Disclaimer: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.
Author's Note: Thanks to Jessie xxx, milkywaypnay37, Sasha, TigerRose, Prongsie-Jamesie, Sirius-lives-4-ever, cilverblood, MissMrprk, J.E.A.R.K.Potter, little-angel123452000, siriuszsecretlover, Erinye, Niux, James's Lily, Pranks Are So Siriusly Padfoot, KC's-Diamond, alli88, MonkeyGurl1, RedPillow, DistinguishedDreamer, lOvEiNhEaVeN, judystarr, Tanya J Potter, Di, its a spoon, PruePotter, Stephanie, RawBean, justdreem, Lady Farevay, and Pye for reviewing! Wow, I can't believe how amazing you all really are! Thanks!
Oh, and a few people have asked about the name "Zaynah." Well, it's pronounced (I really hope I've got the pronunciation symbols right) Zay-na. I guess kind of the way it looks. And it is NOT a made up name, I actually know a girl with that name. She originally came from India, so that may be the country of origin.
"Lily, wake up."
"Mhmmmm."
"Lily, we have class in like twenty minutes. You need to get up."
"Mhmmm."
"Lily Marie Evans, if you don't get up this second I'm throwing a bucket of cold water on you," Gracie furiously told her friend.
"God, just let her miss a few classes. I mean she just got shut down by James last night, she deserves her rest," Marissa snapped at Gracie.
At that Lily's eyes immediately filled with water as the memory of last night flooded her mind. James had said no. He broke her heart into a million pieces; her one true love had refused her.
"Jeez, Marissa, look what you did! Now she's crying," Scarlett said as she came over to Lily's bed. "Lily, listen to me. I know that it's hard, trust me, I really do, but you can't let him get the better of you. You can't let him know how bad it hurts by not going to class. So, here you go; a nice top and here's your skirt." Scarlett handed Lily her clothes, which she took in her limp hand.
Once Lily was dressed, she still looked miserable. Her hair wasn't washed, just thrown up into a very messy ponytail. She didn't have a trace of make-up on her tearstained face and she was missing her gorgeous smile. Her almond shaped eyes were no longer bright and cheery, but instead were dull and without life.
…
Once the girls were in their Herbology class, they settled quickly into their seats, completely missing breakfast that day. Only a few seats away were the Marauders, who were on the receiving end of many disapproving looks, glares, and death looks.
"Um, Prongs, I know you said you didn't want to talk about what happened between you and Lily last night, but what the fuck happened?" Remus asked as he nodded his head toward all of Lily's angry friends.
James looked over to see the girls; Marissa had a sour look upon her sexy face, Zoë was giving him a look to kill, Scarlett just shook her head as their eyes made contact, and Gracie was muttering something among the lines 'Bastard.' Then there was Lily, who made him so angry, yet made his heart jump. She was sitting there looking as beautiful as ever, in his opinion. Her thrown back hair showed off her porcelain skin, and her solitude look made him want to hug all her troubles away. Yet, he kept on remembering Zaynah's words: Lily was only using him. Those words took her picture perfect imagine away, distorting it make her look snobbish and bitchy.
"Nothing happened," James answered.
"Don't lie to me, Prongs. I know when I see glares, and those are the best of them coming your way."
"She asked me out," James simply replied.
"What? Who?"
"Evans."
"Then what the fuck are you doing over here, go sit with her," Remus instructed.
"I said no."
Remus just gave him a look before lightly smacking him on the head. "Why the fuck did you say no?"
"It's a long story… and don't hit me," James answered.
"We've got time," Remus muttered.
James sighed before telling his friend exactly what Zaynah had told him. At the end of the story, James noticed that Remus had a strange look on his face; a look of disbelief perhaps.
"That doesn't make any sense," Remus commented.
"I know…but it's true," James responded.
…
James couldn't believe the day he was having; between Lily's friends glaring at him, Remus telling him how stupid he was, Peter lecturing him about how Zaynah must have been mistaken, and Sirius being a brat all day long, James wasn't sure how he even survived. It seemed that out of his good friends, only Zaynah was being completely normal and friendly with him.
Now it was time for Quidditch, the one place where he was confident that everything would go his way. True, both Sirius and Zoë were on the team as well, but he knew that once the practice got underway, the two of them wouldn't give him any bullshit about Lily.
"Alright, we're just going to start right in tonight…Kendall, I want you guarding the left goal post tonight, all the chasers will be scoring there. Sirius and Connor, I want you guys to try and not beat each other up too badly with the bludger this time. And Sukie, I'm going to let the snitch go in a few minutes. I want you to give it a good five minute head start before taking off," James told his teammates. They all nodded in response, each grabbing their brooms and heading toward the sky. Their red uniforms soared across the sky, looking vibrant beneath the night's light.
Once up in the air, James saw that Jeff Crawford, the sixth year chaser had taken the quaffle. He held it in his pale hands, soaring sideways, across the pitch. James could easily tell what Jeff was doing; trying to confuse the keeper by flying in different areas.
