Unforgivable Love
Chapter 2: Annual Rejection
A/N: First of all, I would like to apologize to my readers (if I even have any yet...) for taking so long to update. You'll see within the first two paragraphs why it took so long: I decided to go in a different direction. From now on, every other chapter will be Lily and James. I'm living on a three-week trip to Europe tomorrow, so there will probably not be any updates for a couple of weeks. However, I do plan on writing a lot on the plane (it's a 17-hour flight from the west coast to England! It's insane! And then I have the plane ride to Venice...) Anyway, I'll probably be nearly finished with Unforgivable Love by the time I get back, so updates will be pretty regular after I return. Anyway, here we go...
Students weren't expected to arrive at Platform 9 ¾ for about another ten minutes, but Lily Evans always made a point to avoid being late to anything. So, characteristically, she had been waiting just outside the barrier, along with a handful of other students, generally the same ones as during the previous several years. Minutes later, much to Lily's chagrin, a group of four familiar boys strode- actually, Lily thought to herself, 'strutted' better describe it- towards her, two of whom were grinning mischievously.
Great, Lily thought, Just great. She made an attempt to squeeze through the barrier to avoid the teens that were rapidly approaching, knowing even before she started that the attempt would be futile. The barrier wouldn't open for another four minutes, leaving her stranded to her own means as far as the unwanted additional company was concerned.
James briefly scanned the area surrounding the barrier leading to Platform 9 ¾, eyes landing on the familiar red haired girl that he had been trying to make his girlfriend since he had first laid eyes on her on their very first trip on the Hogwarts Express. Nodding to his friends, who simply rolled their eyes, James sauntered over to Lily, running his hand through his hair, serving only to further dishevel the already messy hair as he exhaled deeply. He leaned against the barrier casually, gaze captivated by the seventeen year old girl in front of him. "Would you go out with me Lily?" he asked, receiving an angry glare in reply. "Come on, Lily!" he cried, pouting a little.
"Can't you act just a little bit more mature?" Lily asked exasperatedly, "It won't kill you!"
"Oh, Lily darling, you wound me!" he cried dramatically, clutching his heart. Suddenly the well known playboy came over to the two, throwing one arm around James' shoulders.
"So, rejected by Lily yet again, Prongsie?" The cocky smile of Sirius Black charmed many of the girls at Hogwarts, but it didn't affect Lily in the least when it appeared upon his face at that moment.
James still looked grim. Lily knew that James would get over it eventually, though, he did every year. For some reason James always seemed to be bothered the most when she rejected him at the beginning of the year, even more so this year than any previous, then whenever she had the same answer to the same question the many, many times he asked during the year. As if somehow she had miraculously changed her mind about him and would allow him to sweep him off of her feet instead of simply trying to avoid him. "Yeah," he started to answer, before the barrier he was leaning upon suddenly opened, and he toppled inside, Sirius collapsing on him seconds later.
Remus was laughing when he appeared through the barrier, holding not only his trunk but the ones belonging to the two fallen boys as well. He tossed the two extra trunks towards the respective boys, shaking his head. "You guys never fail to amuse us. See you in our regular compartment," he called over his shoulder as he boarded the scarlet steam engine. Peter tripped after him, struggling to keep up as he made his way clumsily around James and Sirius.
"Thanks Remus!" James called after his friend, much louder than was needed, as he rose to his feet.
"Yeah, we really appreciate all the help!" Sirius added, yelling even louder than his black-haired, hazel-eyed cohort, dusting himself off.
James frowned as Lily passed him, sparing him no more attention than a skeptical glance, eyebrows raised. "Pathetic," she muttered under her breath as she handed her trunk off to the muscular assistants.
James followed suite. "See you in a bit, Padfoot. I got Head Boy duty."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Sirius said, waving his friend off. "I still can't believe they picked you! I mean, of all people!"
James made an immature face as he looked over his shoulder at Sirius before heading towards the large Prefects' compartment.
"WHERE, in the name of Merlin, is the Head Boy?!" Lily exclaimed, just as James slid open the compartment door.
"Right here, Lily, darling," James smiled at her. He made a show of looking around the compartment, which was several times the size of the regular one, before saying, "Wow, nice place you have here, Lils."
