Diaries of Hogwarts Past

Ok this is Lily's part! Please don't be mad at me for putting them separately! There is another James part too. I thought i could get more across from his POV.

Disclaimer: As much as I wish I was J.K Rowling and was able to claim that Harry Potter was mine, I'm not so I can't. Sad, I know.

Chapter 26 - 1st Year at Hogwarts

Lily's Diary 10:38pm 9th July 1972

Wow.

I think… if that's possible… I actually like James Potter.

I mean, not like like, that's just weird, but I don't hate him anymore.

He can actually be… nice.

He promised to try and… earn my trust.

Well I guess he did.

Just not in the way either of us expected.

So the short version of it is that I gave James a massive speech about why I hate him stuff, and in return he gave me a speech about how he was sorry and would try and earn my trust, then I showed him my secret place and we fell through the stone at the back of the waterfall.
Yea, my life is incredibly weird.

So we were creeping along the back of the waterfall, the bit of stone that doesn't get wet, and when we were in the middle, the stone seemed to vanish.

We fell backwards with a cry, passing through the stone as if it was only a soft cloud, and fell hard on our backs next to each other.

We lay there, stunned, and then James quickly sat up and turned to me.

'Lily are you ok? That was a pretty hard fall…' He said, sounding genuinely concerned (for a change).

I stood up quickly, not wanting to show any sings of weakness. 'I'm fine.' Then I winced mentally at the pain in my hand, which I had instinctively put out to break my fall.

James and I looked at each other for a moment, and then slowly turned around.

We seemed to be in exactly the same place, but we were standing in a cave, and in front of us was a river, at the end of which was the same waterfall we had just fallen through.

I was thoroughly confused.

There was an island in the middle of the lake, not very big, only about 2.5 meters in diameter.

Standing on it were two, shining animals, a doe and a stag.

'Patronus…' I heard James breathe and I turned to him.

'What?' I asked him.

'They look like patronus'' He whispered to me. 'I've seen my dad cast them before. His is a bear though. My mum's is a horse. They are like a shield against dementors, and they can send messages over long distance. It's like an animal made of happiness. But these can't be patronus'. They must be… spirits of some kind.'

My eyes were immediately drawn to the doe.

Her shining eyes look intently into mine, and suddenly I knew what we had to do.

'This is some kind of test.' I whispered to James. 'We have to make our way to the other side… it's like we have to prove our courage and loyalty…'

His eyes suddenly flashed with realization.

'Of course!' He said. 'It's like those stories, how the hero was drawn into another world, for some sort of test! I loved that story when I was about 5years old.' He stopped and looked a bit sheepish. 'I used to pretend it was me and I was completing the task. At the end the hero got the glory and the girl. There was always a girl.'

I nodded – knowing it was the same in the muggle world.

'But it doesn't look like much of a test' I whispered back to him. 'It's just a river with a couple of rapids. We could swim the whole way.'

'Umm…' James hesitated. 'I'm not sure I could… It looks a long way… and with resistance it would be a lot harder than the school lake…' He trailed off, looking a bit ashamed.

I realized this was a touchy subject for him.

No guy – least of all James – liked admitting he couldn't do something.

'Hey, it's nothing to be ashamed about. It would take a lot of courage to admit that. And you have to take at least one thing you can't do well. Otherwise your head would explode from your ego

He looked confused for a moment, and then – 'Hey! I'm not-'

'So I think we're going to have to swim for a bit of it.' I cut him off. 'I can help you if you get too tired. We can rest for a bit on that island, and maybe we can like walk on the stones above the rapids if you're ok with it.'

James nodded, and stepped forward, almost into the water.

'Wait!' I said to him. 'We should have a drink now. The more we drink the less weight will be in the backpack. We should take our shoes off too.' I take off my backpack, which James obviously hadn't noticed from the startled look on his face, and took out two water bottles.

I gave one to James and we sat down on the cold stone and took a long drink.

We stood up again and I put the bottles back into my bag, along with our shoes and socks.

We were about to step into the water when I stopped suddenly.

'Take your shirt off.' I ordered James.

His expression went from confused to a smile as he started tugging off his shirt.

'Well, you did ask. Maybe we could fit in a bit of snogging to before we start our swim-'

'Don't be an idiot James!' I rolled my eyes. 'It'll be easier to swim with less clothes on. Just put your shirt in the bag, I can carry it.'

'No, I'll carry it-' he started to say, suddenly all chivalry, but I cut him off.

'You said you wouldn't be able to swim the length anyway.' I replied, tugging open the zip on the bag. 'You won't be able to swim it with a bag. I can carry it.'

I looked up to grab James shirt… and looked away straight away, snatching the shirt away harshly.

