Author's Note: This is my comeback after abandoning fanfiction for a few years. I'm pretty pleased with the plot I have going for this story, and I hope you all enjoy it. I do not own anything Harry Potter. If I did, there would be a long series of prequels already in the works. Enjoy.
Cruel Words and a Plan
The morning sun rolled in, casting the room a blaze with the warm glow of the early morning. The brilliant sun reflected off of the cast iron bed frames, setting off the room as if it were sparkling. It was a perfect morning in the heads' dormitory. The sun seemed to sit just right outside the window, looking picture perfect and right out of a travel brochure advertising a delightful cottage on the Tuscan country side. It was perfect, absolutely bloody perfect. That is, if the girl in question had been awake to bask in the faultless picture of the morning. Instead, she continued to doze in her bed, which by that time was a nothing more than a mass of messy blankets and red hair. Lily Evans was, by no means, a delicate sleeper. The girl had spent the greater part of that evening tossing and turning in her four poster, finding it impossible to find the right position to fall asleep in.
Beneath the crimson covers, she groaned, breaking the perfect silence of the morning. She stirred, pushing her head up from underneath the covers and onto the fluffy pillow that had been abandoned at some point during the previous night. Drowsily, she rubbed her eyes, rolling herself over onto her back as she did so. With another groan, she opened her eyes, exposing the brilliant green orbs beneath her pale eyelids. Instantly she closed them, choosing to open them again much slower. She blinked twice, exposing her eyes to the bright weekend sunlight gradually, as opposed to trying to bite it all off at once. The girl glanced around her room, eyes moving over the familiar lines and colors. She felt rested, for once. With a subtle yawn, she flung the bed covers from her slender body and pushed herself up into a sitting position on the side of her bed, allowing her feet to touch the floor. As she did every morning, she slipped her feet into the green slippers waiting for her and pushed herself up, stretching as she moved. In another fluid motion, of which could only be acquired through weeks of practice and routine, she grabbed the fluffy robe from the post of her bed and slung it around her shoulders, pushing her arms through the three-quarter sleeves, not bothering to tie belt closed. With another yawn, she grabbed the book from her night stand and shuffled herself out the door, closing it shut with a click behind her.
Yes, the morning was perfect. She was going to curl up with her favorite book and read until she was hungry. She was going to get dressed until she really was hungry, figuring that by that time, her bout of laziness would be over and she would mildly care what she looked like. Until then, she was perfectly content with being alone. With a smile, she snuggled herself into the overly-stuffed arm of the large couch in the heads' commons. "Ahhhh." The sound of pleasure escaped her lips as she opened her book, utterly content with how her day was going to begin. Her eyes had just read the first word on the page when a loud slam and a bitten-off curse word woke her from her trance. The red head sighed, shutting her book in a huff.
It was going to be perfect, all right – perfectly ruined. Lily counted, starting back from ten, snuggling herself further into the couch. Just as she reached one, the door opposite her swung open to reveal a hunched, though obviously tall, young man. His hair was terribly disheveled, looking as if it had never been brushed before. He was slender, but not overly-skinny so that he looked sick. Overall, he was clearly attractive – to everyone but Lily Evans. The boy, in almost a drunken state, clunked his way into the room, filling the air with an odor of man and lilac – a combination that didn't go over too well when it met the nostrils. The girl opened her book again, burying her nose into its pages, hoping that the boy would be too tired to notice her sitting there and would run off to meet his friends before he noticed she was there. Lily would have been content to ignore him, but this morning simply wasn't going to work out the way she wanted it to. The boy stretched, throwing his arms up in the air in a lazy fashion, bringing one to his hair as he did. Out of habit, he flopped into the large couch, expecting to come into contact with the soft fabric of the couch, but was sorely mistaken. Instead, be found himself sitting on top of the legs of a, now very irritable, red headed girl. She yelped, jabbing him in the butt with her toe.
"Potter," she screeched. "Why must you ruin everything? Surely there's somewhere else you must be, because you're not wanted here!" The bitterness in her voice was obvious as she spoke, pulling her legs out from under the smelly boy.
"Sorry Evans," he mumbled, biting off a yawn. "Someone's grouchy this morning? What's the matter? Didn't you have your nightly Potter dream? Is that what this is about? Because if it is, I can make your dreams a reality."
The girl made a sound of obvious disdain, pushing herself up from the couch and moving toward her room. "Get a life, Potter. The last thing I would dream about is you, and you know that. Find someone else to bother." With that, she shut the door to her room with a slam, leaving the boy to shrug and stretch out on the couch by himself. So much for a perfect morning.
"I swear Marlene; he is the most vile, immature, loathsome human being I have ever met!" Clearly, Lily's bitterness had not worn off as she marched down the corridor. Now brushed and placed behind her ears, her red curls bounced down her back as she walked. The girl beside her was beautiful in her own right, with straight tresses of gold perfectly positioned on her shoulders. She looked to her friend, a look of impatience on her face.
