So, here's part two! Sorry it took so long... I was very busy. Anyway, please, read and review! Hope you enjoy :D
Professional Help
Lily PoV
After the horrid revelation, I realized that I needed help. Professional help. Which was why I was currently running around the Herbology greenhouse, yelling at the top of my lungs,
"Alice! Alice! Alice, I need your help!"
I frantically searched around the room, looking for the familiar head of blonde hair. She popped up behind a pot, so it looked as if her head was planted inside it, her green eyes glaring. Usually straight, silky blonde hair was tousled all over the place, slightly plump cheeks smudged with dirt.
"Merlin, Lily! What's wrong? Why are you disturbing my plants and me?" she demanded.
"It's… it's James," I said.
"James? What did that prat do to you? Oh, if that boy hurt you…" she trailed off, looking ready to grab her wand and Avada Kedavra him on the spot. Even though she was usually a sweet, even-tempered girl, she would destroy you if you messed with her loved ones.
"No, no! It's nothing like that!" I exclaimed, and then added, "Well, actually it is like that. He's taking that Oliviato the Christmas Ball!" Alice blinked, once, twice, three times, looking lost.
"…So? What's wrong with that? You're not his mum, you know. He doesn't have to take who you want him to take. I really don't get howthat would- Ohhhhh," she said, realization dawning in her face, "You're falling for him, aren't you?" she said with a devious smirk. Another common misconception: although she looked like an angel with her innocent green-eyed, blonde-haired look, she could be a devious minx.
"What? I…no… it's not…fine!" I declared at her skeptical stare, "I am. Happy?" I huffed. Alice let out a girlish squeal.
"Oh, I knew it! You two will make such a cutecouple! Lily, I'm telling you right now, I am going to be the bridesmaid at your wedding. I don't care-"
"But that doesn't matter! He isn't taking me! He's taking… Olive," I said, spitting the word Olive out, interrupting her rant, "And who said anything about marriage?" I added as an after thought. Alice completely ignored my question.
"Well, I think that you should tell him." At my blank stare, she added, "Y'know, about your feelings?"
"What? Are you bloody insane? Have the Venemous Tantacula finally got to you? I can't just tellhim! Think! 'Oh, hey Potter. You know how I said that I'd rather date the Giant Squid than you? Yeah, well, I changed my mind. I like you know.' Yes, that would go brilliantly," I said sarcastically, "Besides, he said that we're 'just friends', Alice. Justfriends," I added, depressed.
"Yes, well, it worked me with me! I am the one that went up to Frank, not the other way around, and look at us now! We have had a steady relationship for a year!" Alice ranted.
"Yes, well, sorry Alice, but I'm not you. Nor is my situation like yours. Frank was, is, a sweetheart! James is… James! Not only that, I told the boy that I'd rather date the GiantSquid than him! A slimy, greasy, aquatic animal!"
"And now look where you are! If someone told you last year that not only would you be friends with James Potter, but fallingfor him, what would you have said?"
"I would've told them to check into St. Mungo's, of course. But what does that have to do with this?"
"Everything!" Alice exclaimed melodramatically, throwing her hands in the air, "It shows that you can get along with him. It shows that things change. What is said doesn't make it a concrete fact, Lily. You can change. He can change. Anything's possible. And what if he does like you, hmmmm? What then? Are you going to stay here and whine about it? Are you going to be known as the forty-year-old-virgin, the one with too many cats? Or are you going to go and do something about it?" she questioned.
"How do I know if he even likes me? What if... what if he completely rejects me?" I questioned stubbornly, not letting go of my argument.
"He won't," Alice stated, as if it was a fact that couldn't be proved wrong. I, on the other hand, wasn't so sure. "Trust me, Lily, he likes you. Now, here's what I want you to do. I want you to go to the Christmas Ball, and I want you to tell him then. Because we all know that the boy has tried enough. It's your turn now. The Ball's only a few days away, and you can prepare yourself for it. Okay?" she asked, but I knew I had no real choice. She would never let me win.
"Fine," I sighed, lacking my usual self-confidence. It was hard enough telling a normal boy that you like him. Potter? It was about ten times harder. No, a hundred times. Merlin, what had I gotten myself into? Why couldn't things regarding James Potter ever be simple?
James PoV
"Bloody hell!" I swore, scanning the map once more. Where had that woman disappear? You'd expect that, with most of the occupants down in Hogsmeade, it wouldn't be hard to find her. But since when had anything to do with Lily Evans been remotely easy?
