Another little HP oneshot, this is a James/Lily though, because for some reason I've really warmed to them.
Originally, I thought this would be a really cool as a collection of oneshots, but just uttering that phrase makes me remember I Want and how I still need to finish the last chapter of that, so NO MORE STORIES FROM ME! for now at least... I'd love to write a Lily/James pre-7th year one, but I won't let myself until I've finished Just Friends and I Want.
Actually, I'd really like to write a few more HP fics now...
Warning: I think I may have said that I liked 'I Love You and I Hate You For It'. Hopefully I did, because if I said that I didn't like that, then the way I feel about this must be extreme, pure and deep loathing. I despise this, it's terrible and waste of time to read. There you go, the truth is out... I like the end though, so just scroll down to the last paragraph and then review based on that!
It wasn't as if James Potter had know from the moment that he first saw Lily Evans that he'd love her, or even fall in love with her some time in the distant future, or in anyway have anything to do with her besides being in her year at Hogwarts. In fact, contrary to popular belief, the first time he'd seen her he hadn't even given her a second thought, dismissing her as another muggle-born who'd managed to scrape their way into Hogwarts, trying desperately to cope with her first ever experience in the wizarding world. But, despite his rather rude attitude towards her the first time he'd met her, he still remembered the moment like it had only happened yesterday. It had been right where he was now, leaning again the barrier between platforms nine and ten at Kings Cross Station. Muggles had been hurrying along the platforms, not even noticing the young wizard with his over-sized trunk, sinking into the solid brick wall…
James leant casually against the barrier, one hand firmly gripping his trolley and the other supporting him against the barrier as he mentally prepared himself for what was about to happen. Just as his left shoulder had begun to sink through the solid brick, a small voice broke his concentration, causing him to wobble indecisively on the spot, trying to work out whether he'd already fallen too far through the barrier to get back out. As he attempted to pull himself back into the muggle world, he had to make a rather embarrassing dance-type movement to escape from the barrier. He came out of it panting and angry at whoever had spoken.
A girl, about his age, with dark red hair, was standing with two people who could only have been her parents. Another, slightly older-looking girl stood with them, aside from the family who were all watching hi avidly, looking confused and on the border of laughing.
"Um, excuse me?" The younger of the girls spoke nervously, but her expression was still bright with her stifled laughter." Is that how you get through to The Hogwarts Express?"
James scowled. This wasn't the first impression that he'd wanted people to have of him. And now, thanks to this girl he was sure people would be teasing him about this for weeks.
"Yeah, of course it's the way in." His tone was condescending, and it made the girl's parents look down in embarrassment as their daughter's expression fell.
Turning his trolley around so that it faced the barrier properly, James took another look back at the family over his shoulder. "Are you a muggle? Is that why you don't know?" He asked, raising his eyebrows mockingly. The girl nodded quickly and averted her gaze self-consciously.
Feeling that his work was done, and that his revenge had been wreaked, James smirked and walked straight through the barrier without one more word to the girl or her family.
The young redhead glanced up at her parents, hurt plain on her face.
"Are you alright Lily? Did the nice boy explain it okay, or should we ask someone else?" The mother was obviously unaware that the little boy with messy black hair and glasses had just been rude to her daughter.
"No, Mum, he explained it okay. I'll just try first though, alright?"
Lily lined up her trolley the same way that James had, and began pushing towards the barrier. Slowing down as the very solid-looking barrier approached, she almost gasped in shocks as she saw her trolley go right through the brick surface.
"I think he was rude to us, Mum." The older girl pointed out, still watching her sister with a bored expression.
"Maybe…" the mother answered unsurely, drifting towards her youngest daughter. Petunia frowned and stayed where she was, rolling her eyes as both her parents and her sister disappeared through the barrier together. It took her a while to get bored, but finally her curiosity got the better of her and she followed them in, trying not to be amazed by the sight that appeared within.
James Potter had already found an empty compartment and a friend by the time he re-emerged from the train to say goodbye his parents. A slightly taller boy with dark brown hair and a smug sort of smile followed him.
"Mum, Dad? This is Sirius Black, he says you knew his parents or something," James quickly introduced, nodding to the boy with him as he arrived at his parents' sides.
"Black?" James' Mother's voice was neutral, as she shot a quick glance at her husband, who laughed dismissively.
"Yes, we used to know them. Tell me, has your mother learnt how to say 'muggle' yet, or is that too cleaner word for your house?" James glared at his father who shrugged back.
Sirius shuffled uncomfortably, but kept his gaze fixed on James' father.
