Disclaimer: Names that aren't familiar are mine, and vice versa.
Chapter 2- Messing with Love and Fate
The weekend had come up quickly. The month had passed rapidly James was relieved that he no longer had to attend the torture of Divination. He had done miserably on his OWL. He had Quidditch practices up to his neck with the prospect of the new season coming.
Lily had been busy with her classes and Prefect duties, clearly annoyed by something in the common room. "He hasn't talked to me for a whole month, not that I am jealous or anything, but..." Her thought trailed away as she looked around the comfortable common room that she had loved for so many years. She was definitely going to miss this place. She sighed with the prospect of leaving the protective and comfortable walls of Hogwarts. This was her home, not Surrey. She was completely convinced of it.
Lily was feeling a bit lonely the past two weeks. Sirius and Jen had a romantic relationship. And Remus and Emily were together still. She smiled at this last pair. Sitting by each other in the Common Room, working on homework with each other, smiling once in a while, helping each other. She sighed. She knew that Jen and Sirius would get together- they were the two most attractive people at Hogwarts. Remus and Emily were a surprise. It was sweet, but definitely surprise nonetheless.
Sirius and Jen looked over at Emily and Remus. They made eye contact with each other and they all slipped out of the Common Room while Lily was distracted. Lily didn't even see or hear them leave. ************************************************************************ They all sat around in the empty Charms room, wondering what they should do.
Remus spoke first "I don't think that we should do anything"
"Why not? It's obvious that Lily stores some feelings for James. Did you see the way that she was staring at him" Jen countered.
"You know what Lily says Jen. She basically loathes James." Emily reminded Jen.
"You know, I don't think that it is right. I don't think that Lily deserves James. The way that she has always treated him, especially when he is trying to do things for her. She doesn't show gratitude very well. I think that she is as arrogant as James even" Sirius finished.
"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!!!" Jen exploded at him. "DOESN'T DESERVE HIM. FINE, I WON'T DO ANYTHING EITHER"
"You're out of line, both of you" Remus said sharply. "First of all, Lily never wanted the attention that James gave her. I told him the whole time that he needed to not give her so much attention, but obviously he thought that he was going about the right way of winning her heart. He is still in deep."
"Is that why he is so quiet now? Because he thinks that he can win her love that way? By ignoring her?" Emily asked quietly.
"Not all of it has to do with Lily", Sirius said softly. "There were other things at work this summer. James has grown up a bit".
Remus and Sirius gave each other significant looks. Jen and Emily looked on confused.
"What happened?" Emily asked, sounding worried.
"I don't want to tell anyone. James is my best friend. When he wants people to know, he'll tell them" Remus replied.
"Alright then. Well, so we've decided that it will be best to leave them alone, right?" Emily asked.
"I think that we should give them little nods and pushes. Not saying that we should set them up or anything, but just nudge them along a little bit." Jen said.
"That doesn't sound too bad" Sirius agreed.
"Alright, as long as it doesn't get out of hand. We can't mess with their feelings. And we shouldn't interfere with fate" Remus said.
"Okay, well we should get back" Emily said.
They returned to the Common Room to see that James and Lily had gone to bed. They gave each other looks and collected their things to retire to their beds. Act 1, was ready to begin. ************************************************************************ "Hey Prongs. Have you ever thought about, er, asking Lily on a date or something? You two could just go with us. I mean, we all have girls, even Peter. Hey, how is Jess doing?" Sirius finished his question by turning to Peter. Peter was dating a cute girl named Jess who was in Ravenclaw.
"She's doing well. Yeah James, you should ask her. We are all going to Hogsmeade together. We want you and Lily to join us too" Peter suggested. Remus and Sirius brought him up to date on their "plan".
James sighed deeply. "I'm not ready to face her and ask her out. She is so much better than me, she deserves someone special, somebody made for her. She deserves nothing more than to be cared for and someone who loves her. Even though I do feel deeply for her, there is somebody else out there, who is better" He said bitterly to his closest friends.
"How do you know that there is? I hardly think that anyone has those same feelings for her." Remus said.
"I didn't realize that you could be so romantic Prongs" Sirius batted his eyes at James.
"You know Prongs, I don't think that she would be able to resist someone like you. All you need to do is to say those things to her that you just told us. But, say them with more confidence" Peter said.
"Thanks Wormtail that is pretty insightful." James smiled at Peter.
"How about you just start talking to her? Like just small talk, and be kind, and not short with her." Remus suggested. "You can save that speech for later, but right now I think that you need to work on being friends with her first".
"Okay. Tell me what I need to do Moony." James said to Remus.
