A WALK TO REMEMBER
Summary – The summer before his fifth year, Harry Potter stumbles across his father's old journal from his seventh year at Hogwarts and he reads about the continuous adventures of him, the Marauders, and his mother, Lily Evans; how they met, how they fell in love, and what brought them to their horrendous deaths. This story is based on the movie and book called A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks.
Disclaimer – Unfortunately, I own absolutely nothing. All of the characters and their names belong to author JK Rowling and the plot and character traits belong to Warner Brother's and author Nicholas Sparks.
Chapter 4 – Lily and James:
The next day in school, James desperately looked around for Lily. But he could not seem to find her anywhere. He did see her in classes and at mealtimes, but it seemed that James could not manage to get a seat anywhere near her or a moment to talk to her. In the end, James figured he would have to talk to her during lunch time. But, even during that time she was nowhere to be seen. James became beyond frustrated at this point. A girl had never been so difficult for him to chase down and talk to.
By the middle of lunch, James was sick of this game of this game of Hide-N-Seek. He left lunch early and went straight to the library. He knew, without a doubt that, Lily was sure to be there. Thankfully, to James's relief, when he got there, he saw a group of sixth years working on a Potions Essay and there was Lily sitting at a table in a corner reading a book. Without hesitation, James walked right over to her table and sat down next to her.
"You're sitting next to me and people can see," she said simply, not taking her eyes off of the book.
"And that would ruin your reputation, how?" retorted James respectfully as he stared at her. Her long, beautiful red hair was tied up in a ponytail again and her Hogwarts uniform was on, no make-up, though her green eyes still somehow sparkled. Even in her uniform she looked beautiful. Why had he never noticed it before?
"What are you reading?" James asked, genuinely curious. Lily lifted the book so she could see, not taking her eyes off the page and still not looking at him.
"I'm reading all the books that Madame Pince has on her list written by famous British authors," Lily explained casually. James raised an eyebrow.
"And how many books are there?"
"One hundred," said Lily, "but then there is American list and her European list."
"And, is this all on your life to-do list; to read all these books?" James asked curiously. Lily continued reading, ignoring him completely. James looked at the table and ran his fingers through his already unruly jet-black hair.
"Look, Lily, I'm trying here," said James. This comment got no reaction out of Lily as she continued to pretend he was not there. So, James knew he would have to play hardball; he would have to be honest with her. "Lily, I really miss spending time with you. You…you inspire me. You're the one who inspired me to work hard and be better in the play…" Lily shook her head and chuckled.
"Sounds like bullocks," she said snapping her book shut.
"Which part?" James asked impatiently.
"All of it!"
"Well, it's not!"
"Prove it," hissed Lily as she grabbed her bag and stormed out of the library. James rolled his eyes, let out a loud groan, and immediately ran after her. When he caught up with her she was already nearing her uncle's office.
"Lily!" James called out. "Lily, wait up!"
"Don't bother trying, Potter. You don't know the first thing about being someone's friend," Lily said coldly.
"I don't want to just be your friend," said James as he caught up with her, following her.
"You don't know what you want!"
"Neither do you!" James snapped angrily. "Maybe you're too scared to see that someone might actually want to be with you." Lily finally turned around angrily to face James with her bright green eyes flashing dangerously.
"And why would that scare me?" she asked coolly, looking him square in the eye.
"Because than you wouldn't be able to hide behind your books, your Muggle telescope or your music, or anything!" James said looking somber. Lily narrowed her eyes at him and started to walk away but he was not letting her get away that easy. James caught up with her and grabbed her by the forearm. "You know the real reason why you're scared? It's because you want to be with me too!"
Lily's bright green eyes widened for a minute, but then narrowed. She gave James a deathly glare and then stormed off into her uncle's office, knowing James would not follow her there.
James let out a frustrated groan and headed back to the Gryffindor Tower to get started on his Transfiguration essay.
That was enough for now.
James was in the Gryffindor Common Room, trying frantically to get his Transfiguration essay done or McGonagall would transfigure him permanently into some kind of rodent. Since he had put so much focus on the Spring Play, his grades had slipped severely. Suddenly, out of the nowhere, Remus started causing frantic by putting on his wireless wizard radio with some music.
"Could you keep it down, Moony?" James asked, trying to sound annoyed, though he was grinning. "Some of us are actually trying to work."