"I stopped talking to my mother when I was 7, I said I wouldn't speak to her again until she treated everyone with the respect that they deserve."
Mr. Potter was taken aback, and stared at the young boy in a new light. There was an awkward silence as both male Potters stared at Sirius with admiration.
"Cool…" James muttered, before turning back to his parents. "Anyway, I'm going now. Bye!" He turned to leave, but his mother grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him into a backwards hug.
"I'll miss you James, make sure you write and tell me everything, I'll be wanting a letter at least every week, okay?" James rolled his eyes and tried to pull away, looking down at the ground as if disgraced by his mother's actions. Finally, once he released from Mrs. Potter's embrace, James turned to his father.
"Goodbye James. Have fun, cause trouble, work hard, and keep the Potter name in the trophy room. If you do all that I'll be happy." James smiled and offered his hand for his father to shake; the man shook it in both of his, then bent down to address his son eye to eye. "And please do write, your mother will fuss and worry if you don't."
James nodded in a business-like way and turned to leave, waving at his parents over his shoulder as Sirius followed him back onto the train.
When they arrived at the compartment that they'd left their bags in earlier, James and Sirius both settled into seats, watching the busy platform outside the window or watching the occasional person rush down the train corridor. It didn't take long for another boy to join them in their compartment; a short, porky boy who'd introduced himself as Peter with a slight lisp. It seemed pity more than anything that had compelled the two previous occupiers of the compartment to allow the third boy to join them, and they were almost relieved when another boy appeared at the door.
The newest boy had a slightly dishevelled look – wearing a baggy shirt and faded jeans – but nonetheless he had some sort of confidence around him, and a hint of pride.
"You need somewhere to sit?" James offered, glancing between the boy at the door and Sirius opposite him. The boy nodded, looking confused – since when did permission need to be granted to sit down?
"Yeah, you can come in, you definitely look at sight better than Peter here, and we let him in." Sirius decided with a smirk, jerking a finger towards Peter dismissively. Remus Lupin nodded, still with a mildly doubtful expression on his face and sat in one of the spare seats next to Sirius. No one said anything as the train began moving and slowly the station beside them disappeared around a corner.
"Finally," Sirius murmured. "Free of them all."
"Who?" Peter asked curiously, seeming anxious to make a good first impression after Sirius' earlier comment.
"My family." His tone seriously questioned Peter's intelligence
James snorted with laughter. "You really hate them that much?"
"Actually, they probably hate me more, but y'know, same difference."
James laughed again and looked out the window beside him. A large, light brown and white owl was gliding just outside the train, looking curiously in on the compartment's inhabitants.
"Jad!" James cried, standing and pulling the window open. The barn owl swooped in and landed gracefully on top of his cage, which was sitting on the floor.
"You have an owl?" Peter asked in awe. James nodded. "Wow…"
Sirius opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, a knock sounded on the door and all four boys turned to face it. A girl with red hair and green eyes stood there nervously, and James immediately recognised her as the girl from the barrier.
"There was an owl outside the window earlier and someone said that it was James Potter's. Do you know where he is, because-" she broke off and looked at the owl siting on the cage at James' feet. "Oh, okay, I guess you found him."
"James or the owl?" Sirius asked innocently.
The girl ignored him. "Do you have a spare seat, everywhere else is full?"
"Maybe," Sirius answered, "what's it to you?" He raised his eyebrows and made to lift his legs to cover the seat beside him.
"Don't be a prat Sirius, why don't you just let her in." Remus suggested, looking up from his book.
Sirius glanced between Remus and James, the latter giving him a slight shrug. Both shifted over in their seats so that the girl could come in, and, shooting a glare at Sirius, she sat down next to James and turned to stare out the window. All the boys watched her with incredulous faces, and Sirius muttered something along the lines of "the nerve of it" before turning back to James.
"How do you manage to get a pet owl? I've never been allowed one."
"Dad said I'd need one for school, it was either on owl or a cat, but cats are girly and harder to look after, so I got Jad."
"What, your parents just bought her for you?" Remus asked, closing his book and frowning slightly.
"Are you kidding? I had to do so much work, I had to 'earn her'." James said, adding air quotes for the last part. "At least according to my Mum." Sirius smirked.
"And how exactly did you 'earn her'?" He mimicked James' air quotes, laughing as the boy opposite him shuddered in response.
"All this stuff. I had to baby sit my cousins, and clean the house and stuff. Without magic." He added the last part for emphasis.
"But you used magic anyway, right?" Sirius asked, smiling.
"Of course! I wasn't going to mess around with stupid muggle methods forever, was I?" Sirius and James both laughed, and soon the other two joined in, all talking about things that they'd cheated their parents on by using magic.
