Chapter Ten

James walked up the stairs and sat down next to Lily.
"Do you think she'll be ok?" he asked, wringing his hands nervously.
"I don't know. I mean, you guys didn't actually go out that long so you couldn't have been that attached," Lily replied.
"I think Tracey would beg to differ," James almost chuckled. "She told me that she loved me, you know." He looked up at her.
"After a week!" Lily couldn't believe that Tracey had actually felt that strongly about James so soon. Even she had waited a few weeks to decide that she loved him and even longer to tell him.
James nodded his head. "Yup."
"Well, what did you say back?" Lily was staring at him intently.
He paused and ran his hand through his hair. "I-uh..." he licked his lips nervously. "I told her I liked her socks," he finished pathetically.
Lily snorted accidentally. "I'm sorry, it's just...wow. That is the saddest thing I may have ever heard. "She grinned. "Were they even decorated?"
"Yeah they had barn animals on them...like cows and pigs and stuff. And there were speech bubbles next to the animals with their noises.." Lily was trying her best not to laugh. James was a little too into Tracey's socks. He continued to explain. "So like, the cow said 'Moooo' and- what? Hey! You're laughing at me!" he smiled as he said it.
"No no, I like it. So what noise did the cow make again?"
James set himself up to show her. "Moo- wait. Uh uh, not falling for that!" he hit her playfully.
"Hey!" she yelled, tickling him exactly where he was worst ticklish.
"N-nooo..stop-s-top!" he wheezed, rolling back on the stair.
Lily finally let up and pulled away. James lunged at her chin to get her back.
"Ahh! James Potter!" Lily cried out. She tried her best to hit him while laughing furiously.

He stopped tickling but didn't let go of her face. His face softened as he watched her.
"James what are you-" Lily's sentence was cut short when James kissed her. Lily jerked away and looked at him. Her eyes watched his forehead wrinkle.
His hands were still clasped around her face.

Lily threw her lips on James' impulsively, pushing him back against the wall. She loved the feel of his lips against hers. She let his tongue maneuver it's way into her mouth. She deepened the kiss and felt the familiar butterflies in her stomach as his tongue moved around her mouth while his thumbs brushed against her cheek.

James finally broke the kiss, leaving the two panting on the stairs. Before she could react, James began kissing her neck, softly. She tilted her head back and bit her lip.

"James..." she breathed.
"Mhhmmm?" he replied, his fingers fiddling with her top button.
She pulled away and he looked.

"I can't. I'm sorry." Lily fought back tears as he watched her. She re-did her button

and frowned. "James, I love you, but I just can't."
She stood up and flattened her shirt.

"I'm sorry," she whispered before running back up the stairs, leaving James dumbfounded on the step.

Over the next few days Lily tried her best to avoid James' eyes in the hallway and during classes but it turned out to be harder than she thought it would be. Whenever he caught her eye Lily would blush, smile and looked away quickly.

One day about a week after the kissing incident Lily was sitting in History of Magic and taking notes when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder.
She turned to see James sitting behind her, looking intently at the board, a smile playing at his lips while he scribbled some random notes on a piece of parchment. Lily rolled her eyes and turned back to the lesson. She continued writing her notes but she couldn't get James off her mind.

The second Goblin Rebellion of 1734 was a turning point in the war between the Wizarding community and the Magical Creatures community. Magical beasts were…

Tap, tap. Lily felt a finger on her shoulder again. This time she didn't turn around to look at James and instead dipped her quill into her ink bottle and scribbled a few words on her parchment. She sighed and tapped her fingers on the edge of her desk.
Lily couldn't stop wondering if James was still looking at her. Finally, she stole a glance over her shoulder. James was indeed watching her. As she looked around, he caught her eyes with his and smiled. She smiled back.
He raised his eyebrows at her and grinned deeper. Lily felt a familiar sweep of red creep into her cheeks as he pouted and then began making kissy faces at her. Lily giggled and opened her eyes wide at him to hint that he should settle down. He frowned and shook his head, feigning like she had upset him.
"James, stop it!" she whispered to him, giggling again.

"Uhh, Miss Evans, Mr. Potter? Do we have a problem back there?" Lily turned back around to see the professor eyeing them intently. The whole class had turned around to look at them and see how they would reply. Lily heard James begin talking from behind her.
"Well, actually yes we do, Professor," he started. Lily's eyes widened and she swiveled around to face him. The professor raised his eyebrows. "You see, sir, Lily and were-" Lily threw her hand over James' mouth as she saw where he was going.
"Miss Evans?"
Lily let go of James' mouth and turned back to face the teacher. "Everything is fine, sir," she said, smiling politely. "We apologize for the interruption."
The professor sighed picked up his wand. "Very well.."