"Wait, is James Potter actually working?" Remus asked in an overdramatic tone, putting his hand on his chest. "Oh my, what is this world coming to?"
"Oh, shut-up!"
"Let's try this!" Remus said picking up a small wizard disk and putting it in the radio. The music was not hip and bouncy, but calm and soothing. Remus was stunned.
"Whoa Prongs, you're not feeling my beat here," said Remus, staring blankly at the radio. "What is this crap?"
"Lily lent it to me," said James simply. Remus shook his head.
"Ha, now's she got you listening to her people music."
"Her people?" asked James, raising an eyebrow. He could not explain it, but somehow he felt his temper and anger rising.
"Yea, her bookworm, no social skills, shout if you love to study people," said Remus chuckling at his own joke. James did not find it funny.
"She's not like that," he snarled, scribbling some words down on his parchment. His quill was now rubbing much harder against the parchment than it had before.
"Well, she must be like something because you've got Achelle thinking that that little lip-lock between you and Lily at the play was kind of real," suggested Remus casually. James stopped writing for second, took a deep breath, than continued writing as though he had not heard what his friend had said.
Remus stared at him for a moment and studied him. Something was off; James was actually working hard on an essay and he had not pulled a prank since the Spring Play, which was last weekend. He did not understand what was going on with him.
"What's with been going on with you, Prongs?" asked Remus, suddenly sounding serious. "It's like you haven't been around lately; like you don't have time for your real friends anymore."
"I don't know, Moony," said James looking up from his parchment, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I'm just over it. I'm so sick and tired of doing the same old shit all of the time." James threw his quill down in frustration and sighing. Remus studied him for another moment before shaking his head knowingly.
"This girl's changed you and you don't even know it."
"Oh yeah? What, did Achelle say that too?" James asked bitterly as he picked up his quill again and jammed it furiously into the ink. Remus shook his head.
"No." There was a pause. James looked at his friend. "But, I did."
James sighed and shook his head. "I'm going to Hogsmeade for a little while," he said as he summoned his Invisibility Cloak and slipped it on. When he disappeared from Remus's sight, he headed for the secret passage to Honeydukes that he and Sirius had found in their second year.
While in Hogsmeade, James went to Honeydukes and bought some sweets and walked around aimlessly thinking about Lily and how fast he had fallen for her and what he could do to win her over. He kept thinking about the way she sang and how she looked during the Spring Play. And it was not just about her looks; it was her whole demeanor. Lily was very and innocent, calm and reserved, polite and pretty, and nice. Yet, at the same time, she spoke her mind and had a fiery temper. After all, what else did you expect from a redhead? Lily was, in a simple word, perfectly; simply perfect for James.
As James popped a Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean into his mouth, he passed a branch from Madame Malkin's chain of clothing stores. He decided to go in for the hell of it and looked around randomly.
That's when he saw it. He had no idea what that item was doing in a wizarding clothing shop, but he did not care. It was perfect. He immediately grabbed it off the rack and paid for it before running straight back to Hogwarts.
Instead of searching all over the castle for Lily, James instead took the Marauder's Map out of Sirius's trunk. He saw her dot in the library and immediately walked to it, knowing she would be there for a while either studying or reading.
When he entered the library, he found her instantly. Lily was sitting at the library table in the back corner reading the same book she had been reading before, except now she was almost towards the end of the book.
James slowly and shyly approached her, carrying a large bag. Lily heard him come towards and she slowly looked up.
"You," she said blankly, her face completely void of emotion.
"It's me," said James, grinning slightly. He handed her the bag.
"What is that?"
"I got you something," said James, he motioned for her to take the bag. Lily took it and gave a very weak smile.
"Thank you."
"So, I guess I'll see you around," asked James hopefully. He shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his robes and did not take his eyes off of her pretty and expressionless face.
"Okay," she said simply, staring back at him. At that moment, Parker Starkson entered the library and saw James Potter talking to his Lily. He walked towards them as James turned around to leave.
"Mr. Potter…" he said with a hint of warning and suspicion in the voice.
"Good night Professor," James said simply and left the library. Lily, biting her lip and looking curious, opened the bag and pulled out her gift. She could not help but smiled. It was an emerald green sweater, much like the cream sweater she wore all the time except it matched her eyes perfectly. She smiled brightly and fingered at the sweater with a big, bright smile on her face.
