The polaroid
(For @jilytoberfest, prompt #1, smile!)
The camera had been a gift Sirius had bought himself in a Muggle store to supposedly celebrate the end of the term, but so far James hadn’t seen Sirius take one photo from himself. Rather, Sirius was motioning people, arranging them in funny poses, having the time of his life.
"Sirius looks like a director," said an amused voice next to James; Lily had just thrown herself on the couch next to him.
James tried to ignore the way his heart raced.
"Director?"
"Movie director," she explained, watching him with the same amusement. "You know, those Muggle animated photos I told you about?"
"Oh, sure. Cinema."
Lily smiled; her smile was brighter than the flashes of the camera as far as James was concerned.
"Everyone seems to love it."
James blinked. "What?"
She moved her hand, showing around. "The Polaroid." Lily chuckled. "It’s funny how wizards have moving photos and yet a Polaroid is making everyone crazy to take a picture."
"Well," started James. Lily was looking at him and that made something as normal as thinking more difficult in his brain. "Wizarding pictures take time to develop. There is something even more magical in seeing your picture right after it's taken."
"I guess--and at least you know sooner if you looked horrible in the photo."
Her tone was teasing, an open invitation to join him in her joke and yet James found himself saying: "I don’t think you could look horrible in any photo, Evans."
There was a moment of silence; Lily’s eyes glinted under another flash, and then it hit James what he had just said.
"I mean," he started hurriedly before she could say anything, "Sirius is a great director, have you seen the photo he took from Remus and Sir Nicholas? It looks as if Remus is a ghost, it was the perfect timing, the head was almost falling--"
His voice died, painfully aware he was just babbling; luckily, after a long second, Lily just let out a laugh.
"Yeah, it was a funny photo," she agreed.
James breathed again. "As you said, Sirius is a director. He should do a movie."
She bit her lower lip; that was very distracting.
"Have you ever seen one?"
"What?"
"A movie."
"No--we almost went during the winter break, but then we missed it."
"Oh, that’s fine." She breathed deeply, then looked around almost distractedly. "The best movies are out in the summer anyway. We should see one."
James wished he could answer that, but he had definitely lost his ability to speak. Was this... Evans couldn't... had she...
It seemed a lot like she had just proposed they went out in a date this summer, and James needed to ask her about this, he couldn’t keep wondering...
But the moment he turned at her, there was a distraction in the shape of Sirius.
"Smile!" He cried, and there was just time enough for Lily to put her arms around James' shoulder before the flash of light blinded James.
He blinked, trying to see through the dark spots in his eyes, but by the time his vision returned, Lily had already stood up, taking the camera from Sirius' hand.
Her face was flushed as she fanned herself with the developing photo.
James braced himself again to ask her what he must, but once more he was interrupted.
"Here," said Lily, giving him the picture. "We don’t look so terrible together."
And with a wink, she departed.
James looked at the photo. They were both smiling, though his smile looked dizzy, as if he had just been hit by a bludger; and Lily -- she wasn’t staring at the photographer, but rather at him. With her arm around his shoulder and the way she was smiling, a bit nervous but also certain, it almost looked as if they were a couple...
James had to agree with her. They didn’t look terrible together at all.