Thursday

James was having the worst day of his life.

Okay, probably not actually, he did tend to be a little bit dramatic at times. But today more than ever, he hated the life he lived. One might think that being an international Quidditch sensation would mean living like a king - and one would be right, to an extent - but today… today he was miserable.

You see, he was supposed to be at home by now. At home after a long day at work; in his bathtub, with a warm Butterbeer and the Muggle telly on to entertain him. Not that he really even knew how to work the damn thing, but after pressing several buttons at random, something would always end up coming on screen.

But he wasn't home, in his bathtub, with a warm butterbeer and the Muggle telly. He was sweaty, gross, in pain, and sitting on a very uncomfortable foldable chair that was provided for him. In front of him laid a massive pile of posters, an image of himself flying around on his broom and flashing a smile at the camera. He definitely did not feel as happy now as he looked to be in that picture.

"Tell me," James grumbled, shooting a dirty look to his manager, Badrick. "Why am I here? I'm injured. Or do you not recall a certain incident not even eight hours ago?"

A little less than eight hours before, James had been laying in a hospital bed, all bones on his left hand completely crushed by a stray Bludger. The Healers had assured him it would heal properly, and that he would be okay in 24 hours. However, they also informed him that the process of healing would be painful, although it should not be unbearable so long as he didn't mess with his injury. This meant, no more flying for the day, and possibly the day after. Until his hand healed completely, he was not allowed back on the field.

Badrick had the audacity to roll his eyes. "Stop whining. You're not even left-handed. This should not affect your ability to sign these posters and smile at your fans any less than it would've otherwise."

"I know, but I would've done it about three hours ago. You know, after practice, with some time to shower and change and without a crushed hand that hurts like a bitch." He muttered bitterly. Because of his incident, his scheduled meet-and-greet had been postponed to later in the day. He had gotten out of the hospital tent not even a half hour beforehand, therefore being obligated to continue through with his schedule in the days' sweaty uniform.

And then there was the Montrose Magpies; James' biggest dream yet biggest headache. The Magpies had long been the most successful team in the British and Irish Quidditch League, having won the League Cup a total of thirty-two times. To even make the reserves would be a great feat. James was really just starting out, after all. He had graduated Hogwarts only just shy of two years prior. He'd spent six out of his seven years at Hogwarts playing Quidditch.

Although the tips of his ears would get red when someone mentioned it, he was good. Like, really good. That was part of the reason his fame grew exponentially within the past year. Well, that and his good looks that kept even the most Quidditch-inept ladies paying close attention to the game.

James wasn't stupid, he knew there were scouts looking at him under the microscope, watching his every move and deciding if he was worthy of their team. The thought alone sent him into a fit of excited butterflies, but that also meant that missing practice, or worse, tomorrow's game, could be devastating to his career. Sure, the Appleby Arrows were alright… for now. He could do better, he knew he could, and he'd be damned if some injury was going to stop that.

Badrick, knowing James almost as well as anybody that wasn't one of his best friends could know James, saw right through him. "You're worried you won't be signed into a good team, aren't you?" He asked, not even waiting for James to answer before he went on, "You'll be fine, James. I've told you many times before, you will get into a good team. You're good and you're popular. You know that." He stared into James' hazel eyes, which were now firmly glued to the table. He sighed again and continued, "I'll be honest, it may not be the Magpies. But that hardly has anything to do with your injury or your performance. They're the best team in the league, and you're new. Maybe you could get to Tutshill… or even Puddlemere reserves if you're lucky and play with absolute perfection. The Magpies are too far of a reach; you also know that. I'd give it at least five more years till it becomes a possibility. I'm not saying you can't do it, but don't be disappointed if you don't get an owl from them any time soon. All their players have been in professional Quidditch for years, kid. You practically just graduated."

Of course, James knew this. He knew the Magpies were a reach, he knew he would be insanely lucky to ever get into the team, much less now. He took a deep breath and said, "Just bring the fans in already. The sooner I get over this, the better."

Badrick knew the Magpie conversation was over, so he nodded and signaled the guard to let the fans in. "Don't look so miserable, kid. Everyone's going to think you hate your fans. Not good publicity, I fear."

"I don't hate my fans. I've just had a rotten day."

"Well, hide it."

