A/N: Hey one an' all! Miss me! I am back with a bang with a new one shot (Yes one shots seem to be my favorite). Anyways, this one is from, yes a change, James POV. It describes his outlook on his family, teachers, peers, and the one and only Lily Evans. It starts off a little humorous but becomes a bit serious and very, VERY fluffy. Check it out!
Sorry about all the dashes. The site wouldn't let me double space my paragraphs so I putdashes to show the spaces. And everything that is not in quotations is James' thoughts. Things in quotations are conversations.
Oh, yeah… URGENT AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE END!
Disclaimer: Three words. Four syllables. Eleven letters. I OWN NOTHING. Plain and simple.
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My name is James Potter.
And no, I am not everyone's favorite person, contrary to belief.
I am a Marauder. You must have heard of them, right? It is kind of hard not to have (Yes, I know. Cockiness in abundance.) Well, us Marauders have gotten a reputation for being daring, hilarious, outgoing, etc. etc. etc. And it is a scientific proven fact (It's true. I read it in Witches: A How To Guide) that people love daring, hilarious, and outgoing people. Therefore, we Marauders have automatically become Hogwarts' favorites. And since I am considered to be the ringleader of our group (don't tell Sirius, he would hex me until I am 21), I am Hogwarts' Golden Boy, The Favorite.
Yeah, right.
I could name 5 reasons off the top of my head that prove I am not the favorite.
In fact, I think I will.
Merlin knows I have nothing better to do anyways.
I am not my parents' favorite person.
Okay, right then and there that should tell you something. If I am not my parents' favorite, then how on earth can I be the world's favorite? My parents saw me first, they get first pick.
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I have an older sister, Clarissa who is 19. Rissa, being the only girl in the family, is completely doted on. And trust me, she milks it for all it is worth. Hey, don't get me wrong. Rissa is awesome. I love her. She even tried to teach me how to whine so I can get whatever I want. When we both use this technique, it is just my bad luck that Rissa can get whatever she wants and all I get a harsh scolding and a "You should know better" from Mom.
It seems that being the only boy in the family doesn't count for anything.
When Rissa finally left home to pursue Auror training, I thought that my days of being a peasant are over; I finally can live life like a king. So, Rissa left the summer after my sixth year. It may have been a tiny bit late but I always believed better late than never. So I had one year of pampering before I am off to the real world. I had to take full advantage of it. But then Sirius moved in and all hell broke loose. At least for me, it did. My parents always thought Sirius was an amazing kid and that he was born into the wrong family so they encouraged him to live with us. I never complained, Sirius is my best mate and living with him is great because I finally had another boy in the house. But then, they started doting on him and ignoring me.
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It was like Rissa was back to haunt me.
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Suddenly, it wasn't King James but King Sirius.
And I went from peasant to a parasite.
"Oh James, Sirius is shivering. Give him your jacket."
"Sirius is going to move in with you, sweetie."
"Sirius needs a glass of water. Can you get him one? Make sure there is a lemon in it."
"James darling, King Sirius is walking down the hallway. Let us all bow down to him and kiss his feet. He has had a very tiring day. He did walk up and down the stairs once."
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That last one was sarcastic if you didn't already figure out.
Sirius this, Sirius that. I tore my hair out on a few occasions…but it grew back the next day.
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I think Rissa taught him things behind my back.
I am not Professor Flitwick's favorite person.
Flitwick is the Charms professor. It is not that I am downright abysmal at Charms; in fact, I did manage to get an E on my Charms OWL. It is because of an incident in first year. First year. And I am currently in seventh year. I mean, how long does this man hold a grudge for? Am I constantly going to be given the cold shoulder from him just because I
Levitated him
Drenched him in honey and melted Cockroach Cluster
Stuck him on a candle from the wick
Paraded around Hogwarts saying "Watch your Professor flit around the castle on a wick?"
Seriously. It was all in good fun.
Although, Flitwick just wasn't meant to be the subject of the prank. It was actually supposed to be Snape. Is it my fault that he accidentally walked in just when the spell was performed?
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However, that last part, as you can probably tell, was not intended for Snape.
No, no, no. Sirius takes full credit and responsibility for that one. I am not that creative.
So technically, it was is not my fault. I was framed. By my best friend. But who would listen to that?
