Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Lily and James- A Prophecy Fulfilled
Chapter 1~Year 3 (Year 2 was skipped)
Lily was shocked when she got home to see all of her belongings in the entrance hall. "What's going on?" she asked."Well, this afternoon you get your makeover from Christmas, then tomorrow you leave for finishing school." Debbie Evans told her daughter.
"WHAT?" Lily yelled at the top of her lungs.
"You are going to finishing school to learn how to act like a lady. I have received the parents' note of discipline from your school, and I see that you only had one detention, but were involved in several pranks. This is inappropriate behavior for the daughter of Logan Evans. It is okay for you to hang around those boys, James Potter is a good kid, but you must maintain your centuries of breeding young lady. You can trace the Evans bloodline back to the Vikings. You will not disgrace it." Lily mother explained.
Lily changed into a muggle outfit then went with her mother to get a makeover. Petunia was also getting one. The walked into the department store over to the make up counter. "I have an appointment for myself and my three daughters." Debbie said.
"Are you Evans, Debbie, Lily, and Petunia?" The nice lady with a nametag of Denise asked.
"Yes."
"Okay good, let me get the other two make up artists and we'll get right to it."
They sat down at the counter and soon all three ladies came up. Shelley, Petunia's make up artist grimaced when she saw her subject. Denise was working on Debbie, and Lavender was working on Lily.
"Hello, I'm Lavender. You are really a treat. I usually have unattractive people come in here expecting me to work miracles. You should look like a dream rather easily."
Lavender continued, "Is there anything special you want done?"
"Actually, I don't want to look gaudy, and is there anyway to get rid of my freckles?" Lily asked indicating the small line marching across her nose.
"Yes, there's some cream, I'll put it down on the list of stuff I'm using. Now first I'm using pale foundation...." and Lavender continued to make Lily over, explaining each step to an attentive Lily. She wasn't about to go to the finishing school looking like some dowdy farm girl. And if she was lucky she would get to wow James with it at least once. Actually, she was thinking about James more and more lately.
"Okay, you're finished. Very beautiful I must add." Lavender said, and held a mirror up for Lily.
"Wow! I look so...different." Lily said, and was really impressed. It hadn't really taken Lavender that long, and she thought she could probably manage this look on her own. She glanced at the clock and saw only thirty minutes had passed. She waited on her mother and sister. Shelley, Petunia's make-up artist was frowning with concentration. Finally both were done at about the same time.
"Oh, Lily, honey! You look beautiful!" Mrs. Evans declared with delight, "Don't you think so Petunia. Petunia, you look nice too." Petunia only looked slightly less horsy than before.
"Yeah, she looks like the freak she is."
"Petunia! You're sister is special. Not a freak."
"Yes mum."
"I want to purchase everything you used on Lily, Lavender." Mrs. Evans said, carefully examining Lily's face, then turned to Petunia, despair plainly wrote on her face. "We might as well get whatever you used on Petunia too." Petunia smiled in triumph, anxious to brag about the makeup to her friends.
They then went to a beauty salon. Mrs. Evans got a manicure and her roots touched up. Petunia got a hair cut and facial, and manicure, and pedicure. Lily got her perm taken out, ends trimmed, manicure, and pedicure. The finished product was amazing. The ends of her waist-length hair flipped under, her nails with clear polish on them shone, and she looked confident and just plain happy.
They got in the car and as they were driving home Debbie asked, "Did you girls have fun today?"
"Yes!" both of them shouted
"Good, Petunia is also going to a finishing school, but a different one, I hope you girls aren't mad at us."
"No Mama." They said again, seemingly surprised by their agreeing.
"Lily, I feel you need to go if you're going to be in the company of boys so much, and Petunia, you need to go too."
Lily packed some books when she got home, and her family had a good time that night. Soon it was almost time to leave. Lily had perfectly reapplied her makeup, exactly like Lavender had, and styled her hair excellently. She was dressed in the light blue plaid skirt with built in shorts, and matching blouse, white knee length stockings, and Mary Janes, the Madame Minting's Girl's Academy uniform.
"Lily, you may go over and say goodbye to James and his friends, I believe they're staying with him, before we leave."
She took her last chance at freedom gratefully, and ran quickly through the fence to James's house. She smoothed down her hair, tugged at her skirt, and rung the doorbell. James opened the doorbell and stared. He was still standing there a minute later, Lily looking worried, when Sirius and Remus ran up behind him. They had similar looks on their faces until Lily cleared her throat. James was still staring until Sirius hit his shoulder.
"Ow! Why are you dressed up like that Lily?" James finally questioned.
"My parents are sending me to finishing school for the summer." Lily explained.
"That must really bite. Having to go to school in the summer." Sirius said.
"Yeah, it does, my mother said I could come over and tell you guys bye, and then I had to leave, so I'll be going now." They echoed 'bye' and Lily headed back towards the garden gate. James almost fell out the door staring after her.
Three hours later Lily walked into the foyer of the Madame Minting's Girls Academy. She was nervous to say the least, but if you didn't know her you would say she was cool as ice, her eyes sparkling with happiness, not fear. A bustling lady came to greet them. "Hello, Madame Minting, you must be Lily Evans."
"Yes, Ma'am" Lily said politely
"Oh, a young lady with manners. It shall be a treat to instruct you my dear. Such a pretty girl too. Sarah will be your roommate. She will show you to your room now." Lily hugged her parents goodbye, and followed a girl that looked too similar to Amelia Rengutin for her taste.
As she was hanging up her owl cage Sarah said, "This is my side of the room over here. Do not cross it. Don't talk to me. Don't look at me. I won't look or talk to you. Got it?"
"Oh, yes, clear as crystal." Lily finished unpacking her things, and got out a quill and parchment.
Dear James,
My roommate at this school is a real brat. I'm sending 10 galleons, and can you please in return send me as many prank items as possible to have some fun with her? Please also send any prank ideas.
Your friend,
Lily Evans
Within two hours a box along with a note was returned.
Dear Lily,
I made a special trip to Diagon Alley just for you. Be impressed. Put the dung bombs in her clothes, replace her makeup with this multicolor paste, it starts out beige, and then turns crazy colors. This chocolate stuff, give it to her and her tongue will swell. Most of this will probably have her running for home within the hour.
James
ps-you really looked pretty today
Lily smiled and blushed. As soon as Sarah left the room she used everything James had sent her. She put the chocolate in Sarah's candy box. Lily went down for dinner, and sat down by herself. Suddenly the entire room started laughing, and Lily looked up just in time to see Sarah running out of the room. The next morning Sarah's belongings were removed from their room, and Lily felt immense satisfaction.
The next morning Lily sat down once again by herself, and felt strange not to be sitting with James, Sirius, and Remus. She even missed Peter. She was cutting her pancakes into the shape of broomsticks when two girls came to sit down by her.
"Hi, I'm Lizzy."
"And I'm Merry. You're Lily"
"Hi, how'd you know?"
"We intercepted a bird with a note for you. Some boy. Must be crazy to train an owl like a carrier pigeon." Lizzy said.
"WHAT?" she Lily asked, aghast
"Yes, some boy named James."
"Let me see!" Lily said, holding out her hand for the note. Merry handed it to her, and she quickly read it.
Dear Lily,
I hope the stuff I sent you worked, please let me know. I am rather bored here, with just my family. Sirius had to go on vacation with his family, and Remus went home too. My family leaves in a month for Greece. Please write back and save me from death by boredom.
