then rubbed the wooden surface while thinking of more pleasant things I would rather be doing: working for minimum wage at the old soap factory, getting eaten by a shark, finding out I was really adopted, or worse, pregnant and had missed the good part...

I had progressed into the living room by the time Petunia decided to grace me with her presence. She was wearing obnoxiously bright pink shorts and a tank top with her hair immaculately up and lip liner in my place. If you didn't know my sister, you would guess that she was all ready to go out. However, I did know Petunia, and that also meant I knew she would be showering and changing and reapplying all over again before our lovely trip to the movies, where we would sit in the dark. I gave her my sweetest smile.

"Where are your pearls, Tuney?"

She stared at me blankly. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Is this another one of your bizarre freak references that only you understand?"

I sighed. Even muggle references were lost on her. I really needed to find someone who would appreciate my wit. All that snarkiness was just useless around here nowadays.

"Dusting, huh? That sucks," she told me.

"Actually," I corrected her brightly. "A vacuum is the thing that sucks. I guess Mum knew you'd be good at it." I kept my smile despite the scary visualize places my sick mind was exploring.

Petunia snarled at me. "You better not keep this up tonight," she threatened.

"But, Tuney, I just love complimenting you and all of your wonderful skills."

"Vernon's picking me up at six to go get dinner first, and I don't want my appetite ruined."

"Well, we don't have to eat with you," I told her.

"Yeah, well, tell that to Mum."

I sighed. Now that Mum was involved, I had no choice but to act the willing girlfriend. "Aww, dinner too, Tuney? It was so nice of you to insist on inviting us."

Her eyes bulged out of their beady sockets as though she was a toy and I had just squeezed her action figure legs together.

"I didn't—" she started.

"Really, you're the best sister ever! Have fun sucking!" I added with a sweeping gesture towards the vacuum.

Then, with a vindictive skip in my step, I flounced into another room to rid the world of dust, one bookshelf at a time. I was so pleased with myself for pissing off Petunia that I barely grumbled obscenities under my breath for the next half hour of cleaning.

I was really in the zone by the time I got to the upstairs. I only had two rooms left: the bathroom and Petunia's. Picking the less germ-infested room, I headed to the bathroom. Honestly, just walking into Tuney's room was like taking my life in my own hands. The diseases I could catch in there! I was too young and innocent for Chlamydia!

As I made to leave the newly clean bathroom, a figure outside caught my eye. I set down my cleaning supplies and then moved closer to the bathroom window. James was outside, and by the looks of it, about halfway done with mowing the lawn. Quietly, I opened the window so that I could get a less obstructed view. I may or may not have stuck my neck over as far as I could and used the toilet to stand on so that I could get as close as possible.

I watched the way his muscles tightened as his legs carried him and the mower across the yard. Unable to stop myself, I craned my neck even further as one lap quickly became four. I examined the look of concentration on his face as he struggled to understand all the little nuances of the mower. He stuck out his tongue to wet his lips, and I found myself biting down on my own. I suddenly wished I was the one he was mowing.

Gah! What was wrong with me? I had finally reached a point when James and I could coexist in harmony without things being awkward between us. All I wanted was friendship from him. Why did my body need to betray me? More importantly, why wasn't my brain processing these urges as wrong? If anything, my bloody feelings urged the hormones even more. No, James wanted to be friends. I wanted to be friends. We were going to be friends, dammit!

Mesmerized, I watched with bated breath as he stopped briefly to wipe some sweat off his brow with the back of his hand. I glanced quickly at the shower next to me and wondered if even the coldest setting would cool me off. My eyes darted back to James, who was leaning down to touch his toes. Then, in one fluid motion, he reached down to the hem of his sweat-covered t-shirt and pulled it up and over his chest to reveal his chest and his abs, which had a tantalizingly sweaty sheen over them.

"Damn," I sighed involuntarily.

James's head shot up, and I panicked. I fell backwards and landed on top of the shower curtain. With flailing arms and a bruised behind, I got up and stole a peek out the window. James's eyes were searching the house, and I dodged away from the window with a red face. Cursing myself, I trotted into Petunia's room.

Clutching the dirty rag to my chest, I tried to control my breathing and cool down my enflamed face. I reminded myself to be rational for once. Friends did not have those kinds of thoughts about each other. I had certainly never fantasized about licking every ounce of sweat off of Hestia's chest! Mentally, I sniggered at the slew of lesbian jokes that sprung into my head. Ugh, maybe it was just the fact that James was Y-chromosome inclined. Even if he seemed perfectly immune to my charms and wanted to be just friends, I doubted any girl could blame me for ogling a body as sinfully delicious as James's was.