"Lily?" Parker asked. Lily looked up at him, still smiling. "Lily…boys like James Potter…they…well…they have expectations. He's not the type of boy I want you dating. You know the rules around here are not going to change."
"Fine," said Lily simply, though she looked rather annoyed.
"Now, you might not care what I say or think. But, you should care about your parents' opinion. What they would say or think," said Parker sternly. Lily smiled.
"I think they would want me to be happy," she said smiling. "It's just a sweater, Parks. It's not like it's an engagement ring." There was a long pause. "I think I'm going to work on my Charms homework." With that, Lily got up to look for the book to help her with her homework and started working on it. Parker sighed and stressfully ran a hand through his graying hair.
James walked down the corridor with his hands in his pockets, thinking about a certain redhead with big beautiful green eyes. Yes, he was thinking of Lily Evans yet again! As he walked down the corridor in a daze, Anna caught up with him.
"Jimmy you dimwit," she shouted laughing, "are you deaf?"
"What?" James whipped around and saw his older sister coming toward him. "Oh! Hey, there Annie…"
"How how have you been, little brother?" she asked teasingly when she finally reached him. James shrugged.
"Not bad…though you look a bit…frazzled," said James as he took in the look of her slightly messy hair which usually hung straight and neat around her shoulders.
"Yeah, I've been meaning to get a hold of you but you seem to be like a ghost lately," Annie admitted truthfully. "Listen, Jimmy, I need to talk to you."
"About what?"
"Let's have a cup of tea in my office," she said, not really answering. James shrugged and followed his sister down a few corridors and a few flights of stairs before actually reaching her office. Anna waved her wand in the air and two steaming cups of tea appeared before them. James sat down and took one of the cups, sipping the hot beverage timidly.
"Not that I'm not enjoying your company, Annie. But what did you want to talk to me about?" James asked, taking another sip, looking at his sister curiously.
"Well, Dad sent me an owl today," she said. James's smile instantly transformed into a dangerous frown. Annie actually found it a little scary. When her brother did not say anything, she continued. "He said he spoke to you at the play…for about three seconds."
"Yeah," he muttered, slamming his cup of tea down on the table, "sending a bag of Galleons every month doesn't exactly make a man your father…"
"James, you're still too young to understand this…but there were a lot of reasons why…"
"There shouldn't have been any reasons Annie! He left us! He left his family behind! He had no right to do that! What kind of man does that, Annie?" James shouted bitterly and angrily, jumping to his feet so fast that he loudly knocked over his chair. "I tell myself every day that if I ever have a child that I will never leave him or her! I will always be there for my son or daughter no matter what!"
Anna stared at her younger brother for a minute deep into the eyes, as though she were reading into his soul. She timidly took a sip of tea and sighed.
"You need to forgive him too," was all she said. "You need a father."
Remus, Peter, and Achelle were walking down the corridors between classes as Remus looked at the pictures that Achelle had taken during the Spring Play. He came across one picture of Lily in her emerald, silk, green gown and her red hair in curls loose and long. She was walking around the stage and singing her heart out.
"Lily Evans," Remus said in a singsong voice when he came across the picture. "Oh me, oh my, Lily Evans. She was looking gorgeous in that play. Whoa…"
"She did not look gorgeous!" Achelle snapped furiously, looking at the way James's eyes trailed her as she sang on the stage and walked back and forth in the picture.
"Oh, no she make not look gorgeous normally, but yeah in that play I've got to say that looked gorgeous," said Peter, as ogled at the picture of Lily. "I would definitely say she looked gorgeous…yeah…"
Jealousy soared through Achelle's veins and she wanted nothing more than to tear that picture out of Remus's hands, slap that look of infatuation off their faces, and rip Lily's picture in a million little pieces. She found herself hating Lily Evans more than ever because now even Remus and Peter were confirming that she was good looking. And what was even worse was that James had been rumored to have been following the red head around like some lovesick puppy.
Achelle wanted to know the best way to ruin Lily Evans. But what could she do? The girl kept to herself and never really talked to anyone; and her uncle was a professor for Merlin's sake. Then, it hurt her like lightning. It was an idea so brilliant and so perfect; perfect for getting back at what Lily Evans stole from her.
"I have the best idea…" whispered Achelle; her eyes were nearly bulging out of her head and she looked almost insane.
