A/n: This was my goal for today. Do my homework (Math, English, Government, easy.) and write a one shot (not so easy). Believe it or not, this took longer than that homework but that might be because I was distracted every three seconds.
Anyway, it was a random idea, and recently, Fwah has been my new word, so I connected the two. Horray!
I hope you like it. Much love and a better phrase than fwah,
Siriusly Klutzy.
Summary: "It was love at first sight." "Star-crossed lovers." How come everyone else gets the romantic moments and I get the ones that happen when my brain and mouth aren't functioning properly?
Disclaimer: Jo owns it. Not me. Bah.
Love at First 'Fwah!'
a Siriusly Klutzy story.
You know those lame phrases? The "It all happened with a…" and then something spectacular? "It all happened with a glance." "It all happened when he tripped over my bag." "It all happened when he fell off his broom and landed safely on my huge, overly-poofed jacket." All those phrases where one person falls for another person in some random situation, whether it is at first sight, at a trip, or by near-death experience are exactly what I'm talking about.
Everyone gets those phrases. For Alice, it was "It all happened with a sniff," though she puts it more romantically than that.
Mine you can't really put into romantic words. It's just not that easy. You could stay up for three weeks straight, skipping meals, baths, sleep, classes, with the biggest dictionary in the history of dictionaries, and still never find a romantic way to put my "It all happened with a…" into romantic words.
And that is because mine was, "It all happened with a "Fwah!"
I'm not even kidding. The rest of my existence was based on the word, "Fwah," and there was nothing in my power that I could to do change that. I couldn't get a time turner- what would my excuse me? "Excuse me, Ministry? I need to borrow a time turner for a day or so, so that I can fix my first love word. Thanks." Yeah, no.- I couldn't take it back- Alice and Marlene were there to witness and point and laugh- and I couldn't even pretend like it never happened. There was absolutely, positively nothing I could do.
Here's how it happened. It was the train ride back to Hogwarts. I knew that I had to go to the stupid Heads Meeting to meet everyone. I knew it. I detested it. I did not want to go. I wanted to sit in the compartment with Alice and Marlene and eat my weight and theirs in Chocolate Frogs until we got to the school, where I would continue to eat other people's weight in feast-like food.
But I couldn't. Because I had to go to that stupid, ridiculous, not-quite-unnecessary-but-it-felt-like-it Heads Meeting. Slowly, sluggishly, unwillingly I got up from my nice comfortable bench in the compartment, stretched, and was just about to open the door when it opened itself.
Now, I know I'm a witch, but I never learned a spell that could open doors for me. So, logically, I was curious. I cocked my head to the side and saw a tall, boy-like figure standing in the doorway.
"Hey, Lily. I was just coming to see if you were ready for the meeting." It was James. James. Coming to see if I was ready for the meeting which I most certainly didn't want to go to, not one bit. "I thought we could walk together."
Now, I'd known James for six years before this. He always looked the same, just occasionally getting a bit taller, losing the image of baby face when it hardened into the teenage structure, and his voice got a bit deeper, as well. Gradual changes. Nothing that snuck up on me. He was always just James, sometimes a bit differently shaped than before, but nothing to Fwah over.
It was lame. It was cliché. It was horrible, and there were witnesses. The sun was shining through the window, kind of illuminating him in a sense. It certainly reflected off of his teeth. Though I might be exaggerating, it felt like it hurt my eyes for a moment there. It even sparkled in his eyes a bit, though that could have been the love/fwah thing happening. He was leaning casually against the door frame, using his right arm to prop him, his left against his side with the hand in his pocket.
He looked bloody well decent. Extraordinary would be a better word, actually. Magnificent. Wonderful. Glorious. Shall I continue?
"Hello, James," Alice said cheerfully. She was nearly bouncing out of her skirt at the sight of my obviously overwhelmed expression. "Here to take our Lily away, eh?"
"You might want to get her in water once you get there, though," Marlene commented. She looked me up and down with an evil twinkle in her eye. "She's gaping like a fish."
It's not so hard to believe that, with all of those adjectives- incredible! He looked incredible!- running through my mind, the first thing I managed to say once I- kind of- came to my senses was, "Fwah?"
'F' for fabulous maybe? 'Wah' for what happened?
"Pardon?" James asked. He took his hand from the door frame and stood up straighter. "Are you… er, all right?"
Marlene and Alice, I could tell just by the identical grins they were both wearing, were enjoying this immensely. It wasn't everyday that I made a fool out of myself. They took in a lot of pleasure from my idiocy.
"Me? Oh, fine," I said as I stared at my shoes. I noticed a lot of things about my shoes that day. They were a bit dirty; I would have to clean them. The laces on my left shoe were a bit uneven, so I'd have to fix those- possibly something I could do during the meeting? There was a scuff mark on the toe of my right shoe, as well, just begging to be polished.
