Summary: James Potter is in love with Lily. However, she's got a crush on another guy. James would do anything for Lily to make her happy, including help her to get her man.

Disclaimer: Blah blah blah, you know the drill, don't sue me b/c I owe my parents $300 and am totally broke right now.

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay, guys. As you might be able to see from my stories list, I've got several fics going at once...whaell, hope y'all like this chappie.

Just a side note: Chris is so dumb that he makes me mess up on my punctuation in his dialogue. I'm dead serious, lol.

Roxanne

Chapter Three

By Lady Wildcat

"Talk to him."

"What?" James almost choked on his sandwich. "Me...talk to him?"

"Yes."

"Lily, I already scoped out whether he likes you or not, and now you want me to strike up a conversation?" He'd do it for her; he'd just like to go down with a fight. Preserve his dignity or whatnot.

"Please, James?"

He sighed and scanned the hall. There was that blond head at the Hufflepuff table, talking with friends.

"Fine," he said. "After lunch. What do you want me to say?"

"I dunno." Lily toyed with a strand of hair. "Um...guy talk. Whatever you boys do to communicate. You're a people person; push his conversation buttons."

"Should I mention you?"

She turned red. "Yes...yes, but offhandedly...just, you know, my friend Lily Evans..."

Wish I was more than her friend. "Right," he said, standing up. "See you."

He hung out around the entrance to the hall until he saw Chris coming out. He cleared his throat and touched Chris' arm. "Hey, uh, Chris...Thompson?"

"Yes?" Chris whirled, and baby-blue eyes met warm brown ones behind glasses. James saw his eyes stray toward his eyepieces—and stay there.

James, however, was more than used to this reaction by now. "Aren't you on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, Chris?"

"Yeah. I'm Beater." Then his eyes widened. "Oh, man, aren't you James Potter, Chaser on the Gryffindor team? Oh, and Head Boy?"

"Yes, that's me."

"Man, I was watching that last match between Ravenclaw and you guys the other day...the moves you were pulling up there, just sweet, man!"

"Uh, thanks...you know, my friend Lily was watching, and—"

"Lily?" Chris' mouth dropped open. "As in Lily Evans?"

"Yes, she's one of my best friends."

"Oh, man, oh man." Chris stuck his hands in his pockets and started to rock back and forth on his feet. "Lily Evans. Lily Evans. One of your best friends...you are so lucky."

You're luckier. She loves you back.

"Tell me," Chris said, leaning forward, "has she ever mentioned me, ever? 'Cos, I saw her smiling at me in Herbology, and you know, I think she's kinda hot."

"Now that you've mentioned it, she's said your name once or twice..." Chris looked overjoyed by this last statement. And as much as James was jealous of the guy, he decided to tell the truth. "Actually, you know what? She sent me out here to talk to you."

"Really?"

"Yes, I think she likes you."

"Really?"

"She actually did tell me she likes you."

"REALLY?"

"She really loves you."

"Oh, man!" Chris was practically dancing. "She said that? Really?"

"Yeah. She's head over heels for you. She thinks you're really handsome, funny, smart—"

"Smart?" Chris' face fell. "What? How'd she get that idea?"

"She saw you looking at some Magical Psychology books in the library one day. She really goes for smart guys."

"Oh, no." Chris wrung his hands. "Oh, no, oh, no, oh, no..." Even though he had only met James moments before, he grabbed his robe front and shook him. "Oh, no, Potter, I'm not smart at all! Not smart! The only reason I was looking at those books was to find a note my ex hid in there!"

"Your ex?" James put his hands on Chris' wrists to stop him from shaking his robes. "Why did your ex hide a note in a Magical Psychology book?"

"Well...she was from a different house, and she kinda wasn't the person I normally would date, and vice versa, so we figured that no one ever looks in those books—I mean, who would?—so we hid notes to each other in them."

"Oh." James didn't bother to tell Chris that he and Lily had taken an interest in Magical Psychology in fifth year.

"We broke up a couple of days ago. She went back to her old boyfriend. I was kinda down when I first saw Lily. But, oh, man, Potter—" he rubbed his forehead "—as soon as she talks to me she'll know I'm not smart! And I get really nervous around girls I like."

"How nervous?"

"Well, like..." Chris gulped. "See, I've never been real good with words, but when I'm with the guys, it doesn't matter...but man, when I'm around girls, my tongue gets all tied up, and I can't really talk, and I say real stupid things..."

"That does present somewhat of a problem."

"Yeah...wait!" Chris grinned excitedly. "You can be my words!"

"What?"

"Come on, you're the best Transfig student in the whole school, and McGonagall says people who are good with words are good in her class, and you did a great job on that Prefect speech last year, and you're comfortable with Lily and know what she likes...please? We can rig up something where you can tell me what to say, and only I can hear it! Like, with our wands! Please?"

"I don't know..." Then James saw Lily's face. And her expression when she found out Chris wasn't who she thought he was. She'd be devastated.

Being Chris' voice would give him an opportunity to say things to Lily he could never dream of saying to her normally. To finally spill what he felt about her—only through the voice of another.

To tell her he loved her.

James sighed. "Okay. I'll do it."

Author's Note: Yay, another chapter, review review!

Best,

Lady Wildcat