He sat sprawled over a plush red couch in the common room, waiting. Any moment now…
"POTTER!" came a yell from the girls dormitory above him. He smirked with satisfaction. It had worked.
He heard footsteps on the staircase and, sure enough, a moment later Lily Evans stood in front of him, fuming.
"You arrogant toerag!" she screamed angrily, "Undo it now!"
"But, Lilyflower-"
"DON'T call me that!" she spat.
"Sorry EVANS," James said sarcastically, "But it's charmed to last a week. Besides, I rather like you as a blonde."
"What?!" Lily screamed in shock, "Why you - you irresistible charmer!"
James opened his mouth, ready to respond with a sharp retort, but he closed it and widened his eyes as he comprehended what Lily had just said.
"Evans… did you-"
"No!" she yelled, "Just leave me alone and don't mess with things you don't understand!"
She had turned as red as her beautiful fiery hair, James thought. Wow. She looks so hot when she's angry.
Lily fled from the common room in tears, back to the safety of her dorm.
xXoXx
"Lily! Hey Lily!" Melissa Anderson, one of her best friends, called out when she saw her friend. "Lily?" she asked when she noticed Lily looked a bit down. Melissa was a brunette with dark striking eyes that she loved to play up with eye makeup. She was a tall and slightly muscular girl because she had been the Gryffindor beater for the last three years.
"Mel," Lily smiled weakly, "How's your morning been?"
"Oh Lils," Mel said, sighing, "What's wrong? Is it James?"
"Must you call him that? He's an immature jerk."
"Yes dear, he's my friend, although I must admit turning your hair blonde is a bit juvenile."
"A BIT! It's downright idiotic, Mel!
xXoXx
"You know he's only showing off for you Lily," Kendra Jackson, another of Lily's best friends remarked quietly. Kendra, however, was a studious girl with sandy hair and large brown eyes. Unlike Mel, she wouldn't touch Quidditch with a bargepole and watched it to support her friend.
"Oh hey KJ!" Mel said enthusiastically, "Sooo true! So, have you seen Remus yet?"
Remus Lupin, Kendra's boyfriend since the last week of last year, when he had worked up the courage to ask her out, was one of the four hottest boys in their year.
His three best friends were Sirius Black, Hogwarts resident player, notorious for dating girls for a week and then dumping them, James Potter, who had a past like Sirius' but lately he had been asking Lily out fervently and not dating any other girls, and last (and probably least) was Peter Pettigrew. He was a shy boy who had never had a girlfriend on account of the fact that he liked Chloe Rogers, Lily's other best friend. Chloe, although she would never admit it because she was extremely shy around boys, liked him back, but thought he liked her because her family was pureblood and rich.
The four girls were a tight group that were very close to the Marauders, what Remus, Sirius, James and Remus called themselves. The Marauders was a signature name they used for their many pranks, but despite this, the whole school knew who they were.
xXoXx
"No," Kendra said, sighing sadly, "I haven't been able to get him on his own. I'm not sure if he even still likes me."
"Aww Kendra! You two are perfect for each other!" Lily said, "Go see him now! I'm sure he'll be free!"
"Yeah go on Kendra! Girl power!" Melissa added.
"Alright guys, I'll go," Kendra said.
"Good luck KJ!" Lily and Melissa exclaimed, crossing their fingers. Kendra smiled at them, although she had butterflies fluttering around in her stomach. They smiled back reassuringly and she walked slowly out of their dormitory, shaking with fear at the thought that he didn't like her anymore.
xXoXx
Meanwhile, in the boys' dorm, James was pondering the incident that had happened earlier with Lily. Why had she said he was an 'irresistible charmer?' Didn't she hate him?
"Penny for your thoughts," a voice interrupted him. He turned around.
"Hey Sirius," James said "It's Lily."
"I gathered as much," Sirius replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes at James.
"She called me an irresistible charmer," James said quickly, not meeting his best friend's eyes.
"Hang on a sec - isn't that a good thing?" Sirius asked, mildly confused.
"We were fighting when she said it. Then, when I asked her what she had just said, she told me to leave her alone and not to mess with things I didn't understand. Then she ran to the girls dorm." He sighed, "I don't understand what I did wrong."
"Hey maybe you should talk to Remus," Sirius ventured, "because the workings of a girl's mind, mate, is a complex thing."
"Tell me about it."
xXoXx
Kendra walked down the stairs, dreading, yet looking forward to the next few moments. She could already see Remus reading in a chair in the common room. His light brown hair was distinctive, even when he was hunched over a book. She loved his eyes. You could lose yourself in those eyes, with their familiar sparkle and dark, mysterious interiors. She always felt he was hiding something behind those eyes.
"Hey," he said softly, startling her. "Beautiful."
And in that moment she knew everything would be alright. She walked towards him, staring at him adoringly.
He closed his book and stood up. He walked slowly towards her, not breaking the eye contact they were making.
In a moment they were standing next to each other, still gazing into each other's eyes. He leaned in towards her. Their lips met. Her lips were on fire, throbbing with the passion of the kiss. She pulled back and whispered in his ears, "I love you, Remus Lupin."
xXoXx
As Chloe Rogers, a plump, petite, blonde sixth year, one of Lily's friends, swung on the swing the Room of Requirement had created for her enjoyment, she felt she was being watched.
"Who's there?" She said softly, feeling silly because she had specifically thought of no one when she had walked down the corridor three times.
She got a surprise when she saw a blonde head poke out from behind a magnolia tree to her left.
"Peter?"
"H-hey Chloe," he replied, "Did you know we have the same hair colour?"
"For Pete's sake, Pete! Did you just notice?!"
He blushed. "Yes."
She tapped her head pointedly, and burst out laughing when he gave her a questioning look. "It means duh, Peter," she explained, practically wetting herself laughing.
"Oh."
"Well," she said, a touch sadly, "Dinner's in about five minutes, so maybe we'd better get going."
"Good idea," he replied. "Just wondering, how often do you come here?"
"Loads, actually," she said, "Just about every night after dinner."
"Maybe I'll see you here again sometime then," he responded huskily.
"Maybe."
xXoXx
James was nervous. It wasn't often that the great James Potter felt this way about a girl. He was sitting edgily on an armchair in the common room, waiting for Lily. He had a bouquet of roses in his arms and the packaging was getting damp from his sweaty palms. He could hear the clock ticking loudly and when it gave a sudden chime he knew it was the dinner call. Lily would have to come down now.
Suddenly, there she was. Her eyes were slightly red and puffy, but in James' opinion she looked fantastic. She was wearing skinny jeans and shin high black boots with a green singlet top because it was the day before school started, so students were allowed to wear mufti. Her hair was done in a messy bun and she was wearing light makeup.
She stopped when she saw James waiting for her with roses. Her mouth opened.
"Aww," she said softly, "You shouldn't have!"
"But my fair lady, I love thee! May I have the honour of escorting you to supper?"
Lily blushed, "Yes you may, Mr Potter."
"Then, Miss Evans, let's go," James replied jokingly, "Oh, and will you accept these flowers as a token of my apology for this morning's events?"
"Oh Mr Potter, I would be delighted!" Lily said, putting on an aristocratic English accent.
They made their way down to the Great Hall, talking and laughing.
xXoXx
"Wow," Melissa breathed as she saw Lily and James enter the Great Hall, together! They weren't arguing either! Just then, she saw Lily seem to stumble, and to her surprise, James use his Quidditch reflexes and catch her before she fell. She smiled up at him as he set her back on her feet.
"You really are a man of many talents, Mr Potter," Lily said breathlessly, smiling gratefully at him.
