A/N: Sorry, I forgot to add the author's note! I don't own anything, the ideas, characters, concept, etc. all belongs to the enchanting J K Rowling. Thank you so much for the support and reviews! Thank you so much to lilly flower forever for reviewing almost every chapter and to everybody who read and reviewed, followed, favourite-ed and all that good stuff. May you have a happy future!
JAMES' P.O.V
Evans has been so irritating recently. It's not the playful banter I'm used to; she keeps retaliating with something harsher than what I said to her. We're like nuclear atoms, we can't be within two meters of each other without something setting off. She brings out all the anger and passion inside me. Sometimes that's a good thing, but most of the time as of late, it's not.
"I did what I did, I'm not the only one who makes mistakes."
"There you go again, why do you have to be such a BITCH?"
I watch her eyes, trying to detect anything unusual, there's anger, hurt, hatred and now, shock. I feel it too. The minute I said 'bitch', I felt something stir. It's quite hard to explain, it was like a sudden flash of lightening, a striking realisation. I realised something, I'm not sure if she did, but I realised that I didn't hate her. Not anymore. We're both taking out our anger on each other because that's easier than having to sort out the real problem.
Quidditch hasn't been going so well, everybody's a bit distracted, myself (unfortunately) included. We all know we're on the verge of a war, we're all trying to stick up for ourselves and stop anyone getting killed. Sometimes our fights with the Slytherins get out of control. As for Evans, everyday she comes back to the Common Room with a new cut on her face, or a bruise on her wrist, or shaking. She refuses to tell anyone what actually happened – it was 'just a trip' or 'I just fell'.
My guess is that she keeps getting ambushed by Slytherins the same way all Muggle-Borns are being ambushed. Evans won't let us help, she's too proud and I suppose she doesn't want the Slytherins to think that she needs Purebloods to protect her. I was fine with that, after all, she and I were fighting and my hatred toward her was greater than my love. Dumbledore would not be impressed by that, he's always saying that we should love not hate, love is the greatest weapon, love will conquer all, etc.
The odd things is, I sort of understand where he's coming from. That stir in the ground, that tremble of the Earth, it felt like something more than an earthquake. Now, I feel like an absolute git for not standing up for her sooner, letting her get hurt when I could so easily stop it. I stop loads of other Muggle-Borns' suffering, why shouldn't I stop hers? Why did I walk on by whilst Bellatrix was tormenting her? Why did I walk away when Mulciber was calling her a dirty Mudblood? Why didn't I stop all that?
At the time, I found it amusing. Here was Gryffindor's star student, struggling for survival at the mercy of a Malfoy. It was hilarious. It's not anymore, not in the slightest. I regret the last few months. If she hadn't lied about that kiss, well, maybe she wouldn't be lying on the ground, lifeless.
LILY'S P.O.V
I fall back, there was some sort of shake in the ground. I felt a sudden rush of emotion. I don't hate James Potter!
These past few months, they've been hard for everyone. I was angry, that I couldn't stop the Slytherins from hexing from me, that I couldn't stop Amos hurting Alice emotionally, that I couldn't cope with all the lessons I've got, that I couldn't find the time to do Prefect Patrols, homework, sleep and socialising all in 24 hours. So, I got rid of my frustration with something familiar, something which kept me sane, hating Potter. It was so easy, so normal, it actually felt good.
Except, it wasn't the hatred I missed, it was his playful teasing, his light-hearted humour, his and the Marauders jokes and pranks which made me laugh. Instead, it ended up spiralling out of control, the humour turned serious, the insults became true, and the words had meaning. We both hated it and we both got hurt.
Remus was right, I was being horrible, worse than horrible. I was being a person that I detested to be, I was being everything I hated in other human beings. The living form of ugly. I wish I could take it all back, go back in time to last summer and set things right. If I could, I would tell Mar and Alice that that kiss, was the best thing I'd ever felt and that I loved James Potter.
