Disclaimer: everything belongs to JK Rowling, not me...sadly...
A/N: wow!! First of all, you're all so sweet! Thankyou so much for the reviews, I'll never get used to the amount of people who read this fic! You know, I started writing this purely out of impulse. I never intended it to be so long! I also want to say, I never got this many reviews for any of my other fics, so if you're in that situation where you're not getting much response for a fic, just remember, it doesn't reflect your writing, it just means you're not advertising well. Try changing your summary, or take the fic off and then put it back up after a little editing.
Ok, some points I need to address:
Firstly, sorry I'm so slow, I know I suck! But I think this is pretty fast for me, considering what I'm usually like! Oh, and I write short chapters because I like reading short chapters. So deal...at least they're less crap if they're short...I think...hmm...
Oh, and a couple of people said that maybe I should get Sirius and Remus with one of Lily's friends...well, did anyone notice the slight Sirius/Sarah hinting? I don't want to go to in depth, because I really want to focus on lily/James, but hey! Let your imaginations run wild. Any suggestions for who Remus should get with?
Raine is Crazy: yeah, I knew you'd like this chapter- seemed your thing- not that I know you much...anyway, thanx for the lovely LONG review.
Hyper Penguin: yeah, I like Indian movies- love them in fact. A warning- don't watch 'Hawas'. It's awful. And 'Muskaan' isn't bad. And I love Shah Rukh Khan as well. 'Main Hoon Naa' hasn't come out here yet...sad
GriffindorGoddes28: yeah, I guess it wouldn't be fun to get it done professionally. And that shirt sounds cool! And I thought of doing the whole 'James fans' thing, but it's a bit overdone anyway (read The Boy Who Loved Lily and Get Mine Get Yours). So, kewl idea though. I guess I could try it with a little more flair or something. I'll think about it.
Oh and people I was kinda disappointed at the short reviews. I love long reviews; if you like something, tell me what. If you don't like something, tell me why. Come on, open up a little, and give some nice long reviews. It isn't two sentences if the two sentences are only two words long!
Continuing- people wanted more fluff...so here's more fluff:
Chapter Twelve
Once upon a Saturday night...
"I think I should do something for Lily," James announced to Sirius on Friday night, as they sat playing chess in the common room.
"Then do it," Sirius said, not even looking up from the chessboard. He squinted, and then pointed his rook in the direction of James' Queen.
"I will," James said. "As soon as I figure out what to do- I mean our first and last attempt at a date ended in disaster."
"Yeah, that was bad...why don't you ask her friends?" Sirius suggested. It was clear he just wasn't interested.
"Hmm...I guess I will. Dunno how helpful they'll be. They don't seem to trust me for some reason," James said, watching glumly as his knight was bashed severely over the head by Sirius' bishop.
The problem was, James thought later, that he just didn't know Lily well enough. He needed to know her likes and dislikes, her wants and needs...so far he knew she liked the colour green and didn't like one James Potter. Until last night...he smiled, thinking of their kiss again. Ahh...he had to see her again.
He was lying on his bed in the dorm. The renovations were almost done, there was only a week or two left now. In four weeks they would have their Christmas holidays. James was already dreading two weeks without Lily. It was crazy- he had turned from the Guy who Hated lily to the Guy who Adored the Ground Lily Walked On in a matter of weeks.
Life is strange, he mused, just as the door banged open. Grace sauntered in, dressed in all black, her brown hair tied up in a high ponytail.
"Hey, Grace," he said suddenly, sitting up as she walked towards her side of the dorm. She stopped and turned to face him, cocking her head up questioningly.
Girl of few words, Grace was.
"Uh, I was wondering if you could help me out a little," James began. "You see, I want to do something special for Lily, but I kinda don't know...what to do...so...."
"Stars," Grace said shortly. Then she turned and marched into her side of the dorm.
"Wha-?" James leapt off his bed and followed her, calmly breaking one of the rules laid down by the girls. "What do you mean, stars?"
"Lily loves stars," Grace said, flopping onto her bed. She looked up at him, flicking a lock of hair out of her eyes. "She always has.'
"Stars..." James said. "Hmm..."
"James?" came a voice from the curtain. "What are you doing in here?"
"I live here," he said dazedly. Then- "Oh, Lily! Hey...uh, what's up?"
