#writingontheclouds

[writingontheclouds]

planning and writing a long Jily College AU with soccer/ice hockey james and nerd lily. if you have any tropes/plot points you want to see in the story, send them my way! :D

[theresthesnitch]

Really bizarre question but could you give me some suggestions on James and lily fanfiction to read that you liked???

This is not even remotely weird! I actually have a few rec lists requests in my ask box that I still need to get to. 

You have asked for Jily fics I love, which I’m going to take to mean any of them. I’m hoping some of these you haven’t seen before. (hopefully these blog tags are right too!)

Right where you left me by @writingontheclouds - This fic is so devastatingly gorgeous. James breaks up with Lily - literally walks out the door and leaves her, and this is the story of them finding their way back together. I love it so much. 

Reversed Tower by @forgivemeremus-blog - this is such a unique twist on Halloween 1981, and the CAT. Just read it. It’s so good. 

you’re the tom to my jerry by @sunshinemarauder - Jily texting fic! It’s so, so cute. Give it a read. 

Who Knows Who Cares by @the-dream-team - BI LILY! It’s so good; please read it. 

Remarkable by @mppmaraudergirl - Remember I mentioned the James Lives AU? That’s this one. I mixed them up. This is Lily lives. STILL gorgeous. And Heart. Breaking. 

Come what may by @cesays - Moulin Rouge AU? Gorgeous. Read it. 

exit song (for fic) by @startanewdream - I’m so in love with this particular Jily. Movie stars Jily. Gorgeous. 

We Have Buried the Putrid Corpse of Liberty (did I get it this time?) by @mabeltothknows - this is the FUNNIEST THING I have ever read. 

Hope that gets you going! I’ll work on my other rec lists asap. 

[jilyarchive]

and we dance around the kitchen in the refrigerator light.

Title: and we dance around the kitchen in the refrigerator light Author: writingontheclouds Rating: T Genre(s): Romance Chapters: 1 Word Count: 5,933 Summary: Just James and Lily, dancing away.

[jilytoberfest]

There were about 30 of you guys who had participated in it! I’m so glad that you got introduced to many new authors and that your tbr list has increased a considerably large amount, lol. I’ll officially make a new post about the winner, later!

A HUGE thank you to @alittlebitofeverything23 and @majormaybe1 for helping me with this! You guys are awesome!

You can see the list of fics included under the cut!

1. Retribution by @maraudersftw

2. Let me Love you by @thejilyship

3. We can be Heroes by @blitheringmcgonagall

4. The last Enemy by @chdarling

5. The wedding ring by @mppmaraudergirl

6. Potter Exposed by mppmaraudergirl

7. A little risk by blitheringmcgonagall

8. Eternal Summer by @missgryffin

9. I’ll go the distance for you by littlejenniebean

10. Golden Waltz by evanspotter

11. come together by @thequibblah

12. The season by missgryffin

13. We have buried the putrid corpse of liberty by @mabeltothknows

14. Forget me not by @cesays

15. Summer Girl by @efkgirldetective

16. Right where you left me by @writingontheclouds

17. haggis from Algernon by @ghostofbambifanfiction

18. covet thy neighbor by ghostofbambifanfiction & @bcdaily

19. Commentarius by bcdaily

20. The life and times by jules

21. shelf awareness by by @ghostofbambifanfiction

22. Cliche by @tumbledfreckles

23. Not According to Plan by bcdaily

24. Fingers Crossed by @pottinglilies

25. Boyfriend by Molly Raesly

26. Exit song (for film) by @startanewdream

27. Unexpected Relations by alittlebitofeverything23

28. Teenage Kicks by @arianatwycross

29. See You Next Summer by @sweeethinny

30. All you Knead is Love by @adenei

31. Undercover by by @jilyss

32. And so they fall by sunshine-marauders

33. Burn Easy / Easy Does It by efkgirldetective

34. Until Spring Comes Again by startanewdream

35. Bond and Free by @clare-with-no-i

36. Eighteen Again by @scriibble-fics

37. Kiss and tell by sunshinedaisieswindmills

38. Bloody Shangri-La by firbolging

39. Say when by jamespotterthefirst

40. On the run by jilyss

41. Reputation by petalstofish

42. The spy who loved Lily by PotterandEvans

43. Holiday Highlights by petalstofish

44. Cruel summer by petalstofish

45. Everlong by @emeralddoeadeer

46. You’re worth splinching for by @sunshine-marauders

47. Between the stacks by @pottinglilies

48. Hold my hand by startanewdream

49. Doggy Paddle: A memoir by Sirius Black by @the-dream-team

50. Tight Quidditch Uniforms & Other Distressing Things by @blitheringmcgonagall

51. The way the light looks by @stonecoldhedwig

52. Waffle wars by elanev91

53. The vegan cupcake by @petalstofish

54. Personality before punctuality by @theroomofreq

55. Welcome to pettyville by @women-inthe-sequel @alrightginger

56. Black out by women-inthe-sequel

57. Pride & Purrejudice by snapslikethis

58. Behind the scenes by lovesickjily

59. Aplomb by @gryffindormischief

60. Here’s to forever by @magic-girl-in-a-muggle-world

[jilyawards]

