Story Title/Link: I'm a Believer
School and Theme: Durmstrang. Write about taking a big risk
Mandatory Prompt: [Character] A Potter
Additional Prompt: [Song] Your favourite song: I'm a Believer by The Monkees
Year: Exchange Student 1 standing in for Year 1
Word count: 2149
Special Rule: Your story must include only two characters
The witch's fist hurled towards James' jaw. Using her momentum against her, he flipped her onto the ground.
James grinned at where Lily Evans lay at his feet, hair sprawled everywhere. A determined glint came into her eyes and his grin faltered.
Too late. With a sweep of her leg, Lily had him falling onto his back.
Staring at the ceiling of the Heads' common room, he was glad Lily had insisted on charming the floor for a cushioned landing. Not that he'd ever admit it.
A pair of green eyes and long red hair obscured his view of the painted solar system complete with glow in the dark stars, a pointless Muggle invention Lily had insisted on.
The witch had him pinned, fair and square, her legs straddling his body and her hands pinning his arms above his head.
At least five techniques would get James out of his current predicament, but as he stared into Lily's eyes he couldn't think of a single one.
A line from her favourite song ran through his head; Then I saw her face, now I'm a believer.
It had been back in their fifth year when her beautiful face had inspired him to ask her out for the very first time.
He hadn't been put off by her resounding, 'No,' but instead had come up with a variety of increasingly creative ways to ask her on a date.
Until she hit him with a Bat-Bogey Hex.
You knew a girl wasn't interested when she made bats made from your own bogey's fly out your nose.
The fact that he was even considering asking her again meant he'd probably been hit with too many bludgers.
Her lips hovered inches from his own. All he had to do was lift his head and he'd be kissing Lily Evans… the girl he now knew was so much more than just a pretty face. Like having a black belt in jujitsu, something he'd discovered near the start of their tenure as Heads when he'd walked in on her practising with nunchucks in their private Head's common room.
Caught up in her moves, she'd been oblivious to his presence, and he'd marvelled at the precision with which she wielded the weapon. When she spotted him, she'd squeaked, before pointing the nunchucks at him.
'Why aren't you at Quidditch practice?'
He'd gestured to his drenched Quidditch outfit. 'There's a thunderstorm going on outside Evans, or hadn't you noticed, too busy doing…'
Taking a step closer, he'd reached for the nunchucks but she'd batted his hand away.
'And the lightning didn't strike you? How unfortunate. Maybe next time,' she'd said with a simpering smile.
It had taken him weeks to persuade her to tell him what she'd been doing, and months after that before she'd agreed to teach him.
Now he wondered what on earth he'd been thinking. Being in such close proximity was already like being simultaneously hit with a Confundus, Jelly-Brain Jinx, and Stupefy. Never mind adding in physical contact.
'You win,' said James, willing himself not to look at her lips.
Leaping off him, Lily brushed invisible dust from her robes. 'Yes, well, you are definitely improving… you should come train at my dojo sometime.'
James' traitorous heart leapt at the casual invitation to hang out outside Hogwarts. Maybe it was worth the risk to ask her after all…
'Only if I get to use those sword thingies!' he said, pretending to wield a sword and slashing at the air.
Lily laughed. 'No swords for you Mister. What sort of friend would I be if I let you hurt yourself?'
Friend.
There it was. The reason he couldn't risk jeopardising anything by confessing any stupid feelings.
Somehow or other they'd become friends. And not just casually say hey in the corridor friends. No, the type of friend you end up laughing with in Transfiguration until the tears stream down your face and you both end up in detention. The type of friend who you still want to hang out with even though you've just lost a Quidditch match.
As well as being the type of friend you want to invite as your date to the school fundraiser dance.
Should he? Could he?
'Lily, about the dance…'
She looked up from where she was fiddling with the record player. 'Do you think we need to have another meeting? I think we're pretty much good to go,' she said gesturing to the blackboard covering one of the walls.
It was full of lists and reminders, with her neat and precise handwriting and his untidy scrawl intermingled. The dance was a fundraiser for the war effort and they'd both poured themselves, heart and soul, into the planning.
As always the chalk itched at him to draw a huge heart on the board with their initials. Merlin, he had it bad.
'No more meetings, woman!' He glared at her and she giggled. That was just another reason not to ask again. If you'd told him at the start of this year that it would be normal for him to make Lily Evans giggle, he'd have thought you'd had one too many at The Three Broomsticks. Now Lily's giggle was one of his favourite sounds. Pathetic.
James flopped onto the sofa, wishing he had a snitch to play with, despite knowing much it drove her mad. On the wall beside him, there was even a sign stating no Quidditch items allowed; something Lily had pinned up on their first week as Heads.
It had taken all his self-control not to post up his retaliation; a notice banning witches with broomsticks stuck up their backsides… He'd even animated the drawing of a ginger-haired witch struggling in vain to remove the broomstick.
After he'd gotten over the shock of being made Head Boy, James' competitive edge had kicked in, and he'd decided he was going to kick ass at being Head Boy. Which unfortunately meant not getting on the Head Girl's bad side…however much she might provoke him.
I'm a Believer came on the record player and he groaned. What was it about her and this song?
Moving his legs out of the way she sat down on the sofa. 'Still a non-believer?' she said.