"What are you talking about?" asked Remus slowly. "Achelle, are you alright?" But she did not answer. She just grabbed Remus and Peter's arms and dragged them off of to go find Sirius and Fiona.
The three of them eventually found Sirius and Fiona snogging in the Gryffindor Common Room. Achelle told them all of her plan and they all agreed anxiously; Achelle knew that Sirius, Remus, and Peter could never turn down a decent prank.
So, in secret, the five of them took out their wands and remodeled the picture of Lily from the Spring Play and made hundreds of copies with their wands. Fiona and Peter handed them out to everyone in the school, supported by Sirius, Remus, and Achelle. The whole group, except for James of course, congratulated Achelle on thinking of such a master prank.
'This will definitely get James to stop crushing on that ridiculous little bookworm,' Achelle thought to herself.
Lily walked through the corridors and from the Great Hall to the dungeons, when she realized that she was getting a lot of curious stares. Normally people did not pay any attention to her and quite frankly, as shy as she was, Lily liked it that way. She walked to her Potions class, clutching her books, holding them tightly to her chest.
"Lily!" a voice called from behind. Startled; Lily looked up and saw Achelle Marshall coming towards her. Achelle was known to be one of the most popular girls at Hogwarts. Lily could not for the life of her, figure out why such a popular girl had a sudden desire to talk to her. But, Lily was not one for brushing people off and she bit her lip before staring down at her feet, unable to look Achelle in the eye.
"Er...hi Achelle," Lily said quietly.
"Listen, Lily, I just want you to know that there are no hard feelings between us," said Achelle, looking somber. "James and I are completely over." Lily raised an eyebrow.
"James? Achelle, I really don't know what you're talking about," she said quietly and continued walking towards the Potions classroom.
"Lily!" Achelle called again. Lily turned and faced her, still looking curious and confused. "Lily, I have to tell you…you would look so beautiful if you knew how to do your make-up."
"Oh…well…thank you," said Lily, smiling genuine. A lot of people might have taken that for an insult, but she most certainly did not. Lily had this habit of always trying to see the good in people, things, and comments.
"Why don't you come and sit next to me during Potions?" suggested Achelle, smiling brightly at the red headed girl.
"Okay, sure" said Lily smiling. Suddenly, she felt excited at the prospect of finally making a friend.
Lily enthusiastically followed Achelle into the classroom to find many of the students laughing hysterical. Achelle brushed past Lily and walked to the table where Sirius and Peter, who were sitting with Remus and Fiona, all trying to suppress a laugh. Lily raised an eyebrow but slowly followed her new friend to the table. But even she could not fail to notice that everyone was looking at her and sniggering. Achelle approached the table and slowly picked up a piece of parchment that was sitting on it, next to Sirius, and looked at it, as though pretending to be shocked.
"WOW!" she said in mock amazement, putting a hand to her mouth. "Lily, is that…you?"
Achelle handed Lily the parchment. Lily took it and her eyes widened at the sight. It was most definitely her, but at the same time, it was not her. It was a picture of her from the Spring Play except the Marauders and their groupies had used magic to make the dress in the photo extremely revealing and her bust and butt very enlarged. They also messed with her face; putting on witch warts and blemishes On top of the photo, they had edited it so that there were words across the top reading: Bookworm?
Lily, wanting to sink through the floor with embarrassment and shame, looked around the room to see everyone laughing at her. And suddenly, Lily understood this to be a set-up. Achelle had never wanted to be her friend; she just wanted to bring her in a pool of humiliation and shame. And she had bought it.
Sirius was cackling, almost evilly with Fiona in his lap, also laughing. Peter was leaning on Remus for support because he was laughing so hard, his finger pointed at Lily. Remus was no angel either; he was laughing too, clutching on to his stomach.
Tears formed in Lily's eyes. Sure, she normally did not care what other people thought, but there are something a person could not ignore. Sure, the Marauders had always made comments and jokes about her, but now this little stunt included the whole school. The whole school was laughing at her now, not just the Marauders. Achelle was not laughing however; she was just staring at Lily with a satisfied smirk on her face.
As the tears started to flow down her cheeks, Lily turned around to run out the door and hide away from the world, but, blinded by tears, collided into someone. To her immense surprise, that person slowly wrapped their arms around her in a comforting hug and she immediately began to cry into their shoulder. Lily looked up into the face of her Good Samaritan and was astonished to see that it was James Potter who was hugging her tightly, shooting death glares at his friends.
