And We Kissed As Though Nothing Would Fall

Mid Autumn came around and James would be lying if he said he wasn't slightly nervous for the final Quidditch match of his time at Hogwarts. Breakfast was tense, he took small sips of pumpkin juice, his hand shook as he picked up his cup.

Sirius, however, was already acting like they won. He was convinced that Ravenclaw was no match against the Gryffindor team. Between mouthfuls of toast, he spoke about the celebration party that he had planned for later in the night in the Gryffindor common room.

"For all this talk of partying, if we end up losing today, you owe me 10 galleons," James said.

"Oh, calm down, Prongs," Sirius rolled his eyes, "There's no way we're gonna lose today."

Sirius was right, as he so often is.

George Harrison's voice resonated from the gramophone, bouncing off the red and gold adorned walls. Lily Evans' muggle records proved to be a hit with the Purebloods who had never heard The Beatles before.

The different house colours lit up the room, from the comforting yellows of Hufflepuff, to the calming blues of Ravenclaw, even to the deep greens of several of the more easygoing Slytherins that weren't off-put by Gryffindors. It was tradition for the seventh years of the winning Quidditch team to host a party before the NEWTs, it was a final celebration before their exams and graduation. Sirius had been bouncing off the walls all night, overjoyed that the Gryffindors got to organise everything this year.

Severus was among the few Slytherins who decided to show up. He opted for black slacks and a green knit sweater. From across the room, James took in his strong features: the cut of his cheekbones; the elegant slope of his aquiline nose; his glossy, black hair. He grinned when Severus spotted him back. He abandoned the other Slytherin and weaved through the softly swaying crowd.

"I knew I'd be able to get you into the Gryffindor domain one day," James said.

"Please, that was bound to happen any day now." Severus shot him a patronising look. "So where are the rest of your posse? I can see Lily flipping the vinyl over there, but there's no sign of the oblivious duo."

"Vinyl?" James asked. He followed Severus' line of sight to Lily, spinning the record in the air before placing it down on the gramophone again.

"Another name for a record. I thought you took Muggle Studies once," Severus mocked.

"Hey! We have records too you know, it must be a muggle thing to call them vinyls. Besides, I dropped Muggle Studies after one week, they hadn't explored the realm of muggle music in that time," James said. "I haven't seen Remus since the start of the night, and Sirius left to get a new drink some time ago. You wouldn't have to ask me if you showed up on time."

"I thought it was appropriate to show up late to these things." James scoffed as Severus' smug expression, but his reply was cut off by Sirius' loud declaration a metre over.

"You fucking dickhead, Remus! I love you!" Sirius crashed his lips onto Remus', pulling him in by the collar of his shirt. James could see Remus' eyes widen before he kissed Sirius back.

"About time," Severus muttered next to James. James silently agreed. He brought his fingers to his lips and let out a wolf whistle. Frank Longbottom clapped a hand on Sirius' shoulder as he passed, but neither of them paid attention. Frank approached Severus and James, standing on James' right.

"You don't think they'd take it to a different room if I asked, do you?" Frank chuckled.

"I wouldn't interfere, this has been a long time coming," James said. "Besides, I don't think they need us prompting them to leave the common room. I think I'll be crashing on the couch tonight."

Frank laughed and nodded before he left, making a beeline towards Alice and a group of Hufflepuff girls.

James brought his half-empty can to his lips and froze. "I haven't gotten you a drink yet, would you like anything?"

"Oh- I've never- I don't know. What would you recommend?" Severus asked slowly.

"We've got beer and more beer." James reached into a nearby esky and tossed Severus a can. He opened it and took a small sip.

"Tastes like shit," he grimaced.

"Been tasting a lot of shit lately?" James teased. Severus groaned and elbowed his side.

"You know what I mean."

"Maybe if you spoke to your best friend, he could've brought along something stronger," James said.

Severus raised an eyebrow. "My best friend?"

"You know, Mulciber. Or Avery for that matter. They go hand-in-hand," James laughed.

