Disclaimer: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling. The plot of this story was greatly inspired by the movie, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.
Author's Note: Thanks to LUVSRW, Katie, thehalfbloodprincess, lizziee, koolkatkt123, -Scp-, NJ MacReiley the Helpless Romantic, onesmartgoalie, potterchik, Willimillia, zuska1985, Aria Sparks, featherfinger, siriusforeva, RoseRedRomance, ourlittlesecret7, pyscho-pyro-shrink, Miss Myrtle360, Asian-Novelist, hpottersgirl, naturalnin, born-to-perform, Sam's Firefly, mady, JeanMarie, Sarah12345, reader, rayolis, and 1ss2cos3poa4gof5ootp6hbp for reviewing! You are all AMAZING!
"Today's the day," Sirius brightly said as he took a seat across from James in the Great Hall. It was day ten of Lily and James's relationship, or as Sirius liked to call it: d-day. It was the moment of truth. Did she love him, or did she not love?
"Yes it is, and I believe that you will be owing me fifty galleons," James wittily replied.
"Don't count on it," Sirius retorted. "She may like you, which I could certainly believe. But love, now that's a different story. There is no way that Lily Evans could possibly love you after just ten days."
"Why's that?"
"It's only logical," Sirius began. "Eleven days ago she hated your guts. Ten days ago, she gave you a chance. Somewhere along the lines, she started to actually like you. But she hasn't fallen in love. No girl can go from pure hatred to love in that short of time."
"She did though," James argued. It was more than just the money that was talking too. Deep in his heart, James knew she loved him. He wanted her to love him. Nothing would please him more than to hear those three little words escape her lips.
"We'll see," Sirius responded as he grabbed a piece of toast and smeared some butter on it.
"Talking about the bet?" Remus asked as he and Peter sat down to join their fellow Marauders.
"Of course we are, Moony," Sirius answered. "It's day ten, would we be talking of anything else?"
"That's what I thought," Remus replied. "Now, I've got a question though. How long does he have to make her fall in love with him? I know it's got to be ten days, but what time today are we talking? By lunch? By dinner? When?"
Sirius thought about it for a moment before saying, "By midnight tonight. The entire dorm is invited to Mark Peterson's birthday party, so we'll all be there to see if she's really in love or not."
"Okay, by midnight tonight, you'll see," James said. "She'll be head-over-heels in love with me and you'll be fifty galleons poorer."
"Not a chance," Sirius retorted.
"How will we be able to tell if she actually loves him or not?" Peter asked, looking up from his waffles drenched in maple syrup.
"Hmm, good question," Sirius said before whipping his head around to look at Remus. "Moony, how will be tell if she's in love with him or not?"
Before Remus could answer, James interrupted, "Now hold on a second. There's a difference between being in love and saying 'I love you.' You can't base it off whether she says it to me or not, that'd be cheating."
"He's right," Remus mumbled and scratched his chin. He munched on his marmalade covered toast while he pondered the situation. How could they know for sure if she truly loved him? "I've got it," he finally said. "We just need to observe her when she's with and away from James. You can always tell what a woman's heart desires if you study her long enough… after all, nothing shines more than a woman in love."
"Moony, that was beautiful," Sirius jokingly said, wiping away a fake tear.
"Shut up," Remus grumbled and grinned as he flicked his friend in the head.
Interrupting Sirius and Remus's jokingly bickering conversation, James said, "Okay, that sounds good to me… Just remember, you have to be inconspicuous about it."
"We will be," Remus assured his friend. "Lily Evans won't have a clue what we're up to. She'll just assume it's a normal party and we're just being friendly party-goers."
"Alright."
"I'd hush up about this," Peter warned. "She's walking over here." All four boys looked across the Great Hall and saw Lily casually walk toward them. She had a slight swing in her hips; it was nothing forced, just a natural flow. She stopped for a moment, in front of a few sixth year girls and laughed at a comment one of them made. Her smile gave her a glowing feature, as if she were an angel descending from Heaven.
Once she reached the marauders, she took a seat next to James and said hello to all four boys. She still had a rosy smile across her lips, which showed her perfectly aligned teeth.
"Morning, Lils," James said.
"Morning," she replied. "So, I was just wondering if you had any plans tonight."
"It's Mark Peterson's birthday," he said. "You know him? The short sixth year with curly brown hair?"
"Of course I know who he is," Lily responded, couching up a laugh as she spoke. "He's only a year behind us, it's not like he's a new first year."
