Summary: Lily begins to change her mind about James. Little does she know, she really is just a conquest to James, a beautiful trophy. But once he gets what he wants, Lily begins to change his mind, too.
Disclaimer: All characters belong to J. K. Rowling, as well as anything else you may recogize (i.e. Order of the Phoenix). The story is loosely based on the song "Anna Begins," which belongs to Counting Crows.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This story follows the information given to us in the books, except for one detail: Lily and James do not get together in their seventh year, but after Hogwarts.
Lily Begins
Chapter 1: The Order of the Phoenix
My name is James Potter and this is my story.
At the age of eleven, I began attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I wasn't a very extraordinary boy at first glance; average height, hazel eyes hidden behind thick glasses, and impossibly messy black hair. However I, much like the rest of my story, could only be understood by looking below the surface. Although I may have seemed ordinary, I was anything but. I knew I was smarter than most people my age, and my father had told me for years that I was exceptionally talented on a broomstick. I also had charisma to spare, and the ability to make anyone laugh. Apparently I was pretty good looking, too. Although I didn't discover it for another two years, I was considered quite handsome to most of Hogwarts' female population. Notice I said most. Enter Lily Evans. Easily the most beautiful girl in school, Lily Evans was a muggle-born witch who always thought herself too clever too fall for my charms. Until we were 18 she refused me, and it became a hobby of mine to try to win her over. As the years went on, hobby grew into obsession as I failed over and over again to win Lily Evans, the ultimate conquest. By the time we graduated Hogwarts, I still hadn't achieved my goal, and resigned myself to the fact that I'd never see her again. And that is where this story begins...
My best friend lay across a park bench, lazily blowing puffs of smoke into the air. Sirius' dark hair flopped into his face with an elegance I envied. Running my hand nervously through my already messy black hair, I wondered briefly why I had agreed to come.
"I'm bored," Sirius announced, propping himself up on his elbows. "Are you sure we're in the right place?"
"Positive." I took a long drag on my cigarette. "Chill out, Padfoot, we're early."
As I stared off into the distance, I noticed a flash of red. Coming up the hill in front of me was a beautiful red-headed woman with striking green eyes. As Lily Evans approached, I couldn't help but think how gorgeous she'd gotten in the past three months. Over the summer, I'd noticed a few articles by her in the Daily Prophet. It was obvious that this wasn't just a chance meeting. Few things in life are quite so random.
When she finally reached me, she stopped, looked me up and down with a confidence I hadn't known she possessed, and smiled. "James Potter."
I exhaled before answering, careful to direct the cloud of nicotine away from her face. "Lily Evans."
Suddenly, Sirius sat up. "Evans? What are you doing here?"
"I reckon the same thing you blokes are."
"See moron, I told you we were in the right place." He just glared at me and returned to his position on the bench. I then remember she was still standing there. "So, you're a reporter now?"
"Yeah. All the shittiest stories land right on my desk."
"I've read some of them, they're good."
"Thank you." She smiled again, but did not resume her relaxed air. She seemed very anxious, and rather on edge. The silence that followed was terribly awkward. Then he showed up.
I said before that few things in life are random. Things happen for a reason. And the reason three old schoolmates were all gathered at that particular place and time had just apparated right in front of us.
Albus Dumbledore was a tall man with shining blue eyes and a long gray beard. He also had a slight tendency towards the abnormal. When our former headmaster arrived, Sirius quickly stood up and stomped out his cigarette. Few people commanded Sirius' respect like Albus Dumbledore did. So, we all stood and waited.
Evans was the first one to break the ice. "Professor Dumbledore, how are you?" she asked. The mature part of me knew she was simply being polite. The more juvenile part of me, however, immediately thought she was a teacher's pet. Somehow, Lily Evans still had the same affect on me. Some things never change.
"I'm fine, Miss Evans, thank you for asking. Now," he said, his tone changing from polite to grave. "I'm sure you're all wondering why I asked you here. Follow me." He set off through the park, the three of us eagerly following him. I'm quite sure we resembled a trio of ducklings waddling after their mother. As we walked on, I started to wonder why we couldn't just apparate to wherever it was we were going. Behind me, Sirius started grumbling about a rock in his shoe. We walked for about 25 minutes. By then, we were in a wooded area, completely enclosed by trees, so as to prevent us from being able to see out (or more importantly, anyone else to see in). He abruptly came to a halt, causing the rest of us to nearly topple into him.
He began muttering something and a hatch in the ground appeared. He opened it and led us down. My apprehension was growing. Dumbledore hadn't said a word to any of us in ages, and the stairway seemed to lead to nowhere. Without warning, the ground leveled out, and Dumbledore took us through a set of double doors. I started to blink in the sudden presence of light. We were in a large, open room that reminded me of the entry hall at my parents' house, with lots of doors leading off from it. He turned around to face us, three stunned teenagers. "Welcome," he said, "To the Order of the Phoenix."
Understandably, there were a few moments of stunned silence. Then, leave it to Sirius Black to voice what the rest of us were thinking: "Wow! What the hell's the Order of the Phoenix?"
"That, Mr. Black, is precisely what I'm about to show you." He led us into one of the rooms leading off from the hall, and beckoned us to sit down. It resembled a conference room, with a long wooden table and dozens of chairs.
Once seated, Dumbledore began to explain everything. "The Order of the Phoenix is a secret organization I formed to help fight the threat of Lord Voldemort. It contains only the most talented and trustworthy witches and wizards. Which is why I've asked the three of you here. Because I trust all of you, and because you were the brightest students in you year, I'm asking you to pledge your time, talents, and loyalty to our cause."
"What exactly would you want us to do?" Lily asked.
"It depends. There's intelligence, reconaissonce, rescue-"
"Rescue? What would we need to be rescued from?"
"The enemy has taken many prisoners, Mr. Black. It seems they, too, are seeking information. However, they will go to any means necessary to get it."
I realized I'd been quiet for a while, and Sirius was watching me, waiting for my response. I looked up at Dumbledore. "I'll do it."
I hear Sirius say "Me too," a moment later. Ever since we were kids, it's been that way. Whatever we do, we do together. Lily said, "I'm in." And so, three new members were added to the Order of the Phoenix
Dumbledore quickly handed us off to Alastor Moody, a talented auror with a rugged look about him. He didn't seem too happy about having to show us around. Later, towards the end of our "tour" (if you could call it that), Sirius was badgering him with questions. Lily, however, was oddly quiet.
"Okay," Moody said, cutting Sirius off. Are there any more questions? And I mean important questions, Black," he said, staring at Sirius. "Good. And remember: If you tell anyone else about this place or this organization, I'll kill you." On that note, he left.
We found our way back to the forest outside. It was dark by now, and I noticed Lily shiver a little. "Wow," she whispered under her breath. She looked at me with those stunning green eyes. "I can't believe it. Do you think the Ministry knows about this?"
"There's no way they do. They'd be pissed if they knew Dumbledore had started something like this."
"Are we heading home, then?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah, sure." I turned to her, "Well, I guess we'll be seeing you, Lily."
"It certainly looks that way, James."
So how was it so far? Are you interested? Bored? Willing to give me any sort of criticism? Should I continue?I'm not begging for reviews, but I would love some constructive criticism. I worked hard on this, so I'd really like to know what you think.