Oh, Merlin, I could not believe I just thought that.

Dusting! I was concentrating on dusting! I had to think about dirty things. I knew one-Damn! Dust, Lily! Dust and not lust!

It took me a whole hour to finish dusting Petunia's room, which also contained a window that overlooked the backyard. Purely coincidentally, it also took James the same amount of time to finish mowing the lawn.

Disgusted with myself, I put away the cleaning supplies and then tugged at my uncomfortable, sticky t-shirt. I promptly decided to take a nice long-cold at first and then steaming hot—shower. On the north side of twenty minutes later, I was wrapping a towel around me when I noticed a message written for me on the mirror. It read, "Hey, Lily!"

I laughed.

If there had been any speculation about who had wiped away the condensation, there was a little, enlightening broomstick in the corner. I smiled as I felt my insides turn into bubotuber pus. It wasn't just about the snogging, not when he did things like this, not when he made me feel so special, not when I wanted to try to make him feel the same way. Gah!

Why had I chosen today to belt out some seventies showman's greatest hit?

I smacked my head against the bathroom counter and then slumped into my room. Wondering if my habitual mortification would ever lead to a permanent change in my complexion from pale to pink, I stood in front of my closet and stared at all of the clothes I didn't want to wear. I settled on a pair of denim capris and a white eyelet tank top that had funky straps that were hard to arrange properly. After twisting the top and my upper body in the weirdest contortions and ensuring that I would wake up sore the next morning, I got the top on correctly.

I left my room to return my towel to the bathroom. I heard the water running, and I knew, more out of instinct than from probability, that he was inside. Carefully, I tiptoed inside and hung up my towel. My eyes flashed on James's message on the mirror. Suddenly, I became hyperaware of the fact that a completely naked James was showering less than a meter away from me and the only thing separating us was a mere shower curtain.

With trembling fingers, I edged towards the mirror and wrote back my reply of "Hi, James," with the tip of my finger. I added a small lily next to it for good measure. Then, before my body melted from the heat of the steam, I hightailed it out of there and retreated back to the safety of my own room.

With a quick glance at the clock, I realized I had only a little over an hour before Vermin was due to arrive gallantly in his overly pretentious Italian sports car, the only way for him to compensate for the horrible mustache. Sadly, I figured even Vernon knew there was no amount of money in the world that could make up for his personality.

I brushed my hair several times to absolutely ensure that I had removed every single knot and tangle. I tied it up into a ponytail and pulled out a few strands to frame my face. Then, I sat in front of my bureau mirror and meticulously applied my usual coats of mascara and eyeliner. My fingers hovered over a set of eyeshadows, and I decided to play with some color to try to liven up my appearance from its mundane routine. Once finished, I eyed my reflection with distaste. I was being ridiculous. This was just a normal night out. I didn't need to look any better than I normally did. This wasn't a date. This was just an outing with a friend and my sister. I'd even pay for my own ticket. Friends went out to movies and dinner all the time. This was not a date.

Angry with myself, I raced into the bathroom and scrubbed all the makeup off my face before returning to my room. Then, with a sigh, I put it all back on again, eyeshadow and all.

I needed psychiatric help. A professional.

I shot up in my chair with surprise when Petunia barged through my door, not bothering to knock first, obviously. "Vernon's here," she informed me briskly. "We're leaving. Get downstairs."

"Your wish is my command," I told her as I slipped on some sandals and then grabbed my purse.

"Have fun on your double date!" my mum called as we walked towards the car.

I doubted even a professional could help me now.

The ride down to the restaurant was extremely awkward. Petunia didn't want to talk to James or me. I didn't want to talk to Tuney. James, who had a tendency to ramble when he was nervous, wanted to talk desperately, but he controlled the urge. He ran his hand through his hair so many times that I was pretty sure he was going to end up bald. I nearly bit my lip off as I tried to ignore the way James's dress shirt, a navy blue button down over a white wife beater, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, accentuated the beautiful sinews in his tanned forearms. Other than that, I purposefully pretended to ignore Petunia's hawk-like watching of us from the rearview mirror. The only person who seemed oblivious to the tension was Vernon, who enjoyed himself as he mocked the other drivers and almost took out a pedestrian.

"Hey was just egging me on," Vernon had said at the time with a jovial snort.

