I woke up to a flash of light that seemed to surround me, suffocating my morning breath while scorching my emerald eyes. It appeared that my blood red curtains had been opened, which was curious. Less than a second later, Alice Prewet leaped on my red four-poster bed, effectively crushing my thin and freckled legs. Somehow, she had crept out of my bed and was already dressed and ready for breakfast. Oh Merlin, I hate morning people! They really do have to make all us night owls feel rotten, don't they? Speaking of morning people, I heard Jam-Potter in our joint bathroom. He was in the shower, I thought, and appeared to be, dare I say it, singing! Shudder…
"Alice, hurry and leave before Potter finds you!" I hissed, and she smiled a bit at me, it looked more like a strained grimace if you ask me, and her red eyes blinked hard. Then she scampered off my bed and down to the head's common room. No one was allowed in head's quarters except the heads, J-Potter and me, but Frank Longbottom just got a new girlfriend; so last night was an exception. Poor dear! Tissues were EVERYWHERE!!!! Gross, I thought as I picked them up one by one. I put them in an old Honeydukes bag, waiting for Potter to finish up. Merlin's beard, how long was he going to be in there?!
"Potter, hurry up, I have class too!" I banged on the sleek mahogany door, accidentally knocking it ajar.
"Merlin Evans! Would you knock next time?" I could have listened, but my eyes were glued to his bare and slightly impressive chest. His hair was more messy than normal, but I didn't really think that that was really a bad thing if I was being honest. His hazel eyes were amused as his mouth displayed his famous smirk. When did James get so hot? I wondered. Oh Merlin, I did NOT just think that! There is no way that I am succumbing to the "Potter charm" as he has so graciously put it time after time.
"Err... right Potter, I'll just um go then." I tore my eyes away and whirled around to face my room before my face erupted into flames as red as my wavy hair.
"Nah, it's okay. I was just finished anyways. Don't forget about patrolling later tonight, Evans," he winked and walked away. Wait, walked? Since when has James Potter walked without strutting? I mean, I guess I have to admit that he has been rather good this year, so far at least. When Potter was first made head boy, I had some seriously understandable doubts (come on! It's POTTER), but he has been a really good head, not that I'd ever actually tell him that, he doesn't prank as much, and he hasn't asked me out. The last thought sent a pang through my chest, but I thought nothing of it. I was just tired, yeah, that's it. Shaking myself from my extremely delusional thoughts, I ran to the shower and began to get ready for classes.
Jumping out of the shower, I grabbed a fluffy towel that dwarfed my tiny form, and wrapped around my shivering self. I then pulled on my uniform: white button down shirt, red and gold argyle sweater vest, red and gold tie, red and gold plaid skirt, black knee high socks, black Mary-Janes, and plain black robes. I glanced into my full-length mirror, groaned, and ran out, stuffing books in my bag as I went.
Bursting into the Great Hall, I speed-walked to a seat right next to Alice.
"Good Morning!" Alice sprayed me with eggs, her deep mahogany locks swinging back and forth with annoying-morning-person-happiness.
"Merlin's beard Alice, chew, swallow, and then talk! How many times must I tell you?" I cried, half amused and half furious at my obviously crazy best friend. She started laughing, her hazel eyes full of mirth. I rolled my emerald eyes, turning to face a pretty ash blonde girl whom I had come to know as Marlene. Marlene was tall, smart, a chaser, and almost as much trouble as the Marauders. Next to her was the quiet, bookish Mary, who happened to be Marlene's best friend. She was a short, beautiful girl with sandy blonde hair that fell to her waist.
"Come on Lils, you know Alice is hopeless as much as I do," Marlene laughed sneaking a glance towards the doors.
"Are you looking for someone Marles? Sirius Black by any chance," Mary smirked slyly as Marlene smacked her upside the head, telling her that if she didn't shut her bloody mouth that she wouldn't have any use for one anymore.
"Merlin Marlene! It's not like it isn't true!" Mary cried indignantly, turning her back on the red-faced girl next to her. Marlene put her face in her hands.
"Oi, Marlene! What's wrong?" Sirius black called from across the hall. Marlene's eyes enlarged to the size of her plate as she turned to face him.
"Err… nothing Black. Just a headache," Marlene said harshly through clenched teeth, and the rest of us flinched at her tone. Sirius for once looked surprised and then angry. To Lily's utter amazement, his neck turned as red as her hair.
"You know my name, so use it," he spat dangerously, and marched to join his friends Remus and Peter at the other end of the Gryffindor table. Marlene turned as white as a bleached sheet, and stared after him, her eyes brimmed with unshed tears.
"Marlene, are you umm… are you okay?" Mary whispered.
