A/N: Wow… and here I thought that saying 260 would give me a long time to
write it! Shows what I know! LOL. Well, I got it finished at about the
right time at least. Thank you for all the wonderful reviews!!
I had a reviewer ask me about the monkey wrench title from last chapter. Well, I just meant that I was "throwing a monkey wrench" in the plot. It's an expression.
WARNING: There is a MAJOR fluff warning for this chapter. At least, as fluffy as my writing gets. For those of you who are saying ick, why are you reading Lily/James stories anyway??
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 15: Lilies
Lily ran as fast as she could past Kit and Lucille tears still falling. She ran till she couldn't run anymore and then she stopped at a statue and plopped down at its feet. She angrily brushed away the tears and dried her face. "I'm so tired of crying!" she burst out suddenly. "It seems to be all I ever do anymore!" she sighed. "Well, this is enough. I'm not going to cry over him anymore. He's caused quite enough pain and he isn't worth any of it," she stood up decisively feeling much refreshed.
She made it to her first class on time and with a dry face. James looked at her and smiled and instead of her knees going weak, hot anger flared inside her. He thought he was going to get away with it did he! Well just let him try! Lily ignored the smile and his indication that she sit next to him and she went to the other side of the room and sat down next to Kit and Lucille. They looked at her with some anxiety but were somewhat reassured when she smiled at them. James watched confusedly… but on the other side of the classroom, someone was smiling…
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Classes went on as usual and Lily didn't even glance at James. It was like she was mad at him or something.
"I'll never understand girls," he thought morosely to himself. Sirius was making his usual jokes, Remus and Peter occasionally joining in, but James just wasn't in the mood for it. He kept glancing surreptitiously at Lily during lunch, but she was siting further down the table surrounded by her friends.
She laughed at one particular joke and he felt his heart beat faster as she smiled radiantly and he wished suddenly that she was smiling at something he had said.
Sirius sighed loudly and James turned back to him. "James, a rock would be more conversational than you. If you're so worried about it, go talk to her!" he said rolling his eyes.
"Was I that obvious?" James asked somewhat sheepishly.
"See for yourself," Remus said with a smile, gesturing at James' shirt. James looked down to see that his shirt was covered in pumpkin juice. His friends laughed then Remus stood up still smiling and pushed him to his feet. "Go clean yourself up. If you hurry, you'll have a few minutes to talk to her before next class."
James blinked then did as his friends suggested.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Come on you comedian you. We're going to be late," Lucille said to Kit with a smile as she gathered up her stuff.
Lily sat ruffling through her bag. "Oh drat! I forgot my Care of Magical Creatures book," she stood up and angrily ran a hand through her long reddish hair. "Nothing seems to be going well today!" she thought gloomily. "I'll catch up," and with that she picked up her things and ran back up to the Gryffindor common room.
So intent on getting there quickly, she wasn't watching where she was going. She rounded a corner and crashed into someone, falling to the floor, her things scattering everywhere.
"Damn!" she jumped up rubbing her elbow that she had hit hard on the floor. Lily looked up at who she had crashed into an apology forming on her lips.
The apology immediately died when she saw who it was. "Oh boy… could this get any better?" she thought as she unconsciously stepped back.
For (like in all good love stories), it was James Potter.
She glared at him and didn't even bother to say anything before bending down to pick up her scattered belongings. James leaned down to help and when their hands met, Lily jumped back. She snatched the things he held out to her and started to walk away.
There was a pause and then she heard his footsteps following her and she sighed inwardly. "Lily wait please!" he reached her side and put a hand to her arm to try to stop her. "Talk to me! What's wrong?" he truly looked concerned and that just made Lily's blood BOIL.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Lily turned to him her skin blotchy with anger, her long hair falling around her face in disarray and he thought that she had never looked more beautiful. He gazed at her for a moment before she finally spoke and he was completely unprepared for what she said.
"Why are you doing this?!" her voice was filled with fury and she was shaking in rage.
"Doing what?" James said desperately. Her face darkened with anger and he knew immediately that that was the wrong answer.
Her voice dropped to a low hiss that was filled with loathing and made his skin crawl. "How can pretend like you don't know? Do you take me for a complete idiot? I'm obviously stupid because I trusted you. Believed what you said. But I'm smarter now, and I won't be taken in so easily again Potter!" The words cut him deeply but none more so than her calling him Potter again. Had they truly slipped so far? How could this have happened?