"Well, yeah," he softly said, redness appearing across his cheeks. "I was going to go to his party, but if you don't want to, we can do something else."
"No, I want to," she quickly replied. "I was just making sure you were going… I told Kelsey and Sam that I'd see them there, but maybe we can hang out a little too."
"I'd like that," he answered, a grin playing at his lips.
"Good," she remarked. "Okay, I've got to go to class now, as do the four of you, but I'll catch up with you later."
"See you," James replied.
Lily's heart sped up for a moment and her eyes darted around the table to make sure that none of the Marauders were watching her too closely. Once she established that Remus was busy doing class minute homework and Peter and Sirius were hungrily feasting on their meals, she took a small step closer to James. Bending down, she laid a small kiss on his cheek before breaking away. "See you later," she sweetly said.
James's hand went to his cheek as he stared at her and dumbly said, "Bye." He watched as she walked away from him, slinging her bag over her shoulder. He watched her every step across the tiled Great Hall floor. Her steps weren't too fast, nor were they considered slow. They were perfect. He gazed as she ran her narrow fingers through her hair, pushing it out of her eyes. Her long red hair seemed to glimmer as she walked, softly bouncing behind her. She was beautiful. Everything he desired in a girl, she possessed.
"Stop staring," Sirius sharply said, breaking James away from his own little world and back into reality.
"I wasn't staring," he replied, a blush rising to his face.
"Yes you were," Sirius argued, a large beaming grin spread across his face. "And don't even try to deny it either. That was a full on, drool appearing at your lips, eyes not even blinking stare."
"Shut up," James grumbled, knowing his best friend was right. He was guilty as far as staring came. It couldn't be helped though. She was mesmerizing. Every time he tried to look away, his eyes wouldn't allow it.
---
Lily stroked her mascara brush along her eyelashes, darkening and lengthening them with each stroke. She blinked her eyes for a moment and allowed the dark make-up to dry on her lashes. Screwing the cap back on the bottle, she batted her eyelashes at the mirror. She smiled, approving of her appearance.
True, it was just a birthday party that the entire dorm would be attending, nothing fancy at all, but Lily still felt the need to look better than her usual self did. She wore a tight pair of bellbottom jeans and a brand new black tank top, topped off with her new pair of platform shoes. Her shirt was revealing enough to flash a little skin, but kept her hidden enough to keep men guessing at what her body truly looked like. Of course, her drop-dead gorgeous outfit was intending for just one person. She wanted to look good for James.
Despite the fact that this was their tenth day together, Lily and James had truly only been seen together as a couple in Hogsmeade, which was a complete disaster. Besides, no one except for the waitress at the odd hippie restaurant really saw them interacting like a couple. Not to mention the fact that while in Hogsmeade, Lily was still determined to lose James. She didn't know his true self then, she didn't realize how great he was.
Now though, at this party, she could show the world that she was with James. No one would have to guess of Lily and James were actually dating or just becoming friends. People would look at them together and say, 'Wow, that's James Potter and Lily Evans. They sure do make a nice couple.'
Lily grinned as she imagined what people would say when she and James interacted at the party. She knew the types of activities that occurred at Gryffindor parties; there was always dancing, talking, eating, and more dancing. She wondered what people would say when they saw him sling his arm around her shoulder as they mingled with their friends. She pictured people gazing at them as they shared a slow dance together; people saying that they looked sweet together. Then when they danced to a fast song together and people would stare at how well they seemed to move together.
She felt her stomach lurch with excitement. This was going to be a birthday party she would never forget, she could tell already. She and James were going to be the dream couple at the party, the people that everyone wished they were.
Feeling giddy, she shrugged her shoulders and shook her head, making her newly curled hair tumble a little looser. She heard the music start up and walked out of the bathroom and into the bedroom section of the dorm room she shared with four of her fellow seventh years.
She loved hearing the music blast, filling every nook and cranny of the Gryffindor Tower. She recalled back in her first year at Hogwarts, before someone came up with the brilliant idea to charm a muggle record player. Life had been so boring then. There was no dancing at parties, just sitting around talking and eating.
Lily plopped down on her bed, knowing that she couldn't go downstairs to the party yet. It only just started, she needed to wait at least another half hour until it was a more fashionable time to arrive.
However, before Lily managed to open her magazine, her eyes opened wide. The magazine was disregarded and Lily jumped to her feet. Standing before her was Tracey. Her outfit and make-up was to kill for, it put Lily's wardrobe to shame.