I finally found her in... the Herbology room? Why the hell would she be there? She hated Herbology. The name next to her, though, clarified it. Alice Thomas. Of course. Who else would be willingly around plants that could eat you? And on a weekend? I shook my head, bemused. Obviously, Lily was visiting her friend.
I folded the Map into my trouser pocket, and took off toward Lily. She had stormed off, for a reason that I had no idea about. I think that Olivia had something to do with it. What, exactly, Olivia had to do with it, I was intent on finding out, hence my hurried rush toward the greenhouse.
"Oi! Watch were you're going!" a seventh-year Hufflepuff yelled as I pushed past him, only a few seconds away from the greenhouse.
"Sorry!" I called over my shoulder. I looked ahead again, and was alarmed to see red hair emerging in front of me. I tried to slow down, but wasn't completely successful, so I ended up bowling her over.
"Owww…" Lily moaned from beneath me. I quickly got up, and pulled her up as well,
"Merlin, I'm so sorry! Shit, are you okay? Do you need to go to Pomfrey?"
"I'm fine, James. Really," she said, rubbing the back of her head, "Just startled a bit."
"Listen, Lily. I'm really sorry for… er, whatever I did to make you leave," I started apologetically, but before I could make my full apology, I was interrupted by Lily herself.
"No, James," she sighed, "It was just me… being stupid. I'm sorry. Can we just continue the meeting?"
"Okay…" I said, thrown off by her apology. I had not been expecting that, "Er… we can just go back to the lib-"
"NO!" Lily blurted out, and then blushed, "I mean, I just don't want to go back to the library. It was getting very crowded. Can we just go to the Heads' Dorms? Please?" she implored, looking at me with big, pleading green eyes. Merlin, how could I refuse thoseeyes? I found myself smiling and saying,
"Sure. Let me just tell Sirius and Remus were we'll be. Wanna come?" I asked. She gave me a beaming smile,
"Sure."
Sirius PoV
As I watched Lily and James walk in the library, smiling, I muttered to myself while rolling my eyes,
"Ahhh. The two ever-oblivious lovebirds have arrived."
James finally arrived at our table, where Remus and I were seated.
"Hey, Moony, Padfoot," he started , smiling, then looked around, "Where's Olivia?"
"Oh, she ran off. Don't know why, though. I was having such an amazing time talking to her," I answered, satisfied with my work. It hadn't been hard to scare her off. James rolled his eyes, although there was a small grin fighting to break free on his face,
"I should've known. Poor girl, having to endure you. Anyway, Lily and I were just going to the Heads' Dorms to discuss the Ball. So, you know, please don't disturb us."
I painted on an innocent expression, although I could feel the devious smirk on my face,
"Oh? Alone? What will you two be doing?" I asked, eyebrow raised, the slight smirk never leaving. I probably looked like the devil trying to pose as an angel.
James, as expected, glared at me. What I wasn't expecting was Lily's reaction. Eyes wide, instead of going 'Avada Kedavra' on me for the 'inappropriate' comment, she… blushed? Well, this wasjuicy. What was the little red head thinking in that head of hers? Before I could elaborate on her reaction, or lack of one, James growled,
"We won't be doing anything, Sirius. Prat."
"Prat?" I exclaimed, and gasped melodramatically, mock offended, "Why, it's not my fault that you have such a dirty mind and took the comment the wrong way," I smirked again, "Besides, what's the point of… discussing-" I gave an exaggerated wink here- "if you're not going to be doing anything? Isn't it a waste of such amazing time? Think of what you two could do, if you just decided to use your hands! Really, it's a waste of amazing talent to just sit around doing nothing. Besides, you'll probably enjoy yourself," I finished, and was just in time to dodge a thick, heavy textbook, that had just happened to be lying around, thrown by Lily.
"Oh, shut up!" she whisper-shouted, although whether her face was red with anger or something else, I couldn't tell.
"But, why, Lily? Aren't you the one who's always telling us to do some work?" I dodged another book, but I ended up on the floor. I was just grateful that Pince wasn't around here right now. She would kill us if she found out that her books were being used as bludgers.
"Sirius, if you don't want to end up with an extra head, or perhaps without that digusting hair of yours, I would stop talking. Right now," Lily threatened.