"No we aren't going to tell you what to say. You need to say it from yourself. Now, if you asked for suggestions on what you-" Sirius said.
"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot- Do you have any suggestions on how I may approach Miss Evans?"
"But of course Mr. Potter" Sirius said.
They all grinned at each other maniacally. This was going to be fun.
Jen and Emily walked up the stairs, each with their own mixed thoughts.
They walked into the sixth year dorms and saw Lily staring at herself in the mirror, pondering gently about something that seemed quite serious.
"ily", Emily said with ease as she entered the room, "How are you doing?"
Lily turned around to face her two friends, her brow furrowed, as she was broken from her concentration.
"Do you think that I am pretty?" she asked her friends apprehensively.
Emily and Jen looked at each other worriedly. That wasn't something that Lily had never asked them before. Lily was always confident and never needed to hear that she was beautiful, or smart, or nice or whatever it was. She was always sure of herself. She knew it as well as her two closest friends. She was sure that she was pretty, smart, fun, nice, ...obnoxious at times.
"Obnoxious?" Lily thought. "Why is that in my brain?"
"Well you see my dear, even if Potter asked you out nicely, you would always say no. Needless to say, I think that you yourself are a jerk. You never even gave him a chance to prove himself to you" The other side of her conscience argued.
"He shouldn't have to prove himself to me. Nobody does." Lily argued back in her head
"Yeah, well remember that you didn't trust your two best friends at first. You made sure that they could be trusted. They proved themselves to you in the ways that you wanted them to. You do that with everyone here. In a way, you are like that muggle sister of yours. You don't trust people until they prove themselves to you the way that you want, not what they want but what you want. You get out of them what you want, not what they want. In a way, I guess that you are more arrogant than Potter, always doing the best for you not others" the other half of her smugly replied.
Lily stood shaking her head, frustrated at this scene playing out in her head.
"Lily? Lils? Are you alright?" Emily asked.
Emily and Jen had stood watching concerned. She seemed to be having an internal battle.
"What? OH yes, I guess that I'm all right" she said.
"Yeah, right Lily. What's up? Why did you ask that question? You never ask anyone those things, let alone us." Jen asked. Her arms were crossed over her chest, with her foot tapping the ground. She wanted an answer.
"Just forget it okay. It was a dumb question. I don't even know why I asked it." She ended her reply with a sigh.
"Lily, I'm worried. Has somebody told you something? Has someone done something to you? We want to know. You never ask those questions. Are you all right? Emotionally?" Emily prompted gently.
Jen snorted. Emily sounded like a psychiatrist for little kids.
Lily sighed.
"I just want to know if I am at all attractive. Guys never ask me out. Even though I say that I don't need guys, I really, it makes me feel good even if they do ask me out, to know that they find me attractive in some way" She finished, confd at her outburst of emotion.
Jen said "Wow Lily, the emotion that we usually see you with is anger or happiness. Never...."
"...With problems of confidence" Emily finished.
Lily sighed once more.
"Hey I know someone who might ask you out," Jen told her enthusiastically.
"If you're talking about Potter..."Lily interrupted loudly.
"What's wrong with James? He has always liked you. Why would he all of a sudden stop liking you?" Emily reasoned.
"He hasn't talked to me at all this term. Why would he want to change? I've always been a jerk towards him" Lily argued.
"That is true Lils, but still..." Emily trailed off, lost for words.
"Listen, if he asked you out, would you give him a chance?" Jen asked, "I'm not saying that he will, but if he does...."
"Why should I give him a chance?" Lily countered, her snappy manner usually associated with Potter coming out strong.
"Because, if he decides to ask you out, then it shows that he is giving you another ance Lily. Maybe you should get over the things that he did to impress you. I know that you see it as well as me. James has changed. I don't know what happened, and frankly, I don't think that matters at all. I think that you should give him a chance. Everyone deserves it. Even James" Emily countered strongly.
There was a fire in her eyes, but she looked at Lily with a mix of love and fire. She wanted the best for her good friend, but Lily could be completely arrogant sometimes.
"I agree with Emily. Sometimes you can be just as arrogant as Potter, Lily. I love you so much, but the fact remains that you need to learn how to forgive and forget" Jen said.
Lily thought long and hard about what her two friends said as she prepared for bed. They were right, of course, they always seem to do that.
After everyone climbed into bed, there was a silence as all three of them thought of their conversation. Lily broke the silence,
"I love you Emily, I love you Jen. Goodnight. AND, thank you"
Emily and Jen smiled as they heard Lily, and echoed I love you's and Goodnights to each other before they trailed off to sleep.
