The Start of Something New
When James Potter first asked Lily Evans to go with him on the next trip to Hogsmeade, she thought, Is he nuts? He has been such an egotistical arse these past six years, why does he think I would say anything different this time? But somehow the words that came out when she opened her mouth were, "Sure, why not? I haven't made any other plans." After all, everyone deserves a second chance and, besides, Lily thought, she could get a free lunch out of it.
On the Saturday that the trip was to take place, Lily woke early. She stretched and stuck her head out of the window. The weather was ideal, autumn had just begun and the leaves had begun to gently fall. The air outside was perfect, comfortable, not too hot, but not too cold. Lily sat in the windowsill, feeling the cool breeze. She was to meet James in the entrance hall at ten o'clock. She had no idea what was going to happen, a both exciting and nerve-wracking prospect. Would James actually be pleasant? Or would he just be the arrogant git that he'd always been? Lily had no clue. She looked out onto the grounds of Hogwarts, looking at the lake where James had enraged her so. He was just being a bully, she recalled,but that still doesn't take back what Severus called me. So much had changed that day. Lily shook her head, clearing it. She decided that today would be a fresh start. She would go into the day with no expectations, neither high nor low.
Lily heard rustling from another bed. She looked over to see her friend Mary Macdonald sitting up and yawning, her light brown hair sticking up in different directions. "Look who's up early. Excited for your big day?" Mary teased.
Lily rolled her eyes at her. "Oh, hush. Want to go grab breakfast?"
Thirty minutes later, the girls were climbing out of the portrait hole. Once they entered the corridor that lead to the staircase, Mary said to her, "I still can't believe you agreed to go out with James Potter! I thought you couldn't stand him!"
Lily just kind of smiled at her, "I really don't know why I agreed either. I suppose it's partly because he hasn't been getting on my nerves as much lately."
Mary nodded, thoughtfully, "Now that I think about it, you're right. He really has deflated his head a little."
"Well that's what he says anyway. I guess I'll see if it's true later today."
#
James Potter had been working up the nerve to ask Lily Evans on a date for months. For years, every time he tried flirting with her she had always categorically refused his advances. He had been sure that she was just playing hard-to-get with him and that deep down he really impressed her. Eventually though, once the end of their sixth year was approaching, he realized that maybe he needed to rethink his strategy. Right before classes let out for the summer, he had asked his friend Remus Lupin for advice, who had responded, "Just be yourself, mate. You're a great guy, but you can get overly arrogant sometimes. Show her your good side."
James had no idea how to do this, however. He had always thought that Lily just wasn't in her right mind for refusing him. No one else did. But he didn't want anyone else; he wanted her. So he really tried to think about the best way to go about showing Lily his "good side."
Over the summer, James and his best mate, Sirius Black, had decided to get a job in an auto shop in the Muggle town near where they lived—Sirius now lived with James because his family had thrown him out. The manual labor had helped get James mind off things and Sirius had thrived off doing something he knew his parents would detest him doing. After they would get off work, Sirius had always wanted to go to the pub and flirt with Muggle women. Women, Muggle or no, always fawned over Sirius, with his dark hair that fell around his eye—with an elegance that was impossible for James' unruly hair—and his all around good looks. James usually relied on his sense of humor and confidence, which had normally yielded good results. James had stopped getting any real enjoyment out of it, however; all he could think about was Lily. Sirius made fun of him, saying, "Prongs, you're losing your game! Quit thinking about Evans; she's nowhere near here." That proved to be impossible for James. He could only think about the way Lily's long red hair flowed back over her shoulders and the way her almond-shaped green eyes lit up when she was talking.
School could not get there soon enough. When James and Sirius had received their letters with the school supply list, James had looked for Lily when they shopped at Diagon Alley. He never did see her though. He then began to count down the days for school to start. When the day finally arrived, he had looked for her all over Platform 9 ¾, but there was no sight of her, only the smoke coming out of the red steam engine and the swarms of families saying their last goodbyes to their children. He had started feeling anxious. He had tried acting as normal as possible with his friends. He had just gotten up to go to the restroom, thinking he would see her at the start-of-term feast, when he saw her. Act normally, he had told himself, you don't want to freak her out. "Hello, Evans! Have a good summer?"