"Lily I never lied to you…" he started but she broke in screaming.
"I SAW YOU!! I SAW YOU WITH ROSE AND I WON'T SOON FORGET IT!" she glared at him then took off running leaving him stunned behind.
"Lily, wait!" his voice echoed forlornly on the empty hallways and there was no response but the click click of heels taking Lily further and further away.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Lily was very glad that there was only one class left. She spent the whole glass throwing poisonous glances at James and completely ignoring the teacher. He spent the whole class either trying to listen to the teacher, throwing unhappy glances at her or whispering to Kit and Remus who were sitting by him.
She managed to get away from James after class without being quite sure how she did. She ran to the Gryffindor Common Room and up to her room as fast as she could. The Gryffindor Tower was silent because everyone was at dinner, but Lily wasn't hungry.
She paced around the room anger seeping through her. "He just isn't worth it. I'm going to forget him. It really isn't fair of me to be so angry at him. I mean, he's just going back to his true nature! No reason to be angry. It's over," and she smiled and relaxed feeling perfectly at ease.
And then she lay down on her bed and began to weep because there's a limit as to how you can lie to yourself.
A few minutes later her tears subsided again and she walked over to the window. With a sigh she sat down on the ledge and gazed out at the Hogwart grounds and the lake. She looked for a long time before she finally realized what she was seeing.
Lily sat up straight and leaned closer to the window peering out the window in disbelief. A moment before the lake of Hogwarts had been its dark usual self. No ripples had disturbed its waters. That was changing now.
A thousand maybe even two thousand green petal like flowers were on top of the water. As she watched they moved and arranged themselves on the water. When the finally settled, she gasped, leapt to her feet and ran out the door.
The petals had formed the words, "Be mine Lily."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
When she reached the lake, no one was nearby. She walked to the edge of the lake and plucked something out of the water. It was a water lily. One of the thousands of them out on the lake. She inhaled the fragrance and she smiled softly. Then stiffened as the sound of a twig breaking filled the air.
"It's a pretty little thing, but not nearly as pretty as you," he said wistfully as he walked over to her. "Listen to me please Lily? I can explain. Honestly I can," he looked at pleadingly.
She was still hurting so much inside that she couldn't bear to just forgive him. "Go jump in the lake Potter," she spat at him then started to walk away.
"After you," he said calmly. Then accompanied by a shriek from her, he pushed her in.
"James Potter! You little!" Gasping for breath Lily reached up and grabbed his ankle before he could move and yanked him in after her. He yelped at the top of his lungs as he fell in.
"Serves you right!" she shouted at him. She started to try to get out but he caught her wrist and kissed her gently on the lips. She tried to pull away weakly and he immediately stopped and let go of her. "Oh James, haven't you done enough?" she said bitterly.
"Lily, I swear to you, on whatever you want me too, I swear that I have no feelings for Rose. I confess I did, but she just isn't worth it. She isn't worth the aggravation. She tried to turn me against my sister. Tiana, who has always been a beacon of love and understanding," he took her hand again and looked into her eyes imploringly. "You have to believe me Lily."
She wanted to, oh so very badly she wanted to, but the conversation with Lucille was still fresh in her mind. "How could I ever compare with Rose, James? She's beautiful. Much more so than I am, or ever will be," Lily turned away bitterly and hung her head.
James tenderly laid a hand on her shoulder. "Oh Talon, there's lots of roses out there. Pretty and perfect. But there's only one Lily. And she's all I want."
Lily's breath caught in her throat and with a cry, she turned around and flung herself at him. They laughed together and he came closer to kiss her.
With a mischievous smile, she splashed water into his face then dove under the water as he spluttered and wiped his eyes. When he could see again, he too dove under the water and swam after her. Like a mermaid at sea, she taunted him laughingly. Finally, he tricked her by diving under the water and popping up next to her.
James took Lily in his arms and kissed her lovingly. Her arms snaked around his neck, and he had never been so happy in his life.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
A/N: Well… it's been a fun ride hasn't it? There's still one more chapter and the epilogue left to go. There's still one last twist in the next chapter and it explains a lot. Basically, it shows the depth of Rose's treachery. I'll post it either next week or when I get 300 reviews, whichever comes first. In the epilogue there is a cute little scene and an important announcement from me. Hope you'll come back to read both! And thanks for reading thus far. If you liked this chapter, please review. Was it cliched at all? I tried to go as uncliche as I could. Lemme know if I succeeded!
