Chapter Four
James was sitting in front of the hearth in the Head's common room, waiting for Mademoiselle. I wonder why she got so mad. I mean it's not like I was insulting her or anything. I was just talking about Evans, and it's not like calling Evans fat is an insult. I mean I know you aren't supposed to humiliate women in front of their friends, family, or peers, but I don't understand why she got all protective of Evans. Maybe it's because she was fat when she was little. Or maybe one of her friends in France was fat.
After satisfactorily reaching this conclusion he decided that he should apologize. Then, he decided to write to Lily. Maybe she'll be surprised, I wonder where she went. His attention diverted, he went to his room to write his letter:
Dear Miss Evans,
It has been a long time since I've heard from you, lately I have been thinking about the past quite a bit, and you seem to come to mind whenever I think of the past. I have wondered, what happened to you after second year. Though you might not have thought the same of me, I always considered you a friend. You always did help me whenever the need arose, especially in Charms. And I would like to continue our acquaintance.
Sincerely,
James H. Potter
There, that sounds alright.
He tied the letter to the leg of his owl, and watched her snowy, white form disappear into the night.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Lily sat in her the study, when a white owl tapped on the window. She opened the window and gave the owl a treat.
Reading the letter, she thought, maybe this is his way of subconsciously apologizing to me.
Intrigued she got a piece of paper, inserted it into a typewriter and wrote a response:
Dear James,
It's always good to hear from old friends. I'm glad that I was able to help you when I attended school with you. I also considered you a friend. I would be honored to continue my friendship with you.
Since leaving Hogwarts, my family has moved to France. Since then, I have attended Beauxbatons. And I understand that one of my friends has since moved to England and now attends school with you, you might know her, Mademoiselle. We always referred to her as such; I don't even think I remember her real name. In fact, I believe she went to school with us, but it's such an unsure thing I couldn't confirm it.
It has been good to here from you.
Truly,
Lillian Evans
She set the letter aside, and resumed her perusal of her book.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
James sat at breakfast, thinking about the letter he had received that morning. (Lily had sent the letter that morning to make it seem like the owl had taken an international flight. Pardon my pun.)
It makes sense now, Lily was Mademoiselle's friend. That would explain Mademoiselle's outburst. I insulted her friend, and I guess I deserved retribution.
Mademoiselle sat down a few seats away by Julie.
"Okay Jules, spill, I know you're dying to."
"I shouldn't."
"But you will, you know you will, because if you don't do so willingly I will take you myself to the fencing gallery and duel you for it. And you know I'll win."
"Okay, but wait until later. I don't want to announce it to the entire school."
"Fine."
James took this pause in the conversation to his advantage, "Er, Mademoiselle, I would like to apologize for the insult I dealt to Miss Evans yesterday during class. It was thoughtless of me, and I hope you will accept my sincere apologies."
"Oui, but you will have to do better than that to get off my black list. I only put the worst on there, and you are far from angelic."
"Of course."
Lily's watch chimed five minutes until classes, so she excuse herself, and she and Julie headed to the Library to research their Potions project.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Putting the final touches on her book, Lily sat silently thinking about the mystery of the Marauders. Did they know how to do the animangus transformation? Did they know her second transformation?
Leaving these questions for later, she turned her attention to the eyes looking at her from across the room. It was Severus Snape; the only other person she believed might know her identity.
She cocked her head when their eyes met. He did the same.
He grinned darkly. And she returned with a half smile, acknowledging his knowledge.
"So, Jules, what were you going to tell me?"
"He said it; Remus told me he loved me."
"No, really Julie, what were you going to tell me."
"He did? And you couldn't tell me this in the Great Hall?"
"It was important."
Giving her friend a hug, Lily said, "I'm just playing with you, now tell me everything."
The next couple passed without incident, unless you count three exploding cauldrons in Potions, or Sirius falling off his broom, again.
"Bonjour Mademoiselle, you know if you tell me your name I will leave you alone."