"Tracey, you, you look amazing," Lily stated eyeing her dorm mate. Lily's comment was certainly accurate. Tracey stood in front of her wearing stiletto heels, a short jean skirt, and a very low cut long sleeved shirt. Her make-up and hair looked better than most supermodels. Needless to say, she looked stunning.
"Thank you," Tracey replied, flashing a large grin.
"Why so dressed up?" Lily carefully asked.
"Oh, that Sirius Black thinks he can dump me and get away with it. Well, he can't. He's going to take one look at me flirting with all the other guys around and come crying back to me, begging me to forgive him," she ranted, as if she'd saved up the speech for an entire year.
"Well, I must say, you'll definitely make him jealous," Lily commented.
"Oh, he just makes me so mad," Tracey exclaimed, her face reddening as she spoke. "I don't understand him at all. We were having such a good time together… I don't know what went wrong."
"Cheer up, you're too good for him," Lily replied, placing her hand on Tracey's arm.
"That's what everyone says," Tracey began. "But if it's so true, then why did he dump me? I mean, look at me. I'm smart, pretty, I have all the muggle and witch designer clothes…"
"And you're modest too," Lily added, letting the words slip out without meaning to.
Luckily, Tracey didn't catch up to Lily's joke and replied, "Thank you."
"Don't mention it."
"Still, I don't get it… We were so great together."
"He's just afraid of commitment," Lily stated. "He saw what a great, amazing woman you are and became afraid. He's just too scared that he'll actually start to fall in love with you and decided he'd better end it before things started to get too serious."
"You really think so?" Tracey asked, hopeful eyes staring up into Lily's emerald ones.
"I really do," Lily replied, praying that she was at least a little bit accurate. True, that had always been her assumption about Sirius Black. She didn't buy the bad boy, rebel, player act. She knew there had to be something deeper inside of Sirius to make him go through women faster than Picasso does with art supplies.
"Thanks Lily," Tracey said and leaned in to give Lily a giant hug. When she broke away, her eyes were filled with water and tears were threatening to destroy her perfectly applied make-up. "Excuse me for a moment."
Lily sat there and watched as Tracey briskly walked into the bathroom. However, Lily wasn't left alone for very long. Replacing Tracey, Rina soon came out of the bathroom. She smiled at Lily, a characteristic that rarely ever occurred between the two girls.
"Hello Rina," Lily said.
"Hello."
"Are you excited about the party?"
"Oh, you have no idea," Rina replied, a smirk forming at her lips. Today was going to be the happiest day of her life. It was day ten. In a matter of hours, James wouldn't have to put up with Lily anymore. He didn't need to pretend to like her anymore. He could dump, and Rina would be there to mend any wounds left from his horrifying experiences with crazy Lily. Finally, after years of dreaming of this moment, it was finally going to come true. James Potter was going to be hers. He wouldn't long after Lily anymore, he would long after Rina Spears.
"It should be fun, shouldn't it," Lily commented, trying her hardest to find something to say to Rina.
"Very fun," Rina agreed. "So, um, its day ten of losing James Potter, how's that going?"
Lily blushed as she replied, "Actually, I've kind of stopped that… He's really sweet and I kind of started to like him."
"What?" Rina snapped, her smile immediately transforming into a smoldering look.
"Yeah, these past few days I've gotten to really know him, and he's incredible. I don't think I've ever met a guy like James before. He's funny, sweet, intelligent, attractive, and as odd as it sounds, he puts up a good match against me. I know what you're thinking, my last reason is very absurd, but it's true. There's something about him that makes me want to strive to the top of things, whether it be doing homework or having a bantering conversation… It's odd, but I think it's exactly what we both need," Lily confessed.
"You don't say," Rina commented, still angered by Lily's news.
"Every time I see him, my heart melts… And each time he kisses me, it feels like its' the first time. It's like having the excitement of sharing our first kiss over and over again, it never gets dull," Lily shared.
"And he feels the same way?" Rina asked, a slightly disgusted look on her face.
"Well, um, I don't know," Lily replied. Her eyebrows suddenly became knitted closely together as she pondered Rina's words. Did James feel the same way she did?
"Hmm, well, this just got a little awkward, so I think I'm going to go," Rina embarrassedly said. Although deep inside her heart, she felt a flood of relief come over her. There was still hope. She still had the chance of winning James over for herself. He could still hate Lily; after all, he's only dating her because of the bet. Yes, she told herself, everything was going to be fine.
