Chapter 1: The Common Room
It was late at night and most everyone was asleep in Gryffindor. The stars outside twinkled and they cast a fine line of light onto the falling snow. "It's so beautiful," Lily whispered, placing her hand on the glass on the window. She was curled up a window seat, the new fleece blanket she had gotten yesterday for Christmas curled around her feet. "It's just so picturesque." She sighed and slowly climbed down from her perch and made her way over to the couch and picked up a book she had to finish for Divination Class before Winter Break ended. Groaning she picked up the immense book and plopped into the over-stuffed coach. Before she could even open the book her eyes were closed and breaths became more even.
"Peter?" James whispered, trying to jostle his best friend, Peter, awake, "Are you awake?" Peter groaned and rolled over. "What is it?" Peter whispered back. "I can't get to sleep," James replied. "Oh, and just thought that you would try to inflict me with the same problem? I don't think so, go wake up Sirius." Peter rolled back over and soon was back in dream-land. James climbed over to the other side of his bed and opened the curtains surrounding Sirius' bed. "Hey, Sirius, are you up?" Sirius didn't reply. From across the room a voice said sleepily, "Go back to sleep." Sorry guys, James thought, sleep isn't coming to me quite yet. Silently he tip-toed towards the door to go downstairs to the Common Room, the door creaked. James cringed and froze for a few painstakingly long seconds, nothing else happened. Once he got the door wide enough for him to squeeze through, well, he squeezed through. Downstairs he pointed his wand at the fire, said a little Latin spell and in seconds a beautiful fire was blazing. James smiled and walked over to his favorite armchair, to the left of the fireplace. Curling up in it he gazed around the Gryffindor common-room, which he had come to know quite well over the past three years. He loved the coziness of it and how it always was somewhere to go. His eyes glanced over the couch to his right, and noticed a dark figured curled up on it. "What?" James whispered in surprise. He leaned closer and saw the lines of a pale cheek bone and a shoulder covered in a blanket. It was Lily Evans, a girl he did not know and had never cared to get to know. His friends told story of how she was a Muggle-born and preferred tea-cups to wands. A disgrace to the Gryffindor house, his friends said, and should never have been allowed to attend this prestigious home of wonderful wizards. She stirred and her face moved into a slight beam of light from the window. She really was pretty; her shock of bright red hair didn't do much for her appearance, though. "Her eyes are so blue," he said aloud, a little too loudly for Lily groaned and, rubbing her eyes, sat up. It took Lily a second to focus on her surroundings, when she did she noticed the despicable James gazing at her. Where was she? It all came flashing back to her; she had come downstairs to get some reading done and had apparently fallen asleep. "What are you doing here?" she said sleepily in his direction. "Well, my two best friends didn't want to go anywhere so I came down here and started a fire. What are you doing down here?" he replied, a faint smile pulling at the corners of his lips. "I came down here to work on reading the Divinity book but fell asleep to soon." There was an awkward silence after that. What were they doing? She wondered. They had both hated each other since the first day they had arrived here. He was a precocious brat who grew up in a large mansion that fit his ego and she didn't know why he hated her and did not want to. He turned his head towards the window that framed the soft snowflakes outside. "It's so beautiful," he said and got up to walk over to the window. "That's partly the reason I couldn't get to sleep, you know. I felt like I would be missing out on something." Another pause, "I guess I was right," he smiled, turning in Lily's direction. Her face blushed uncertainly, she was glad for the darkness between them. "Was that supposed to be a compliment?" she asked laughingly and slowly stood up. "Yes?" he said. He did NOT have a good touch with the girls. "Because if it was it was really sweet, but I'm really sleepy so I'm going up to bed now. Good night." With that she turned around and walked up the winding staircase. James heard a door open and close. He couldn't believe himself, sending sparks out like that. Such words should not be wasted on a girl his friends did not approve of.
In bed Lily grinned. She had never intended to even think of James as a suitor, but it felt kind of nice, all tingly inside.
