James

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I dropped my bags on the blue-carpeted floor, and looked around the Evans' so-called "guestroom".

More like dungeon.

It was a tiny room; my wardrobe at home was bigger. The walls were not painted, and a small naked window at one end of the room let in a few slivers of light. A cot sat in one corner, and some port-a-drawers was placed directly opposite. An attempt had been made to make the room look pretty by placing a small vase of fake flowers on the port-a-drawers, but they just looked out of place. The only thing that was pleasant in the room was the carpet, and compared to my cashmere rugs at home, these were nothing.

Behind me, Lily Evans made a small choking noise through her throat. I turned around and looked at her. She was standing in the doorway shuffling her feet, and I could see how red her cheeks were.

"Um... Mum and Dad haven't really finished the guest room yet..." she stammered, looking away to avoid eye contact.

Cute.

Lily's mother appeared. She looked around.

"Oh James! I forgot what our guest room really looked like!"

She barged in, pushing Lily aside, and started fussing with the flowers. "Jimmy... we could never expect you to stay in here!"

Jimmy?

I remembered that Jim was often a nickname for James. But Jimmy?? My own mother didn't call me Jimmy.

Katherine just turned and smiled at me. "I have an idea. Lily... go move Petunia's bed into your bedroom. James can sleep in your room, in Petunia's bed, while she's gone."

WHAT?

Lily had gone so red she was almost beetroot. "Mum- my- my bedroom?"

I could feel the colour draining from my cheeks. Sleep in a girl's room? With Lily?

"Mum... I could always move into Petunia's room!"

"Don't be stupid Lily. I'm going to organise for Petunia's room to be re-wallpapered. She's been complaining about that wallpaper for years. And maybe I'll get this room done too." She touched the bare wall with her fingers. "It would look good in pale blue."

Lily sighed and shuffled down the hallway to another room. I followed her, thinking that at least I could help her move the bed.

She walked into what was obviously her sister's room. I trailed behind, and almost got blown away.

The carpet was pink. The curtains were pink. Everything had a ballerina on it. There were posters of ballerinas on the walls, and a shelf full of porcelain ballerina figures. It was like insect repellent for guys. The only weird thing about it- the wallpaper was a kind of murky green, and really gross. I could see why Petunia didn't like it.

I smiled weakly. "Eh... so your sister likes ballerinas?"

Lily didn't answer; just looked at me like she was afraid I would bite. She had really pretty green eyes, and some cute curves. I could see why Sirius always wolf-whistled at her when we passed her in the halls last year. I hadn't really noticed her before now. Yasmine Fletcher had been on my mind all of last year, but the blonde bimbo had used magic in the Easter holidays and had gotten herself expelled. Yasmine probably went to Beauxbatons now, the French version of Hogwarts, and she'd sent me a postcard from France. I hadn't read it. I don't like long-distance relationships.

Wait til I told Sirius that I had stayed in Lily's bedroom...

Lily grabbed some of the cushions and fluffy teddies off the ballerina-print bedspread and chucked them onto a nearby chair that was covered in the same frilly pink material the curtains were made of. She grabbed one end of the bed and glanced at me. "Um..."

"Oh right, you want me to help?" I walked over and grabbed the other end of the bed. "One, two, three."

We shuffled slowly out of the room, holding the bed securely, and gradually moved down the hallway. Lily's face was sweaty, and my messy hair was flopping onto my forehead. It was seriously annoying me.

"Lily- I-"

"What?" She grunted, trying to manage the bed.

"I need to- put the bed down-'' my hair was in my face, tickling my nose and making me sneeze.

"No James! You can't!"

"I'm putting it down!" I yelled, as my hair got into my nose, and I dropped the heavy bed and sneezed. "ACHOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"SHIT JAMES!"

Lily was standing in the middle of the hallway, clutching her foot and hopping up and down.

"Oh no!" I cried, rushing over to Lily and grabbing her. "What happened?"

"YOU DROPPED THE FREAKIN BED!" She swiped at my hands. "Can you please not touch me?"

"Sorry," I said, pushing my fringe back and looking at her foot. It was bright red, like her face, and I could tell she was going to have some nasty bruises. "Uh... are you going to be okay?"

Lily the shy had suddenly turned into Lily the seething. She glared at me and muttered, "Yea I'm fine... no thanks to you."

"Okay..."

She walked over to the bed. "Here. We should try again."

"Alright... I promise not to drop it."

"You had better not!"

We re-started the long shuffle to her bedroom, and I caught sight of her face as I lifted the bed. She was still staring at me angrily, and there was a grouchy look in her eyes. I could tell that she didn't want me in her house, let alone in her room.

I sighed. It was gonna be a long summer.

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Ah... Lily now hates James. Or does her later loathing for him have a deeper meaning to it? Stick around and find out... I promise I'll update soon!