Lily, on the other hand, felt her heart sink. What if James didn't feel the same way about her? What if he liked her enough to date her, but not enough to want a full-fledged lasting relationship? She tried not to think about it, but couldn't help herself. She tried reading her magazine, but it didn't work. Each time she saw a picture of a wizard, she thought of James. It made trying to get her mind off the subject very difficult.
"You ready to go downstairs?" Kelsey asked, ripping Lily away from her dilemma concerning James.
Lily stared at her two best friends; they both wore expecting expressions on their faces, eager to get down to the party. "Um, yeah, let's go."
The three girls descended the steps that led to the Gryffindor common room and Lily's eyes immediately fell on James. He was standing with Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. He held a plastic cup full of fruit punch in one hand and his other hand went through his messy black hair. He started laughing at once, as did the other three boys. Lily guessed that one of them just finished telling a humorous story, one that was funny enough to make James throw his head back in laughter.
He wasn't wearing his usual dress code wardrobe. Instead, he wore a simple pair of jeans and a casual t-shirt. It wasn't anything special, but Lily found him very attractive at that moment. There was something about seeing him look so casual that made her heart skip, something about the way his hazel eyes danced across the room.
She watched as Peter nudged him and flipped his head in her direction. James's eyes instantly followed Peter's direction until they landed on Lily. He smiled at her and waved. She lightly lifted up her own hand and twinkled her fingers at him.
Putting his drink down on a nearby table, James began to ease his way to Lily. He glided through the people on the dance floor; couples dancing together, girls slightly shaking their bodies to the beat while standing in a circle with their friends, and boys watching from afar, wondering who they should ask to dance.
"Hey, Lils," James greeted her as he gently slipped his arm around her lower back.
"Hey, have you been here long?"
"No, probably ten minutes or so," he answered. "Do you want anything to drink?" he looked at Lily as he spoke and then broadened his vision to her friends and asked, "Kelsey? Sam? Do you guys want anything?"
"No, I don't trust the drinks here," Lily replied.
"Me neither," both Kelsey and Sam added simultaneously.
"Why not?"
"Do you remember in our third year when someone spiked the punch?" Lily asked.
"Well, yeah…"
"Or how about in fifth year when someone put orange dye in it that lasted an entire week," Sam added.
"Well, that was just funny…."
"Or in second year when someone put in a potion that made the entire thing taste sour and messed with your taste buds for a week?" Kelsey finished.
"Okay, okay, I'll admit that wasn't one of my better pranks," James sheepishly said.
"That was you?" Kelsey questioned.
"Well, not all me," he cautiously replied. "Sirius, Remus, and Peter did it too."
"And the other things, was that you too?" Lily asked, her eyes narrowing in on him as she tried to look upset. The truth, however, was that she was trying not to smile. They were funny pranks, especially since she didn't drink any of the punch back in second or fourth year.
"No, well, not both of them… I'll admit, it was me and the rest of the gang who did the orange dye thing, but I swear we didn't spike the punch in third year," he answered.
"You didn't?" Lily asked, looking somewhat surprised.
"Are you kidding? We still don't know how the alcohol was snuck into the castle. Once in fifth year Sirius tried to bring some in, but the moment we got off the train, it disappeared because one of the castle's stupid magical underage protection spells," James replied, laughing as he spoke.
"Jeez, I thought the four of you were pranksters extraordinaire," Sam teased.
"Well, everyone has their one downfall," he retorted.
"So, are you saying that the punch is entirely safe then?" Lily asked.
"Unless someone else in this place decided that it would be fun to do something to it, yes," James answered.
"In that case, I suppose I'll have some," she replied.
"Alright, and you two, do you want some too?" James asked, looking at Lily's friends as he spoke.
"No thanks, I'm going to go over to the dance floor," Sam replied. "Kelsey, you coming?"
"Yeah," Kelsey said, following Sam as she led them both over to a crowd of seventh year boys standing around the dance floor.
"Okay, so one drink, coming right up," James said as she smiled at Lily and snuck a light kiss on her cheek.
Lily smiled as she watched him walk over to the table full of drinks and sweets. She didn't even notice Remus Lupin approach her until he said her name.
"Oh, Remus, sorry, I didn't see you," she apologized, startled from his voice.
"Sorry to scare you," he replied.
