Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Author's Note: I had posted this earlier but I somehow accidentally deleted it, so I'm posting it again. Hope you like it!
Lily lay on her four-poster bed, her palms under her head and her elbows pointing outwards, staring blankly at the ceiling above her and contemplating whether she should apologize to James Potter or let things be as they currently were. Her thoughts went back to what had happened…
Earlier that day, after Transfiguration, she was walking towards the Great Hall with Alice, when Potter once again served to aggravate her as usual by asking her out to the upcoming Hogsmeade trip.
On a day when she was in a good mood, James Potter would just have received a casual 'no' before she walked away; on a normal day, he would have received no reply in words, just a glare; and on a day when she was in a bad mood, he would have received a 'no' through gritted teeth, accompanied by a glare, no less.
But today… Today, she was already upset about Transfiguration. It was undoubtedly Lily's worst subject (she did better even at Divination), but she hadn't expected to be one of the few in the class who hadn't managed to transfigure a rabbit into a box. Hers still had had two long pink ears and hind legs, and was hopping about from table to table.
She was worried to death about what would happen if she failed to transfigure a rabbit into a box during next year's NEWTs. Alice did keep saying that it was a whole year before the NEWTs, but she had only managed to do well in her OWLs because of the humungous amount of preparation she had done, and she hoped to do well for the NEWTs as well.
They had to write an essay one and a half foot long about the properties of moonstone for potions, another essay one foot long on goblins for History of Magic. And she had to finish the calculations for Astronomy and hand it in.
To add to it all, there was a Prefects' meeting at four and quidditch practice after that. Plus, she had to practice her transfiguration of a rabbit. How would she ever be able to finish all of that?
She was worried, and at the time, frustrated and on the verge of venting it all. It was just a matter of who would be on the receiving end.
Unfortunately for James Potter, he chose that very moment to traipse down the corridor, grinning his usual lopsided grin to ask Lily out.
It was the last straw. Lily burst, screaming at James Potter and throwing every insult she dared to, at him. James had been so taken aback at witnessing this never-seen-before outburst of Lily that he had just, for a moment, stood gaping, his eyes wide with fear. And as he walked away without having said anything at all, Lily thought she had seen a fleck of hurt in his eyes.
Lily groaned. Now that she thought about it, it hadn't exactly been very considerate. She didn't like hurting anyone, even if it was James Potter. Deciding to look for James and apologize, Lily got up from her bed before she could change her mind. She got dressed and made herself look presentable, before going into the common room to check if the rest of the Marauders were there. They would definitely know where James would be.
Lily went down the stairs tentatively, peering to see if the Marauders were there. Spotting Sirius, Remus and Peter sitting in the armchairs by the fire, she hurriedly hopped down the stairs and went straight to Remus. He was the only one of the Marauders she could tolerate and the only one who would answer her question to the point and not beat around the bush like the rest.
"Hi Remus. I was wondering if you knew where Potter is right now?" Lily asked Remus politely, to which she got a frustrated reply from Sirius instead.
"No we don't. And even if we did, we wouldn't tell you."
Lily glared at him before turning back to Remus expectantly. Remus wore an amused grin as he responded, "He's by the lake," accompanied by thumbs-up as Lily left.
She went down the stairs, hearing the last traces of the argument just beginning to erupt between Sirius and Remus. Smiling slightly, she went out of the Hogwarts gates towards the lake.
The sun was just setting in the horizon, radiating a gentle orange-red glow that just lighted up everything around her, giving it a delicate look.
Sighing heartily and taking another step towards the lake, she heard the faint sound of music. A violin, she thought, as she started to look around for the source of the music. Taking a few steps forward, she realized the music was getting a little louder, and it seemed to come from the direction of a tree.
Trodding very gently, Lily approached the tree slowly. There was the someone who was playing. She was in awe. The person's right hand was moving the bow slowly but firmly and effortlessly, while the left was moving swiftly up and down the fingerboard, producing soft melodic music that seemed to put her in a trance.
Who was this person? She had never known that someone at Hogwarts played the violin so well! Her gaze traveled up the person's back and neck, resting on the person's hair. She gasped inaudibly. That hair… She could recognize it anywhere. That raven hair that always stuck up at the back in the same manner could belong to only one person. James Potter.
Her eyes immediately darted to the person's face. His eyes were shut. Inwardly, she sighed in relief. At least he hadn't seen her. But Potter playing the violin? And playing it that well? Her brain couldn't seem to accept the fact that her eyes had seen and her ears had heard. Suddenly, she had an urge to return to the castle. She turned and looked at the castle, contemplating returning without having apologized when-
"Lil-Evans? What are you doing here?" James Potter's voice sounded.
Better to get it over and done with, she thought. Taking a deep breath, she began, "Potter, I only came to apologize-"
James cut the little "speech" she had been rehearsing in her mind. "Look Lily, I'm sorry about all the times I asked you out. I'm sorry that I upset you. But I promise, I'll stop bothering you and asking you out." he said solemnly.
Lily's jaw dropped. James Potter had apologized? And said he would stop asking her out? She pinched herself. Ouch! So it was real! She was about to thank him and tell him to make sure he stuck to his promise, when she remembered her reason for being there in the first place. She opened her mouth to apologize, and only then did she realize that James wasn't there.
She looked behind and there he was, walking back to the castle, his arms swinging and no violin in sight. "Hey! James, wait!" she shouted, running towards him. James hadn't even bothered to stop, but Lily was able to catch up with him and swiftly turned him around by the arm.
"Pot-James, -" James' frown deepened; Lily had never called him James before. "I'm really sorry about that outburst. -" The look of utter confusion on his face almost made her laugh. "And you play the violin really well." she ended. A slight smile appeared on his face.
"Thanks," he whispered.
Lily couldn't believe what had just happened. James Potter had apologized to Lily Evans and Lily Evans had apologized to James Potter. Willingly. And she had complimented him. She wondered if she ought to take it just a little further…
"Friends?" she asked him, a genuine smile playing on her lips.
James broke into a wide grin. He definitely hadn't expected this, but it was surely a step from the quarrels they always had.
"Friends!"
Author's Note: Please, please review!