(A/n: So here's just a little idea I had in my head for a while and decided to put onto paper. It's not much just a typical fluffy overly cheese fiction about my favorite ship ever, Lily and James. For those of you who are reading my fic The Princess and the Pirate I'm so sorry but it will be at least a month before I've updated. I recently came across a fic written before mine that was similar to what I've already written so not wanting to plagiarize that author's work I'm going back and revising to make some clear differences. Please be patient. Anyway I hope you enjoy this R&R please)
A Mental Redhead and Besotted Bloke
"You're mental. Absolutely mental."
Lily tore her gaze away from her pale hands folded on her lap and looked at her best friend of seven years, Mary McDonald, who was currently surveying her with a scrutinizing gaze and hands resting on her narrow hips. It was a particular quiet day in the seventh year Gryffindor dorm's Lily noted mildly, for she and Mary were the only ones in the dorm. Alice, Marlene, and Dorcas had vacated the room to head for dinner just minutes before. It had been then that Lily had uttered this heartfelt confession dubbed "mental" by her friend.
"May I ask why?" Lily asked curiously, her green eyes shining with confusion, "I mean, I pore my heart out to you and you tell me I'm mental."
Mary ran a hand through her voluminous brown hair exasperatedly and shook her head, her expression almost wild. "There's no explanation for what you just said. After seven years of hatred you spring this- this- confession on me and expect me to believe you? You're joking me aren't you?"
The beautiful red head sighed at her friend who was clearly in denial, a stage similar to what Lily had been in for these past seven years, she realized bitterly. "Mary, look at me. I'm not joking, I fancy James sodding Potter for all his self-loving, arrogant, bullying toe-rag, glory."
"I'm sorry Lily, but if you expect me to believe that you're out of your mind," Mary said, throwing her hands up in disbelief and exiting the room.
Lily groaned and lay down on her bed, burying her face into her pillow. She had hoped that Mary would be able to tell her what to do about her little infatuation with the fellow Head Boy, but it was obvious now that she was on her own. Of course she didn't blame Mary for not believing her. After all, she had been turning down James' request for dates ever since that fateful afternoon after the OWLS in fifth year. Even before that she had been denouncing James every chance she got so naturally when she had confessed that she liked- no, loved, James with every fiber of her being it was only expected that Mary would think it a joke. 'Though she has always told me she reckons I fancy him,' Lily mused.
From somewhere in the common room a barking laugh reached Lily's ears accompanied by a deep throaty laugh she had learned to love. 'Sirius and James,' Lily thought smiling to herself. She could picture them goofing off as they always did and wondered vaguely why they weren't at dinner with the rest of the school. Then again, she wasn't there either. Suddenly, inspiration struck and Lily knew how to solve her James dilemma. If there was anyone who knew how James felt about her, it was Sirius. Thus, she hastily slid off her comfortable four poster bed and located her most prized quill and a spare bit of parchment. After five minutes of carefully worded writing, her owl Scarlett was off clutching a letter for a certain Mr. Black.
Back in the common room two boys were engaged in an intense battle of Wizard's chess relishing in the silence of the normally packed room. A soft tap against one of the windows broke Sirius Black's concentration as he contemplated his next move. He quickly snatched up the chance to break away from the Chess game of which he was miserably losing. In a few long strides he was across the plush Common room and opening the window for a tawny owl to fly in. It was carrying a letter which Sirius noted in surprise was addressed to him. He was fairly used to the lack of mail after running away to James' the summer before his sixth year. Who would be writing to him?
With eager hands he tore open the letter and read:
Sirius,
DO NOT LET JAMES READ THIS!
I know this is going to come as a shock, my own best friend didn't believe me when I told her, but there's something I need to tell you. I need your help with this little- er, dilemma I have. You see as of late I've begun falling with a certain messy haired, hazel eyed, friend of yours. I know shocking right? And I don't know what to do about it. Please help me. We've always been close even though James and I weren't so you should feel obligated to help. No, that didn't sound right. It's just, I reckon I'm going insane. Meet me in the room of requirement in five minutes if you decide to be the best bloody bloke ever and help out a girl in need.
Your flower,
Lily.
James watched curiously as his friend's gray eyes widened with shock while he read a bit of parchment. He concluded that Sirius' parents must have sent him a nasty letter and smiled sympathetically. "Padfoot?"
