James pushed the infuriated and embarrassed Lily behind him as the portrait opened. Loud laughter accompanied then down the hall as they ran, Lily's red hair an immediate giveaway of her identity. They dashed down corridors and hallways until they were completely alone on the fourth floor near the stairway. James turned to Lily, looking penitent, "Lily, I am so sorry. It's that prat Sirius' fault! As if we would ever go out!"
Lily stood back, now completely demoralized by the night's events. She looked up at him with a closed-off expression. "As if, indeed. Well, Mr. Potter, thank you for walking me this far, but you may agree that we should not attempt to venture further together. Your reputation probably could not bear the added strain. Good night sir!" She turned from him quickly, to keep herself from slapping him... or kissing him, a traitorous thought asserted itself.
As she bustled away, he stood bewildered. A couple of seconds after she turned the corner, he started running after her. "Lily! LILY! What's the matter? Slow down there, turbo!"
He ran after her almost catching her when she turned and yelled, "TARANTALLEGRA!!" James ducked it, but it hit the girl behind him, Melisande Rabbinow.
She started dancing wildly, so fast that all she could do was pant out, "HELP ME!"
James paused for a second in indecision, then cast the countercurse on Mel. She fell down, her legs unsteady. James ran to her and supported her. "Thank...huff ..huff...you!" She breathed frantically for a couple of seconds, then grabbed his tie. "What...the...hell...are...you...doing...here!?! Run after her!" James looked at her confused. "Lily-duh!" She shook her head at the incredible stupidity of guys. James looked after the red-haired fury, and shrugged.
"What's the point? She hates me. She never curses anybody. She must think I'm scum."
"Well, aren't you?" James looked at her, affronted. "Well, you're letting the love of your life think that you don't care about her! Isn't that how scum behaves? I wouldn't know. I'm just a chick into divination, who's best friends with the girl who has loved you all her life, and has given up everything for you. But if that's not the way scum acts, perhaps I need more life experience." She looked a bit confused herself, and spoke with a matter-of-factness that implied that she was truly commenting on the properties of scum.
James, on the other hand, had been floored. "She loves me? But-" He turned to Mel, but she had stood up and was walking unsteadily away. James tried to get up and follow her, but he lacked conviction, and she was around the corner and gone by the time he reached his feet.
He stood in the hallway, completely gobsmacked. Lily Evans, the beautiful prefect who was the smartest witch in their year, loved him? Why? He was not one of the smartest people around, and he definitely did not pride himself on his good looks, however much he enjoyed the attention it won him. Of course, Lily would never love him for looks alone, if she loved him at all, his traitorous brain interjected. It could be his sense of humor, but she had been on the receiving end of his pranks far too often to be a closet fan of them. Or had she?
Her eyes sparkled more than usual when she was battling him. Even just now, in the hallway- "DAMMIT! I am a fool!" He slammed his hand against the stone wall ineffectually. She did love him, or was acting in such a way that she couldn't blame him for that assumption. He could be blamed for being a total git not noticing that, however. He pulled out the Marauder's Map and said, "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good." The crumpled parchment exploded with lines marking the castle and its grounds. Little dots scurried accross it, concentrating on four different points, the house dormatories. Searching madly for Lily, he pumped a hand in the air when he spotted her. She was pacing in front of the room of requirement.
He took a secret passage that let him out a hall away from her. He heard her sobs as he peeked around the corner. She had slid down a wall, and her face was in her hands. Tears leaked through her fingers as her crying cut the dusky silence. A swift intake of breath was the only outward sign of James Potter's reaction to her. He felt as if someone had poured warm, sweet chocolate in his heart, so that he would never be free of its amazing flavor. At the same time, ice cut through his soul, that he had been the cause of those tears. He could only stare in quiet, unable to move from the revelations shooting through him.