"Oh, that's rich, Potter," Lily said, rolling her eyes, "You, as Head Boy. That's a laugh. I'm sure that you must serve another purpose than simply existing to amuse us with you hilarity," she continued sarcastically, "so how about you just release the Head Boy so we can get this meeting over with, hmmm?"
"No, really," James said, staring the redhead in the eye. "Hate to rain on your parade, Lily-flower, but I am the Head Boy."
"Potter, I'm warning you once. Just undo the hex, or whatever you've put on him, and let him come in."
James reached into the depths of his black Hogwarts robes, producing a gold pin. He held the badge out for Lily to inspect, smiling conceitedly. Lily's face fell. "You have GOT to be kidding me!"
"Nope." James pinned the Head Boy badge onto the front of his robe, turning to face the Prefects. "Now let's do this thingy. I don't want to waste too much of my time in here."
"Before we continue with tonight's feast," Dumbledore announced in his annual welcome speech to the Hogwarts students, "I would like to welcome you all back to Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry, especially the newly-Sorted first years." A round of applause erupted before the Headmaster continued, "And I would like to congratulate this year's Head Boy, James Potter, and Head Girl, Lily Evans." More applause as the two rose from their seats at the Gryffindor for the brief customary acknowledgment. "It is also my duty to remind you that the Forbidden Forest, like every year, is strictly off-limits."
His twinkling blue eyes landed on the four Marauders before he continued. "Oh yes, and our newest member of the faculty, Mr. Filch, would like me to tell you that you can receive an extensive list of contraband materials and objects in his office.
One last thing: This year, a new activity will take place. In honor of Hogwarts' 411th year in the business of fine education, a Halloween Masquerade Ball will be taking place. More information on this Ball will follow for the fourth through seventh years, the only years invited."
First, second, and third years alike groaned in unison before the grand feast appeared on shining golden platters at the snap of Dumbledore's fingers. "Tuck in!" He announced grandly, taking his own seat and dishing up. A good hour passed before any of the four Marauders were willing to stop shoveling his face with food to say anything.
"So, Sirius, who do you reckon you'll be asking to the Masquerade?" Peter asked between forkfuls of prime rib.
"Good question, Wormy," Sirius said thoughtfully, stuffing his mouth with another rather large bite of turkey. "I guess I'll just do what I do for every Valentine's Day."
"What would that be, again?" James asked after he had swallowed what appeared to be about half of a baked potato.
Sirius gaped incredulously at him for a moment, as if James at just asked what color the sky was. "I read through the letters I receive, and I sort the ten that seem the most desperate-"
"Actually, Petey, sane was no longer a requirement as of- wait, was it fourth or fifth year?" Sirius looked thoughtful for a moment, the bit of meat stabbed onto his fork temporarily forgotten. "Oh, well, doesn't matter. But after a couple of years the sanity thing just got rather dull."
"Interesting," Remus replied, half-sarcastically, half pathetically serious, pouring himself another goblet of Pumpkin Juice. "I didn't realize you could get such a combination of sanity and desperation out of girls who have an obsessive infatuation." Sirius looked flattered at what he considered to be a compliment coming from Remus.
"Yes. It is possible. But that was another problem. I began to run out of sane, desperate girls. Who of course also had to be fairly attractive....Anyways, I'm probably going to take the most desperate and just pick two or three randomly to escort to the ball."
"Be that as it may, if any of you geniuses paused long enough to think, you would realize that you don't even need a date to attend a Masquerade. In fact, it would consider being of finest taste to just show up and dance with whoever strikes your fancy, that's the point. Then, you find out who everyone is near the end, generally around midnight, during the un-masking. Up until then, everyone's identity is intended to remain a secret, as the masks tend to hide the identity of the person."
Sirius grinned and lit up, looking as if Christmas had just come early. "Really? You mean it's a free-for-all?! I don't have to commit myself to any of them?"
James glanced down the table at a particular fiery redhead, catching Remus' eye before looking back down at his plate, a smile playing at his lips.
A/N: So what did you think? I haven't come across a fanfic quite like this alternating Lily/James-Harry/Ginny thing, so it should be pretty interesting, if I do say so myself...Feel free to review and let me know what you think, or if you have any suggestions. Oh, and my other chapters will most likely be longer, this is just my first Lily/James chapter, so I just wanted to see how it would work out. Also, part of this was inspired by Suns Golden Ray's stories (part of the dialogue with Sirius), though I changed it quite a bit. So, until next time...