'Whoa, easy. What did I do wrong now?' He asked.

'Oh… nothing. Sorry' I muttered, still looking away.

The truth was – James was hot.

Really hot.

More hot than a 12 year old should be.

He has like a six-pack!

I know at least half the girls in my year that would give practically anything to be in my situation.

But they weren't.

I was.

Stop thinking like that! I told myself. James is hot, so what! He can still be a jerk. Concentrate!

I looked up, avoiding his bare chest.

'Ok, ready?' I asked.

'You aren't going to take your shirt off too?' He asked, with his 'innocent' face.

'Haha you wish.' I retorted, rolling my eyes.

I swung the bag onto my back and stepped forward so my toes were almost touching the water.

'You ready?' I asked, staring at the silver doe that hadn't moved.

'If you are.' He replied.

I took a breath, ready to step into the water, when I felt pressure on my hand.

I glanced down to find James' hand in mine.

When I look up at James again he's looking into my eyes, smiling hesitantly.

Not that cocky arrogant smile I hate so much, but a smile that actually reaches his eyes.

And as much as I hate to admit it, I'm glad he took my hand.

It comforted me.

He brushed his hair out of his gorgeous hazel eyes, and looked forward again.

Wait – 'Gorgeous hazel eyes'?

Where did that come from?

James is a jerk.

Just because I'd forgiven him (mostly) doesn't change that fact.

We took a breath and stepped forward together.

*duh duh duh!*

Sorry just thought that would add effect.

But I know you'd probably expect for some evil sea monster to suddenly grab me and James saves me (again) but that didn't happen.

Our feet got wet.

And that was it.

We took another step.

Our knees got wet.

Then another.

Our thighs.

Soon we were shoulder deep, and we had to start swimming.

And let me tell you, it was hard.

The current was going in the other direction, James isn't a strong swimmer and I was carrying a heavy bag on my back.

And what's more, we didn't seem to be getting anywhere.

Even though we could see from the shore we were moving (slowly but surely) forward, the island kept moving backwards.

Well, that's what it seemed like.

It just wasn't getting any closer.

I was starting to lag behind, when James turned to me and said, 'Let me take the bag. You're exhausted. I'm ok at the moment.'

I started to protest, but he wouldn't hear of it.

'No. I'm taking the bag. I promise I will give it back if I start to get tired. But I can see that you are seriously worn out.'

I tried to tell him no again, but he swam around behind me and slid it off my back.

'Thank you. Now stop trying to tell me off and swim.' He started to swim again, a little slower this time but trying nonetheless.

I didn't know what to say.

It was practically the first nice thing James had done to me since… well saving my life.

Or maybe it was the broom ride.

Or apologizing.

But it doesn't matter.

I turned to swim again and to my surprise the island seemed a whole lot closer.

'James!' He stopped swimming and waited for me to catch up.

'Yea?' He replied, and I could tell he was getting a bit tired.

'The island! It's closer! It was like 200 meters away when we started, and after swimming for 15 minutes it was still that far away! Now it's closer to 100!'

He looked again. 'Hey you're right! I wonder why?'

I thought for a moment. 'It must have been… when you took the bag! It would've been easier for you to just ignore I was lagging behind, but u didn't. You decided to be nice. You knew it would make the swim harder for you if you did take it, but you took it anyway. Maybe the…spirits or something decided that was awesome of you to do and we completed a task.'

He blinked. 'I didn't mean for that to happen… I just wanted to help… you looked like you were struggling a bit…'

He saw the look on my face and backtracked immediately.

'I mean, uh, not struggling, just, um, you were looking kind of tired, and, ah…' He trailed off, and I laughed.

'Never mind. We have better things to worry about. But let's keep swimming.'

We swam for another 10 minutes, and were finally almost at the island.

In unison, the patronus things (I'm beginning to think they were spirits of some kind) turned around and started walking on the water.

Whenever a foot (hoof?) touched the water, a silver light would spread through the water.

James and I clambered up onto the island and watched them walk to the bank, just near the rapids, and continue to watch us.

We looked at each other and sat down, tired from the swim when we saw it.

I wasn't sure if it had just appeared, or had been made by the silver light from the 'spirits' or whether it had just been there the whole time and we just hadn't noticed.

'James!' I hissed at him.

He stopped playing with his hair and looked up. 'What?' He whispered, and then noticed it. 'Wow. Was that there before?'

I shrugged, and turned back to the bridge that stretched across from the edge of the island to a rock that was just at the base of a split in the waterfall.

Underneath it were leaves that floated on the water, covered in some green and brown algae stuff.

Wow I really wrote heaps.

I should sleep now.

I have a lot to think over.

Love, Lily.

