A Month of Potter
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and everything related belongs first, and foremost, to JK Rowling, and then to her partnerships with Bloomsbury, Scholastics, Warner Bros., etc.
Summary: Discouraged by Lily's continual refusal to going out with him, James constructs a plan to ask Lily out every day for an entire month.
Posted: 08/14/14
Author's Note:If this gets enough support I have plans for it to be a 3-4 chapter fic-let. Hope you like it!
"Why won't she go out with me?"
Sirius Black lounged back in his favorite chair of the Gryffindor common room, eyes unfocused as if he hadn't heard his best mate's flustered whisper. The sound of James' voice, however, did awaken him slightly, and he peered around enough to notice James cast a grave look to the other end of the common room where Lily Evans sat, half looking through notes, half discussing an assignment with her dorm-mate and friend Marlene McKinnon.
"It's rotten luck," he automatically responded after a moment.
It wasn't as if he wasn't sympathetic to James' woes; he had just heard the mumbling of his nearly-seventeen year old best friend practically every time Lily Evans appeared since their sixth year had begun, and it was now the end of February.
Sirius looked around to notice the other two Marauders nodding in agreement, seemingly as worn from the grumbling of James as he was; Remus was perusing his Charms textbook diligently, and Peter was sprawled along the floor sorting through some of his Chocolate Frog cards. James, however, was staring determinedly in front of him, into the fireplace, and sneaking glances over to a Lily who was paying him no attention.
"I reckon I haven't been bold enough," James mused. Sirius couldn't help but laugh, making James' head snap in his direction. "What was that for?"
Sirius paused, but for only a moment, as if considering his words and then deciding to just disregard tact: "You are the definition of bold, Prongs. You asked her out last year after messing with her best mate, Snivelly." Then to soften James' indignantly furrowed brow, he added, "That's not to say he's not a git, who deserves a proper hexing now-and-again."
Remus' face darkened disapprovingly over his text book, but he appeared determined to remain quiet as long as they allowed it.
"That got completely out of hand," James defended, quickly. "I never intended for her to come over and for him to… well, you know. Call her that name. Besides, she really ought to be thanking me for opening her eyes to what a Dark-Arts-loving prat he is."
"I'm not saying you're wrong, Prongs," Sirius ceded, more for his own benefit than James'.
James waved his comment aside, apparently inspired from an unknown source. "I've got it! I'm not being persistent enough with my invitations. She must be skeptical of my sincere desire to go out with her." His words had drawn the full attention of all three Marauders and they were staring directly at him as he spoke. "It's not enough that I just ask her out occasionally… I really need to go for it, you know? Every day."
"Every day?"
"Every day, Wormtail!"
"Let me get this straight. Your plan, Prongs, is to ask out Lily Evans every single bloody day?" Sirius clarified.
"Yes."
"And you can't possibly see how that could go wrong?" Remus insisted, still utterly dumbfounded by his friend's proclamation.
"In the famous words of John Lemon 'it can't get no worse' right?"
"It's John Lennon, Prongs."
"Whatever, Moony. The point remains. Eventually she will say yes, won't she?"
To this they had no response. Remus exhaled, bringing the book back to his lap to continue his reading. Peter looked around at Sirius, who merely leaned back in his chair appearing haughtily bored again, and then went back to shifting his piles of Chocolate Frog cards around. James, however, ignored them. He got to his feet and began climbing the stairs back to their dormitory, convinced he had a good plan to get Lily to go out with him by the end of March.
Sunday March 1 - Day 1
James awoke bright and early, having gone to bed thinking of different ways he could ask Lily out. He had heard many romantic stories in his time, and vaguely wondered if any of them would actually work on Lily. In the end, however, he decided that he would not try anything extraordinary today. His proposal would be simple. Therefore the moment he saw her in the Great Hall, nibbling on a piece of toast, he accosted her.
"Evans!" He cheerfully sat down next to her on the bench.
"What do you want, Potter? It's just too damn early for you," she complained. It was evident to all, except James perhaps, that she was not in the mood for him. She usually wasn't, and especially not now, when she had barely slept due to a two foot long Transfigurations essay.