They barely noticed the door opening again, and a boy already dressed in his Hogwarts robes entering and sitting in the empty seat next to Sirius, opposite the girl. In fact, none of them looked up until James heard the boy whisper the word 'Slytherin' to the girl with a smile.
"Slytherin?" James asked, contempt in every syllable. "Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" he turned to Sirius, who frowned slightly at the question.
"My whole family have been in Slytherin," he said dully.
"Blimey," said James, looking surprised, "and I thought you seemed alright!" James held back his smirk for a moment, but couldn't stop it coming onto his face. Sirius grinned in response.
"Maybe I'll break the tradition," he said with a shrug. " Where are you heading – if you've got a choice?" James stopped smirking and pretended to draw a sword from his belt, swinging the imaginary object around the compartment.
"'Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!' Like my Dad."
The boy opposite the redhead girl let out a short laugh.
James turned to face him. "Got a problem with that?" he challenged, Sirius smirking down at the boy as well.
"No," said the boy lightly, sneering to make sure that they knew he thought otherwise. "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy-"
"Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" Sirius interrupted, raising his eyebrows in mock-curiosity. James doubled over with laughter, as did Peter next to him. Remus just smiled silently and went back to his book. The girl stood up, looking flushed and angry, and looked at James and Sirius with obvious dislike. The two boys barely noticed.
"Come on Severus, let's find another compartment." She muttered, beginning to lead the way back into the hallway.
"Oooooo!" James and Sirius had both looked up at the name 'Severus' and imitated her lofty voice, breaking off to laugh some more once he'd squeezed past them and outside the compartment door. Waiting until their laughter had subsided, Sirius then took the chance to yell, "See ya, Snivellus!" and slam the compartment door behind him, blocking out more laughter from the two people leaving.
6 Years Later...
James couldn't help smiling as he entered Kings Cross station, pushing his trolley with Sirius at his side, pushing another. The same owl cage was still balanced on top of his trunk, with the same owl inside. The same messy black hair stuck up on his head, and the same round glasses were perched on his nose. This time, as he wandered through the station, a few people greeted him and followed him and Sirius towards platforms nine and ten, walking a respectful distance behind the pair as they chatted among to each other.
Pausing briefly to scan the area as he prepared to enter Platform 93/4, James' eyes fell on a head of dark red hair, just coming onto the platform.
"Hey, Padfoot?" he said, nudging Sirius in the side and inclining his head towards Lily Evans' approach. "Go through now, I'll meet you on the other side in a little while." Sirius raised his eyebrows.
"Do you really think she'll go for you after all this time of rejection?" he sniggered, smirking at his friend.
"I'm not going to ask her out."
"Then what are you doing?" Sirius sounded suspicious.
"She looks upset," James shrugged, and with no further explanation, he started towards the distant girl, leaving Sirius and the small crowd who'd been following them to move his trolley.
Lily kept her head down and her eyes fixed on the ground immediately in front of her. To say the least, her holidays hadn't been very good. To say the most, her sister had run away from home with her good for nothing boyfriend, and her parents had gone chasing after her. Lily had quickly discovered that having the house to herself wasn't as fun as it was put out to be. Having her birthday alone, as well as not being able to share the moment of excitement when she'd received her Head Girl badge, had definitely not added any sort of improvement to the already dreary holidays. Especially when the only bright point of the season was when the occasional letter arrived, usually bringing news from her parents about Petunia's supposed location, but really holding no shreds of hope or comfort.
"Lily!" A sharp and painfully familiar voice cut through her thoughts, and she looked up to be met by a pair of nice-ish hazel eyes. Although, when referring to James Potter, nice-ish was definitely the highest compliment possible. "Lily? Evans? Hey-" She stopped walking when she felt a hand, and was quick to slap it off. James relinquished his hold on her, but still stood in front of her trolley, blocking her way to the barrier.
"Stop it, Potter, I'm really not in the mood for you right now," she grumbled, looking back down at her trolley and giving it an extra hard shove against what she guessed was his foot. Her reward came when he winced and his grip on her trolley weakened, giving her a moment of freedom to start towards the barrier again.
"Wait a minute, Evans. I'm not here to annoy you." Lily laughed, and muttered something that sounded awfully like, "as if."
"Seriously Evans, I'm not. I won't even ask you out," he continued, following a few steps behind her. "Or at least only once," he added as an afterthought. She stopped and turned around to glare at him.
"Potter," she began, her tone angry. "I really don't want to talk to you right now. In fact, I really don't want to talk to anyone."