"You tell me," she said, raising an eyebrow. Then she noticed the way he was looking at her and the events of last night flashed back to her. She quickly turned away and flushed red.
James grinned and walked back out, drawing the curtain behind him.
He had an idea.
Lisa was walking up to the Griffindor Tower on Saturday afternoon when Remus fell into step beside her.
"Hey," she greeted him, with a smile.
"Hey," he grinned back. He pushed his hands into his pockets and continued on next to her.
She raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. There was nothing wrong with him walking with her. It was just a little strange...Lisa didn't really talk much with boys- they made her nervous.
"So, how's your day been so far?" Remus asked.
"Good- yours?" Lisa replied. "I saw you out on the Quidditch pitch. The seasons about to start, hey?"
"Yeah," Remus rolled his eyes. "James and Sirius are practicing like mad already."
"Isn't Andrew Clark captain this year?" Lisa asked.
"Yep. He's about as strict as Frank was last year!" Remus sighed. "Poor James and Sirius, hey?"
They rounded the corner and the Fat Lady came into sight.
"Are you going up to the dormitory?" Remus asked suddenly.
"Yeah...why?" Lisa said, cocking her head up.
"Could you give this to Lily? Only don't tell her it's from me," Remus whispered, pushing something into her hand. "Thanks."
With that, he turned and disappeared down the corridor.
"But...?" Lisa said, trailing off. "Whatever."
She turned and muttered the password, clambering through the portrait hole.
As she walked up the stairs, she glanced down at her hand to see just what Remus had given her. It was a perfect white rose (a/n: I got sick of the lily for Lily idea...). One of the petals was furled, and as much as Lisa wanted to open it and see what was inside, she left it as it was and advanced up the stairs to the dormitories before her curiosity got the better of her.
Lily was sitting by the window, gazing outside glumly when Lisa entered.
"Hi," she said, dumping her bag onto her trunk and sitting down across from her friend. "What's wrong?"
Lily smiled and shook her head.
"Nothing worth talking about," she said. "Just the usual."
"James Potter?" Lisa suggested wisely.
"Got it in one," Lily grimaced. "What's that?" she tilted her head at the rose. "Have you got an admirer?"
"Nah," Lisa grinned. "Actually, it's for you. Btu I'm not allowed to tell you who from."
Lily frowned. She reached for the rose and sniffed it experimentally.
"Strange," she muttered. "Very strange." She touched the petals gently and noticed the rolled up one. With a puzzled glance at Lisa, she slowly pulled it back to reveal three words.
'Follow the roses'.
"Follow the roses?" Lily said, raising an eyebrow. "Ok then." She placed the rose onto her dressing table and got up.
"Well, that's strange,' Lisa remarked, fairly unconcernedly. "Do you want to go down for dinner?"
As Lily was walking down to the Great Hall, she found another rose, this time laying next to a portrait of Marie the Mad.
As soon as she picked it up, a small furl of smoke rose up from the centre, forming the words-
'Your eyes are the brightest stars in my life'
"Ok...this is freaky," she said, pocketing the rose. The smoke disappeared immediately, leaving a faint fragrance in the air.
It was on the way back from dinner that the third rose was found.
This time, the message was carved into the stem. It read-
'The astronomy tower tonight.' That was all.
Lily frowned, but stuffed the rose in with the other one and marched back to the common room.
"How weird," Andrea said, sucking on a lollipop. "Are you going to go?"
"No!" Lily scoffed. "Who knows what sort of psycho this guy could be!"
"Oh come on, as if it isn't Potter," Grace said, rolling her eyes.
"Yes, well, that's even worse isn't it?" lily said. "He's already proved himself to be a moron."
"You don't mean that," Sarah grinned. "You know you love him."
"Whatever," Lily muttered. "The bottom line is, I'm not going."
However, that night, Lily found she just couldn't sleep. She kept glancing over at the three roses in a line on her dresser. They were tugging at her curiosity, and playing with her dreams. For some reason she just couldn't ignore them. Finally, she got up and pulled on her dressing gown. She crept out of the dorm, not even glancing over at the boys, and down into the common room.
The corridors of Hogwarts were eerie in the night and Lily slunk along in the shadows, conscious of the fact that Filch prowled the corridors regularly each night.
'Does that guy ever sleep?' she thought crossly.
She finally reached the stairs leading up to the astronomy tower. She glanced up at the moonlight filtering in through a high window to light up the first few steps.
