Disclaimer: Everything belongs to JK Rowling except for characters and
events unrecognizable as being part of the Harry Potter series.
A/N: hello again Hmm, it seems the enthusiasm for this fic is a lot less than for Changing Rooms, a pity indeed! Come on guys, I need support, and encouragement, because personally, I don't like this fic much either! So review as much as possible, and write me long ones so I know what you want to read!
Chapter Four
The First Step is accepting
"I can't go," James stated, looking up at Sirius form where he sat on the couch in their living room.
Sirius sighed and rolled his eyes. He was dressed in his Auror uniform, as was James, as they had only just got off training. He glanced down at his watch. They were meant to be at the cooking class in ten minutes.
"James, stop being a child," he said wearily. "And get up and be a man instead."
"Are you guys ready?" came Remus' voice from the bedroom. He was going to accompany James and Sirius this time, as Andrea had made him promise to, after she had helped him with his morning classes.
"James is being difficult," Sirius called back, and glared at James. He scowled back.
"Ah," Remus said, coming into the lounge. He was dressed in black pants and a top, his hair hanging into his eyes. "James, there's no point trying to run away from this. It'll only get worse each day you try to ignore it."
"I don't want to hurt Lily," James said stubbornly, crossing his arms across his chest.
"Then you shouldn't have broken up with her in seventh year," Sirius said, rolling his eyes again. "Look, I think you just have to decide what you feel for her, and then move on form there. Like Moony said, there's no point ignoring it."
James glowered at them, before dropping his head into his hands.
"I know what I feel for her," he muttered. "That's the problem."
"Why is that?" Sirius asked, tapping a foot impatiently. He had promised Sarah he'd be on time, and he had a bet going with Grace about who could make the better muffin. He was not going to miss this class.
"I think I'm still in love with her," James admitted, raising his head. "I'm such an idiot."
"Yeah, well, that's nothing new is it," Sirius grumbled. "God James, now you're going to have to court her all over again!"
"Yeah, well, how hard can it be?" James said, trying to reassure himself.
The fact was, as soon as he had seen Lily again, he had known that eh still loved her. And there was no way he could forget that. If he had to start all over again to win her over, he would just have to grit his teeth and do it, because all of a sudden he knew that he wanted her more than anything else in the world.
"Start small," Remus suggested. "And don't try too hard to start off with. I think she's going to need to cool down a little before she'll listen to reason. And even then take it slow, and win her over gently. You don't want your little flower to wilt before she even blooms, do you?"
"Yeah,' James said vaguely. He was already coming up with ideas. Maybe he would have to start that night even. "Give me a second, I'll just grab my jumper." He got up and ran quickly into the bedroom, where they shared the few cupboards.
"Finally," Sirius muttered, as with a pop, he apparated, without waiting for James. Hey- how long could it take for him to apparate anyway?
Lily smiled at each student as they walked into the kitchens, and she even managed to keep the smile in place when James Potter walked through the door. It was the returning smile she received that shocked her into frowning briefly before resuming her fixed expression.
James looked a little dismayed at that, but managed to stay cool, and wandered off with Sirius to talk to Sarah and Grace.
Remus was chatting amiably with Owen, James and Sirius' cooking partner from the week before when Andrea came and commandeered him to help set up the ingredients for what they were making that night- simple pancakes. Most of the guy's attempts at scones had turned out ok the last lesson, but Lily and Professor Marthers still wanted to take things slowly.
James stood awkwardly while Sirius and Sarah chatted- or, to be more exact, Sarah talked while Sirius watched her, grinning silently, and glancing her up and down at intervals.
James shook his head slightly. Sirius was more than obvious sometimes.
Lily was watching from the other side of the room. James looked so damn good it was unnerving. She didn't like the way it made her feel.
"Lily?" Marthers said, coming up behind her. "Ready to get started?"
"Uh, yeah, of course," Lily said, flustered.
In less than ten minutes, the men were all busy stirring up pancake mixtures.
Lily paced up and down the kitchens, offering help and advice her and there, and had almost completed her circuits for the third time when she realized that she had been bypassing the cubicle in which James worked with Sirius and Owen and Dirk.
Sighing, she forced herself to walk right up to him and watch as he struggled with the mixture, which was much more cloggy than needed.
He looked up to see her watching him and immediately turned red. He snapped his eyes back down and stirred furiously.
"Try adding some milk," she suggested quietly before turning to inspect Owen and Dirk's mix, which was smooth and creamy, just as needed.
It was then that disaster struck. James, carrying the bowl turned (bravely, he thought) to show lily and ask if it was correct. At the same time, Lily turned around, and Sirius, who was battling with the stove dials, swung an arm and accidentally shoved James forward. The mixture, now extremely runny, knocked out of James hands, flew in the small space between him and Lily and splattered all over her and the floor. Lily, still in the motion of stepping forward slipped on the now wet floor and slammed into James, who tumbled back, dragging her with him.