"I came to ask you out," he replied simply.
"No," she responded, just as simply in return.
"No?" This was not how it was supposed to happen.
"No, Potter," she repeated, turning back to her food, uninterested in James' slightly gaping mouth. "I do not want to go out with you, just save your breath."
"Err, okay, Evans." He got up, intending to make his way down to where he usually sat. "Enjoy your toast then."
As he joined the other Marauders, he bemusedly thought to himself: this is going to be harder than I thought.
Day 2
Sobered by his recent failure, James quickly decided that a direct proposal that early in the morning was not the way to go. He waited until their lunch time break between Potions and Charms to unfold the plan he had thought of the day before.
While his fellow seventh years clambered up to the dormitory to drop off their bags, James headed straight for the Great Hall to survey his options. When he arrived he found mounds of potatoes and sliced brisket with baskets of browned rolls and bowls of peas lining the tables. Perfect he thought, grabbing a plate and scooping peas onto it.
He was grateful he had come down here immediately because it took him ten minutes to get the plate exactly right. He sat down, slightly anxious, at the bench Lily usually sat at and he waited. Not too long after, Lily led the line of Gryffindor's into the Great Hall. James could see his friends looking curiously at him as they followed but he ignored them.
"Hey Evans!" he called, when she was within ear-shot. "I've made you a plate." His voice was cheerful enough as he rose to meet her, careful to not shift the plate around too much.
Skeptically – as most people were when handed a plate by one of the Marauders – she looked down to see words spelled out in peas:
EVANS GO OUT WITH ME?
Her eyes darted back up to James', the look on her face growing from skeptical to impatient. "May I?" she asked, gesturing to the plate. He handed it to her silently, his own features morphing confusedly. Leaning over, propped up by one knee on the bench, she was forking the peas onto a new plate very carefully. After a moment she handed it back to him, and then swung her legs around to join her friends, who had been watching the scene curiously.
James looked down and saw the only remaining peas on the plate were the N from EVANS and the O from GO. Even more embarrassed than the previous day, he tossed the plate down on the table near Lily's right elbow, and marched out of the Great Hall.
Day 3
After spending the previous evening alongside the Marauders James had to admit his confidence returned fairly quickly. He hadn't expected Lily to say yes automatically; as far as he knew she still felt unfavorably toward him. Although he felt this was unfair, because he hadn't even gotten the chance to take her to The Three Broomsticks or out to the Quidditch pitch, or really anywhere alone where he could show her more about himself. There had to be some things about him that she would like. Right?
Nevertheless he was certain that his attempts be made daily to get to the point where she would want to give him a chance, and with that in mind he entered the Transfiguration's classroom late in the afternoon on the third day.
They were giving a presentation on N.E.W.T. level Transfiguration spells. Every student was assigned a different topic as a way for the entire class to review. Lily was speaking today on Human Transfigurations.
"…And that, of course, is why the wand-movement is particularly important." She finished confidently, to some scattered applause.
"Very well, Miss Evans," Professor McGonagall said, scribbling the last of her assessment onto the parchment in front of her. Lily turned to her as she asked Lily two more questions and then the floor was open to the students.
James' hand shot into the air first, and Lily, eying it warily, instead called on the nearby Hufflepuff who had also raised his hand. Lily answered his question very slowly and thoroughly, hoping McGonagall would call the next student presenter and save her from calling on Potter.
It was to no avail, and she sighed before mumbling, "Yes, Potter?"
"Excellent presentation, though I think you'll find your history is a little off. Orion Templeton's discovery was in 1208 not 1280." He truly tried to keep the smugness out of his voice, but he was James Potter.
Lily's face darkened. "Sorry, I must have switched up the numbers on my notes." Her apology didn't seem too genuine, and she cleared her throat before adding, "Now was there an actual question you'd like to ask?"
James sat up straighter, "Oh yes. Will you go out with me, Evans?"
To this his classmates broke into laughter, with the exception of Lily, her friends, and Professor McGonagall.
"No!" she replied furiously, but before she could berate him, she was interrupted.