She breathed in deeply. More than likely it was James, but then again, it could be anyone.
She tiptoed up the stairs, gripping the railing and breathing shallowly.
The astronomy tower was open, with no roof and only a few wooden tables in the middle for note taking on. (A/n: I'm not sure if that's how it is in the books, but that's how I envision it...so...Meh.)
Once there, Lily's natural love of the night sky prevailed and she forgot all her previous inhibitions. Her breath came out in misty puffs, and she leant against the low stonewall that served as the only barrier from the night.
The stars were like Lily's friends. It was as if they had seen everything she had ever been through, and that made them close to her. She sighed gently as she gazed up.
"Oh," she said suddenly. She leant forward.
In a sudden movement, a whole patch of stars directly above her had swarmed and then re arranged themselves.
They spelt out three words.
"I love you"
Lily's face immediately split into a smile. At the same time, tears filled her eyes. It was really the first time anyone had said those words to her. Well, Potter had, but it just wasn't believable from Potter.
The stars floated around again and formed flowers, hearts and, ironically, stars.
She felt movement beside her, and turned to see James leaning against the wall next to her.
"Cool, huh?" he said, grinning.
"It's beautiful," she said, looking at him. Her heart was suddenly of full of emotion, she just had to express it. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him swiftly.
He looked at her bemused. He certainly hadn't expected that.
"That's for making me feel the most loved I have in years," she said, the tears threatening to fall. She kissed him again, longer this time. "And that's your reply."
"So you love me too?" he asked hopefully.
For a moment she looked confused.
"I-I don't know," she said, frowning. "I...never thought about it. I like you a lot- does that count?"
James considered it for a second. Somehow, he wasn't sure if it was enough. Maybe for now, he conceded. Besides, right then, he just wanted to kiss her again.
"For now," he told her. Bending his head, he kissed her soundly. "For now."
A/N: well, was this good? Reassure me, coz I'm not sure if I like it...don't worry, this isn't the end just yet. We still need to wrap up some loose ends. I never intended for this to go past 15 chapters though. So, ten more reviews, just to let me now if you like it? Can we try for maybe three sentences? As a step further? Kewl, I knew I could count on you!
Hug all around. Jaizar
A/N: wow!! First of all, you're all so sweet! Thankyou so much for the reviews, I'll never get used to the amount of people who read this fic! You know, I started writing this purely out of impulse. I never intended it to be so long! I also want to say, I never got this many reviews for any of my other fics, so if you're in that situation where you're not getting much response for a fic, just remember, it doesn't reflect your writing, it just means you're not advertising well. Try changing your summary, or take the fic off and then put it back up after a little editing.
Ok, some points I need to address:
Firstly, sorry I'm so slow, I know I suck! But I think this is pretty fast for me, considering what I'm usually like! Oh, and I write short chapters because I like reading short chapters. So deal...at least they're less crap if they're short...I think...hmm...
Oh, and a couple of people said that maybe I should get Sirius and Remus with one of Lily's friends...well, did anyone notice the slight Sirius/Sarah hinting? I don't want to go to in depth, because I really want to focus on lily/James, but hey! Let your imaginations run wild. Any suggestions for who Remus should get with?
Raine is Crazy: yeah, I knew you'd like this chapter- seemed your thing- not that I know you much...anyway, thanx for the lovely LONG review.
Hyper Penguin: yeah, I like Indian movies- love them in fact. A warning- don't watch 'Hawas'. It's awful. And 'Muskaan' isn't bad. And I love Shah Rukh Khan as well. 'Main Hoon Naa' hasn't come out here yet...sad
GriffindorGoddes28: yeah, I guess it wouldn't be fun to get it done professionally. And that shirt sounds cool! And I thought of doing the whole 'James fans' thing, but it's a bit overdone anyway (read The Boy Who Loved Lily and Get Mine Get Yours). So, kewl idea though. I guess I could try it with a little more flair or something. I'll think about it.
Oh and people I was kinda disappointed at the short reviews. I love long reviews; if you like something, tell me what. If you don't like something, tell me why. Come on, open up a little, and give some nice long reviews. It isn't two sentences if the two sentences are only two words long!
Continuing- people wanted more fluff...so here's more fluff:
Chapter Twelve
Once upon a Saturday night...
"I think I should do something for Lily," James announced to Sirius on Friday night, as they sat playing chess in the common room.
