Ch 2: Getting over it

ACHOO!

Lily suddenly woke up, sneezing. She rubbed her eyes and could tell she was still in bed. She looked out the window and saw it was still cloudy outside, but no more rain.

"Must be morning," Lily thought.

Eric had offered to walk her home, and she let him knowing all too well what would be waiting for her to be at home. Her sister, Petunia, had gone out with her fiancé, so it was just her parents, thankfully. Although, once he left they seemed to have changed. When Lily was helping her mom with washing the dishes she had asked all of a sudden,

"What happened to that nice young man you were talking to, when you arrived back Lily. You know that one with the short black hair." Lily thought about this for a moment, before replying.

"Who? James?"

"James was it? You called him Potter from what I recall."

"Well, we've sort of gotten used to seeing each other, so I decided maybe it wouldn't be so bad to call him by his first name." Lily lied, not wanting to mention the state she last saw him in.

"Oh, how friendly of you? Well, he seemed like a nice young man, and I approve of him."

"Mum, please. Eric's my boyfriend now, so if you'd stop mentioning James. I'd appreciate it." Lily asked. Mrs. Evans stopped what she was doing and looked at her daughter, smiling.

"So that young man who came over was your boyfriend?" she asked.

"Yes, mum. And please don't mention it to dad. You know how he can get." Lily pleaded.

"Oh, all right. I won't say a word." Mrs. Evans sighed, deeply.

"What's wrong mum?" Lily asked.

"Oh, nothing, I was just remembering how kind and sweet James seemed to be. Shame though. He seemed like a nice boy."

"Yeah sure mum, I'm going to bed, night." Lily said, kissing her mother on the cheek and going up to her room.

Lily had remembered that time all too well…

"Hey Evans, come on. It was just a joke." James yelled as he caught up with her on the other side of the barrier.

"Kissing me, when I clearly said not to is hardly my idea of a joke, Potter." Lily screamed.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry I kissed you, okay."

"No, not okay. You're not sorry at all!"

"Well, I must be honest. I'm not the least bit sorry."

"You are such a…mum!" Lily cried as her mother had reached out and gave her a hug.

"Lily. How we missed you." Mrs. Evans said, then, noticed James.

"Hello, there." Mrs. Evans greeted.

"Hello Mrs. Evans. Pleased to meet you," James greeted politely. Then a holler was heard and Lily saw Sirius Black coming toward them.

"Well, I must be going. It was a great pleasure to meet you, Mrs. and Mr. Evans." James said and ran to meet Sirius. Mr. Evans starred at James as he left and growled,

"I don't like him."

"Oh, that's just silly. You don't like any boy that Lily has an interest in." Mrs. Evans giggled.

"Mum, I don't have an interest in him. I mean, he's…Potter."

"Well, if that's what you say." Mrs. Evans said and they walked to go to the car.

Thinking about James, made Lily ask,

"What was wrong with him, earlier? He seemed sick."

"Well, of course he'd be sick. He was running in the rain."

"But that didn't seem it. It was in his eyes. It seemed something was wrong."

"But what?"

"What's wrong with him, Padfoot? What's wrong with him?" Peter asked, anxious as he paced back and forth in James' bedroom. Feeling both dizzy and frustrated from watching him, Sirius slapped Peter in the back of his head.

"Nothing's wrong with him, Peter. So stop your worrying." Sirius growled, although, he himself was trying to believe it himself. What could have happened to James that got him like this?

"Probably just being out in the rain, Wormtail, nothing serious," Remus assured his panicky friend. Remus felt restless and sat on the chair next to Sirius so he could talk quieter.

"Quite a commotion, huh, I mean we come back from a normal day at Diagon Ally and James looks as if he was attacked by a death eater." Remus whispered to Sirius.

"Although, we know that can't be it. Prongs would have been fighting them, not saying that he felt dead." Sirius noted. Remus shook his head in agreement, but asked,

"But what could have happened to leave James in this sort of state?"

"Who knows, Remus? I don't." Sirius said, but added, "But I know who might."

Then, James seemed to be waking up and tried sitting up. His friends knew something was wrong from the moment his eye opened. Instead of his bright hazel filled eyes, there were just empty holes. He looked at his friends and surprisingly smiled.