"That is quite enough, Mr. Potter," came Professor McGonagall's scolding voice and the laughter ended immediately. "Five points from Gryffindor for your lack of regard to the subject at hand. Do it again and you'll be in detention."
James shrugged as Lily, her face still red and eyes still narrowed, returned to her seat near the front of the class.
Day 4
James was truly inspired by his recent date proposal. Classes weren't ideal for asking a girl out, but they at least presented him with a medium from which to ask. He hadn't intended to ask her out in Transfigurations – his first proposal idea would have to be used another day – but he just couldn't resist putting her on the spot. He simply adored watching her face turn red. She was always beautiful but something about embarrassing her made her even more so. Not to mention the added bonus of it being a direct result of his actions. He affected her; and perhaps one day, in more promising ways than embarrassment or anger.
Though Sirius felt his proposal was simply brilliant, the other two did not seemed to be impressed. So when James plotted his idea for this day, he remained quiet about what exactly he planned to do – which was why while in Potions, Remus grew more and more exasperated by his lack of help as the class went on.
"Seriously Prongs, can you please pay attention?!"
James drew his eyes away from Lily for just a moment to look toward the cauldron. He had grabbed the wrong ingredient for the third time and was about to drop it in when Remus shoved his arm away from the cauldron.
"Oh, sorry there Moony."
"You are not. If you were, you would stop staring at Lily and help me with this draught." Remus was rarely this cross with him, but he had other things on his mind. He would have very few moments to complete his plan and he had to be sure to capitalize on every one of them.
"Not long now," he heard Lily say to her partner. "It needs to simmer for five more minutes and then we will have to lower the fire and in another ten it will be done."
James grinned at his luck of hearing her time-table and then turned his attention to his own cauldron. He began helping Remus but still threw glances at his watch every few minutes. Finally, when their potion was at the simmering stage, he noticed his time had come.
Lily and her partner Mary Macdonald bottled up two vials of their draught for Professor Slughorn and, after quickly scribbling their names on them, carried them toward the front of the class to turn in.
"Be right back," he muttered to Remus, not waiting for a reply. He strode over to their unsupervised cauldron and poured the contents onto the table. Concentrating hard on his wand movements he began to clean the spill in a very peculiar way.
"Prongs, what are you doing?" came Sirius' cheerful call from two tables over. James ignored him, and looked toward Lily, for once grateful that Slughorn insisted on badgering her whenever she was around. He had just returned to Remus' side when Lily came back to her table.
"What on earth happened to our potion?" She was staring inside the cauldron and saw it entirely empty.
"Lily, look!"
She peered over the cauldron to see where Mary was pointing. Once again, words bearing a familiar proposal met her eyes, though this time the peas were replaced by her liquid potion.
"Potter!" His mouth twitched upward as she turned, searching for him. Their eyes locked and she closed the distance between them. "Why would you waste my potion on some pathetic little joke? What if I had dropped the vial and needed a new one? You would've gotten me a zero!"
James looked slightly taken aback by her outburst. After all, he had waited until she had turned in her vial before dumping the rest of it. Not that he would admit it. "It's not a joke! So will you?"
She exhaled loudly, "NO!" and then spun on her heels and walked away from him.
Remus merely shook his head, bending over the potion. When he looked back up at James, James simply shrugged in response and turned to the potion, his mind still on the red head.
Day 5
"Think you're going a bit too far with the whole class idea, mate."
"Really, Padfoot? I thought you liked my idea?"
Sirius shrugged, "Yeah, sure. In Minnie's class it was hilarious, but spilling her potion? A bit far."
James understood Sirius was speaking as a representative for the other Marauders at breakfast the next morning. "All right, got another idea up my sleeve." And with that he walked away from the table.
"This is absolutely barmy," Peter said, once he knew James was out of earshot. "How much longer can he really plan to go?"
"And to what length?" Remus added warily.
Further down the table, Lily Evans was wondering the same thing. It didn't take long for her to see. Just then she was greeted by a third year Ravenclaw she had never seen before.
"Are you Lily Evans?" the girl inquired, throwing a quick look to the Entrance hall as she asked.