Chapter 2- Messing with Love and Fate
The weekend had come up quickly. The month had passed rapidly James was relieved that he no longer had to attend the torture of Divination. He had done miserably on his OWL. He had Quidditch practices up to his neck with the prospect of the new season coming.
Lily had been busy with her classes and Prefect duties, clearly annoyed by something in the common room. "He hasn't talked to me for a whole month, not that I am jealous or anything, but..." Her thought trailed away as she looked around the comfortable common room that she had loved for so many years. She was definitely going to miss this place. She sighed with the prospect of leaving the protective and comfortable walls of Hogwarts. This was her home, not Surrey. She was completely convinced of it.
Lily was feeling a bit lonely the past two weeks. Sirius and Jen had a romantic relationship. And Remus and Emily were together still. She smiled at this last pair. Sitting by each other in the Common Room, working on homework with each other, smiling once in a while, helping each other. She sighed. She knew that Jen and Sirius would get together- they were the two most attractive people at Hogwarts. Remus and Emily were a surprise. It was sweet, but definitely surprise nonetheless.
Sirius and Jen looked over at Emily and Remus. They made eye contact with each other and they all slipped out of the Common Room while Lily was distracted. Lily didn't even see or hear them leave. ************************************************************************ They all sat around in the empty Charms room, wondering what they should do.
Remus spoke first "I don't think that we should do anything"
"Why not? It's obvious that Lily stores some feelings for James. Did you see the way that she was staring at him" Jen countered.
"You know what Lily says Jen. She basically loathes James." Emily reminded Jen.
"You know, I don't think that it is right. I don't think that Lily deserves James. The way that she has always treated him, especially when he is trying to do things for her. She doesn't show gratitude very well. I think that she is as arrogant as James even" Sirius finished.
"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!!!" Jen exploded at him. "DOESN'T DESERVE HIM. FINE, I WON'T DO ANYTHING EITHER"
"You're out of line, both of you" Remus said sharply. "First of all, Lily never wanted the attention that James gave her. I told him the whole time that he needed to not give her so much attention, but obviously he thought that he was going about the right way of winning her heart. He is still in deep."
"Is that why he is so quiet now? Because he thinks that he can win her love that way? By ignoring her?" Emily asked quietly.
"Not all of it has to do with Lily", Sirius said softly. "There were other things at work this summer. James has grown up a bit".
Remus and Sirius gave each other significant looks. Jen and Emily looked on confused.
"What happened?" Emily asked, sounding worried.
"I don't want to tell anyone. James is my best friend. When he wants people to know, he'll tell them" Remus replied.
"Alright then. Well, so we've decided that it will be best to leave them alone, right?" Emily asked.
"I think that we should give them little nods and pushes. Not saying that we should set them up or anything, but just nudge them along a little bit." Jen said.
"That doesn't sound too bad" Sirius agreed.
"Alright, as long as it doesn't get out of hand. We can't mess with their feelings. And we shouldn't interfere with fate" Remus said.
"Okay, well we should get back" Emily said.
They returned to the Common Room to see that James and Lily had gone to bed. They gave each other looks and collected their things to retire to their beds. Act 1, was ready to begin. ************************************************************************ "Hey Prongs. Have you ever thought about, er, asking Lily on a date or something? You two could just go with us. I mean, we all have girls, even Peter. Hey, how is Jess doing?" Sirius finished his question by turning to Peter. Peter was dating a cute girl named Jess who was in Ravenclaw.
"She's doing well. Yeah James, you should ask her. We are all going to Hogsmeade together. We want you and Lily to join us too" Peter suggested. Remus and Sirius brought him up to date on their "plan".
James sighed deeply. "I'm not ready to face her and ask her out. She is so much better than me, she deserves someone special, somebody made for her. She deserves nothing more than to be cared for and someone who loves her. Even though I do feel deeply for her, there is somebody else out there, who is better" He said bitterly to his closest friends.
"How do you know that there is? I hardly think that anyone has those same feelings for her." Remus said.
"I didn't realize that you could be so romantic Prongs" Sirius batted his eyes at James.
"You know Prongs, I don't think that she would be able to resist someone like you. All you need to do is to say those things to her that you just told us. But, say them with more confidence" Peter said.
"Thanks Wormtail that is pretty insightful." James smiled at Peter.
"How about you just start talking to her? Like just small talk, and be kind, and not short with her." Remus suggested. "You can save that speech for later, but right now I think that you need to work on being friends with her first".
"Okay. Tell me what I need to do Moony." James said to Remus.