Obviously, it was a huge relief when we finally arrived at the restaurant and Vernon put the car in park. In an action that truly surprised me, James walked around to my side of the car and opened the door for me. He held out his hand and helped me out of the car. His hand lingered on mine for just a second too long before he thought better and let it go.

I cocked an eyebrow at him curiously. He shrugged. "I'm a Potter," he offered simply. "I had to go to etiquette classes when I was little with all the other pureblood brats."

"That must have been delightful," I told him.

James grinned. "I met Sirius."

I smiled back as I imagined dinner pranks that involved expensive desserts landing in snobby old women's hair.

"How many?" the waitress asked as we entered the restaurant.

"Four," Petunia answered her stiffly.

"All right, then, follow me."

I slid into a booth, and James followed me. Petunia sat directly across from and busied herself with her menu to avoid any unnecessary eye contact. I rolled my eyes. The place wasn't too fancy or too pathetically dingy. It was just a typical restaurant that was right across from the movie theater. I had already been there countless times so I knew what I wanted to order. Once I found something I liked at a restaurant, I always ate the same thing.

James examined his menu skeptically. "Muggle food is so bizarre," he hissed into my ear.

I chuckled. "Yes, because the fact that it doesn't make steam come out of your ears is just so weird."

James grinned at me and then went back to scouring the menu.

When the waitress returned, he finally decided on a bacon and cheddar cheeseburger. I smiled in approval, for some reason finding his ability to eat a very large burger oddly attractive. The waitress appeared to be charmed as well because her eyes strayed oh him for far too long. I decided not to leave her any tip.

James, oblivious to the girl's batting eyelashes and puckered lips, turned to Petunia.

"So, Petunia, Lily's mentioned that you go to, uhh, college, I think it was?"

Vernon grunted. "You don't even know what college is?"

I didn't like the fact that Vernon answered for her. Judging from the way James's mouth frowned slightly, neither did he.

Nevertheless, James turned to look at him politely. "Wizards don't have college. After Hogwarts, we can move on to academies if you want to be an Auror or a Healer, but that's only for the more elite."

"So most of your kind are not very bright then, Jim," Vernon said with a satisfied grin forming under the blonde caterpillar.

James smiled, but I could tell it was forced. "James," he corrected. "And, no, that's not the case. We pride ourselves on the fact that we are able to teach more in a shorter period of time. Plus, being able to do magic has its obvious advantages," added James, fingering his wand in his pocket.

Vernon wrapped his arm around Petunia in an attempt to either protect himself or her from James's evil answers and frightening stick.

"But, I think it would be really rather fascinating to give up magic for a time," continued James, never one to be disheartened by rudeness—from years of practice. "As I'm sure it would be very interesting for you to spend a day in Lily's shoes, eh, Petunia?"

Tuney glared at him. "I've never liked Lily's taste in footwear," she told him snottily.

James winced. "Well, obviously, I wasn't being literal there," he amended as his hand rose to his hair.

I felt bad for him. Petunia was not known for being considerate. Of course, she had understood he wasn't speaking about shoes. Petunia was not that much of an idiot, but she did want to make James feel like one. I knew Petunia would always hate him. As soon as she found out he was a freak, he was scum in her mind.

"Didn't you ever want to be a witch, too?" James pressed.

I knew what he was doing. James was trying very hard to get her to admit, even by accident, that she did not completely despise my way of life. It was a very nice, very manipulative gesture but ultimately futile.

Petunia looked at Vernon anxiously before her face turned cold again. "No, never."

"Huh," replied James.

Fortunately, the food arrived. Pity that that meant no more conversation. It had been going so well.

Unfortunately, as could have been expected with boys like James and especially Vernon, the food did not last long.

"So, Jim, what do your parents do?" Vernon asked smugly as he plunged the last bit of steak into his mouth.

"James," he corrected in a forced voice. "And my parents are Aurors. Basically, they fight dark wizards."

"So your kind is dangerous, then?" Vernon asked happily.

I stared at Petunia. How could she just let him ask that? She looked at me for a second before diverting her attention back to her salad.

"Not any more dangerous than yours," replied James with a slight chuckle. "Muggle news is very interesting. Whoever thought of this gun nonsense was obviously not a very bright bloke."

I smiled at James, and he winked at me.

"Sometimes people need to protect themselves," Petunia said.

"Yes, but shouldn't that be more defensive than offensive? It's not exactly like you can shield yourself with a gun," I told her.

