Chapter Nine:
Lily opened her eyes and saw Bridget and Annabelle sitting on her bed, watching her anxiously.
"She's awake!" Bridget exclaimed. Lily looked around the room wearily. The curtains had been flung open, letting in the bright rays of sunshine.
"It's Saturday," Lily mumbled, turning over to fall back asleep. She had been having that same wonderful dream where she and James visited her house.
"It's also the day of your date with James Potter!" Annabelle screeched. Lily jumped in surprise. Her memory was not too good in the morning.
"This is SO exciting!" Bridget cried, clapping her hands together in excitement.
"It's not like he asked YOU to go with him," Kailyn muttered from her bed, annoyed at all the noise this early in the morning.
"Shut up Kailyn! Go back to dreaming about Sirius!" Bridget snapped. Kailyn blushed, and covered her face with her pillow.
"How are you going to do your hair?" Annabelle demanded, eyeing Lily's hair curiously. Lily wished they would stop making such a big deal, because she was starting to feel nervous. She had never gone on a date with a boy like James Potter before. Actually, she didn't have that much experience in dating at all. And James was the total opposite – he had dated half the girls in school. Lily suddenly felt sick as she wondered how she could compete with the usual types of girls James took on dates.
"Just think. . .in a few hours you'll be James Potter's girlfriend!" Bridget sighed dreamily. Lily stared at her blankly.
"What are you talking about?" she asked.
"He's going to ask you to go out with him, of course! To be his girlfriend!" Annabelle shrieked.
"And you WILL say yes this time, won't you Lily?" Bridget asked threateningly. Lily's head began to spin a bit. James had asked her to go out with him so many times before, and it had always been so easy to say no. But it had never felt real. . .Lily was always convinced that James wasn't really serious. But now. . .now she was really going on a date with him.
"Lily!" Annabelle said sharply.
"I don't know. I mean, what if he just does it to prove to everyone that there isn't a single girl he can't get? Besides, for the last three years I've told everyone that he is a worthless piece of scum, and everyone knows I would never go out with him. If I say yes, I'll be going against everything I've ever said!" Lily replied, searching frantically for explanations. The simple truth was that she couldn't bear to get hurt. Not by him.
"Lily," Bridget sighed, "we've told you over and over that he likes you for real! He's not doing it to add to his accomplishments, and he's not going to hurt you! And trust me, everyone knows you don't really hate him."
"And people change, Lily. I think James really has changed. And he did it for you!" Annabelle added. James really did seem to have changed a little. Lily had not seen him hex anyone for about a month, and he was much less arrogant than he used to be. Lily smiled, imagining what it would be like to be James's girlfriend. To have him hold her like he did that full moon night, and to kiss her. . .
"Lily! You've got to start getting ready now!" Bridget said impatiently. Lily snapped out of her daze, and got out of bed. She could not help grinning madly as she walked into the bathroom.
* * *
"Prongs, you've been in there for almost an hour! There are other people waiting, you know!" Sirius yelled, banging on the bathroom door.
"I don't know why he didn't just use the Head bathroom," Remus sighed.
"He's not even doing anything in there. Just standing in front of the mirror, trying to decide which angle he looks best in," Sirius muttered.
"Probably practicing what he's going to say," Remus laughed. Finally, the bathroom door swung open. James walked out, wearing dark blue robes that made him look even more handsome. His hair still stuck up in the back, and he now nervously rumpled it even more.
"You look really good, James!" Peter squeaked admiringly.
"Jealous of Lily, are you Wormtail?" Sirius smirked. Peter turned bright red, and ran into the bathroom. (A/N: lol I hate Wormtail!) James sat on his bed and stared straight at the air in front of him.
"Aww looks like ol' Prongsie is nervous!" Sirius teased.
"You alright, James?" Remus asked.
"I still can't believe she said yes," James muttered, still looking dazed, "I'm finally going on a date with her!"
"Well, you've waited long enough!" Remus remarked.
"Are you going to ask her out?" Sirius asked, his eyes gleaming.
"Er, I don't know." James replied.
"What do you mean you don't know?" Sirius demanded.
"I don't know if I want to ruin it. This may be the best day of my life – I don't want it to end with her rejecting me for the hundredth time." James explained.
"Well, she did agree to go to Hogsmeade with you." Remus said thoughtfully.
"So she'll agree to go out with you as well!" Sirius concluded. James looked at him hopefully. How wonderful it would be to have Lily Evans as his girlfriend.
* * *
About an hour later, all the students were gathered on the school grounds, waiting to go to Hogsmeade.
"There he is!" Bridget shrieked excitedly. Lily turned to see the Marauders walking towards them. Her stomach fluttered when she saw James in his blue robes. She tuned everyone out as she watched him approach her.
"Hello Lily," James said with a smile. Lily swallowed nervously, praying that she could still talk normally.