Severus took a longer swig then mocked James' laugh. "Very funny, I'd sooner call the Giant Squid a friend than either of those two."

As the hours slid by, James and Severus got separated. James excused himself a while ago to rile up the Ravenclaw team and carouse with the Gryffindor team. Severus took the opportunity to join Lily, Alice, Frank, and Peter by the fireplace.

Lily gave him a tight hug when she saw him. Severus tried to ignore the strange, beady-eyed look Peter gave Severus.

"I haven't seen you around lately, it's been a while since we spoke," Lily said.

"I'm sorry Lily, I've been quite preoccupied lately. Remind me to tell you everything once this all dies down later tonight," he replied. Severus and Lily took a small step back from the group, the chatter continued in their absence.

"Do you know why Pettigrew keeps giving me that aberrant look?" Severus whispered. Once again, he tried to meet Peter's eyes, but he averted his gaze as Severus looked at him.

"I think he's jealous of you, you know? James, Remus, and Sirius spent so much time with him, but now they're closer with you - the guy they're supposed to hate - than him. Doesn't make sense if you ask me, he was the one that tried to cut them off in the first place," Lily explained.

Severus hummed and took a drink. "I've seen Pettigrew around Rosier and Nott a lot this year, seems like a moronic trade to me."

"I thought you liked those two," Lily said.

"Not particularly, I tolerated them all because there was no one else I could turn to," Severus paused, "besides you, of course."

The pair moved back into the circle crowding the fire. Frank thanked Severus for his help with Potions over the years, saying he would have failed and dropped out before the NEWTs without his tutelage.

"Don't bother thanking me, Longbottom. You were always nicer to me than the rest of your boyish housemates," Severus said.

"Not anymore though, right? I've watched them warm up to you over the year, especially James," Frank gave Severus a knowing look. "Where is he, anyways?"

Severus looked around, expecting to spot James still with the Quidditch players. Instead, he found a hostile-looking Mary. Curly brown hair streaming behind her and eyes ablaze, she honed in on Severus. He fully turned to face her as she stopped in front of him, ignoring the puzzled looks from the rest of the group.

"I guess you got what you wanted," she spat. Severus' stomach dropped, he didn't want to do this tonight. He didn't want to do this at all. He feigned a confused expression.

"What are you talking about, McDonald?" Severus asked. She seized him by the elbow, digging her thumb into the ligaments on the inside of the joint. He winced as she turned to drag him away.

After she got him to a secluded corner of the room, she rounded on him.

"You're a vindictive asshole, you know that? James and I had a good thing going until you fucked everything up." She jabbed him in the chest with her finger.

Severus pursed his lips, fighting back an insult that would only elevate the situation.

"And don't think I haven't seen you two around-" Mary's voice grated on his ears, but Severus detached himself from the berating jibes. As his filtered out her voice, Severus spotted Lily over Mary's shoulder. She was watching in earnest, eyebrows raised as her gaze flittered back and forth between Severus and Mary. He shot her a small smirk - one that Mary didn't seem to notice. Lily returned it, still silently observing the row.

"Honestly, I can't believe you manipulated him into hating me-"

Severus looked away from Lily and landed on the comforting face of the Head Boy. Just as James looked up to match his gaze, Severus focused back on Mary's face, still marred with anger. He realised that she had stopped speaking and was waiting for an answer of some kind from him. If only he had been paying attention. He took a stab in the dark.

"He's gay, Mary. The intelligent thing to do would be to move on," Severus said. Her face redden and she balled her fists up at her sides.

As she inhaled to let fly another stream of curse words, James said from behind her, "Severus!"

He bypassed Mary and kissed Severus. After they pulled apart, Mary glowered at the pair. She knitted her hands together, pulling them to her chest. James turned his attention to Mary with a hand still resting on the small of Severus' back.

"What are you two talking about?" James asked. Mary remained silent, her face screwed up with indignation. She stepped backwards and turned away from them.

Before she got a chance to leave, James called out, "I guess you were right about him." She looked back over her shoulder, eyes dangerously wide. "What does that say about me? About you?" He asked.