Right Where You Left Me by @writingontheclouds

How We Fall by @mppmaraudergirl

Reversed Tower by @t4twolfstar

forever is the sweetest con by @sunshine-marauders

Raspberry Sorbet by @sunshine-marauders

Words by @mppmaraudergirl

as the rain falls by @cesays

Drunken Snuggles by @sunshine-marauders

Evening Soiree by @sunshine-marauders

Status in Quo by @clare-with-no-i

What lies within by @mppmaraudergirl

It would have been sweet by @firefeufuego2

On the Run by @jilyss

The loved. (ch. 32-34) by @mppmaraudergirl

[ao3feed-jily]

Right where you left me

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/3tQnZ8y

by writingontheclouds

Yes, he’ll be back in the morning.

  Lily settles herself with her head on the foot of the couch, her eyes glued to the front door. She imagines it bursting open to reveal a messy-haired bespectacled boy, in that red t-shirt she knows he loves to wear. But it never does.

Her heart lurches every time she heard a sound in the hallway. A door opens and shuts. The ding of the elevator. A jingle of keys. A distant laugh. She doesn’t know when she falls asleep, or how for that matter. All she remembers is chanting.

  He’ll be back.

Words: 24170, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M

Characters: James Potter, Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black, Marlene McKinnon, Mary Macdonald, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew

Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/3tQnZ8y

[ao3feed-snape]

Right where you left me

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/3tQnZ8y

by writingontheclouds

Yes, he’ll be back in the morning.

Lily settles herself with her head on the foot of the couch, her eyes glued to the front door. She imagines it bursting open to reveal a messy-haired bespectacled boy, in that red t-shirt she knows he loves to wear. But it never does.

Her heart lurches every time she heard a sound in the hallway. A door opens and shuts. The ding of the elevator. A jingle of keys. A distant laugh. She doesn’t know when she falls asleep, or how for that matter. All she remembers is chanting.

He’ll be back.

Words: 24170, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M

Characters: James Potter, Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black, Marlene McKinnon, Mary Macdonald, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Severus Snape

Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/3tQnZ8y

[slytherin-salazar]

Cakes and Croissants

This one-shot has been written for @jilychallenge. I’d like to thank @txmriddlx for checking it.

@slytherin-salazar vs @writingontheclouds

Theme: Muggle AU

Prompt: Can I just say that your bakery has THE BEST almond croissants in town?

Summary:  Love makes us do strange things. James Potter knew that more than well. It was his love for Lily Evans that lead him to volunteer in the annual bake sale. There was a problem though. He couldn't bake! James had two weeks to learn, but will he be able to bake a cake and impress his red-haired muse?

There were a lot of things that could be said about one and only James Potter. He was a very charming and handsome teenager. He used to be quite spoiled because his parents were extremely rich. He was the captain and a centre forward of his school football team. He was madly in love with Lily Evans. He was also – along with his three best-friends – one of the biggest pranksters the school has ever seen. However, what people didn’t know was the fact that James Potter was an excellent baker. And the reason why they didn’t know it was quite simple. They didn’t know because it wasn’t true. James couldn’t bake to save his life.

“Peter, I need your help,” a teenager with jet-black messy hair approached his two friends who decided to spend their lunch break under the biggest tree in the school grounds.

“Sure, you know I’ll help you as long as I’m able to,” answered the shortest of the boys, a chubby owner of mousy brown hair. “What’s going on?”

“I submitted myself as a volunteer to the annual bake sale…” the messy haired boy answered shyly.

“Wait, I didn’t know you were baking,” a boy with a medium-length black hair interrupted his friend, who in return sighed heavily.

“Exactly, Sirius. I don’t bake and that’s the problem,” James said and leaned against the tree. “I volunteered only because Lily will be there, too. It just… it slipped out of my mouth before I knew what I was doing.”

“Oh!” said his friends.

“Yes, oh!” he flipped his hands in the air. “I’m screwed. You know how Slughorn loves his Slug Club. He cares for it more than anything. He expects the volunteers to bake delicious cakes… he expects me to bake delicious cakes. He said that cakes can’t be bought. And that’s why I need your help, Peter.”

“Yes? But you know I can’t bake, too.” Squeaked the smallest boy.

“I know. But your uncle Jacob can. He’s the owner of the best bakery in our town. Hell, his company is famous around the world, especially in America. And I thought that maybe… that maybe he could teach me? So I won’t embarrass myself in front of Lily… taking into account that Snape volunteered, too…”

“Hold on. Snape? As in Snivellus Snape? He volunteered?” asked a confused Sirius and when his friend nodded, he almost had a heart attack. “Since when he can bake?!”

“I have no idea. He only volunteered because I did… You know, Lily was first, obviously, and then it was my turn… Snivellus was right after me. But it doesn’t matter now. I have to be better than him. Will you help me?” Pleaded James.