Lily threw James and exasperated look before turning back to her notes. Slowly the rest of the kids in the class also returned to their note-taking and the class continued as it had until the bell rang to signal the changing of classes.

As Lily left through the door she felt someone bump into her. She turned to see James smiling at her.
"Oops…" he grinned as he headed towards the astronomy towers. Lily sighed and walked the other way back to Gryffindor Tower. When she walked into her room and threw her book bag onto her bed, she noticed something that hadn't been there before. Reaching into her bag Lily pulled out a singled long-stemmed red rose with a note attached to it. Lily unfolded the parchment.

Lily,

Hoping I can help change you mind…

James xoxo

Over the next week Lily continued to kind little treasures in her room and notes in her books from James. She didn't know how he did it without her catching him in the act but this only made her like them more.

As her relationship with James began to slowly get better and better again, she found herself the mockery of most underclassmen girls. Apparently word had spread pretty quickly that James had dumped Tracey so he could have Lily back and things had gone bad from there. Along with romantic noted from James, Lily began receiving anonymous hate notes about her intentions with the famous James Potter. However, with the help of her friends, who stuck by her side, she pushed all the hate away and continued on, holding her head up high as she passed groups of loathing girls in the halls.

One night Lily was up in her room doing homework with Liz and Carmen. She got up and said she had to go to the bathroom and left the room. After using the toilet Lily washed her hands at the sink and looked at herself in the mirror. She couldn't help but smile at how well things were going for her now and how fast things had turned around.

As Lily left the bathroom, she heard footsteps as someone descended the stairs. Looking around the corner she saw none and shrugged. Then she walked over to the door and went back into her room.

As she plopped back down on her bed and picked up her binder, she noticed her friends smiling at her.
"What?" she asked, looking back and forth between them. Liz and Carmen looked at each other and giggled.
"Prince Charming left you something while you were in the loo," Liz said, pointing at Lily's dresser. Lily look where she pointed and saw a gold box with an envelope attached to the top. She got up and walked across the room to pick it up and bring it back to her bed where her friends waited eagerly to see what James had gotten Lily.
"Does he stalk me or something?" she joked as she removed the card from it's' envelope. Liz giggled again. Lily read the note, which was written in slanted red ink.

My Dearest Flower (Lily almost puked at how corny this all was)
Please meet me in the entrance hall tonight at 8.30. In the box is something I got you; I thought you could use it where we're going tonight.
Love,
James

Lily put the card down and lifted the top off of the gold box. She gasped at what she saw inside.

Folded neatly inside the box was a gorgeous black v-neck dress. Along the neckline were tiny little stitched Lilies. They were also sewn across the hemline which fell just below Lily's knees.

"Oh my..." Lily breathed as she lifted it out of the box. Liz was grinning enviously while Carmen clapped gleefully on the bed across from Lily.
"Oh, it's so beautiful, Lily!" She cooed, coming over to examine the dress more closely. She picked up the note and grinned. "What shoes are you going to wear with it?"

Lily put down the dress and picked up her books. "I'm not going."
"What do you mean you're not going!" Liz screamed, running over to join them. "You have to go!"
"I do not. I have too much homework anyway," Lily replied, staring intently at the page in front of her.
Carmen scoffed. "It's a Friday night, Lily. Live a little," she said, taking the book from Lily.
"Oh yeah, it's Friday. Darn, now I have no excuse," she said under her breath.
"Plus, you know you wanna!" Liz said, picking up the dress.
Lily sighed. "Fine, I'll go," she said, giving in. The two girls next to her squealed with delight. "But you two better drop it now that I'm going."
"We promise!" They cried in unison. Carmen and Liz jumped off the bed and grabbed Lily by the hands.
"Okay, we have one hour. Let's get you gorgeous!"

Lily looked at herself in the mirror. Liz and Carmen had spent just over an hour frantically curling and tweezing and making-up her body and they were finally done. The black dress fell beautifully on Lily's gorgeous body. On her feet were her favorite black stiletto heels that accentuated her muscled legs. Carmen had curled her hair so that it hung in simple waves and Liz had perfected the look with just a touch of make-up that made her emerald eyes pop.

"Wooow," commented Liz, looking at their finished product.
"You look beautiful, if I may say so myself," added Carmen, grinning broadly.
Lily turned around to face her two friends. "Thanks so much for helping me guys. I know I can always count on you in times of dire need," she joked, hugging them both.