"Honestly Lily, he can't be all bad. I wouldn't mind sharing a dormitory with a hot man like James Potter. Really, he is good looking. Girls would kill to be in your position, Lils," she said, trying to sound reproachful. She threw a glance at the red head beside her, but quickly looked away when she saw the daggers being glared in her direction. She mumbled an apology, keeping her eyes on the floor as they walked.
The pair continued in silence until they reached the large double doors leading to the Great Hall. Lily paused for a second, her emerald eyes surveying the number of students taking residence in their seats on the benches making up the four long tables seated in the Hall. With a smile, her green eyes fell upon the third member of her party. With Marlene in tow, the red head made her way over to the table, taking her usual seat to the right of the girl already sitting. Like others, she too was pretty. Upon her face sat a pair of glasses, of which the rims were almost as dark as her hair. To Lily's fiery beauty, this girl was the opposite. She was quite pretty, but on a much quieter scale. Her hair, which would have been quite long if it had been down, was wound tightly around itself to form a curt bun at the nape of her neck. Obviously, she was the most shy of the group, keeping her face down to look at her food as the pair approached.
"Morning!" Marlene exclaimed brightly, flashing white, square teeth toward the girl. The girl smiled and nodded, shoveling another spoonful of eggs into her dainty mouth. Lily, having already seated herself at the table, grabbed a plate and began to spoon regular amounts of food onto her plate without saying a word to either of the two girls. She still hadn't fully recovered from Marlene's comment about Potter being sexy, and her bad mood was obvious. The quiet girl, Emma, picked up; on her bad mood almost instantly.
"What's her problem?" She questioned, inclining her gaze toward Marlene.
"I'll give you one guess," Marlene replied, casting a nervous glance toward Lily.
"Ah," Emma chuckled, looking up from her breakfast. "It couldn't be any other than James Potter, I suppose. Really Lily, when is this going to stop? It's getting a bit old."
Lily froze, sending an angry glare in the direction of Marlene, and another warning glare in the direction of Emma, who quickly recoiled back into her breakfast from the intensity of the glare.
"I was just asking, jeeze." The girl shrugged, placing another spoonful of eggs into her mouth. Marlene tsked in disgust, placing a hand on Emma's shoulder.
"Was that really necessary, Lily? Look, we're not trying to force you to date Potter. We both know how much you don't like him. All we're saying is that it's high time you two made nice. It is your last here, you know. You might as well leave without any regrets. Besides, it's kind of cute how he follows you around. At least he cares."
The red head looked at her friends, absolutely stunned to be hearing this. Make nice… with Potter?! That could never happen, even if she wanted to. He was too immature, too loud, too obnoxious, too conceited for Lily to ever see him as anything more than Potter. He was a foul, loathsome creature that found enjoyment in the pain and torment of others, including herself. She snorted, throwing another dangerous glare to Marlene.
"Here's an idea. You try telling him no on a daily basis. In fact, why don't you try having him watch you every second of every class you have together? Hey! Why don't you even try having him jump you in the shower? Won't that just be marvelous? Still think he's cute?!" She was practically shouting, watching as Marlene winced at each suggestion. When she was satisfied her words had had the effect she wanted, she calmly pushed a loose tendril of her red hair behind her ear. "I will never get along with Potter. He is, and always will be, the last person I want to make nice to on this planet! He's vile and cruel, and only asks me out every day because I've been the only one to say no to him and put him in his damn place. He's a terrible person, and I hate having to share a dormitory with him. He ruins every morning and every night. I dread waking up just knowing he'll be the first person I see. He has no moral sense of right and wrong, and is only happy if other people are hurt. And furthermore, James Potter does not care about me! The only caring bone Potter has in his body is whether or not he'll get fed that day. His constant harassments are not cute at all – they're repulsive. I refuse to be another notch in his damn belt. I'd rather spend a day with the Slytherins than go on a date with James Potter!" Again, she found herself yelling by the last line of her speech. The girl looked up, sucking in a calming breath of air. She was met with the stares of her house mates. Some of them were looking at her, but most were looking past her. Confused, Lily looked to Marlene and Emma, but they too were looking past her. Lily was about to open her mouth to ask what they were all staring at, but was cut off by a male voice behind her.
"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed," James Potter spoke, his voice a mix of bitterness, surprise and pain. "Next time you want to rant about someone Evans, I suggest you make sure they're not behind you when you do it." With that, he stalked away, Sirius, Remus and Peter in tow. Lily whipped around and watched him walk away, noting the obviously pained expression on his countenance. With a groan, she turned back to her friends, her cheeks flushed. She continued to eat her breakfast, ignoring the remorse she felt in the pit of her stomach. The trio did not speak, but simply continued to eat their food. At that point, there was nothing to say.
Across the Great Hall, James Potter and his friends and taken up residence in their normal seats at the head of the table. All three boys, except James, had filled their plates with generous helpings of food and were shoveling them into the faces. James Potter, however, was not hungry. Lily's words had affected him, this time negatively. Sure, he was used to her constant rejections and supposed repulsion to him, but he thought she was just playing hard to get. He couldn't really be all of those things to her, could he? No, he was a much better person than what she gave him credit for! Lily was wrong. On the other hand, it still hurt. He had no idea she really felt that way, and hearing it for the first time in front of everyone hurt more than just his ego. Instinctively, a large hand found its way to his hair, messing it up even more. He let out a sigh, finally breaking the silence between the boys.
