Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter – sorry to disappoint you.
Author's Note: So exams are finally over and I aced my history exam. Hurrah! So please review, I'm on my period you know (not that you care whatsoever and this is probably too much information but I DON'T CARE, lol) so review or I shall crumble onto the floor and die from the cramps. So.. err.. yeah.
Tradition: One-shot.
What happens when you become the reason of her pain?
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I watched her in History of Magic, writing her her slow, loopy handwriting; the quill smearing letters and words onto the clean, crisp piece of parchment. I watched how, when the tip of her quill broke, she calmly dug in her bag for a new one. She didn't curse, and she didn't throw the quill to the ground in frustration.
"Prongs, you really are hopeless," My best mate Sirius says, shaking his shaggy hair from his eyes. "It's sixth year, if would've happened by now."
Ignoring my loud friend, I let my jaw fall open at the sight of her sweeping a small hand through her long, slightly curled crimson strands of hair. Mimicking her, I do the same thing though through my jet black tresses.
The red head of my desire licked her lips and went back to taking notes. I sighed, and could only fantasize about what it would be like to press my lips against the soft pink ones that had just been moistened. I hungrily ran my own tongue across my lips, yet again mimicking her actions. How would it feel to kiss her? To taste her? Would she taste sweet, bitter, or sour? Like strawberry, chocolate, or vanilla? Or something more.. something different that I could never even imagine until it happened? I'll go with the latter. Kissing Lily Evans shouldn't be predictable. No, it should just happen.
She catches my eye, a slow crimson blush licking its way up her lips like the fog in the Forbidden Forest.
"Hey," I mouth and flash her a smile, but she doesn't return it, and, instead bites her bottom lip and turns her attention towards Professor Binns. Stupid old git.
My hazel eyes fly to the watch fastened tightly to my left wrist and I find that class ends in fifteen minutes. Only fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes, and then I can ask her.
"James, are you alright?" Remus asks me, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"I'm gonna ask her," I say, my eyes glazing over.
"James.. don't. You know what's going to happen," He bites his lip – just like Lily – and frowns. "It's practically tradition, James. You know what she's going to say."
"No, Moony, I can feel it. This time..." Hesitating, I steal a look her way and swallow. "This time I'm positive she'll say yes. Screw tradition! I've been a good boy this year and don't deserve a lump of coal."
Remus smiles sadly at me and sighs. Yes, it was tradition. Lily always says no when I ask her. Always. But Hogwarts is in need of a change. And today, today, was when it was going to start changing. In --
I looked at my watch.
In twelve minutes, that was, it was going to change.
Professor Binns yawns and leans against the blackboard, coughing as chalk dust is inhaled into his lungs.
"Alright students," He says bluntly, looking at his wristwatch, too. "I want a 500 word essay on Troll Wars by Thursday."
A round of groans echo through the class and he rolls his eyes.
"You people are sixteen. It's time to grow up," Binns coughs again. "Take responsibility.. watch out for your peers.. respect your elders.. and most importantly: learn how to write 500 word essays."
I swear he's crazy. Or, I would, if it wasn't for the fact that Lily had leaned over desk and cocked her hair inquiringly at the professor while twirling a strand of amazing red hair around her index finger.
Nine minutes to go...
"Prongs!" Sirius jabbed me with his quill. "Oy, Prongs, did you take any notes?"
"And I suppose you didn't, Sirius, right?" Remus rolls his eyes, as Sirius shakes his head sheepishly, as to indicate that he hadn't.
"Well, sorry to disappoint you too, Moony, but I didn't take any either..." I mumble, lost in thought as Lily pushes everything into her bag and tugs lightly on the band that's holding her hair up; her hair spills down her shoulders in red ringlets.
"You two are impossible!" Remus puts his head in his hands, but hands us his notes anyways.
Seven minutes.
I drummed my fingers against the mahogany wood of the desk.
Six minutes.
I tapped my foot against the cold, hard tile ground of the classroom.
Five minutes.
I impatiently stared at Lily.
Four minutes.
I drummed but tapped my foot against the ground, too.
Three minutes.
I packed up my books and such.
Two minutes.
I nonchalantly hummed to myself.
Two minutes and counting...
I sat up, with people gawking but Professor Binns didn't seem to be paying attention; he was reading a book and yawning at the same time.
Fighting back the lump in my throat, I slung my bag over my left shoulder, push in my chair, and make my way over to the gorgeous red head just as the bell rings.
Lily looks up, a little shocked, and scrambles her things together, racing for the door. I panic for a second, but then grab her arm and pull her towards me.
"Wait," I say, and she upturns her head so that I can see her sparkling green eyes.
"What? What do you want this time, Potter?" She says my name as if it's poison, rolling off her tongue.
I swallowed and took her other hand. "Go out with me, Evans?"
Her lips curls into a sneer and she thrusts me away. "James Potter, I wouldn't go out with you even if you were the last fucking person on this earth!" And then she walks away.. just like that.
I stumble, and slowly back away from the spot that she was just standing, as if there's a circle of fire around it. But I wasn't going to cry, because, well, James Potter never cried. No boy in their right mind cried over a girl, except, well, Peter. But that was besides the point. Because, really, I was crying. Inside, though.
"James.." Remus says uneasily, putting a hand on my arm. I fling it off my like a pesky insect and stalk out of the classroom with a dark look on my face.
She'd said no. Again. Because it was tradition. The word made me want to choke on my own spit every time it came out of my mouth.
I shook my head, and turned down a narrow corridor towards Transfiguration. My heart was aching, and the wounds and scars I had inside had opened again, bleeding freely. Wounds from every time she had said no. Every bloody time.
Leaning up against a cool wall, I clenched my fist and set my jaw. My wounds wouldn't stay open long. No, soon they'd just turn into battle scars and I'd be ready to ask again... I wouldn't give up without a fight.
I would break tradition.
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A/N: Hope you enjoyed. I, personally like this piece. Obviously it's from James' point of view, and I purposefully planned to have one fic of Lily and one of James.. just because I'm a weirdo perfectionist. Lol.
Anyways...
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Por favor..
SpicyMuchacha