Disclaimer: I own nothing

Just a short little one shot.

I still remember the first day that I saw her.

She was radiant. I was mesmerised by the way sun bounced off her red hair, making it seem like her whole head had caught fire. The skin around her green eyes crinkled as she smiled at something her companion had said. Her smile was so filled with warmth that for a fleeting moment it enveloped me in its glow.

I'm not saying that I believe in love at first sight – I don't. I believe in rules and logic. But from the very moment I saw her, I felt as if her being had infiltrated my very core. From that moment of, I could never forget about her.

That was also the day that I met the three people who would become my very best friends – James, Sirius and Peter. Initially I was very wary of James and Sirius. In fact I think that they were also a little wary of each other to begin with too. Sirius was wealthy and he had the attitude and swagger to go with that. James had a swagger too, the kind of swagger that an eleven year old who is intent on changing the world has. Within a day of the Sorting and sizing each other up, they were best friends. Peter was the kind of boy who you could walk past ten time and never notice. He always just seemed to be there, and there he remained.

At the age of eleven, I had met the people who would be my best friends for the rest of my life and the love of my life. We went through our first four years at Hogwarts without too much commotion - discounting, of course, that my best friends became Anamagi to keep me company every month! Lily became my academic rival.

She was brilliant.

No matter how much teachers pushed, she always managed to excel. Because of my monthly 'vacations', I often had to pull all-nighters just to keep up with her.

"You're still on that one?" she chuckled over my shoulder one evening on her way to bed. "I had that translated before dinner."

"We can't all be fluent in Ancient Runes like you," I grumbled. There was one passage in particular that was really grating on my nerves.

"Is that you finally admitting that I'm better than you?"

"Not for all the Galleons in Gringotts. And if you hadn't distracted me, I would be done by now" I muttered, pouring through the dictionary.

Her laugh sent shivers down my spine and I fought the urge to watch her retreating back.

"Wow" I heard an awe breath from beside me. "What I wouldn't do…"

"So out of your league, Prongs" Sirius sighed. "You should stick to the Hufflepuffs. They're more your type."

"Have you not seen her watching me on the Quidditch pitch?" James added, suavely.

"Ha!" came the bark of a reply. "She's not into that, mate. She's more book-y. Much more Mooney's type."

For a moment I allowed myself to imagine just that. What if I, five years later, managed to tell her that she was the most beautiful woman I ever laid my eyes on? What would she say? She would admit to feeling the same about me and we would get married and live happily ever after.

As if.

Lily, the perfect beautiful intelligent Lily, deserved a perfect life. She deserved the house in suburbia with the two children and manicured lawns. The last thing Lily would want was me. Beauty and the Beast was a fairytale. That's not how things happen in real life.

We finished school.

Before I knew it, I was watching the most beautiful woman in the world coming toward me – radiance emulating from her every movement. The white lace dress clung to her figure and, although she was wearing a veil I knew that she was beaming. This was the happiest day of her life.

She was the blushing bride and I had the honour of being groomsman to her beaming groom.

Looking at her, in that moment, in knew that the beast will never get the beauty.

Thanks for Reading

xxx