Do You Believe in Destiny?

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. They are all property of J.K. Rowling, and I am in no way trying to steal them.

Three months. Two thousand, one hundred and sixty hours. Seven million, seven hundred seventy six thousand seconds. That was precisely how long it took for James Potter to change from a self-centered, all-too-stuck-up teenager to a mature adult. It hadn't been easy, of course. It had taken coaching from his best friends—cross that. It had taken coaching from Remus Lupin, while the other two watched and laughed. He had learned and mastered the 307 rules of being a gentleman and an adult over these short three months. Every rule from "Never ask a girl if she is on her period" (#34) to "Chocolates and flowers are ideal forgiveness offerings along with great anytime any reason gifts" (#178) was engraved into his head day and night over and over. And what was the motivation for such rigorous work?

None other than Ms. Lily Evans.

It made perfect sense to him, even if everyone else thought he was out of his mind. The last words she had said to him before seventh year was over were, "Grow up, asshole," and so he did. It was as simple as that.

He had tried so many things in the past, and unfortunately every single outrageous and bizarre wooing attempt had failed. One Sirius Black was the one to create many, if not most of these plans, and he was notorious for saying, "I was positive that one would work out!" after every single endeavor had turned out to be a letdown, before going off to a corner to laugh uncontrollably. Finally, he took Remus' advice: "If you want her that badly, do what she asks—go change if it means that much to you," he would say in bored tones. That was exactly what he did, and what happened?

It didn't work.

He had been appointed Head Boy (another surprise) and in the Head Compartment on the Hogwarts Express he found himself face to face with a screaming redhead when she found out. He didn't understand a few things she said, but he did catch, "THIS IS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS!" and "THIS BETTER BE A JOKE, EVEN THOUGH I DON'T FIND THIS FUNNY AT ALL!" During this entire screaming fest, he just sat there, watching her, unwearied and uncomplaining. That was rule #99—don't argue, because it will only make it worse. Instead, sort things out calmly. Finally, she noticed that he wasn't fighting back, and she let out a huff, asking, "Aren't you going to say anything?" at which he merely shook his head a bit. Of course, she probably expected him to say something like, "Ah, welcome to hell, Evans!" or "Ha! We have dorms together too, huh! Y'know what that means," in a tone laced with innuendo. But no, he chose to stay silent, not that it helped much—she merely stomped out of the compartment. Bitterly, he figured that she was off to complain to someone, but immediately berated himself for thinking such a thing.

Since James wasn't in the same dorm as the other three Marauders, he didn't get a chance to consult with them on what he should do about what was going on, but he occasionally pulled them aside to talk about their rules. He didn't doubt that they were weary of these idiotic rules, but he didn't relinquish this goal of his. That was one of his best traits—persistence. It had its downsides too, but his ability to continually persevere through anything was what he liked most about himself. Still, when he would lean over to Peter in the middle of History of Magic and whisper, "What was rule #87 again?" he would intermittently receive a glare, a shove, or an angry gesture in response. He did not deter, though.

Weeks went by which slowly turned into months, and Lily did not budge. He instated every single one of his 307 rules, particularly around Ms. Evans, but she didn't seem to notice at all. That confidence that he had been working relentlessly to tame was starting to diminish, and his hope flickered. All of this work, and nothing. He didn't expect her to run up to him as soon as she saw him on September 1st, screaming, "Please, ravish me right here!" or anything ridiculous like that, but he had expected at least a bit acknowledgement of his work. Unfortunately, she seemed to be ignorant of what he had gone through.

November came and went and James realized that it was time for him to intervene in the situation. He planned everything that he would say, all the way down to the pauses he would make and the movements he would make with his hands. It had been far too easy to set up: he found her in the Library and told her that he needed to talk to her about a future Hogsmeade visit. He lured her into Classroom Eleven, and sat her down in one of the desks.

"What do we need to talk about? I thought we already decided on the 18th of December," she said irritably, though he tried his best to ignore the tone of her voice.

"Lily, do you believe in destiny?" He hadn't planned to ask such a question, but it just popped out of his mouth. Turning to look over at her, he frowned a bit and awaited an answer.

For several moments, silence met his stare, until she finally asked, "What?" Silence followed once again until she asked another question. "I thought we were talking about—…" Unfortunately, she was interrupted.

"Do you believe in destiny?" he repeated, in the same tone. All airs of condescension and superiority had left his voice, and he was left with pure honesty. This was exactly what he had worked for.

