Title: Rose Petals and Lilies
Character(s): Lily E/P & James P
Summary: At the end of the evening Lily learnt that James had placed a rose in his pocket, taking off a single petal for Lily – after all, they had agreed on no flowers – so he was just giving Lily petals.
Notes: Hi guys, Mint here – I hope you like this, I think that if you want to add to the atmosphere then you could listen to 'Begin Again' by 'Taylor Swift' because it was basically written off of that song! Reviews are appreciated, and take care!
Lily looked at herself in the mirror, taking in her appearance around a deep breath. Ever since her break up with Amos Diggory, a hufflepuff who wasn't nearly as nice as most of the people in the caring house, she hadn't had any self confidence in herself.
She looked down at the dress she was wearing – how long had it been since she had worn a dress and high heels? Amos had always told her that he didn't like her wearing dresses or high heels, and he had always told her that if she wore them then she would have to deal with the consequences.
But she liked wearing dresses, she liked wearing high heels. It was probably one of the things that she had missed when she was with dating Amos. Being able to dress up and go out – she liked feeling as if she was free.
She glanced down at the clock, it was almost five O'clock, she wasn't meeting her date until seven, and so she placed her earphones in her ears.
Amos had never liked Muggle music, and he had expressed his feelings, but it was only because he didn't understand the meaning behind the song. But Lily loved her music, and she loved the way it made her want to dance.
She realised that Amos didn't really like her personality much when they were dating...
Lily walked into the Lilac Bran's cafe, expecting her date, James Potter, to be late – after all Amos was always late to their dates when they had been together, and he had been her only boyfriend before in her life.
However James was standing, wearing smart yet casual clothing, waiting for Lily with a smile. When he noticed her enter the cafe he waved, smiling at Lily as he walked over to her.
His smile however wasn't arrogant like most smiles he gave out at Hogwarts, but instead, it was shy and caused Lily to smile back in response.
To be honest, the only reason she had agreed to go out with James in the first place was out of spite of Severus and Amos. She knew it was unfair on James, but she was just so angry...
"Hi Lily," James spoke when he stopped in front of her, "I'm glad you came, I was starting to get a bit paranoid that you weren't going to show, but I got here early so..."
Lily blinked, unsure how to respond, before James smiled again, telling her that their table was ready and that they could go sit down if she wanted to.
Lily felt so free – something she had never gotten with Amos, due to the fact that he always wanted to tell her what to do. Instead Lily got a choice.
When they got to their table, James pulled Lily's chair out, and once she had sat in it, he pushed her in, as if he was a gentleman from a romance movie.
Lily didn't know if he knew how sweet it was, but she knew that James Potter was trying to make everything perfect for her.
Before they ordered their meal, before James even called the waiter over, he took something out of his pocket,
"I've got something for you Lily,"
Lily felt herself blush, as she replied calmly,
"James, I thought we agreed on nothing special – no gifts, no flowers or anything."
James didn't look guilty in the slightest, as his hazel eyes glistened in the lighting of the cafe behind his glasses, but he spoke again as if she had said nothing,
"Open your hand,"
Lily did, whether it was out of choice, or whether she was scared that James might react the same way Amos did when she didn't do as he asked though, she was not sure.
James placed a single rose petal in Lily's hand, causing Lily to look up at him with a quizzical look. James ignored the look Lily sent him, and before she knew it, the two of them had engaged themselves in a conversation about their lives. The only interruption to the conversation they had was when James would pass Lily another rose petal every half an hour or so.
At the end of the evening Lily learnt that James had placed a rose in his pocket, taking off a single petal for Lily – after all, they had agreed on no flowers – so he was just giving Lily petals.
Lily felt her heart flutter at the romantic gesture.
After their meal, James and Lily started to walk back up to Hogwarts – something that Lily was not used to doing, after all Amos used to show up late and after their date, would leave Lily to get drunk – talking about their friends.
At some point, when Lily was recalling something about her and Marlene during summer break, James threw his head back, laughing like a little kid. But it wasn't an irritating or mocking laugh, it was genuine and made Lily join in with him.
It was strange, but Lily could make James laugh easily – she found it confusing that James found her funny, because Amos hadn't found her funny at all.
But here she was, walking back from Hogsmeade smiling and laughing with James Potter. She found it that he could relate to her all too well, with his mature and immature characteristics.
James told her that he had never met someone who had as many 'The Beatles' singles as him, before Lily, something she had brightened at – because now she knew that her music taste's weren't weird, they were perfectly normal.
They talked more about themselves, and because it was only a few weeks away from Christmas they started talking about their family traditions, and Lily listened as James spoke about how his mother would bake a Christmas treacle, and his father would set off fireworks before the three of them would watch a movie on the muggle T.V. in their spare room.
Lily and James both exchanged stories of their childhood, though Lily remained slightly shy during the date. James however, didn't mention how he didn't know why she was acting slightly distant.
When they reached the Gryffindor Tower, the two stayed up, just talking by the fire, until it reached the early hours of the morning. Lily didn't notice, but she fell asleep on the couch, to the sound of James' voice telling her good night.
She awoke in her own bed, underneath her covers, with a note on her bedside table from James, which read,
Sleep well Lily,
James Xx
And next to the note, was a single Lily – with rose petals around it. Lily wasn't sure how it happened, but she felt a tang of love for James.
She couldn't believe how for the last few months she had believed that all love was, was breaking apart, and crying –
It was so much more than that. Love was romance, love was waking up thinking of him – Love was being with James Potter.