Seven Not So Good Character Traits
By Lunaleth
11.2008
Edited 4.18.2009
Sins. Everyone had them, of course. But they weren't always bad. After all, these very character traits brought two unlikely people together. LilyJames
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Sloth~ reluctance to work or make an effort; laziness
Pride~ a feeling of deep satisfaction derived from one's own achievements, qualities or possessions
Gluttony~ habitual greed or excess in eating
Greed~ intense and selfish desire for something
Envy~ a feeling of discontented or resentful longing by someone else's possessions, qualities, or luck
Wrath~ extreme anger
Lust~ a strong passionate desire
James Potter was laying spread out on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He sighed happily. He loved his pillow. He had never really realized how soft and wonderful it was until now. Sighing contentedly, he didn't move as Remus came up into the dormitory.
"James, aren't you going to eat dinner?" Remus asked.
James contemplated it for a bit, decided his current activity was way too enjoyable, and moved his head slightly to either side. "I really don't feel like getting up at the moment. You guys go ahead." He sighed again, happily.
Remus shook his head. "You can't just lie there all day. Now get up."
He went over to James and attempted to pull him off the bed. He managed, but James only crumpled into a sorry little heap on the floor.
"No…bed…comfortable…" James groaned. He reached up to the bedpost and pulled himself up, grunting and gasping. Then he collapsed onto the bed again, curling up on his side and cuddling with his pillow.
Remus sighed and went downstairs.
James lay there in comfort. His eyes wandered the dormitory, and soon they landed onto his dresser. On top of it sat a polished broomstick, several framed certificates, and a collection of trophies. James smiled to himself proudly. He had gotten the awards from numerous Quidditch tournaments and competitions in past years. He was the best, of course. Everything on his dresser glittered gold, and James filled his eyes with the lovely shininess.
Too bad there can only be one me on this world, James thought with a touch of sadness. What kind of wonderful world would this be if everyone was exactly like me? Then everyone would be handsome and smart and wonderful and charismatic…he smiled at the thought. It would be a much better world. His brow furrowed for a second. Why doesn't Lily ever notice my magnificence? he thought, bewildered. He considered it for a moment before deciding it must be because she had bad eyesight. Strange, he mused. She doesn't even wear glasses.
James lay on the bed for a long while, pondering his awesomeness, before noticing a sudden, distinctly painful emptiness in his stomach. He immediately got up off the bed to go eat, for his stomach could not be denied.
He ran down to the Great Hall and plopped down into a seat between Sirius and Peter. Ignoring the surprised glances he got from his friends at his sudden arrival, James grabbed the closest plate of food and piled his plate high with chicken, pork, and potatoes. He seized a drumstick and shoved it in his mouth, tearing off a huge bite before chewing rapidly. He finished it off in a few large mouthfuls before drowning his potatoes in gravy and dipping a pork chop into the mess. He quickly cleaned off his first plate and then proceeded to gorge himself with a second consisting of steak, peas, corn, and chips.
Ignoring the strange looks from his friends, James stuffed himself with his third, fourth, and fifth platefuls of food before slowing down his pace on his sixth. He cut up his lamb slowly and popped it into his mouth before sighing contentedly and pushing his plate away.
At this very moment, the main courses disappeared and the desserts arrived. James immediately pulled towards himself a giant platter of treacle tart before plunging his face into it and clearing off the entire dish. He then daintily wiped his mouth with a napkin.
James looked around at his surroundings, seeming to notice them for the first time. Lily wasn't down at dinner yet, so there was nothing to distract him from eating, except a slight desire to know where she was. He pushed it out of his mind. It's not like he was a stalker or anything.
He glanced around, and his eyes landed on a plate of ice cream sitting in front of a boy five seats down. It was the largest pile of sweet, creamy goodness he had ever set his eyes on, and he couldn't stop staring. The frozen delicacies were piled onto the plate in cubes of all different flavors, and they were starting to melt over one another. He could see strawberry, strawberry cheesecake, strawberries and creme, golden vanilla, French vanilla, vanilla bean, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, white chocolate with raspberries, peach, mint chocolate chip, cherry vanilla, toffee, caramel, caramel with chocolate, and even a heavenly, slowly melting cube of what looked like pistachio chip. He salivated and considered going down the table to steal the plate away from the boy (who obviously didn't deserve it), but Remus, who saw where his thoughts were, held him firmly down in his seat.