They ended up, covered in pancake mix, lying with Lily half on top of James, and James staring wide eyed at Lily.
Lily was caught between an urge to scream and an urge to laugh. Instead, she lowered her mouth and touched her tongue to the mixture running down the side of James' face.
"Perfect," she breathed. Then, as if remembering once again that she 'didn't' like James any more, she quickly got to her feet and offered him a hand.
He was still gazing at her in shock, so she looked away awkwardly and then walked away quickly towards the bathroom.
Sirius, who had been watching the whole exchange smiled slightly, pulling James to his feet.
"Go wash that off," he suggested.
James nodded, still dazed and tottered off towards the male restrooms. On the way he stumbled past Remus who shook his head in amusement.
"I knew putting James in a kitchen would be a bad idea," he confided to Andrea, making her grin.
"I'm sure you wouldn't be much better," she scoffed.
"Hey, I can out cook you any day," he said, challengingly.
"We'll see," she said. "Come around to our house this weekend, and put your money where your mouth is."
"Oh, I will," he promised, grinning.
Lily was, in a word, mortified. How often had she counseled herself not to fall back in love with James Potter? Wasn't it just that morning that she had decided to treat him completely indifferently? And then she goes and licks his cheek for gods sake! What was happening to her?
Trudging over to where her bag lay next to the head table, she dug inside for a tissue. Suddenly, her finger brushed against a piece of paper. She pulled it out, frowning.
"How did that get there?" she muttered, unfolding it. A rush of Lily scent came pouring out of the paper. She breathed it in- how long had it been since she had smelt her own flower?
She unfolded the paper carefully. Her frown deepened as she read its contents.
'Ek het jou lief.
Your admirer'.
"What...?" Lily raised her eyebrows. It was the weirdest letter she had ever received.
What did it mean?
A/N: ah- the plot thickens! Well, don't worry, you'll find out what the letter means eventually. Please review me; I'll put the next chapter up after fifteen reviews (if I've finished it by then)! So, nice LONG reviews, not one or two words! Let me know what you think, any improvements necessary? Oh hey- get this! I won third place in a dressage competition yesterday. I'm so proud! So anyway, enough of that, review and make me happy! Jaizar
A/N: hello again Hmm, it seems the enthusiasm for this fic is a lot less than for Changing Rooms, a pity indeed! Come on guys, I need support, and encouragement, because personally, I don't like this fic much either! So review as much as possible, and write me long ones so I know what you want to read!
Chapter Four
The First Step is accepting
"I can't go," James stated, looking up at Sirius form where he sat on the couch in their living room.
Sirius sighed and rolled his eyes. He was dressed in his Auror uniform, as was James, as they had only just got off training. He glanced down at his watch. They were meant to be at the cooking class in ten minutes.
"James, stop being a child," he said wearily. "And get up and be a man instead."
"Are you guys ready?" came Remus' voice from the bedroom. He was going to accompany James and Sirius this time, as Andrea had made him promise to, after she had helped him with his morning classes.
"James is being difficult," Sirius called back, and glared at James. He scowled back.
"Ah," Remus said, coming into the lounge. He was dressed in black pants and a top, his hair hanging into his eyes. "James, there's no point trying to run away from this. It'll only get worse each day you try to ignore it."
"I don't want to hurt Lily," James said stubbornly, crossing his arms across his chest.
"Then you shouldn't have broken up with her in seventh year," Sirius said, rolling his eyes again. "Look, I think you just have to decide what you feel for her, and then move on form there. Like Moony said, there's no point ignoring it."
James glowered at them, before dropping his head into his hands.
"I know what I feel for her," he muttered. "That's the problem."
"Why is that?" Sirius asked, tapping a foot impatiently. He had promised Sarah he'd be on time, and he had a bet going with Grace about who could make the better muffin. He was not going to miss this class.
"I think I'm still in love with her," James admitted, raising his head. "I'm such an idiot."
"Yeah, well, that's nothing new is it," Sirius grumbled. "God James, now you're going to have to court her all over again!"
"Yeah, well, how hard can it be?" James said, trying to reassure himself.
The fact was, as soon as he had seen Lily again, he had known that eh still loved her. And there was no way he could forget that. If he had to start all over again to win her over, he would just have to grit his teeth and do it, because all of a sudden he knew that he wanted her more than anything else in the world.
"Start small," Remus suggested. "And don't try too hard to start off with. I think she's going to need to cool down a little before she'll listen to reason. And even then take it slow, and win her over gently. You don't want your little flower to wilt before she even blooms, do you?"