"Hello James," she said. Sirius looked pained at how formal they were acting. He casually swung his arm around Kailyn's shoulders, as if setting an example.
"Shall we go, then?" he grinned.
On the way to Hogsmeade, Lily had to put all her concentration into walking straight without tripping. James didn't seem to notice, however, for he was nervously running through possible ideas for conversation in his head.
"Hey Prongs, we need to get some more dungbombs!" Sirius said, heading towards Zonko's Joke Shop. Lily followed James into the shop, wishing desperately that Bridget and Annabelle would stop giggling. The clerk at the counter greeted the Marauders with a friendly smile.
"Ah, run out of your usual supply, boys?" he greeted. Sirius grinned, dropping a bag of dungbombs onto the counter.
"Just these for today. We used up quite a bit in the Slytherin bathroom last week," he said. The clerk laughed, and threw in a pack of Exploding Biscuits for free. They walked out of the shop, and stood outside awkwardly.
"Right, then! Ladies," Sirius looked smiled at Kailyn, Bridget and Annabelle, "would you care to join me, Remus and Peter for a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks?" They all looked at James and Lily, with embarrassing grins on their faces.
"We'd love to!" Kailyn answered, giving Lily an encouraging smile.
"Have fun, Lily!" Sirius grinned.
"Don't do anything stupid, Prongs." Remus muttered softly so that only James would hear. Then they walked off towards the Three Broomsticks, leaving James and Lily alone. Lily looked at the ground, hoping she wouldn't turn red.
"Er, shall we go to Madam Puddifoot's, then?" James asked, amazed at how stupid he sounded.
"Oh yes, that would be nice!" Lily replied, remembering how pretty the small coffee shop was. They walked towards it in silence, Lily noticing James muttering things under his breath. She suddenly felt very faint, as she realized that Madam Puddifoot's was always filled with only couples, kissing and holding hands and looking into each other's eyes. Lily felt nervous as she wondered exactly what James expected her to do on this date. Not that she would mind kissing him – she had kissed him in her dreams, and it had been wonderful. But James had kissed so many girls before - surely he would compare her to the others. And she was pretty sure she wasn't so good at kissing, since she did not have too much experience with it. Lily nervously stepped into the coffee shop as James held the door open for her. She followed him to a small table towards the back of the shop, trying not to notice that some couples had even stopped kissing just to watch James and Lily, and excitedly whisper about them.
"Hello, James!" Madam Puddifoot beamed. Lily tried not to get jealous – clearly James had been here many times before. She could not really imagine James coming here, though. She had always supposed that his date would follow him around with the rest of the Marauders, watching them as if they were royalty.
"I'll have a coffee and a slice of crumbcake," James said. Madam Puddifoot nodded and turned to Lily.
"Er, I'll have the same thing." Lily said. Madam Puddifoot smiled and turned back to James.
"You haven't come here in such a long time, James! I was beginning to wonder what had happened to you!" she laughed.
"Yeah well, I was having a bit of trouble getting the girl I wanted to come here with me." James replied. Lily was sure her face had turned redder than ever before. Madam Puddifoot laughed and walked away to the kitchen.
"So. . .what's new with you?" James asked, unable to think of a single charming thing to say.
"Er, nothing really. How about you?" Lily replied dumbly.
"Nothing." James said. They sat in silence for a few seconds.
"Oh, you did really great in the last Quidditch match!" Lily finally said. James's eyes lit up as he smiled at her.
"Thanks! Ravenclaw beat Hufflepuff yesterday, so we'll be playing them in the Halloween match when all the families come," he said, all his awkward feelings slowly drifting away.
"Oh yes, that should be fun. Mum has always wanted to see Hogwarts!" Lily exclaimed. Madam Puddifoot arrived with their tea and crumb cakes, and set it down on the table.
"Yeah, my sister can't wait to come back and visit it." James said, eating a rather large piece of crumb cake.
"You have a sister?" Lily asked, sipping her coffee.
"Yeah, she's 23. She works at Gringotts. She'd love to meet you," James said. Lily looked at him and smiled.
"I'd love to meet her too. I never knew you had a sister."
"Yeah, you only know the bad things about me." James joked. Lily laughed, feeling guilty about all the mean things she had ever said about him.
"I have a sister too," she said.
"Is she as beautiful as you are?" James asked, with his famous charming smile. Lily felt her spine tingle as his hazel eyes looked straight into hers.
"Er, we. . .we don't really get along too well. . ." Lily struggled to speak, wishing the tingling feeling would stop.
"Why not?" James asked.
"Ever since I found out I was a witch. . .I don't know, she just started hating me." Lily replied.
"Well, I'll have to have a talk with her when she comes." James frowned. Lily laughed.
"The only way she'll come is if my parents force her to. And don't worry about it James, I'm quite used to it by now," she said. "Do you get along with your sister?"