Lily spun slightly in her seat. "Yes, that's me."
"Okay I've got a message for you. Well a request really. Will you go out with James Potter?" Lily's jaw dropped, and laughter filled the air as her friends all turned to look at the third year. The girl held her hands behind her back shyly then continued, "You should go out with James!" There was no mistaking the encouraging tone of her voice.
"No," Lily said firmly, then feeling too harsh toward the girl, added, "err…thanks."
The girl gave a short nod before retreating back out of the Great Hall. Lily turned to look at her friends again.
"What was that all about?" Mary inquired from the other side of the table.
"I think Potter just asked a girl to ask me out for him. That toe-rag."
"That's quite…strange," Marlene offered, her brow slightly furrowed. Lily nodded, hoping that would be the end of it. However, as the day progressed, Lily was approached by five other students, all third year, with similar proposals. Some even a bit more off-the-cuff than she'd expect.
"I've come to ask you out for James Potter," one brazen third year Gryffindor boy said, approaching her in the common room. "He wants to take you out. Of course, I'm just throwing it out there, I myself am single too, if he isn't your type…"
In the library: "Lily Evans, right? I'm here on behalf of James Potter," the Hufflepuff girl cooed fondly. "That dreamy sixth year bloke in your house? Oh yes, of course you would know him. Well he," she couldn't help but break into a slight fit of giggles, "he wanted to know if you'd be his girlfriend." She concluded with a sigh.
Walking along the grounds toward Herbology: "Oy, you there! Looking for Lily Evans… Ah, yes. Hello. Been looking all over for you, must have forgot he said Herbology. Anyway… James Potter, you know him?..."
Her response grew in agitation as the day waned: "No thanks... Nooo. No. NO. No!..."
And lastly, a solid "NO!" while slamming the dormitory door in the shocked Gryffindor girl's face.
The girl came into view at the bottom of the steps where James waited eagerly for her signal. She shook her head sadly at him but he thanked her anyway.
Day 6
"You are mental," Peter informed him during breakfast the next morning. This seemed to be the general sentiment of James' friends, classmates, and fellow Gryffindors. His forcing of the third year students hardly went unnoticed and it left no one surprised that Lily had declined each and every request.
"Persistence is key here, Pete," came James' unwavering reply. He was growing less and less embarrassed as the days went on.
"Do you even want her to say yes, Prongs, or is this just another stupid game of yours?" Remus asked, sincerely.
"Of course I want to go out with her Moony. Genuinely, I really do!" The insistence in his voice was irrefutable. "But I can't just ask her out conventionally. I already have and she already said no."
"That's because she doesn't want to go out with you, Prongs. Changing the way you ask doesn't change what you're asking."
James didn't seem disturbed by this particular bit of news. "I'm not giving up that easily, mates." He cast a look over to Lily who, having just looked at her watch, arose from her seat. "She is worth chasing after. It is worth countless No's for one Yes."
"But—"
"Drop it," Sirius commanded, having seen where James' eyes had gone. They did. "Come on, let's get to Charms so we aren't late. Remember the detentions we got last time we were late?"
"Yeah," James agreed, standing up as well. "Although that wasn't really fair. How couldn't we laugh at Flitwick's scolding? He sounded like an irate chipmunk."
They laughed reminiscently, making their way out of the hall. In fact, they had hardly finished laughing when they entered the classroom, but were silenced quickly by the announcement of a quiz. Before the class filled entirely, the Marauders found their usual seats, the row behind Lily and her friends.
James quickly tore into his bag, retrieving quill, ink, and a small piece of parchment. He quickly penned a note to Lily:
Evans –
Good luck on the quiz today… Also Hogsmeade later this month? Please?
J Potter
He slowly levitated the note onto her desk and she reached down to grab it. James' heart beat increased upon seeing her not immediately tear the parchment to pieces. He could see her scribble a response and nonchalantly send the note back to him.
Really Potter?
After the stunt you pulled yesterday? Absolutely NOT!
L Evans
But thanks. Good luck to you too.
James shrugged off Sirius' inquisitive look before placing the parchment back into his bag. Something told Sirius that James would hold onto this particular note for at least a little while.