“Will we help you with what?” asked a fourth voice. It belonged to a tall teenager who was the owner of the green eyes and short brown hair. He held a book in his hand. “And why do I get the impression that this is illegal?”

“Nah, not this time, Remus,” started Black, then he put his arm around his friend. “But can you believe that our James volunteered himself to the annual bake sale and has to bake the cakes himself? And we all know that he can’t bake to save his life,” Sirius chuckled. “All because a certain red-haired beauty named Lily Evans volunteered herself, too.”

“And so did Snivellus whom James has to defeat now if he doesn’t want to embarrass himself,” added young Pettigrew.

Remus looked at his friend as if he wanted to know if his friends weren’t pulling his leg. However, when James reluctantly nodded, he put his hand on his shoulder and raised his lips in a small smile.

“Worry not, James. We will do everything we have to. We won’t let you down. We won’t let you embarrass yourself in front of Lily and if it’s necessary, we’ll bring Snape down.”

Read on fanfiction

Read on Archive of Our Own

James was quite proud of himself when he walked down the hallways of the school carrying the box in which he had his cakes. He spent the last two weeks in Kowalski Quality Baked Goods where he was learning how to bake. Peter’s uncle, Jacob Kowalski, taught him personally while his friends pretended to be culinary critics.

When he baked his very first cake, he thought that Sirius and Peter were going to die because they couldn’t stop vomiting. Luckily, the second one wasn’t that bad and he was getting better and better with every new cake.

And now he was here. In Hogwarts. During the annual bake sale organised by Professor Slughorn’s science club to raise money for their local hospital. It was quite famous and popular and people loved being there because they could meet their friends there and eat some good cakes while helping.

I hope I won’t poison anyone, thought James as he put the box with his cakes on an assigned desk in the gym and took out two of his cakes. The first was a chocolate one and the other was a Victoria sponge.

“Ah, James, wonderful!” he heard Slughorn’s voice as soon as he unpacked his food. “I must say that your cakes look delicious. You can be sure I’ll be back to buy some as soon as I check everything.”

The boy looked at his teacher who was smiling broadly.

“Thanks, professor. I tried.” Replied an apprehensive looking James.

The older man nodded, still smiling, and then said his goodbye and went to check another students’ culinary creations. The boy sighed and sat down on the chair.

“Well, well, well. I have to say that I’m impressed,” said a female voice as soon as Horace Slughorn departed. “For a moment I thought that it was some kind of a joke on your part when you volunteered but here you are with your cakes.”

James raised his head so fast that his glasses almost fell from his nose. A young seventeen-year-old girl with a long red hair was leaning over the table, smirking. As it was Saturday, they didn’t have to wear their school uniforms so she was wearing a white dress. The boy had to confess that when she was leaning, he had a good view of her cleavage, even though the neckline of the dress was quite high.

“H-hello, Lily,” started James and his hand automatically went to his unruly hair which he was never able to tame. He looked into her beautiful green eyes so he wasn’t staring at her chest. “I… um, of course it wasn’t a joke. I wouldn’t dare to joke about a charity event… I, um, I wanted to help somehow.”

Lily said nothing, she just raised her perfectly shaped eyebrow as if knowing the real reason. Then she looked at his cakes and then back at him.

“Victoria sponge and a chocolate cake, huh?” she said with a note of amusement. “Somehow I can’t imagine you eating a chocolate cake. What would happen to your perfect athletic figure? I’m sure that half of the girls would be devastated.”

“Are you in this half?” he asked before he was able to bite his tongue.

The girl chuckled and sat down on the desk, crossing her legs.

“Hmm… maybe? Although, I have to confess that I prefer an athletic brain over an athletic body,” she started and then pulled a red sequinned purse out of her handbag which James just noticed she had. Then she put a £5 note on the desk. “Now, we can’t allow your cakes to go to waste, can we? I’ll have one slice of your chocolate cake, please.”

James didn’t answer because he was unable to. All words had left him, leaving him speechless. Lily Evans, a girl he had loved ever since he could remember, was sitting on the desk in front of him, dressed in a dress which showed a little too much (not that he complained of course. He enjoyed the view) looking at him with a small smile. Heaven. Words are unable to describe how much he loves her smile.

“Here you go,” he said a moment later when he cut a slice of the cake and handed her a plate which she accepted (cutlery and plates were prepared before he arrived). Then he handed her four pounds of change.

“Leave it, James,” she said.

“But one slice of cake costs one pound, not five,” he answered.

“I know, however, it’s a charity event. And well, let’s say that a pound is for a cake and four for the effort you put into baking it,” she chucked and then cut a little piece of her slice. “Now, let’s try your masterpiece.”

But before she was able to eat it, a loud cry reverberated around the hall.

“LILY EVANS! I FORBID YOU TO EAT THAT CAKE!”

All heads turned towards the source of the sound.