James
"So, is this James, is he your boyfriend?" Lizzy asked.
"No, just my friend."
"What did he send you?"
"Stuff to make my roommate leave." then Lily gasped as she realized what she said.
"You did that to her?" both girls said at the same time.
"Uh, yeah."
"Thanks a lot. She has been here all year, same as us. She drives us crazy. Will you be our friend?"
"Yes, thanks." and Lily felt as if she belonged. Before her first class, Lily wrote a note to James, and she was no longer homesick.
Lily walked to the classroom with Lizzy and Merry. She sat next to them at a long table, crossing her ankles.
"Ladies, today we will learn the fine art of correct dining. We will learn the art today, and you will be expected to eat with it at all times." Lily spent the next hour being drilled with all the correct eating habits. She soon found out the punishment for disregarding the manners was no meal. She imagined the guys at Hogwarts doing this and almost collapsed with giggles. That night she was subjected to the manners punishment. She forgot to butter her role one bite at a time, and her plate was taken away from her. Lily tried to control her anger. Some girls were giggling quietly at the table, and the obese teacher who took her plate looked happy. She stared at that teacher much the same way she had at James and the teacher slipped, landing like a beached whale on the parquet floor, wearing Lily's dinner.
Lily collapsed into a fit of giggles.
"MISS EVANS! TO YOUR ROOM! NOW!" Madame Minting yelled, trying to help the beached whale up. Lily walked up the stairs into her room. She started working on the summer homework teachers had given her. She promised herself she would try harder.
Lily did try harder and she became one of the most successful students of Madame Minting's. She never had her plate taken away from her again. Everything she had learned there became habit. She never thought about the correct dinner manners or posture or walking speed. It never crossed her mind that she had changed so much over the three months she was there. She had grown three inches taller, and curvier to her delight. She had went to the mall with Lizzy and Merry and got purple contacts to change her eye color. When she walked through the front door with her father two weeks before school started her mother was very pleased with the refined young lady.
Lily wanted to have a little fun so when her mom said, "Hi sweetheart, I missed you." Lily replied, "Hello Mother, I missed you too." forsaking the usual endearment. Her mother's eyes widened. "Relax, Mama. I was just fooling around."
"Good, I was afraid you went overboard. You will have a chance to impress me with your manners tonight, because the Potters have just came back from Greece a week ago, and they invited us to dinner. I want you to bake some pies and take them over to them."
"But-"
"No buts young lady." Debbie said sternly and Lily stomped off to the kitchen. She threw a teddy bear apron on and quickly made a chocolate pie, lemon pie, banana pie, pecan pie, and watermelon pie, her favorite. She ran back upstairs and put on a pair of shorts and sleeveless shirt with sandals. She put the cooled pies in a basket and walked over to the Potter's house and knocked on the door.
A taller and stronger looking James opened the door and stared at Lily.
"Hi James, nice to see you again." Lily said cheerfully.
"Uh, hi, Lily." James forced out painfully.
"I brought some pies over for tonight's dinner. Mama made me. Wow! Who is that?" Lily asked suddenly.
"Who's who?" James asked stupidly.
"That really good looking guy behind you." Lily pointed out.
Sirius still stared at Lily. "Lily, did you get taller, and uh"
"Yes, a whole three inches" she interrupted before Sirius could embarrass her.
"Cool, but I got you beat. I grew five inches."
"Well, I grew 4.759 inches, let's throw a party" James said sarcastically.
"Geez, you're in a bad mood today, did you get up on the wrong side of the bed?" Sirius asked
"I don't know, but he forgot to comb his hair this morning" Lily laughed, and both her and Sirius collapsed in giggles.
"Wow, you're a real riot." James said, took the pies and pushed her out the door.
"Hey, what are you being mean for?" Sirius asked disgruntled, and followed Lily out the door.
Lily was almost to the garden gate before she realized Sirius was following her. "Oh hi Sirius, do you want to come it?" she asked, motioning to her house.
"Lily, do you want to go to Diagon Alley with me and James tomorrow?"
"Yeah, I would love to, but I'll have to ask my parents."
"Okay" Sirius said, satisfied for the moment. They went in and ate some ice cream and watched a James Bond movie.
Sirius and Lily were sitting on the couch engrossed in the movie for different reasons. Sirius loved the guns and Lily loved the young Sean Connery. Neither of them noticed a grumpy James come in.
"Sirius, if you're planning on eating dinner with us you better hurry and get dressed. It's formal since Lily's family is coming over." James grumbled.
"Oh, gosh, I forgot." Lily exclaimed and ran up the stairs. She tossed a dress on to match her purple eyes, touched her makeup up, brushed her hair, and was downstairs in twenty minutes. Lily and her family went over to the Potter residence for dinner and this time Lily was sitting between Sirius and Gina until James hauled Gina out of her chair so he could keep an eye on Sirius and Lily.
Lily unknowingly used her perfect manners, even going so far as to butter her role one bite at a time.
"Lily, just take a bite out of it." James said.
"I can't, I'll get my plate taken away." she said out of habit.
"What nice manners you have Lily, especially for one so young. It has been years since I've seen anyone under 70 butter their role a bite at a time." Meredith exclaimed.
"We sent her to Madame Minting's Girls' Academy" Debbie Evans explained, "Though I still don't know how they taught her to eat correctly so well."
"If we didn't use perfect manners at the dinner table we weren't allowed to eat that meal." Lily told everybody.
"WHAT?!" James and Sirius both said through a mouthful of mashed potatoes.
Chapter 2
The next day Lily went with Sirius, James, and Gina to Diagon Alley. Meredith Potter told them to meet in the Leaky Cauldron at five o'clock sharp. Gina found Adriana and went shopping, and Lily went with James and Sirius. They were walking out of Madame Malkin's when Severus Snape came up to Lily. The three friends stopped walking and Snape said, "Lily, you must be tired because you've been running through my mind all day."
"What?" she said, trying to control her laughter.
"I was wondering if you would be my girlfriend?"
"Oh!" and Lily started laughing. Between giggles she got out, "I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh. I'm afraid I can't go out with you."
"Why not?"
Lily did some fast thinking then said, "My father wishes to meet all guy friends I have, and you wouldn't survive meeting him."
"Oh, well, in that case I'll see you at Hogwarts." Severus said with disappointment, and then walked off, leaving a stunned Sirius and James behind.
Lily turned to see a pale James and Sirius. "What's wrong guys?" she asked.
"We don't really have to talk to your dad do we?" James whispered.
"He scares me. He's tough, and mean, and powerful, and he doesn't like boys to be around his princess." Sirius said in a worried voice.
"Oh, relax you guys. I just made that up. He only demands to see my boyfriends."
James and Sirius looked at each other, then collapsed on the bench closest to them. Sirius looked like he was going to throw up, and James looked like he was going to pass out.
"What, it's not like you either of you are my boyfriend, so what's the problem?" Lily asked.
"Nothing, nothing." James said wanly.
"Nothing's wrong, Lily" Sirius echoed.
"Good, let's go to the bookshop.
They walked towards the bookstore, but were distracted by the quidditch supply store. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Sirius asked.
"Broomsticks." James said, "We're 2nd years now."
"Great, let's go!" Lily said, and they went into the quidditch shop. They found the newest broom out. Lily and James were both able to buy it with the money their parents gave them, but Sirius's parents had given him money to buy his own birthday present, so all three were able to by the Lightening Storm. They walked into the bookshop to purchase their schoolbooks. James and Sirius were chasing each other up and down the aisles while Lily was looking for books about animagus.
