A/N:- Glad you're all enjoying it so far. I've still got loads of chapters planned out but if anyone's got any ideas I'll take them into consideration. Here's a really long chapter for you!
This Chapter is Dedicated to:
SecretlyBeautiful – Here's some more!
Shadowed.phoenix – Awwwh thanks! I'm so flattered! I'm trying to work on my chapter length but they just kinda write themselves if you know what I mean! Thanks for your lovely review it really made my day!
Agent Elrond 007 – Shhh don't tell everyone that – you're spoiling the plot for later! No – not really! I re-read it and it didn't seem gay to me but then it did come out of my head and the way I imagined it could not be exactly how I've described it .....anyone else think James is gay cos if they do then I'm really really crap at this character building stuff!
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James walked up to the notice board, re-reading through the note he had just written before magically sticking it onto the board.
"Oh, I see you're upping the weekly dose of Quidditch practice you slave-driver!" commented Sirius, peering over James' shoulder. "This wouldn't be due to the fact you have a new Chaser, would it?" he added.
James turned round. "News travels fast." he grinned. "And yeah, it's because we have to practise with our new Chaser."
"Or would it be that James Potter just can't get enough of Lily Evans that he wants to spend the WHOLE night with her doing duty and Quidditch practice?" Sirius grinned.
James frowned. "No, really it's because-"
"Don't worry mate, I won't tell anyone!" laughed Sirius, slapping his friend on the back before heading over to Kirsty, Sarah and Zoë.
...................................................
"Remus, can I have a word?" James asked, dragging his friend away from Zoë.
"Sure." said Remus, excusing himself and heading outside with James.
"Would you think I'm mad if I asked you whether you think it's better for me to just totally leave Lily Evans alone and convince myself that there's no way I'm going to get her?" James asked, looking at Lupin apprehensively.
Pause.
"Erm, yeah." Remus muttered.
"Yes that it's a good idea or yes that I'm mad?" questioned James.
"Erm, yes that you're mad!" laughed Remus. "But also that I think choosing to finally get the message from Lily would also be the wise option. Why the sudden change of heart?"
James shrugged, looking at the almost-giant squid playing in the lake. "It's not that I don't feel that way about her anymore ..... it's more the fact that I know how much she hates me and cos we're practically living in each other's pockets right now, if I annoy her one bit she's going to break up the Quidditch team, make it difficult to do duty with her etc. etc."
"Wow." breathed Remus. "Are you saying that you're going to stop teasing her, annoying her, flirting with her, arguing with her and actually try to be nice?"
"I think 'try' is the optimum word there. It's going to be so hard: every time I see her I want her to be mine so badly and-"
"Yeah, I think we know how you feel about Lily by now." laughed Remus. "Are you sure that you're not going to try the whole 'nice-James' act just in case she might suddenly fall for you when she sees you in a different light?" he added suspiciously.
James shrugged. "I don't know. All I wanna know now is how on Earth I'm going to resist the temptation of teasing her about her lack of-"
Lupin nudged him. "Okay, let's put it to the test. There she is, walking round the shrubbery with Kirsty. You go over and have a conversation with her for a full ten minutes with no taunts, no sex jokes, no nothing."
"I really don't think she'll want to have spent the whole evening with me and now talk to me some more. Anything I could have possibly thought of to make conversation with her, I used during duty as I felt in her debt for her agreeing to play Chaser on the team."
Lupin laughed. "Look just go. It'll be the perfect opportunity. Anyway, I need to talk to Kirsty."
"About what?" asked James curiously.
Remus sighed. "Let's just say our old pal Sirius wants to know if she's 'on the market' as it were."
.............................................
"Wow. Lily Evans the new Gryffindor Chaser. Now there's a sentence I never thought I'd say." laughed Kirsty as she walked arm-in-arm with her best friend under the night sky.
"Well, when McGonagall gives you THAT look, she doesn't leave you with any choice." laughed Lily.
"I'm guessing James must be pleased." Kirsty said slyly.
"Yeah, well, he's been looking for a new Chaser for awhile." Lily said simply, avoiding Kirsty's real meaning.
"Come on, you know that I meant that James must be pleased that he gets to spend even MORE time with you."
"Well, if he is then it's nothing to do with me." Lily said lazily.
"Awww Lily, you MUST like him even a tinsy winsy bit ....... even if it's for the fact that you've got the one boy, who the whole of the female half of the school would die to have, chasing after you." Kirsty said, tugging on her arm.
"Wow, am I THAT obvious?!" said Lily dryly. "Oooh Jamesey, please chase after me, I want to run my hands all over your body and get you into bed with me naked!"
"Erm, Lily." Kirsty muttered, stifling a laugh.