I am not Douglas Burlingame's favorite person.
Douglas Burlingame is a 7th year Ravenclaw who is constantly hanging around the library. I mean, literally, he is always there. Once, I went to the library at two in the bloody morning because I forgot my Transfiguration essay. And when I was there, I saw him.
Sleeping.
On the ground.
And it wasn't even a I-was-studying-so-I-just-fell-asleep kind of sleeping. It was a definite I-love-the-library-so-I-brought-my-bloody-sleeping-bag-and-my-bloody-pillow kind of sleeping.
I think Library is a class or something for him. It has to be. No one in their right mind (or even wrong mind for that matter) would spend so much time in the library.
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I think there are two reasons as to why he hates me. One would probably be that conversation we had in 4th year.
Sirius, Remus, my second best mate, Peter, my third best mate, and I were sitting in the library and going over spells for the Marauder's Map (which, by the way, is a smashing map we made). I think I just said how the Confundus Charm would be a good thing to put on the map so if anyone, other than us, saw it, they would be out cold. Peter, being the logical one of the group, was telling us about the possible consequences when Burlingame came waltzing up to us with a very smug smile on his face.
"Mates…" he started.
"Since when were we mates?" Remus interjected, with a bit of a bemused look on his face.
"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation…" he continued as if he didn't hear anything.
"Well then, I believe you need some help." I replied.
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Needless to say, Burlingame never seemed to want to talk to me again. I, of course, didn't mean it the way he took it but hey, some things happen for the best. I never liked him anyway. But I didn't think that that was enough reason for him to hate me.
Then, the second reason kicked into gear.
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Lily Evans.
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Yes, ladies and gentlemen. The one and only. I won't say a lot, seeing as to how you will see a lot of her later on. Suffice it to say, Douglas and I have been battling over the girl for a few years.
Since Lily and I are both in Gryffindor, she at least knows who I am. Douglas, on the other hand, isn't in Gryffindor and there is the fact that he hardly leaves the library. Therefore, Lily doesn't even know Douglas exists.
Eh, that's life.
This is one of the few times where my good luck actually takes a stand.
I am not the Slytherins' favorite person.
This example should basically speak for itself. For a reason that I still have to figure out, Slytherins and Gryffindors have never gotten along. I think that that hate has decreased to target specifically me in the past years.
However, one Slytherin in particular has it out for me. The name? Severus Snape, or fondly called by us Marauders, Snivellus. There are more Slytherins that hate me, though. There's Malfoy, Nott, Avery, all the Blacks (excluding Sirius, except when I push him out of bed), the list goes on. But Snape is the main culprit here.
Actually, I never did anything to him in the first place. I mean, we saw each other at our parents' parties when we were younger, but we didn't do anything. I guess Hogwarts brought out the evil in him. In fact, he was the one who pulled the first prank on me.
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He pushed me into the lake, Giant Squid and all. I didn't even do anything to him.
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You didn't expect me to take that, did you? I retaliated and he just left me alone.
But I didn't.
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I kept pranking him over and over again. But I pranked for a reason. He kept insulting people by calling them mu-mud-you-know-whats.
I mean, who would sink that low? He thinks that Muggleborns are pointless. There are some Muggleborns (like a certain Lily Evans) that are better at Dark Arts than all Slytherins combined.
But, I guess the fact that I am even daring to oppose them makes them hate me.
Oh, well. Not everyone in the world has to like you. It is unhealthy.
I am not Lily Evans' favorite person.
Ah, Lily Evans. What to say about her? I could probably just go on and on about how beautiful and caring and sweet and intelligent and perfect she is, but you probably don't care.
Never mind. I'll just tell you anyway.
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Lily is a Muggleborn so she didn't know anything about Hogwarts when she came on the Hogwarts Express for the first time. So, being the wonderful gentleman that I am, I told her. I told her all about the different houses and teachers and classes. But I accidentally took it a little far and told her you had to have green hair in order to be Sorted. So when she went to be sorted, green hair and all, of course people laughed at her. She hated me from then on.
But I never hated her.
From the moment I saw her, I knew there was something different about her. Something that I just couldn't describe. I think that was when I developed a crush on her. Of course, since I was eleven, I never admitted to anyone. All I knew was that I wanted to get to know her and find out what that particular enigma about her was.