She was fascinated with the idea of transforming into an animal. She finally decided on 'The Animagi Within: An In Depth Study'. Lily started looking for James and Sirius and was glancing through the bookshelves when she collided with somebody. Both of them fell. Lily bounced back up and turned to help the other person. She looked into the sky blue eyes of a golden boy about her age. "I'm sorry" she said, "I'm Lily Evans."
"Hello Lily, I'm Gilderoy. Gilderoy Lockhart."
"I apologize for my own clumsiness, I was looking for my friends." Lily said,
"It is quite alright. Describe your friends and we shall find them together." Gilderoy said.
"Okay, they're both about this tall" she said, holding up her hand, "and they have black hair"
They scanned the aisles, finally Lily said, "I guess they left I'll try the joke shop."
"Do you mind if I come with you? I am from Sweden, I don't know Diagon Alley."
"Sure, are you going to Hogwarts?"
"Yes, second year, and you?"
"Same here." Lily paid for her books and led Gilderoy to the joke shop, pointing out the different shops as they went.
They finally made it to the joke shop, and found James and Sirius paying at the register for all kinds of stuff.
"Hi guys, did you get tired of waiting?" Lily asked with a smile.
"Your friends are boys?" Gilderoy asked with astonishment.
"Yeah, is there a problem with that?" James asked
"None in the least"
"Yeah, we did get tired of waiting, so we came over here." Sirius said.
"Sorry I took so long, but I ran into Gilderoy Lockhart, literally." Lily said.
"GILDEROY!" James and Sirius both exclaimed.
"That's my name, don't abuse it."
"How cute" James said.
"Just like me" Gilderoy gloated, while James and Sirius looked like they were going to be sick.
"Anyhow" Lily interrupted, "Gilderoy transferred to Hogwarts from Sweden."
"Great" James said unenthusiastically.
Gilderoy tagged along with them for the rest of the day. James and Sirius were amazed that Lily was putting up with him. He was a first class idiot. That night James and Sirius were playing wizard chess.
"I wish there was some way we could help Remus" James said.
"What's wrong with him?" Sirius asked cluelessly.
"Duh, he's a werewolf."
"Oh yeah, but if powerful wizards can't cure him, what can we do?"
"I want to help while he's a werewolf. So it's not so bad."
A while later James asked, "So do you think Lily likes Gilderoy." Both he and Sirius laughed every time they heard that name. What a name.
"Obviously, she didn't come up with a way to get rid of him, like with Snape."
"No, I mean like a crush." James said.
"Oh, I don't know. No telling what's running through her mind."
"Good point" James agreed.
The next day James and Sirius went over to Lily's house to invite her to play quidditch with them in the meadow south of town. They knocked on her door and Debbie Evans answered.
"Lily's upstairs with her sister. Knock before entering." Sirius hesitated, but James grabbed his arm and said "Hurry up!"
"How do you know where her room is?"
"Christmas" was all James got to say because about that time there was a loud yell of pain,
"PETUNIA, GET AWAY FROM ME WITH THAT STUFF. THAT'S ENOUGH SISTER BONDING!"
"Uh, Lily?" James shouted hesitantly.
"What?"
"I was wondering if you wanted to come play quidditch with us?"
"Yes." Lily shouted back.
"No she doesn't want to hang around you freaks." Petunia's voice shouted. Lily came stomping out of her room, carrying her broom, clothes, and wearing only a towel. She dropped her broom in the hall, then walked two doors down, and entered a bathroom. James and Sirius raised their eyebrows, but didn't say anything. Petunia came out a few seconds later wearing a God-awful pink robe.
"Where did she go?" she asked, holding what looked to be a pot of honey and a tongue depressor.
Shortly Lily came out wearing a sleeveless top and jeans.
"Lily, you can't just leave. I let you wax both of my legs, and I only got to wax one of yours." Petunia whined.
"Well, it will just have to wait until I get back. I can't take anymore of this pain. I would rather fall off my broomstick." Lily said, causing Petunia to stomp into her own room down the hall.
"Isn't it a little warm to be wearing jeans?" Sirius asked, indicating to the shorts he and James were wearing.
"Look at this! Petunia maimed me! There's no way I'm wearing shorts until my leg returns to its original color!" Lily said, pulling up one pant leg to reveal bright red skin.
They walked out of town, earning several curious glances at their brooms. They finally reached the field, and played quidditch for a while. After a couple of hours Lily said, "I'm beat, I need the good old fashioned air conditioning."
"Tell me about it" Sirius said, and they walked home. They all collapsed in Lily's living room, where she picked up the entertainment section of the paper. (I know these movies weren't playing in the 70s, but go along with it) She saw the movie listings: James Bond, Lord of the Rings, Kate and Leopold, and the Wizard of Oz.
"Hey, guys, let's go to a movie."
"What?" they both asked.
"A movie, the greatest muggle invention."
"If you say so. I'm game." James said.
"Me too." Sirius agreed.
"Great, read the summaries, choose one, and I'll get some muggle money." Lily said and went to find her dad.
"Papa, can I have some money to go to the movies with James and Sirius?" Lily asked in a sweet voice.
"Sure, honey. What are you going to see?"
"I'm not sure yet, I left the summaries for them to choose."
Logan burst out laughing, "Lil, you're every boy's dream. Letting them pick the movie!"
"Well, they've never seen one!" Lily defended herself.
"Okay, here's some money, it should be enough for up to three movies for the lot of you. I'm guessing they'll decide on the most violent one, you'll want a romance, and The Wizard Of Oz ought to be good for kicks."
"Thanks Papa!" Lily said, hugged her dad, and skipped out of the room.
Lily went back into the living room and said, "So, what do you guys want to see? Kate and Leopold sounds good to me."
"No Way! James Bond" James said.
"Same here." Sirius agreed.
"Fine, how about both?" Lily conjoled.
"I don't want to see a sissy movie." James complained.
"Oh, quit whining. How about your violent movie, my romance, and the Wizard of Oz? It's the movie of the book I was reading earlier this year. Remember James, the girl with the shoes?"
"Fine, it's obvious we're going to get stuck with your dumb movie anyhow." Sirius said.
"Wimp" James muttered, still not happy with the arrangement.
"Well, if you need more company, we could invite Gilderoy" Lily suggested, knowing full well that they loathed him.
"If he's going I'm not." James said with finality.
"Good grief, calm down. Don't throw a tantrum." Lily said with exasperation.
"I'm not."
"You are too."
"I am NOT"
"You ARE TOO!" Lily said.
"Okay, you two lovebirds, break it up. We don't need a fistfight." Sirius joked, and both of them immediately shut up.
They walked to the movie theater about a mile away only after Lily had showered and changed. James noticed her leg wasn't red anymore. The entire way there Lily and James were snapping at each other, making petty comments about the other.
"Lily, was it necessary to completely shower and change just to go to the movies?" James asked.
Yeah, I didn't want to look like an abandoned orphan like you."
"Well, it didn't help your appearance."
"Nothing could help yours. I don't know if your hair has ever been introduced to a comb."
"Oh, that was original."
"It was to me. I've never heard it before."
"My sister says it everyday. That displays great stupidity to copy other's insults."
"Then why do you do it all the time?"
"I don't, LILY YOUR HAIR IS ON FIRE! No wait, it's naturally like that."
"Hey, Potter, you're going to pay." Lily screamed, and started throwing rocks at him. Sirius finally got her hands behind her back, and James got out from behind the trashcan he used for cover.