And thus James spend the next ten minutes staring at the mound of ice cream that was slowly being devoured by the surrounding students (the lucky bastards).
At that moment, Lily Evans and Severus Snape walked into the Great Hall.
James, immediately distracted from the ice cream, glared at them as Snape pleaded with her entreatingly. Lily sighed, then nodded. The twosome walked to the Slytherin table and sat down at the far end, away from the other students. James seethed.
"It's not fair," James muttered. "It's not bloody fair. How come even Snivellus gets to enjoy her company without incurring her wrath? She's even sitting at the Slytherin table. She hates Slytherins. She hates Snape." He glared at Snape with intense dislike. "Stupid, lucky git. He's not even handsome. Not at all. And he's mean, and cruel, and…" he trailed off and narrowed his eyes as he watched Snape offer Lily some ice cream, and he growled as she accepted. "See, he's not generous either. Who offers a girl like Lily ice cream? Ice cream makes you fat. You have to offer her gentle delicacies like cheesecake, or vanilla fudge." He fumed. "And he's not funny either. Not funny like me. He's too stupid to be funny. And too stupid to be handsome. Or smart. And he needs some good shampoo. I am so not giving him my shampoo. It costed a lot of money. Stupid kid needs to wash his hair and sort out his priorities. And right now, his number one priority should be to stop talking to Lily so that I don't have to get a detention for blasting him through the ceiling. Idiot kid. I bet he's talking to her on purpose, just so I'll hex him and land myself a detention. I hate this world." James glared at Snape, at his empty plate of treacle tart, even at Dumbledore. Stupid old geezer for letting Snape talk to Lily.
The deserts disappeared off the tables, and James immediately sprang up from his seat. Dodging the students, he stormed over to the Slytherin table, where Lily and Snape were just getting up, and shot a Stinging Hex right towards Snape. The hex grazed Snape's face, leaving a trail of red burn marks on his left cheek. Snape whirled around, spotted Potter, and glared. He raised his wand as well, but Lily put an arm out in front of him and pushed him back.
"Get out of here," she muttered to Snape. "I'll take care of Potter." Snape cast James one more livid look, but, not wanting to argue with Lily, turned and stormed out of the Great Hall. The rest of the students had grown silent, anticipating yet another argument between two of the most wildly unstoppable forces in Hogwarts.
Lily glared at James with narrowed eyes. "What was that for, Potter? He, unlike you, was not being an imbecile. You had no right to hex him, and you will apologize."
James snorted. "Apologize, to that slimy git? He deserved it."
Lily closed her eyes, trying to control her temper. "Don't talk about him like that." she hissed, barely managing to keep her voice low.
"Why do you defend him?" James' voice had lost its mocking edge. "He's not right for you, Lily. I'm serious, you don't know what evil stuff he's always up to with those friends of his. You can't be with him." His voice had grown pleading.
"And you think you're the right one for me, do you not?" she said scornfully.
"Why, of course!" he grinned conceitedly and ran his fingers through his hair. Several girls swooned. "Lily, you'll always be the one for me, just as I'm the right one for you. You just don't realize it yet."
"Potter, you are just so blasted conceited!" Lily yelled, finally losing her calm. "You brainless arrogant bastard!" Several students fainted, so shocked were they to hear such foul language passing between the lips of the perfect Lily Evans.
James winced. "Language there, love. Don't pollute the air with such obscenities. You know I love you."
He stepped closer to her.
"Well, I hate you!" she shrieked at him. Her fiery hair had started to escape from the neat bun on top of her head as she shook in her fury. Her cheeks flushed crimson and her eyes glittered angrily.
James shivered inwardly but smiled a cocky grin, then walked up to her so that they were inches apart. He bent his head and whispered so that his lips gently brushed her ear and his breath swept past her skin. "Do you really not want to take that back?"
He drew back and looked intently into her stunned eyes, and thought he saw something besides anger and surprise hidden in their depths. Lily staggered slightly and shivered, breathing raggedly. Unable to stop himself, he leaned down to capture her lips with his own, and he thought he heard her moan softly before she gave herself up.
Author's Note: How was it? It was my attempt at a story with a traditional theme, one involving the seven sins.
This was an old story I had on here, which I reposted and revised for clarity and content.
Read and review please!
~lunaleth