He sighed; this play would certainly not work in an actual game. For starters; the keepers are always aware and on guard, knowing perfectly well the plot. Secondly, Jeff would be lucky if the other teams didn't' grab the ball out of his arms, or the bludger didn't whack him across the head.
As the ball left Jeff's hands, Kendall expertly darted out to get it, tossing the ball over to James. "Crawford, get over here now," he called out.
Jeff flew to his side, a confused look upon his face.
"What the fuck are you doing?"
"Playing quidditch," Jeff remarked.
"What the fuck was the play?" James asked.
"What are you talking about? That was good."
"Sure, if you were playing against a bunch of beginners. We need more precise moves, stuff that the opponents won't be able to detect," James responded.
"Yeah, sure, whatever."
"Okay, let's get back to practice then," James said, a content look upon his face.
As the practice went on, James was quite happy at what he saw. Their keeper, Kendall, had blocked several tough shots, Jeff, Zoë, and he had tried several maneuvers that professionals use, the beaters hadn't bloodied each other up too badly, and the seeker, Sukie, had managed to catch the golden snitch in a record time of five minutes flat.
Just as the practice was coming to a halt, James felt and heard a ball come flying toward his head, missing by only inches. He turned to his left, expecting to see the Slytherins there, trying to give him shit. However, he saw Zoë sitting calmly on her broomstick.
"Zoë, was that you?" James asked.
"Yup," she responded.
"You almost hit me!" he exclaimed, his eye brows raised high into his forehead.
"I guess my aim is a little off then," she coolly responded.
"I'll say; I mean, the goals that way," he replied while pointing his finger toward the left.
"I know."
At the James was furious; Zoë had just purposely chucked the quaffle at his head. "Okay, that's it. Sutton, get your ass over here right now," James hollered.
"What do you want?" she asked as the two of them flew down toward the ground.
"Why are you being such a bitch?" he bluntly asked.
"Why are you such a bastard?" she retorted.
"You're just mad because I don't want to be with Evans," he responded.
"Potter, I don't get it! For the longest time I could hear you pining over her after every practice, and yes, I can hear everything you boys say in the locker rooms, the walls are pretty thin. It was always, 'Oh, isn't she so gorgeous' or 'I want her back' or 'I love her so much,' so why is it different now? Why did you suddenly change your mind?" Zoë demanded.
"Because I learned the fucking truth about her," James exclaimed.
"What?"
"Yeah, I know what she tells you, you know, why she even started dating me in the first place," he bitterly answered.
"James, what are you talking about?"
"You know damn well what I'm talking about."
"No, I really don't…Because as far as I know, she started dating you because she started liking you. And I really don't see the problem in that, other than that fact that she must have been fucking crazy at the time," she replied.
"Don't give me this bullshit, Sutton. I know that she told you guys that she didn't like me at all. That she only dated me because she wanted to be 'popular,'" he angrily responded.
"What?"
"Yeah, I know all about her little secret. And I'm not about to be her tool again."
"This doesn't make any sense, James. Lily never said anything like that…She loves you," Zoë told him, and quickly added, "And only God knows why she does."
"Well, that's what Zaynah told me," he hotly responded.
"Zaynah? Zaynah told you this…and you believed her?" Zoë asked, not certain she actually heard him correctly.
"Yeah…she's my friend. Why wouldn't I believe her?"
"Let's think about that for a second. Who would be just as happy to have Lily dead? Who would actually lie to get Lily away from you? And, why would Lily be crying her bloody eyes out right now if she didn't' truly love a moron like yourself?" Zoë remarked.
"What are you getting at?"
Zoë swiftly hit him upside the head, not wanting to believe his stupidity, "Zaynah is a fucking liar, you dumb ass."
"No she's not."
"Yes, she bloody is!"
"Why would she be lying?" James questioned.
"Why wouldn't she? I mean come on, it's the ideal moment. You and Lily, the schools cutest, most sincere couple breaks up. And Zaynah, the cold hearted bitch, becomes your friend. And now, Lily wants you back, and you want Lily back. The only problem is that Zaynah doesn't want Lily back. So, she goes and makes up that pathetic story and somehow you believe it…Think about it, Potter," Zoë calmly responded.
James looked at the blonde haired girl in front of him; her cheeks pink form the cold, her uniform slightly dirtied, and her brown eyes wide with knowledge. Could this girl really be speaking the truth? Was Zaynah just lying to him all along? Could Lily honestly love him?
At that last question, James felt like slapping himself. Of course Lily loved him, she always had. For instance, at his house during Christmas Break; he remembered waking up next to her one morning, after falling asleep in front of the fireplace. She had looked so graceful, so beautiful, and so amazing. When she later woke up, her smile lit the room when she saw his face.
How could he doubt Lily's love for him? Or better yet, how could he doubt his own love for her?
"I just made the biggest mistake of my life, didn't I?" he quietly asked Zoë, although a response was not necessary.