"Actually, your hair looks a lot like an inferno. Inferno Evans. Ha, that's what I'm going to call you now."
"Okay, Four-Eyes." Lily said, for lack of a better insult.
Lily turned around and saw two of her former best friends. They had went to a muggle primary school together. "Jason? Kathleen?" she asked in astonishment.
"Yeah, it's us, fancy seeing you here." Jason said.
"We haven't seen you since primary graduation. Who are they?" Kathleen asked, spotting James and Sirius.
"They are friends from my boarding school." Lily said warily.
"We never did hear where this boarding school is." Jason said
"Umm, well, it's uh," and then Lily whispered, "Help me out guys."
"It's a long ways away." Sirius said.
"So is Antarctica, but I don't think she goes there." Jason said.
"Smarta**" James muttered, then said louder, "We get there by train, and we usually don't pay a lot of attention to the scenery, so it's hard to discern the location."
Kathleen and Jason sat down behind them and continued talking.
"Did you go to finishing school Lily, because my new neighbor went to Madame something or the other's and described a girl just like you that ran out the local bitch" Kathleen said.
"Yeah, that would be me I suppose." Lily said.
"Really? You were always so, well, good in school." Jason said.
"We taught her well, James" Sirius said proudly.
"Hey, wait, don't you live next door to Lily?" Kathleen asked James.
"Yes."
"Wow, you're actually spending time with your greatest enemy? Your parents didn't make you come here did they?" Kathleen continued.
"No, I came by my own free will. Actually, they're my best friends now." Lily said candidly. "And besides, I don't want to go home. Petunia has already waxed one leg, and she wants to go for the other now."
"Oh, no, she's terrible. I will never forget the one time I met her." Jason said with a grimace. "She tried to put makeup on me"
Lily saw James and Sirius pale. "I'm staying away from her." James said.
"Don't worry, I'll protect you four eyes." Lily said, bringing up the quarrel unwittingly.
"I can take care of my self thank you very much Inferno." James said snottily, causing Lily to throw an ice cube at him. He was about ready to throw popcorn back at her when Sirius said, "Hey, you two, break it up again, or I'm going to have to separate you."
Sirius was sitting on the aisle, James was sitting next to him, and Lily was sitting next to him. Jason and Kathleen walked around, and came to sit down next to Lily, so she and Kathleen were sitting together. As the lights were dimming Lily realized what else James and Sirius had. Besides the Milk Duds, popcorn, Skittles, and cotton candy they had bought at the concession stand, they had also brought along Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans and chocolate frogs.
Lily prayed devoutly that they wouldn't do anything to embarrass her. She could only hope. The movie soon started, and James and Sirius were in awe. Jason was impressed with the violence, and Lily and Kathleen were impressed with Sean Connery (I know, wrong guy with wrong movie). James kept asking Lily about the different weapons and devices in the movie, earning curious glances from Kathleen. Soon that movie was over, and James and Sirius were truly awed. They were even looking forward to Kate and Leopold. As it turned out, Kathleen was also dragging Jason to that. They sat down again in the same order, and Lily thought that James and Sirius were being suspiciously quiet. Kathleen whispered, "What are they doing? Are they hyperactive?"
"Yes." Lily whispered back and looked at them. They were rolling Skittles down the aisle.
Lily grabbed James's hand just before he threw a Skittle. "OOHH, I didn't know you cared Inferno." he said mockingly.
"Shut up Potter, you're supposed to eat the candy you moron." Lily hissed.
"It's defective, it doesn't do anything." Sirius told her.
"It's muggle candy, what do you expect?" Lily asked.
"Well, not much, but still-" James protested.
"Just hush and watch the movie. If I catch you two doing this again I'm going to separate you." Lily said warningly.
They didn't believe Lily, so when they let a chocolate frog loose on the floor she honored her promise. She dragged James out of his chair and sat between them. Lily really got to see very little movie because she had to watch the two of them. They could very easily sever Muggle/Magical relations. She caught James trying to give Jason and Kathleen some dubious looking Bertie Botts Beans. He kept this up and she finally held his hand to prevent this from happening. This was what James was going for to begin with, and Kathleen was amused, and slightly jealous.
Sirius started acting like and angel, so it was only James she had to worry about. When that movie was over she dragged him over to the side. "James, what is your problem? I was trying to watch a movie, and you were picking on muggles. You can't give them magical candy." she said with exasperation. "They will figure out something's not right. They're curious where I go to boarding school. Don't give them help!"
"Sorry Lily. I was bored." James said, and gave her a brilliant smile that failed to move her.
"Potter, I'm watching the next movie, please don't ruin it for me." she said, and James felt guilty.
Lily was walking back towards Sirius, with James trailing after her when Kathleen caught her.
"I'll call you tomorrow, okay? We need to talk."
"Fine." Lily said, not caring one way or another.
She led James and Sirius back into the theater, and discovered it was packed. James and Sirius sat behind Lily. She was hoping this way nobody would know she was with them, so when they did something stupid she wouldn't be embarrassed. She was surprised that she didn't hear a peep out of either of them for the entire movie.
"Why didn't she just disapparate home?" Sirius asked.
"She was a muggle." Lily explained, and then went into the bathroom before leaving. She was washing her hands when a girl a few years older than her came up and said, "Do you realize you have a big wad of gum in your hair?"
"What?" Lily yelled.
"You do, and it's some kind of crazy gum that changes colors." the girl said helpfully.
Lily pulled her hair around, and about shoulder length was a big wad of Gindewald's Gum, a magical treat. She tried to pull it out, but it was embedded in her hair. Lily ran out, with the sole intention of murdering James Potter.
She ran out of the bathroom and spotted him and Sirius walking out. James saw her look of fury and started running. Lily calmly walked out of the movie theater so as not to draw attention, but as soon as she was through the doors she was off in a flash. She knew she was in better shape than James, so she could catch him. Was was the operative word. She lost him a few blocks away from her house with a stitch in her side. She wasn't in very good shape after three months of finishing school. She walked into her house, and was relieved to find her mom home.
"Mama!" Lily yelled, and her mother came down the stairs.
"Yes sweetheart?"
"Look at my hair." Lily said, fighting back tears now.
"Oh, precious, maybe I can get it out." Debbie Evans said, not without doubt. She tried icing it down, but it didn't work. She finally said, "Lily, come on, we'll see if we can get you in a hair salon someplace. Maybe they can do something." Lily burst into tears; she knew they would have to cut her hair.
Lily did go to the hair salon, and the stylist worked forever trying to get the gum out. She finally declared it was useless, and they started cutting Lily's hair. When Lily heard the first snip of the scissors she started sobbing like her heart was broke. If she would have looked up she would have seen her mother crying as well as the stylists, and several of the patrons. Lily had went to this salon all of her life. It had taken her all of her twelve years to grow her hair that long. Lily finally dried her eyes and a while later her hair was done. It was cut into a style she couldn't recognize, allowing it to curl under effortlessly at the end. She was heartbroken to that her hair brushed her shoulders.
Lily spent the entire car ride home struggling back tears. Her mother told her that her hair looked wonderful, which it did, but she loved her long hair. She and Debbie walked into the house at the same time. Debbie led her to the parlor to show her father her new haircut. Lily had told her mother the entire story of the gum. They walked into the parlor, and were surprised to see Mr. and Mrs. Potter sitting there, talking to her father.