Day 7
No one could say James wasn't putting effort into his proposals. In fact, even Lily Evans would admit she was slightly taken aback by the creativity in his requests – not that that made her any more likely to respond positively to them. But the point remained, she was borderline impressed. That was until Saturday when she entered Professor McGonagall's office. Once a month she assisted McGonagall with grading younger student's papers. Having not been particularly gifted with Transfigurations, like some (Potter, she thought bitterly), she arranged for extra time spent reading through essays and tests hoping it would deeply ingrain the concepts.
Lily's friends knew this arrangement had been made starting in fourth year when Lily began to worry about the up-coming (but still a year away) O.W.L.'s. It wasn't a secret but she didn't flaunt it.
So when she sat down and pulled the pile of second years' essays toward her, her eyes immediately drew to a tiny phrase written near the heading of top piece of parchment.
"Evans: go out with Potter?"
Her eyebrows creased. Odd. Not giving it too much thought, she carried on with her grading. She then flipped to the next one. And again on the second:
"Evans: go out with Potter?"
She hastily shifted the stack into her hands and began sorting through them. To her astonishment every essay had the phrase, or some variance, written on the top of it, save one. It read:
"Look up and tell him yes!"
She looked up. He was there. How the bloody hell was he there? Her mouth dropped open, but she quickly recovered. He was carelessly leaning on the stone wall near the threshold of the classroom.
"Potter!" she greeted, her voice betraying her surprise.
"So what will it be, Evans?"
"How did you—"
He remained leaning against the wall, and waved her comment away with his hand before repeating, "Is that a yes?"
"No," she clarified. "It's a no. But how—"
He didn't wait around for the rest of her question and when she reached the door and gazed out into the corridor, it was empty. After a moment she retreated back into the classroom, shaking her head, willing herself to be less impressed.
Day 8
It was a beautifully clear Sunday – a blessing for all students who had completed enough homework to allow themselves reprieve from the castle's stone walls. Many students from all ages and all houses scurried around the grounds, some merely talking with friends while others lied on the grass soaking up the sun with a good book. Lily and her friends were among the latter group, sitting near the lake as they usually did, but withholding their feet from dipping into the cold water. Not too far from them the Marauders, save James, sat underneath their usual beech tree. Lily paid them little attention, but noted James' absence.
"Where is Potter?" she asked her friends wearily.
"On the pitch. I overheard Stebbins talking about going to practice this morning," Marlene informed her. "Why do you ask? Interested in seeing him?" The girls laughed together at this ludicrous thought.
"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, right Lil?" Mary teased. Lily reached over and splashed some of the cool water onto her friend, who squealed indignantly in response.
"I'm just preparing myself for the inevitable encounter."
They nodded their understanding at this. Then Mary let out a gasp, looking upward. She wasn't the only one to turn her attention to the sky. Like all the others around her, Lily looked up to see a Gryffindor Quidditch player zooming above them. From the angle she sat she couldn't quite see who it was, but the pit of her stomach told her she already knew.
Suddenly a long line of cloth sprung out near the end of his broom, bold garnet letters shining in the sunlight that read,
LILY EVANS, WILL YOU GO OUT WITH ME?
Her friends barely tore their eyes away from the sign to see Lily's reaction. Underneath her hand, which shaded the sun out of her eyes, her mouth gaped open in awe. James was lapping around the grounds, many feet above, clearly unable to tell that she had seen it. He continued circling for a few more minutes, still not entirely sure the banner had drawn her attention. She didn't look at him even when he landed feet from her. Mary nudged her.
Before he could open his mouth, Lily turned her head to face him. "No thank you!"
He closed it with a small exhale of breath and took off to the sky again, leaving the abandoned banner to be collected by his friends.
Day 9
A little showy, James thought darkly, that's what they called it. That's what it was. But sometimes things had to be a little showy right? A little drama can be good. And for a girl like Lily Evans it almost seemed demanded in James' mind. Still, perhaps the banner was a bit much. It certainly got her attention, but rendered him no ability to actually get a word in with her before she quickly shut the door on his request.