"What?"
Lily turned round to find James Potter and Remus Lupin standing behind them, trying desperately to keep a straight face. "What do you want?" she asked, annoyed.
"Shouldn't we be talking about what YOU want?" James said with a wink, before getting elbowed in the stomach by Remus.
"Kirsty, can I talk to you for a minute?" Remus asked, leading Kirsty away.
"Well?" Lily demanded, glaring at James. Hadn't they just spent the WHOLE evening together? Did this boy never give up?
James shrugged. "Just to let you know, we've got practice every other night this week."
"Thanks Potter but I have managed to learn the art of reading during my short life."
"Yeah, well .............so you looking forward to the Christmas Ball?" James spluttered, desperately thinking of something to say.
"The Christmas ball is TWO months away." Lily said, raising her eyebrows.
"Yeah, well, nothing like being prepared ........... as Head Boy and Head Girl I think we should volunteer to do the decorations." James mused.
"You're volunteering to do extra work?!" Lily said incredulously.
"So you don't think it's a good idea?" challenged James.
"No, I, think it's a ...... good idea ......... as long as you don't leave it to the last minute and I get left levitating tinsel on the eve of the ball."
"Yeah, well, nothing like being prepared ..........." James repeated, giving a nervous laugh.
Lily looked at him closely. Why was he acting so strange?
Silence. They could hear Remus and Kirsty talking in the distance and James had never felt like he wanted to be out of Lily's company more.
"It's a nice night." he said, looking up at the moon.
"Yeah." Lily said, looking up into the stars. "Oh, look there's a shooting star!" she said excitedly, forgetting who she was with. "Make a wish!" she said on impulse.
Pause.
"I think you know what my wish would be." James said quietly.
Lily turned to look at him slowly. She hated how she was feeling just about now. She felt a shiver run down her spine as he said that and she could feel his deep brown eyes on her. She felt it: the Potter charm used to overcome so many girls – his own magic that made girls weak at the knees....... 'Not this girl. Not this girl. This girl hates Potter.' Lily repeated to herself over and over again. No matter how much she wanted to deny it, she could feel the chemistry in the air, same as the night when he kissed her. The air suddenly became so thick she found it hard to breathe .....
"I want to be friends." James stated as if it was the simplest thing in the world when Lily did not answer.
Lily came out of her daze with a shock. She shook her head slowly as all the tingling faded. "You don't want to be friends with me Potter. You just want the one thing you can't get from me." She said before turning and walking back to the castle.
"Yeah, friendship!" James shouted after her. "You're obviously denying me that!"
"You don't want to be friends. Not really. You just want to try another approach. Well, I'm saving you time cos it's not going to work." She called angrily before shutting the castle doors behind her.
James glared at the closed doors angrily. He had tried to have a decent conversation with her and make his peace and what did he get? It all got thrown back right in his face. Fine.
"Hey! Didn't go too well?" Remus said, walking up to him.
"No, it went great." James said sarcastically. "What do I do now?" he sighed.
"Well," Remus said, after a pause. "You wait and show her how valuable a friend you would be for her to have."
"I'm guessing, my dear Moony, that that is one of those things easier said then done." James stated with a heavy heart. "Anyway, what was up with Kirsty?"
"Ahhhh, a little embarrassing ..." Lupin said, blushing.
"Well?"
"Let's just say Kirsty thought that I was the one who wanted to go out with her." laughed Remus.
"Sirius is so going to kill you." said James.
"Yeah, especially when he finds out that she said she would love to go out with me." added Remus dreamily.
...........................................
"Right guys." James started, pacing the floor of the Gryfinndor changing room, looking at his team. "As you know we have a new Chaser, Lily Evans, so we're doing extra practices to make sure she fits in the team, ready for our first match of the season. Up to now we have always relied on our defending and the early capture of the Snitch to secure our win but this year I feel we should work on our attacking a bit more-"
"Why's that?" interrupted Lily.
James stopped pacing and looked at her. Not only had she never played serious Quidditch before, so what should she know on the matter, she had just interrupted him mid-flow. "I'm sorry?"
"I asked why we should change our approach this year?" she repeated.
"Well, I feel it would improve our game and to secure our hold on the cup." James answered slowly.
"We've won the cup with the old method, why change it just for the sake of it?" Lily asked coolly, meeting his eye defiantly.
The rest of the team turned round to stare at Lily in surprise. They would never have challenged James. He was their captain; he was ultra-cool; he knew what he was doing.
James stared back at her angrily. He knew she was just doing this to be difficult – to get back at him for forcing this on her and also to doubly doubly get the message across that they could never be friends. Thanks, but the message came across the first time......