"No," she said simply. "Now, what in Merlin's name does this have to do with Hogsmeade visits?" she continued, narrowing her eyes and pursing her lips. "You're not going to ask me out again, are you?"

"Why would you think a thing like that? I haven't asked you out since sixth year! You just don't get it, do you?" Frustration slowly entered his voice, and for once, Lily stayed silent. "I've changed! I've done so much to try to please you. Do you remember what you said to me on the platform at the end of sixth year? Your words were grow up, asshole, and so I did what you asked, but you still haven't noticed. I've worked so hard to appease you, but you still won't budge."

Shaking his head in aggravation, he turned around and learned on a desk near him. He tried desperately to recollect himself, though he was having a hard to doing so. His plan had disintegrated, and he was left with this outburst. "Do you believe in destiny?" he asked once more.

"I already told you, I don't. Can you not hear me?" The anger in her voice made him cringe, and he shook his head once more and turned around.

"Look me in the eye and tell me you don't believe in destiny." She would do it, he knew that much.

And she did. The words spilled out of her mouth as she stared at him face on with a frown. He had no idea where he was going from there, and took several moments to figure this out, before he continued.

"Well, I do. And I believe that my destiny says that you're the one I'm supposed to be with. Why would I work this hard if I wasn't meant to be with you?"

And that was when she retaliated.

"What if I don't want to be part of your destiny? You may feel like the victim here, but I'm so tired of you following me like a goddamn shadow. I'm tired of you being in love with me."

He knew where to segue from there—it was perfect.

"I'm not in love with you." She wasn't expecting such a response, and stood there, openmouthed in shock.

"I thought—…" she began to say, but he didn't let her finish that sentence.

"You thought! I can't love you because you won't let me know you. How can I love a person I don't know? You've been pushing me away for years, and I'll admit, I was a stuck-up idiot back then, but I've been trying so hard. I'm not asking you to marry me, Lily; I'm asking you to give me a chance. That's it! Just one chance, and if I mess up, then that's my fault."

Several moments passed in silence that was utterly deafening. "I took the entire summer learning to be a better person," he said quietly, his voice almost inaudible. "A very wise person said if you are not too long, I will wait here for you all my life."

"Oscar Wilde…" he heard her say faintly.

"That was rule #221—use quotes, because they'll make you seem smarter," he said quickly, at which a confused look came to Lily's face. "307 rules. That's how many I memorized to be better. Don't let my work go to waste. One date. Please."

He didn't realize it until then, but his heart was beating at an incredible rate. He waited patiently, watching her. He could see her mind working quickly, and those few seconds it took for her to answer seemed like years.

"No."

That one word made his heart stop dead. He blinked once. Twice. Three times, before he gave her a disappointed look. That wasn't the Lily Evans he knew. She was the one that would save a moth flopping around in the lake, or lend a first year her old notes. It seemed that all of her hate was directed towards him, and to everyone else, she gave love.

"Then it's not me that has to change…It's you."

The words he said made his heart clench, but he meant them. He had done his work, and if she didn't accept him after all of that, then it wasn't worth it. He was a new person, freshly created from an unbelievable metamorphosis, while she was still the same person.

And so, with that, he slowly walked out of classroom, leaving her there in the desk. He didn't go to talk to the Marauders—he wasn't sure if he would ever be ready to face them. Instead, he went back to the Head Dorm and sat on his bed, completely still.

An hour later, Lily hadn't come back to the dorms and out of pure impulse, James fished out the Marauder's Map to find where she was. It was past curfew by that time, and he couldn't help but wonder where she was at so late. It was a bit of a shock for him to see her still sitting there in Classroom Eleven, right in the middle of the room where he sat her down. Rummaging through his trunks, he found his invisibility cloak and ventured down to the first floor.

The door was still open from when he walked out, and he could see her there. At first, he thought that she could have fell asleep, but this thought left his mind when he saw her put her head in her hands. He knew he couldn't go in there now, after what happened, so he decided on sitting down in front of the classroom to simply watch her. After another fifty minutes, she fell asleep, and he continued to watch her for a few more minutes. Her head was resting on the desk, which he figured was quite uncomfortable. And so, with that, he slowly walked into the classroom, took off his cloak, and finally carried her back to the dorms.

Rule #61 was, afterall, never to compromise a lady's comfort.

---

I don't know exactly where this came from, but I was sitting at my computer and words just started coming out. This story isn't done, though. It's a two-shot, and the second and final installment will be come in the future, hopefully soon. I hope you enjoyed it, because I enjoyed writing it.