Chapter 16

Monday evening had been the start of the Bi-Annual Intra Marauders Prank Fest (a name which was greatly contested by the participants, but this was how it was known around the castle), and by Tuesday morning, the entire population of Hogwarts seemed to let out a simultaneous exhale.

For several days, until someone was declared a winner, the lads would focus on pranking each other rather than the rest of the school. It was safe to walk around without checking over your shoulder for possible pranks or hijinks, at least from the four seventh-year Gryffindor boys.

As far as Lily was concerned, the Prank Fest put her far closer to the pranks than she would normally have to be, and that was quite frustrating. Sitting next to Remus in Ancient Runes with pink hair was fine , but walking out of the Greenhouse with Sirius after Herbology meant that she was also caught under the rain cloud that was trained to follow him around.

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Soooo..... Ignite Chapter 15 on Friday. Have I mentioned that I'm really excited for this chapter? Because I am.

Want to know why?

Incredibly spoiler-y snippet below.

Additional information.....

Chapter 14

~~august

Lily stood on the corner around the block from her house, spinning her wand in her hand. This was a crazy idea. Absolutely insane. And yet…

They had been trying to figure out for a week, with small notes and scraps of paper flying between them so fast that their owls must be exhausted. They wanted to get off together again, but Lily’s house was occupied by family staying (she was sharing a bed, so there was no sneaking James in through the window again), and James didn’t think he could keep Sirius out. Surely Sirius had a girlfriend or something that James could push him off on, or something, really. 

This was the best solution they could come up with, sort of actually renting a hotel for the night. Perhaps it wasn’t too late to take that option. 

Except…

There was something about this idea that had Lily really intrigued. It was a little bit forbidden. A bit taboo. If they were caught, and they could get caught, they could get in a lot of trouble. That just made it that much more exciting.

Lily didn’t want to find a hotel. She wanted to shag on the Knight Bus. 

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IGNITE: ig·nite/iɡˈnīt/ to catch fire or cause to catch fire

Chapter 11

James didn’t see Lily on Sunday. He wasn’t even sure she came down for meals, but the other girls didn’t say anything about it. James also didn’t ask. He wasn’t sure what the answer would be.

Instead, he spent Sunday psyching himself up to talk to Lily—finally—about her date and what James really wanted with her. He finally knew what that was. Or, well, he was pretty sure he did. Probably.

He just hoped she did too.

The thing was, James didn’t realize that he might have hurt Lily when he didn’t follow her to the Head’s Office. He wasn’t sure how long she had waited there for him. He and Sirius didn’t return from their run as Padfoot and Prongs until nearly midnight. They snuck back into the castle under the cloak, and the common room was empty when they got there.

James checked the map as he climbed into bed, but Lily was already tucked into her own. He closed the map before he spent too much time thinking about her in her bed.

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Chapter 10

By the end of breakfast on Thursday, everyone at the Gryffindor table knew that things were not okay between the Head Boy and Head Girl. By the end of classes, the news had spread through the entire school.

There wasn't any yelling or screaming, but that didn't mean it wasn't obvious that they were at odds. They could barely look at each other, and when they did, it was to nitpick and snipe every little thing to death.

"Merlin, what has gotten into you two?" Emmaline looked between the two of them at the breakfast table.

"Head duties."

Lily glanced at James when she realized they said it at the same time, though he didn't look back at her. She did notice the muscle in his jaw twitch. She rolled her eyes and looked away.

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Ignite

Chapter 1

Ignite returns in 9 days….

Chapter 9

July

It had been ten days since James had crawled through her window, and Lily was trying not to send another owl to him too soon. She wasn’t sure what too soon was, but she definitely didn’t want James to think that she was too eager to have him again.

She absolutely was, but who was she to turn down another amazing orgasm? Or ask for one, as the case may be.

Luckily, she didn’t have to figure out what the right time to send another owl to him was since his owl arrived on Wednesday afternoon. She accepted the letter from the bird, giving it a rind of bread as it waited for her to read the letter.

Friday?

One single word, and that was it. He didn’t even sign his name. Lily rolled her eyes. It’s a good thing she wasn’t in this for the romance, because this certainly wouldn’t cut it. Not that it mattered. She wouldn’t expect someone like James Potter to be able to figure out romance anyway, but he certainly didn’t need to in order to make her come—as he had well proved.

Lily pulled out a pen from the drawer by the sink, and wrote back on the same paper.

Yes, but not here.

She sent the owl back with her reply. Let him figure out where they could meet. She was busy considering what she would wear. A few hours later, James’s owl came back, and a third line was added to the short note.

The London Library, 7 pm. Back Stacks.

Lily raised an eyebrow at the note. That was certainly an interesting choice, and perhaps required a different outfit than she had planned.

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Also! Ignite is going on a temporary hiatus. We'll return in January 2022 for Chapter 10.

!!!!

I’ve got 8k words of an Ignite chapter that I can’t seem to finish. Help motivate me?

Send me a word, and I’ll let you know if it’s in this chapter. If it’s not, I’ll look in the future scenes I’ve written pieces of, and maybe I’ll give you a hint of what’s to come.

Chapter 7

Lily was ignoring James. 

By Monday morning, he was almost sure. It was possible that she had just been unavailable Saturday evening and all of Sunday, but after spending all of Friday night and most of Saturday with her, her absence was that much more noticeable. 

James knew that Sirius had spoken with her about the way Orion treated her at the ball. James was nearly kicking himself for not warning her that he had to tell Sirius, but Sirius had said that the conversation went alright and she didn’t seem altogether upset about his knowing. However, Sirius didn’t know the real reason James was asking, and James couldn’t be certain that he really had a good read on her emotions. Perhaps she was angry at him for saying anything at all. 