"Like you know anything about shielding others, Lily. You're too busy thinking about how you can outshine everyone."

"Ahh," I corrected. "But you surely know about stabbing people in the back."

Petunia shot me a dirty look and scooted closer to Vernon.

"Now, Jim—"

"It's James!" I interrupted loudly. I spotted the waitress and called out to her to get her attention. "Check, please!"

Once out of the restaurant, I smacked my head against James's chest. "That was a complete nightmare," I told him, the sound coming out muffled.

James pulled me away from him. I tried not to feel rejected by the action. "Who knew one dinner could be so hostile? I feel like I suddenly understand your inclination to shouting at Hogwarts."

I groaned. "You are so lucky you don't have siblings, Jim."

James growled. "Merlin, I thought I was going to punch him by that last time he called me that. If you hadn't stepped in..."

I laughed at the wistfulness in his voice. "The night's still young. Maybe you'll get another chance to pummel him."

James grinned at me wickedly as we approached the ticket booth.

"Two for Empire Strikes Back at eight o'clock, please," I asked the teenager behind the glass.

I opened up my purse to grab some pounds, but James stopped me with his hand.

"I've got it," he said as he pulled out the money and gave it to the cashier, who handed him back the tickets.

I stared at James in bewilderment. "How did you get muggle money?"

James laughed and yanked teasingly on my ponytail. "It's not that hard, Lily. Besides, I'm James Potter."

"Arrogant prick! I would have paid for my own ticket."

James smiled crookedly at me. "I knew that. But I'd never give you the chance. My mum would skin me alive if I had made a girl pay for herself."

I rolled my eyes but couldn't shake the happiness heating up my entire body, even my toes. He had paid! It really almost was a date. I put on angry face for show. "Fine, Jim, but I'm paying for the popcorn, and if you try to stop me, I will hex you."

James laughed. "I wouldn't expect anything less from you, Lily."

We ended up sitting in the row behind Petunia and Vernon. James and I amused ourselves by chucking popcorn at them and then ducking every time they looked back as we stifled our giggling with the backs of our hands. Petunia was so annoyed with me. It was fantastic.

"So what's a movie, anyway?" James asked as he popped yet another piece of popcorn into his mouth.

Of course he wouldn't be full from the half of cow he had just eaten for dinner. I laughed.

"What?"

I shook my head. "It's nothing, really. It's just so funny that you are so clueless about the muggle world."

"Well, we can't all be all-knowing like you, Lily," James countered.

I grinned. "True," I sighed dramatically before getting serious. "Basically, it's just like a television show only longer and with better production value."

James nodded. "And bigger screens," he added with a glance forward.

"Exactly. The movie we're seeing tonight is actually a sequel."

"Sequel? What does that mean?"

"Well, the first movie did really well at the box office, so—"

"What in Merlin's name is a box office?"

"Well, it means that it was a top grossing film."

"Wait, it's gross?" James asked.

"No, the first film was really rather good. I enjoyed it immensely. I'm really rather shocked that Petunia picked this movie to see. I didn't think she had good enough taste for Star Wars."

"Wait, there's a war?" asked James, confused. "And how am I supposed to watch this if I have no clue what happened in the first one?"

"Will you stop interrupting me so that I can answer your bloody question?" I asked in exasperation.

The lights went down and the screen lit up with a company's logo. James jumped in his seat, and I giggled loudly.

"It's not funny! I've never done this before!" James hissed at me.

"Sorry," I whispered back with a grin. "I keep forgetting you're a movie virgin."

"Well, you're going to change that for me, aren't you?" he teased.

My mouth slid open. "Yeah," I breathed.

"Good," he replied before swiveling in his chair to face the screen.

The first preview ended, and James looked at me expectantly. "I thought you said that movies were supposed to be long."

I rolled my eyes. "It's a trailer, James."

"A what?"

I chuckled quietly to myself. "Just shut up and watch the screen. The movie will be on soon."

With a hint of a smirk playing at his lips, James sat back in his chair and focused on the screen. I watched with delight as his eyes sparkled with excitement as the thundering theme filled the theater.

The movie was excellent. It truly was. It immediately became one of my favorites, so well written and so engaging. It was a testament to the boy sitting next to me that he was able to distract me from it when he moved his hand from the resting position on his dark jeans and interlaced it with mine. I reminded myself that it didn't mean anything, it was just a friendly gesture, but I couldn't help but to feel slightly hopeful as his thumb absentmindedly traced the back of my hand as he stared at the screen in rapture. My eyes followed his hand up to his elbow and admired his forearms. Really, they were the loveliest forearms I had ever seen, especially contrasted with the blue of his dress shirt, my weakness.