James rolled his eyes but nodded in agreement. Truthfully, he loved meeting fans. Unless they attempted to throw themselves at him and force a kiss, that was never very fun. Most of them were nice though, and kept their hands to themselves. Although the look in their eyes often said they wouldn't mind throwing themselves at him as well but were just merely too respectful to do so. But today he was just not in the mood.

Plus, he felt gross. It was never fun to meet a bunch of cute girls when you smell rotten.

Alas, he knew he had to, anyway. So he forced a smile on his face as a line of people walked towards him.

James signed posters, hugged fans and evaded a few kisses here and there for what seemed like forever. As the last group of people in line were leaving, he checked his watch. 7:02 PM. He let out a sigh of relief, at least it wasn't too late. He'd been sitting there for about two hours at that point. He was ready for his arse to leave that crappy white chair and be sitting atop his much more comfortable bed.

Just was he was standing up, he caught sight of a young woman walking towards the table. She didn't say anything, merely just stood right in front of the table, staring at him with a small smile tugging and the corner of her lips. After about thirty seconds of her just lingering there without a word, James spoke up, "Uh, hi. Can I help you?"

"Well, it's a meet-and-greet, isn't it? I'm here to meet you." The girl answered simply, as if she hadn't just been standing there without a word. Weird, but at least she's pretty, he thought. And she was. Prettiest girl he'd seen in a long time, he decided.

She shook her head as she continued, interrupting James' thoughts, "No, I guess 'meeting' is not the right word. More like... reuniting, er, I guess." She blushed, shaking her head again. "I'm not making any sense, am I. Do you remember me?"

James stared. He looked at the woman right in front of him up and down, analyzing her closely. Honestly, she was drop dead gorgeous in a girl-next-door kind of way. If he wasn't so confused by what she was saying, he totally would've hit on her.

She was average height, although she was short next to him. Most girls were, as he was a tall man. She had light skin and was pretty averagely skinny. She had a very delicate face, making her look a bit younger than him. He guessed around 18, though he was quite rubbish at guessing ages. She had dark, black hair. Her eyes, though, were definitely what caught James' attention the most. They were a stunning emerald green color. Big, with long eyelashes adorning them. He'd seen those eyes before; he knew he had...

"Evans." He responded after a minute of awkward silence. "...Right? Wait, no. You can't be Lily Evans, she had red hair. Plus, I'm quite certain she would have sooner embraced a Killing Curse coming to one of my meet-and-greets. Sorry, I'm being stupid. You look a lot like her though." He shook his head. "I'm sorry," he repeated "I don't remember you."

The green-eyed girl just laughed and shook her head. "You do remember me." She answered, taking her wand out. James was confused, and for a second he thought that maybe she was one of the many girls he'd gone on a date with that he later ignored owls from. Maybe she was mad he didn't remember her and was pulling out her want do hex him. Though why he would ignore her didn't make sense, she was so beautiful.

Thankfully, he didn't get hexed. The girl brought her wand up to her head, tapping her hair lightly as she muttered a spell.

Her hair slowly faded from black into a warm, auburn shade. Suddenly, he realized his first guess was right.

"Evans." He said slowly, his eyes narrowing. "I'm sorry if I'm being rude, but what are you doing here? What do you want?"

She grinned. "I told you. I want to reunite. I know we didn't really have the best relationship in school-"

"Not the best relationship is putting it lightly." He muttered, shooting her a suspicious look. "You hate me, Evans."

She rolled her eyes, tucking a piece of her fiery hair behind her ear. "Potter, I hated you when I was fourteen."

"Right. I still don't understand why you're here, though. I haven't seen you left Hogwarts."

Lily had dropped out of Hogwarts after her parents, both Muggles, had passed away in a car accident. James was practically in love with her at only fourteen years old, or as in love as a fourteen-year-old can possibly be, so he knew about this. He remembers hearing that she's continue her education at home with her Muggle sister, and after she left he never heard from her again. Until now.

"I told you. Reunite." She said it so simply and casually, shrugging her shoulders.

"Why? I understand that you don't hate me like you used to when you were fourteen, but still. We were never friends, so why come looking for me?"

"Well, I'm trying this thing where I'm attempting not to have any bad relationships in my life. You know, fixing any bad blood I've had with anyone. That usually does not extend to old Hogwarts feuds; too long ago and people are all over the world by now. But then I saw an ad for this meet-and-greet and I thought 'why not?', you're probably, no, definitely the person I despised most in that school. So I think it's fine to try to mend everything, even if was so long ago, don't you think?"