"Why, Lily!" I started, but before I could properly defend myself, I had to dodge another book. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a group of seventh year Ravenclaws a few tables away give us dirty looks. Merlin, where was Lily getting these books from?
"I'd listen to her advice, Padfoot, before you actually do end up with no hair," Moony chuckled, thoroughly enjoying my misery. I glared at him. The traitor. He was taking her side?
"Moony! How… how could you betray me like that? I thought… I thought we were friends!"
Moony rolled his eyes,
"C'mon, Padfoot. Stop the acting like such a drama queen. The joke's over."
"But I'm serious!" I exclaimed, but then realized what I had said. In my haste to reply, I had made a grave mistake. I saw Moony smirk, and at that moment, he looked completely evil.
"Why, yes, Sirius. I know you're Sirius. Everyone does. Have you forgotten? Did the fall mess up your head even more than it already is?"
My glare redoubled. This proved his betrayal. First, he took her side over mine. And now? Now, he was using my best pun and joke, and was usingitagainstme!
"Oi, stop it, you two. Sirius, shut up and sit down. Moony… do whatever you want," James said, frustrationg evident in his voice, "Lily and I are going… so try not to kill him, Sirius, when we're gone."
"Hey! What about if he tries to kill me? We both know how unstable he is. Much more than I am," I said.
"Sirius, we all know that you are the unstable one, not Moony."
"Yeah, well, whatever," I huffed, crossed my arms, and pouted. I was not a drama queen! I heard Lily laugh,
"Sirius, you just proved our point! Merlin, you boys…" she trailed off, shaking her head, "Anyway, let's get going, James. We already wasted quite a bit of time."
"Yeah, okay," James said, replying, a lovesick, idiotic grin on his face. To my surprise, Lily smiled back, just as enthusiastically. I rolled my eyes, disgusted.
As soon as they turned and walked a few paces toward the door, I called out,
"Have fun, you too! But not too much fun. We don't need any little James or little Lily's walking around!" Then, I ducked behind Moony. I wasn't going to take any chances with Lily. She was top of the class in Charms for a reason.
As I peeked out from behind Moony (who was sighing and shaking his head, in that "What have I gotten myself into?" manner he usually had around us), I saw James forcefully pull Lily out of the library.
I knew mates were good for something.
Lily PoV
As James and I walked back, I couldn't help but notice him out of the corner of my eye. Of course, this wasn't very new (he was quite attractive. Even I, Ms. Ever-Oblivious-Evans, could see that when I was in my denial stage), but now, my thoughts kept wandering to the fact that James and I were walking in an empty corridor, alone, with no one around to witness anything. Not only that, we were going to the Heads' Dorms, where we were even more alone from everyone else. Sirius's words kept coming back at me.
What will you two be doing?
Have fun! But not too much fun!
Merlin, I just wanted to grab that boy, shove him against a wall, and snog him sense-
Ahem. Moving on.
I should've seen this coming. How could I not fall for him, after he had finally become decent? And now that he was over me... well, that just put the dismal cherry on top of my sundae of misery. Honestly! I. Should. Have. Known! He was charming, fun, witty, nice, good-looking, and not to mention those-
"Hey, Lily. What's wrong? You're... really quite," James's voice pulled me out of my thoughts, once again.
"Oh, um, it's nothing. I was just thinking..." I trailed off, obviously wanting to change the topic.
"About?" he prodded, even though I knew he knew I wanted to change the topic.
"It's nothing, James. Can we just talk about something else?"
"Lily, there's something wrong. I can tell. Don't try and hide it from me. Now, what is it? Did Alice say something?"
He was getting me angry.
"No, it's nothing like that. Just... drop it, will you?"
"No, Lily, this is obviously bugging you. You seem incredibly uneasy and fidgety. So, tell me."
"No."
"Lily."
"No!"
"Lily!"
"No!"
"Lily, tell me! I. Want. To. Know!"
My dismal attempt at holding back my temper failed. Damn my red-head temper.
"Okay, you want to know? Hmmm? Do you really? Well, then, Mister Potter, let me tell you! You are my problem! You and that... that... that messy hair of yours! Prancing all about Hogwarts! It's annoying! And now, now you're taking that-" I burst out, hands thrown up in the air (yes, it didn't just happen in movies), breathing heavily, but I cut myself off before I could reveal too much. Merlin, what was I doing? How could I have almost said that?
"I... what?" James said, confused. I didn't blame him. Not even I knew what I was doing.