"It's okay," she began. "So, this is some party, huh?"
"Yeah, but I noticed you look a little preoccupied," he said.
"No, I'm not," she defended herself.
"Looking at a certain someone?"
"No," she replied, a blush rising to her cheeks.
"It's nothing to be embarrassed about, I see him staring off into space looking at you too," he commented, carefully constructing their conversation for his own personal needs.
"He does?" she asked, a little too much excitement in her voice.
"Yeah, but that's what happens when you genuinely care about someone, maybe even love them," Remus softly said.
"What are you implying?"
"Well, Lily, all I'm saying is that you've got a certain glow about you, one that no one else in this entire room possesses. I must say, it's not because of your pretty appearance, it's because there's not a single woman in the room more radiant than a woman in love," he answered.
"No, no, no," Lily said, shaking her head as she spoke. "I'm not in love… I mean, it's not possible to be in love… Me and James, in love? No, we've only been together for ten days, it's impossible to be in love…"
"If you say so," he replied, a smile playing at his lips.
"Remus, I'm not kidding, it's impossible to be in love with someone after only ten days… It's absurd."
"The heart works in odd ways."
"Well, mine doesn't… I don't love him, I can't love him," she stuttered.
He raised his eyebrows as he looked at her, making her feel small beneath his looming presence. "I won't tell him."
"Thank you," she softly replied as he smiled and walked away from her. She bit her lower lip, playing with the soft flesh beneath her teeth. She loved James Potter. It took only ten days, but it was true. She went from hating him to loving him in a matter of ten days. Yet, she knew she couldn't deny it anymore. She was in love with James Potter. It was more than just a crush, more than just an infatuating lust; it was love. She was in love for the first time in her life. She loved him.
James quickly appeared at her side, a large cup of fruit punch in each hand. "Here you are."
"Thanks," she replied, purposely touching his rough skin as she reached for her drink. She took a small sip from it, letting the sweet, cold juice run down her throat. Throughout the entire time that she held her drink to her lips, her eyes never left James. This new realization made her feel like she couldn't break her eyes away from him.
"So, Tracey certainly got over Sirius pretty quick," James commented, nodding his head toward the pretty girl surrounded by a group of five guys.
Lily sighed and watched as Tracey laughed, her eyes twinkling as she lightly placed her fingers on a sixth year's arm. "She just doing it to get back at him."
"Really?"
"Yeah," Lily replied. "I feel bad for her, she actually liked him. She told me that she was going to do anything to make him jealous of her until he begged her to take him back."
"Well, I hate to break it to her, but I don't think Sirius is interested," he said.
"Why?"
"He's over there standing next to Molly Hamill, and it looks like by the end of the evening, she'll be up in our room," James answered, rolling his eyes as he spoke.
Lily glanced around the room until her eyes fell on Sirius Black, looking just as handsome as always. He had a sort of look going on, one that none of the other guys at Hogwarts had. He always wore his hair long and shaggy, as if he didn't have a care in the world. Yet, it always looked good; very badass. She watched as he leaned against the wall, his arms crossed in front of his chest. Molly Hamill stood in front if him, a sweet smile across her preppy face.
"Poor Tracey."
"Yeah, but it'll never last between him and Molly," James commented.
"Why's he like that?" Lily questioned, looking up at James with curious eyes.
"I don't know," he replied. "He does what he wants, when he wants."
Lily shrugged her shoulders and twitched her mouth to the side. She decided she didn't care anymore. Yes, it was sad for Tracey, but it wasn't Lily's problem. She didn't want to spend her night analyzing Sirius Black's behavior. She wanted to have a good time with James.
"You know what, I think it's about time we stop talking about our friends and do something fun," she informed him.
"Do you have something in mind?
"Do you want to dance?" she asked, looking hopefully up at him.
"I don't dance."
"Please," she begged.
"Really, it'll only embarrass you," he replied, trying to convince her that it wouldn't be a good idea.
"But I love dancing," she whined.
"I'm really bad though."
"James, no matter how bad you are, you won't embarrass me," she insisted.
"But I really will."
"James Potter, if you don't get on that dance floor right now, you're not the man I thought you were," she said, folding her arms as she spoke.
"What do you mean?"
"I have never not known a confident, fun-loving, not afraid to take a risk, James Potter."
Groaning, he knew she was right. Despite the fact that he truly knew he would make a fool of himself, he took her hand and led her to the center of the room to join all the other people dancing. Lily smiled and tried her hardest to conceal a squeal.