James' Diary 1:23pm 9th July 1972

I couldn't sleep.

I kept thinking about today.

About that kiss…

Haha just kidding.

I knew saying that would get you worked up.

I don't even know why I'm trying to work you up anyway.

You're a diary.

You don't have emotions.

I might be going mad.

Talking to a diary.

But I should shut up now, and talk about what was actually keeping me up.

I think Lily… might actually trust me.

But that's a minor thing.

I keep thinking about… how I almost lost her.

And I'm not saying that to get you worked up.

But you're probably confused. (Stupid James for talking to a diary like it's a real person! Stop it!)

So it pretty much started when we first saw the bridge.

It was old and rickety, and neither of us was sure whether it would support our weight.

'Well, I guess we could just go through the leaves…' Lily suggested, and I looked at the leaves under the bridge.

Lily Pads.

Harmless enough.

Except for what was on them.

I didn't know what the name was; I wasn't listening to that bit.

But I knew what it did.

Thank Merlin for Herbology.

It was very poisonous; any contact with skin would make it immediately red and irritated, with swellings everywhere, getting worse and worse until treated.

It sounds horrifying.

We saw a photo and the boils kept on popping every 30 minutes, until you couldn't see skin anymore.

It was sickening.

And at that moment when I knew what it was; I knew that Lily didn't know.

Which was a first.

I mean, when do I ever know something Lily doesn't?

When it comes to Herbology apparently.

'No!' I almost yelled, and then realized my mistake.

Lily didn't know about the algae, so I shouldn't tell her.

The bridge could hold us both.

There was no use worrying her.

I hoped.

'What's wrong?' Lily asked, clearly confused. 'The bridge is obviously unstable, and we're already wet do it won't matter.'

'I-uh-um, don't think the bridge is that unstable.' I stammered out. 'We could try going across it. If we're careful we can make it. We won't even have to swim with the bag again, and carrying it will be easier.' With that I grabbed the bag, so she couldn't get it first.

I was trying to be nice, without making her feel weak, because I know one of the things she dreads is looking weak.

She still looked confused. 'Oh….kay?' She said, and stood up, walking towards the bridge.

I followed, ready to grab Lily and pull her back if the bridge made any sign of collapsing.

She took a tentative step forward.

The wooden boards creaked beneath her feet, but held.

She took another, and I followed, keeping towards the side of the bride – where I knew it was strongest.

The bridge creaked again, but still it held.

Lily was almost at the middle of the bridge when I heard the sound of wood bending.

I dived forward, hoping to pull Lily to safety.

With an earsplitting CRACK the floor boards beneath her feet snapped in half, just as I grabbed her around the waist and spun around, so my back was facing towards the water.

I had one thought – Don't let Lily touch the algae.

We fell through the bridge, miraculously not hitting our heads on broken bits of wood, and crashed into the water.

A sharp jab of pain travelled up my back as my bare skin contacted with the brown algae.

I took a gulp of air, holding it in as Lily crashed on top of me, luckily not hurt.

I felt my skin blister, but I kept my head enough to realize we were going to need to swim the rest of the way underwater.

I tried to swim down, ignoring my almost overwhelming instinct to head towards air, and pulled Lily down with me.

Luckily I was stronger than she was, so I pulled her down about a meter and a half and let go of her, grabbing her hand instead.

She turned towards me, confusion on her face.

She tried to pull away, but I held her hand firmly so she couldn't.

I shook my head. Trust me. I mouthed, pleading with my eyes.

Her previous words ran through my head:

I don't think I can ever trust you!

I think I was actually scared at that moment.

Scared that not only would Lily keep trying to swim back up to the top and hurt herself, but would also decide I couldn't be trusted.

That she would shake her head and swim away.

But instead she looked at me with hesitant eyes, and slowly nodded.

I pulled on her arm and started swimming as fast as I could to the giant rock I could see.

I let go of her hand, hoping she would follow me, and knowing that both of us could swim faster not holding hands.

I reached the rock just as I desperately needed to take a breath.

Luckily the rock was out of the way of the poisonous algae, so I was able to climb up onto without getting hurt more.

I turned around to help Lily out, and we both collapsed onto the rock.

I flinched as soon as my back touched the cold stone, and automatically curled up onto my side.

Lily saw my back and gasped. 'James what happened to you!' she panted a bit, needing more breath, then continued. 'Your back…' she trailed off.

I turned around and spoke very quickly, trying to keep the pain out of my expression. 'This was because of the algae. It's why I forced you to stay underwater. Why I fell into the water first, so it wouldn't touch you. We need to get out quickly, and go to St Mungo's straight away.'

My back felt like it was on fire.

Then a movement out of the corner of my eye made me turn.