"Why, yes, thank you, Potter. How about yourself?" she had replied, looking at him curiously.
"Just fine, just fine. Ready for the seventh year? We're almost done!"
"Yes, it's all very exciting and scary. I'm nervous about the NEWTs; they're supposed to be really challenging." They had talked about the NEWTs and how difficult they may or may not be until the lunch trolley had rounded the bend and ran smack into James. A head had appeared from behind the cart, showing the hair-netted witch who ran the lunch trolley.
"I'm so sorry, dear, I didn't see you there," she had said apologetically, looking at James. Then addressing the two of them, she had asked, "Would you like anything off the trolley, dears?"
"Can I buy you anything Evans? Butterbeer? Pumpkin juice? Cauldron cakes?"
"No, thanks, James. Professor Slughorn is having a back-to-school lunch for us today. See you around!" James had watched Lily walk away, amazed and excited that they had had a normal conversation.
When they got to Hogwarts, he had sat as near as possible to her at the start of term feast. They did not talk much, mostly they just talked with their own friends; but James saw her occasionally glance his way and smile. James had glanced around the Great Hall. He had seen his enemy, Snape, across the Great Hall sitting at the Slytherin table staring over at Lily. For some reason, Lily is friends with that bloke. I definitely need to behave myself around him, as long as he doesn't do anything first, thought James, looking at Lily as well. Moving his gaze back over to Snape, taking in his greasy black hair that fell in curtains, his hooked nose, and that continuously sour expression, James had thought, Well, I'll behave at least when she's around. Snape's just so detestable!
Once everyone had stuffed themselves with the excellent feast, Dumbledore had welcomed everyone back to school. James had not really been listening; Dumbledore wouldn't say anything new that he hadn't already heard. There was a loud scraping noise as, collectively, the students had begun to get up and go to their dormitories, drawing James back from his reverie. Prefects were calling to the first years in order to show them to the common rooms. Peeves the poltergeist took off cackling after a band of Hufflepuff second years. The rest of the ghosts had floated above the students and through the walls to do whatever it was that ghosts do. The Marauders—that is, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter Pettigrew—left the Great Hall for their dormitory in Gryffindor Tower. Remus and Sirius had began exchanging stories about the summer while Peter chimed in whenever he could with things like "No, really?" and "Wow, I wish my summer was as eventful!" James had been lost in thought, daydreaming about all the possibilities. As they reached the corridor that led to the common room, Remus' voice and elbow brought James back, "Prongs, you've been acting weird lately. I saw you with Lily, I'm impressed! Usually you say stuff like 'Hello, isn't it great to be me?' and 'Did you see my save at the last Quidditch match?'"
"Aw, he's gone soft. He was mooning after her all summer," Sirius had answered before James could say anything. "You'd think he's the werewolf, with all that mooning about he's done." Peter had guffawed at the joke and even Remus had cracked a smile.
"Oh, haha, very clever Padfoot," James had snapped, "I'm fine. Really. I just kind of listened to what you said, Moony, about how she wouldn't pay attention to me if I kept acting that way."
"Wow, I didn't know that what I said had any impact on you. It's never worked before," Remus had said, exchanging surprised looks with Sirius.
They had reached the Fat Lady; Remus had said "parsnip" which was the new password, as he'd learned from the prefect update they received every year on the Hogwarts Express. "Well, I guess the fact that six years of being that person didn't impress her finally got to me. From now on, I'm going to try and calm down a little…be myself around her," James had stated matter-of-factly, "Anyway, why aren't you showing the ickle firsties around?"
Remus had just said, "Oh, there are other prefects this year, besides me. I thought I'd let them do that for a change. After all, we're leaving next year! Anyway, I wish you the best of luck, James. You just need to be yourself around her, and quit getting so caught up in showing off. It doesn't work, you realize."