"Hey, what's up mates?" he asked.

The three looked up at him in shock, until Sirius took some action. He suddenly grabbed James by the collar, lifted him out of the bed, and began shaking him forcefully.

"What bloody hell do you mean, what's up mates?" he growled threatening.

"Padfoot, please." Remus pleaded, trying to release his hold on James.

"Yeah, Padfoot. Please." James gasped, between breaths. Sirius let go completely. James looked at Sirius in shock.

"What's going on?" James asked, confused.

"You don't remember?" Peter asked, just as confused.

"Remember……what?"

"Remember what happened?"

"Oh, yeah, about that, sort of a blur really. I remember seeing Evans and her boyfriend…then I think I blanked out."

"Wait…her boyfriend?" Sirius asked, waving his hands in the air for James to stop.

"Uh, yeah, that Eric O'Bryan guy," James said calmly. At this Sirius' mouth plopped open and he burst again, grabbing James' neck this time.

"You've got to be kidding me! All that drama just, because Evan's hooked up with some pretty boy," Sirius growled, shaking harder than before.

"PADFOOT, STOP! He can't breath." Remus said pulling James out of Sirius' grip.

"HE CAN'T BREATH? I COULDN'T BREATH BECAUSE I WAS SO SCARED ABOUT HIM!" Sirius shouted.

Sirius dropped James on his bed, and chuckled

"Boy, are you the drama king. Just because the love of your life has gone off with another girl, you decide to become the living dead. Funny, Prongs, funny." Although, James chuckled, his heart still felt broken from the thought of what happened yesterday.

"So, what's your plan on getting her back, Prongs?" Sirius asked James, while nudging him in the arm.

"I'm not planning on getting her back, Padfoot." James admitted, getting dressed.

"Well, I was thinking…WHAT? What do you mean you're not planning on getting her back?" Sirius asked, looking at his friend in disbelief.

"She seemed, well, happy Padfoot. And I have no right to go and mess up their relationship." James explained, and was about to walk out the room.

"You mean, just like that? After everything else you've done, you're just going to back down? That's not the Prongs I know and love." Sirius barked, half upset and half confused.

"Well, Sirius, that Prongs you know and love is going to be maturing and if you don't like him, that's fine, do whatever you want. But is it really worth forgetting our friendship?" James asked, looking straight into Sirius' eyes. Sirius starred long and hard at his best friend and chuckled, "Boy Prongs, you're really serious aren't you?"

"Yes, I am. Padfoot. Yes, I am."

"Well, you know what this means, right?"

"Wrong. What does it mean?"

"It means you have a chance to win Evans back. You know I've got a point, Prongs."

"What point? All I'm doing is respecting her choice."

"Exactly, you're respecting her. That's bound to count for something."

"Now, Padfoot. Didn't you hear what Prongs just said?" Remus asked, before they started.

"Now hold on. Maybe you're right Padfoot. Maybe I do have a chance." James said, a smile creeping up his face.

"Oh no," Remus moaned.

"Oh, come on Moony. I said, I'd respect her choice. Doesn't mean I have to like it. And you said it yourself yesterday. Nothing can last forever, and it's my attitude that needs to change. Think about it, Moony, it's a new approach for me."

"Okay, now that's just twisting my words."

"Are you denying them then?" Sirius asked.

"No, I mean, yes…what? No…that's not…" Remus stammered, until he gave a deep sigh and shook his head.

"Got roped in again, well, guess there's not denying it…"

"Because you can't," Sirius cut in.

"Right, so I'm in. How about you Peter?" Remus said, looking at Peter, who looked disgusted.

"All of this for a girl? Boy, it's going to be one hell of a year." Peter said, nodding his head in agreement.

"Alright, so it's agreed, we're helping Prongs get Miss Evans back?" Sirius asked

"Yep," the others shouted.

"Well let's get to work. Prong's has got a lot of maturing to do." Sirius chuckled.

"Alright, well, you take care now." Mrs. Evans said, hugging Lily one more time.