The silver stag had dipped its head into the water, spreading the silver light in a path all the way to the rock.

It travelled up the rock and onto my back, immediately quenching the burning.

The light slowly faded, leaving me and Lily sitting there dumbfounded.

I twisted around to try and look at my back – the blisters were gone.

Lily and I stared at each other.

She slowly put her hand out and gently touched my back.

'It's gone… How did it just disappear?'

I shrugged.

'Maybe they didn't actually mean for us to get like fatally injured… it was just part of the test to see whether we would go through the pain for the sake of the other person… Which I would.'

Lily looked at me with an expression I couldn't place. 'James, I don't know how to thank you… That you'd go through so much pain to save me…'

I shook my head. 'Lily, you don't need to thank me. It'd instinctive. I couldn't let anyone I lo-cared for get hurt. If any of my friends was going to be hurt, and I could stop it, even by taking the pain in their place, there's no doubt I would do it.'

I almost said loved.

Almost.

I don't know why I almost said that.

Yea of course I loved my friends, but guys don't say that to each other.

And why would I say it to Lily?

She pressed on. 'But really James, I think-'

I cut her off, knowing that she probably wasn't going to rest until she got a proper apology out, but I wouldn't let her.

'Let's just get out of here, ok? We can get out right here. Let's go!' I stood up, ready to go, when a strange expression crosses Lily's face.

Again.

It was something like understanding… but pain in the understanding.

And acceptance.

I couldn't place it exactly.

She shook her head quickly, as if to clear a thought and the expression vanished, being replaced by happiness.

'Yep! The others must be so worried.' She motioned to the gap in the waterfall where, as we didn't notice before, there was a 'wall' of silver light.

Obviously the way out.

Lily picked up the bag and handed it too me. 'You go first. It's the least I can do after you saved me.'

The sentence seemed a bit weird, but I said OK and stepped through the light.

I stepped out, landing on the grass by the edge of the river.

I spun around, looking for Lily, but instead saw the silver stag, slowly walking towards me from the other side of the river.

'Where's Lily!' I was about to say, but I heard a voice in my head before my mouth could get the words out.

The girl you are looking for chose to stay behind. Only one could leave that land, and she chose that person to be you.

I could only gape in surprise and horror.

'Bring her back! Bring her back here right now! You can't keep her there! It's not fair! We didn't choose to go there! You made us! Why should Lily be kept there! You can't, I won't let you…'

I found I was shouting at the stag in a way I would probably only shout to myself.

I would probably never sound like that talking to someone else.

Why should she come back? The stag seemed to gaze right into my soul. She chose to stay there. How could you make us let her come back?

'I-I-I… Well she is too noble to make me stay there! She didn't choose! She would've come if she had the choice. I… I need to make her trust me. I've… never been hated before, or even untrusted (is that a word?) and I need to make things right. I need to prove to her than I will try…' I was almost crying by the end of it.

Why was I saying this stuff!

I never said any of this stuff aloud.

The silver eyes of the doe bored into mine.

Just remember this when the time comes, the thing you want most is the hardest to get. If it is truly worth getting, then it is hard. Nothing pure and beautiful comes easily, you must earn it. Remember this.

The stag turned, and started walking off into the trees.

'Wait, aren't you bringing her back! You need to bring her back!'

I was interrupted by a slight giggle behind me.

I spun around to see Lily there, smiling.

'Well that's a funny thing to see when stepping out of another world. James potter yelling after a spirit: 'You need to bring her back!' There's something you don't see everyday.'

'Lily!' I almost shouted, and, yes it's true, hugged her.

She seemed to fit next to me perfectly, he head resting on my shoulder.

'I thought they were going to just leave you there!' Then I realized what I was doing and pulled away, slightly embarrassed.

'Um, well, we should like go now…' I said, all too aware of her pink cheeks.

I headed over to the wall of greenery and climbed back up to the branch, holding my hand out to help Lily up.

We were in sight of the clearing when Lily turned to me and quietly said 'James…?'

I stopped and looked at her. 'Yea?' I asked.

She stood up on her tip toes and gave me a peck on the cheek.

Yea, that bit about the kiss being not real was only half wrong.

I could feel my face flushing.

'Thank you. I couldn't have done that with anyone else.' She whispered.

I smiled shyly and said 'Thank you Lily.'

When we walked into the clearing everyone was practically freaking out.

They were shouting at us all at once, and when we finally got them quieted down Lily and I looked at each other and said, 'Um… we got lost.'

We knew we couldn't tell anyone.

We just… couldn't.

But I should sleep now.

We're up early tomorrow.

Later, James.

Ok! Finally, the last of the camping trip is done. That took ages. But It's finished now, and next chapter they start school again! Reviews please!