His friend jumped about a foot in the air looking like a deer caught in the headlights, or, James added amused, himself in stag form when a teacher was coming across the lawn. "Woah, relax mate. What's wrong?" he asked.
Sirius shook his head nonchalantly, "Nothing Prongs, but I reckon I'm gonna go on a little walk. Don't wait up," he called before sprinting out of the portrait hall, the letter laying forgotten on the floor.
Seconds later a flustered Lily Evans sped down the stairs and was halfway across the common room before James could even register her presence. "Lily! Oi, Evans!" he called prompting her to stop with a hand stretched toward the exit.
She turned reluctantly with a suspiciously guilty look on her face. "J-James, fancy seeing you here," she stuttered.
'What's going on?' James wondered to himself, first his best mate was jumping a foot in the air and sprinting out of the common room and now Lily. "Well this is the common room," James pointed out. "Why are you in such a hurry?"
The object of his affection avoided his questioning gaze and shrugged, "Just, you know, going for a- a walk."
James' eyebrow met his hairline. "A walk you say?"
Lily nodded somewhat defensively, "Tons of people go on walks. It's perfectly normally."
She stared defiantly at him as though daring him to say otherwise. James simply held up his hands, "Okay, okay. No need to get so testy. Enjoy your walk then," he said.
"I will," she muttered before turning back around and exiting the room.
The Marauder inside of him took over influencing James to make a split-second decision. Within minutes he had dashed up to his dormitory, retrieved his cloak, and was now in pursuit of Lily Evans, watching as she reached the seventh floor and looked furtively around the hall. She then paced back and forth three times causing a door to appear and flung it open to reveal- Sirius? 'No bleeding way,' James thought angrily, 'Why would he meet with her?'
Unfortunately for James, his reflexes though usually superb from his position as a Chaser, were not quick enough to get him into the room before the door shut.
The first words to leave Sirius' mouth upon Lily's arrival were of course kind, understanding, and eloquently delivered. "Have you gone mental!?" He bellowed.
Lily flinched at the volume of which he spoke and wondered why she had thought talking to Sirius was a good idea. "You're the second person to say that to me. And no, I have not gone mental."
Sirius simply shook his head in disbelief. "I'm going to need you to say it out loud, flower."
The red-head took a deep breath and directed her gaze at her feet. "I fancy James. Hell, I love James. I'm absolutely head-over-heels, hopelessly, out of my bloody mind in love with him, okay? And I know no one will believe me. I know I've been an absolute bitch to him, yelling at him every chance I get. I know I'm not good enough for him, or even good enough to be in the same room as him. I know that he's James bloody Potter and me? I'm just bookworm Evans. I don't stand a chance; he's given up on me and for good reason. I never deserved him in the first place, but I reckoned I'd tell you."
Sirius gaped at Lily and staggered back so that he landed on a couch seated by the fireplace. His hands flew up to his hair where they tugged at the roots whilst he pondered over this confession. "I don't know where to start," he admitted. "My first instinct would be to say about bloody time, but there's so much more I need to address. For one thing, how could you think you're not good enough for him? For years, and I mean our entire time at Hogwarts, James has rambled on about how he will never be good enough for you and now here you are saying the same thing. And of course you stand a chance. He's, well, I don't want to speak for him, but as his best mate I can rightfully say he's beyond smitten with you. If you would just open your eyes you would see that."
It was Lily's turn to stare in disbelief and Sirius smirked. He patted the seat next to him beckoning her to take a seat, an offer that she welcomed. Once seated comfortably on the couch she looked up and met his penetrating gaze. "So what do you think I should do about it?" Lily asked finally.
"Tell him," he said simply.
"I don't know if I can," Lily admitted.
Sensing her insecurity Sirius took Lily's hands in his own and rubbed them soothingly. "You can do it, because if you don't then in three months we will graduate and you'll always be wondering about what could have been."
Lily gazed into his usually playful gray eyes and saw that there was no humor there. His eyes conveyed the most sincere and honest message more so than his words so with a shaky nod Lily decided she would tell James how she felt. "I'll do it," she said.
Sirius nodded and pulled her to her feet, "Let's go then."
The fire was crackling, admitting calm and soothing warmth throughout the Gryffindor Common Room as a very befuddled James Potter paced back and forth. He suddenly noticed a discarded piece of parchment by one of the tall glass windows and realized it must have been the letter Sirius had been reading earlier. In no time James had seized up the paper and read the first line of the letter. "Sirius, DO NOT LET JAMES READ THIS!" he read aloud.