Yes, I was going to have a busy meeting, focusing on my shoes.
"Yes," I repeated. "Fine. I was just… walk where together, exactly?" I still hadn't looked at him. I'd removed my gaze from my shoes, to the paneling on the walls, to Alice's watch. Anything to keep my eyes off of the fwah-inducer.
He looked at me like I was absolutely mad. "To the Heads meeting," he informed me in a tone that felt like it should have of course attached to the end.
I sucked it up, bit my lip, and looked up at him. "The Heads meeting?" I asked. "But that's for Heads. And prefects."
He cocked an eyebrow at me before looking at Alice and Marlene for confirmation about my mad status. They shrugged back at him.
"I'm Head Boy," he said, a hint of pride in his voice. His smile appeared again and was even bigger than before. I remember thinking that I needed a pair of sunglasses to stop the glare.
I felt another dose of 'Fwah' coming on so I coughed. "Are you really?" I asked once I swallowed my fwah and was able to speak remotely proper English again.
"Didn't you get the letter?"
I did get the letter. I remember that day quite well, also. The bird nearly broke Mum's vase when it flew in through our rarely open window and landed on the couch with a formal looking letter attached to its leg. I remember thinking that it was just the supplies and books I'd need for this year. And then I'd opened it…
Dear Miss Evans, We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected to be this years Head Girl at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…
That was all I'd remembered. After that I started jumping with joy, having to wait a full five minutes to calm down and catch my breath before being able to tell my parents what was so exciting.
"But it didn't say…"
James grinned. "It was at the bottom. In the P.S. 'Congratulations Mister Potter, and we are sure you're greatly anticipating the opportunity to work with Lily Evans this year.'"
To be honest with you, I didn't make it past the first paragraph that said I was going to be Head Girl, and that I had to go to a meeting whilst on the train ride to school to talk to the prefects. After that, the letter was on the ground and my parents and I were out for ice cream while Petunia grumbled in the car.
I still hadn't gotten all of my sense back. My mind was still racing with the thoughts of how his jaw line had definitely become more defined. His shoulders were definitely broader. How could that have happened in just one summer?
It wasn't just the looks though. Just looks can't cause a Fwah.
He didn't have that air of arrogance around him anymore. There wasn't a foggy cloud of superiority surrounding him at all times.
"I guess I'll go with you, then," I said slowly, still confused, still thinking, still in complete and utter shock, even though I really didn't want to go to that dumb meeting. "I'll be back, guys." I waved pathetically and walked out behind the Head Boy with his nice shoulders, arms, back, jaw line, and not his cloud of egotism.
When you're seventeen years old, everything is a spur of the moment. Take my 'fwah' moment. That's a prime example. I wasn't expecting anything other than a pimply faced Hufflepuff Head Boy to be waiting for me in the compartment where we had to meet the prefects. Instead, I was picked up by the real Head Boy whose face was as clear as a cloudless sky and who made me utter my, "It all happened…" experience.
So, really, you can't take what I did eventually and turn it against me. I am just a crazy sporadic teenage girl after all. And what teenage girl can control their emotions, thoughts, and actions?
Not any of the ones I know, that's for sure. Just ask Marlene about the Thomas Miller incident. Now that's a good example.
"Did you not read your entire letter?" James asked after about five seconds of silence. I was back to staring at my shoes again.
"I got a little excited. And stopped." I paused. "After the first paragraph."
"Very nice, Evans," James chuckled. "Not exactly what I'd expect from you, but okay."
"Yeah, well," I responded awkwardly.
"Are you all right?" he asked me for the second time in a mere five minutes.
"What?"
"Well, you're extremely awkward right now. And you're not even yelling about it. Did you not want to be Head Girl, or something?" he asked. We'd stopped and were standing in between two rows of compartments on the shaky train floor.
My eyes went wide. "What? No! I was ecstatic when I found out. It's just that…" I faded off and stared at my dirty shoes.
Remember how I was talking about my uncontrollable sporadic moments? Well, I'm going to use that as an excuse for what I did just then.
Completely out of my element, I stood up a little straighter with my hands behind my back, looked the Head Boy in the eye, leaned forward just a bit, and kissed him smack on the mouth.
I pulled back in shock. I definitely wasn't anticipating that move, especially since the desire to do it had only been around for about seven minutes.
"Sorry," I said, turning ridiculously red and spinning on my heel.
He didn't say anything, just grabbed my arm to spin me back towards him. James cocked his head to the side, looked down at me, and said, "Wha…?"
We were late to the Head's meeting, but it was good to know that we both had stupid first, "It happened with a…"'s.