"Look, don't worry," he whispered gently into her ear. "Just stay here. I'll take care of this." Lily nodded, tears streaming down her face. James let go of her and stormed towards the rest of the Marauders, Achelle, and Fiona.
"No wonder you've been keeping her locked up, Prongs," said Sirius, grinning mischievously at James as he approached, then he turned his gaze on Lily. "I had no idea that this was underneath all that!" He laughed almost evilly. Lily gave a small sob. And the very sound tore at James's heart strings. James furiously snatched the paper out of Sirius's hand and shoved him away…hard.
Sirius was startled, but angry. He stormed towards James, who stood his ground and if looks could kill, Sirius would have died the most painful death.
"Sirius don't-"
"Stay out of this, Fiona!"
"Padfoot-"
"Shut it, Moony!" shouted Sirius before furiously turning back to James. "I'm not putting up this, Prongs! I won't allow you to date something like that...that...that ugly piece of-"
James was so blinded with fury that punched Sirius as hard as he could square on the jaw. Sirius stumbled backwards, falling into Fiona's arms. There was a long silence as everyone held their breath; not believing the sight before them. James Potter had just punched his best friend, Sirius Black…over a girl. And it was not just any girl; it was Lily Evans; a girl who, two weeks ago, meant nothing to James. Everyone had their breath, waiting for what would happen.
James just stared Sirius down; long and hard. Sirius shoved Fiona's caring hands away and slowly turned towards his best friend. Remus tried coming between them, trying to get them to see reason, but Sirius shoved him away roughly and stared down at his James before snapping: "We're through!"
"That's fine by me," said James coolly as he turned around and walked towards Lily, who was still crying, but very shocked at what James had done. She could not believe he had defended her like that; that he had ended his lifelong friendship with Sirius Black who had always been like a brother to him. But, despite James's caring attitude towards her, she still could nott stop the tears from streaming down her face
"We are through forever!" Sirius continued to shout. James ignored him and held Lily's tear stained face in his hands.
"Are you okay?" he asked quietly. Lily nodded, still crying. "Come on; let's get the hell out of here."
"You made a mistake, James!" Sirius shouted, still trying to get another rise out of his best friend. It was clear that he wanted another fight; another excuse to hit James. But, James just ignored Sirius; he was too busy putting a comforting arm around Lily and guiding her out of the classroom. "You're a chicken, James! You're a coward!"
James guided Lily out of the dungeons and she continued to sob. James pressed her head towards him so that she could cry into his shoulder, which she gratefully did. Once they were out of the dungeons he hugged Lily tightly.
"Lily, I'm so sorry about that," he whispered in her ear, trying to comfort her. "They're immature morons, okay?" Lily continued sobbing into his shoulder. James hugged her tighter and patted her silk red head gently.
"C'mon," he whispered. "Let's get out of here."
Lily lifted her head from his shoulder. James still had his arm around her and they did not say anything until they were back in the Gryffindor Common Room. James guided Lily to the dark, red sofa and sat her down, him sitting beside her. He patted her head gently in a comforting manner. "Are you sure you're okay, Lily?"
"I'm fine," she said quietly. The tears had finally stopped, but her eyes were red and puffy. "But, thank you…thank you for everything." She gave him a weak smile.
"You're welcome," he said smiling, looking into her forest green eyes. And he meant it too. Lily looked back into his chocolate brown; the first time she really ever looked anyone in the eye. There was a long pause. Finally, Lily looked away and stared into the fireplace.
"Lily?" James said awkwardly, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "I was wondering…I…I wanted to ask you something."
"Okay?"
"Will…er…will you go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?" asked James with a hopeful and innocent look in his deep brown eyes, blushing slightly. He had never been this nervous asking out a girl and thrilled and scared him at the same time. Lily's eyes widened at his question, obviously not expecting it, and blushed too.
"You mean…like…like a date?"
"Err…well…yeah…"
"Oh…James…I'm sorry, I can't go…" whispered Lily, looking at her feet, her voice trailing off. James's hopeful look suddenly became one of hurt and rejection. He felt like his heart was ripped out and stomped on. His stomach came out of his throat and he felt like the world was crashing down around him. Girls had rejected him before and it had never phased him. Why did this one hurt so much?