Severus tensed in the resulting silence. He didn't know what James was talking about, but from the way Mary's jaw clenched, she knew exactly what he was referencing. Severus watched as Mary retreated, she gave him one last scathing look as she disappeared into the crowd.

"What do you mean she was right about me?" Severus asked.

James lingered on the spot where Mary stood moments ago, a frown set in his features. "Don't worry about it." He refocused on Severus, rubbing a hand up and down his arm. James gave Severus another kiss. Severus pulled back, crossing his arms over his chest.

"That was harsh, you didn't have to do that to her," Severus said. He wouldn't say it out loud, but the shocked look on her face improved his day tenfold.

"Trust me, Sev, she can deal with it after all the stress she put us through," James said. He smiled down at Severus and slung an arm around his shoulders. He pressed a kiss to his temple. "Another drink?"

They headed towards the stash of cans, James reached down and tossed one to Severus before picking one up for himself. As Severus cracked his open, he heard a familiar, soft voice from behind him.

"That was quite a show. Mary didn't look impressed," Lily said. Her floral perfume invaded Severus' senses. It was a comforting aroma that slowed his anxious heart rate.

"I have a feeling she won't be bothered us for a while," James said.

"And that was quite a kiss, does that mean you two have finally sorted out your shit?" Lily asked.

"You could say that," Severus said.

"Well, congratulations. It only took you guys seven months to get to this point," Lily winked at the both of them. She left without another word.

"I know this might be a long shot, but do you feel like dancing?" James asked. Severus chuckled and shook his head.

"You're right, that is a long shot. I don't dance," Severus replied. James plucked the can from Severus' hands and placed in on the table next to his own drink. He reached out and grasped Severus' slender, pale hands in his own.

A funky rhythm rang out over the gramophone, the crowd of people swayed and bopped to the tune. James pulled Severus in close and lead him backwards into the crowd.

"Don't think about it, just move with me," James whispered in his ear. He laced their fingers together, Severus traced James' jawline with his eyes. James noticed him studying his face so he rested his forehead on Severus'.

"I'll never get tired of doing this," James whispered. Severus hummed in agreement. James began to rock to the beat, a slow RnB track flooded their ears - a change from the upbeat rhythm only minutes ago. Severus rocked in time with him, their foreheads still pressed together and hands intertwined. "This is nice, is all muggle music like this?"

"This is more common in America, but England is slowly catching on," Severus said. James withdrew his hands from Severus' and grabbed his waist. He pulled his face away to look James in the eye.

Although Severus wouldn't admit it out loud, it was easier to forget about his self-consciousness when he could feel the warmth of James' hands through his clothes. Their eyes were locked, James loomed over him with a casual smirk on his face. With their torsos pressed together, James radiated so much heat and it comforted Severus. James softly hummed the melody to the song, picking it up fairly easily though he'd never heard it before.

"Aren't you getting the hang of it now? You don't even have to focus, your body just instinctually knows what to do," James leaned forward and whispered in his ear. His teeth grazed his ear lobe, biting gently and sending an unfamiliar chill down his spine.

James pressed a hand to the small of his back, pushing them impossibly closer. In turn, Severus snaked his arms around James' waist. James pulled back from his neck and kissed him gently, he smiled into the kiss as they swayed to the music. By this time of the night, no one cared if two people were kissing in the middle of the room - most of them found their own hook-ups, and the rest has passed out or left. As James kept him close with a hand pressed to the small of his back, he threaded his other hand through Severus' hair and held the back of his neck. James parted his lips and deepened the kiss, Severus was surprised by each little touch; every movement sent a thrill to his stomach.

"Steady on, James!" Severus heard someone shout, it sounded like Frank but he couldn't be certain. They paid him no attention, neither was willing to pull away from the other. Severus wished he could see James' face right now: his flushed cheeks; his furrowed brow; the ever-present strands of hair falling in his eyes that his circular glasses failed to keep away. He could never get tired of that handsome face - he was nothing short of a breathtaking view.

And if James whisked him away to a more private area for the night, well, who was he to tell?