James remained silent, looking at her with a mix of confusion, surprise, and suspicion. Five years ago, he would be jumping with excitement and the mere thought of having a proper conversation with Lily Evans where she wasn't glaring at him. Now, it just seemed strange.

"So let me get this straight." He said slowly, frowning at her, who simply shot him a smile back. "You hated me. Now you want good vibes in your life or whatever, so you talk to me. Six years after the last time we even saw each other."

Lily just nodded. She didn't say anything, as if that was enough of an explanation.

"I'm sorry, but that just seems pretty strange to me."

"It is." She answered with a shrug. "But I've changed and I'm assuming you have, too. I've grown and I've realized that while you were a complete immature arsehole, I wasn't fair to you a lot of the time. I want to make it right, even if it has been years."

"Right… Make it right." James muttered, cocking his head to the side. "I'm sorry, may I ask how exactly you're going to 'make it right'?"

"I was hoping you would ask that. The Leaky Cauldron is not too far from here. Wanna grab a Butterbeer and chat?" She paused. "Well, not now. In an hour or so, I'll give you a chance to shower. You stink."

"You're asking me to go grab a Butterbeer with you?" He said, smirking as he leaned back on his crappy chair. "Wow, if fourteen-year-old me knew this would happen someday, he'd be thrilled."

She rolled her eyes. "Well, it's hardly a date. Just two old… well I can't say friends, can I? Two people that have known each other for a really long time talking again after a few years." She smiled, laughing lightly. "Fourteen-year-old me would've laughed at the face of whoever told me that I would ever willingly spend any time at all with James Potter. But anyway, what do you say?"

"Look, I'm not going to pretend this isn't… weird. Or that I think it's an amazing idea. But I guess I've got nothing to lose and neither do you." He glanced down at his watch; 7:14, then looked up at her again. "Meet me at The Leaky Cauldron at let's say… 8:30?"

"That's perfect." Lily nodded. "Thank you for giving me the time of day. I reckon you're quite a busy person."

James shrugged. "Yeah, I guess I am. But it's fine, I don't go out very often anyway."

"Good. I wouldn't want to be getting in the way of your schedule."

"You're not." He assured. "I better get going. I'll see you later." He smiled slightly at her, trying to be polite. He was still confused, but he figured this really couldn't hurt.

"Alright. I'll be there at 8:30." Lily said with a smile, and apparated before James could say anything else.

"Got yourself a girlfriend, kid?" Badrick asked teasingly almost as soon as Lily had left. James turned to look at him and realized that the whole room had emptied out, except for Badrick who had remained in the corner on the room, sitting where he had been for the whole meet-and-greet.

"Spying on me?" James asked with a chuckle, shaking his head. "Hardly a girlfriend. She wants us to meet at The Leaky Cauldron later. She's a schoolmate from Hogwarts, although wasn't really a mate of mine. I had a crush on her from when I was eleven to when I was fourteen. Then I dated Phoebe and I kind of forgot about Lily." He muttered. He hated talking about Phoebe. Even though the two were on good terms, his ex-girlfriend of five years was not something he liked thinking about. "Haven't really thought of her in years. She was never too keen on me… actually, she kind of hated me."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"Let's just say I was a bit of a troublemaker," He explained with a grin, "And Lily Evans was the sort of girl that would never get any less than a perfect score in an exam. Or be caught outside past curfew, or drink at post-Quidditch-game parties."

"Why am I not surprised to hear about the troublemaker bit?" Badrick said with a chuckle. "Alright, well. Maybe she's seeing how famous you've gotten recently and regrets rejecting you." He said jokingly, although a tone of seriousness lingered in his voice. "Be careful, alright? Don't divulge anything private, with fame comes having to be really careful about who you trust."

"Of course." James agreed, "You know I am good at keeping my personal information out of the public. And I can promise you this isn't her regretting any previous rejections. Although I don't really know what she's doing, either. Anyway," He pulled his wand out, ready to apparate. "I'm gonna head home. I've got about an hour to shower, get ready and meet her at The Leaky Cauldron."

"Have fun, kid. Be safe."

James rolled his eyes but smiled and mumbled a quick 'see you tomorrow' before apparating home.

Maybe this might not be the worst day of his life anymore.