Since it was a muggle record player that was charmed to work in the common room, all the songs were muggle songs. Very few people actually knew most of the songs, but they were catchy enough that the pure-bred wizards caught on quickly to the styles and rhythms of the songs.
Lily felt her heart leap as she heard her new favorite muggle song burst from the speaker. It was just released due to a very popular American movie, Animal House. Lily hadn't seen the movie, but instantly fell in love with the song. Shout burst through the entire common room.
Lily felt a smile rise to her face and led James into the large crowd of people. All of the couples split apart for this song, only standing right next to each other. Not only was this Lily's new favorite song, but she was positive James wouldn't have any problems dancing to it.
It was one large mass of bodies, rapidly dancing from side to side as the fast tempo music played. Heads were bopping to the beat, hips were swaying, and many people were jumping up and down. Lily grabbed onto James's hand, pulling him a little bit closer to her jumping body. She smiled at him, urging him to drop his stiff stance and join her.
Reluctantly, he gave in and found himself jumping with the crowd. He felt much better about his horrible dancing skills once he looked around him and saw that everyone was doing the same thing he was doing. This wasn't really too bad after all. He could dance to songs like this one.
He smiled as he saw Lily's lips move up and down as she sang the words to the song. She looked like she was having such a good time. Her cheeks were becoming pink, her heart was racing, and her curled hair was flying with every step she took. Her grin widened once she saw James smile at her. It was shaping up to be a fun evening.
The music began to get softer, just as the lyrics suggested. James didn't notice it at first, but all of the people around him were crouching down to the floor. It wasn't until Lily reached up and pulled him down did he truly understand that he was supposed to do what the song was telling him to do. They all hovered down close to the ground for a moment, still bopping their heads to the faint tune of the music.
The words soon changed, "a little bit louder now. A little bit louder now. A little bit louder now…" Getting the hang of it, James began to slowly rise with the rest of his peers until the song was blasting again, which made everyone stand erect and jump up and down to the music. He felt energized from the song. Dancing was not bad at all. It was actually kind of fun.
Unfortunately, it had to come to an end and the song finished. The entire common room cheered at the end of the fast moving, fun song. It was obviously a favorite of the Gryffindor community. To James's displeasure, a song similar to Shout didn't come on the muggle record player next. Instead it was a slow song. Crap. He did not do slow songs. The look on Lily's face, however, told him that he didn't have a choice behind the matter. She looked like she was having such a good time, and he didn't want to ruin her fun by refusing to dance with her.
He wrapped his arms around her waist and gently placed hers across his neck. They were very close together as they danced, staring straight into each other's eyes. Her emerald eyes seemed to give him strength. He suddenly didn't care if people were staring at him and laughing at his lack of coordination on the dance floor. He was with Lily now, and that's all that mattered.
He felt his heart melt as she leaned in even closer to his chest. He could smell the sweet scent of shampoo in her hair and smiled. He felt like he could spend the rest of his life with the petite woman in his arms. In fact, he couldn't help but think that she might be the one. Of course, it was a very absurd thought. They'd only been dating for a grand total of less than ten days. It was impossible for him to think that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. He didn't even love her.
Or maybe he did. After all, she caught his interest back in fifth year and he was persistently pursuing her ever since then. She made him feel like a better person. She made him smile and laugh. She was an incredible witch. Why wouldn't he love her?
James grinned into her hair, not being able to hide his excitement. He was dancing with the woman he loved. She made dancing seem fun, which before then was a foreign concept to him. But at that moment, he never wanted to stop holding her in his arms.
Neither Lily nor James knew it, but four different sets of eyes were staring at them. Two pairs looked happy, one indecisive, and the final with anger.
From afar, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were all gathered into a small section of the room. The three wizards all stared intently on their friend and his girlfriend. It was as if they were studious kids in a classroom, observing the every move of their specimen.
"Are you absolutely positive she loves him?" Sirius asked.
"I already told you, yes," Remus replied. "She basically said the words."
"Even if she didn't, look at them out there. They both look like their in love," Peter added, sighing as he spoke. He felt for happy for the Marauder he idolized, but at the same time felt a pang of jealousy. He wished that he could have what James and Lily shared.
"Well, I still have two and a half hours until I actually have to pay him," Sirius grumpily informed his friends.
"She's not going to change her mind in a matter of hours," Peter commented.