"Oh!" croaked James, feeling a lump in his throat. "Is there…another guy…or…?"
"No," said Lily quickly. "No, it's not that."
"Then what is it?" asked James, now curious. Lily hesitated, biting her lip. "You can tell me, Lily."
"Do you promise not to laugh?"
"I promise!" swore James using his finger to make a crisscross over his heart and put his finger to his lips. Lily sighed and took a deep breath.
"I…I'm not allowed to date," she whispered honestly. James looked at her for a second, than gave a weak grin.
"Oh!"
The next day, James nervously walked towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, fidgeting with his fingers. He could hear Professor Starkson preparing for his next lesson and James quietly entered the room.
"Boggarts are-" he spotted James and his eyes immediately narrowed and his posture stiffened. "Can I help you, Mr. Potter?"
"Yes sir," said James confidently and he walked forward so that he was standing directly in front of the professor's desk. Parker raised an eyebrow at him but allowed him to continue with his speech. "I'd like to ask your niece to Hogsmeade this weekend."
"That's not possible," he said without even thinking about it and he went back to his lesson plan. James stared at him with his fists clenched. Normally would have backed down but this was about Lily Evans. And James Potter was not about to give up on an incredible girl like Lily Evans.
"With all due respect sir, I ask that you reconsider," said James sounding firm. Parker looked at him again, eyes narrowed, though he looked slightly startled over James's persistence.
"With all due respect Mr. Potter, I made my decision and that's final," he said, just as firmly as James had said. James just stared at him; his face completely expressionless. "You can exit the way you entered." Parker looked back down at his lesson plan but James did not leave; he did not even move. Parker slowly raised his eyes back at James.
"Look, I know I haven't treated Lily the way I should have over the years," started James. "She deserves so much more than that; more than me anyway."
"What are you trying to say, Potter?" hissed Starkson, now sounding impatient.
"Professor, you always said that anytime we come across an obstacle in life, whether it is a boggart, a Death Eater, or Voldemort himself, to always have faith in ourselves and our instincts to try and get past it," said James, sounding assertive. "Well, now, I'm just asking you for the same thing that you teach us every day here in class. And, that's faith. I want you to have faith in me, Professor."
Parker stared at James as though he were something remarkable, or something disgusting. He could not believe that he actually had the nerve and courage to persist him about taking Lily out on a date. Most boys would have given up already, but James was not. He realized that James must really want to spend time with her. Starkson knew it was either because he really cared for her or he just wants one thing.
'James is asking for faith, so I'll give it to him,' he thought
So, he did.
James waited at the foot of the stairs wearing a nice pair of khakis and a plaid blue, collared shirt with the top buttoned unbutton and white T-shirt underneath. He tried desperately to flatten his hair, but that did not work out very well.
Finally, he saw Lily coming down the stairs from the girls' dormitories. She was dressed simple, wearing a long white sundress and the emerald green sweater; the same one James had gotten for her. Her wearing the sweater really made him happy and pleased; like he had done a good job. The sweater really brought out the color of her stunning green eyes. Her hair was down and long red curls streamed down her shoulders like a red river. To James, she looked nothing short of amazing.
"Hi!" she said brightly as she approached him. James beamed back at her, his eyes glowing with adoration.
"You look…beautiful…" he whispered. Lily blushed and muttered a quick but sincere 'Thank you.' James held out his hand for her and Lily took it. Without hesitating, he entwined his fingers with hers.
They walked into Hogsmeade together, hand-in-hand. Lily thought they were just going to the Three Broomsticks for lunch like the rest of students normally did, but James led her past the popular pub. Instead he brought her to the fancy restaurant that had just opened in Hogsmeade called the Magical Mermaid. Lily was stunned that James had decided to take her to such a nice place.
"I still can't believe you asked my uncle's permission," she said smiling. James looked at her and smiled back.
"Don't worry, he was fine about it," said James as the hostess led them to their table. James and Lily each ordered a butterbeer and the couple glanced over at the menus. Lily looked at the prices on the menu and her eyes widened.
"Erm….James?"
"Is there something wrong?" James asked in concern.
"No!" Lily said quickly and reassuringly. "No, it's just that this restaurant is really nice and really expensive…and…Are you sure this is okay?" James grinned at her.