"In your dreams Black."
"Oh, we do so much more than that in my dreams."
"You sick-o. If you say anything I'll personally see to it that you are permanently disfigured." She paused, "I think the Snape look is what you need. And maybe with that Malfoy blonde hair. Yes, that would be perfect."
Looking at her in mock horror he said, "You wouldn't."
She just smiled.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
James sat in his bed composing a letter:
Dear Lillian,
It is wonderful to know that you didn't hate me. I always thought that you despised me. I wonder if you read Sarah Howard in France. I realize that she's an English author, but does she publish in French?
Sincerely,
James Potter
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
December came and on the morning of the 12th, the Great Hall was abuzz with news of Sarah Howard's new book. "I hope my dad ordered it for me, I told him to like months ago." "My family is on the editor's list, I hope it arrives in time." "I can't wait for Christmas; my mom said that she got me exactly what I wanted." "I hear that the new book has a two month long waiting list." "I hear that all the book stores have so many orders that they won't be able to put the book on the shelves until June."
Lily walked into the Great Hall and Remus pulled her aside, "Can you get me a copy of that book?" he hissed quietly, though he hardly needed to do so, as you could barely hear a bellow over the din.
"Yeah, but why do you need one? I made sure your family was on the editors list."
"Well my mom always gets to the mail first, and she guards your books religiously. She gives my sister two days to read it, and she's only allowed to read under the supervision of Mother. So the chances of me getting a copy for Julie are going to be about nil."
"Oh, you should have said so Remy. I can get you a first edition, so that it'll fit with her collection."
"You get her first editions?!"
"Yeah, she's my best friend, and the "my dad's on the editor's list" has worked so far."
"Well, as long as you can get it before Christmas."
"No problem, I have a few in my room. I can get one now."
"You know what, if I wasn't in love with Julie, and we weren't in the Great Hall I would kiss you right now."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Hey Lil?" called Julie into the bathroom.
"Yeah?" replied Lily, her voice muffled as if she had her head stuck in a cupboard.
"Can you come with me to Hogsmeade?"
"Why?"
"I have to get Remus a present."
"Oh! That's right; I have to get a present for Dumbledore and James."
"Why would you be getting either Dumbledore or James a present?"
"Hogwarts tradition, the teachers and heads exchange presents."
"Oh."
Together they walked down to the little town; first stop was the candy shop.
Lily picked out some chocolate for James, and looked around for Julie.
"What?" she asked when her friend started shaking her head.
"Well, it's just that, James would probably rather have some dungbombs, or maybe some of the more.exotic items at Zonko's."
"Jules, he's Head Boy, I'm not about to encourage him to prank anybody."
Julie shrugged, and said, "If you say so. By the by, what are you getting for Dumbledore?"
"A couple pair of socks."
"Why would you get him socks?"
"Well, I've noticed that he always gets books for Christmas, and I wanted to get him something to remember."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"SIRIUS! I can't figure out what to get Mademoiselle."
"Why do you care, I mean it's not like I has to be something special. Just get her some chocolate or something."
"But it does."
"Why?"
Remus walked up, "Because James likes her."
"No I don't."
"Then, get her chocolate."
"But I can't."
"James," said Remus in an exasperated tone, "if you are getting her something special, and you don't like her, then explain why you are getting Dumbledore lemon drops?"
"'cause, I thought they were good when Father brought them home. And besides the man has an insatiable sweet tooth, anything that has sugar in it is bound to be a good choice."
Sirius rejoined the conversation, "So then, Mademoiselle likes sweets, I've seen her eating candy between classes, get her some candy."
"But, Padfoot, that's so unoriginal."
Remus and Sirius looked at each other and said in unison, "You like her."
James just slumped in defeat, maybe he did like her, "But that still doesn't answer my question. What am I going to get her for Christmas?"
"Jewelry."
"Clothes."
"Key chains."