"Meredith, Anthony, how nice to see you." Debbie said coolly, not about to forget what their devil child had done to her daughter.
They glanced up and saw Lily's butchered hair and eyes sparkling with unshed tears. "Oh, poor Lily" Meredith said, "Did you decide to cut your beautiful hair, then regret it?"
"My daughter unfortunately didn't have the luxury of a choice." Debbie said in a frosty voice.
"Oh no, what did my son do?" Meredith said, picking up on her tone.
"You're child put magical gum in Lily's hair. That's how she knows it was him. He was sitting behind her in the movie theaters, and Muggle gum doesn't change color."
"Oh, Lily, I am so sorry. If I had only came over before you left. Since you cut your hair of your own will, I can't repair it with a magic spell." Meredith said, close to tears herself.
"It's okay Mrs. Potter. I will live, it's a long way from my heart." Lily said bravely, and walked up to her room.
As it turned out the Potters were going to be leaving for a few weeks. Her dear old dad had offered to let James stay with them. Sirius would be going home tomorrow, and Gina was going to stay with Adriana. So naturally, they accepted, and James Potter would be their guest for the next 5 days. James showed up the next morning with his trunk. Her parents expected her just to forget about her hair now, and so she had to show the brat around the house. She would love to give him a good view of the grass outside, particularly if it meant she could transport him there by pushing him off the balcony.
Her father took James's trunk to his room, while Debbie went in her office to work on one of her charities. James stared at her hair. "Oh, Lily, I'm-"
"Can it four-eyes, and let's get this tour started." Lily said nastily, and started walking through the different rooms. "Kitchen. Dining room. Sitting room. Bathroom Drawing room. Tearoom. Library. Office. Mama's office. Papa's office. Petunia's bedroom. My bedroom. Mama and Papa's bedroom. Bathroom. TV room. Guest bedroom. Guest bathroom. Other guest bedroom, other guest bathroom...." Lily walked through the remaining guest bedrooms until she found the one with James's trunk. She was disgusted to see that it was the one closest to her bedroom.
"This one's yours. If you need anything please contact the maid or the cook. She's back from holiday." Lily said succinctly.
"Lily, listen I need to talk to you about your hair."
"I don't want to talk to you anymore. Save your breath. Our friendship is terminated."
"But Lily, I'm, I'm"
"Spit it out."
"I'm really sorry about your hair. I didn't realized you would go and get it cut."
"Well, it's a little late now. Please don't talk to me again." Lily turned on her heel and walked back to her bedroom, where she found Petunia waiting for her.
"Lily, I never did get to finish your other leg."
"Fine Petunia." and Lily went to put on a bathrobe; she didn't have anything better to do. That afternoon Kathleen called her, and they decided to go to the amusement park a few miles away. Lily's parents would be taking them, so naturally, James went with them. Lily wanted to ditch him as soon as they got there, but Kathleen wouldn't hear of it. Instead, she dragged him on every roller coaster and upside down ride. She was hoping he would get sick, but she should've known. A prankster like him just got a thrill from all those rides. She couldn't beat him. It was an impossible task, fueling Lily's growing rage.
Lily's parents were surprised to see James and Lily stomp off in different directions, Kathleen trailing after Lily, who had forgotten her presence. James was angry. Lily wouldn't listen to him, she was impossible. It was obvious she was trying to hurt him, and he wanted to be her friend. There was something about her he couldn't resist.
Lily was furious. James Potter was the most impossible person in the world. He was as changeable as the wind, and the wind was easier to read. He put gum in her hair. Part of her wanted to drag him through the mud, but the other part loved being around him. He was magnetic.
Their second year passed about the same as the first. They were all great friends. Lily, James, and Sirius were on the quidditch team, but Remus dropped out because some of the games were on a full moon or near it. James and Lily both went out with other people, though they didn't like it, and refused to admit it. Lily almost snapped when she saw James kissing a Ravenclaw girl. James's reaction was much more severe when he saw Lily kissing Anthony Clark. He hexed his bed so that it tossed him out. They took muggle studies instead of flying this year, but they only learned about brief histories of muggle countries. Lily introduced the Marauders to crazy glue, and they taught her Gobstones. James went away with his parents for vacation as usual during the summer, and Lily went to stay with Kathleen for a couple of weeks at her beach house. She came back home with nothing to do but homework, and was counting down the days until James got back.
Lily's hair had grown to her armpits, and she decided to leave it there. It was at a manageable length, and it looked good enough to her. Lily had went to see Lord of the Rings, and thought it was a pretty good movie. Elijah Wood wasn't an eyesore either. She was walking through the gate to her house when she saw that the light in James's room was on, so the Potter's were home. She decided to cook her specialty, watermelon pie, and bring it to them. James loved watermelon pie, and the house elves were rather bad at fixing it.
Chapter 4
Lily quickly made the pies, and then waited what seemed like an eternity for them to chill. She wished she was a licensed witch so she could use a freezing spell. Finally the pie was cold enough, and she ran over to the Potter's. She was about ready to knock on the door when James opened it."Hi James, how'd you know to open the door? ESP?"
"No, I saw you coming. What do you have?"
"Watermelon pies. A homecoming present. See, I'm being excessively nice today. How was your trip?"
"Fun, we went to the Bahamas. You would have loved it."
"I'll mention that to my parents. Maybe they'll take the hint and take me there." Lily joked, not realizing she would go there with James someday.
Lily was disgusted to see that James grew what had to be another three inches, while she was 5'5". The same height she had ended the year in.
James noticed Lily had gotten even prettier. Her hair looked wonderful, and he was feeling guilty about the gum incident. She still maintained her petite frame. He realized he was staring at her like some moron so he said the first thing that came to mind. "Lily, you look gorgeous."
"Thanks, you umm, look, er, uh, healthy." Lily said, and then realized how dumb she just sounded. Both of them started laughing and James invited her in.
"Give the house elves the pies and they can keep them cold. How was your summer?" James said
"Okay, I visited Kathleen for a couple of weeks. Went on a family vacation. Attended more business parties with my father than I would care to remember. I saw Jason a couple of times and that's about it. Oh, I practically live in my swimming pool. I am growing fins." She noticed James's face darkened when she said she saw Jason a couple of times.
"Sounds charming" he said sarcastically.
"Mood swing city." Lily mumbled, and he luckily took the hint.
"Guess what?" James said excitedly.
"Aliens have abducted your parents."
"No, I'm going to be captain of the quidditch team." James said with a huge smile.
"James, that's wonderful!" Lily said and hugged him. "Although it's not a surprise. James Potter, the most popular guy at school. The star chaser. The excellent student. Did you honestly expect not to?"
"Actually, not this year, I didn't. I figured Kaitlin Mentz would be captain. She's a seventh year, I'm just third year." James said.
"Come on, the quidditch team would have been lynched if you weren't the captain. Every girl at the school would attack Kaitlin, and you know it. You look at half of them and they faint." Lily said, close to laughing, but trying not to.
"What can I say? I'm a woman magnet." James said in a gloating voice.
"Can it Potter." Lily said, now bursting out if laughter.
"Well, you're not one to talk Lily. You walk down the hall and guys stop and stare. They walk backwards to see you."
Lily stopped laughing immediately. "They do no such thing. And why are you paying so much attention?"
That effectively got his goat. "Uh, it was just an observation. A blind man could see it."
"Yeah right Potter. I'm going home." Lily said, not caring to be teased.
"Oh, yes, your muggle sister's company is much more pleasing.