Chapter 2: Annual Rejection
A/N: First of all, I would like to apologize to my readers (if I even have any yet...) for taking so long to update. You'll see within the first two paragraphs why it took so long: I decided to go in a different direction. From now on, every other chapter will be Lily and James. I'm living on a three-week trip to Europe tomorrow, so there will probably not be any updates for a couple of weeks. However, I do plan on writing a lot on the plane (it's a 17-hour flight from the west coast to England! It's insane! And then I have the plane ride to Venice...) Anyway, I'll probably be nearly finished with Unforgivable Love by the time I get back, so updates will be pretty regular after I return. Anyway, here we go...
Students weren't expected to arrive at Platform 9 ¾ for about another ten minutes, but Lily Evans always made a point to avoid being late to anything. So, characteristically, she had been waiting just outside the barrier, along with a handful of other students, generally the same ones as during the previous several years. Minutes later, much to Lily's chagrin, a group of four familiar boys strode- actually, Lily thought to herself, 'strutted' better describe it- towards her, two of whom were grinning mischievously.
Great, Lily thought, Just great. She made an attempt to squeeze through the barrier to avoid the teens that were rapidly approaching, knowing even before she started that the attempt would be futile. The barrier wouldn't open for another four minutes, leaving her stranded to her own means as far as the unwanted additional company was concerned.
James briefly scanned the area surrounding the barrier leading to Platform 9 ¾, eyes landing on the familiar red haired girl that he had been trying to make his girlfriend since he had first laid eyes on her on their very first trip on the Hogwarts Express. Nodding to his friends, who simply rolled their eyes, James sauntered over to Lily, running his hand through his hair, serving only to further dishevel the already messy hair as he exhaled deeply. He leaned against the barrier casually, gaze captivated by the seventeen year old girl in front of him. "Would you go out with me Lily?" he asked, receiving an angry glare in reply. "Come on, Lily!" he cried, pouting a little.
"Can't you act just a little bit more mature?" Lily asked exasperatedly, "It won't kill you!"
"Oh, Lily darling, you wound me!" he cried dramatically, clutching his heart. Suddenly the well known playboy came over to the two, throwing one arm around James' shoulders.
"So, rejected by Lily yet again, Prongsie?" The cocky smile of Sirius Black charmed many of the girls at Hogwarts, but it didn't affect Lily in the least when it appeared upon his face at that moment.
James still looked grim. Lily knew that James would get over it eventually, though, he did every year. For some reason James always seemed to be bothered the most when she rejected him at the beginning of the year, even more so this year than any previous, then whenever she had the same answer to the same question the many, many times he asked during the year. As if somehow she had miraculously changed her mind about him and would allow him to sweep him off of her feet instead of simply trying to avoid him. "Yeah," he started to answer, before the barrier he was leaning upon suddenly opened, and he toppled inside, Sirius collapsing on him seconds later.
Remus was laughing when he appeared through the barrier, holding not only his trunk but the ones belonging to the two fallen boys as well. He tossed the two extra trunks towards the respective boys, shaking his head. "You guys never fail to amuse us. See you in our regular compartment," he called over his shoulder as he boarded the scarlet steam engine. Peter tripped after him, struggling to keep up as he made his way clumsily around James and Sirius.
"Thanks Remus!" James called after his friend, much louder than was needed, as he rose to his feet.
"Yeah, we really appreciate all the help!" Sirius added, yelling even louder than his black-haired, hazel-eyed cohort, dusting himself off.
James frowned as Lily passed him, sparing him no more attention than a skeptical glance, eyebrows raised. "Pathetic," she muttered under her breath as she handed her trunk off to the muscular assistants.
James followed suite. "See you in a bit, Padfoot. I got Head Boy duty."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Sirius said, waving his friend off. "I still can't believe they picked you! I mean, of all people!"
James made an immature face as he looked over his shoulder at Sirius before heading towards the large Prefects' compartment.
"WHERE, in the name of Merlin, is the Head Boy?!" Lily exclaimed, just as James slid open the compartment door.
"Right here, Lily, darling," James smiled at her. He made a show of looking around the compartment, which was several times the size of the regular one, before saying, "Wow, nice place you have here, Lils."