"A book of poems."
James was sitting in front of the hearth in the Head's common room, waiting for Mademoiselle. I wonder why she got so mad. I mean it's not like I was insulting her or anything. I was just talking about Evans, and it's not like calling Evans fat is an insult. I mean I know you aren't supposed to humiliate women in front of their friends, family, or peers, but I don't understand why she got all protective of Evans. Maybe it's because she was fat when she was little. Or maybe one of her friends in France was fat.
After satisfactorily reaching this conclusion he decided that he should apologize. Then, he decided to write to Lily. Maybe she'll be surprised, I wonder where she went. His attention diverted, he went to his room to write his letter:
Dear Miss Evans,
It has been a long time since I've heard from you, lately I have been thinking about the past quite a bit, and you seem to come to mind whenever I think of the past. I have wondered, what happened to you after second year. Though you might not have thought the same of me, I always considered you a friend. You always did help me whenever the need arose, especially in Charms. And I would like to continue our acquaintance.
Sincerely,
James H. Potter
There, that sounds alright.
He tied the letter to the leg of his owl, and watched her snowy, white form disappear into the night.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Lily sat in her the study, when a white owl tapped on the window. She opened the window and gave the owl a treat.
Reading the letter, she thought, maybe this is his way of subconsciously apologizing to me.
Intrigued she got a piece of paper, inserted it into a typewriter and wrote a response:
Dear James,
It's always good to hear from old friends. I'm glad that I was able to help you when I attended school with you. I also considered you a friend. I would be honored to continue my friendship with you.
Since leaving Hogwarts, my family has moved to France. Since then, I have attended Beauxbatons. And I understand that one of my friends has since moved to England and now attends school with you, you might know her, Mademoiselle. We always referred to her as such; I don't even think I remember her real name. In fact, I believe she went to school with us, but it's such an unsure thing I couldn't confirm it.
It has been good to here from you.
Truly,
Lillian Evans
She set the letter aside, and resumed her perusal of her book.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
James sat at breakfast, thinking about the letter he had received that morning. (Lily had sent the letter that morning to make it seem like the owl had taken an international flight. Pardon my pun.)
It makes sense now, Lily was Mademoiselle's friend. That would explain Mademoiselle's outburst. I insulted her friend, and I guess I deserved retribution.
Mademoiselle sat down a few seats away by Julie.
"Okay Jules, spill, I know you're dying to."
"I shouldn't."
"But you will, you know you will, because if you don't do so willingly I will take you myself to the fencing gallery and duel you for it. And you know I'll win."
"Okay, but wait until later. I don't want to announce it to the entire school."
"Fine."
James took this pause in the conversation to his advantage, "Er, Mademoiselle, I would like to apologize for the insult I dealt to Miss Evans yesterday during class. It was thoughtless of me, and I hope you will accept my sincere apologies."
"Oui, but you will have to do better than that to get off my black list. I only put the worst on there, and you are far from angelic."
"Of course."
Lily's watch chimed five minutes until classes, so she excuse herself, and she and Julie headed to the Library to research their Potions project.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Putting the final touches on her book, Lily sat silently thinking about the mystery of the Marauders. Did they know how to do the animangus transformation? Did they know her second transformation?
Leaving these questions for later, she turned her attention to the eyes looking at her from across the room. It was Severus Snape; the only other person she believed might know her identity.
She cocked her head when their eyes met. He did the same.
He grinned darkly. And she returned with a half smile, acknowledging his knowledge.
"So, Jules, what were you going to tell me?"
"He said it; Remus told me he loved me."
"No, really Julie, what were you going to tell me."
"He did? And you couldn't tell me this in the Great Hall?"
"It was important."
Giving her friend a hug, Lily said, "I'm just playing with you, now tell me everything."
The next couple passed without incident, unless you count three exploding cauldrons in Potions, or Sirius falling off his broom, again.
"Bonjour Mademoiselle, you know if you tell me your name I will leave you alone."
