Her crimson talons clutched his shoulder, leaving marks through the ebony robes. Trouble-making James Potter shied away, consoling his injury. From his new stance he could admire her more. She was 5'7", or 5'8", with tumbling auburn hair. Her skin was as pale as porcelain. She was the love of his life, and her name was Lucy Edmunds.
Lucy Edmunds was James' long time girlfriend, however James was not without his admirers. All the girls of Hogwarts had their eyes on him, but Lucy's real competition was his close personal friend, Lily. Many thought that Lily was the only girl resistant to the "Potter Charm," but she had been madly in love with James Potter since they first met.
Lucy's hair flopped onto her grinning face as she and James wrestled by the lake. She got to her knees and began picking obtrusive pieces of grass from her beautiful locks as James pulled her into a passionate kiss. Only to be stopped by a tap from Lily. "Bad time folks?" She asked sullenly. James ended the kiss as quickly as it had started. He blushed and refused to meet her eyes. Ever since James and Lucy had started going out, there had been an impenetrable wall in their friendship. "I just needed to see James about Head duties but I can come back later…" Her voice began to fade away.
"Later is good." Lucy said coldly. Lily was her only competition, and she knew it.
"Now is better." James replied firmly. "See ya later Lucy." With a peck on the cheek he was off. Lucy frowned.
Lily was fretting. She hadn't actually had Head business to consult with James on, she had just wanted to get him away from her. Everyone, except James, knew that he was not meant to be with Lucy. Her palms began to sweat. Rubbing them repeatedly down her thighs she asked, "Has, erm, anyone asked you about switching patrol times?" 'Is that the best you can do?' She mentally berated herself.
"That Ravenclaw prefect Jenny. I switched with her, so you two will be patrolling Monday night, hope it's ok." 'Jenny? That irresponsible slut? Oh this will be fun. He didn't even bother to ask.'
"Perfect." She replied, attempting to suppress a grimace.
"Great. Lucy was really upset because Monday's our anniversary. Can you believe it? It'll be a year in six days." 'A year? How have I not stopped it before now?' Mentally, she was banging her head against a wall.
"G-great." She stuttered, chocking back tears. She must have hid them well, James didn't notice.
"I'm thinking of proposing." Lily was dizzy. Which way was up? She couldn't remember to breathe. Were her eyes closed or open?
"Wh-wh-what?" No longer was she holding back tears. They were freely streaming down her face. He offered her a hankerkief, a sponge would have been better.
"I'm going to propose to Lucy on Monday." He said with a concerned frown on his face.
"But you're so young! And, how do you know that it's right? I mean she's not right for you, she's controlling and rude, and … and not right! You're smart, and sexy, and… perfect!" Lily shouted.
"Who are you to decide who's right for me? I chased you for all those years, and you always pushed me away. Now… now you … you want me?" His voice faded away, eyes beginning to fill with tears. He moved his much taller body towards hers about to embrace her when she shoved him away.
"I have to go." She sobbed, running to Gryffindor tower. James wiped the emotion from his eyes and strolled towards the lake.
Lily was running around the school. She couldn't remember the way to the Fat Lady. Her legs began to cramp, and her chest heaved. She collapsed to the floor in some obscure hallway, allowing her tears to pool around her. Eventually, she lay down on the cold stone and fell into a troubled sleep.
James ambled around the school, breathing shallowly. His knees felt weak. Had she actually said he was perfect? Had she actually said he was sexy? He was dizzy, and felt his head spin. He leaned up against the wall bye the One Eyed Witch and sighed.
Someone was sharply prodding her in between her sore ribs. She looked up, eyes almost swollen shut with tears. Her friend, Michelle, was standing above her, blue eyes filled with concern. "You didn't come back to the dorm, what happened? You said you wanted to talk to James, and then you'd meet us under that tree, and you never came back. We thought you had gone to the dorm, so we sat in the common room waiting for you to come down, and you didn't. We were so worried. Are you ok?" Michelle knelt down beside her crumpled form. Lily shook her head. Michelle wrapped her arms around Lily's disheveled body, letting her tears soak into her sweater.
After a while Michelle offered Lily a hand, and she took it. Lily stood up smoothing out her sweater and skirt, attempting to look presentable. Michelle squeezed her hand and led her to the portrait of the Fat lady. Lily checked her watch. It was only 7 o'clock. People would still be in the common room.
When they entered the common room they saw Lucy and her friend Julia looking over her clothes, upgrading her uniform. Lucy had pulled on her skirt and Julia was measuring it to see how much she could shorten it. Michelle asked, "What are you doing? Any shorter, and we'll start seeing… stuff."
"I'm helping her prepare for her big anniversary date Monday. She has to look perfect."
"Why? Even if it's an 'anniversary,' why does she have to look perfect?" Michelle's reply was grumpy. In the corner Lily burst into refreshed tears.
"I heard from Louise, who heard from Joanna, who heard from Remus, who heard from Sirius, who heard from James that James might be proposing on Monday." Michelle finally got what had made Lily so upset. Lily sobbed louder and harder than ever, while Lucy smirked at her. Michelle, at a loss for words, made a face at the girls, and stormed off dragging Lily up to the dorm. But not before James had seen her face.