It was none other than Sirius Black, he was standing in the middle of the gym, holding a big box. A look of pure horror was visible on his face as he was looking at Lily who sat as frozen on the desk, having a spoon with a piece of cake in front of her open mouth.

Remus Lupin, who stood next to Sirius, only rolled his eyes while Peter chuckled. Both teenagers had boxes with cakes in them, too.

The young Black didn’t waste his time, he just handed Remus his box and a moment later he was stood in front of the completely shocked girl. He didn’t care that all people, including their teachers, were looking at them, he simply took the plate and spoon from Lily’s hands and then shook her gently.

“Are you all right, Lily? You don’t look well,” he said and showed her two fingers. “How many fingers do you see? What? You see eight?! OH MY GOD, JAMES! YOU POISONED LILY!”

“Being a drama queen again, are we, Sirius?” the red-haired beauty asked with amusement, then she took the plate from the table. “We all know that you showed five fingers.”

James chuckled and high-fived Remus who had just put all three boxes on the table as Peter had just handed him his box too. They brought the almond croissants and pączki which the young Potter boy had baked. Peter, then began unpacking them.

“You said you saw five fingers?” Sirius asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah,” Lily agreed and wanted to eat the piece of cake, but Black took it from her, again. “C'mon, Siri, give me my cake. I bought it!” she added and pouted.

“And do what? Let you die?” the boy put his hand on his chest. “You want me to be responsible for your death? No way! I won’t let you eat that cake until I taste it first!” he added, and took money out of his pocket and threw it onto the table. Then he prepared himself to eat a bit of Lily’s portion of the cake.

The girl just rolled her eyes and the three other boys chuckled when Sirius opened his mouth to eat it, however, he also didn’t have a chance to taste James’ creation because someone interrupted him.

“Will you ever stop showing off, Black?” asked a male voice.

They all turned their heads towards the source of the sound and saw a tall boy with a greasy black hair. Next to him stood a boy who looked like a younger, less handsome version of Sirius – his brother Regulus.

“What’s your problem, Snivellus?” asked the older of the Black brothers. “I don’t remember inviting you over here.”

“I don’t need your invitation because we’re in school which, thank heaven, doesn’t belong to you,” answered Severus Snape as he approached Sirius.

Before anyone was able to blink, James found himself between his friend and their rival. He wasn’t a fan of Snape but he didn’t want one of his best-friends to have trouble if he had a fight with him. Especially because Lily was here and Snape was her friend. How was that possible, he had no idea. What James didn’t expect was Lily standing between the boys, too.

“What’s going on here?” asked another voice, it was their physics teacher, Professor McGonagall, who approached them along with Professor Slughorn and Headmaster Dumbledore.

“Nothing, Professor, we’re just talking,” said James before anyone else could say something.

Sirius, however, had other plans.

“What’s your problem, Snape?” he asked and it was obvious that he was ready to fight at any moment.

“You’re my problem, Black. Why do you always have to show off? Let Lily eat this damn cake if she wants to.”

“You know Sirius, Sev,” started the red-haired girl, wanting to stop their quarrel before one of them would do something they might regret later. “He’s just joking. It’s fine.”

“That’s the problem – he’s always joking. Just like when he pushed me off the stairs!” said Snape angrily. “It was so laughable. Especially while having broken ribs!”

“Now many times do I have to say that it was an accident? I didn’t see you there!” the older Black, who was held by James, yelled. His brother just sighed. He had no idea what he was doing here and wanted to be anywhere but here.

“Stop it now, both of you!” McGonagall interrupted them. “You’re acting worse than five year olds!”

“He started it,” muttered Sirius but only James who was next to him could hear him.

“Now, behave and don’t make me return here!” she said and left them. A moment later Dumbledore and Slughorn did the same. Why the men even bothered to go there, James had no idea.

“Come, Lily,” said Snape as he turned on his heel, ready to leave them.

“I’m not going with you, I’m staying,” the girl said and looked at James and Sirius and then back at her friend who was quite shocked at hearing her words. “I want to eat my portion of the cake with or without Sirius’ approval.”

“So you’re going to side with them?” Snape hissed.

“I’m not siding with anyone, Severus,” she started. “I just want to eat my damn cake which – mind you – I bought!”

Snape snorted.

“Of course you’re not. And you couldn’t have a bigger décolletage, could you?” he said looking at her boobs. “You’re looking like a slut in that dress. Like a Potter’s little slut.”

James felt his blood begin to boil inside of him. How could Snape dare to call Lily a slut? Lily was anything but a slut! He clenched his teeth and fists. He was mad. He was furious. He wanted Snape to suffer. Very much. He turned toward him ready to punch him, the volcanic heat of rage pulsating through his arteries.

SLAP!

The boy froze. His hand was just a few inches from Snivellus’ face but it never reached it because someone else’s was faster.

His friends and Regulus gasped while Snape hissed in pain. Lily, on the other hand, was looking at her trembling hand which just slapped her friend. She felt hurt and betrayed by his mean words and could feel the tears appearing in her eyes. She couldn’t believe that Severus just called her a slut.