"Does it look like I'm bloody okay? Fine Mary, you were right, happy?" she hissed, staring at the back of Sirius' head.
"Marlene, come on.." I trailed off as Marlene stormed away, muttering something about teammate, friend, annoying, embarrassing, and a bunch of mumbo jumbo that no one could ever understand. Mary moved to go and follow Marlene out of the hall, but Alice and I grabbed her arms.
"Mary, Marlene needs to calm down. You know better than anyone, even us, how she gets, and nothing you say can help her now. She's been up to her ears in denial for as long as Lily has been," Alice stared at the doors, swinging still with the force of Marlene's pure rage.
"Yeah, I agree with A-HEY! What did you say about me?!" I shrieked at Alice, "What do I have to be in denial about?!" Even as I said this, I had a sinking feeling in my stomach that I already knew what, more like who, Alice was talking about.
"Don't look so innocent Lily Evans! You talk in your sleep you know, and I know for a fact that I heard you say 'James' at least once last night," Alice stared me down. Mary gasped and then began to giggle.
"Hey! Nothing remotely bad happened in my dreams okay, we only kissed, okay?" Unluckily for me, James chose that moment to walk right past out end of the table. His hands formed fists as his knuckles turned a sickly yellowish-white, and his neck turned a shade of red that was highly close to purple. I stared after him, a pitiful expression crossing my face.
"See Lily? I don't get why you don't tell him," Alice shook her head.
"What do you mean?" I whispered, scared of the answer.
"Merlin's pants Lily, are you dense? He just went mad with jealously back there. If that doesn't prove that he cares for you, what will? We know you care for him, even if you don't," Mary hissed across the table.
"You are both insane, but anyways, I need to get to potions, we are finishing our amortentia today, as you should know," I remarked as the other girls groaned in horror. Potions was easily my best subject, but I was working on this project with Potter, so it was more difficult than normal because he may be brilliant at transfiguration, but not at potions.
"I'll go with you," Alice called, running to catch up. We discussed the Frank situation, glad to be alone for once, most people don't leave breakfast as early as we did. Alice has been in love with Frank for as long as I can remember, and he with her, but they never realized that about each and were in heaps of denial. Curse Frank for getting a bloody girlfriend and hurting my best friend.
"Alice, you know he loves you, and it can't last between him and Katie Buchard, alright? She's a skank, and he's too good for her," I said soothingly as we entered the dungeons.
I arrived at potions a lot earlier than I thought I would, and began to set up my and Potter's work station. He arrived right before the bell with Sirius, Peter trailing them, and slid into his seat next to mine.
"Morning Lily," he muttered a tad more darkly than usual, but I made nothing of it.
Just then, Professor Slughorn began to speak, "If you happen to finish your amortentia in the next few days, then you and your partner will need to record what the other smells."
"Why must our partners record?" Narcissa Black drawled.
"Because child, one gets very immersed in the scents of their amortentia, and they may not be the best person to record at the time that they smell because of the feelings those smells are related to," Slughorn replied, smiling at the scowling girl. I rolled my eyes as Narcissa got out a compact; her name really suited her.
As it happened, J-Potter and I finished within a few minutes, and he went first with the smell test. I readied my quill as he wafted our potion.
"I err.. smell broom cleaner, freshly trimmed grass, meatloaf, and some perfume. It kind of smells like lilies of the valley, but with other stuff too," James stated, blushing at the last one, and my heart skipped a beat when I realized that he had just described my perfume. I scribbled it all down, regardless of my blush.
Leaning slightly forward, I wafted the potion towards me. "I um, smell old books, fresh ink, crème brule, grass stains, and a kind of musky scent," I said. Jerking away from the potion, I knew just where the grass stain scent and the musky scent were coming from: James. Oh Merlin, I had finally done it. They were all right; he was right. This was mortifying. Lily Evans, smells James Potter in a love potion? It was obscene, unheard of, insane, but yet it felt strangely right. Damn. I knew very well what this meant. Well, there was no going back now
My day progressed as usual. I went to all my classes, ate lunch, went to more classed, went back to the Head's Common Room to work on that bloody essay that Binn's assigned for us, and headed to the dungeons to meet James for our patrol, and my impending doom. He hadn't left my head all day. I was consumed with worries that were eating my insides. What if he really doesn't love me? What if he's over me? He hasn't asked me out all year. What if he was just in it for the chase? He is a chaser after all. These doubts consumed me as I walked.
Reaching the dungeons, I heard an odd noise from a broom closet on my right. Opening the door, I saw two teenagers making out, ewww. "Alright you two, get back to your common rooms curfew is in a few minutes. I'll have to take a couple points off though.." I trailed off, eyes rivaling the size of Marlene's earlier as I really saw who was in the broom closet, James Potter and the infamous Katie Buchard from Ravenclaw. I saw red. How dare he? How dare she?
