Seducing Lily Evans

written by: the young lady of legends

ChapterThree: Everybody Loves James

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For the past hour and a half Lily had been pacing the castle back and forth. Walking seemed to help her think and the fact that she may 'accidentally' bump into James didn't hurt either. She couldn't figure it out. Why was that prick chatting it up with...well...that other prick like they were old mates? And what did she care anyway? She threw her arms in the air and sighed dramatically, "Life is so confusing sometimes!"

"What? All these years of convincing yourself that you don't love me and now you've discovered the truth? I guess it's true what they say about life then." came James Potter's voice from behind her. Her heart leaped into her throat and she quickly spun around, prepared to tell him to get lost when curiosity got the better of her. It did kill the cat after all.

She cocked an eyebrow at him. "I don't know. What do they say about life, Potter?"

"That it's like an ice-cream cone. Once you think you've got it licked...it drips all over you." he said grinning ear to beautiful ear.

Could he be reading her thoughts? Well, he had heard her talk aloud to herself, though the proximity in which he was to her problem was downright creepy. "Well, though that wasn't exactly profound...it's a very true statement. Thanks Po...James." she corrected herself.

His smile beamed brighter. "Not the problem my dear."

And of all things for Lily to have done at this moment. This critical moment in time...she smiled back.

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James Potter was wakened by sounds of someone dying. Or at least he thought. Throwing himself out of bed, making a mental note that the sun wasn't even up yet (a very proper time to kill someone, he supposed), he walked to his dormitory's loo to find...

Sirius.

Oh God! Someone was murdering his best friend! Not if he could help it, they weren't. Visions of valor and bravery quickly skidded through James' mind. This was when he realized that his wand was on his bedside table.

Luckily for them both Sirius wasn't being strangled to death. He was actually vomiting profusely into a porcelain toilet. "Jeez Sirius...do you have to do that so...disgustingly?" James asked in utter revulsion.

Sirius coughed out, "Well excuse me James, because your nausea was of utmost importance to me. Oh this? Nah...nothing. Just feeling a bit queasy!"

James nodded, turning back toward his bed. "Sarcasm dually noted." Upon reaching his bed he discovered that the smell had penetrated his room and he could no longer tolerate it. He decided to go check his potion. Not bothering to grab his Invisibility Cloak, knowing no one would be awake at this un-Godly hour, he trod towards the dungeons. Last month when he'd threatened Snape with violence of the worst kind, Snape-y had suggested the dungeon as their potion-brewing location. James was gob smacked.

"Oh yes! Brilliant idea! Let's hide this extremely illegal potion in the POTION DUNGEON where EVERYONE WILL BE ABLE TO SEE IT!!" he chided.

Snape simply turned up his crooked nose. "Professor Orion has given me permission for the past four years to brew anything I like in his dungeon, as I must say I have a flair for it. And he being so thrilled by my enthusiasm, never sticks his nose in business that isn't his. Unlike SOME people I know."

And so this is how James had an illegal potion brewing on school grounds with Professor's consent. Well...sort of.

When he reached it his heart skipped a beat. What he saw in that cauldron made him feel like he was running through a field of daisies in the spring. It was clear and a pink vapor was swirling about the top of it. It looked exactly the way Snape had told him that it would when he was ready.

Today Lily Evans would be his.

He gathered up the cauldron and snuck down to the kitchen. He'd worked all the details out long ago. The house elves, who adored James, had already agreed to help him. They were going to mix his potion in with a batch of cookies which would be delivered to Lily by Moony, as he was the only one of his friends that Lily could stand. He'd tell her as she reached for one that they were from James and upon hearing this Lily would immediately glare at James (as she always does upon mention of his name). He only hoped that she bit into the cookie while she was glaring at him, otherwise there was no telling who she may look at first and fall for.

James wasn't worried. His plans nearly always worked.

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Two hours later and James was sitting in the Great Hall alongside Remus and Peter. Sirius was still ailing upstairs into the toilet. James was taking turns staring at Lily and the batch of steaming cookies placed in front of him. There had nearly been a disaster when Wormtail reached for a cookie, forgetting what the plan was and what they were for.

As Remus was getting ready to take the plate to Lily, two people stumbled into the Great Hall. An odd pair to be walking along together such as old chums might. Sirius and Snape. Not that they were carrying on a delightful conversation or anything, actually neither seemed to be aware of the other's presence. They both made a bee-line for James.

"Potter!" Snape cried as he reached James. "The...you-know-what has gone! And I had nothing to do with it, I swear!"

James, still staring intently at Lily wasn't paying much attention. "Yeah...I got it. Took care of it." he mumbled.

Sirius moaned, "I've got to taste something other than puke...it's so revolting."

James- "That's nice."

All at once Snape and Sirius reached for a cookie and as they bit into it James screamed at them, "NO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" And as they bit down their attention turned to James.

And he was the first person either of them saw.