James recovered the fastest and used the fact that Snape was still stunned by the slap. His hand met the other boy’s face with much force. Severus lost his balance and fell down on the table, knocking it over. But it wasn’t enough for the Potter boy. He didn’t care that his cakes were gone now because all mattered now was to make Snivellus suffer. He sat on his stomach and started punching his face as much as he could. It didn’t matter that there was blood. Snape had to pay for what he said.

“James, that’s enough, stop! James, please, stop it!” he heard Lily’s voice but it was all blurred. As if she wasn’t standing next to him. “JAMES!”

He was almost sure that his friends were yelling at him, too, but he couldn’t hear what they were saying. He felt as if they were far away from him.

“That’s enough!” he heard McGonagall’s voice some time later and someone separated him from Snape. It turned out that it was his friends – they finally managed to stop him. “Didn’t I tell you something a few minutes ago?”

James didn’t care. He couldn’t care less that the whole hall was looking at them now. He was mad. He was furious. He wanted Snape to suffer.

“He’s crazy!” said Snape a moment later when Regulus helped him to get up. His face was covered in blood. His nose was broken for sure.

“Shut up, Snivellus!” he yelled and tried to punch him again, however, his friends wouldn’t let him. “I swear that if you call Lily a slut again, then I’ll break something more than just your ugly nose!”

The hall went quiet and everyone stared at him, Snape and finally at Lily who didn’t feel comfortable being there now. She felt extremely vulnerable.

“What does she even see in you?” hissed Snape, wiping the blood from his face using his sleeve. “You’re noting but a pathetic, athletic idiot!”

“I’m really sorry that you all got kicked out because of me,” said James as he, Lily and his friends marched through an empty park. It was empty, even in June, because everyone was either at the bake sale or at work.

“Actually, bro, you were the one who got kicked out,” started Sirius with a smirk and nudged him. “We just followed you as any good friends would do.”

Because it was Saturday and not a school day, James and Severus couldn’t be punished for their fight (as long as you can call a beating someone a fight). Instead both of them were banned from the bake sale and they had to leave immediately. The boys followed their fallen companion while one certain Miss Evans didn’t have much choice. Plus she didn’t want to be there any longer than necessarily, especially when everyone found out that her best-friend… well, her ex-best-friend called her a slut. It was humiliating.

“What he said,” announced Remus and Peter, who was holding a box, nodded in agreement. “Especially that we failed you. We promised to bring Snape down if he started causing problems and sadly, we didn’t stop him on time.”

A small smile appeared on James’ lips. He couldn’t ask for better friends. They always had his back, no matter what (and he always had theirs). He looked at the red-haired girl who was walking next to him. She was quiet.

“And what about you, Lily?” he asked. “Why did you leave?”

His class-mate looked at him, tilting her head a little.

“I didn’t have a choice,” she said.

“What do you mean? McGonagall banned Snape, too, so you could stay without need of looking at him,” he stated, clearly confused. “Besides, what about your cakes? Shouldn’t you sell them?”

“Don’t worry about the cakes, Marlene will sort them, besides, when I said that I had no choice I meant it, James,” she said and looked at the Black boy who winked. “Sirius tossed me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and took me from there.”

Potter looked at his best-friend who just shrugged.

“I didn’t want her to be there especially when you announced loud enough for everyone to hear that Snivellus called her a you-know-what.”

James froze. He was aware that he screamed at Snape but he was too angry that he didn’t know what he actually was saying. Something turned in his stomach. He felt guilty. If it wasn’t for him, other people wouldn’t know what Snape said to Lily. It was all his fault. He felt horrendously guilty.

“I’m sorry, Lily,” he whispered as they resumed their journey. “I am so sorry… I know that I yelled at him, but I wasn’t aware that I actually said it… I embarrassed you in front of everyone. Please, forgive me. I really didn’t want to do it.”

Lily was quiet at first, however, a moment later she raised her lips a bit.

“I know you are, James,” she said, nodding. “But it wasn’t your fault. Severus shouldn’t say at the first place.”

They took a seat on a bench under a large oak tree. Peter put the box on the table and then took off the cover. Everyone looked at him with a raised eyebrows when they saw what it was.

“I didn’t have a chance to unpack everything and that’s what I saved after James pushed Snape on the table,” he said as he looked inside the box. There was one almond croissant and six pączki. Seeing, however, that Remus opened his mouth to say something, he added. “Don’t worry. I left the money for it.”

“Good thinking Peter,” said Lupin.

“See? Even I have my moments,” chuckled Peter. “Enjoy!”

It happened suddenly. Sirius grabbed a pączek and so did Remus and Peter. Lily and James, on the other hand, both grabbed the almond croissant. The boys chuckled.

“So what now? Another fight?” asked Sirius and winked.

“Nah, Lily will take the croissant and James will have a pączek,” said young Pettigrew as he finished eating his own. “They’re quite delicious.”

“But I want the croissant! I love almond croissants,” James pouted. He was joking of course because he already grabbed the other baked treat.