"In your dreams Black."
"Oh, we do so much more than that in my dreams."
"You sick-o. If you say anything I'll personally see to it that you are permanently disfigured." She paused, "I think the Snape look is what you need. And maybe with that Malfoy blonde hair. Yes, that would be perfect."
Looking at her in mock horror he said, "You wouldn't."
She just smiled.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
James sat in his bed composing a letter:
Dear Lillian,
It is wonderful to know that you didn't hate me. I always thought that you despised me. I wonder if you read Sarah Howard in France. I realize that she's an English author, but does she publish in French?
Sincerely,
James Potter
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
December came and on the morning of the 12th, the Great Hall was abuzz with news of Sarah Howard's new book. "I hope my dad ordered it for me, I told him to like months ago." "My family is on the editor's list, I hope it arrives in time." "I can't wait for Christmas; my mom said that she got me exactly what I wanted." "I hear that the new book has a two month long waiting list." "I hear that all the book stores have so many orders that they won't be able to put the book on the shelves until June."
Lily walked into the Great Hall and Remus pulled her aside, "Can you get me a copy of that book?" he hissed quietly, though he hardly needed to do so, as you could barely hear a bellow over the din.
"Yeah, but why do you need one? I made sure your family was on the editors list."
"Well my mom always gets to the mail first, and she guards your books religiously. She gives my sister two days to read it, and she's only allowed to read under the supervision of Mother. So the chances of me getting a copy for Julie are going to be about nil."
"Oh, you should have said so Remy. I can get you a first edition, so that it'll fit with her collection."
"You get her first editions?!"
"Yeah, she's my best friend, and the "my dad's on the editor's list" has worked so far."
"Well, as long as you can get it before Christmas."
"No problem, I have a few in my room. I can get one now."
"You know what, if I wasn't in love with Julie, and we weren't in the Great Hall I would kiss you right now."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Hey Lil?" called Julie into the bathroom.
"Yeah?" replied Lily, her voice muffled as if she had her head stuck in a cupboard.
"Can you come with me to Hogsmeade?"
"Why?"
"I have to get Remus a present."
"Oh! That's right; I have to get a present for Dumbledore and James."
"Why would you be getting either Dumbledore or James a present?"
"Hogwarts tradition, the teachers and heads exchange presents."
"Oh."
Together they walked down to the little town; first stop was the candy shop.
Lily picked out some chocolate for James, and looked around for Julie.
"What?" she asked when her friend started shaking her head.
"Well, it's just that, James would probably rather have some dungbombs, or maybe some of the more.exotic items at Zonko's."
"Jules, he's Head Boy, I'm not about to encourage him to prank anybody."
Julie shrugged, and said, "If you say so. By the by, what are you getting for Dumbledore?"
"A couple pair of socks."
"Why would you get him socks?"
"Well, I've noticed that he always gets books for Christmas, and I wanted to get him something to remember."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"SIRIUS! I can't figure out what to get Mademoiselle."
"Why do you care, I mean it's not like I has to be something special. Just get her some chocolate or something."
"But it does."
"Why?"
Remus walked up, "Because James likes her."
"No I don't."
"Then, get her chocolate."
"But I can't."
"James," said Remus in an exasperated tone, "if you are getting her something special, and you don't like her, then explain why you are getting Dumbledore lemon drops?"
"'cause, I thought they were good when Father brought them home. And besides the man has an insatiable sweet tooth, anything that has sugar in it is bound to be a good choice."
Sirius rejoined the conversation, "So then, Mademoiselle likes sweets, I've seen her eating candy between classes, get her some candy."
"But, Padfoot, that's so unoriginal."
Remus and Sirius looked at each other and said in unison, "You like her."
James just slumped in defeat, maybe he did like her, "But that still doesn't answer my question. What am I going to get her for Christmas?"
"Jewelry."
"Clothes."
"Key chains."
"A book of poems."