"No we aren't going to tell you what to say. You need to say it from yourself. Now, if you asked for suggestions on what you-" Sirius said.
"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot- Do you have any suggestions on how I may approach Miss Evans?"
"But of course Mr. Potter" Sirius said.
They all grinned at each other maniacally. This was going to be fun.
Jen and Emily walked up the stairs, each with their own mixed thoughts.
They walked into the sixth year dorms and saw Lily staring at herself in the mirror, pondering gently about something that seemed quite serious.
"ily", Emily said with ease as she entered the room, "How are you doing?"
Lily turned around to face her two friends, her brow furrowed, as she was broken from her concentration.
"Do you think that I am pretty?" she asked her friends apprehensively.
Emily and Jen looked at each other worriedly. That wasn't something that Lily had never asked them before. Lily was always confident and never needed to hear that she was beautiful, or smart, or nice or whatever it was. She was always sure of herself. She knew it as well as her two closest friends. She was sure that she was pretty, smart, fun, nice, ...obnoxious at times.
"Obnoxious?" Lily thought. "Why is that in my brain?"
"Well you see my dear, even if Potter asked you out nicely, you would always say no. Needless to say, I think that you yourself are a jerk. You never even gave him a chance to prove himself to you" The other side of her conscience argued.
"He shouldn't have to prove himself to me. Nobody does." Lily argued back in her head
"Yeah, well remember that you didn't trust your two best friends at first. You made sure that they could be trusted. They proved themselves to you in the ways that you wanted them to. You do that with everyone here. In a way, you are like that muggle sister of yours. You don't trust people until they prove themselves to you the way that you want, not what they want but what you want. You get out of them what you want, not what they want. In a way, I guess that you are more arrogant than Potter, always doing the best for you not others" the other half of her smugly replied.
Lily stood shaking her head, frustrated at this scene playing out in her head.
"Lily? Lils? Are you alright?" Emily asked.
Emily and Jen had stood watching concerned. She seemed to be having an internal battle.
"What? OH yes, I guess that I'm all right" she said.
"Yeah, right Lily. What's up? Why did you ask that question? You never ask anyone those things, let alone us." Jen asked. Her arms were crossed over her chest, with her foot tapping the ground. She wanted an answer.
"Just forget it okay. It was a dumb question. I don't even know why I asked it." She ended her reply with a sigh.
"Lily, I'm worried. Has somebody told you something? Has someone done something to you? We want to know. You never ask those questions. Are you all right? Emotionally?" Emily prompted gently.
Jen snorted. Emily sounded like a psychiatrist for little kids.
Lily sighed.
"I just want to know if I am at all attractive. Guys never ask me out. Even though I say that I don't need guys, I really, it makes me feel good even if they do ask me out, to know that they find me attractive in some way" She finished, confd at her outburst of emotion.
Jen said "Wow Lily, the emotion that we usually see you with is anger or happiness. Never...."
"...With problems of confidence" Emily finished.
Lily sighed once more.
"Hey I know someone who might ask you out," Jen told her enthusiastically.
"If you're talking about Potter..."Lily interrupted loudly.
"What's wrong with James? He has always liked you. Why would he all of a sudden stop liking you?" Emily reasoned.
"He hasn't talked to me at all this term. Why would he want to change? I've always been a jerk towards him" Lily argued.
"That is true Lils, but still..." Emily trailed off, lost for words.
"Listen, if he asked you out, would you give him a chance?" Jen asked, "I'm not saying that he will, but if he does...."
"Why should I give him a chance?" Lily countered, her snappy manner usually associated with Potter coming out strong.
"Because, if he decides to ask you out, then it shows that he is giving you another ance Lily. Maybe you should get over the things that he did to impress you. I know that you see it as well as me. James has changed. I don't know what happened, and frankly, I don't think that matters at all. I think that you should give him a chance. Everyone deserves it. Even James" Emily countered strongly.
There was a fire in her eyes, but she looked at Lily with a mix of love and fire. She wanted the best for her good friend, but Lily could be completely arrogant sometimes.
"I agree with Emily. Sometimes you can be just as arrogant as Potter, Lily. I love you so much, but the fact remains that you need to learn how to forgive and forget" Jen said.
Lily thought long and hard about what her two friends said as she prepared for bed. They were right, of course, they always seem to do that.
After everyone climbed into bed, there was a silence as all three of them thought of their conversation. Lily broke the silence,
"I love you Emily, I love you Jen. Goodnight. AND, thank you"
Emily and Jen smiled as they heard Lily, and echoed I love you's and Goodnights to each other before they trailed off to sleep.