"Lily…" James trailed off, looking alarmed.
"I expected better from my fellow Head. I won't take any points off tonight, only Buchard must fill my spot in patrolling tonight. I also expect that Buchard had broken up with Longbottom before you two started snogging," I hissed tersely, whirling around, ready to stalk away when Jam-Potter grabbed my arm. I quickly blinked back tears, and turned to face him.
"He dumped me for some girl named Alice or something, I really don't care," Katie sneered. Alice and Frank were together? Alice will be deliriously happy by now, I thought to myself.
"Lily, why is this such a big deal? You can still patrol with me. Katie, I'm sorry, but please leave," he said in a sickly sweet voice.
"Fine, James, I'll leave. It's over. Evans, you can have him!" Katie sneered and stalked away. James turned back to me, pushing my hair behind my ear. I began to shake, and he pulled me to him so that my face was against his neck, and my tears slid down it.
After a few seconds, I pushed away, my anger restored. "Katie Buchard, James, really? She is the biggest skank that this school has ever seen and you go and snog her in my face?!" I shriek, regardless of my tears.
"What? In your face? It was in a broom closet, not on display. I can do whatever I want. Despite what someone must have told you, you don't control me anymore!" he yelled, matching my volume and tone and then some. So I did the only thing a girl with a broken heart could do, I ran.
Hours later, I lay in my room, soaking my pillow with silent sobs. How could he, and with her? What did he mean by "you don't control me anymore?" Did I ever? Does this mean that he doesn't love me anymore? Was I too late? Does he love Katie now? Maybe he always loved her; maybe this thing with me was his idea of a joke or a show.
A shark knock came at my door, and then Sirius Black storms into my room, his eyes alit with flames of hatred.
"Who the bloody hell do you think you are, Evans? Why do you need to go and stomp on Prongs' heart like that? I bet you don't have a heart, how could you.." he trailed of stunned as I began a whole new set of sobs. What could I have possibly done to Jam-Potter this time? "Hey… it's okay Evans," Sirius murmured, slinking an arm around my trembling shoulders, "What's wrong?"
"Everything!" I choked out, "J-James d-doesn't…" I turned bright red. Here I was, a pathetic little girl who was crying her eyes out and expressing her feelings of love to one of her greatest enemies. Just great, that's bloody fantastic.
"What, he doesn't what?" Sirius asked calmly.
"What's the point? I don't need some stupid boy who will just snog the whole bloody castle. I don't even know why I care. I mean, just because you're in love with a guy doesn't mean he has to be everything to you. I'm going to be an auror and James has nothing to do with-" I cried only to be cut off.
"What? You're in love with Prongs?" Sirius cried, half ecstatic and half inquisitive.
"Well, yes, but he isn't with me so it hardly-" I began again, this whole interrupting thing was getting on my nerves.
"Of course he's in love with you! He's been in love with you for the past seven years, Evans!" he cried exasperated.
"What? I'm just a joke to him!" I stared at Sirius, actually glad for once that he was James' best friend.
"Bloody hell! Of course you're not a joke. Listen, just go talk to him. He's in his room." Sirius said in a rush, grey eyes smoldering.
"Thanks Sirius!" I cried, pecking him on the cheek, and running down to the Common Room, and up to the entrance to James' room. I banged on his door until a red eyed, messy haired James answered the door. Flushing as he saw it was me, he tried to shut the door, but I wouldn't have it.
"James, you had better not close this door in my face because I have something to say and you are going to just have to listen to it," I insisted, stamping my foot.
"Lily, I think I've heard everything from you, so just please leave me alone," he moaned, wiping the tears off his face.
"I can honestly guarantee that you have never, ever heard me say this to you," I insisted, once again sticking my foot out to stop the door.
"Fine, tell me," he rolled his eyes impatiently.
"I love you, James," I whispered into his ear.
"W-what?" he stumbled, grabbing the doorframe.
"I love you," I said slower this time. Then, it dawned on him.
"YESSS!!!" he screamed, lifting me into his arms and twirling me around, and finally, leaning down to kiss me. Pulling away he leaned to whisper in my ear, "Oh, and I love you too, Lils," he blushed. I threw my arms around him, and hugged him tight.
"Go Prongs! I never believed you, but Merlin were you right!" Sirius jeered, effectively ruining the moment.
"Bug off Sirius!" I yelled, turning back to James, only to find him escorting his best friend out the portrait hole.
"Fine, fine! I'll leave. I have to find Marlene anyways," he blushed bright pink as I grinned like the Cheshire Cat.