Disclaimer: I wish I owned Harry Potter. Or at least Sirius.
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"I say we have dinner at Hogsmeade," John suggested, wrapping his arms around Lily's neck.
She buried her face in his chest. "We always have dinner at Hogsmeade," she replied, voice muffled. "You're always talking about this spectacular manor of yours, and I've yet to see it. I'm beginning to think you're hiding something."
John laughed. "I'm not hiding anything."
It had been three months since Lily had first introduced John to her friends, and they were steadily becoming very serious--something that made James very nervous. He always avoided the topic of John like the plague. Lily never tried to steer the conversation towards her boyfriend when James deliberately changed the subject because James would always start mumbling insulting comments under his breath. Since James's opinion held a lot of influence in Lily's life since they had become friends, this often made her very upset. Lots of arguments had occurred because of this, and for now, James and Lily silently agreed to disagree, and John was almost never brought up.
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James wanted to talk to Bella. It was Sunday, late Sunday, and Lily hadn't been at lunch or dinner when James went to meet her there. He had decided to let it go for now and meet her for dinner. However, she wasn't anywhere to be seen at 9:30 either, and he was starting to get a little worried, and the first person he could think of to ask about where Lily could be was Bella.
Bella was curled up in a chair, reading. She was tying her hair back with a purple hair band and yawning when she noticed James at the door. "What're you doing here?" she asked, surprised to see James at 1 am without Sirius or Lily.
"Hello to you too. Have you seen Lily?"
Bella gave James a strange look. "Isn't she with you?"
James sighed exasperatedly. "If she were, why would I be bothering with you?"
"You are truly a charming individual, James Potter. And I do believe you are thoroughly obsessed with her now. And how has your "stalking journal" been going?," Bella smirked. "Well, if Lily's not with you, I'd bet she's with that boyfriend of hers."
James cursed under his breath, causing Bella to grin.
"You really are jealous, aren't you?" she said. "And I thought Sirius was exaggerating."
"I'm not jealous," James snapped, "I just think that...that Pen...you know...up to something. And, since when are you and Sirius all buddy-buddy?
"Oh...well, I broke up with Remus...no. He broke up with me. " Bella said. "Care to elaborate what you mean by up to no good?"
"Wish I could," James replied, sighing a little. "I know something's off with him, I just can't put my finger on it..." Noticing he had Bella's complete and undivided attention, he deliberately trailed off.
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"John, what do you think of marriage?" Lily asked carefully over dinner.
John chewed the piece of salmon in his mouth very slowly before replying, "I'm not against it."
Lily bit her lip. "Do you ever...want to get married?" What am I saying? I'm 15!
John sighed. "Lily, where are you going with this?" he demanded, setting down his knife and fork a little more forcefully than necessary, causing Lily to flinch.
"I--I don't know," she said softly.
"Of course you do," John spat. "You want to get married."
Lily had never seen John this aggressive before, and it was scaring her a little. "Well...eventually...I suppose...."
" Well, Lily I can't marry you."
Lily felt her heart plummet and her eyes well up with tears, just as they had when Michael had told her that she was 'not the kind of girl' he pictured himself marrying. But instead of starting to cry, Lily got defiant. "And just why not?" she retorted.
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There was a very loud knock coming from the direction of James's dorm. Automatically, James opened one eye to peer at the bedside clock. However, his eyesight was shot, and he was unable to determine exactly what time it was, but that it had to be late. He groaned and turned over, trying to go back to sleep and ignore the knock.
But the knocker grew more persistent, the knocks coming in rapid, urgent succession.
Sleepily, James realized Peter, Sirius, and Remus were fast asleep, so James threw back his covers and stumbled to get the door. James grumbled the whole way to the door, which was still being pounded on, even more impatiently.
"I'm coming," James snapped. He unlocked the door and opened it.
Standing there, dripping wet from head to toe, was Lily. She looked very upset, and James could tell that she had been crying.
"He's married, James," Lily told him, her voice wobbling. "He's married, and I never...I never knew..."
James sighed. "Come in, Lily."
Sniffling, she did so, and he closed the door behind her. Lily stood in front of the door, seemingly unable to move.
"Now, who's married?" James asked as he squatted in front of the dorm fireplace, lighting a crackling fire with his wand. "Come here; you're going to get sick."
Lily still didn't move, but stared at the fire, which reflected in her eyes, causing them to glow orange. James sighed again and went to her side. Sirius woke up, and got Lily a blanket.
"You know who's married," Lily muttered. "John is married. You were right." She lifted tearful eyes to James. "What is wrong with me? Why am I stupid enough to believe...to believe that these people actually love me, and that they're not just with me to pass the time? Why do I attract these kinds of people? Why does this always happen to me?"
James moved closer to her. "There is nothing wrong with you," he replied. "You're one of the most spectacular people I have ever met. You're smart, you're funny, you're very pretty...and if the people you date can't see that, then maybe we should take you off the market."
Lily met his eyes. "You're only saying that because you're my friend."
"No, I'm not. You know I love you. You always have. You're the kind of girl I always pictured myself marrying."
Lily shook her head. "Don't...say things like that. We all know I'm easy to charm, and if you keep going like that, I might end up sleeping with you. Or worse, falling for you."
James suddenly felt very strange. "What would be so bad about that?" he asked her, in a very odd, husky voice.
Lily searched his eyes, and in a single instant, grabbed his face and pressed her lips to his.