"I'm going to shut myself in the library. I want to learn how to be an animagus.
"That's it Lily! That would help Remus!" James exclaimed, and started talking to himself.
"Hello, earth to James. How's that going to help?" Lily asked, dumbfounded.
"Werewolves only attack people. We have been overlooking the obvious. If we can transform into animals we will be safe from him." James said excitedly.
"That would work. Do you want to look at that book with me?" Lily asked.
"Yes, would you bring it over here? My dad has probably got more books on the subject."
Lily ran over to her house, and then ran back to James's house, carrying the book. She was dismayed to see she was already panting; she hadn't picked up a basketball, or worn her running shoes for two years. She knocked on the door and this time Meredith Potter answered.
"I don't suppose you're here to see Gina?"
"No, James."
"That's what I thought." Meredith said resignedly. It seemed her son and this girl were becoming awful close. "He's in the library, you know where it's at, right?"
"Yes" she said, and walked sedately to the library, trying to catch her breath. She walked in and saw James combing through the stacks of books.
"I got it. Are you having any luck?" she asked.
"I've found a couple of books in English, but I think a lot of them are in a different language."
"Here, let me see." Lily said, and found a book in Swedish, one in German, and another in Spanish. "I can read this one in German and Spanish, but I don't know Swedish ." she said. "Would you happen to have a Swedish grammar book?"
"Maybe, other grammar books are over there." he said, pointing towards a small bookshelf by the door. She found it and said, "If we can't find what we need I can probably get a good enough grasp of Swedish to decipher the book."
"Good, I'll read this English one, and how about you start on one of the foreign ones."
"Whatever you say oh great one." Lily said sarcastically, but sat down with the German book all the same.
Lily was trying her best to concentrate, but her mind kept drifting. She finally figured out that the book was only giving general information about animagi, not the steps taken to become one. She found that the one in Spanish told how to become an animagus.
"I found it James." she said happily.
"Let me see!" he said excitedly and grabbed the book from her grasp. "Hey, what's this supposed to mean? I can't read this mumbo jumbo."
"Then wouldn't it be wise to let me have it so I can translate it?"
"Oh, yeah, I guess it would." James said sheepishly, and gave the book back. Soon she had the book's poem listed out.
An animagi is a wonderful power,
not for the weak of heart.
Your animal will reflect your finest and greatest hour.
And the character you display will give the animal shape.
The animal that you mimic is waiting inside, waiting to be revealed.
Few shall have the strength to make it happen, no matter their appeal.
So if you dare, take the test, but always remember, the end justifies the means.
James read it then said, "So how are we supposed to know our animal?"
"From what I gather we find out the animal that is most like ourselves. It has personality indicators listed in here. If we don't choose the right animal we get splinched, or something similar to it."
"That doesn't sound pleasant."
"No, that's why we need to be very careful. Here's the personality indicator." and she handed him a piece of paper.
"According to this I should be a stag." James said.
"I don't know if I should be insulted or not. I'm supposed to be a fox." Lily said, rather put out.
"What's so bad about that?"
"Foxes are sly, crafty, Slytherins." Lily said with disgust.
"Or perhaps gorgeous, beautiful, and intelligent."
"Wrong fox, you moron." Lily said
"I'm just trying to be helpful."
"Thanks anyhow. I'm going home." Lily told him, but she wasn't mad.
"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Nope, I'm going to Diagon Alley." tomorrow.
"Can I go with you?" James asked.
"Sure, but you'll be stuck with just me, since Sirius went already. He sent me an owl that said he would be in Costa Rica until August 29th. Remus is with his parents at a werewolf convention." Lily said, thinking he would back out.
"That's great, when are you leaving?"
"8 o'clock" she said stunned.
The next morning James was at Lily's house at 7:55. Logan Evans answered the door and said, "Ah, James, glad you could make it. I wouldn't want my little girl to be wandering around Dijon Alley on her own."
James didn't want to correct Mr. Evans so he just said, "Thanks, although it's usually a safe place."
Lily had heard her father's blunder as she was coming down the stairs and said, "Dad, I think you mean Diagon Alley, not Dijon."
"Ah, princess, you are right once again. It is becoming quite an annoying occurrence. Your mother and sister will be going with you, but do their shopping in London." he said.
"Sure, ok, MUM! Are you about ready?" Lily shouted up the stairs. She had dropped her former endearments for her parents for a shorted title.
"Yes, sweetheart, we're ready. You look lovely this morning." Debbie said to her daughter.
"Thanks mum." Lily said, and headed towards the door, James following. Debbie and Petunia rode in the front seat leaving the back seat to James and Lily. Lily didn't miss her mother's warning glance at James though. She fastened her seatbelt and started talking quietly with James.
"Did you recheck the personality indicator?" Lily asked him.
"Yeah, I got the same thing again. I also sent it to Sirius and Peter. I know they well want to try it too."
"Good idea. I retried mine again and I'm still a fox."
"Mother, Lily is bragging again." Petunia said in a particularly spiteful tone.
"Oh I am not!" Lily said irritably.
"You just called yourself a fox."
"If that's not eavesdropping, I don't know what is. I was referring to the animal."
"Lily, please don't brag, and Petunia, please don't tattle or eavesdrop." Debbie Evans settled the matter easily.
James was glaring at Petunia with an statement of disbelief. He wisely didn't say anything though, because he got the impression Mrs. Evans didn't care much for him. Petunia proceeded to sing, "Stand by my Man" all the way to London. Lily tried her best to ignore her; it was becoming increasingly difficult though. James was expecting the windows to break momentarily. Finally James and Lily were dropped off at the Leaky Cauldron. They were out of the car before it even came to a complete stop.
"Remember Lily, be good. Don't get into any trouble..." but that was all Lily heard of the speech her mother was trying to give her because she and James were already inside the Leaky Cauldron. "Have you got your school supplies yet?" Lily asked James.
"Nope, and I need to get a new owl too. Mine bought the farm last week."
Lily started laughing, "That's terrible, I'm sorry."
"Then why are you laughing?"
"He bought the farm?" she asked in disbelief, still laughing.
"Sirius says that a lot, I just kind of picked up on it."
"That explains it." James and Lily tapped the bricks to allow them entrance to Diagon Alley. They stepped through to the world of magic. They just started walking down the main street, going into the shops they needed as they came along. Finally all they had to do was get James a new owl, some tarot cards for divination, and robes. James got a white owl with green eyes. Then they got their robes at Madame Malkin's. They were leaving as they heard a shout of "Lily, wait up!" behind them. Lily turned around and saw Severus Snape running after her.
"Yes Severus?" she asked patiently.
"Did it hurt?" Severus asked.
"What?" she asked, puzzled.
"When you fell from Heaven." "I can't believe you just said that to me." Lily said, not knowing whether to laugh or be insulted.
"But Lily, I love you. You're too good for Potter. Break up with him and go out with me."
"I can't break up with him because I'm not going out with him. I definitely wouldn't go out with a guy that uses dumb pick up lines like that. If you have to use them, get more creative ones."
"Okay. Are you from Tennessee?" Snape asked.
"NO!" Lily said through gritted teeth.
"You're the only ten I see." he said.
Lily lost control and started laughing hysterically. Snape looked rather insulted and walked off. Lily was still laughing merrily on a bench five minutes later.
"Lily, it wasn't that funny." James said.
"Yes it was!" she and broke out in laughter again.
"Actually it was pretty funny when he got mad and walked off, but that was it."
