From No to Yes
Lily shivered.
It was only October, just a month into the Hogwarts school year, but already, the winter chill was beginning to settle in. She wished the stormy wind would die down just a little bit. Her long, red hair was blown this way and that, tangled around her face in unfortunate knots.
She didn't want to walk past Potter looking like that.
Not, of course, that she cared what Potter thought of her. But Potter was always with his friends, and they—well, Sirius—loved to make fun of her.
Actually, ever since The Incident a year ago, Potter had been weirdly nice to her. He waited for her between classes, invited her to eat lunch with them, and gave her compliments almost daily. It was obvious he was sucking up to her, but for what reason?
Maybe he was the sort of boy that was determined to get the girl and then dump her after the first date. After all, he did keep asking her to go out with him, for whatever reason.
Yes, there they were: Potter, Sirius, Remus, and Peter, laughing and shouting like they owned the place, standing right next to the door.
The moment she neared them, Potter made a loud shushing noise, and they all shut up. She deliberately ignored them, staring determinedly at the castle door.
"You look like you've had a little fight with the wind, Evans," called Sirius. "And I think you've lost."
She couldn't resist responding. "Well, it looks like you've had a little fight with—oh, right, you would never fight anyone. Just too afraid of messing up your looks, aren't you, Black?"
"Oh, come on, Evans," said Potter. "He was just kidding."
"The same goes for you, Potter," she said, reaching the door. Potter was standing in front of it, blocking the door.
"Excuse me," she said, hoping that if she was polite, he would just let her by.
"Please, Evans," he said, looking at her with pleading brown eyes. "Come on, just give me a chance. Just one date."
"Let me by, Potter, or I'll hex you," she responded calmly, pulling out her wand.
He backed away. He had been at the receiving end of more than one of Lily's hexes, and he didn't care to repeat the experience.
She swept past him without another word, her red hair dancing in the wind.
"Sorry, dude," said Sirius. From his pocket, he produced a piece of paper. It had clearly been folded and unfolded a great number of times. He made a small mark and glanced up at James. "That's the fifty-third time she's said no, man. Maybe you should just accept it and move on."
"No way," protested James, sitting down on a stone bench. "I'm not going to let her slip through my fingers. She's the one. I know she is. I just have to come up with a way to convince her. And I'm not going to stop trying until I turn that no into a yes."