"Go find her."
With those words, James dropped his broomstick on the ground, not caring that it was his prized possession. He started into a fast run, not caring about anyone or anything that he passed. All he knew was that he needed to get back to the castle; he needed to find her before it was too late.
As he approached the door, he flung it open with ease and ran into the Great Hall, hoping she would still be there. Instead, he saw the one girl he never wanted to see again.
"James, how was practice?" Zaynah sweetly asked.
"You fucking bitch, if you weren't a girl, I'd punch the living hell out of you," James crossly told her before running out the door toward the Gryffindor common room.
As he ran down the marble staircases, he felt an energy boost come through him, making it seem as if he would reach Lily in only seconds. His heart was pounding from both the running and from seeing Lily again.
"Mr. Potter, stop running right now!" shouted an angry Professor McGonagall. James had just barely missed running straight into the old woman.
"Just give me a detention, Professor," James hollered as he rounded the corner, and straight into the portrait of the Fat Lady.
"Pig Snout," he said while breathing deeply.
The portrait swung open instantly, allowing entrance to the cozy common room. As James came in, his uniform still on and all sweaty, he furiously looked around. He saw a group of girls sitting on the chairs by the fire, quills at hand. There was Scarlett, Marissa, Gracie, two sixth years named Katie and Lacey, as well as a fifth year named Hillary. But there was no Lily to be seen.
James ran over to them and blurted, "Where is she?"
"Why? Want to break her heart even more?" Scarlett bitterly asked.
"Just tell me where she is," he pleaded, a desperate look in his eye.
"She's upstairs, probably crying again," Gracie answered, a murderous look in her eye.
"Can one of you, please, I'm begging you, go up there and bring her down here?"
Scarlett eyed him up and down, as if she was unsure whether to trust him or not. "Fine, but if you hurt her, I swear to God, you will be a very sorry man."
As Scarlett left to go upstairs, James was forced to wait. He hated waiting, especially for the important things. Of course, they were always worth waiting for, but he was so impatient. All James really wanted to do was hug and kiss Lily forever and ever. He wanted to be able to smell her sweet scent and gaze upon her lovely face.
It seemed like hours instead of minutes, but Scarlett finally returned. "She doesn't want to see you."
"What?" James asked. He hadn't thought of that happening, and now it was ruining his plan.
"She said she was already and emotional mess and she didn't need you to rub it in her face any more than you already did," Scarlett responded, adding a slight smile at the end.
"No, no, no, this can't be happening," James muttered. "I need to get up there…I need to see her."
Then a thought came to his head; he couldn't physically be inside Lily's room, but he could certainly be outside of the castle, looking into the room.
"Accio broom," he commanded while walking over to the common room window to receive the broomstick. As the wood came sailing into his grip, he quickly mounted the object and flew straight out the window.
He flew along the castle, peering in each window to find the seventh year girl's dormitory. In no time at all, he saw her. Her red hair was sprawled across the bed, hiding her delicate face.
He tapped in hand on the window, hoping to grab her attention.
She looked up, expecting to see an owl waiting for the window to open. Instead, she saw James, still in his quidditch outfit.
She had a bewildered look upon her face, but went to the window anyways, as if in a trance. "What are you doing?" she hissed.
"I needed to talk to you," he responded.
"Go away," she demanded.
"No, Lily, this is important."
"I don't give a damn about you, James Potter," Lily furiously told him.
"That's not true, you love me," he teased.
"Get away from me," she ordered.
"No, I need to explain."
"Make it fast."
"Lils, I made a mistake. I listened to someone that I thought I could trust, and believed every bogus word she spoke. It turned me against you; it turned me against us. But then I realized how wrong she was, and how wrong I was," James told her. When he saw that the answer wasn't grand enough, he went into the exact details; telling her that Zaynah made up lies, that it was Zaynah that didn't want the couple to be together.
"What are you saying?"
"Lils, I'm sorry for hurting you…I do love you," he answered.
Light tears fell from Lily's emerald eyes as she said, "I shouldn't get back with you. After what you put me through, and how you believed Zaynah's awful lies…But I think that I would hurt myself more than I would hurt you if I said no."
Full tears now fell from her eyes, forcing her to stop her speech.
"Lily," James pried.
"Come here," she managed to choke out.
As James neared the window sill, he felt Lily's arms around his neck, pulling the two of them close together. James expertly lifted her out of the window and onto his broom, grasping her tight to his chest. He flew the broom carefully to the ground, wanting nothing more than to kiss the woman he loved most.
"James," she whispered.
"Shhh," he whispered before laying a simple kiss on her lips.
"I love you," Lily whispered as the kiss ended.
Author's Note 2: Okay guys, I'm really sorry that I haven't updated in nearly a month. There's no excuse for me except that I've been awfully lazy. But now that I'm back from Thanksgiving Break where there was no computer, I've finally added the long awaited chapter 37! So, please remember to review!