"JAMES, YOU'RE THE ONLY TEN I SEE!" she laughed
It took James a minute to realize she was joking, so he decided to play along with it. "Lily, I looked up the word 'beautiful' today and you name was included."
"That's a good one James, but Severus's was better. No, how about this one. There must be something wrong with my eyes, I can't take them off of you!" Lily was still laughing uncontrollably.
"Lily, is your dad in jail?" James asked semi-seriously.
"No, why?"
"He stole the stars from the sky and put them in your eyes." Lily fell off the bench she was laughing so hard, and pretty soon James was in the same condition, only he managed to stay on the bench. Several people gave them curious glances, and Lily managed to scramble onto the bench, still laughing.
"Hello Mr. Potter, Miss Evans. I see you two are having a good time." Professor Dumbledore said.
Lily wiped the tears from her eyes and said, "Good day Headmaster. And yes, we are having a good time."
"That is excellent that you are enjoying yourselves. May I ask what was so funny?"
"Snape tried two different pick up lines on Lily. Both extremely dumb." James said, after his laughter had subsided.
"Oh, yes, pick-up lines. The only thing they are generally good for are laughs. I suggest you two get a move on if you wish to be finished by dark." Dumbledore said kindly, with a twinkle in his eyes.
"Yes sir." they both said.
"See you at Hogwarts then." he said and walked off. They could just pick up him saying "Ah, young love." They both chose to ignore this and walked off toward the "Forecasting the Future" shop. They saw several Hogwarts students there, and everybody stared at the two of them strangely. They finally made it to the shop and the strange owner said, "Ahh, the great couple is here. My children, it is wonderful to watch you grow closer, for we shall be liberated because of your love for one another."
James and Lily looked at each other with disbelief and quickly got the tarot cards they needed. It was a relief to get out of that shop. They escaped from the shop and Lily said, "Boy, everybody here is crazy. They act like we're married or something."
"No kidding. Remember Mr. Ollivander? And Trelawney? These people have over active imaginations." James said with disgust.
"STOP!" Lily shouted.
"What?" James asked.
"A magical makeup shop!" Lily squealed.
"Aw, Lily, I thought you gave that stuff up." James said. She looked stunning with or without the makeup.
"I gave up muggle makeup. I got to try this stuff." she said, and started dashing into the shop.
"Well, I'm just going to go to into that shop over there." he said, pointing to a paper shop.
"Okay." Lily said, wondering why he would want to go in there. Chapter 5 As soon as she was safely inside of the shop he went into a jewelry shop a little ways down the street. He needed to get Lily a birthday present. Lily had given him a really cool life-size poster of the National English Quidditch team. All of the player talked and moved, and it was just neat. He was determined to get her a really good present. She would love him for this present. Maybe she would give him a kiss for this amazing present. Then he decided he was going mad. There was no way Lily Evans would kiss him. He wasn't sure why he wanted to kiss her. He realized his thoughts were babbling, and quickly got them under control. One of the saleswomen came over to him and said, "How may I help you?" not expecting to get an answer from a thirteen year old boy.
"I actually need you to help me find something for my friend. Her birthday is next week, and I want to get her something really special." James said honestly.
"Okay, what does she look like?"
"She's got really pretty red hair past her shoulders, and the greatest green eyes. She has creamy skin, but no freckles." James said.
"I get the general idea" the woman said dryly. "I suggest silver jewelry, maybe a hair clip?"
"That sounds good." James eventually found the perfect hair clip. It was a silver filigree barrette with green crystal flowers across it. He prayed she liked it.
Lily meanwhile was going crazy over the magical makeup. She finally just decided on some perfume that smelled wonderful and some hair glitter that changed colors. She had quickly got tired of getting up thirty minutes early every day last year, so now she forsaked the makeup and got out of bed five minutes before breakfast. Just as she was done paying James came walking in, carrying a bag from the paper shop.
"Was the paper shop interesting?" she asked.
"Oh, yes, you wouldn't believe the kinds of paper they have there." James said. They did have odd paper; he had bought a piece of blue paper so he could get a sack. They met Lily's mom as planned and went back home. Petunia, thankfully, was not singing.
"James, Lily's birthday party is Friday night, and you and Gina are invited. We're just having Lily's friends over." Mrs. Evans said.
"Okay, I'll be there." James said, looking forward to giving her the present. Lily was practically in tears on her birthday. "Mum, you will ruin my life!" she yelled.
"Now, dear, it won't be that bad"
"Yes it will. Nobody has piñatas at their birthday. I'm thirteen. I am not playing pin the tail on the donkey either. I promise I'll run away." Lily threatened.
"Oh, where are you going to run to miss?" Debbie asked her daughter, who said the first thing that came to mind.
"I'm going to run away to James's house. He's my best friend."
"YOU MOST CERTAINLY NOT RUN TO ANY BOY'S HOUSE YOUNG LADY!" her mother bellowed. Lily, who was at the age of teenage rebellion said, "Just you watch me." and she walked out of the house and to James's. James's dad opened the door for a change and said, "James is in his room. I suppose you can go see him, but leave the door wide open."
Lily bit her tongue, but she had had enough of condescending parents for one day. She walked up to James's room, and he was there with Remus and Sirius, who had come just for her birthday party.
"Hi, Lily, what's wrong." James asked, noticing her tears.
"My mother. She wants me to have a little kid birthday party. Complete with a piñata and pin the tail on the donkey. And I threatened to run away. She got mad so I walked out. I needed to calm down."
They were all laughing at her and Sirius asked, "What's a piñata?"
"It's a paper mache animal filled with candy. You beat it with a stick to make the candy fall out." she explained.
"Hey, that sounds cool! What are you mad about?" James cried.
"Muggles stop having them at birthdays when they're 10."
"Oh, well, at least you'll get presents." Remus said.
"I better not count on it after the way I acted." Lily said, slightly ashamed at the way she acted.
"You'll definitely get a present from James." Remus said evilly.
"Oh, yes. He's been going on and on about what he's got you." Sirius laughed, and James turned a bright scarlet.
"Thank you James, I am sure I will love it. Thanks for listening you guys, I guess I better go home and face the music." Lily said, feeling better after talking to them. Lily walked slowly back home and let herself in. Both of her parents were waiting for her in the hall.
"You worried your mother and I, Lily." Logan said.
"I needed some time away from you guys." Lily said.
"And you went to James Potter's house?" he asked.
"Yes" and her mother gasped as if her worst fears were confirmed.
"Lily, are things between you and James serious?" her mother asked.
"With James? No! He's just my friend." Lily said.
"Okay, we believe you, but please don't ever walk out like that again. We will skip pin the tail on the donkey, but we're leaving the piñata. Got it?" Logan Evans said.
"Yes Dad." Lily said wearily.
"We have invited your cousins too. So we have all the Nintendo games and that stuff hooked up in the TV room. We moved 5 extra TV's in there for that specific purpose. So maybe we can prevent boredom." her mother said.
"Great" Lily said and went upstairs to change. She wished everybody wasn't coming. She would be perfectly happy with just the people from Hogwarts. In fact she would've been happy with just James there.
Lily dressed down in a pair of denim shorts and sleeveless top along with sneakers to match it. Her mother was smoothing down her hair when the doorbell rang. She ran to open it.
"James, thank God you finally got here. My parents are driving me crazy." Lily said in relief.
"What are we? Chopped bologna?" Sirius asked.
"Oh, yes, you saved me too." Lily said with a smile.
"Where do you want these?" Remus asked, holding up the present he had gotten her.