"I'm starting to," sighed James, watching Lily greeting friends and laughing across the room.
#
"How did he ask you out anyway? You've been so elusive about it all." Mary and Lily were sitting in the Great Hall, eating breakfast.
"Pass the pumpkin juice, will you? Well, it was after Transfiguration one day," said Lily, thinking back. She, along with the rest of the seventh years, had thought Professor McGonagall could not get harder than she was last year. That theory had proved to be completely incorrect and Lily was struggling to keep up. She was an excellent student, but Transfiguration was something that certainly did not come naturally to her. They had begun delving deeper into the topic of human transfiguration. Last year, they had worked on basic appearance changes like making your eyebrows change colors. This year, they had to do more, like completely change the way you look by rearranging your facial features. James, Lily had noted, was a natural. He had succeeded on his third try, enlarging his nose and growing a spectacular mustache. He had grinned across the room at her and winked, which completely irritated her. Why is he good at everything? He doesn't even try! she had thought, bitterly.
After class, James had come up to her, "How's it going? I noticed you were looking a little frustrated over there."
Lily had shoved her books into her bag, "Come to rub in how talented you are? Well, there's no need, I can see for myself, thanks." She had started to put on her bag, but James put his hand on top of it, stopping her.
"No! That's not what I—I didn't mean… Look, I just want you to know that if you need any help, I'd be happy to give it," James had looked sincere, like he really wanted to help, but Lily had disregarded this. "Thanks, but no thanks. I don't want to be the one to fuel your ego. You already think you're better than everyone else." Lily had firmly pulled her bag out from his hand and had started for the door.
James had followed her out the door, "Aw, come on Evans, I mean Lily, that was the old me. Give me another chance." Lily had spun around, "A chance for what, exactly?"
James had paused, and gazed into her eyes. "Another chance to get to know me," he had said softly. "Look, let me prove that I've changed! The first Hogsmeade trip is coming up. Will you go with me?"
People were brushing up against them—it was getting to be time for the next period of classes. "Hogsmeade? With you?" Lily was really surprised. She had looked at him, really looked at him. She had tried to read his expression. She thought she had seen hope, nervousness, and excitement written across his features. She could not find that normal confidence and arrogance she was used to seeing on his face. "Um… sure. Why not? I haven't made any other plans."
"Really? You'll go with me?" James had positively beamed at her, "Sounds like a plan! Is ten an okay time for you? We can meet in the entrance hall and walk down together." She had agreed and they parted, each meshing instantly into the sea of people.
"Lily, you there?" Mary was waving her hands in front of her face, "Earth to Lily. You just stopped talking."
Lily giggled, "Well there really isn't all that much else to say. I thought he was going to show off how much better at Transfiguration he is than me, but really he said that he wants to prove that he's changed; and then he asked me to go to Hogsmeade with him. I decided to humor him. I doubt I'll be all that impressed, but you never know. Maybe he has changed."
#
James lay in bed for a long time that Saturday morning, going over the plan for the day in his head. He would meet her in the entrance hall and then they would walk down to Hogsmeade. He would ask her where she wanted to go, letting her see that it was all about her. After a while, they would go to the Three Broomsticks, where he would buy her lunch. Hopefully, things would flow naturally and they would spend the rest of the day together. He looked at his watch, it was only nine. He looked over at the bed next to his, Sirius was still sacked out. He looked to his other side, Remus was awake, reading a book. In the thin light coming from the window, James couldn't help but notice how pale and tired Remus looked. Being a werewolf really took a toll on his friend, but Remus never complained. When Remus felt James' gaze he looked up. "Nervous?" he asked.