"Don't even worry about it," he said grinning. Lily smiled. "You get whatever you want. Okay?"
"Okay," said Lily, smiling brightly.
Their dinner consisted of good food and a conversation about getting to know each other; favorite foods, subject in school, and how weird it was to have a sister and an uncle as a professor at Hogwarts.
"What's your favorite color?" asked James, taking a bite of his steak. Lily chewed on the inside of her cheek.
"Red," she said simply.
"Like your hair?"
"Not just my hair," said Lily, smirking. "It's also the color of my mother's hair and one of the Gryffindor colors. It just brings comfort to me. What's your favorite color?"
"Green," said James without hesitation. Lily tilted her head to the side curiously.
"Why green?"
"Because it reminds me of the color of your eyes," said James simply, looking directly into them. Lily's eyes widened and she blushed severely. James smiled at her modesty and reached across the table to take her hand in his own. He did not have to tell her how beautiful he thought they were; she already knew.
After dinner, James saw Lily looking at the people on the dance floor and she turned to James smiling.
"Do want to dance?" asked Lily, gesturing excitedly to the dance floor. James shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
"Uhh…I don't dance," he said simply. Lily smiled nervously.
"It's okay. I don't like dancing in front of other people either," she said, smiling shyly.
"Well…no…I don't dance…at all…as in I can't…" James stuttered as he continued shifting uncomfortably in his chair.
"What? That's why you don't want to dance?" asked Lily, shocked, but still smiling. "But, everybody can dance. It's just moving your arms, legs, and limbs around. C'mon you can't be that bad."
"You'd be surprised," James muttered. Lily overlooked it.
"Please?" asked Lily, pouting her lip and giving him a puppy dog look. "For me?"
'For you?' James thought to himself. 'Bloody hell how can I resist that?' Reluctantly, James stood up and held out his hand for Lily to take.
"Yes!" Lily cheered and she took his hand. Despite how much James did not want to dance, he was pleased that he could make Lily smile like that. Gently and hesitantly, he led her to the dance floor. He put a hand on her waist and took the other in his hand as Lily placed a hand on his shoulder. James took one step and it landed right on Lily's foot.
"Ow!"
"Sorry," said James, "I told you I was bad at this."
"But I can't complain because you did warn me," said Lily smiling up at him. James laughed. She had a sense of humor too! Could this girl get any better?
"That's right!" James and Lily laughed as they barely moved on the dance floor, especially compared to the other couples.
"So…" started James, "I have another question for you."
"And what's that?"
"What's number one on your to-do list?"
"Oh, I'm not telling that one," Lily said in a singsong voice, shaking her head teasingly. "Not yet, Potter." James chuckled.
"Okay, okay," he muttered, feeling inwardly defeated, but he knew he would try again later. "Well, my number one is getting the hell out of England and going to America."
"Getting out of England is not going to be your problem, James" said Lily. "Your problem is going to be finding out what you're going to do when you get to America."
"What do you mean?" James asked, raising an eyebrow. Lily smiled pleasantly at him.
"Well…because you can do anything you want to, James Potter."
'She is something else,' James thought as he looked into her happy, beautiful green eyes.
After dinner, James and Lily walked hand in hand back to Hogwarts, when James got a sudden burst of inspiration.
"C'mon," he nearly shouted, holding on to Lily's hand tighter and dragging her towards his dormitory.
"Uh…James?" Lily asked cautiously when they reached his dormitory. "What are you doing?" James did not answer; he was too busy rummaging through his trunk. He pulled out his broomstick, an Invisibility Cloak, and his wand. He opened the window to the dormitory and sat on his broomstick.
"C'mon, Lils," he said reaching out his hand for her to take.
"What's going on?"
"You'll see," he said grinning. Lily reluctantly took his hand as James dragged her on to the broomstick and sat her in front of him. He slipped an arm around her waist and the other held on to the broom as James pushed off the ground and flew out the window. Lily gasped and James could feel her trembling violently.
"What's the matter?" James asked gently as he flew higher into the night clouds. Lily seemed to be holding her breath.
"I-I'm afraid of heights," she said as she shivered in fright. Instinctively, James tightened his hold on her.