But the thing was… 

The thing was that he had thought they were working their way to another shag Saturday night. The way she sat on the couch, wearing those shorts and that sweatshirt that was so reminiscent of his jersey, and the way she moved and smiled when she caught his eye—maybe it was his fault for being so wrapped up in her that he couldn’t stop thinking about taking her again, but he thought she was on that same page too. 

Then she basically disappeared.

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Catch up from the beginning here!

Chapter 6

Catch up from the beginning here.

July

James came down the stairs one morning about a week after school let out for the summer. He had just showered after his early morning run, and he was looking forward to the full breakfast he expected to find in the day room. However, what he found when he walked in the room was Sirius standing off with a large, red owl. Sirius seemed to be offering it a triangle of toast while the owl sat on the chandelier waiting.

Sirius looked at James as he walked in, dropping the toast. “There you are, finally.” Sirius looked back at the bird and put his hands on his hips. “This bird won’t give me the letter.”

“Is it addressed to you?” James walked forward and offered his arm.

“No, it’s for you, but when has that ever stopped an owl from giving me your letter?”

James shrugged, and took the letter off the bird’s leg. The owl flew off in Sirius’s direction, making him jump back suddenly, grabbed the toast Sirius had dropped, and flew out the open window. James chuckled at the indignant look on Sirius’s face. “I don’t think she liked you much.”

“You know, I got that impression too.”

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Chapter 5

“I trust you were able to find a dress this weekend?”

James looked up to find McGonagall addressing Lily. “Yes, professor. I did.”

“Good. I’m sure your time at the Three Broomsticks afterwards was time well spent?”

James watched as Lily flushed slightly at the reproach. “Yes, ma’am.”

“It was lunch time, Minnie. Surely they could have lunch in Hogsmeade?” Sirius looked at her and fluttered his eyelids. James stifled a laugh.

“Yes, I suppose since they had permission to go to Hogsmeade, stopping in for lunch wouldn’t be a problem for them. Certainly nothing I need to give them detention for.” McGonagall fixed Sirius with a pointed glare, which Sirius met with a knowing smile. “Is this a conversation you want to continue having, Mr. Black?”

“I’d love to have any conversation with you, Minnie dear.” Sirius winked at her. James knew he had been playing this game for years, but always wondered if there would be a point at which McGonagall would feel he had crossed the line. However, she only shook her head. She didn’t respond to him.  

“The location of the ball has changed following a vote of the Board of Governors this weekend.” McGonagall looked between Lily and James. “Apparently, they decided they didn’t want to come all the way to school, so the two of you are going to have to go to London. You are both qualified to apparate, correct?” James and Lily nodded.

“Hold on, that’s not fair.” Sirius was crossing his arms, now glaring back at McGonagall. “I’d like to go to the ball if it’s in London.”

“Only the Head Students are invited to attend, Mr. Black. You are not a head student, and thus are not invited.” She looked at him over the top of her glasses. “Plus, you have detention with Mr. Filch on Friday at 8:00 pm.”

Sirius sputtered for a moment. “What? No, I don’t!”

“Maybe not yet, but I’m sure you’ll do something between now and then to earn it.”

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If anyone needs me… I will be busy

Chapter 4

Lily visibly limped for two days following their rough shag, and James fought a smile every time he saw it. He managed to pass her a note before Charms on Wednesday morning, despite not being able to get her alone. He slipped it in her pocket while he was under the invisibility cloak, and he watched her face until she stuck her hand in her pocket and found it. He saw her open the note and read the message.

I see you're still sore. Let me know if you need a massage.

Lily rolled her eyes, then met James's gaze across the room. He saw her flush slightly, to his great delight. She held the note up and set it on fire with a flick of her wand. James couldn't help smiling at her sheer cheek.

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Special thanks for this chapter to @blitheringmcgonagall and @thebluestroseinthegarden for helping me with the french translation for this!

Also! I'll be answering asks about the chapter later in like 10 ish hours, so make sure to block "ignite spoilers" if you don't want to see them!

Ignite - Chapter 3

June

The party was a celebration. The last party of their 6th year, only days before the start of finals. That wasn't the reason for it, though. The reason was the large gold trophy that was now sitting in the middle of the common room following the quidditch finals that morning.

Lily should be studying. If she was smart, she'd leave the party and return to her books. Except she had been studying for weeks, and she was on the verge of finally mastering the featherlight Transfiguration principal to allow her to turn the bowling ball into a balloon for the test on Wednesday, and she needed a fucking break.

She had her Gryffindor pride on display, the red and gold colors adorning her figure. She sat through the game, though she couldn't for the life of her understand why anyone really enjoyed it. Even still, she cheered and booed with the rest of them. When the game ended in the early afternoon, she stayed in the stands while the rest of Gryffindor rushed the field, observing the revelry among her classmates with a bird’s eye view. At the center of that mass was James Potter, the Quidditch Captain that led Gryffindor to victory for the first time in some number of years that Lily never bothered to pay attention to (too many, as far as she could tell).

She followed the swell of the crowd back to Gryffindor Tower, the party forming as soon as they crossed the portrait hole. Someone put out a record player, charming it to rotate through the records and keep the party moving. Someone (read: some combination of the four 6th-year boys who were known to make such things happen) supplied butterbeer, firewhisky, and enough food from the kitchens to keep the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall empty that evening.

Lily stood at the edge of the gathering, nursing a butterbeer. She needed to relax, and should the opportunity present itself, she intended to find someone to relax with. It had been far too long since she had found herself under someone, and she desperately wanted it tonight. The only question was who.

“Alright, Evans?”

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