"I'll miss you guys. I'm probably coming at Christmas, so don't worry." Lily assured them as she picked up her trunk. As she waved good-bye someone crashed into her and she soon found herself on the ground, although in a flash the person had positioned themselves under Lily so she won't be the one flattened. Lily looked to see who she had landed on and saw…

"JAMES!" Lily cried, getting up quickly. James held his head to focus on who had fallen on him and also cried,

"Hey Lily." She held out a hand to him and helped him up.

"Sorry, about that. I didn't hurt you did I?" James asked, looking if Lily had any cuts or bruises.

"No, I'm fine. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Although knowing me, Quidditch team captain, I should be used to that sort of stuff, right?"

"Um, that still doesn't excuse the fact you could get hurt." Lily said, remembering the last time she saw him. How much pain had shown in his eyes, but now his hazel eyes burned with excitement.

"Oh, hello there, James," A sweet voice came. Lily turned to see her parents still looking at them.

"Mom, Dad. You remember James Potter." Lily introduced. Mr. Evans loomed over James and starred down at him.

"Mr. Evans." James greeted holding out a friendly, but firm hand, never breaking their eye contact on each other. James felt it showed how much he didn't fear Mr. Evans, and how much he respected him. A glint shone in Mr. Evans' eyes as he extended his hands and shook James'.

"James. It's good to see you again." Mr. Evans greeted.

"The pleasure is all mine really," James assured, still not blinking at Mr. Evans.

"Well, we better be off. I'll see you guys at Christmas." Lily said, giving them both a hug, and tried leading James toward the barrier. As she ran to the wall and disappeared,

He waited frantically for James, when he didn't show up Lily began to worry if her parents bombed him with questions. When she considered going back, James suddenly appeared, smiling.

"Hey, why are you smiling?"

"Why, you don't want me to smile?"

"No, it just you just got through having a whole civil conversation with my parents, so I guess you're permitted to be proud of yourself. Sorry about my parents."

"Your parents aren't that horrible. Your dad seemed nice."

"MY DAD?"

"Yeah, I think we both had a moment." James smiled, as Lily tilted her head to the side, in a sort of cute, confused sort of way.

As they walked to board the train, James remembered what Mr. Evans had to say before James left…

"Well, I'm off. It was a pleasure meeting you two." James said, ready to run, but Mr. Evans walked up to him and looked at him expectedly. James looked back waiting to hear whatever scolding or threats Mr. Evans had to say, so what he did say really took James by surprise.

"I'm trusting, you to protect my daughter, James. Please don't let any harm her come to her." Then, that's when it hit him, the glint. It was Mr. Evans's sign of approval. But wait, why would he approve of him? Eric was Lily's boyfriend, not James. Maybe it was some sort of omen. (If anyone can guess what's going on here, it's a 'parents' approval' moment. For couples out there, don't you just love these sorts of moments? lol)

"Why is he approving me? Has he met Eric and think I'm better. Wait, don't mess it up, Prongs. Remember, you're not interested in coming between Lily and Eric. Hell yeah, of course you do, but it's nice to know her dad approves anyway." James thought, but shook it out of his head.

"Of course, Mr. Evans, you can be sure Lily will be safe with me," James assured, smiling at Mr. Evans who, surprisingly, smiled back kindly. When he released James, James made his way through the barrier to see Lily waiting for him, her eyes containing a sort of anxiousness. "Sure she waits for me now." He thought to himself.

James woke from his thoughts as a cheery voice came from the crowd.

"Lily." Eric cried as he ran up to her and hugged her, with her hugging him back. James smiled at the two, but closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to see them. He couldn't bare the idea of watching them snog right in public to make it official to everyone. When he opened his eyes he expected to see them still snogging, so when he saw their hands just entwined, the nerves lessened.

"So, shall we get a compartment, then? One we could share privately." Eric whispered seductively in Lily's ear, but loud enough for James to catch, as they walked onto the train. Although, Lily just swatted him playfully and said,

"Sorry, Eric, I can't. I have to go to the head's compartment. I have to still meet the head boy."

"Oh, well, you don't have to stay there throughout the whole train ride, do you?" Eric asked disappointed.