"I won't let you fall," he whispered reassuringly in her ear. Lily nodded and decided to take a risk and look down. She gasped. They were way above the clouds and it was just so beautiful. To Lily, it the sky below her resembled large fluffy pillows; these pillows were surrounding them in a mystical dark blue blanket.
"It's so beautiful," she whispered into the night. James heard her and smiled.
"Just like you," he whispered in her ear. Lily blushed and smiled to herself, biting her bottom lip.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"Hold on, you'll see," said James as he continued flying in the sky. Finally, after a few hours, he lowered his broom and there were very far away from Hogwarts. James dismounted and took Lily's hand, a big, excited, goofy grin on his face.
"C'mon, Lils!" James shouted, running, dragging Lily to what looked like the middle of nowhere. James looked around for a second and nodded in approval before turning back to Lily. "Ok, Lils, put one foot there," he said pointing to one side of a line in the cement road that Lily had not noticed before. "And your other foot there." He pointed to the other side of the line. Lily obeyed, now standing in a straddle.
"You're acting like a lunatic," Lily said smiling, looking at James like he was crazy. "What's going on?"
"Okay, right now, you're straddling the boundary line of Scotland and England," explained James, as though pleading with his eyes for her to understand. But Lily did not understand; but simply raised a confused eyebrow.
"Okay…"
"You're in two places at once without magic," said James pointing to the sign that said Welcome to Scotland.
Lily stared at the sign for a full minute before her eyes widened with pure happiness and delight as she let what he said slowly sink in. James had his hands in his pockets, grinning like a maniac; almost innocently. Lily busted out laughing with joy and threw her arms around James's neck. James put his arms around her and swung her around and the pair just happily laughed in each other's arms.
"C'mon, I got another surprise for you," James whispered in her ear after setting her down. Lily nodded and James took her hand and they flew back to Hogwarts. Finally, James landed by the Great Lake and sat down. He motioned for Lily to sit down next to him. As Lily sat down beside James he was pulling something out of his robes. It was a packet full of fake Muggle tattoos.
"Where'd you get those?" Lily asked eagerly.
"I take Muggle Studies," explained James. "I told Professor Melidon that I was interested in Muggle tattoos and asked if she could get some for me for tonight. She gave me these telling me that they're fake tattoos. I thought this was better than those nasty real ones. I wouldn't want anyone sticking a needle in you. Plus, your uncle would go bugger if he found out you got a tattoo."
"Yeah, you're right," said Lily chuckling. James laughed.
"So, what do you want? The butterfly, star, or flower?" asked James.
"Why, the lily of course!" said Lily with a giggle. James grinned and took out the packet with the flowers on it. There was a large lily on it.
"Appropriate," he said simply. Lily chuckled again. "So…where do you want it?"
Lily looked at her arms, her hands, than her shoulders. She took a second glance at her shoulder and took off her sweater. Then she lowered the sleeve of her sundress to show a bare shoulder.
"Right there," she said, as she pointed to the back of her shoulder blade. James grinned lop-sided and nodded.
'Is she teasing me?' he thought, 'because she's doing a damn good job.' He overlooked his thoughts and opened the package. He pressed the tattoo of the lily on Lily's shoulder and took out a wet sponge that he had conjured. After a minute, he peeled the piece of wet paper off her shoulder, revealing a fake white lily tattoo on Lily's shoulder. He grinned and his eyes met Lily's in a silent moment.
Lily's eyes were filled with such happiness that it made James felt his stomach was doing somersaults. His heart was beating so hard that he felt like his lungs would explode and his ribcage would break. The truth was, James liked knowing that he could make her this happy and making her dreams come true. He smiled at her and blew on her shoulder to dry the tattoo. Then he touched it gently, making goose bumps appear on Lily's bare shoulder. James looked into Lily's emerald green eyes and smiled. To his delight, she smiled back.
Most boys would have tried to kiss or make-out with Lily at that moment, since she was teasing him after all, even if she did not mean to. But, James did not try anything. He knew that Lily would not want that and he respected that about her.
The truth was that he did not need to kiss her. Lily looking into his eyes and him looking back at her was enough. Her presence was enough. It was all he needed. And, that was enough. It was enough to last him his entire life.
A note from the Jitterbelle. Wow I had no idea how long these last two chapters were! It took forever to revise both of them but here they are…done and hopefully improved! Please enjoy the story and please don't forget to review to let me know what you think! They are greatly valued and appreciated!