Dear James,
Once upon a time . . . I know you still don't get that reference, so for the billionth time: that's how Muggles start their fairy tales. Only they usually don't have any fairies, since the stories are usually about a princess or something, but humour me here.
So. Once upon a time . . . once upon a time, a girl named Christine told me who you were. Do you even remember her? Taller than me, dark hair, and slightly plump? You had a crush on her for the first few months of first year, or so she said. I don't know why, because she wasn't very nice. I shouldn't even comment on your choice in people, though, because Christine was my constant acquaintance during those first few months. She was a pureblood, she knew everyone, and so despite the fact that she often made me want to curl up and die, I hung out with her. We walked into the Great Hall one day for breakfast and she spotted you standing up and talking to some friends. "Oh, I'm so glad he's not too broken up over it," she commented, knowing that I would ask her who she meant. I did, and she replied innocently, "Don't you know? James Potter - one of the pureblood Potters. I met him at a friend's house over the summer, and he was very nice, but the poor boy was absolutely in love with me. He asked me over one day and wound up cooking me a seven-course meal while he pledged his undying devotion. I didn't want to hurt his feelings, of course, but really, I couldn't just lead him on like that. It may have caused him some heartache at the time, but truly, turning him down was the kind thing to do." By this time, I was getting more than slightly annoyed with Christine. She was cruel, she was narrowminded, and she constantly spoke of the many boys that were apparently obsessed with her. I couldn't understand why so many boys would be in love with her, because in secret I thought myself to be much prettier than she was, but I didn't want to offend anyone, so I kept my thoughts to myself. But when she told me of yet another idiotic male that had been in love with her, he won my undying scorn. James Potter went on my list of people to avoid.
And I avoided him well. I'm good at that, you know. The fact that he was also in Gryffindor was of mild importance, because there were plenty of other ways to occupy my time than by dealing with James Potter, that horrible specimen of the male sex. He showed up in my Arithmancy class one day at the beginning of third year. Did you know that? I bet you don't remember - he came to one class and never returned. "Couldn't handle the workload," I scoffed. This is making me sound as though I was a James-obsessive, but I wasn't, you know. I didn't hang out with Christine anymore; I had found real best friends. I had discovered an aptitude for Charms, an ability to do a split, and the fact that I loved to sing. I was also becoming fast friends with Sirius Black, who sat behind me in Arithmancy and quickly caught my attention when, on the first day of class, he tugged on my ponytail and whispered, "Hey, Snapdragon." I wasn't used to having boy friends. Actually, I hadn't had any boyfriends yet, either, but the immense potential that radiated from my friendship with Sirius impressed me more than the idea of a boyfriend.
My relationship with Sirius faded when I had a bit of a fling with a sixth-year Ravenclaw. It was a bad idea, I know, but I am fully convinced that it was more out of curiosity than true emotion. Of course, everyone knew about it, and Christine and her gang spread malevolent rumours, usually just saying, "Did you hear? Lily is sleeping with Mike!" But that's not important. What's important is that after I realized that I really didn't like Mike, I went back to hanging out with Sirius after Christmas holidays were over. Arithmancy had ended, but luck was on my side when I walked in to the first class of Care of Magical Creatures and saw Sirius sitting in the back row. I sat down in front of him, turned, and realized that he was sitting next to the infamous James Potter. My smile faded and I turned back around. "Hey, Snapdragon!" Sirius exclaimed, "This is James. He's cool." I wasn't instantly smitten with James. Everyone expects me to be, though I haven't the faintest idea why. If you'd thought poorly of someone for three years, you wouldn't instantly change your mind, either. I actually thought he was a bit of a dork. I had a soft spot for dorks, though, and I admitted in my heart of hearts that I liked his smile and that his messy hair was remarkably endearing. Hanging out with Sirius soon turned into hanging out with Sirius and James. Suddenly, instead of having one boy friend, I had two. Somewhere around Valentine's Day I allowed myself to realize that I wouldn't mind at all if James sent me a Valentine. He didn't, of course, but that realization gave me the courage to completely stop ignoring James and utterly throw myself at him. It took him a while to understand. Sirius tells me now that James spent months agonizing over approaching me about something more than friendship, so while James may have really just been being mildly cautious, I thought he was being a dolt. Dolts and dorks go together in my mind, or couldn't you tell already? I was walking to Divination one day - I remember that was the day that we were having tests on reading the crystal balls - and James slipped up beside me in the hallway. "Lily," he said quietly, the tone of his voice forcing me to stop skimming through my notes and look at him. I handed my notebook to my best friend Cat, who was equally nervous about the test, and I knew from the look in his gray eyes exactly what James was about to do. "James," I replied, "wouldn't you rather that Cat wasn't here for this?" "I don't care," he answered, "I'll say this in front of as many people as I need to. Lily, would you mind terribly if you were my girlfriend?" It was as though