"No, but I just have to meet up with the head boy and the prefects, then we can go back to our friends."

"Well, then when you're done, how about we just stay there for the whole train ride, hm?" Eric asked, nibbling on Lily's ear. Again James just smiled but closed his eyes. (LOL, I do this a lot when my friends are kissing in public. Just smile and ignore.)

"Eric, please stop. I don't feel up to that and I don't think I will anytime soon." Lily asked, smiling at Eric. James closely noticed how Eric's hand kept sliding up and down Lily's back and how his eyes had a lustful appearance. James felt sick to see Lily smiling at a guy like him. He obviously wanted more than what Lily was willing to give.

"So, you've been reading more of that book I bought you huh?" Eric asked.

"Yes, I have. The story's very interesting in a twisted sort of way. Okay, so there is this family, the Bennets. The parents have five girls, Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia. Two new characters have appeared too. There's this really humble, cheeky man named, Bingley. Then, there this other guy, name's Darcy. And he's this really obnoxious guy, who's very wealthy. So Bingley and Jane hit it off on their first meeting, and then…" but then two pairs of arms wrapped around Lily, one pair around her neck, and the other around her waist.

"Lily!" two familiar voices came. Lily turned around to face both Arpil and May.

"Hey you guys. Haven't seen you in a while."

"Yeah, it seems like forever to me." April said, sarcastically.

"It was only a few days ago." June said, coming from behind. She smiled at Lily, but her expression darkened when she faced Eric.

"What's up, Eric. Haven't seen you in a while," April greeted, looking at Eric.

"Hey April, you seem to be doing well." Eric greeted back.

"Well, I've got to go. I'll see you guys in a few okay. All I have to do is meet the head boy."

"Okay, Lily. See you later." May said as they walked down the train. Lily made her way to the other end of the train to find the head boy lying on his back, starring up at the ceiling.

"Long time no see." Lily chuckled, surprised to see who it was.

"Very long time," James answered, smiling.

"So how did the mischievous Potter become head boy?" Lily asked.

"I hardly have any idea, Evans," James smiled. It was a while before any of them spoke, until James said,

"Look Lily. Since we've been calling each other by our first name for a while, how about we keep it like that? And we can't keep calling each other by our surname forever, can we? After all, it's like you said, nothing can last forever. So how about we start fresh?" James said, extending his hand. Lily sighed happily, and shook it,

"James," Lily said, smiling.

"Lily," James said, returning the smile.

"Okay, Operation Lily Flower has now begun." James thought as they released, and sat on opposite sides of the compartment, to get down to business.

"Okay, so everything you need to know are in these folders, but if you have any questions, fill free to ask." Lily announced, as she addressed the school prefects, including Remus, who looked exceptionally happy to see Lily and James getting along. As everyone left, Lily and James were alone to clean up.

"So, you're reading an interesting book?" James said, trying to bring up a topic, as they filed their papers in the head's compartment.

"Yeah, Eric bought it for me the day I last saw you. Remember, outside Flourish and Blotts?" Lily asked, oblivious to the flicker of pain that entered James' eyes.

"Really, that seems cool of him." James said, through clenched teeth.

"Yeah, he really is cool." Lily agreed, smiling.

"She seems so happy maybe I shouldn't do this anymore." James thought doubtfully, but then remembered the move Eric tried to make on her, earlier.

"On the other hand, he may not be who she thinks he is and I promised Mr. Evans I wouldn't let anything harm Lily. Plus, it's not like I intentionally plan to take Lily away from him. I just want to show here I could be mature." James opened the compartment door, so Lily could step by,

"Oh who am I kidding, of course I want to break them up, and I definitely know that he's not who she thinks he is. Although, maybe I should go for maturity first, then I could gain her trust. Maybe when she trusts me enough, I could sort of 'help' her into believing he isn't good enough for her. But the problem is, I don't know when he'll try to make a move on her, not to mention she's too adorably clueless, and probably believe anything he'll say. So my main obstacle is try her believe me more than him." James took a side glance to see Lily smiling at him.

"Jeez, Lily, You're not making this easy." He teased, and again, Lily tilted her head to the side to look cutely confused.