He recognized the handwriting as Lily's for he had been besotted with her for the past seven years and could of course identify her elegant script. Instead of reading further as one might assume he would, James found that he could not bear to read the contents of the letter. They must be having an affair he concluded and yet his eyes did not leave the parchment re-reading that first line over and over. The sound of footsteps rapidly approaching the portrait hole reached his ears and he watched warily as the portrait swung open to reveal the two people he least wanted to see; Sirius and Lily.
Both of their eyes widened as they took in the appearance of the clearly upset James Potter reading the letter from Lily to Sirius. "You read it?" Lily asked quietly.
"How could you? You heartless bitch." James said angrily.
Lily and Sirius both winced and the latter stepped protectively in front of the first. "James, mate, what are you talking about? She can't help the way she feels." He reasoned.
If possible James' eyes narrowed even more from their already accusatory glare. "And you! You were supposed to be my friend."
"She needed someone to talk to. You're being unreasonable!" Sirius explained.
In one swift stride James was in front of Sirius and had punched him in the face. Lily gasped, Sirius swore, and James sneered. "Bastard. After all I've done for you. I let you stay in my house! You slept in my room!"
"James," Lily gasped, "What are you talking about? He hasn't done anything to you. If there's anyone you should be mad at it's me."
James glared at Lily. "Why him? Of all the blokes you could have fancied you chose my best mate."
Sirius' back cracked as he straightened up and Lily's eyes widened. "What?" they chorused in unison.
James waved the letter as though it proved his point, which quite obviously it didn't. "Did you even read the letter?" Sirius asked.
"I didn't have to," James retorted, "She fancies you, I followed her to the room of requirement."
"I don't fancy him you idiot, I fancy you!" Lily shouted, perhaps a bit too loudly for James and Sirius both backed away from her.
"What!" James tried to say calmly however it came out as more of a squeak rather like Peter in rat form when Sirius' shaggy animagus had trodden on his tail.
"I fancy you," Lily said again, this time more quietly.
"Have you gone mental?" James asked, concerned.
With an aggravated sigh Lily threw her hands up into the air and stomped her foot. "Everyone has got to stop saying that! I'm perfectly sane thank you very much. But it's true. I fancy you."
The handsome messy haired boy shook his head, stunned. "That's not possible. You hate me, you've always hated me."
"Au contraire," Sirius interjected, "She doesn't."
James continued to gape at Lily, "Sorry, love, but I'm going to need to hear you say that again." She sighed and went on. "Look when you came back from summer this year you'd changed. You didn't ask me out anymore, you stopped hexing people for the fun of it, and you'd even made head boy. And that's when I realized that this whole time I'd been looking for excuses not to like you when the truth is I'm in love with you. I love everything about you; the way you value your friends more than anything else, how you help Peter with his homework even though he's incredibly slow, how you show first years where to go when they're lost, the way you run your hand through your hair when you're nervous (yes, I know I told you I hated it), the excited look you have like a little boy at Christmas when you're playing in a Quidditch match, the way your eyes light up when you're talking about something you love, the casual smile you wear when you're goofing off with Sirius during class, and even the look you get in your eyes when you're about to play a particularly good prank. I love you every minute of every hour of every day with every fiber of my being and I can't imagine my life without you. I'm in love with you James Potter, and I was hoping that maybe just maybe, you're in love with me too."
To say that James was stunned would be an understatement. He took a moment to register his thoughts and then strode forward purposefully and captured her lips with his. He pulled away after he felt Lily start to return his kiss and gazed into the eyes of the girl he'd loved since the Hogwarts Express left Kings Cross his first year. "How could you ever doubt my love for you? I've loved you ever since I first saw you timidly trying to make friends with other girls in our year on the first day of school. There was just something about you, a little innocent red-headed girl with the most stunning green eyes and prettiest pale skin I'd ever seen. Even at eleven I knew with one glance that you were the one for me. Of course that's not to say I didn't date other girls, you know I did, but all along you were the one I wanted, but also the one who never wanted me. And now hearing you say those blessed three words that I've dreamed of you saying for seven years I don't think I've ever been happier in my life. I love you more than you can possibly imagine," he whispered passionately.
His lips were cut off from speaking when Lily claimed them with her own. Across the castle Sirius' whoop of glee could be heard reverberating off the walls.