It was late at night and most everyone was asleep in Gryffindor. The stars outside twinkled and they cast a fine line of light onto the falling snow. "It's so beautiful," Lily whispered, placing her hand on the glass on the window. She was curled up a window seat, the new fleece blanket she had gotten yesterday for Christmas curled around her feet. "It's just so picturesque." She sighed and slowly climbed down from her perch and made her way over to the couch and picked up a book she had to finish for Divination Class before Winter Break ended. Groaning she picked up the immense book and plopped into the over-stuffed coach. Before she could even open the book her eyes were closed and breaths became more even.
"Peter?" James whispered, trying to jostle his best friend, Peter, awake, "Are you awake?" Peter groaned and rolled over. "What is it?" Peter whispered back. "I can't get to sleep," James replied. "Oh, and just thought that you would try to inflict me with the same problem? I don't think so, go wake up Sirius." Peter rolled back over and soon was back in dream-land. James climbed over to the other side of his bed and opened the curtains surrounding Sirius' bed. "Hey, Sirius, are you up?" Sirius didn't reply. From across the room a voice said sleepily, "Go back to sleep." Sorry guys, James thought, sleep isn't coming to me quite yet. Silently he tip-toed towards the door to go downstairs to the Common Room, the door creaked. James cringed and froze for a few painstakingly long seconds, nothing else happened. Once he got the door wide enough for him to squeeze through, well, he squeezed through. Downstairs he pointed his wand at the fire, said a little Latin spell and in seconds a beautiful fire was blazing. James smiled and walked over to his favorite armchair, to the left of the fireplace. Curling up in it he gazed around the Gryffindor common-room, which he had come to know quite well over the past three years. He loved the coziness of it and how it always was somewhere to go. His eyes glanced over the couch to his right, and noticed a dark figured curled up on it. "What?" James whispered in surprise. He leaned closer and saw the lines of a pale cheek bone and a shoulder covered in a blanket. It was Lily Evans, a girl he did not know and had never cared to get to know. His friends told story of how she was a Muggle-born and preferred tea-cups to wands. A disgrace to the Gryffindor house, his friends said, and should never have been allowed to attend this prestigious home of wonderful wizards. She stirred and her face moved into a slight beam of light from the window. She really was pretty; her shock of bright red hair didn't do much for her appearance, though. "Her eyes are so blue," he said aloud, a little too loudly for Lily groaned and, rubbing her eyes, sat up. It took Lily a second to focus on her surroundings, when she did she noticed the despicable James gazing at her. Where was she? It all came flashing back to her; she had come downstairs to get some reading done and had apparently fallen asleep. "What are you doing here?" she said sleepily in his direction. "Well, my two best friends didn't want to go anywhere so I came down here and started a fire. What are you doing down here?" he replied, a faint smile pulling at the corners of his lips. "I came down here to work on reading the Divinity book but fell asleep to soon." There was an awkward silence after that. What were they doing? She wondered. They had both hated each other since the first day they had arrived here. He was a precocious brat who grew up in a large mansion that fit his ego and she didn't know why he hated her and did not want to. He turned his head towards the window that framed the soft snowflakes outside. "It's so beautiful," he said and got up to walk over to the window. "That's partly the reason I couldn't get to sleep, you know. I felt like I would be missing out on something." Another pause, "I guess I was right," he smiled, turning in Lily's direction. Her face blushed uncertainly, she was glad for the darkness between them. "Was that supposed to be a compliment?" she asked laughingly and slowly stood up. "Yes?" he said. He did NOT have a good touch with the girls. "Because if it was it was really sweet, but I'm really sleepy so I'm going up to bed now. Good night." With that she turned around and walked up the winding staircase. James heard a door open and close. He couldn't believe himself, sending sparks out like that. Such words should not be wasted on a girl his friends did not approve of.
In bed Lily grinned. She had never intended to even think of James as a suitor, but it felt kind of nice, all tingly inside.