"An Accident of Sorts"

Miffed and determined to get to the bottom of things, Lily Evans knocks on the door to James Potter's room in Gryffindor Tower. She had been equally surprised and disappointed when he hadn't shown up at breakfast, and had grown concerned when he hadn't appeared by the meal's end. Today was supposed to be their first official date after months of him alternately pestering her to go out with him and spending copious amounts of time proving to her that he was worthy of such an honor.

She finds it hard to believe that not even a year ago she had thought him to be an arrogant, insufferable show off. Smiling to herself, she thinks how much things can change in a short span of time. He has worked really hard lately to prove to her that he can be very sweet and likeable and she's found his recent efforts to be endearing.

In lieu of their friend's notable absence this morning, the trio of Remus, Sirius and Peter had smirked at Lily all through breakfast. She'd wanted so badly to take her wand out and hex each of them, but she wasn't one for losing points for her house. Instead, she'd pointedly ignored the three of them and hurried through her breakfast with the thought of going to find James as soon as she was done.

As she stands outside the door, a part of her is concerned about James, but she also has enough Irish in her to be angry at being stood up. Green eyes flashing, she knocks on the door again, this time with a bit more determination.

"James?" she calls through the door. "James Potter, if you are in there, I swear that you'd better be either dead or sick, or otherwise have a bloody good excuse for not showing up this morning."

"Go away, Lily," comes a muffled reply from the other side of the door. "Please, just go away."

The fact that he won't open the door and look at her only suffices to raise her ire even more. "No, I won't go away, not until you tell me why you are hiding in there." In addition to her temper, she also has a stubborn streak.

"I can't..." his voice trails off and is replaced by the sound of the heavy door creaking on its hinges. It opens just enough for her to see hazel eyes framed by round lenses. "You see... there was an accident..."

<><><><>

James wakes up with butterflies in his stomach. He is going on a date with Lily in less than two hours. Months of persistence have finally paid off and she has agreed to accompany him into Hogsmeade today. Sitting up, he reaches over to retrieve his glasses from the nightstand, and then swings his long legs over the side of his bed. Soft breathing, punctuated by an occasional snore tells him that his three friends are still sleeping. Slipping quietly from his bed, he quickly gathers up clean clothing and slips off to take advantage of having the shower all to himself.

Fifteen minutes later, just as he is rinsing off, he hears the loud voices and raucous laughter that heralds the approach of the rest of the Marauders. With a sigh, he shuts off the taps and reaches for a towel to wrap around his waist. Not a moment later, Sirius strolls by, making some rude comment on his way to use the loo. Shaking his head at his best friend's never ending crassness, he makes his way to the row of sinks that line one wall.

"Good morning," he says to his other two friends. Remus is brushing his teeth and can only nod in reply, while Peter, who is bent over scrubbing his face, issues a friendly grunt. Sirius joins them and sets about washing his hands in the remaining sink.

James picks up his comb and attempts to do something with his famously unruly hair. After a few minutes, he gives up and tosses the comb aside in frustration, picking up his toothbrush instead. "Stupid hair," he mutters. "It's too curly to be straight, yet not actually curly enough to be curly. Why can't I just have normal hair?"

"I think that your hair is very nice," Remus states matter-of-factly. Coming from almost any other guy, the line might have sounded poncy, but the young werewolf has the type of personality that allows him to say such things with aplomb.

"At least your hair has character," Peter pipes up from behind the towel he'd been using to dry his face. "It isn't straight and boring like mine." He gazes rather forlornly in the mirror at his flaxen head.

"Why don't you just quit your belly aching, Prongs? Lily sees you on like a daily basis in classes, at meals, and hanging out in the common room. She already knows that your hair looks as if you style it with a lawn mower, yet she agreed to go out with you anyway."

In a lightening swift move, he has grabbed the towel around James' waist and pulled it away. "Besides, what she really wants to find out is if there is any validity to those rumors about you being hung like a bear." He eyes his best friend's groin for a moment and then looks back up at his face. "Just imagine when she finds out the truth..."

Sirius is rewarded for his efforts with a not so playful punch to the shoulder from a red-faced James.

"Oi!" the raven-haired teen cries out. "What was that for?"

"For being a complete and utter arse," James replies dryly. He stalks over to the bench where he'd left his clothing and hastily begins pulling it on before anyone can cast more aspersions about his manhood. One look at Remus and Peter tells him that they are both near to bursting with the need to laugh and are barely managing to hold it in.