So for a few weeks into first year, I observed (not stalked, mind you. Remus thinks I am a stalker) her and her habits. It was the night before Halloween when I found out. It was around eight or nine o' clock at night and Lily and her friends were just sitting in the common room.
That was when I figured it out.
She was telling her friends exactly what she wanted to make of herself here at Hogwarts. And when I saw her talking, I saw that enigma. Lily had this…this passion for learning. I could see how passionate she was from the way her eyes sparkled when she spoke, the way her smile lit up the whole room, the way she animatedly moved her hands when she talked, the way her voice became musical and quivered with excitement.
I was transfixed. And from then on, I vowed that I would make that passion show through her everyday.
So, that was when the pranking began. I pranked her daily, just so I could see her reaction. Every single time, she would come over to scold me but she scolded me with that passion I so desperately loved. The pranking brought out that zealous side of her that she hardly showed anyone and I wanted to be the one to bring it out of her.
I wanted to bring out the real Lily Evans that no one ever saw.
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That is Lily Evans in a nutshell. Nothing really left to say. I thought that I had figured her out completely.
Then 5th year came along. It was completely unplanned and I had no clue what to make of it.
Basically, 5th year ruined everything.
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It was after OWLS. I was doing my daily prank routine, this time on Snape. Lily came over and made me stop, by putting a hand over mine. I looked at her and saw that passion in her eyes. I smiled inwardly to myself. I was done with my prank for the day and it was a success. I started to turn around when I heard Snape call Lily a mudblood.
If you remember Reason #4, then you would understand my actions.
I started to curse him for that when Lily turned around, eyes flashing extremely dangerously. And that was when I realized that the passion she was feeling was completely different from the passion I wanted her to feel.
But what she said next really sealed the deal. It even had a stamp put on it and was shipped off to Timbuktu.
"I don't want you to make him apologize. You're as bad as he is…hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can—I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK."
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I wandered around the castle for a while before I headed up to the dormitories. I didn't think that what I was doing was so bad, was it? All I wanted was to see that passion from her. I didn't know she passionately hated me. Didn't she realize I did that all for her?
But the one thing that I didn't understand was why what she said was making my stomach twist with guilt.
And it was then I realized. I was in love with Lily Evans.
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I stopped pranking. I sent Lily one happy birthday card, as opposed to my weekly letters, and that was it. I didn't even make fun of people. I changed my whole demeanor. When I entered 6th year, everyone stared at me. They couldn't understand the change. And although the guys were extremely worried about me, they didn't ask questions for a while and supported me. Sirius, being the best mate that he is, threatened to hex anyone who even came three feet away from me and Remus, being the sarcastic one, told people to bugger off in about four different languages, ten different hand gestures, and fifty different sarcastic remarks and tones. He was always the one who made me laugh. Peter began taking the map with him and tried to find alternate routes to classes. It was crazy. It shouldn't have to be that crazy. I am not a famous movie star that decided to become a nun or the Minister of Magic that decided to become a muggle. What's wrong with a little change?
But the rest of the world apparently thought it was weird and they tried to mob me for information.
Sometimes, I hate my life. I feel like a damn celebrity.
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One day during the Christmas holidays, Lily came over and asked to talk to me. I said okay and left the Great Hall with her, the guys staring at my back the whole way.
We walked towards the Gryffindor common room and I was just about to say the password when Lily put a hand on my arm and turned me around to look at her. I, still feeling awkward every time I am around her, looked everywhere except at her eyes.
"James, look at me."
Damn, this girl is good. Slowly, I lifted my eyes and looked at her.
"I wanted to say that I was sorry."
Huh? I hardly talked to the girl since OWLS. What did she do that I completely missed?
Since I didn't say anything, she continued on.
"I didn't mean what I said after the OWLS. It's just that you were pranking him. I mean, if there was some reason, I guess I could understand but you yourself said that there wasn't any reason. I just got mad at you for that and whatever I said, it just slipped out. I didn't mean it. I'm sorry." She finished with a slightly hopeful look on her face.
I just nodded, confused as to why she was apologizing for the OWL incident a year later, and was about to walk away when she started to ask me a question.
"Wait!"
I stopped, my body turned away from hers.
"What happened, James? What happened to you? What is this change you put yourself through? Because let me tell you, it isn't worth it. Everyone misses the old James, the carefree James. And…to tell you the truth, so do I."
