The Bachelor: James Potter
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or the Bachelor.
A/N: This story does have some elements of the Bachelor in it, but it will not be exactly the same. This story does not have magic in it.
Background Info: Lily, James and their friends attended a private high school together but parted ways for college. Lily is still best friends with Alice, who married Frank Longbottom. They still talk to James, Sirius, and Remus occasionally. This story begins less than a year after they graduate college (college is 4 years).
Before the Show
Lily Evans was on her way to meet her best friend Alice at Lucy Lu's Tea Shop in London. They hadn't seen each other in a few months, so they had some catching up to do. Lily walked through the door and saw Alice sitting at a table. She walked over and Alice stood up and hugged her.
"I haven't seen you in forever," Lily said to her.
They ordered their tea and some biscuits to eat. They started talking about Lily's birthday, which was in a few months. They planned to get together before that, but just in case, Lily asked if Alice and Frank would like to go to a bar with her to celebrate.
"We would love to but I won't be doing much drinking," Alice told a surprised Lily.
"Why not?"
"I have a surprise," Alice giggled. "Frank is the only one who knows so you can't tell anyone just yet. Promise?" Lily nodded. "I'm pregnant!"
"Wow congratulations," Lily said with a smile. "How far along are you?"
"3 weeks. Lily, we want you to be the godmother."
"Of course I will be," Lily said with a smile.
The waitress brought their tea and biscuits out and Alice switched to a different topic.
"So, have you found a guy yet?"
"No, no one seems good enough."
"Nobody has been good enough for you since James. You need to get over him and find someone new."
"I just don't know if I can Alice. I thought he was the one."
"I know Lily, I know. I have an idea and I know you might not like it but please just listen first."
She leaned over to grab something out of her purse. It was a brochure. She handed it to Lily and Lily saw that it was for a reality show. She looked at Alice in disbelief.
"Just read it, please"
Lily opened it up and read it. The brochure was for a new up-and-coming show called The Bachelor. It featured an eligible bachelor and 25 girls who compete for his attention and are ultimately trying to be the last one there. The girls go on dates with him and can be eliminated. She looked up at Alice.
"I dunno how I feel about this. Competing to date a guy?"
Alice said, "I'm not saying you have to do it but I wanted to show it to you. The information to sign up is on the last page."
Lily flipped to the back of the brochure. "How do I know that this guy isn't crazy or anything?"
"Well if he is you can just leave or make him want to eliminate you. But, you'll never know if you don't try."
They spent the rest of the time talking about other things like baby names and a baby shower.
When Lily got back to her apartment, she set the brochure down on the table and forgot about it. She ate dinner and showered and right before she went to bed she saw it laying there on the table. Lily picked it up and brought it into her bedroom. Laying in bed, she looked at the back page. It said, in order to get on the show, she would have to send in a picture of herself along with a letter explaining why she wants to be on the show. She thought about for a while, then decided that she would make a decision in the morning.
Frank was sitting at home waiting for Alice. As soon as she walked in the door, he went over to her.
"Do you think she's going to do it?" Frank asked.
"I don't know I hope so. I just want her to be happy."
"I wonder who the bachelor is going to be."
"I guess we will just have to wait to find out. I'm going to talk to Lily next week and see what she decided."
Lily woke up in the morning with the brochure next to her on the bed. She got up and thought about whether or not to do it. After a lot of consideration, she decided that it was time to try something new. Lily walked over to the phone and dialed.
Alice woke up to the sound of a phone ringing.
"Hello?" she heard Frank whisper. "Alice it's for you."
She picked up the phone and talked a little before hanging up.
"Frank, guess who that was."
He shook his head, indicating that he didn't know.
"It was Lily. She asked me to come over and help her write a letter to the people at The Bachelor."
Alice jumped out of bed and started getting dressed.
"I'll be back soon," she said as she kissed Frank. She ran out the door to her car.
Lily was pacing around her living room waiting for Alice. She heard a knock at her door and ran over to open it. Alice came in and they went to sit near Lily's computer.
"What do I say? What do I write about?" Lily asked her.
"Tell them your story and how you decided you need to open yourself up to love and find someone."
"I can't do that. It's way too personal."
"That's what they want. Cameras are going to be watching your every move. Nothing will be personal. Just don't use any names."
Lily started typing. She talked about how she had dated a guy in high school but he had broken it off just before he left to go to college. She said that she thought he was the one. Lily told them about how she had tried to date other guys, but she didn't have a connection with them. She ended the letter by saying that its time for her to move on and meet a new guy and fall in love again.
"Now for the picture," Alice said when she saw that Lily had finished the letter.
"What should it be of?" Lily asked as they started going through pictures.
"Something cute and fun. Not too serious. How about this one?"
Alice held up a picture of Lily standing in the snow. It had been taken the year before at a Christmas party. Lily had a smile on her face and there was snow in her hair and on her clothes. Behind her, you could see the faint outline of a snow angel.
"Its perfect," Lily said.
They printed out the letter and put it in an envelope with the picture. Lily wrote the address and they walked outside to put it in the mailbox.
"Now what?" Lily asked.
"Now, we just wait."
A/N: I hope you like this. Please review and let me know if I should continue writing this story. Check out my other stories if you like this one :) I also have an original story on Fiction Press under the same username it's called "The Choice" if you are interested in that please let me know what you think of it.