Later, his hand moved to wrap around my shoulder, and I leaned in to stick my nose at the base of his throat. He smelled like pine sap.

Merlin, I loved the movies.

All too soon, the film ended with a cliffhanger, and I felt the thrill of such a great plot combined with the peevish anxiousness to find out what would happen next. Some people started to clap, and I watched fondly as James joined them fervently. As the credits continued to scroll, James turned to face me with the biggest smile on his face.

"That was amazing!" he exclaimed with a child's wonder. "Oh, Merlin, Lily! That was amazing!"

I laughed and had to agree. "You're right. It was fantastic!"

"It was every single good adjective I can think of and more!" he cried.

James was still gushing about the film after we had ditched Petunia and Vernon to go get ice cream. He had remembered that mint chocolate chip was both of our favorites.

"And the force!" James continued enthusiastically as he took a bite out of his cone. "It was just like magic but without wands! And I loved that little green guy. He reminds me of my favorite house-elf. They both talk in circles!"

I laughed and took a second to lick my cone. "I think he was my favorite character."

"I loved that Solo fellow. He was the most like me."

"Really?" I asked with amusement.

"C'mon! The way he said, 'I know?' That was so smooth! He and I are completely similar."

I rolled my eyes and mussed up his hair playfully. "Well, you're both scruffy-looking nerf-herders," I replied. "But I think that's where the comparisons end."

James grinned widely. "Aww, come on, Lily, don't you think I could be a scoundrel?"

He studied me with his eyes, which looked greener tonight underneath the streetlights, and then shot me a stunning crooked grin as he whipped off of his glasses enticingly.

"Yeah," I admitted finally after I popped the last of my cone into my mouth to hide my speechlessness. "You're definitely a scoundrel," I murmured as I slammed his glasses back onto his face.

James smiled at me widely and then started prancing a bit around me as I walked down the sidewalk with him. I grinned at his nervous energy.

"I need to know what's going to happen next," he continued. "I can't believe it just ended like that."

"There's going to be another one coming out soon," I told him, remembering an article I had read in the paper from a few weeks ago.

"Really!" he yelped. "That's fantastic! We have to go together!"

I grinned. "We'll go on the very first day it comes out," I told him.

"You promise?" he asked.

"I'll do an Unbreakable Vow right here if you want," I joked.

James continued to smile, and I honestly hoped that we would go see the next film together. Watching him wave his arms widely and chatting excitedly, I realized that I wanted to still be spending time with James in the future. The thought both thrilled and scared me.

At some point during his passionate speech, James managed to get ice cream on his chin. I reached up to wipe it away, and James stopped flitting around to stare at me.

I bit my lip and looked down. "You had ice cream on your face."

"Oh."

We continued to walk when suddenly he grabbed my hand and started running down the sidewalk towards the restaurant parking lot.

"James, why are we running?" I panted.

"You'll see!" he called.

My legs started to burn and I wanted to stop, but I kept following him to wherever he was going. Finally, he stopped behind a tree nearly thirty meters away from Vernon's car.

"James, why are we stopping here? The car's all the way over there!"

James held up a hand and silently pointed to the car. I looked at him dubiously but then watched the car. A few moments later, Vernon and Petunia neared the door. I watched as Vernon pecked Tuney on the mouth, and I gagged in my mouth.

We grimaced together.

"Why would I want to see that?" I hissed at James with revulsion.

"Just wait," James promised.

I peered over at them again, and I saw Vernon open the door and groan loudly and step away from the car. Petunia replaced him and then screeched shrilly as she, too, backed away.

James started silently shaking next to me, and I stared at him with bafflement. "What did you do?"

James snickered quietly behind his hand as tears formed in his eyes. "I - the car - dungbombs—" he forced out.

I laughed loudly, and Petunia heard me and started walking towards us.

"Let's get out of here before she murders us!" called James as she came closer.

I nodded, grabbed James's hand, and apparated back to my front door, still laughing and unbalanced from the change in setting. Overwhelmed by everything, the dizziness, the laughter, the smell of his neck, the way he looked in his shirt, the fact that he'd been the one to buy my ticket, I reached up, wrapped my arms around James's neck, and kissed him.

James pulled back after we had run out of breath.

He stared at me with unfathomable eyes.

"Oh."

Story credits to Molly Raesly