James looked around the room; everyone else was asleep, "Yeah, a bit. I've been waiting so long, ya know? I really hope I don't blow it," James said worriedly. Remus set his book down. "You'll be fine! Once Lily sees the real you, she won't be able to resist. I know it," Remus reassured James. Without needing to say anything else, they both got out of bed and got dressed. Once ready, they headed down to the Great Hall, using a variety of shortcuts they had learned during the course of their nighttime wanderings. "When is the next full moon, Remus? We haven't explored the lake side of Hogwarts very much." They talked about different exploration possibilities until they reached the Great Hall.
James walked through the door into the Hall and immediately froze. Remus walked smack into him. "What's up?" Remus asked, looking surprised. James shook himself and said, "Oh nothing, Moony, the sun was in my eyes." Remus looked over to the Gryffindor table, "I bet 'nothing' is sitting over there with her mate, Mary. Let's go sit with them." Remus gave James a gentle push and they walked over to the table to where Lily and Mary were sitting across from each other. The girls looked up and Remus said, brightly, "Good morning, ladies. I trust you slept well," and sat down next to Mary immediately engaging her in conversation. James shyly greeted Lily and sat down next to her. What's wrong with me? I'm never shy, James thought, surprised at his reserve.
Lily turned to James, "Well, I guess we don't need to meet in the entrance hall anymore. We'll just leave after breakfast." James nodded, "Yeah that sounds good," and then immediately began shoveling down eggs. Remus glanced across the table at James, giving him a pull-yourself-together look. James swallowed and asked Lily about how her week had been. Lily told him about how she had been practicing her Transfiguration a lot more and how she felt that, while she was not completely comfortable with it, that she was doing better. James smiled at her and said, "That's great! Practice makes perfect, it took me forever to figure out how to—" James stopped abruptly, he had almost told her how he, Sirius, and Peter had learned to become Animagi—that is to be able to transform into an animal. Lily looked at him inquiringly, "How to what?"
James thought fast, "How to do what we did in class. I read ahead over the summer to see what we were doing and practiced a little." Lily raised her eyebrows, but didn't argue. James downed a glass of pumpkin juice then asked Lily, "Ready to go? The weather is so beautiful that it's a shame to be inside for any longer." She agreed and they said goodbye to Remus and Mary, who seemed like they were having a good time discussing different books they liked reading in their spare time.
After leaving the Great Hall, they climbed down the steps leading to the path to Hogsmeade. It was breathtakingly gorgeous outside; the trees were decorated with leaves of red, gold, and brown. The sprawling grounds of Hogwarts, with the forest off to the left and the lake to the right greeted them with the richness of autumn. Lily sighed, "I love Hogwarts at this time of year. It's beautiful."
James agreed, "This weather is ideal for Quidditch. I hope it's like this for the next match." Then he cursed himself inwardly, I wasn't going to talk about Quidditch, he thought, From now on this day will be about her. Lily surprised him, however, when she said, "That would be perfect. Isn't our first match next week?" James responded enthusiastically, "Yes! We'll be playing Hufflepuff."
"I heard they've gotten a really good team together this year." Lily said, looking over at James for his reaction. James just smiled, "Oh, yes, they'll be tough, but I think we can handle it. We've trained really hard this year and our team has never performed better."
They rounded the bend and saw a group of Slytherins milling about. Snape was among them. He saw Lily first and his face lit up, but when he saw James his expression turned stony. The rest of the Slytherins had not noticed the pair. James was sorely tempted to ask Snape what his problem was, but he refrained. He knew that Lily would not think much of that. James didn't even say "Hello, Snivellus. Change your pants lately?" He felt extremely proud of himself. They passed the Slytherins without incident.
"Lily, you don't have to tell me if you don't want, but I've always wondered about this," James said hesitantly, "How did you and Severus become friends?" James crossed his fingers in his pocket, hoping he hadn't blown it.
Lily, to his relief, smiled and said, "We grew up near each other and played together as children. He told me about Hogwarts and we used to imagine what it would be like together. But over the years, we've grown apart. I haven't really talked to him since he called me a Mudblood. I told him that we had each chosen our different paths and that I couldn't follow his."