With a contrite, yet slightly mischievous look on his face, Sirius approaches the bespectacled teen. "I'm sorry, mate, really. Let me make it up to you?"

James eyes him warily. "How?"

"I think I know a spell that might help with your hair..." Sirius begins, but is abruptly cut off.

"No!" James replies rather vehemently. "No way, Padfoot. If you think I'm letting you near my head with a wand, then you've completely lost it."

Sirius places a hand over his heart, as if its been struck, and his finely shaped mouth affects a mock pout. "I am offended, Prongs, that you don't think better of your oldest, not to mention dearest, friend's wizarding skills."

Having managed to regain his towel and wrap it once more around his lean hips, James leans back against one of the sinks, arms crossed over his chest. "I attend classes with you, Padfoot, remember? I've seen first hand how some of your spells can go awry."

"Oi, look, I'm being serious here!" The play on words garners the same laughter that it always does from his trio of friends. "Truly, James, I really do know an honest-to-goodness spell and I only want to help."

He stares at his best friend through the lenses of his glasses for a moment and determines that Sirius is actually being sincere. "Okay," he agrees, "But I'm warning you, Pads. You screw up and vengeance will be mine, old friend."

With a smile, Sirius disappears from the bathroom, only to return a moment later with his wand in hand. "Maybe you should close your eyes," he tells James as he approaches him. Remus and Peter are still standing off to the side, watching the scenario with a bit of wide-eyed wonderment.

James starts to protest, but with a sigh, does as he's been asked. Sirius raises his wand to the unruly head of hair, mutters something in Latin, and then takes a step back to admire his handiwork. It is evident from the look on his face that the spell did not turn out the way it was supposed to and he glances at the doorway as if planning a quick escape.

"Why is everyone so quiet? What's going on? Moony? Padfoot? Wormtail? Someone say something." He is greeted with the sound of howling laughter from Remus and Peter. Anticipating the worse, James turns around to face the mirror and opens his eyes. "Bloody hell, Sirius! What in Merlin's name did you do to me? You git! I should have known better than to trust you!"

<><><><>

"An accident?" Lily asks almost disbelievingly. "What do you mean? Are you all right?" She pauses for a moment, thinking back to breakfast and the way James' friends had kept looking her way and snickering. "It was one of those reprobates you hang out with, wasn't it? What did they do to you?"

"It's nothing, Lily, really," he replies softly through the crack in the door. "Sirius meant well, I think, and it was my fault for trusting him."

She places one palm flat on the door and gives a small push. "You let me in, James Potter. You open this door all the way and let me in this instant or I'll go fetch Professor McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey. I'll tell them you're hurt and in need of attention."

With an audible sigh from James, the door swings open, allowing her to enter, although he's taken up position behind it in an attempt to hide. She's having none of it, though, and reaches for him, fingers closing around one wrist as she tugs him toward her.

"Oh," she whispers upon catching sight of him. She releases his hand and takes an unconscious step back. "Oh, Hecate! Sirius did this to you? Just you wait, I'll..."she proceeds to rattle off a long list of impressive hexes.

James reaches up to run a hand through his hair, which has gone from black and unruly to a mass of shockingly purple ringlets. "I'm sorry," he says softly. "I know we were supposed to go to Hogsmeade today, but, honestly Lily, I just couldn't!" Twin spots of color highlight his cheeks and he stares down at the floor.

She moves forward, closing the distance between them, and before James knows it, she has brought her mouth to his, gently brushing her lips across his own. He reaches for her, one hand winding around the back of her neck, calloused fingers entwining in her dark red, silky hair. The kiss that ensues is sweet, tender, gentle even; everything a first kiss should be.

"We, ah, we could still go, you know, to Hogsmeade, if you wanted." To her amazement, Lily finds herself the slightest bit breathless, her heart beating in her chest like the wings of a butterfly. "It's cold out, so no one would think anything of you wearing a stocking cap on your head. We could look for Sirius and plot your revenge."

He smiles at her and takes a moment to shrug into a woolen cloak, foregoing the aforementioned cap. Reaching for her hand, he entwines their fingers, giving a gentle squeeze. "Ah, bugger it," he says when she gives him a questioning look. "If you don't mind being seen with me, then nothing else matters." He grins mischievously. "Except, of course, getting even with Sirius."

The End