"On that table over there" she said, leading them into the living room. "Let me tell you the schedule now, and tell me if you have any questions as to how to act. Please don't do some crazy magic something. I will absolutely die of embarrassment." Lily pleaded.
"Deal." all three of them said.
"Good. First we wait on everybody to get here. Then there's my birthday dinner. Then I get to open presents. After that is cake, and yes James, there is chocolate. After that we can do whatever. There are Nintendo games and that kind of stuff. And we can't forget the piñata however much I want to." Lily said.
"Okay, that sounds pretty simple." James said.
Lily was teaching them how to play Monopoly when her female cousins arrived.
"Oh, he's sooooo cute!" one practically gushed, looking at James.
"I know. He's positively dreamy. And look at his friends!" the other one said.
"They are way too cute to be friends of Lily's, so why are they here?" one asked, having not seen Lily for three years.
"They must play football with her." another asked. There was a total of four. Lily stood up, turning to face them.
"Actually, they're my best friends." she said, and they gasped.
"What?" the blonde one asked.
"They go to my boarding school." Lily answered. The boys were in the corner, whispering about something with an evil look on their faces. James walked up to Lily, put an arm around her waist and said in his most charismatic voice, "I almost forgot to wish you a happy birthday sweetheart." "What?" she asked.
"We can let our secret out now Lily. I hope you don't mind I told Sirius and Remus about us." James said and winked at Lily.
"Oh, Ohhhh. Yeah, that's perfectly alright with me James." Lily said, catching on. She saw Sirius and Remus smirking out of the corner of her eye, and tried hard not to laugh.
"You're her boyfriend?" the brunette asked with shock.
"Of course." James said, as if pointing out the sky was indeed blue.
"It was inevitable. The most popular people in our school." Remus said.
"Yep, every girl is after James, and every guy drools after Lily." Sirius said, eyeing Lily for effect.
"Sirius, you better keep your lecherous eyes off of my girlfriend." James threatened. "Lily is one of the most popular kids at school?" the other blonde asked incredulously.
"Yes, naturally. Why wouldn't she be? She is on the house team, has excellent manners, is at the top of every class, and is stunningly gorgeous." James said.
"Manners? Lily?"
"Finishing school can do amazing things Vine." Lily said demurely.
"Vine?" all of the boys laughed. Vine was disturbed, most boys fell to the floor with her charm and beauty and mysterious name.
"This is Vine and Leaf" she said, pointing at the two blondes. "And this is Heather and Clover." she said, pointing at the brunettes. "This is James Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin." Lily pointed them out. "Hey, James, where's Gina?"
"She's still trying to get ready. She is wearing an evening gown." James said.
"And let me guess, you put that idea in here head?"
"Yeah, I kind of mentioned that it was formal."
"You're terrible, go tell her it's casual." Lily said, and James turned to go tell his sister. Lily got an evil look on her face and surprised them all by saying, "sweetheart" and playfully slapped him on the butt. Sirius and Remus collapsed on the floor with laughter. James's jaw dropped to the floor and stared at her with disbelief. Lily was shaking with silent laughter, and had to sit in a chair before she fell. She wasn't able to compose herself until James left the room. The strange thing was she wasn't embarrassed. It was more like a funny prank. Her cousins stared. Sirius sputtered, "Lily, that was priceless. I will never forget that as long as I live."
"Me neither." Remus laughed. "I don't know what was funnier, seeing you do that or seeing his face!"
"Lily, that was so unfair! You took him away from me!" Vine yelled.
"Whatever Vine. You just met him five minutes ago, and he is my boyfriend." Lily lied.
"You think you are so smart." Leaf declared.
"Actually, I know I'm smart. People like you ditzes who think you know everything are really annoying to those of us who do." Lily told them.
"Well, I can't believe you." Clover said.
"I can" Sirius said.
"You deserved it" Remus said. Lily found them in Petunia's room and Lily thought birds of a feather flock together. She was walking back down to the party room when Logan Evans said in his deep booming voice, "Princess, I need to talk to you."
"Yes Dad" she said sweetly, dreading the worst.
"Vine told me about you and James. I think he is a fine boy, and an excellent first boyfriend. I don't want anything to be serious between you two. Got it? And he'll have to talk to me." Logan said.
"Dad, we're not really going out. It was a joke we played on the cousins. You see they were going crazy over James, and being rather rude to me. James decided to pretend to be my boyfriend." Lily explained.
"Oh, okay sweetheart. I understand. Keep up the joke then, because it was funny to here your cousins squawking like that. They need their feathers ruffled. Now about you patting his rear end...."
"Say no more. That was a joke too. I don't know what came over me. It won't happen again."
"Make sure it doesn't. I won't tell your mother about this until you get to Hogwarts because I'm a lot more understanding than she is." Lily got up and left the room with relief. James and Gina came through the door and Lily said, "Is our joke still on?"
"Yeah, I explained it to Gina too." James said, watching her warily.
"Okay, my dad found out, so he knows too, but don't worry about him."
"Got it sweetheart" James said, and wrapped his arm around her waist once again. "He also told me not to slap your butt again." Lily said conversationally.
"Really? How did he know?" James asked.
"Vine tattled." Lily answered.
"Oh, well, I'd say it's for the best in this situation." James said.
"I'm hurt, you don't want me 'patting your rear end' according to my father?" Lily asked.
"I would prefer you didn't." James said coolly.
"Relax, don't throw a hissy fit."
"I'm not."
"I'm not going to argue with you." Lily said, and they walked back into the TV room, which was now filled with all of her cousins, male and female, Remus, Sirius, Kathleen, and Jason. "LILY!" Kathleen squealed.
"Kathleen! I'm glad you could come!" Lily said, having not seen her for a month or more. She left James's grasp and went to talk to her. James stared at her, and Remus and Sirius came over.
"She's going to ruin this if she doesn't spend enough time with me." James said.
"Relax Romeo," Sirius said, "She doesn't need to spend every waking moment with you. Most couples don't."
"Yeah, you've already wrapped your arm around her twice and she's slapped your butt. I think they get the drift." Remus said.
"I'm thinking you want this to be a permanent institution." Sirius said, "Just look at the present you got her."
"I don't either." James declared. Sirius and Remus just looked at him.
"Yeah, I do." James admitted. James ran to his house like the devil was on his heels, wrote a quick note to Lily, then ran back. He placed it on the present he had gotten her. Soon, they ate dinner and it was present time. James was waiting in prolonged agony for Lily to open his present. She finally picked up the small box wrapped in metallic green paper. She opened the note first, and he tensed while she read it.
Dear Lily,
Will you be my real girlfriend?
James Lily read the note, smiled, and looked directly into his eyes. She nodded her head once and said, "yes." That was all it took for James. He sighed in relief and slouched in his chair. He was still nervous about her liking the present, but at least he wasn't rejected. She opened the present and pulled out the silver barrette and gasped. "Oh, it's gorgeous James, thank you so much!" she exclaimed in delight. She had a dazzling smile splitting her face, and James couldn't help but copy it at her look of joy. They sat there smiling at each other for about 3 minutes before Sirius elbowed James in the side. "Quit staring at her like a fool"
"She liked my present." James whispered back gleefully.
"You are such a child." Sirius said distastefully.
"But she liked my present." James repeated.
"Yes, Potter, she liked the present." Remus cut in.
"And we're really going out now. That note asked her." James told them proudly.
"Ohh, nooo. They're as good as married." Sirius groaned.