"Oh, I thought the reason was obvious." James said airily. "The other teams have seen us play our methodical game one time too many and they're bound to be working on a way round it. If we change our strategy now, they won't be expecting it, they won't have got a plan drawn up." James looked back at Lily. She did not have anything to say.
"Anyway, as I was saying before, we're going to concentrate on strengthening our attack, we're going to make sure that our Chasers are here, there and everywhere, tackling, racing, scoring whilst one of our Beaters are covering them and the other making it difficult for the other team. Clear so far?" James asked.
They all nodded. Well nearly all of them nodded.
"How is one Beater covering two chasers going to work? One of the Chasers is bound to get hit if they're 'tackling, racing, scoring', they haven't got much time to keep watch for Bludgers and duck in time." Lily said.
"Firstly, a lot of this game relies on sixth sense, luck and practice. Secondly, if Plan A doesn't work then we'll rework our game. Anymore questions Evans?" James asked, glaring at Lily. He was usually the one winding Lily up. Now it appeared he was getting a taste of his own medicine and this time he could not make a witty reply and walk away from the situation like she usually did.
"Yes." She said coolly. "You seem so intent and fixated on winning the Quidditch Cup this year, what would happen if we didn't?"
James' eyes narrowed. "I don't think we need to worry about what would happen because it's NOT going to happen." He stated, trying to keep his cool. "Now, I think it's time to get out on the pitch and let's see what you guys are made of."
Everyone started to file out of the changing room.
"You seriously need to work on your pep talk, Potter." Lily muttered as she walked past him.
.................................
As a whole, James thought that their training practice had been fairly successful and Lily made a decent Quidditch player as he had always thought she would, but when they met up for duty later that evening, the air was distinctly frosty.
They walked in silence for awhile until James could not stand the built up tension any longer. "Why were you being so difficult earlier?" he asked.
"I wasn't. I was just asking obvious, logical questions which the rest of the team should have asked long ago if they weren't so caught up in the aura of James Potter." Lily retorted.
"Whatever, you just wanted to be difficult to get back at me."
"You really think I'm that childish Potter?" scoffed Lily. "You just can't stand someone challenging your authority and bursting your bubble."
"Well, excuse me, Miss I'm-So-Perfect, for thinking that I know a little bit more about Quidditch than you!" challenged James, his face growing a little red. "I have been playing in the team for six years and been captain for three years. You've just started playing!"
"Hello?! Remember me?! I'm the girl who did NOT want to play Quidditch in the first place!"
"Well you should have said 'No' to McGongall just like you did to me then, shouldn't you?! – Oh, wait, when would Miss-Goody-Two-Shoes ever say 'No' to a teacher?"
The two of them had stopped walking now and were facing each other, their faces livid with anger.
"You know what Potter?" started Lily, her voice starting dangerously quiet but soon became fortissimo. "You know what? I don't know how anyone finds you remotely amusing or attractive, to me you're just some sad case of a boy who will never grow up. You're selfish, arrogant and the biggest IDIOT I have ever had the misfortune to know!"
James stared at her, he could not understand why he was so angry at hearing Lily call him those things – it was not like she had not done so before – like that time on the train over here .....then he had just kept cool and made some sly remark about her being sexy to wind her up even more, but now all he wanted to do was say the nastiest things that came to mind. Why was that? Was it because he wanted her to like him so much that he was so annoyed that she had flatly refuse to even try to be friends? Or was it really about his ego and her trying to embarrass him in front of those who admire and love him?
"Wow Lily you really need to come up with some more insults, it's not like I haven't heard them all before!" retorted James. "Well, Miss Perfect, I think it's time someone truly told you what you are: you're an obnoxious know-it-all who always wants to be right, and you're the biggest teacher's pet that I know! You're a workaholic, boring old bookworm who doesn't even know the meaning of fun, who looks down at everyone else because they might now be so bloody smart as you are. Well, let me tell you something Evans! If you spent a little less time being so damn tense and being a Goody-Goody who likes licking teacher's arses, then maybe people will like you more and you'll have more than three friends!"
Lily glared back at James silently. She could feel tears well up in her eyes and it was beyond her control. She did not even know why she felt like crying! After all it was James Potter and she had not expected to hear anything less from him – besides when did she care what he thought? James was staring at her now, his eyes narrow, waiting for her to say something, but all of a sudden, Lily felt she could not say a thing without breaking down and she turned and ran all the way back down the Common Room.
James relaxed, and took a few gulps of air. What had come over him? He had made her cry. He had made Lily cry. He suddenly felt very giddy.
A/N:- Awwwh! Poor Lily! Will those two manage to last the year seeing each other every day? Stay tuned .................