How to Lose a Wizard in 10 Days

Chapter Five – Sparks Fly

James came back into the living room, wearing a white t-shirt and flannel plaid pants. He grinned at the sight of Lily, staring at his television. James wondered how such a little thing sitting on dusty books would give such entertainment to Lily. She was beautiful, sexy, interesting… they also had a lot in common. Making her fall in love with him was going to be easier than baking a cake. Well, James had difficulty with baking, but you get what he means.

James cleared his throat, to get Lily's attention. Nothing happened. He cleared his throat louder. Again, nothing happened. James rolled his eyes. 'Oh please,' He thought. He looked around, seeing what he could use to grab her attention. He found a stuffed toy snitch, which was probably Sirius'. He threw it at her and James got Lily's attention.

"Hey!" Lily exclaimed, picking up the snitch. "You don't have to chuck poor little stuffed toys at me, you know."

"I tried clearing my throat twice, but nothing happened," James explained sweetly, settling on the couch with her.

Lily grinned. "Sorry, I don't get to watch the telly too much. Evil room mates."

"Tell me about it," James muttered.

"So, do you bring all the girls you meet the first night back to your flat?" Lily teased. "Or do you just like me better?"

"Heh heh," James chuckled. "Naw, I just like you better." He winked at her and he stared into Lily's eyes and removed a lock of her hair from those bright green eyes.

For a very rare moment, Lily's eyes peeled away from the telly and locked with James' eyes. 'Wow… those brown eyes… they look… delicious,' She thought to herself, exhilaratingly. The breathing of both of them had increased drastically and before they knew what was happening, their lips were locked and they were making out fiercely on James' couch. It seemed like hours before they parted.

"Wow," Lily breathed. Her head was spinning… she'd never kissed that hard in her life. Not since Hogwarts.

"Damn right," James said, fixing his glasses and wiping off the fog. He ran his hand through his hair. 'I so have her,' He thought smugly.

'This sort of sucks that I have to be ditzy to such a nice guy,' Lily thought guiltily. 'Ah well.'

"Don't you think we're going to fast?" Lily asked, unsure.

"We can go whatever pace you want, baby," James replied smoothly. He had her eating out of his hand!

Lily melted. "Aww… thanks."

"Hey," James replied. "I'm just being a gentleman."

Lily hugged him. "I had a great time tonight."

"Meet a girl, bring her back to my place, watch a bit of the telly, and make out like mad?" James mused. He nodded. "Yeah, pretty good date tonight."

Lily laughed. "Oh please. I've had worse."

"Oh really?" James arched his eyebrow. "Would you like to share more of you with me on our next date?"

"Oh, so there's going to be another date, huh?" Lily grinned.

"Lè Chantè, say about 7, tomorrow night?" James suggested.

"I'd love to," Lily whispered, giving James a tight hug.

James stroked her hair and whispered in her ear, "I hope we have something like this next time we meet."

"Me too," Lily said. "Bye now." She apparated back to her flat.

- -

"You whore!" Arabella exclaimed as Lily got back. "It's already 1 in the morning!"

"Wow, time passes by fast," Lily murmured.

"So…" Katie said. "How was it! Spill it all!"

Lily grinned excitedly. "Like oh my gosh he is so cute! But he's such a slob. I swear, I couldn't see the floor in his apartment, so basically, I just kept to myself."

Arabella sighed. "We know he's cute – why do all the cute ones have to be slobs!"

"I know!" Lily exclaimed. "That's what I said out loud to him and he just grinned and remarked, 'You think I'm cute?'. Gosh, this is going to be so perfect for the article!"

"This really sucks," Arabella replied disappointedly. "Why can't this be real life? It'd be so nice for you to have a boyfriend, Lils. You sounded so excited."

"Yeah, I know," Katie agreed. "Don't fall for him. You know he's only for an article."

"Oh, you guys!" Lily laughed. "I'm not falling for him, I barely know the guy. I don't need a boyfriend in real life or anything, jeez. But what I did manage to do is to snag a second date at Lè Chantè."

"Wow," Katie breathed. "He must be rich. Lè Chantè is so expensive… and is he French?"

"I haven't heard of that place," Lily said thoughtfully. "I dunno about the rich or expensive thing, but I'm pretty sure he isn't French. I mean, his last name is Potter. He's probably English, like us."

"You haven't heard of Lè Chantè!" Katie bursted out, shocked. The tone of her voice slowly turned into melancholy. "Frank had made reservations for us there to eat dinner, but we broke up." Katie tried to keep the tears in.

Arabella and Lily patted her back.

"There, there…" Arabella cooed. "Remember? We don't need guys. Frank's an ass for dumping you."