"Yeah,' James said vaguely. He was already coming up with ideas. Maybe he would have to start that night even. "Give me a second, I'll just grab my jumper." He got up and ran quickly into the bedroom, where they shared the few cupboards.
"Finally," Sirius muttered, as with a pop, he apparated, without waiting for James. Hey- how long could it take for him to apparate anyway?
Lily smiled at each student as they walked into the kitchens, and she even managed to keep the smile in place when James Potter walked through the door. It was the returning smile she received that shocked her into frowning briefly before resuming her fixed expression.
James looked a little dismayed at that, but managed to stay cool, and wandered off with Sirius to talk to Sarah and Grace.
Remus was chatting amiably with Owen, James and Sirius' cooking partner from the week before when Andrea came and commandeered him to help set up the ingredients for what they were making that night- simple pancakes. Most of the guy's attempts at scones had turned out ok the last lesson, but Lily and Professor Marthers still wanted to take things slowly.
James stood awkwardly while Sirius and Sarah chatted- or, to be more exact, Sarah talked while Sirius watched her, grinning silently, and glancing her up and down at intervals.
James shook his head slightly. Sirius was more than obvious sometimes.
Lily was watching from the other side of the room. James looked so damn good it was unnerving. She didn't like the way it made her feel.
"Lily?" Marthers said, coming up behind her. "Ready to get started?"
"Uh, yeah, of course," Lily said, flustered.
In less than ten minutes, the men were all busy stirring up pancake mixtures.
Lily paced up and down the kitchens, offering help and advice her and there, and had almost completed her circuits for the third time when she realized that she had been bypassing the cubicle in which James worked with Sirius and Owen and Dirk.
Sighing, she forced herself to walk right up to him and watch as he struggled with the mixture, which was much more cloggy than needed.
He looked up to see her watching him and immediately turned red. He snapped his eyes back down and stirred furiously.
"Try adding some milk," she suggested quietly before turning to inspect Owen and Dirk's mix, which was smooth and creamy, just as needed.
It was then that disaster struck. James, carrying the bowl turned (bravely, he thought) to show lily and ask if it was correct. At the same time, Lily turned around, and Sirius, who was battling with the stove dials, swung an arm and accidentally shoved James forward. The mixture, now extremely runny, knocked out of James hands, flew in the small space between him and Lily and splattered all over her and the floor. Lily, still in the motion of stepping forward slipped on the now wet floor and slammed into James, who tumbled back, dragging her with him.
They ended up, covered in pancake mix, lying with Lily half on top of James, and James staring wide eyed at Lily.
Lily was caught between an urge to scream and an urge to laugh. Instead, she lowered her mouth and touched her tongue to the mixture running down the side of James' face.
"Perfect," she breathed. Then, as if remembering once again that she 'didn't' like James any more, she quickly got to her feet and offered him a hand.
He was still gazing at her in shock, so she looked away awkwardly and then walked away quickly towards the bathroom.
Sirius, who had been watching the whole exchange smiled slightly, pulling James to his feet.
"Go wash that off," he suggested.
James nodded, still dazed and tottered off towards the male restrooms. On the way he stumbled past Remus who shook his head in amusement.
"I knew putting James in a kitchen would be a bad idea," he confided to Andrea, making her grin.
"I'm sure you wouldn't be much better," she scoffed.
"Hey, I can out cook you any day," he said, challengingly.
"We'll see," she said. "Come around to our house this weekend, and put your money where your mouth is."
"Oh, I will," he promised, grinning.
Lily was, in a word, mortified. How often had she counseled herself not to fall back in love with James Potter? Wasn't it just that morning that she had decided to treat him completely indifferently? And then she goes and licks his cheek for gods sake! What was happening to her?
Trudging over to where her bag lay next to the head table, she dug inside for a tissue. Suddenly, her finger brushed against a piece of paper. She pulled it out, frowning.
"How did that get there?" she muttered, unfolding it. A rush of Lily scent came pouring out of the paper. She breathed it in- how long had it been since she had smelt her own flower?
She unfolded the paper carefully. Her frown deepened as she read its contents.
'Ek het jou lief.
Your admirer'.
"What...?" Lily raised her eyebrows. It was the weirdest letter she had ever received.
What did it mean?
A/N: ah- the plot thickens! Well, don't worry, you'll find out what the letter means eventually. Please review me; I'll put the next chapter up after fifteen reviews (if I've finished it by then)! So, nice LONG reviews, not one or two words! Let me know what you think, any improvements necessary? Oh hey- get this! I won third place in a dressage competition yesterday. I'm so proud! So anyway, enough of that, review and make me happy! Jaizar