I was in a scene from a movie. I opened my mouth to answer, and before I could speak, Cat looked at her watch, gasped, "Oh, fuck!", and grabbed me by the arm, dragging me off to Divination. When we got there I slumped in my chair, barely pleased that Trelawney had "seen that the Orb is not ready for us". I hadn't answered James, and I wanted to, desperately, but I wasn't quite sure what to say. Or how to say it, for that matter. "Write him a note, of course," Cat suggested, "and I'll give it to him during Potions." Perfect. Cat sat right behind James during Potions, and I sat on the other side of the room, so I wouldn't be directly exposed to the results of my decision. "James," I scribbled in bright red ink, "I would not mind at all if I were your girlfriend." I signed my name in my messy script, folded the note, and handed it to Cat, warning her to guard it with her life. I didn't go to Potions that day. I was too nervous. I had Cat tell the teacher that I'd had a headache and had gone to lie down, when I'd really gone for a walk outside. I stayed outside until dinnertime, and when I walked into the Great Hall, I saw Sirius and James sitting in their usual spots. James looked happier than I'd ever seen him. When he saw me, his grin grew wider, and he walked up to me, and jokingly offered me his arm. "Shall we, milady?" I nodded, grinned, and accepted his arm. And that was that. We were a couple. We sat together at meals, during classes, and at night in the Common Room. Other people commented to me on what a cute couple James and I made. I couldn't have been happier, and even my best friends got sick of my constant James-obsession.
I still can't be happier, and my best friends are still sick of me. Well, all but one of them. That one is you, James. You are my best friend and the love of my life. I know you thought I forgot that today was one year. I know I'm horrible with dates and directions, James, but honestly, you should have more faith in me than that! Truly though, I don't care if you think I can remember a date or not. Because I always will remember that day you asked me if I'd mind. And when I accepted, I knew that what I was really saying was, "Yes, I'd mind. I'd mind you. I'd care for you. I will love you, James. I know I will now and I know I always will." One year later, I've heard all the possible remarks about being one half of a cute couple. I've listened to entirely too many wordplays on Sirius' name. I've played a million games of Exploding Snap, I've written a thousand essays, and I've eaten entirely too many Chocolate Frogs. But what I will never tire of, James, is you.
I love you.
- Lily
Once upon a time . . . I know you still don't get that reference, so for the billionth time: that's how Muggles start their fairy tales. Only they usually don't have any fairies, since the stories are usually about a princess or something, but humour me here.
So. Once upon a time . . . once upon a time, a girl named Christine told me who you were. Do you even remember her? Taller than me, dark hair, and slightly plump? You had a crush on her for the first few months of first year, or so she said. I don't know why, because she wasn't very nice. I shouldn't even comment on your choice in people, though, because Christine was my constant acquaintance during those first few months. She was a pureblood, she knew everyone, and so despite the fact that she often made me want to curl up and die, I hung out with her. We walked into the Great Hall one day for breakfast and she spotted you standing up and talking to some friends. "Oh, I'm so glad he's not too broken up over it," she commented, knowing that I would ask her who she meant. I did, and she replied innocently, "Don't you know? James Potter - one of the pureblood Potters. I met him at a friend's house over the summer, and he was very nice, but the poor boy was absolutely in love with me. He asked me over one day and wound up cooking me a seven-course meal while he pledged his undying devotion. I didn't want to hurt his feelings, of course, but really, I couldn't just lead him on like that. It may have caused him some heartache at the time, but truly, turning him down was the kind thing to do." By this time, I was getting more than slightly annoyed with Christine. She was cruel, she was narrowminded, and she constantly spoke of the many boys that were apparently obsessed with her. I couldn't understand why so many boys would be in love with her, because in secret I thought myself to be much prettier than she was, but I didn't want to offend anyone, so I kept my thoughts to myself. But when she told me of yet another idiotic male that had been in love with her, he won my undying scorn. James Potter went on my list of people to avoid.
And I avoided him well. I'm good at that, you know. The fact that he was also in Gryffindor was of mild importance, because there were plenty of other ways to occupy my time than by dealing with James Potter, that horrible specimen of the male sex. He showed up in my Arithmancy class one day at the beginning of third year. Did you know that? I bet you don't remember - he came to one class and never returned. "Couldn't handle the workload," I scoffed. This is making me sound as though I was a James-obsessive, but I wasn't, you know. I didn't hang out with Christine anymore; I had found real best friends. I had discovered an aptitude for Charms, an ability to do a split, and the fact that I loved to sing. I was also becoming fast friends with Sirius Black, who sat behind me in Arithmancy and quickly caught my attention when, on the first day of class, he tugged on my ponytail and whispered, "Hey, Snapdragon." I wasn't used to having boy friends. Actually, I hadn't had any boyfriends yet, either, but the immense potential that radiated from my friendship with Sirius impressed me more than the idea of a boyfriend.
