What A Name
James. It's kind of a nice name. James. It just kind of rolls off the tongue, don't you think? James Potter. Lily. Lily Marie Potter. Oh, yes, I definitely like that.
Lily. It's such a beautiful name. Of course it's beautiful it is a flower! It fits her perfectly, too. Beautiful name beautiful girl; strong, but fragile-looking flower little, fiery girl. Lily Marie Potter. Oh, yes, I definitely like that.
Lily Evan sat alone at a circular table in the corner of the dimly lit library, staring at her Transfiguration essay. She'd been sitting there for two hours it was now five o'clock and all she had managed to write were three tiny, pathetic little words: Lily Marie Potter.
"Impressive. McGonnagal will be so thrilled about that. She might even read it in front of the class," a deep, male voice said from behind her. Lily didn't need to turn around to figure out who it was. She would recognize that voice anywhere. Except for maybe a deep, dark hole some place she would love to be now.
"What do you want, Black?" Lily asked without taking her eyes off the name emblazoned on her parchment. She considered doodling some flowers around the name Lilies, perhaps?
"I was just wondering when you and my best mate were married, and why I wasn't invited," Sirius said. Lily could hear the smug smirk in his voice.
"Go die in a fire, Black," Lily commanded in a bored voice.
He laughed and pulled out the chair next to her; the legs scraped unpleasantly against the hard floors. "My my, someone's a bit testy today. What's the matter, Lilykins?"
Lily's eyes narrowed into slits as she glared at the parchment as if that would make Sirius leave. She kept her mouth clamped firmly shut.
Sirius sighed and leaned back in his chair, tipping it back. "Okay, come one, Lils, drop the act. You can't just ignore this forever."
Lily crossed her arms but relaxed her stiff posture, and finally turned to look at him.
"You're right."
She was exhausted. Even Sirius Black could tell that much. Dark circles surrounded her eyes, her eyelids were drooping, and her shoulders hunched over.
"How long have you fancied James?" Sirius asked softly, looking straight into her tired eyes.
She sighed and closed her eyes. She looked years older than she had before, Sirius observed.
"I don't know, Sirius," she admitted. "I think it has always been there somewhere, but buried beneath loads of other feelings towards him. I guess it just took losing him to see what I was missing before."
It seemed strange to him, hearing this from her. He had scoffed at James's plan of ignoring her, thinking that it would just blow up in his face. And he'd been partly right James was a mess, more so than Lily but it surprised him to see that James had been correct also.
"It was just the little things at first," she went on quietly, twisting her quill in her fingers, "like him holding the door for me, or helping me on my Transfiguration homework" she gestured to her essay "and covering for me in class when I turned up late, or forgot my assignments.
"All those little things just chipped away at the image I had created of him in my mind the arrogant, over-confident one until if finally gave way to the real James. You know, the kind, helpful, talented, charming, and caring one."
Lily buried her face in her hands for a brief moment before pushing back her hair, and smiling sadly at Sirius. He didn't smile back at her; he just studied her carefully, making a decision.
He stood up suddenly, and began packing her books and parchment into her bag.
"Sirius!" she protested loudly. "What are you doing? I wasn't done with that!"
Ignoring her, he shouldered the bag and pulled her up from her chair. "Come on, we're getting out of here," he said, towing her out of the deserted library by the hand.
When they reached the Fat Lady, Sirius let go of her hand and nearly shoved her through the portrait hole.
"Go take a shower and get all freshened up, and then meet me back here in 45 minutes, okay?"
"But, Sirius " Lily began, confused.
"Just put on some makeup, and jeans and a t-shirt. It'll all be worth it, I promise. 45 minutes!" Sirius called over his shoulder as he began to run in the opposite direction as everyone else heading down to dinner.
When he looked back over his shoulder at her, she was climbing though the hole, shaking her head.
He rounded the corner, and slipped through a tapestry that was concealing a hidden passageway. As soon as he was out of sight, Sirius pulled out an old, wrinkled piece of parchment, located something on it, then shoved it back into his pocket, and was off down the corridor again.
James Potter soared high above everything else, crouched low over his broom, shooting across the sky like a rocket. He was thinking, as usual, about Lily. His heart ached, and he put on an extra burst of speed in response.