If I could, I would kiss James again. I'd apologise, I'd try to set things right. I'm not expecting to be forgiven, but maybe… Maybe he would accept my apology. I don't think I've ever regretted something so much.
JAMES' P.O.V
I stand over Evans and nudge her with my foot. She doesn't move. I sigh, what is it with girls? Always fainting.
"Mr Potter," a voice says behind me.
I turn around. Professor Dumbledore.
"Wh-what are you doing out here, Professor?"
"I felt like a midnight stroll, then I happened across this corridor and I heard shouting. Tell me a man can resist the temptation of sticking his nose where it doesn't belong?"
"No, Professor."
"Bring Miss Evans, we have much to talk about, Mr Potter."
I lift Evans into my arms, she's light and fits in my arms perfectly. Almost like she was meant to be there. I remember fondly how she knows with whom I'm going out with and all their names. Either Evans is overly observant or she's been stalking me like I stalk her.
We get to Dumbledore's office and I rest Evans on the sofa Dumbledore has. I sit opposite his desk, my usual seat when I get into trouble. Dumbledore looks at me through his half-moon glasses, a twinkle in his eyes.
"With all due respect, Professor, but why am I here?"
"That, Mr Potter, is a question I have tried for many years to answer. Professor McGonagall suggests that you are here because it is your destiny to make a teacher's lesson 'living hell', to quote her exact words. In regards to the world as whole, I'd say that we each have a life and those lives become intertwined with other people's to create the thing we name 'society. In fact, Mr Potter –"
"Professor, I didn't mean why I exist, I meant why I am here, in your office, right now?"
"Of course, Mr Potter. I'm sure you know the answer already."
He sits there expectantly, waiting for me to come out with something extraordinary and intelligent.
"Uh, Evans passed out?"
"Miss Evans did lose consciousness, yes. Why did she, as you put it, 'pass out'?"
"There was shaking, in the ground."
"Interesting."
"What's interesting?"
"I felt no such shaking, none of the portraits are askew. So if the ground was shaking enough for Miss Evans to lose consciousness, then why was there no shaking?"
"I don't understand, Professor."
"There is a theory, Mr Potter, that when you experience a sudden realisation, an epiphany, if you will, that there is a force produced. This force must have been shared between the two of you."
"I still don't understand. So what I experienced was an epiphany?"
"Not just any epiphany, an epiphany of soul. When a wizard or a witch finds that one person, a soul mate, you may call it. When they truly discover their love for them, when they realise what they truly feel, a special bond is created which joins those two people together. It's much more than physical attraction or a friendship, it is the linking of two souls."
"Evans and I are…?"
"Soul mates. This sort of bond is so rare, well, I can't believe it. The two of you have created a certain type of love, one which nothing, no magic, curse or hex could ever undo. You're tied together."
"Does she know?"
"No, I don't think it wise to tell her, either. She should be able to work it out and if not, then I think it's for the best. Not permanently, of course, the bond will only become stronger and harder to ignore. Miss Evans is stressed enough as it is, I don't think she needs the added confusion of an uncannily rare piece of magic. She's go out of her way to undo it which would leave her mentally damaged. Don't you think?"
"Uh, I don't know Professor. I don't like the idea of her not knowing what happened. Anyway, why did she pass out?"
"That, I cannot answer. Who knows why you didn't lose consciousness as well. Maybe Miss Evans' head and emotions got too large to ignore."
"Will she be okay?"
"I don't know," Dumbledore says uneasily. "I have no experience with this sort of magic. Epiphanies of the soul are complicated. She may or may not remember it, I cannot be certain."
"What do we do if she never comes round?"
"She will, of that I am sure. Now, Mr Potter, it is late and I must go to bed. I'll have Madam Pomfrey look after Miss Evans."
"I'm not leaving her on her own."
"As I know of your stubbornness, I am not inclined to argue," Dumbledore sighs.