~Teva~
I had a reviewer ask me about the monkey wrench title from last chapter. Well, I just meant that I was "throwing a monkey wrench" in the plot. It's an expression.
WARNING: There is a MAJOR fluff warning for this chapter. At least, as fluffy as my writing gets. For those of you who are saying ick, why are you reading Lily/James stories anyway??
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 15: Lilies
Lily ran as fast as she could past Kit and Lucille tears still falling. She ran till she couldn't run anymore and then she stopped at a statue and plopped down at its feet. She angrily brushed away the tears and dried her face. "I'm so tired of crying!" she burst out suddenly. "It seems to be all I ever do anymore!" she sighed. "Well, this is enough. I'm not going to cry over him anymore. He's caused quite enough pain and he isn't worth any of it," she stood up decisively feeling much refreshed.
She made it to her first class on time and with a dry face. James looked at her and smiled and instead of her knees going weak, hot anger flared inside her. He thought he was going to get away with it did he! Well just let him try! Lily ignored the smile and his indication that she sit next to him and she went to the other side of the room and sat down next to Kit and Lucille. They looked at her with some anxiety but were somewhat reassured when she smiled at them. James watched confusedly… but on the other side of the classroom, someone was smiling…
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Classes went on as usual and Lily didn't even glance at James. It was like she was mad at him or something.
"I'll never understand girls," he thought morosely to himself. Sirius was making his usual jokes, Remus and Peter occasionally joining in, but James just wasn't in the mood for it. He kept glancing surreptitiously at Lily during lunch, but she was siting further down the table surrounded by her friends.
She laughed at one particular joke and he felt his heart beat faster as she smiled radiantly and he wished suddenly that she was smiling at something he had said.
Sirius sighed loudly and James turned back to him. "James, a rock would be more conversational than you. If you're so worried about it, go talk to her!" he said rolling his eyes.
"Was I that obvious?" James asked somewhat sheepishly.
"See for yourself," Remus said with a smile, gesturing at James' shirt. James looked down to see that his shirt was covered in pumpkin juice. His friends laughed then Remus stood up still smiling and pushed him to his feet. "Go clean yourself up. If you hurry, you'll have a few minutes to talk to her before next class."
James blinked then did as his friends suggested.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Come on you comedian you. We're going to be late," Lucille said to Kit with a smile as she gathered up her stuff.
Lily sat ruffling through her bag. "Oh drat! I forgot my Care of Magical Creatures book," she stood up and angrily ran a hand through her long reddish hair. "Nothing seems to be going well today!" she thought gloomily. "I'll catch up," and with that she picked up her things and ran back up to the Gryffindor common room.
So intent on getting there quickly, she wasn't watching where she was going. She rounded a corner and crashed into someone, falling to the floor, her things scattering everywhere.
"Damn!" she jumped up rubbing her elbow that she had hit hard on the floor. Lily looked up at who she had crashed into an apology forming on her lips.
The apology immediately died when she saw who it was. "Oh boy… could this get any better?" she thought as she unconsciously stepped back.
For (like in all good love stories), it was James Potter.
She glared at him and didn't even bother to say anything before bending down to pick up her scattered belongings. James leaned down to help and when their hands met, Lily jumped back. She snatched the things he held out to her and started to walk away.
There was a pause and then she heard his footsteps following her and she sighed inwardly. "Lily wait please!" he reached her side and put a hand to her arm to try to stop her. "Talk to me! What's wrong?" he truly looked concerned and that just made Lily's blood BOIL.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Lily turned to him her skin blotchy with anger, her long hair falling around her face in disarray and he thought that she had never looked more beautiful. He gazed at her for a moment before she finally spoke and he was completely unprepared for what she said.
"Why are you doing this?!" her voice was filled with fury and she was shaking in rage.
"Doing what?" James said desperately. Her face darkened with anger and he knew immediately that that was the wrong answer.
Her voice dropped to a low hiss that was filled with loathing and made his skin crawl. "How can pretend like you don't know? Do you take me for a complete idiot? I'm obviously stupid because I trusted you. Believed what you said. But I'm smarter now, and I won't be taken in so easily again Potter!" The words cut him deeply but none more so than her calling him Potter again. Had they truly slipped so far? How could this have happened?
"Lily I never lied to you…" he started but she broke in screaming.