When he was flying, it didn't hurt so much. It was like the wind rushing into his face cleared his mind. Up in the air, it was easier to forget her delicious scent, and the sight of the sun glinting off of her brilliant red hair.
Maybe it was because he was thinking of her, but he thought he saw a flash of red, down to his left by the entrance to the Quidditch pitch.
James slowed down a bit to get a closer look, and nearly fell off his broom.
Lily.
Once she entered the pitch, Lily realized why Sirius made her get ready as if she were going out. It made even more sense when she spotted something black streak across the sky in a blur.
James.
Even from so far away, Lily was able to appreciate the grace and the beauty of flying. He seemed to sort of blend into one with his broom, like he was just another part of it. And the speed at which he was able to fly without off was incredible to her.
It almost made her want to try it for herself. Almost.
Lily settled for watching James and his broom spiral down to the ground and land with a soft, graceful thump.
She quickly melted back into the shadows, as James dismounted his broom and looked around the entrance expectantly.
Her heart gave a little leap of pleasure when she noted that he looked a slight bit disappointed. And that was all it took.
"James?" she said hesitantly, stepping out from the cool, comforting shadows she had hid in.
"Lily," James breathed, looking both pleasantly surprised and hopelessly confused. "What are you doing out here?"
Lily smiled shyly, and began wringing her hands nervously. "Um, well, Sirius kind of dragged me out here, because...because..." she trailed off, not knowing what to say or do.
She glanced over at James's sad, desperate expression and suddenly knew what she needed to do. Lily steeled herself for what she was about to do, looked him straight in the eyes, and forced the dreaded words from her mouth: "Because, James, I need to tell you something."
"I fancy you," she told him in a nearly inaudible voice, studying the ground closely as if she were going to find a four-leaf clover.
The words were like music to his ears. After all these years, she finally said the words he so desperately longed to hear above anything else. He was barely aware of the huge grin that was spreading slowly across his face.
She was saying something else, he realized then, and he quickly focused his attention on her again. But as always, he found his eyes being drawn to her lips.
They looked so soft, and silky, he observed. They're perfect. But that didn't really surprise him, because the rest of her was perfect, too. He felt the inexplicable urge to reach out and touch them.
Before he even noticed what he was doing, his face was only a few centimeters from hers, and, amazingly, she was still staring at the ground and babbling nervously about some trivial little thing, oblivious.
James put a finger under her chin, and lifted her face to his.
"Moony, look! They're kissing!" Peter pointed out excitedly, nearly jumping in delight.
"Yes, Pete. I can see that, thanks," Remus replied, rolling his eyes and patting his friend on the shoulder. He turned. "Well, Padfoot," he said, facing Sirius who was sitting quietly next to them under the Invisibility Cloak, "James said in third year that he wanted the entire school to know when he and Lily got together." Remus handed Sirius his wand, which he had stolen from him earlier, and gave it a flourish. "Would you like to do the honors?"
Sirius took the wand from Remus and twisted it between his fingers, before shoving it into his pocket. "No, I don't think I will. He can thank me for this later."
Remus nodded approvingly and smiled. "Okay. Come on, Pete. I don't think they'll notice if we slip past."
They stood up, extricating themselves from the cloak, leaving Sirius sitting there alone.
Sirius sat there for a few more minutes, just watching the two of them hold each other and talk and occasionally share a kiss.
"Good job, James," Sirius whispered, and then stood up and disappeared under the cloak again.
Kissing James was even better than doodling his name on a piece of pager. And, oh, what a name it was. She could definitely get used to this.
It's official. There is not a bad side to Lily Evans. Her name is beautiful, her hair is, her fiery attitude, her delicate frame, her perfect eyes...and her lips! The best part, perhaps, is that now she is all his. Those lips are his to kiss, her hair is his to feel, and her brilliant green eyes are his to gaze endlessly into. Lily Evans is now his. Lily Marie Potter. What a name.
A/N: Here's another! I'm not totally in love with it, but it will have to do for now. How about you? Like it, love it, want to run off to Vegas and elope with it? That was a tad over the top... Anyway, please leave me a review! No flames. Thanks!
Love,
Livelier