"I know," Lily replied. "Total ass. That's why I'm writing this article. To show your mistakes, even though you're a great person."

"Thanks, guys," Katie replied, sniffing.

"Your welcome," Arabella grinned. "Anyways, what else happened, Lil?"

"Okay, we made out like mad on his couch," Lily grinned. "And I got the second date and left."

Arabella slapped Lily's arm. "You dog."

Lily laughed and stuck out her tongue. "Don't hate me because I'm just too beautiful for you!"

"What are you talking about!" Arabella giggled.

- -

"Hey, so what happened at the meeting?" Sirius said, coming home with the smell of booze on his breath. His shirt was messed up, his hair tousled, and a drunk look on his dark face.

"I'm surprised you still remember," James muttered. Ever since Lily left, he was brushing up on those old James Potter dating charms and waiting for Sirius to come home.

"Just because I'm drunk, doesn't mean I don't remember important things," Sirius said slowly, his words slurring together.

James rolled his eyes. "Right."

Sirius staggered in, trying to raise his hand in protest. He fell to the floor.

"God, you're trashed," James muttered. He dragged Sirius onto the couch which was his old position. He went to get a blanket and threw it on Sirius's body.

"That should take care of it," James said to himself. He walked to Remus' room, hoping he was awake.

Well, James's hopes went down when he saw Remus sleeping like a baby on his bed, hugging the blankets close to his chest. James sighed and closed the door. He returned to his own bed and decided to explain about the meeting and the 'date' tomorrow when they were actually awake.

- -

Sirius looked around and his vision was still a bit woozy.

"What happened," He muttered to himself. Flashbacks of last night came back to him. He went to the Leaky Cauldron and got bloody drunk. James was going to have another fit. Again. Sirius groaned in aggravation. Today was… Tuesday! Holy shit! He jumped up as fast as his body would respond and ran to his closet.

James walked in the room and sighed in relief when he saw Sirius up and about. "Thank god you're up," James replied. "You know, you shouldn't really get drunk that much."

"Gee, thanks," Sirius replied groggily. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind when I'm drowning in beer."

James smiled dryly. "Glad you'll keep that in mind."

"No problem," Sirius said, stretching. "So, what happened in the meeting?"

"Wow," James replied in a shocked tone. "I'm shocked you still remember."

Sirius gave James a look.

"Okay, okay," James said. "We were talking about the diamond account and the conversation led somewhere and we made a bet."

"Ooh, I like bets," Sirius said, getting interested.

"I like this one, too," James grinned. "It's as easy as hell. They chose a girl in the Leaky Cauldron for me. Wow, she's fucking sexy. I have to make her fall in love with me in 10 days and if I do, then I get to be in charge of this account. Pretty damn easy, eh?"

"Aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself?" Sirius asked. "I mean, sure you're great with the women, Prongs, but… 10 days to make one fall in love with you? Is she the typical blonde stereotype?"

"Quite the opposite," James replied. "She's a red-head with the most brilliant emerald eyes."

"Damn it," Sirius swore. "It looks like we'll never get to work on this account."

"Watch your language, Padfoot," James warned. "What do you mean we'll never get to work on this account? Jeez, you sure have faith in me. Anyways, it'll be easier than eating pie. I just work the old Potter charm and she'll be falling like that."

"How can you be so sure of yourself!" Sirius laughed. "I don't think any female is that thick!"

"Because I am James Potter," James replied, patting off imaginary dust. "Of course women aren't thick. They're lovely creatures that'd line up any day just for a date with me, James Potter."

Sirius shook his head. "I dunno what happened to your ego, but it's definitely pushing mine out of this whole apartment."

James laughed. "Oh please. Why does everyone think I'm cocky? Can't people handle some confidence from a chap?"

"Not if the confidence gets a little overboard, hmm?" Sirius replied. "I mean, you never know if she's going to be using you or not and she sounds perfectly wonderful. Don't you feel guilty for using her?"

"Well, of course I do," James sighed. "But not everything in life's fair, right? I mean, if it was, maybe Chris would've let me work on an account months ago and not hand it to those two sluts."

"Yeah, you're right," Sirius replied. "Just be nice, I guess… Good luck."

"I don't need it," James grinned.

"Of course you do," Sirius rolled his eyes. "That damn cockiness of yours is coming back again."

"Oh, you know you love it," James winked.

"Oh god! Are you flirting with me!" Sirius wailed. "JAMES IS GAY!"

James laughed and glared. "Shut. Up."

- -

A/N: Oh god, you guys are wonderful! Sticking and baring with me for all this time! … Wow! That was the best chapter I've ever written. Well, everything flowed so easily. I love when that flow happens. Hehe. Review! This was a longer chapter than the others.

Love always, Angeline