“What a shame,” Lily started, smirking. “But mind you – I paid for your cake and I didn’t have a chance to eat it. So the croissant is mine. Besides, almond croissants are my favourite, too.”

There was a moment of comfortable silence during while they were eating. It wasn’t much but still, it was better than nothing, plus the fact that they were together, just their small group of five, was more important. They all quite enjoyed each other’s company.

“James?” Lily asked a few moments later.

“Yes?” he asked and turned his head towards her.

“Open your mouth,” she said.

James did as he was told and a moment later Lily gave him a piece of croissant she tore off. He accepted it with a big smile.

“James?” she asked again.

“Yes, Lily?” he asked and looked at her again. So did his friends.

“I really wanted to taste that cake,” she said, her comment made the boys start laughing, and soon Lily joined them, adding a tone of femininity to the chorus of masculine laugher.

“Well, in that case I’ll bake one especially for you,” he said with a smile.

Lily leaned towards him and kissed his cheek, smiling.

“I’d love that, James. I’d love that.”

[writingontheclouds]

Is James Potter a good man?

Considering you asked this question on a blog that is heavily focused on Jily, I must admit that my answer might be a bit biased.

That said, yes, I believe James Potter is a good man.

[writingontheclouds]

Chapter 4: How To Finally Get the Girl

The finale of my fic "How You Get The Girl" that I started in 2019 when I was a wee fresher in college. It is finally over. *phew* I hope this story stops haunting me now.

Read it on AO3.

...

The clock in her room read 7:39pm when Lily watched Isis disappear into the horizon, soaring higher and higher above the identical houses of Cokeworth.

She wasn't sure which part of her brain was working overtime when she thought of sending a letter through Isis. Or when she thought of the idea. She just remembers Sirius holding her by her shoulders and shaking with excitement at the idea as he exited her room and her house and disapparated from her front yard with a distinct pop.

She should have checked around if anyone saw him disappear. She should have berated him for being so careless in a muggle neighbourhood, *her* neighbourhood, as he apparated back at the same position exactly 12 minutes later with a grey owl sitting gleefully on her shoulder, playing with his black hair. But words suddenly seemed foreign to her.

Despite her newly found resolve and the shadow of a black haired boy peaking behind her shoulder, she had hesitated. Multiple times. Her quill broke twice. Isis fluttered around her room from her bed to the shelves. Sirius paced the small length of her bedroom muttering, "Good god woman, you don't have be Shakespeare."

She couldn't shake the guilt looming in her stomach, making her nauseous. *What if he truly has moved on?*

Sirius had been ecstatic, almost jumping off the walls of her bedroom as Isis flew out her window. "He's going to come as soon as he gets it, I promise."

Lily knew Isis was pretty fast, even for a magical owl. And after conveying her urgency in getting the letter delivered as soon as possible, Lily was almost sure she saw Isis' eyes become determined. She loved a challenge, that feisty little thing. Lily promised her an entire box of her favourite treats and off she flew, feathers fluttering to an inch of her face.

Her mother came in announcing dinner just 10 minutes later, asking Sirius to join them. 30 minutes and multiple pointless conversations later, she was ready to stab herself in the thigh with a fork.

"So there is actually a magical giant squid that lives in the lake at Hogwarts?" Her mother asked, absolutely aghast.

"Oh yes, my mate James and I arm wrestled one of his tentacles last year," Sirius responded as-a-matter-of-fact. Even Petunia, whose usual response to any time Hogwarts came up on the dinner table was a scowl, looked shocked.

"You what?" Her mother asked, looking at her for confirmation.

"They did," Lily told her mother nonchalantly, moving the contents of her plate from one corner to another, "Though they mostly just annoyed it. It got bored and dumped them on the shore and went back inside."

Almost an hour later, she couldn't take it anymore and went outside for fresh air. Surely Isis must have reached James by now? He was in the middle of London, not a cave up in the mountains.

It was 10pm when Sirius joined her outside on the front yard, after relaying some more Hogwarts stories to her mother.

"Maybe Isis is having a hard time finding him," He said softly, sitting down next to her on the grass. She just hummed in response, her heart hammering against her chest.

By 11pm, even Sirius seemed to have ran out of reasons. Isis should have reached James by now. Hell, she would have reached London by now if she had taken the train. And she was a witch. If only she knew where to go IN London. She could have just run around Leicester Square screaming his name like a deranged pelican.

At 11:58pm, a sudden movement caught the corner of her eye and before she knew it, a grey feathered blob landed directly in front of them. Isis looked ecstatic and proud. And as happy as Lily was to see her, her excitement lasted for 2 seconds exactly until she noticed the empty talon.

Her heart sank into her stomach. The answer was staring right in her face.

"Lily, maybe he got stuck-"

"Don't." Her voice was barely above a whisper, and her vision started to blur. Sirius wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and she hid her face in his shoulder. “Don’t."

"I'm sorry."