"Oh, that's rich, Potter," Lily said, rolling her eyes, "You, as Head Boy. That's a laugh. I'm sure that you must serve another purpose than simply existing to amuse us with you hilarity," she continued sarcastically, "so how about you just release the Head Boy so we can get this meeting over with, hmmm?"
"No, really," James said, staring the redhead in the eye. "Hate to rain on your parade, Lily-flower, but I am the Head Boy."
"Potter, I'm warning you once. Just undo the hex, or whatever you've put on him, and let him come in."
James reached into the depths of his black Hogwarts robes, producing a gold pin. He held the badge out for Lily to inspect, smiling conceitedly. Lily's face fell. "You have GOT to be kidding me!"
"Nope." James pinned the Head Boy badge onto the front of his robe, turning to face the Prefects. "Now let's do this thingy. I don't want to waste too much of my time in here."
"Before we continue with tonight's feast," Dumbledore announced in his annual welcome speech to the Hogwarts students, "I would like to welcome you all back to Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry, especially the newly-Sorted first years." A round of applause erupted before the Headmaster continued, "And I would like to congratulate this year's Head Boy, James Potter, and Head Girl, Lily Evans." More applause as the two rose from their seats at the Gryffindor for the brief customary acknowledgment. "It is also my duty to remind you that the Forbidden Forest, like every year, is strictly off-limits."
His twinkling blue eyes landed on the four Marauders before he continued. "Oh yes, and our newest member of the faculty, Mr. Filch, would like me to tell you that you can receive an extensive list of contraband materials and objects in his office.
One last thing: This year, a new activity will take place. In honor of Hogwarts' 411th year in the business of fine education, a Halloween Masquerade Ball will be taking place. More information on this Ball will follow for the fourth through seventh years, the only years invited."
First, second, and third years alike groaned in unison before the grand feast appeared on shining golden platters at the snap of Dumbledore's fingers. "Tuck in!" He announced grandly, taking his own seat and dishing up. A good hour passed before any of the four Marauders were willing to stop shoveling his face with food to say anything.
"So, Sirius, who do you reckon you'll be asking to the Masquerade?" Peter asked between forkfuls of prime rib.
"Good question, Wormy," Sirius said thoughtfully, stuffing his mouth with another rather large bite of turkey. "I guess I'll just do what I do for every Valentine's Day."
"What would that be, again?" James asked after he had swallowed what appeared to be about half of a baked potato.
Sirius gaped incredulously at him for a moment, as if James at just asked what color the sky was. "I read through the letters I receive, and I sort the ten that seem the most desperate-"
"Actually, Petey, sane was no longer a requirement as of- wait, was it fourth or fifth year?" Sirius looked thoughtful for a moment, the bit of meat stabbed onto his fork temporarily forgotten. "Oh, well, doesn't matter. But after a couple of years the sanity thing just got rather dull."
"Interesting," Remus replied, half-sarcastically, half pathetically serious, pouring himself another goblet of Pumpkin Juice. "I didn't realize you could get such a combination of sanity and desperation out of girls who have an obsessive infatuation." Sirius looked flattered at what he considered to be a compliment coming from Remus.
"Yes. It is possible. But that was another problem. I began to run out of sane, desperate girls. Who of course also had to be fairly attractive....Anyways, I'm probably going to take the most desperate and just pick two or three randomly to escort to the ball."
"Be that as it may, if any of you geniuses paused long enough to think, you would realize that you don't even need a date to attend a Masquerade. In fact, it would consider being of finest taste to just show up and dance with whoever strikes your fancy, that's the point. Then, you find out who everyone is near the end, generally around midnight, during the un-masking. Up until then, everyone's identity is intended to remain a secret, as the masks tend to hide the identity of the person."
Sirius grinned and lit up, looking as if Christmas had just come early. "Really? You mean it's a free-for-all?! I don't have to commit myself to any of them?"
James glanced down the table at a particular fiery redhead, catching Remus' eye before looking back down at his plate, a smile playing at his lips.
A/N: So what did you think? I haven't come across a fanfic quite like this alternating Lily/James-Harry/Ginny thing, so it should be pretty interesting, if I do say so myself...Feel free to review and let me know what you think, or if you have any suggestions. Oh, and my other chapters will most likely be longer, this is just my first Lily/James chapter, so I just wanted to see how it would work out. Also, part of this was inspired by Suns Golden Ray's stories (part of the dialogue with Sirius), though I changed it quite a bit. So, until next time...