"Sometimes," James replied, "She's engaged to this stupid bloke who doesn't even have a real job. I don't know what she sees in him. There's a lot of tension going on in my house right now. My dad threw a fit when she told him. He always imagined that his daughter would marry a decent guy with a good job."
"You want to be an Auror when you grow up?" Lily asked, remembering the conversation she had overheard on the first day of school.
"Yeah, I hate the Dark Arts! I would love to catch those bloody Death Eaters and put them away in Azkaban. And Defense Against the Dark Arts is my favorite subject – along with Transfiguration." James grinned.
"I think you would make a good Auror." Lily said sincerely. James would be perfect for the job – he was very brave and clever.
"You would be a good Auror too. You know more spells and charms than anyone in school, and you're really quick at figuring things out." James said.
"I never thought about being an Auror. I always thought I might like to become a teacher at Hogwarts." Lily admitted.
"A teacher? So you can get ragged by annoying children all day?" James laughed.
"I only hope I wouldn't get stuck with a kid like you!" Lily joked.
"Lily, why did you hate me all these years?" James asked seriously.
"I never hated you, James." Lily said.
"Then why didn't you like me?"
Lily sighed, poking her crumb cake with her fork. "I just didn't like how you thought you were better than everyone else, and how you thought you could do anything you wanted. And you were the most arrogant boy I had ever seen."
"I've tried to change. Really, Lily, I've been trying really hard." James said. Lily wanted to tear her gaze away from James's eyes, but she couldn't.
"I know you have. I can see you have," she said softly. She knew if she looked at him any longer, she would get the strong urge to lean over and kiss him. She stared down at her crumb cake, hoping James didn't think she was stupid. "Why me?" she suddenly asked, looking up at him again.
"What?" James asked, looking a bit startled.
"Why do you like me? Why do you claim that you've changed for me?" Lily asked. She knew she was ruining the mood completely, but she needed to hear it straight from him. She stared at James expectantly, who looked as if he were pondering how to answer that question.
"Er, I just do? I don't know how to answer that, Lily! Why does anyone like anyone?"
"Well, there are a lot of different possible reasons."
"Er, you're smart, and funny. . .and unbelievably beautiful," James began, still looking startled at the sudden question. Lily began blushing furiously. "Ever since that day I saw you sitting by the lake, I couldn't take my eyes off you. The way you made me feel was so new to me – I had never felt that way before. There were so many times I thought I should just give up on you, and be happy with girls who could actually stand me. But then I knew if I did that, I would never be able to feel this way again. My grandmother, before she died, told me to never give up on love. . ." James stopped abruptly, realizing what he had just said. Lily stared at him in shock. She didn't even think he was capable of such feelings. Here was the boy that played half the girls in school, never giving a damn whether he hurt any of them, just doing it for the thrill. And now to see, he had all these deep feelings. . . for her? It couldn't possibly be true.
"I don't believe you," Lily said, in almost a whisper. James slid his hand over Lily's, lacing his fingers with hers.
"I don't care – I know its true," he said in the same soft tone as Lily. James's eyes were warm and sincere, and he had a small smile on his mouth. Lily felt her eyes well with tears. 'Oh, please don't cry now!' she pleaded with herself. But this was just like all those romance novels she loved to read. . .all those romance movies she loved to watch. Lily's heart was pounding wildly as James's fingers stroked her hand. Suddenly, James took his gaze off her and looked past her towards the window. Lily turned around and saw Sirius's face pressed against the window, wagging his eyebrows frantically and grinning like a clown. Remus was shaking his head disapprovingly, Peter was staring in awe, Kailyn was whacking Sirius on the back of his head, and Bridget and Annabelle looked as if they would have strokes any minute now. Lily felt the biggest temptation to take out her wand and hex every single one of them, for disrupting the moment, even though none of them had really done anything.
"Are you done with your coffee?" James asked, still frowning at Sirius. Lily nodded. "Well, do you want to go look around at the shops, then?" James asked.
"Yes, alright." Lily replied. James stood up, and held out his hand to her. Lily felt that same tingle again as she took his hand. They walked out of the shop, where their friends suddenly pretended to be chatting casually. Lily shot Sirius a murderous look, for it had been him who had distracted James in the first place.
"Ah, are you finished, then? Well, we've finished our shopping as well!" Sirius said, not paying the slightest attention to Lily's glares.
"Shall we head back, then?" Kailyn asked.
"Me and Lily are going to stay and look around at the shops." James said, still holding on to Lily's hand.
"Alright, we'll see you later, then!" Remus said loudly, trying to cover up Sirius's snickers and Bridget and Annabelle's fit of giggles. Then, with a last wink from Sirius, the group started to walk back to Hogwarts, leaving James and Lily alone again.
Author's Note: Well hope you liked the chapter! Please read & review! Oh and the Petunia storyline will be coming into play really soon! Until then, it's just going to be James & Lily stuff cuz I love them! J ~Bananas