Hi, everyone! I'm back with the second installment of the Seven Deadly Sins series: Greed.

Before we begin, let's explore the concept. Greed doesn't just mean eating too much at dinner, stuffing your face with sweets or hoarding money. Greed, or avarice, is the "inordinate desire to possess wealth, goods, or objects of abstract value with the intention to keep it for one's self, far beyond the dictates of basic survival and comfort" (thank you, Wikipedia). So any obsession with the possession of something-anything, really-can be categorized as greed if it exists in sufficient amounts. In the spirit of this definition, we shall now embark on a journey with three characters who I believe fulfill these requirements. Keep in mind that there are certainly other characters that exemplify greed at different points in the series, but these three made for especially good stories.

Illustrating my first interpretation of greed is none other than the original James Potter. Enjoy!

Only the Best

The library was filled with students' whispers, like the buzzing of moths on a summer night. "Why are we here?" groaned Sirius, looking around in disbelief. "We could be nicking pies from the kitchens, or jinxing Bertram Aubrey's head to expand, or…Prongs?"

James Potter looked up from the Transfiguration essay he claimed to be working on, but had not even touched in nearly twenty minutes. He, too, could think of much better places to pass the time than the library. Peter, too, looked bored; indeed, only Remus looked at home, poring over a dusty old book with great interest James was sure was genuine.

A surreptitious glance across the room made James' decision for him. "You lot go on," he said, hoping he sounded convincing. "I'll catch you up by the kitchens in ten minutes…just want to finish this essay for McGonagall…"

Looking supremely unconvinced but nonetheless grateful for a reprieve from the stuffy library, Sirius gave James a mock salute, turned on his heel and bounded out of the library in almost indecent haste, like a prisoner recently set free, with Peter at his heels and Remus—nose still buried in his book—following almost reluctantly.

James bowed his head over his essay again but almost immediately raised his eyes to the pair sitting two tables away. Snape and Evans, their heads close together as they whispered back and forth. Lily smiled; apparently, something Snape had said had amused her.

James scowled. Lily Evans was pretty, she was popular, she was vivacious…in short, she was the sort of girl who should be sitting with James, laughing at his jokes.

"Humph," scoffed James, dismissing her poor judgment. He almost felt sorry for Evans. He scorned the idea of being jealous of Snape; it was positively beneath him. Jealousy implied that he was an equal, a real rival…and that, really, was just ridiculous.

But James was accustomed to having the best. His parents had always told him how special he was, how he deserved the very best of everything. Why would they say it if it wasn't true? He'd never had cause to disbelieve them before.

Lily Evans was the very best. As such, James Potter was determined to win her.

A giggle jolted James out of his reverie. Lily was laughing again, stifling her giggles behind her hand as Madam Pince shushed her ill-naturedly.

"Sorry, Madam Pince," whispered Lily, her barely-concealed grin somewhat undermining her penitent tone. Snape busied himself with writing in what appeared to be his Potions book, for some unknown reason; James suspected it was to keep him from laughing at the librarian's indignation at the mere idea of a student daring to laugh in her library.

James felt strange. It was a feeling he'd never experienced properly before. For the first time in his life, he wanted something that he could not have.

Lily looked up; her startling green eyes met James' hazel ones. "What d'you want, Potter?" she asked in as loud a voice as she dared. Her gaze was untrusting, almost accusatory, yet it wasn't nearly as cold as the glare Snape was fixing him with from beside her, so perhaps there was hope…

"Hey, Evans," he called back softly, figuring he might as well have a go. "Want to go out with me?"

Lily looked mildly revolted; Snape, positively alarmed. "No," replied Lily in a tone usually reserved for the very dim, as though the answer was blatantly obvious.

James, however, was unruffled. He'd never failed to get what he wanted in the past, be it a red balloon or that state-of-the-art racing broom, and, by Merlin, he wasn't going to fail this time. He laid down his quill and leaned in closer.

"Aw, come on, you know you'll enjoy it…"

Arranging her lovely features into an expression of utter disgust, Lily scooped up her books and swept past James out of the library. Snape gave James one last look of contempt before grabbing his textbook—even from a distance, James could see he'd completely filled the margins with some useless nonsense or other—and followed Lily out the door.

James sighed in frustration. This was but a minor setback, that's all. He didn't discourage easily; he dwelled on Lily like a starving man dwells on food. His longing for her wasn't just infatuation or lust; it was a hunger, a real need that had to be filled. Sooner or later, Lily would come to her senses and realize that they were meant to be. After all, he was James Potter—didn't Lily Evans, the gem of Gryffindor, also deserve the best?

Your thoughts? I hope you enjoyed it. I'm hoping I can update soon, but between work, grad school and wedding planning, time is scarce.

Reviewing is always appreciated!

Yours,

Delilah