James took a step closer to her, his expression worried.
"I went home at the end of last year, expecting my family to greet me and to already be organising my coming of age party. Instead, I find my Mum and Dad completely hectic and my sister gone. There was a note from her saying that she couldn't bare to put up with me anymore." James extended his hand in a motion of comfort, but thought better and drew it back abruptly.
"I'm not going to ask if you're okay, because obviously you're not." Lily opened mouth to cut him off, but he raised his hand to silence her. "I am, however, going to ask if I can do anything, anything at all, besides leave, to make you feel better." She was silent; the remainders of a few angry tears still sliding down her cheeks.
"Why are you being so nice to me? I thought you didn't ca-" she cut herself off, that was the wrong phrasing.
"You thought I didn't care?" he finished for her, his eyebrows raised. "So my actions for the last six years have been completely ignored or forgotten, have they?"
"As good as, I think I forgot a lot of what I used to have over the summer…"
James frowned as she trailed off, looking forlorn.
All summer, Lily had somehow managed to make herself think that she was alone. Now, being here – with people like her all around – she knew that she'd been wrong. She wasn't a freak, despite what her sister said. She was smart and popular. She had lots of great friends. And, not that anyone knew, she had him. She had James Potter. No one else had James Potter wrapped around their finger like she did. Despite everything, it did sort of help.
Maybe that was what she liked about him, he wasn't easy to forget. He made himself noticed and the centre of attention, which wasn't always easy to do. He'd even sent her an owl or two over the holidays, all full of small talk, flirtation and flattery of course, but it was the thought that counted.
"Thank you." She said suddenly, looking up at him fully and smiling a little.
"Why?" He looked confused but happy – mostly confused.
"For sending me those letters."
He laughed sheepishly.
"You read them?" he muttered, running his hand through his hair. "Sorry, I just sort of got bored, it feels weird not being able to ask you out whenever I have some spare time." She laughed lightly and began pushing her trolley again; noticing as she did that he didn't try to stop her.
"It feels weird not being asked out by you whenever it's inconvenient.
"Is that your twisted way of saying that you missed me?" he asked, giving her a sideways look. Her smile widened, and became remarkably like one of James' own smirks.
"Maybe," she said, speeding up and disappearing through the barrier ahead of them; James hadn't even realised how far they'd walked. He waited for a moment before following her; if she wasn't going to wait for him on the other side, then he'd just have to keep on waiting for her, just like he always had. Ever since first year when he'd put aside his wildest Hogwarts dreams for a minute, just to tell her how to get through the barrier. Even then he'd waited for her, without realising it himself.
By the time James Potter had entered Platform 93/4, Lily was already inside the Prefects carriage, giving out instructions to the new fifth years'. She was very surprised when he entered the carriage too, already in his robes with a shiny 'Head Boy' badge pinned to his chest. Once she'd finished the briefing, she pulled him aside.
"Since when were you proud of being Head Boy?" she asked, an affronted gleam in her eyes. He shrugged nonchalantly and waved at a tall blonde girl who was standing outside the window.
"Since you started missing me," he shot back, his virtually-always-present smirk sitting comfortably on his features.
And that was when she realised. James Potter did have a different side. That had been what was different about him when he'd come to talk to her earlier. He hadn't been smirking.
"It was a metaphor, Potter. I didn't mean I was actually missing you." She said, smiling in spite of herself.
"You'll realise you love me someday Evans. Don't you worry."
"You said you wouldn't-"
"I said I'd only ask you out once, and that barely counts anyway," he interrupted, still smirking. "Besides, somewhere deep inside, you know I'm right. And I'm perfectly happy to wait until then."
He turned and walked out of the carriage, immediately being surrounded by a crowd of admirers.
Lily sighed and rolled her eyes; she may have missed him a little, but only a little. Still, she couldn't help watching the back of his head as he was pushed and shoved his way along the platform, and was rewarded when he looked back at her and gave her one last famous Potter smirk. Maybe he really was willing to wait for her to realise, and maybe she was waiting for him to realise too.
Wow, that flashback was REALLY long! I don't think it's healthy for someone to reminisce for that long.
Thanks to those people who reviewed 'I Love You And I Hate You For It'. Criticism is welcome for this, and don't bother being contructive cos I'm so thick that I won't get it unless it's blunt!
A/N: I've updated this as of 2/11/08, so all spelling mistakes and continuity issues are solved! Thanks to those who have reviewed before now. I never really realised how tough I was on myself until I read some of my old A/Ns, so I toned this one down a bit after the self-bashing that it orginally had.