"Then do it," Sirius said, not even looking up from the chessboard. He squinted, and then pointed his rook in the direction of James' Queen.
"I will," James said. "As soon as I figure out what to do- I mean our first and last attempt at a date ended in disaster."
"Yeah, that was bad...why don't you ask her friends?" Sirius suggested. It was clear he just wasn't interested.
"Hmm...I guess I will. Dunno how helpful they'll be. They don't seem to trust me for some reason," James said, watching glumly as his knight was bashed severely over the head by Sirius' bishop.
The problem was, James thought later, that he just didn't know Lily well enough. He needed to know her likes and dislikes, her wants and needs...so far he knew she liked the colour green and didn't like one James Potter. Until last night...he smiled, thinking of their kiss again. Ahh...he had to see her again.
He was lying on his bed in the dorm. The renovations were almost done, there was only a week or two left now. In four weeks they would have their Christmas holidays. James was already dreading two weeks without Lily. It was crazy- he had turned from the Guy who Hated lily to the Guy who Adored the Ground Lily Walked On in a matter of weeks.
Life is strange, he mused, just as the door banged open. Grace sauntered in, dressed in all black, her brown hair tied up in a high ponytail.
"Hey, Grace," he said suddenly, sitting up as she walked towards her side of the dorm. She stopped and turned to face him, cocking her head up questioningly.
Girl of few words, Grace was.
"Uh, I was wondering if you could help me out a little," James began. "You see, I want to do something special for Lily, but I kinda don't know...what to do...so...."
"Stars," Grace said shortly. Then she turned and marched into her side of the dorm.
"Wha-?" James leapt off his bed and followed her, calmly breaking one of the rules laid down by the girls. "What do you mean, stars?"
"Lily loves stars," Grace said, flopping onto her bed. She looked up at him, flicking a lock of hair out of her eyes. "She always has.'
"Stars..." James said. "Hmm..."
"James?" came a voice from the curtain. "What are you doing in here?"
"I live here," he said dazedly. Then- "Oh, Lily! Hey...uh, what's up?"
"You tell me," she said, raising an eyebrow. Then she noticed the way he was looking at her and the events of last night flashed back to her. She quickly turned away and flushed red.
James grinned and walked back out, drawing the curtain behind him.
He had an idea.
Lisa was walking up to the Griffindor Tower on Saturday afternoon when Remus fell into step beside her.
"Hey," she greeted him, with a smile.
"Hey," he grinned back. He pushed his hands into his pockets and continued on next to her.
She raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. There was nothing wrong with him walking with her. It was just a little strange...Lisa didn't really talk much with boys- they made her nervous.
"So, how's your day been so far?" Remus asked.
"Good- yours?" Lisa replied. "I saw you out on the Quidditch pitch. The seasons about to start, hey?"
"Yeah," Remus rolled his eyes. "James and Sirius are practicing like mad already."
"Isn't Andrew Clark captain this year?" Lisa asked.
"Yep. He's about as strict as Frank was last year!" Remus sighed. "Poor James and Sirius, hey?"
They rounded the corner and the Fat Lady came into sight.
"Are you going up to the dormitory?" Remus asked suddenly.
"Yeah...why?" Lisa said, cocking her head up.
"Could you give this to Lily? Only don't tell her it's from me," Remus whispered, pushing something into her hand. "Thanks."
With that, he turned and disappeared down the corridor.
"But...?" Lisa said, trailing off. "Whatever."
She turned and muttered the password, clambering through the portrait hole.
As she walked up the stairs, she glanced down at her hand to see just what Remus had given her. It was a perfect white rose (a/n: I got sick of the lily for Lily idea...). One of the petals was furled, and as much as Lisa wanted to open it and see what was inside, she left it as it was and advanced up the stairs to the dormitories before her curiosity got the better of her.
Lily was sitting by the window, gazing outside glumly when Lisa entered.
"Hi," she said, dumping her bag onto her trunk and sitting down across from her friend. "What's wrong?"
Lily smiled and shook her head.
"Nothing worth talking about," she said. "Just the usual."
"James Potter?" Lisa suggested wisely.
"Got it in one," Lily grimaced. "What's that?" she tilted her head at the rose. "Have you got an admirer?"
"Nah," Lisa grinned. "Actually, it's for you. Btu I'm not allowed to tell you who from."