My relationship with Sirius faded when I had a bit of a fling with a sixth-year Ravenclaw. It was a bad idea, I know, but I am fully convinced that it was more out of curiosity than true emotion. Of course, everyone knew about it, and Christine and her gang spread malevolent rumours, usually just saying, "Did you hear? Lily is sleeping with Mike!" But that's not important. What's important is that after I realized that I really didn't like Mike, I went back to hanging out with Sirius after Christmas holidays were over. Arithmancy had ended, but luck was on my side when I walked in to the first class of Care of Magical Creatures and saw Sirius sitting in the back row. I sat down in front of him, turned, and realized that he was sitting next to the infamous James Potter. My smile faded and I turned back around. "Hey, Snapdragon!" Sirius exclaimed, "This is James. He's cool." I wasn't instantly smitten with James. Everyone expects me to be, though I haven't the faintest idea why. If you'd thought poorly of someone for three years, you wouldn't instantly change your mind, either. I actually thought he was a bit of a dork. I had a soft spot for dorks, though, and I admitted in my heart of hearts that I liked his smile and that his messy hair was remarkably endearing. Hanging out with Sirius soon turned into hanging out with Sirius and James. Suddenly, instead of having one boy friend, I had two. Somewhere around Valentine's Day I allowed myself to realize that I wouldn't mind at all if James sent me a Valentine. He didn't, of course, but that realization gave me the courage to completely stop ignoring James and utterly throw myself at him. It took him a while to understand. Sirius tells me now that James spent months agonizing over approaching me about something more than friendship, so while James may have really just been being mildly cautious, I thought he was being a dolt. Dolts and dorks go together in my mind, or couldn't you tell already? I was walking to Divination one day - I remember that was the day that we were having tests on reading the crystal balls - and James slipped up beside me in the hallway. "Lily," he said quietly, the tone of his voice forcing me to stop skimming through my notes and look at him. I handed my notebook to my best friend Cat, who was equally nervous about the test, and I knew from the look in his gray eyes exactly what James was about to do. "James," I replied, "wouldn't you rather that Cat wasn't here for this?" "I don't care," he answered, "I'll say this in front of as many people as I need to. Lily, would you mind terribly if you were my girlfriend?" It was as though I was in a scene from a movie. I opened my mouth to answer, and before I could speak, Cat looked at her watch, gasped, "Oh, fuck!", and grabbed me by the arm, dragging me off to Divination. When we got there I slumped in my chair, barely pleased that Trelawney had "seen that the Orb is not ready for us". I hadn't answered James, and I wanted to, desperately, but I wasn't quite sure what to say. Or how to say it, for that matter. "Write him a note, of course," Cat suggested, "and I'll give it to him during Potions." Perfect. Cat sat right behind James during Potions, and I sat on the other side of the room, so I wouldn't be directly exposed to the results of my decision. "James," I scribbled in bright red ink, "I would not mind at all if I were your girlfriend." I signed my name in my messy script, folded the note, and handed it to Cat, warning her to guard it with her life. I didn't go to Potions that day. I was too nervous. I had Cat tell the teacher that I'd had a headache and had gone to lie down, when I'd really gone for a walk outside. I stayed outside until dinnertime, and when I walked into the Great Hall, I saw Sirius and James sitting in their usual spots. James looked happier than I'd ever seen him. When he saw me, his grin grew wider, and he walked up to me, and jokingly offered me his arm. "Shall we, milady?" I nodded, grinned, and accepted his arm. And that was that. We were a couple. We sat together at meals, during classes, and at night in the Common Room. Other people commented to me on what a cute couple James and I made. I couldn't have been happier, and even my best friends got sick of my constant James-obsession.
I still can't be happier, and my best friends are still sick of me. Well, all but one of them. That one is you, James. You are my best friend and the love of my life. I know you thought I forgot that today was one year. I know I'm horrible with dates and directions, James, but honestly, you should have more faith in me than that! Truly though, I don't care if you think I can remember a date or not. Because I always will remember that day you asked me if I'd mind. And when I accepted, I knew that what I was really saying was, "Yes, I'd mind. I'd mind you. I'd care for you. I will love you, James. I know I will now and I know I always will." One year later, I've heard all the possible remarks about being one half of a cute couple. I've listened to entirely too many wordplays on Sirius' name. I've played a million games of Exploding Snap, I've written a thousand essays, and I've eaten entirely too many Chocolate Frogs. But what I will never tire of, James, is you.
I love you.
- Lily