"It's just that you're taking Olive to the Ball!" I said, wanting to stop. But, of course, my traitor mouth betrayed me, "And... well, I want to go! With you!" I immediately clamped my hand over my mouth. Stupid mouth!
"What are you saying? I think you're ill, Lily. What do you mean, you want to go with me?"
"I mean what I mean, you prat! I want to go with you! But you're taking Olive! Merlin, why is this so hard?" I shouted.
Before he could reply, though, we heard a polite cough.
"Hello, Lily. James," a soft, powerful male voice greeted. We both turned around, and were met with the rather odd appearance of Albus Dumbledore. Today, he was wearing a silver cloak with purple stars, and it was twinkling. Just like his blue eyes were, as he looked us over,
"Might I ask why my two Heads are yelling in the middle of an abandoned corridor?" he asked, the twinkle never leaving his eyes, though he looked as if he knew the answer already. I suppose he had heard me. I wasn't known for being the quite one.
"We were just... going. To the Heads' Dorms. Yeah. Just... leaving..." I said, slowly inching away. His x-ray stare (which always creeped me out) looked me over, peering into the depths of my soul. Okay, fine, maybe I was exaggerating a bit. But it was still extremely creepy.
"Very well. Please, do carry on with your... conversation," he said, and then turned on his heel and walked away, robes billowing in an invisible wind. I turned to James, probably to say something about his robes, but what I saw stopped me. James looked angry. Very angry.
"Let's go to the Dorms," he said, in an obvious attempt to conceal his unconcealed anger.
"James... what's wrong?" I asked timidly. Merlin, I had upset him!
"Nothing."
"James..."
"Please, let's get to the Dorms first. I'd rather talk in there."
"I... okay," I said, frowning, completely confused and hurt. He hadn't replied to my outburst. He hadn't said anything about the Ball. I knew it. I knew he didn't like me. I followed James, who had already started walking ahead of me, trying to stop the tears.
Click.
The door to the dorms closed. I looked around, at the Gryffindor colors decorating the dorms (since both Heads were Gryffindor), the comfy chairs set near the brick fireplace, the two separate stairs leading to the two different rooms. It really was a nice place.
James turned to me,
"What was that all about? What do you mean, Lily?" he said. I had only seen him this serious when I had asked him about Remus's affliction.
"What... what do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb! I mean about the Ball."
"Oh. Um... well... I just... it's just," I stopped. I was obviously failing miserably at my attempt to form a coherent sentence. I took a deep breath, and started again, "It's just that, well, I... I like you?" it came out as a question. James looked flabbergasted, but still had that angry look in his eyes.
"Wait. You mean... like like? As in, dating like?"
I looked down and felt myself starting to blush,
"Yeah. I guess."
"What the hell do you mean? You can't just... you can't just do that!"
"Do... do what?"
"You can't just start liking me!"
"But... why?"
"Why? Because I'm so close to getting over you! That's why! I just came to terms with the fact that I was never going to get you! And now you just come up to me, and say that you like me? Do you know how hard that is? A girl, that you chased after for about three years, one who you almost got over, randomly deciding that she wants you now? It's just..." he trailed off, and all his anger deflated. He suddenly looked tired, and sat heavily down on the chair next to the fireplace. He put his head in his hands,
"It's just... Lily. Are you sure about this? Are you sure you're not just kidding?"
I went to him, and leaned down,
"James..." I called out softly. He looked up. "James, I wouldn't do that to you. I really do like you. Besides, you... you don't even want to take me," I said, and looked down to hide my welling eyes. James reached out and made me look at him.
"Oh, Lily... Do you really think that I'll say no? After I've chased after you for so long?"
"But... but you just said... that..." I trailed off, both of us leaning toward each other. My eyes fluttered shut, and suddenly, his soft, firm lips were on mine. Since we were both sitting down, it was a bit awkward, but, Merlin, this man could kiss. My hands knotted into his hair, his arms encircled my waist, and I moaned softly into his mouth. We broke apart, and he looked at me, eyes shining, hair messier than before, glasses slightly askew.
"So, I was wondering... do you want to go to the Ball with me?" he asked, a lopsided grin on his face. I chuckled softly,
"Hmmm... You know what? I think I will."
"Good to hear," he replied, smiling, and we both leaned toward each other, lips meeting once again.
Cliche? Why, yes, thank you for noticing XD
Anyway, please, don't forget to review! And thanks for reading :D
~SCYS