---

It took a very long time to convince Sirius that she was fine. Or, it took a very long time to tell a convincing lie to Sirius that she was fine. But he finally departed around 1am, with a promise to take her out for ice cream the next day to cheer her up.

She had already planned not to leave her bed for the next 3 days, to sleep as much as she could and to be awake as less as she could help it. But unfortunately, the world seemed adamant to not let her have her way, because despite her plans to be unconscious, but she was still wide awake at 2:30am.

Lily rolled over for the hundredth time, facing the pink wall of her bedroom and closed her eyes. She tried to go to her happy place, back to Hogwarts and its hallways and her friends, when a light tap sounded behind her. At first, she thought she had imagined it, the silence of the night deafening her and playing tricks on her mind. But the tap happened again, and again, and that's when her heart sank and her mind took a much darker turn.

She had heard of the rumours of muggle borns and the news of the 'disappearances', and suddenly, each name she had read in the newspapers flashed at the back of her head as she grabbed her wand, remembering every hex in the books. Tomorrow, she was sure, her name would be added to that never ending list. She slowly pulled the curtain above her desk to peak out at the offending noise.

But there, floating right outside the window in the middle of the night, was a boy holding a lit wand with a goofy grin. A grin she unfortunately knew way too well.

"POTTER!" she whispered angrily, half on instinct, but the sound wouldn't reach him. She put her wand aside and slid the window open.

"Potter! What in Merlin's pants are you doing?" she hissed, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"Can we talk?" he asked, his voice barely audible over the wind.

"You are floating outside my window," she stated, still processing the sight before her.

"Yes, I'm on my broom," he replied nonchalantly.

"You are floating outside my window on a broom," she repeated, her tone incredulous.

"Great observation skills, Evans," he remarked, a hint of a grin tugging at his lips.

"You are FLOATING outside my window IN A MUGGLE NEIGHBOURHOOD on a BROOM.”

"Oh. Yes. That. Uhh," he stuttered, looking around nervously, "Can I come in?"

"Can it not wait till tomorrow?"

"I would highly prefer today.”

"Today, right now? As opposed to today noon at Diagon Alley with butterbeer?"

"Today, right now.”

She sighed impatiently, backing up and gesturing him to come inside. While James was ambling his frame into her very small window, knocking down books and pencil stands as he came inside, alarm bells were ringing in her head.

"SHHH!" She shushed him, and he stopped for a second before continuing to get his other leg inside the window and pas her study table.

Bollocks. He was here. The reality of the situation was settling in now. What did he want to talk about? Did he want to apologise? Tell her thank you, but no thank you?

She glanced down at her worn out blue pyjama set, deciding she didn't care how she looked. Even if it wasn't, she wasn't going to change to be let down. How pathetic would that be?

"Cute room, Evans." He said once he had manoeuvred his broom inside her room and started inspecting everything.

"You better have a very good reason for this, Potter."

He just looked at her bemused, eyebrows raised, reached into his jacket and pulled out a folded piece of parchment.

"Oh, I have a very very good reason, Evans."

"Look-"

"Oh no, here is where I will talk and you will listen." That shut her up real quick.

"So, I was sitting in this quaint little restaurant in the middle of muggle London, on a date with this wonderful girl. She's pretty, funny and she loves Quidditch- and guess what?- she supports Puddlemere, I was sold by then and the date had hardly started. She's a splendid conversationalist, did you know? We didn't have any of those awful awkward silences, those are always a deal breaker for me. So we laughed all through the main course-"

"-I'm going to toss you out the window if you've come here to tell me about your new girlfriend-"

"-I swear the manager wanted to throw us out of there-"

"-You have Sirius to discuss the nitty gritties about your dates-"

"-and we were waiting for desert, when I look out the window and to my surprise, I see Isis there."

He looked right in her eyes, and Lily was sure he could see the blush colouring her cheeks despite the low light in the room. Hell, he could have spotted it from a mile away on his broom at this point.

He took a step in her direction, and she instinctively look a step back.

"Yes, Isis with a letter. She singlehandedly unleashed havoc in the restaurant, you should have been there, there was spaghetti flying around and people were slipping on spilled pasta sauce, all for a letter. Clearly, someone asked her to deliver it urgently.”

"Now, you must know how that scared the living daylights out of me, because what could be so important that couldn't till the end of the night? It's a difficult time in our world, you know," James Potter continued babbling animately, his usual self, but Lily's heart was threatening to beat out of her chest, matching James steps, as he continued to step closer to her and she continued to backtrack.

"So, we ran out the restaurant before we were arrested, though what for I still have no idea, but I must be completely pale and speaking gibberish because Emily said she couldn't understand what I said, and frankly neither could I."

"So, with trembling hands, I opened the letter, a million different worse case scenarios playing in my head, and can you guess what it said?" He asked, holding open the parchment and Lily could make out her hasty scrawl.

"Uhh.." Lily's back hit the door to her room and she realised she had nowhere to go now.