"Ohh, wait!" Carmen scampered across to the other side of her room and grabbed a box out of her drawer. Walking back she pulled out a emerald drop necklace which she fastened around Lily's slender neck.
"My mum gave me this for Christmas but it totally clashes with everything I own...you should keep it, it looks great on you!" Carmen said, her eyes shining happily.
"Thanks, Carm, I love it!" Lily hugged her friend again and looked at the clock on the wall. "8.45," she noted. "Right on time."

Liz picked up a bottle of perfume and pointed it upward. Lily stood across from her. Liz sprayed a squirt and Lily walked through, twirling in the mist. She checked her make-up, added a dab of the perfume to her wrists and neck and grabbed her purse.
"Ok, let's go," she said, opening the door.
Liz and Carmen followed her down the stairs. All the boys in the common room looked up as Lily entered. Most of them stared at her raptly as she walked by. She caught Sirius' eye as she neared the portrait hole and he winked at her before turning back to his game of Exploding Snap.

The girls soon reached the entrance hall where they saw James standing with his back facing them. He was dressed in a suit with shiny shoes and had somehow managed to tame some of his wild hair. He turned as he heard Lily's heels clicking on the hard floor.
He glanced at his watch. "8.50, right on time," he said, smirking.
"Hi, James," Lily replied, reaching him. He glanced at the girls behind Lily.
"I see you come with and entourage," he joked, waving at them. "Liz, Carmen."
"Hello James," replied Liz. "We're leaving her in your care now so you better treat her right."
"And don't do anything I wouldn't do," Carmen added, winking slyly.
"We'll try," James replied. He offered Lily his arm. "Miss Evans."
Lily took it and waved goodbye to her friends as the couple exited into the starry night

"You wanna try something?"
Lily looked up from her menu at James. "What kind of something?" she asked warily.
"Well, I've always wanted to go on a date where we order our favorite dish for the other person. Do you want to?" he asked, looking quite excited at the prospects.
"Sure, sounds like fun," Lily replied and began scanning the foods again. The prices were really high and she was a little worried about buying something too expensive.
"James, this place is really nice. Are you sure it's ok?" she asked, looking over the lit candles at him.
"Lily, please don't worry about it so much. I want this to be perfect for you."
Lily blushed and smiled, glancing back at the menu.

A little while later the waiter came over to take their orders and get their menus from them.
James looked up at Lily apprehensively.
"James, do you want to order first?" she offered.
"Sure." He looked at his menu and then the waiter. "I'll have the roast duck with the sauce and asparagus. Thank-you." He handed the waiter his menu and sat back looking very smug at ordering a fancy dish for Lily.
"And for you, miss?"
"Can I please have a toasted cheese sandwich and french fries, please," she smiled politely at the waiter who discreetly rolled his eyes ad jotted down the order. "Oh, and may we please have some ketchup with that?"
"Certainly, miss; I'll see what I can do." The waiter turned and walked off towards the kitchens.

"Grilled cheese?" James exclaimed at Lily. She grinned and took a sip of her water.
"Not what you were expecting?" she asked.
"C'mon, that is not your favorite dish, Lils," he coaxed.
"Your right, it's not." She grinned wider. "But you're the one who's going to have to eat it in front of all these fancy people!"
"That's so mean," he sighed.

"I can't believe I am eating this in a suit," James grumbled as he dipped his sandwich in the blob of ketchup on the side of his plate.
Lily giggled and speared a piece of duck on her fork. "Mmmm," she exaggerated. "This duck is soooo good."
James threw her a look from across the table and stuffed a few french fries in his mouth. He couldn't believe they had actually served them this meal.

As he finished the last bite of his cheese sandwich, James listened to the soft music playing around them.
"You wanna dance?" he asked suddenly.
Lily looked up at him. "Here? Now?"
He smiled. "Yeah."
Lily looked a little unsure for a second but then she set down her fork and knife. "Okay."
The two stood and placed their napkins on the table. James took her right hand in his and placed his other around her waist. Lily put her free hand on his shoulder and they began to sway.
They heard a few older couples make 'awww' noises around them and in a minute, two other young couples were dancing, too.
"This is nice," Lily told him as she lay her head on his shoulder.
He breathed in the scent of her perfume and smiled. "I'm glad you like it."

Ok, so I hope that was long enough! Lol

Sorry I haven't added in forvever but it wouldn't let me for a while so this superlong chapter is your reward for sticking with me!

More soon!

Jes

p.s. I've tried double spacing and adding spaces in between lines but it won't pick them up or let me change them so im sorry if it's hard to read!