Hey everyone! Sorry I took so long in updating--I blame it on homework!
Many thanks to my reviewers:
Keeper of the West: I'm not sure about this being one of the good stories, but I'll do my best. Thanks for the tip about the commands. Got it all sorted.
Sam-453: Can't write in chemistry, I have Mrs Stegman! LOL, why don't we just have a buggin'contest.
Laura: Thanks for reviewing my story! Glad you like it. :o)
Anyway…
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Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter Potter or any of the characters.
Chapter 3Lily started to pack her books into her bag, ready for her first session with Potter. She was dreading it, and had spent two days doing nothing but complaining to Isabel. Little did she know that Isabel thought that she and James were made for each other, and that this was the perfect opportunity for them to discover their true feelings for one another. Had Lily known, Isabel probably would have had to join Nearly Headless Nick as a resident ghost of Gryffindor.
She walked down the stairs, with a sense of foreboding. Spotting James by the crackling fire, she made her way over, weaving her way between the squashy armchairs and tables of the Gryffindor common room.
"All right, Evans?" James asked. Lily suddenly fervently wished that she were the one doing the coaching that first night. An image of an arrogant Potter, lording over her suddenly flashed into her mind. She answered him with a sinking heart
"Mmm. Come on, let's go to the library, there's too much noise in here for us to concentrate."
James walked towards the portrait-hole, jumped out and offered his hand to Lily,
"M'lady?"
Lily shot him a death-glare, but her face cracked into a smile when she saw how hard he was trying to be serious. She tried to bring herself back to her senses by thinking of the mean tricks he had played on her, and hoped this would make her angry with him. But, try as she might, she just couldn't bring herself to be annoyed with him. He just looked so sweet standing there, and suddenly, all the tricks he had played on her just seemed like jokes. Jokes that had sometimes got out of hand, but jokes all the same.
"Lily?" James voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Have you gone deaf, dumb, temporarily insane…or all of the above?"
Mentally shaking herself (whilst considering the possibility that she might have gone temporarily insane, if her recent thoughts were anything to go by), Lily jumped out of the portrait-hole. She followed James' lead, praying that the hour with him would pass quickly. While she had been lost in thought, Lily had stopped noticing where she was walking. She realised that she was nowhere near the library, stopped in her tracks, and found herself beside a statue of a one-eyed witch. She heard James mutter something, and all of a sudden, she felt herself being pulled behind the statue.
"James! What are you--?" She was cut off by the hand that clapped over her mouth.
"Shh! Someone will hear us! Just follow my lead."
Too intrigued to protest, Lily followed him in silence. After about a mile of walking, she was about to ask where they were going, when she found herself in a room full of boxes and barrels. James started to climb a stepladder that she hadn't noticed. He signalled for her to follow him, and she did so, her curiosity mounting every second. He helped her climb the last step into the room above, and when she realized where she was, gave an audible gasp. Honeydukes. The place was empty, for night had fallen, but she recognised the smell of the barrels and trays full of delicious sweets and chocolates. Letting themselves out of the store, James started walking towards The Three Broomsticks. He ordered two Butterbeers, and found a table in a quiet corner of the room. At first they sat in silence, each occasionally taking a sip of their drinks, but neither of them knowing what to say to the other. At last Lily ventured,
"Why did you bring me here?"
"You just looked so glum when you came down to meet me," James explained simply. "I couldn't bear you looking like that throughout the whole of our first session."
Lily blushed when she realised James had noticed how much she had been dreading the evening.
"Don't be uncomfortable about it. You've already made it clear on hundreds of other occasions just how much you hate me." He said this with an edge of bitterness to his voice. "You've never been embarrassed to make your feelings known to me and the rest of the world before, so why should this time be any different?" James mumbled, with great feeling.
Lily frowned. Here was a side of James Potter that she had never seen before. He always seemed so cocky, so arrogant and sure of himself. This couldn't be the same person sitting opposite her, could it?
"James, I don't hate you…" Lily trailed off mid-sentence. Saying his first name felt strange and alien to her tongue. She realised that in all the years she had known him, she had never called him by his first name.
"Thou shalt not lie, Evans."
Lily face broke into a smile, but she forced herself to be serious.
"I don't hate you," she repeated. "It's just that in all the years that we've known each other, you've never given me a reason to like you."
James' chocolate brown eyes met with Lily's startling green ones. Lily asked herself why she had never noticed how deep his eyes were. Probably because I only look at him to glare she thought, answering herself. She felt herself being sucked in by those bewitching eyes. It was almost as if she were falling, and she could do nothing to stop herself. James drew closer to her, speaking in barely a whisper,
"Can I tell you a secret?"
Lily could feel his warm breath on her face. He was too close, far too close, but the thought did not register. Instead, she also drew herself closer, and breathed,
"What?"
There was silence for a moment, but it felt like an age. Lily saw his gaze drift down to her perfectly shaped lips, and for one long, shocking moment, she thought he was going to kiss her.
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Ha! I've never done a cliffy before, and I thought I was going to feel incredibly mean after doing that, but you know, I just feel too darn good. I agree with Sam-453, cliffies are fun ('cept when you're on the receiving end)! Anyway, please review! I'll love you forever?