"I SAW YOU!! I SAW YOU WITH ROSE AND I WON'T SOON FORGET IT!" she glared at him then took off running leaving him stunned behind.
"Lily, wait!" his voice echoed forlornly on the empty hallways and there was no response but the click click of heels taking Lily further and further away.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Lily was very glad that there was only one class left. She spent the whole glass throwing poisonous glances at James and completely ignoring the teacher. He spent the whole class either trying to listen to the teacher, throwing unhappy glances at her or whispering to Kit and Remus who were sitting by him.
She managed to get away from James after class without being quite sure how she did. She ran to the Gryffindor Common Room and up to her room as fast as she could. The Gryffindor Tower was silent because everyone was at dinner, but Lily wasn't hungry.
She paced around the room anger seeping through her. "He just isn't worth it. I'm going to forget him. It really isn't fair of me to be so angry at him. I mean, he's just going back to his true nature! No reason to be angry. It's over," and she smiled and relaxed feeling perfectly at ease.
And then she lay down on her bed and began to weep because there's a limit as to how you can lie to yourself.
A few minutes later her tears subsided again and she walked over to the window. With a sigh she sat down on the ledge and gazed out at the Hogwart grounds and the lake. She looked for a long time before she finally realized what she was seeing.
Lily sat up straight and leaned closer to the window peering out the window in disbelief. A moment before the lake of Hogwarts had been its dark usual self. No ripples had disturbed its waters. That was changing now.
A thousand maybe even two thousand green petal like flowers were on top of the water. As she watched they moved and arranged themselves on the water. When the finally settled, she gasped, leapt to her feet and ran out the door.
The petals had formed the words, "Be mine Lily."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
When she reached the lake, no one was nearby. She walked to the edge of the lake and plucked something out of the water. It was a water lily. One of the thousands of them out on the lake. She inhaled the fragrance and she smiled softly. Then stiffened as the sound of a twig breaking filled the air.
"It's a pretty little thing, but not nearly as pretty as you," he said wistfully as he walked over to her. "Listen to me please Lily? I can explain. Honestly I can," he looked at pleadingly.
She was still hurting so much inside that she couldn't bear to just forgive him. "Go jump in the lake Potter," she spat at him then started to walk away.
"After you," he said calmly. Then accompanied by a shriek from her, he pushed her in.
"James Potter! You little!" Gasping for breath Lily reached up and grabbed his ankle before he could move and yanked him in after her. He yelped at the top of his lungs as he fell in.
"Serves you right!" she shouted at him. She started to try to get out but he caught her wrist and kissed her gently on the lips. She tried to pull away weakly and he immediately stopped and let go of her. "Oh James, haven't you done enough?" she said bitterly.
"Lily, I swear to you, on whatever you want me too, I swear that I have no feelings for Rose. I confess I did, but she just isn't worth it. She isn't worth the aggravation. She tried to turn me against my sister. Tiana, who has always been a beacon of love and understanding," he took her hand again and looked into her eyes imploringly. "You have to believe me Lily."
She wanted to, oh so very badly she wanted to, but the conversation with Lucille was still fresh in her mind. "How could I ever compare with Rose, James? She's beautiful. Much more so than I am, or ever will be," Lily turned away bitterly and hung her head.
James tenderly laid a hand on her shoulder. "Oh Talon, there's lots of roses out there. Pretty and perfect. But there's only one Lily. And she's all I want."
Lily's breath caught in her throat and with a cry, she turned around and flung herself at him. They laughed together and he came closer to kiss her.
With a mischievous smile, she splashed water into his face then dove under the water as he spluttered and wiped his eyes. When he could see again, he too dove under the water and swam after her. Like a mermaid at sea, she taunted him laughingly. Finally, he tricked her by diving under the water and popping up next to her.
James took Lily in his arms and kissed her lovingly. Her arms snaked around his neck, and he had never been so happy in his life.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
A/N: Well… it's been a fun ride hasn't it? There's still one more chapter and the epilogue left to go. There's still one last twist in the next chapter and it explains a lot. Basically, it shows the depth of Rose's treachery. I'll post it either next week or when I get 300 reviews, whichever comes first. In the epilogue there is a cute little scene and an important announcement from me. Hope you'll come back to read both! And thanks for reading thus far. If you liked this chapter, please review. Was it cliched at all? I tried to go as uncliche as I could. Lemme know if I succeeded!
~Teva~