Across from him, Sirius Black paused mid-bite. He, like James, was a handsome teenage boy. Unlike James, however, Sirius was more toned and less lanky. His face too was different. Unlike James' oval face, Sirius's face was more rectangular, with more defined features and harder lines. His hair, though close to the same brown shade as James', was longer and shaggier. He eyed the bite in front of him, shifting his gaze back to his disheartened friend every few seconds. In a moment of decision, he threw the food into his mouth, chewed twice, swallowed and placed his fork down on his plate. Remus, sensing the hint, placed his fork down on his plate as well. For a second, the two exchanged glances, as if to argue which one was going to be the first to speak. In a muted game of rock-paper-scissors, Sirius lost, leaving a beaming Remus to rest his hands on the table and watch with a mildly amused expression.
"Er. James?" Sirius questioned, sending a hateful glare at Remus, who responded with a smug glance and a nudge under the table. "Look, it can't be that bad, right? At least she was thinking about you, mate." Sirius beamed, obviously pleased with himself, while Remus shot him a look of utter disgust.
James, upon hearing Sirius speak, raised his head to look at his comrades. He snorted in disgust, placing his cheek on his fist. "Oh yeah. She was thinking about me all right – how much she hates me. Honestly, am I really that bad?" He questioned, obviously feeling emasculated and hurt. Sirius opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by an irritated Remus Lupin.
"Of course not, mate. She's just having a bad day is all. Did you do anything this morning to make her this angry though?" He looked to James with a reproachful expression. He, like the rest of the Gryffindor house, was well aware of James Potter's unreturned affections for Lily Evans. They had witnessed her turn him down every day since first year, and yet he continued to try. This, however, had been the first time Lily had thrown such a fit.
"I don't know, Moony. I just woke up and tried to lie on the couch, but she was already there. She got angry and I said something about her dreams, and she left in a huff. I was just poking fun," he said, a solemn expression on his face. No, he hadn't done anything too terrible this morning. It was all in good fun, anyway. Remus, on the other hand, didn't think so.
"Maybe she didn't enjoy being interrupted," he began. "Think about it. You've asked her out almost every day for the last six years, and she's turned you down every time. Maybe it's time to accept it and give up. Maybe Lily Evans just doesn't like you." Remus, the voice of reason in the group, was always the one to point out the logical response to a problem, even if it meant saying something someone didn't want to hear. He was much quieter than James and Sirius, but he was by no means a pushover.
James looked up at Remus, an expression of mingled anger and pain written all over his face. Sirius opened his mouth to speak, but shut it again when he found he had nothing to say. James, however, had no problem with speaking.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that I think she deserves a break. Give her time by herself. I think you can agree with me when I say that what you're doing now isn't doing any good for either of you anyway. Just let her relax for a bit, Prongs. Try showing her that you care in other ways. Leave her things, write her things, clean up a bit, do nice things for her. You know, that kind of stuff."
James sat, considering Remus' words. It made sense – to a point. True, none of his efforts were doing him any good, so maybe it was time to try another mode of attack. It would all be worth it in the end, anyway, if he could get Lily to believe that she was wrong. Really, all he wanted was a chance to show her that he really did care for her, even if she didn't believe him. Thus, the tall teenager nodded slowly, his face lightening considerably.
"All right, but I have no clue how to do any of those things! In case you haven't noticed, I'm more of a 'let them come to be' kind of guy," he finished, ruffling his hair as he did. Sirius, across the table, erupted in a burst of laughter, showering the table in bits of egg. Remus, ignoring the laughter and food eruptions from Sirius, as well as the shouts from Peter, looked back to James.
"Really, it's not that hard. Just be nice for a change."
"But that's just it – I don't know how!" The boy brought his fist down in the table, a loud boom silencing Sirius' laughter and Peter's shouts. For a moment, all attention was on James, who was considering everything Remus had said. This new way of thinking was unlike anything he had ever considered before. Normally, he was able to impress girls with his experience, or his Quidditch skills, or his Godly good looks, but Lily Evans was different. The problem was that James had absolutely no idea how to be romantic – he simply had never needed to be romantic. He looked from Remus to Sirius, and from Sirius to Peter, a plan forming in his head. He didn't know how to be romantic, but…
"Remus!" He shouted, breaking the silence. "What if you help me? You know, plant the notes and everything - coach me on how to be romantic. And when she finally breaks, I'll show her just how romantic I can be!" He looked to the boy across from him, a proud expression on his face.
"Oh no! I am not going to do everything for you! You have to do this on your own!" Remus responded, waving his hands in the air as if saying no.
"Please Moony? This is important!" James sighed, looking as sad as he could muster. Remus sat, looking to his friend for some time before sighing and nodding.
"Fine! But you're going to owe me!" He returned to his food, grumbling about always having to do everything.
James shouted a thank you before shoveling a bite of food into his mouth, quite satisfied with his new plan. As long as Remus did his part, everything would play out perfectly. Finally, he was going to show Lily that she was wrong.