"Does it hurt badly, Lily?" Meredith asked, touching Lily's bandaged ankle lightly.
Lily shrugged. "Not really. Though the potion Pomfrey made me down was ruddy painful to drink." Lily paused. " 'What did you expect, pumpkin juice?' " She mocked the mediwitch's favorite saying.
Meredith laughed. "At least you got flowers out of the deal." She said, gesturing at the bouquet of roses at Lily's bedside.
Lily smiled dreamily. "Yeah. Sweet of him wasn't it?"
Ophelia rolled her eyes. "Who exactly sent them?"
Meredith was suddenly all ears. "Yes. Details, please!"
"I suppose I have Potter to thank for it, in a round-about way." Lily began. "If he hadn't pushed me down the hill, I never would have met Giovanni."
"Paolo Giovanni!" Meredith squealed, clutching her hands to her chest. "Oh Lily, you're so lucky! He's gorgeous!"
"You've met him then? Tell me everything!" Lily demanded, sitting up.
Ophelia crossed her arms, frowning. "I find it hard to believe that James pushed you, Lily."
"Well...he's our year..." Meredith began, ignoring her sister. "He's Italian...hmm...keeps to himself mostly..."
"Our year? How is it that I've never met him?" Lily wondered, absently twirling a lock of her impossibly red hair.
"Um..." Meredith seemed hesitant. "You see...he's...well..."
"Because," Ophelia huffed indignantly. "He's a Slytherin." She spat out the last with distaste.
"Yeah." Meredith nodded. "That."
Lily shrugged. "Doesn't change the fact that he rescued me from Potter."
"Almost a Gryffindor thing to do." agreed Meredith.
Ophelia sighed. "Lily. You do not need to be rescued from James!"
Meredith rolled her eyes. "Here she goes again! Really Ophelia, why is it that you always take Potter's side in these things?"
Ophelia glared back. "Someone has to be the voice of reason." She turned to Lily. "James is a nice bloke, Lily. And you'd see it if you gave him half a chance."
Now Meredith sighed. "Potter is immature." She retorted.
Ophelia's frown deepened. "I'd say fun."
"And obnoxious." Put in Lily.
"Try persistant." Ophelia argued.
"And chauvanistic." added Meredith.
"Chivalrous." retorted Ophelia.
"And--" Lily began.
"Right here." A deep voice interrupted her.
All three girls looked up.
"Potter..." Meredith said coldly. "What are you doing here?"
James approached the bedside, pulling a bouquet of flowers from behind his back.
"I came to apologise." He paused. "And to bring a peace offering."
"Someone already beat you to it." Meredith replied, nodding towards Lily's bedstand.
He glanced over at the bouquet of roses. He smirked.
"Mine are nicer."
He was, of course, right. Paolo's roses were nice, flashy, but James' flowers had the advantage of being her favorite--daisies. How could he possible have known?
"Yes." Lily admitted grudgingly. "They're my favorite. How did you know?"
He smirked again, his eyes flashing briefly to Ophelia. "I have my ways."
Ophelia looked away, trying a little too hard to appear nonchalant.
Ophelia. She really should have known.
"Well...thank you." Lily said, accepting the bouquet. "But it's hardly mature of you to deride someone else's gift. Especially when Paolo didn't push me down the hill."
James' smile dimmed considerably. "Why is it," he said, looking rather disgruntled. "that I've known you for close to seven years, and I've never been able to convince you to call me James, and you've known Giovanni for a couple of hours and you're already on a first name basis?"
Lily arched a brow. "I'd say quality of interaction rather supercedes quanity, Potter."
Merlin, did that sound as bitchy as she thought it did? Apparently so, because both Ophelia and Meredith were giving her disapproving looks, while Potter just looked sullen. Great. She sighed. "Would it make you feel better if I called you James?"
He brightened. "Yes. Actually it would."
"Fine, James."
"There now, was that so hard?"
She pouted a little. "Yes. Actually it was."
Now he arched a brow. "Mocking me, Lily?"
She shrugged, her eyes widening in feigned innocence. "Who? Me? Never."
James laughed. "Oh, Lily! The things you do to me. You have no idea how much your cheek turns me on. "
Lily colored. "Ground rules, James." She said quickly. "You're violating them again..."
He shrugged and winked at her. "Rules are rather made to be broken, don't you think?"
"No. No I don't. But then I'm responsible." She flipped her hair. He was annoying her. Again.
"I'm responsible." He argued. "In my own way."
"Sure you are." she scoffed.
He sighed. "Well...I guess you see what you want to see, Lily." He ran his hands through his hair, his expression suddenly serious. "Speaking of which...promise me you won't go out with him."
"Paolo?"
"Giovanni." He corrected.
"Potter..." She warned.
"James." His brow was furrowed.
Lily glared at him. "You're James just so long as you follow the ground rules. Violate them, and you're Potter again."
"Lily..." His voice took on a plaintive tone. "Will you just listen to me--trust me--for once? You-you can't date him. He's a complete git. You have no idea who he is. What he is. He isn't the sort of bloke you want to get involved with." He paused. "And this isn't just about me fancying you."
She gave him a look.
He shifted uncomfortably. "Ok, maybe it is a little about that. But I'd tell you the same thing even if I didn't. He...he's no good Lily! Promise me. Please?"
Lily rolled her eyes. "Sure, James. Whatever you say."
"Will you at least think about what I said?" He sounded desperate.
She shrugged, smirking slightly. "Of course. And not the crazy, where-the-hell-is-he-going-with-this ranting, but the Paolo bad part. Got it."
"It's a lost cause, isn't it?"
A mixture of frustration and depression crossed his face, and Lily once again felt guilty--cruel. He sounded so adamant...
"James..." Lily began, not really sure what to say.
"Forget it." he said dismissively, turning away. "I'll catch you around then."
He left without another word.
