Marauders Match-making Inc.
*Thanks for the reviews. You all are great. Please keep reviewing and tell me what you want to see and what you think about it! Thank you! -Kait*
Disclaimer: The plot of this story is based on the ABC Family movie, "See Jane Date." The characters are property of J.K. Rowling. The only thing that belongs to me are the changes I made to the plot I borrowed, and the new characters that you don't know from the Harry Potter books. Alright with you then?
Chapter Two: Finding Mr. Right by Asking Mr. Wrong
Lily glanced down. She had run out of ice cream. Lily peered at the front of the carton. One pint? What she needed was one gallon.
She got up, went to the kitchen, and threw the box out. Lily opened the freezer above her refrigerator. She glanced inside, the cold air hitting her face refreshingly. She frowned at all the ice cubes.
No more ice cream, huh?
Then she walked back to the living room and opened the coat closet next to the door. I could always get more ice cream, she thought, pulling on her coat. The nearest market isn't that far. I could walk there.
Lily opened her apartment door and almost stumbled over—
"James?" she said, stunned.
"I was just about to knock," he said, a little surprised himself.
He grinned at her, and ran his fingers through his hair. He seemed to be carrying a grocery bag.
"How are you?" he sounded concerned.
Lily stood speechless in the doorway.
"I saw Sirius at the Order meeting," he explained.
Lily groaned, inviting him in.
"So Sirius is spreading around to all my ex-boyfriends that I'm single now?" Lily asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Just what she needed. An ex-boyfriend to console her.
But then again, she and James had dated and broken up back during her Hogwarts days. And since it was a mutual decision, they had been good friends since. So technically, he was more of a friend than an ex. Right?
"No, just me. It's because I'm special," James gloated.
Lily snorted.
"What? Do you want them all to know. That long list of guys?" he challenged, "Because I could pay them all visits."
And he would too.
"My list isn't half as long as yours, Potter."
Her eyes met his briefly.
"Point taken," he surrendered, and walked off into the kitchen. Lily followed curiously.
"So what's in the bag?" she asked as he set it on the counter.
James smiled at her, and unveiled it like he was on a game show.
"Your own free gallon of… ice cream!"
"You know me so well," Lily said holding back a laugh.
"Years of practice," he stated simply. "Now where are your spoons?"
"Second drawer to the left," she went into living room and reached the television. "Any movie preference?"
"Yeah, nothing weepy," he said, bringing in the gallon of ice cream, and two huge soup spoons.
-~-~-~-~-~-*-~-~-~-~-~-
"If you weren't going to acknowledge my movie preference, then why did you even ask me?" James asked Lily, his eyes glued to the television, grabbing a spoonful of ice cream.
"I'll always love you!" the actress on the screen cried as her leading man left her in the rain.
"To be polite," Lily replied, resuming her monotone voice again.
It was half-way through the movie, and Lily hadn't watched any of it. Sure, her glance was fixated on the TV, but her mind was on other things.
"James, what am I going to do?" Lily sighed, exasperated from thinking too much.
He tore his eyes away from the screen.
"You mean without… him?" After accidentally saying his name a couple of times, James quickly learned his name was evil.
"No…about the wedding."
"Wedding?" She suddenly had all of his attention. James got up and turned off the movie. "What wedding?"
"Petunia's wedding," Lily said as James plopped back down onto the couch. She spooned herself more ice cream. "She phoned be earlier, before you came. She called to tell me her wedding's in two months."
"Wow. Two months, huh?"
Lily swallowed her mouthful and nodded. "She knows someone."
James felt confused. "Oh… well, what's the problem?"
"She wants me to bring my boyfriend to the wedding, too," Lily said, starting to feel stressed again.
"So tell her you broke up with him," he responded immediately, wondering what the big deal was.
"No way, James. She will think I can't keep a boyfriend, since I always seem to be breaking up with one every time we talk. I can't!"
"So then stop talking to Petunia. Maybe you will keep your boyfriends," James grinned jokingly.
"Right. No more coming to you with my problems," she replied, not amused.
"Bring a friend with you to pose as your boyfriend," James recommended, trying to be helpful now. "Bring me. I'll fake my 'undying love' for you."
He moved closer to Lily, and playfully put his arm around her, raising his eyebrow suggestively.
Lily swatted his arm away, and glared at him. Then she took back the glare and almost laughed again.
"That could work, only she knows you. I've mentioned that we broke up."
"So we couldn't get back together?" he said, making sad-puppy eyes at her.
"Petunia won't believe that. Even if she stupid, she not that stupid."
"Okay… what about Remus?"
"Ex-boyfriend, remember?"
"Oh, yeah. Where was I during that?"
"Probably pulling a prank on the Slytherins with Sirius, would be my guess," she said with a laugh.
Lily dumped the two spoons in the empty ice cream container and took it to the kitchen. She tossed the spoons in the sink, and the ice cream in the garbage.
"Sirius?" James called from the other room.
"Petunia, the purple-haired bride, and a dead Lily mean anything to you?" she called back.
"Peter?"
"Are you kidding?"
"No?" he asked hopefully.
"How are his manners?"
Lily came back from the kitchen and joined James on the comfy sofa.
"Frank?"
"Married."
"Oops," James racked his brain for single men. Never in a million years did he think he'd be doing that. "Chris?"
"Too honest. He'd tell Petunia even if we duck taped his mouth."
"Snape?" James grinned wickedly, waiting for Lily's reaction.
Pure disgust.
"No offense but—"
"No need to elaborate, Lily," James said, "I agree completely."
Lily stopped, not wanting him to go on. When it came to James, he could come up with anyone, after he listed down Snape. Who knows? Next he'd probably suggest Malfoy!
"James. Stop. Now." Lily ordered, finally coming out of her funk to tell James off, "There is no way you are going to set me up with someone. I'll suit myself, thank you very much."
"Fine. I won't help you then." James said in mock disappointment, smiling mischievously. But if you took a trip into James's brain, you'd realize the last thing he wanted Lily to do is find a new boyfriend. He'd hated the last fifteen guys since himself enough. He wasn't about to let her get away again.
-~-~-~-~-~-*-~-~-~-~-~-
Please review, and tell me what you thought of this chapter.