James was surprised and secretly pleased by her answer, "I'm sorry to hear that. It's really hard to lose a friend, especially one that you've had for so long." It took a lot of restraint for him not to add an insult about Snape. What an idiot, James thought, he lost so much by that slip of the tongue. Not that I'm complaining.
Lily nodded, "It's just a shame that he's chosen such awful friends. They all want to be Death Eaters and that's just something I'm not okay with."
"I couldn't agree more, though that doesn't make your decision any less hard," James said, hoping that he was saying the right thing. Lily smiled and said, "It's all right, I've made new friends. Friends that see things the way I do. Oh, look, we're here!" The town of Hogsmeade had come into sight, with its brightly colored shops mixed along with the houses. They could already see the bustling of the streets, Hogwarts students excitedly going from shop to shop and villagers going about their daily shopping trips. James said, "I don't think the walk to Hogsmeade has ever seemed so quick! Well, now that we're here, what would you like to do?"
Lily said thoughtfully, "Hmm… I wouldn't mind going to Honeydukes. My chocolate supply is running low." James laughed, "Honeydukes it is then!" and they set off for the candy store. "So, you like chocolate. Any particular favorites?"
"That's tough. I like most any kind of chocolate, but the Honeydukes kind is especially delicious. I also really enjoy Chocolate Frogs. I never grew up with them, you see, and so I still find them fascinating," Lily replied as the approached the store front.
James held the door open for her, "Okay, you like Chocolate Frogs and Honeydukes chocolate. What else do you like?" A blast of sweetness hit them as they entered the store accompanied by another blast of noise from the many students milling about. James followed Lily over to the chocolate section, bypassing the exotic candy section. Lily as it turned out, had a very sweet tooth. She especially loved chocolate, but she also had a fondness for treacle tart and Drooble's Best Blowing Gum.
Lily pointed to an advertisement near where they were standing, "James! Have you seen these? They must be new. Magic coffee beans! They're supposed to make you extra alert and energetic."
"Hmm… I wonder if they actually work. Seems a little dodgy to me," said James dubiously.
They moved around the shop for another half hour, pointing out their favorites and remarking on the strange items that were sold. Once she had picked out what she wanted, the pair got into the, as always, long line for the checkout. As they waited, they talked about the weird types of candy that are sold in Honeydukes. "Do you think there are really cockroaches in Cockroach Cluster?" Lily asked at one point. Eventually they reached the checkout, Lily began to pull out her wallet, but James stopped her and paid the cashier before she got the chance.
"You didn't have to do that! I am perfectly able to pay for my own stuff," Lily said indignantly. James put his hands up in a calming gesture, "Hey, hey. I know that, but I just wanted to. Humor me, will you?"
"All right, I'll humor you. But let me buy you butterbeer then," Lily said, amused.
"Deal," replied James, relieved. They exited the crowded Honeydukes to walk over to the Three Broomsticks. This pub was another favorite of Hogwarts students and therefore was as equally packed as Honeydukes. Lily maneuvered her way over to the bar to order, while James went to grab them a table. As he was looking for a table, he saw one of his classmates bullying a third year, who obviously had never been to Hogsmeade before. "Let's see you dance for that butterbeer! Tarantellegra!" James' classmate watched with glee as his spell made the third year's legs dance uncontrollably. James pulled out his wand and began walking over to his classmate; then at the last minute he pocketed the wand. He put his arm on his classmate's shoulder, "Don't you think you're a bit too old for this, Thomas? Let the kid enjoy his first trip to Hogsmeade." Thomas looked at James, then at the third year, and said, "Lay off, I was just having a bit of fun."
James replied, "Man, that's not cool. Lift the jinx." Thomas stared at James, looking like he would curse him instead, but something in James' expression made him think better of it and he lowered his gaze. Thomas mumbled the counter-curse and stumped off. The boy's legs stopped dancing immediately and he fell to the ground. With an appreciative look at James, the boy ran off and disappeared into the crowd.