'Yep,' he said with a grin. 'Love's only true in fairy tales.'
Lily shook her head. 'One of these days it's going to get you, and then you James Potter won't know what hit you.'
One of these days…
'So, about the dance… fancy going with me?' The words felt like they'd been pulled from his mouth. Had he been slipped some Veritaserum?
Daring a glance at her, James saw she looked like she'd been hit with a Petrificus Totalus.
Crap. Time for a Reverse Pass?
'Yes,' she said.
Restraining himself from punching the air, his mind began to plan future dates for the two of them before he realised she was still talking.
'…probably a good idea if the Head Boy and Head Girl went together.'
Wait, what?
Disappointment haunted all of my dreams…
The lyrics echoed around the room, and at that moment, he felt every single one of her past rejections.
Forcing a smile on his face, he took a deep breath before responding. 'Exactly.'
Lily tugged on her robes. 'I still don't think it's fair we have to open the dance.'
Oh yes, how could he forget, yet more torture. Lily was staring at the carpet. Was the thought of dancing with him so dreadful?
The walls of their cosy common room felt like they were closing in.
'I've just remembered… I have Quidditch things to do,' he said, moving towards the door. He winced as his elbow banged into the record player.
'Are you alright?' she asked softly.
'Tickety-boo.' Tickety-boo? Where on earth had that come from? He's never said tickety-boo in his life.
Rising from the sofa, Lily placed a hand on his arm. 'James, you're bleeding.'
Wanting nothing more than to wrench his arm from her grip, he stood mutely while she healed him. This too had become a normal occurrence, with Lily insisting on healing his various Quidditch and prank injuries. Normally he liked having her fuss over him, but now he couldn't wait to get out of there.
As soon as she had finished, he murmured his thanks and sprinted out the door.
'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.'
Unfurling the Maurader's Map, James sighed as he saw Lily's tiny footsteps pacing the floor of the Head's common room, no doubt worried about the success of the dance tonight.
With any luck, she would be too focused on that to notice he was late for meeting her. None of the hair products he'd tried had given him any success in taming his unruly hair. In the end, he'd had to take another shower to wash all the gunk out.
Pointing his wand at the parchment he whispered, 'Mischief managed.'
Despite knowing he was late, James continued down the corridor at a leisurely pace, humming as he tried to puzzle out why things had been so weird between him and Lily.
Ever since he'd asked her to the dance, Lily had been distant and had hardly scheduled any meetings. His top theory was that she'd worked out he'd been asking her out on a date and it had freaked her out.
Brilliant. Just brilliant.
The song he was humming felt familiar and he nearly dropped the box he was carrying when he recognised it.
I'm a Believer. The bloody song had plagued him all week.
What's the use in trying… All you get is pain. It seemed like the lyrics were written just for him.
All too soon he was standing outside the door and he gave himself a shake. Tonight, he was going to ensure Lily had a great time. As her friend…
Stepping inside the room, all thoughts of friendship went out the window at the sight of Lily in an emerald green dress, her red hair in curls just begging to be pulled.
'Lily… you look… I mean…'
Smiling shyly, she tucked one of those curls behind her ear. 'You scrub up pretty well yourself,' she said.
Realising he was staring, he gave a slight cough and adjusted his collar. 'Yes, well, I, eh, I got this for you,' he said, holding out a slim red velvet box.
'For me?' she said, biting her lip.
Getting her the corsage had been a gamble, and now he was heartily regretting it. It was already freaking her out and she hadn't even seen what was inside.
The tiny box felt like one of the live grenades he'd learned about in Muggle Studies.
Lily seemed to feel the same way about it as she stepped gingerly forward. Taking it from his hands, she opened it and her hand flew to her mouth.
'Oh, James, it's beautiful.'
He let out a sigh of relief. In the past, he'd bombarded her with lilies, but now he knew wildflowers were her favourites and so he'd spent hours picking them and turning them into a corsage.
The voice in his head had whispered this was decidedly not friend behaviour, but the look on her face now was totally worth it.
'Would you fasten it on for me?' she said, holding out her wrist.
Taking her hand, he noticed it was trembling. 'The dance will go great Lily. There's been so many meetings it can't not!'
'The dance?' she said, looking up at him with wide eyes.
What was wrong with her? Why was she acting like some giddy girl on a date?
James felt a Lumos go off in his head. Could it be that she actually wanted this to be a date?
Carefully he fastened the bracelet around her wrist. He opened his mouth and then closed it again, feeling like a goldfish. Should he risk it?
I'm in love…
Looking into her eyes, he felt how much there was to risk, but potentially how much to gain. Time to go hard or go home.
'I'm a believer,' he said, swallowing.
She shook her head. 'In the dance?'
'In love… I'm a believer in love. And the reason I know that is because you Lily Evans have made me fall head over heels in love with you.'
There he'd said it.
To his disconcertion, she giggled. He went to take a step back but she grabbed onto his robes.
'Well, that's a relief,' she said. 'Cause I'm a believer too,'
He raised an eyebrow at her.
'Why do you think I've been playing that song on repeat?' she said with a mischievous smile.
A growl escaped his lips. 'You little witch,' he said, cupping her head in his hands. Her lips hovered inches from his own, and this time he didn't hesitate.
He was finally kissing Lily Evans.