A little showy. He looked across the common room to where Lily was sitting, warming her feet by the fire, with a small book in her lap. He could see the firelight reflecting off the emerald and was grateful his friends had already retreated up to the dormitory for the night.
The hours were waning, but Lily still sat on edge, expectant. He had not failed to ask her out any day over the previous week and she did not for a moment believe that trend would end. But it was nearly ten and he had yet to say a word to her yet today. It was not entirely unwelcome, but it was strange. She looked up from the book and their eyes locked. She blinked, looking away for a moment then her eyes met his again. She watched as he took his wand out, drawing letters in the air.
"Hogsmeade?" they read, in a bright red. They hung in the air as his eyes met hers again. She shook her head no, and turned back to the book.
They sat there in silence for another twenty minutes, Lily barely concentrating much on the words in front of her. And then finally she looked back up to where he had been sitting but he was gone.
Day 10
James was running out of ideas, and Sirius was running out of patience for his friend. James, outwardly, did not appear too unhinged from all of Lily's refusals, but at times when it was quiet or they were alone or James thought no one was watching, Sirius could see his friend's anguish. He wasn't senseless enough to suggest that James quit his endeavor, for he knew that James really did want to be with Lily, and frankly he couldn't suggest a better way for James to go about getting her. But it still bothered him, and so when James sat in their dormitory brainstorming ways to ask Lily out today, he offered to do it for him.
"You'll ask her out for me? Aren't we a little old for that?" James asked, an eyebrow arched. Not that he wasn't grateful to Sirius.
Sirius shrugged in response, pushing his hair out of his face. "You said you had to go for the unconventional. Why not let me give it a shot?"
"Got nothing to lose," James ceded.
"Exactly."
Before Sirius reached the door, James called, "Padfoot?"
"Yeah, Prongs?"
"Thanks, mate."
Sirius threw him a toothy grin in response, waved a hand lazily in the air, then pushed open the dormitory door.
One quick look across the common room told Sirius that Lily was nowhere to be found; her red hair was easy to spot with a simple sweep of the area. Unperturbed, Sirius gingerly pulled a piece of parchment out of his cloak pocket. It was his week to carry the Map around with him, and this made his task at hand seem easier, though it wouldn't make the next step of his mission any simpler. The Map told him Lily was holed up in the library.
He arrived, stowing the Map safely in his pocket, and scanned the room for her once more. He saw her taking a textbook from Pince's outstretched hands before turning on her heels and heading towards the door. This was lucky.
"Black," she greeted, once she had crossed the thresholds.
"Hey Evans. Going back to the common room?"
"Yes."
"May I escort you?"
Looking at him out of the corner of her eye, she slowly agreed, "I suppose." She began walking ahead of him, but his quick strides brought them side-by-side once more.
"I came to talk to you about James."
"You don't say?" He looked over to see her mouth twitching upward. That had to be a good sign, right? He never felt as transparent as he did when he conversed with her. She stopped abruptly and faced him.
"I was wondering if you would like to accompany my fine friend to Hogsmeade in a couple of weeks?" His offer seemed pitiful. He had asked out a few girls in his day, but never for any friends, and especially not for James.
She arched an eyebrow. "He asked you to ask me out for him?"
"No," he recovered quickly. "I offered, being the mate I am!"
"Why?" It was clear in her voice that she was skeptical.
"Because…because…" He paused, looking into the emerald eyes in front of him. He looked around, ensuring they were completely alone, wondering what his honesty would lead to. "Because he was up in our dormitory, wrecking his brain for some idea of what to do and what to say for you to actually give him a chance."
Lily's face turned to stone. "Oh."
"So will you, please, Evans?"
She could tell there was sincerity in his voice and his words, but still she shook her head. "Sorry, Black. Really. I'm just not interested in him like that. I'm not interested in him at all, really."
Sirius looked at her for a long moment before muttering, "Don't say sorry when you don't mean it, Evans. You're not really sorry, are you?"
But before she could respond, in a fashion similar to his friend, he marched away from her. He didn't look back to see her reaction or wait for her response; his mind was full of dread about the conversation he was walking toward.