Lily appeared behind James and poked him gently in the back, "I was so sure that you were going to curse Thomas. You really surprised me back there. I'm impressed." James swelled with pride at her praise, "Well, thanks! I've just come to see that hexing people isn't really the best way to go about getting what you want."
"You're right, it's not. But don't let what I said go to your head, I don't want it to get any larger," Lily replied, winking at him. James felt his heart skip a beat, but he made no further comment. Instead, he said, "Well, since we're here, how about some lunch? And just so we're clear, this one is definitely on me."
"Well, if you insist, I suppose I can tolerate you buying me food," said Lily, using her best bored sounding voice, adding a smile at the end to let him know that she was kidding.
#
Lily was thoroughly impressed by the way James acted throughout the day. After they had lunch, they walked through Hogsmeade. James had a very detailed knowledge of where everything was in Hogsmeade and he showed her all these little shops that she had no idea even existed. She asked him how he knew all these and he just shrugged and said, "I like to explore." To which she replied, "I guess when I normally come to Hogsmeade, I only go to the popular places. From now on, I'll have to try and see more of the village."
Crossing his fingers, James said, "Next time, we'll have to actually go in these shops and try some of these little restaurants." She looked at him, "Yeah that would be fun."
It was beginning to get dark. "Should we head back to the castle? I bet there is something delicious for dinner," Lily suggested. James agreed and they set back off towards the castle. Lily noticed that James was being unusually quiet and looked over at him. He looked kind of down. "What's wrong, James? Did you not have a good time?" Lily was actually worried. She had had a really good day and was afraid that James didn't feel the same way. James looked over at her, startled, "No, no! I had an amazing time! I've been looking forward to this day for ages, even before I ever thought I'd have a chance with you. But, I never got an opportunity to really prove to you that I've changed. I was hoping for something big to happen so that I could really show you how different I've become."
Lily stopped in her tracks and started to laugh. James stopped as well and looked at her in bewilderment, "What? What did I say?" She just looked at him and then, seized by an impulse, threw her arms around him, pressing her lips to his. James froze, and then wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer. When they finally broke apart, she said, "Oh, James, don't you see? You've shown me in all the little things that you did today. You asked me about my week and then really listened to what I had to say. You didn't make fun of Severus, even though I know you wanted to. You even comforted me about losing Severus as a friend, which must have been so hard for you because I know how much you hate him. You let me buy us butterbeer, just to make me feel better. And the way you stopped that bullying was so unlike you! You've just been a perfect gentleman all day, but I could also tell that you really meant it and that you weren't just putting on an act. I'm thoroughly impressed."
James seemed at a complete loss for words. She ran her fingers through his hair and he grabbed her hands. Holding them close to his chest, he put his forehead to hers and said, "I'm so glad. I had always hoped that one day you would consider me."
Lily smiled ruefully, "You needed to grow up some. You were such an arrogant toerag!" James laughed and kissed her again. Lily wrapped her arms around his neck, and could feel his hands on her waist, pulling her closer. A male voice rang out, "Oi! Get a room you two!" They jumped away from each other, startled. Lily turned around and saw Sirius, Remus, and Peter strolling up the path towards them. Each had an expression of surprise and amusement on his face. Sirius clapped James on the back saying, "Wow, James, I didn't know you had it in you. You didn't Confund her did you?" But he winked at Lily as he said it. Guffawing, the trio continued up the path towards the school. James looked at Lily, "Sorry about that. They can be really obnoxious sometimes."
Lily laughed, "No worries. I'm sure Mary and the rest will give me just as hard of a time, if not more. I haven't exactly expressed very many positive feelings when talking about you."
James took her hand, "Well, I certainly didn't deserve anything better."
"But you do now," Lily said and they started up towards the school, hands interlaced, both looking forward to the start of something new.
Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading! I wrote this three years ago as a freshman in college after being filled with this desire to explore how Lily could go from hating James to marrying him. I appreciate any and all reviews! I hope to have more time to write and delve into other, perhaps less popular, universes-though the Harry Potter universe will always be my first love.