Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Isn't it obvious?

A Love Letter

Alone in the Gryffindor common room, was James Potter. It was late; everyone had already gone to bed. He was sitting comfortably in front of the fireplace, which was cackling merrily, cross-legged. A sheet of parchment was spread across the floor in front of him. His brow was furrowed in concentration and he was staring at the sheet with such intensity, one would think he was trying to set it on fire. He took a deep breath and dipped his long, black quill into the ink pot determinedly.

Then he froze, his quill only inches away from the parchment. The frown on James' face became more pronounced and he seemed to be suffering a bout of strain. His cheeks turned bright red and beads of sweat were glistening on his forehead. Perhaps he didn't realize it, but an odd retching noise was coming out of his mouth.

"ARGH! I CAN'T DO IT!" he cried. "WHY CAN'T I DO IT!?"

"James, shut up!"

His shout had awoken Sirius, who didn't seem sure whether he should laugh or yell at James.

"Oy! Why are you shouting? It's the middle of the night!"

"Oh. Sorry mate." James fidgeted with his fingers, clearly agitated. Sirius sighed.

"Are you going to answer or not?"

"Well... erm... I'm trying to... to -"

"Spit it out!" Sirius' eyes lit up, seeing that whatever James was about to say was definitely going to be interesting.

"Alright, alright. I want to write a love letter."

"To Lily?"

"Who else?"

"So you can't do it and that's why you're screaming about it," laughed Sirius.

"I've never done it before though. I just can't seem to do it. How can I tell Lily I love her without a letter?"

"Tell me James, have you ever been romantic?"

"Well... Lily doesn't see hexing Snape for her as 'romantic'..."

"Don't worry. I'm an expert," said Sirius grinning.

"How're you an expert? You've never been in love!"

"All the girls are after me. I must be doing something right." There was indeed some truth to this, as Sirius had achieved a level of casual elegance James could not match.

"So what do I do then?" asked James, looking slightly defeated.

"What do you have so far?" Sirius enquired. James scratched his head, making his hair messier than before. He was feeling rather awkward and embarrassed.

"Here," he said, thrusting the parchment he'd been staring at to Sirius. It became apparent James was having difficulty as he rejected everything he wrote by crossing it out. It read:

Dear Lily, I am in love with you.

Lily Evans, you're the most beautiful girl in the world.

You have the loveliest eyes I have ever seen.

Two words: you're pretty

I've loved you since the beginning of time

I've loved you since I first met you

You have this bookish air that I've always loved

Lily, will you marry me?

You're a girl like no other

I want to be the father of your children

I'll kill myself before I let you be with another man

You know you love me

You do love me right?

When you're there, I have the desire to kiss you

I won't be mean to your friends, I promise

When you're there, the world is perfect

I'll meet your parents, visit them and call them "mom and dad" just like you

I'll be nice to your horrible, wizard-hating sister

I won't force you to have sex with me

You're my first, true love

I would die for you

Iloveyou Iloveyou Iloveyou Iloveyou Iloveyou

If you don't want to date now, I'll wait until you do... even when you're 60 and have wrinkles

I won't spill pumpkin juice on you like your ex-boyfriend did

If you reject me, I'll be shattered

Is it just me or does one of your friends like me?

Remember, I'll always be there for you

You're not planning to see your ex-boyfriend are you?

I will never hex you

"You don't write a note when you propose to someone," said Sirius, rolling his eyes. "And anyway, you're seventeen. You're supposed act young, not like some old bloke ready to settle down."

"It was just an idea!" said James defensively.

"Well, all I can say is that you're horrible at this. I mean 'You have this bookish air that I've always loved' not even a troll would say that! And 'I want to be the father of your children' is going to scare her. Plus, 'I will never hex you' isn't something you put in a love letter."

"Right," said James, the frown of concentration reappearing on his face.

"Although some of this is actually not that bad," said Sirius thoughtfully. "'I've loved you since I first met you.' Is that true?"

"Yeah... so I'm not a complete moron then," said James, hopefully.

"Well..." said Sirius. A wicked grin lifted the corners of his mouth. James punched him. "To be honest, it's still sounds fanciful. But I have an idea..."

Sirius whispered something in James' ear. With every word spoken, James seemed to become more animated. He seized a fresh sheet of parchment, and wrote:

I need to talk to you. Meet me by the lake after dinner.

-James

oOoOo

Instead of writing his feelings, James gave her the note discreetly at breakfast, slipping it into her book bag when no one appeared to be watching. When this was done, Sirius gave him thumbs up.

"D'you really think this is the right way to do it," James asked him anxiously, during Transfiguration.

"'Course I do," replied Sirius.

After dinner, James set off for the lake. Even from a distance, Sirius could tell he was nervous, and silently praying everything would work out.

And there she stood waiting for him; her long, dark, red hair blowing gently in a gust of wind. Her bright, vivid green eyes staring into his hazel ones curiously, and to James' relief, there was no hatred or animosity. Her cheeks were a lovely shade of pink.

With every step he took towards her, he seemed to become more and more troubled. What if she didn't take him seriously? That he really and truly was in love with her? Or what if she liked someone else? What would he do?

He felt detached from his body, as if he was watching everything outside of his body, until his feet halted him before Lily. He barely noticed he'd been walking.

"Hi," said James, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Hi," said Lily, smiling.

"So... how are things?"

"Good." Her voice was higher pitched than usual.

James was lost for words. All he could do was admire how beautiful Lily was. But he knew he had to tell her.

"Lily... I wanted to tell you something important. I... I... I was wondering whether... you'd like to... to go out with me?" James turned bright red. Although it was dark, he could tell Lily turned red too. The burning sensation in his cheeks and suspenseful wait were killing him. He hoped he wasn't making a fool of himself.

She didn't speak. Was she going to reject him? James truly had no idea.

"Yes," she whispered after a long while. "Yes I will." Her voice became louder.

James was paralyzed with joy. Utterly paralyzed.

oOoOo

James Potter was the happiest person alive. Why wouldn't he be? He finally worked up the courage to ask Lily out, and didn't need a love letter to do it. As it turned out, telling her personally made this night far more special.

Special thanks to Neda. As always, read and review, and I'll love you forever (this is an expression). You're reviews make me smile :)

Thanks again,

-the Chocofreakazoid