Lily frowned. She reached for the rose and sniffed it experimentally.
"Strange," she muttered. "Very strange." She touched the petals gently and noticed the rolled up one. With a puzzled glance at Lisa, she slowly pulled it back to reveal three words.
'Follow the roses'.
"Follow the roses?" Lily said, raising an eyebrow. "Ok then." She placed the rose onto her dressing table and got up.
"Well, that's strange,' Lisa remarked, fairly unconcernedly. "Do you want to go down for dinner?"
As Lily was walking down to the Great Hall, she found another rose, this time laying next to a portrait of Marie the Mad.
As soon as she picked it up, a small furl of smoke rose up from the centre, forming the words-
'Your eyes are the brightest stars in my life'
"Ok...this is freaky," she said, pocketing the rose. The smoke disappeared immediately, leaving a faint fragrance in the air.
It was on the way back from dinner that the third rose was found.
This time, the message was carved into the stem. It read-
'The astronomy tower tonight.' That was all.
Lily frowned, but stuffed the rose in with the other one and marched back to the common room.
"How weird," Andrea said, sucking on a lollipop. "Are you going to go?"
"No!" Lily scoffed. "Who knows what sort of psycho this guy could be!"
"Oh come on, as if it isn't Potter," Grace said, rolling her eyes.
"Yes, well, that's even worse isn't it?" lily said. "He's already proved himself to be a moron."
"You don't mean that," Sarah grinned. "You know you love him."
"Whatever," Lily muttered. "The bottom line is, I'm not going."
However, that night, Lily found she just couldn't sleep. She kept glancing over at the three roses in a line on her dresser. They were tugging at her curiosity, and playing with her dreams. For some reason she just couldn't ignore them. Finally, she got up and pulled on her dressing gown. She crept out of the dorm, not even glancing over at the boys, and down into the common room.
The corridors of Hogwarts were eerie in the night and Lily slunk along in the shadows, conscious of the fact that Filch prowled the corridors regularly each night.
'Does that guy ever sleep?' she thought crossly.
She finally reached the stairs leading up to the astronomy tower. She glanced up at the moonlight filtering in through a high window to light up the first few steps.
She breathed in deeply. More than likely it was James, but then again, it could be anyone.
She tiptoed up the stairs, gripping the railing and breathing shallowly.
The astronomy tower was open, with no roof and only a few wooden tables in the middle for note taking on. (A/n: I'm not sure if that's how it is in the books, but that's how I envision it...so...Meh.)
Once there, Lily's natural love of the night sky prevailed and she forgot all her previous inhibitions. Her breath came out in misty puffs, and she leant against the low stonewall that served as the only barrier from the night.
The stars were like Lily's friends. It was as if they had seen everything she had ever been through, and that made them close to her. She sighed gently as she gazed up.
"Oh," she said suddenly. She leant forward.
In a sudden movement, a whole patch of stars directly above her had swarmed and then re arranged themselves.
They spelt out three words.
"I love you"
Lily's face immediately split into a smile. At the same time, tears filled her eyes. It was really the first time anyone had said those words to her. Well, Potter had, but it just wasn't believable from Potter.
The stars floated around again and formed flowers, hearts and, ironically, stars.
She felt movement beside her, and turned to see James leaning against the wall next to her.
"Cool, huh?" he said, grinning.
"It's beautiful," she said, looking at him. Her heart was suddenly of full of emotion, she just had to express it. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him swiftly.
He looked at her bemused. He certainly hadn't expected that.
"That's for making me feel the most loved I have in years," she said, the tears threatening to fall. She kissed him again, longer this time. "And that's your reply."
"So you love me too?" he asked hopefully.
For a moment she looked confused.
"I-I don't know," she said, frowning. "I...never thought about it. I like you a lot- does that count?"
James considered it for a second. Somehow, he wasn't sure if it was enough. Maybe for now, he conceded. Besides, right then, he just wanted to kiss her again.
"For now," he told her. Bending his head, he kissed her soundly. "For now."
A/N: well, was this good? Reassure me, coz I'm not sure if I like it...don't worry, this isn't the end just yet. We still need to wrap up some loose ends. I never intended for this to go past 15 chapters though. So, ten more reviews, just to let me now if you like it? Can we try for maybe three sentences? As a step further? Kewl, I knew I could count on you!
Hug all around. Jaizar