At this, I turned my head so fast, my neck cracked.
Ignoring this, I asked "Really? You missed me? I always thought you would be the last person to miss me."
"What? Why would you think that?"
I took a deep breath and looked around for the nearest door. After all, if I was going to tell her the truth, I would need to be able to run out of the nearest door and fast.
"Lily, the reason I was pranking was because of you."
At this note, her eyes widened and stared at me. But she didn't say anything. She just nodded her head to tell me to continue.
"Every time you came over to tell me off for a prank, there was this passion that arose in you. This passion lit up your face and gave you courage to pursue whatever it is you wanted. Even though, it usually ended up in either a yelling or, if I got lucky, a slap. This passion was what enamored me and…I wanted to keep seeing it. In order for me to see that passion, I kept pranking in hopes you would come over to me."
At this, she bit her bottom lip as a slight blush crept up her neck.
I smiled slightly at this action.
"Then in 5th year, when you…er…told me off about Snape, I got to thinking. It was then I realized that I really lo-liked you." I said, while covering up my mistake. She didn't need to know about that right now.
Lily blushed even harder but didn't look away from my eyes
Man, this girl's got so much more courage than me. I'm practically wetting my pants from sheer nervousness and possible humiliation but she still is able to stare me down.
"So, at the start of this year, I changed. I had pranked because I thought it was good for you, you know? I wanted to bring out that fiery enthusiasm in you. But when you said that thing after OWLS, I realized that pranking wasn't doing what I thought it was so I just stopped and that…that's what happened to me." I finished lamely.
God, I need speech classes. That was probably the worst speech I ever said in my entire sixteen years of existence.
And then, to top it all off, there was this terribly awkward silence, where I just kept rubbing the back of my neck and she continued staring at me.
She was probably contemplating what an incredibly idiotic person I am.
"James, that was probably the sweetest thing that anyone's ever done for me in my entire life and that includes when my parents took me to Paris for my 5th birthday."
I know, I got the message. You really hate…what?
"What?"
"I'm serious. I didn't know that all those years of pranking were for me." She said as she glanced down towards her shoes.
"Well, they were." I replied.
Well, they were? What kind of man am I? Actually, forget that. What kind of line was that? I thought that the Marauders were considered a ladies' man.
She looked up at me with a slight smile.
"I mean, if you had any doubt, of course." I finished hastily.
Not the world's best save, but it'll have to do.
She just let out a small, quiet laugh and shook her head.
Then, all of a sudden, Lily came closer and closer to me, so close that our noses were touching.
I swallowed and rubbed my palms on the back of my sweater.
She started to lick her lips over and over again and I, being the ever so suave one, started breathing very hard.
She leaned forward and kissed me on the side of my mouth. It was for about a few seconds but it was probably the best kiss of my life. Even beats the kiss I had with Candace Brookes.
She moved away and my eyes slowly opened.
"Thanks, James. For all that you have ever done for me." She said as she started to walk away from me.
I closed my eyes again and took in a deep breath.
O God, don't let me blow the only chance I may ever get in life.
"Lily, wait!"
She stopped walking and turned around.
"So, Hogsmeade is coming up."
"No, it isn't, James." She said as she walked towards me.
"Well, I could make it come up."
She laughed, a real, melodic laugh that rung around the corridors. As she laughed, she stopped walking and ended up right in front of me.
"Alright, then."
"Tomorrow at four?"
She nodded.
"I'll meet you right here." She said.
And with that, she kissed me on the cheek and walked away.
I waited until she went around the corner until I dropped my bag and yelled happily.
Oh yeah. You have to admit, that whole asking-her-out bit was pretty debonair.
I swung around and punched the air. I had a grin so large on my face, it looked like it was going to swallow me up.
Maybe, just maybe, I was Lily Evans' favorite person after all.
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Oh, and by the way, you can scratch that last reason.
Fin
A/N: So, what did you think? I like this one better than the other ones I wrote, mostly because I love to read and write James POV. He is probably my favorite character. Anyways, it is up to you readers to decide the rest of the story. I could leave it as a one shot with just James POV, make it into a two shot and add Lily's POV, or make it into a three chapter ficlet with James, Lily, and Sirius POV.
Review and tell me what to do!