"It was from this rather infuriating bird, with bright red hair and a temper to level the entire city of London, who does not lose a single chance to wound my ego, who has spent the last 6 years hating me and my guts, and if that was not enough, for some weird reason I've fancied all that time?"

"Now, I had imagined this particular scenario many times in my head. My personal favorite ending in passionate and wild lovemaking, but never had I imagined this happening on a letter that I thought was the worst news I'll ever receive, when I was on a date with another girl I was about to ask to be my girlfriend. Now do you understand my anger?" James had closed the distance between the two, and Lily could smell broom polish on him. And his cologne. She was pointedly trying not to think about his cologne. She was sure she was hallucinating at this point.

"Well, if you put it that way.."

"..yes?" He put the parchment back into his pocket, and rested his right arm by her head, boxing her in.

"..I might have not have thought this through." She whispered, looking into his hazel eyes, forcing herself to not glance at his lips.

"Of course you didn't," He whispered back.

Lily cleared her throat and looked down, arms folding around her chest defensively. She couldn't look him in the eye while saying this. "Look, James, if you flew all the way here just to say this, you needn't have come. I got your message, loud and clear."

"Message? What message?"

"It's fine, I'm happy for you."

"Happy for me?"

"Yes, I promise I will keep my distance at Hogwarts. She need not worry, neither do you."

"You know, for a brilliant witch, you can be so dense sometimes." Lily's face contorted, taking offence, and ready to spew out some witty come back that would be weirdly accurate, but he put both his hands on either side of her face, and tilted her head up slightly, ensuring their eyes met.

"Lily, why do you think I am here?" There was a tender intensity in his hazel eyes, a silent promise.

Lily's eyes widened, one hand subconsciously coming to rest on his arm, holding it there, holding her.

"I.." She stumbled, staring into his eyes, unable to come up with any response, much less a rational explanation of his presence here.

He waited patiently for Lily to reply, his thumb softly brushing her cheeks.

"You didn't reply." She whispered finally.

"This is something I wanted to tell you in person," he said, nudging her nose with his. "I also had to escort Emily back to her place."

"Out of all the times, this was the one you chose to be a gentleman," Lily replied, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm always a gentleman," he retorted with a playful smirk.

Lily actually snorted. "SURE."

"I could always go back, you know, if I'm not wanted here. I'm sure Emily would love a good night stroll-" James teased, backing away and turning towards the window. But Lily grabbed him and pulled him towards her, his arms instinctively wrapping around her waist.

"Just shut up and kiss me," she whispered, her lips a hair's breadth from his. James grinned, his eyes sparkling with mischief and affection. He closed the gap between them, his lips brushing softly against hers at first. The gentle touch sent a shiver down Lily's spine, her heart pounding in her chest. She felt impatient, and deepened the kiss and her heart actually skipped a beat when James responded equally enthusiastically. She forgot that she was in her tiny bedroom, that she was wearing her old battered night suit, that 5 minutes ago she wasn’t sure how her last year at Hogwarts would pass.

But he was here. It felt impossible, but he was here and he was kissing her, and by Merlin, it felt more glorious than she could ever have imagined. James's hands slid up her back, pulling her closer, while Lily's fingers tangled in his hair, those black locks that she had dreamed of running her fingers through.

When they finally broke apart, both breathless, their foreheads resting against each other. Lily's cheeks were flushed, and James’s grin had softened into a tender smile.

"I’m getting this letter framed.” He murmured into her lips and Lily chuckled.

"I'm going to buy Isis the whole store."

[writingontheclouds]

Omg that sounds so good! the number one trope that comes to mind is Lily attending the football practice, James taking off his shirt or lifting it up to wipe his face and Lily just drooling lmaooo

Ooof this might be my roman empire. 110% gonna write this in.

[writingontheclouds]

Hi! I read your "How to Get the Girl" fic and saw you are missing a chapter. Are you planning on updating? It's been a while and I want to know if we'll get to see the last part. Thanks!

Hey! I do apologise for the extremely late response on this. I do have it all planned out tbh, but just never got around to finishing it. Wasn't aware people were actually waiting for the 4th chapter tbh. It's not one of my favourite works of myself, so i think i just gave up on it haha. If you would like to see how it ends, I'd be happy to write up the last chapter and post it (would just have to give me some time) :)

[writingontheclouds]

Imagine an AU where Lily dies but James lives. Snape will be a dead man once James learns he technically was responsible for leaving him a widow and Harry without a mother

why does this hurt to even think about.

[writingontheclouds]

Could you recommend me a fic where James dies and Lily ends up in a coma, at St Mungos?

I haven't read anything like this myself, but I highly recommend checking out @jilyarchive. They have an excellent catalog of all jily fics. Happy reading! :)

[writingontheclouds]

You suck

How refreshingly original. Your anonymous comment has profoundly impacted my life in ways I can't even begin to describe. Please, don't ever deprive the world of your sharp wit and deep insights.

[writingontheclouds]

Did you receive my prompt???

Hi, yes I received your prompt and I'm working on it. Give me a little bit of time to put something together. Thanks!