Dragongurl- Thanks for the name and owl species thing! Good luck with AAA! Don't forget to talk to Slythe!

BlackLupin- Thanks for your encouragement! Glad you liked it! I thought you had stopped reading because I didn't get a review from you in so long.

To Be Young Again

Chapter 6: The Date

Lily gazed outside her window. The mountain scenery is beautiful, she thought. The mountains in the background, and the lake in front of it, the evergreens, the big amber eyes...

What? thought Lily incredulously. Oh, it's only an owl. With a sigh of relief, she went to the window to retrieve the large bird.

Lily undid the latch and gently brought the large bird inside. She untied the note attached to its leg. It read:

Dear Lily,

Can you be at the one-eyed witch's hump at 8:00 tonight? I'll pick you up there. Is that alright for our date?
Love,
James Potter

Lily shook her head in disgust. I can't believe Potter had the nerve to write that, she thought. She took out a piece of parchment and picked up a deep-green quill. She wrote:

Potter-

That's all fine with me. Why the witch's hump?
Lily Evans

She tied it to the owl's leg again, stroked the male bird once, and let it take off in flight. Lily watched the owl soar into the evening before resuming her Charms homework.

-

"Hiya, Firebolt," ((A/N: Please don't bug me about the name)) James greeted his hawk owl ((A/N: Thanks Melanie!)) cheerfully. "Brought me a reply?"

The owl hooted softly. James stroked Firebolt for a moment before untying the letter from his leg. It was the reply from Lily. James read it, smiled, dipped his quill into the ink bottle, and began to write.

Lily-

Never mind that. You'll see.
-James

P.S. Please don't call me by my last name on our date.

He grinned at the word 'date.' Oh, if only Sirius could see me now, smiling like a fool...he thought. He tied the letter to the owl's leg and watched him soar into the night.

He lay back on his bed and sighed. In just two hours he would be taking Lily out. Lily. Lily Evans.

"Wow," he whispered to himself. Then he splashed cold water onto his face and started to get ready for his big date.

-

Lily examined herself in the mirror. Her beautiful auburn ringlets had been piled on the top of her head by Arabella. Jane had chosen her emerald dress. She was just applying lipstick.

Why am I prettying myself up? she thought. It's not like I'm trying to prove something to Potter.

Or are you? said a nasty little voice in the back of her brain.

Shut up, she told the voice.

Just doing my job, said the voice gloomily before silencing itself.

Lily glanced at her watch. It read 8:00. Time to meet Potter, she told herself. But I swear I will not have fun. Not with that conceited airhead...

She reached the one-eyed witch, and found James Potter waiting for her there. He was wearing black robes with the Gryffindor lion in gold, and he had tried to tame his hair. It looked a little more decent, Lily could tell.

James grinned when he saw her. He took his wand out, tapped the one-eyed witch's hump, and said "Dissenduim." Lily gasped as it opened to reveal the secret passageway, and James smiled. He held out his arm.

"Shall we?"

Lily sighed and took his arm.

"But we better not be seen by anyone, Potter."

"I told you not to call me 'Potter.'"

"No you didn't!"

Just then an owl swooped down on Lily's shoulder. Just as she had untied the letter it bore, Firebolt took off.

Lily read the letter; a smile creeping onto her face, but she held it back.

"Okay, so you did tell me not to."

James smiled once more.

"Let's go, Lily," he said. Lily remembered her vow, put on a less-than-happy face, and followed James into Hogsmeade. She kept her face cold and masked as she entered Honeydukes. Shelves upon shelves of wizarding sweets greeted her green eyes.

They stepped out into the cold night. The evergreens were covered with snow and the ground was a soft white blanket.

"Shall we go for butterbeer?" asked James, through chattering teeth, nodding at The Three Broomsticks. Lily shrugged. James took that for a "yes" and they entered The Three Broomsticks.

"Two butterbeers, please," James told the bartender. He handed James two dusty bottles. James paid for them and went to the table where Lily was sitting. He handed her one of the butterbeers.

"To… us," James said. He raised his bottle. Lily half-heartedly raised her bottle in the air and took a sip.

"So, Lily," said James, trying to make conversation. "What's your favorite place in Hogsmeade?"

"Why should you care, Potter?" Lily scoffed. James looked hurt. "Ugh, fine...James."

"I was just trying to make conversation..."

"Well, stop trying Pot- James," Lily corrected herself.

They downed their butterbeer in silence.

"Um...wanna go up to the Shrieking Shack?" James made another feeble attempt at conversation.

"The Shrieking Shack? What the heck for?"

"N- nothing," James stammered quickly. "It's just that… well, the Shrieking Shack is…" You are NOT going to tell her, James told himself firmly. "It's, well… I like it and…"

"You like it? You like it?! What kind of a place is that for a date, huh, James? You want me to go just because you like the... the stupid Shrieking Shack!" Lily shrieked. "You'll always be the self-centered git I know, Potter," she said coldly.

Then James exploded. "Lily, I've been taking all this from you for our whole date!" James shouted. "Hello, I asked you out, and you accepted, and now you're-"

"I only accepted because of that stupid dare, Potter! It was a cowardly thing to do, knowing I would never go out with you if it weren't for the... special circumstances, and you know it!"

James' eyes flashed dangerously.

"Lily…" he said, apparently at a loss for words. "I asked you out because I liked you. And knowing you would never say 'yes', I forced you to say 'yes'. Just give me a chance, will you?"

"Potter… you don't have a chance," Lily said coldly. And with that, she got up, slammed her empty butterbeer bottle on the table, and walked out of the Three Broomsticks, never looking back.

What have I done? James thought gloomily.

A/N: Poor, poor James. I know he would never let go of his pride like that in real life, but this is FICTION. So use your IMAGINATION. Okay? And leave a review, or I'll hex you. (Hey, I can rhyme!)

Much love,

OutofAzkaban