"Well, I know that… but I'm waiting until midnight before I hand over any money," Sirius replied before adding, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a certain someone that I need to attend to." He winked at his two friends before walking over to join Molly Hamill at the snack area of the party, sliding an arm around her waist.
From the other end of the room, Rina Spears stared at Lily and James as she danced. She hated what she saw, like it was some bad horror movie. She despised the smile plastered across James's face. She hated Lily's small hands around his neck. She wanted nothing more than to rip them apart from each other, break the nonexistent gap between their bodies.
Crossing her arms, she had a sour look upon her face. There was no way she was going to allow Lily Evans to continue dating James. He was hers. Lily didn't deserve a wizard like James. Besides, she already had everything else. She was smart, popular, Head Girl, and now she had James. Well, Rina was not going to stand for that. Lily Evans wasn't going to win James for herself this easily. Rina was not backing down without a fight.
Now all she needed was a plan. She needed to break them up, and fast. Scanning the room, she tried her best to think of some ingenious plan to divide Gryffindor's hottest couple. Her eyes went to Sirius Black for a moment and then darted across the room to where Tracey sat with her crowd of sixth year boys. She felt a thin smile curve up on her lips. She knew exactly what needed to be done.
Rina casually walked over to Tracey and motioned for her to break away from her band of followers. She led her to a small, deserted corner of the room. With her arms crossed and a thin smile on her face, Rina said, "Hey Tracey, are you really going to let Black get away with what he did to you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, look at him," she began. "He's over there with Molly Hamill, that no-good fifth year slut. He hasn't even looked over at you, and you're trying to hard to make him want you back."
Tracey got a sad expression on her face and longingly looked at Sirius. Her face quickly changed though, hardening as she watched him lean into Molly Hamill and lay a kiss on her lips. In fact, a hardening expression wasn't quite right for how Tracey felt. Her blood was boiling, that's how mad she was. Who did Molly Hamill think she was, trying to steal Sirius Black away from her?
Once Rina saw how angered Tracey was she gently said, "You know, you could always get back at him."
"Go on," Tracey sternly replied, still focused on Sirius and Molly.
"Well, do you remember that little secret that you shared with me? The one about the bet that James and Sirius made concerning Lily?"
"Yeah."
"Didn't you also say that James would kill Sirius if Lily found out about it?"
"Yeah."
"Doesn't Sirius pride his friendship with James above everything else?"
"Yeah."
"Wouldn't telling Lily destroy their friendship?"
"Maybe."
"For a couple weeks?"
"I suppose so."
"So tell her."
"What?"
"Tell Lily about the bet," Rina insisted. "It would be the perfect way to get back at Sirius Black. His best friend would hate him for at the very least a couple weeks. It would leave Sirius devastated."
"I don't know…" Tracey began.
"What is there not to know?"
"Well, Lily really likes James," Tracey answered.
"They'll both get over it," Rina lied. "But James will stay mad at Sirius for a very long time… It would be the perfect payback for what he did to you… Just think of all the pain he's caused you, all the tears you shed for him… Just think about all that work you put into looking amazing tonight, and what's Sirius going to do? He's going to ignore you and go shag Molly Hamill's bloody brains out."
The last comment really got to Tracey. Her hands began to clench into tight fists. Rina was right. Sirius deserved it. He was going to regret the day he ever dumped Tracey. He was going to pay for being such a complete asshole to her.
"Where's Lily?" Tracey asked.
Rina smiled. Her plan was already starting to work. In fact, the hardest part of her plan just worked. She convinced Tracey to tell Lily about Sirius's secret. "Over by the punch bowl," she automatically said. She'd been watching Lily and James's every move. After their slow dance together, they broke away for a couple minutes. James went to talk with Remus and Peter, and Lily went to grab herself something to drink.
Tracey held her head high and walked over to the punch bowl, leaving Rina to grin and walk over to James. Once she reached the food tables, she tapped Lily on the shoulder to get her attention. "Can we talk for a minute?"
Lily looked startled, but grabbed her drink and followed Tracey away from the table. She glanced over to where James was standing and noticed Rina come up next to him. Lily could see Rina's bright red nails all the way across the room, they stood out like blood on a white linen sheet.
"What's up?" Lily asked, bringing her attention back to Tracey.
"I have to tell you something."
"What is it?"
"Okay, now don't get mad," Tracey began. "You're really not going to like what I have to tell you, but I think you deserve to know the truth."
"The truth?" Lily questioned, raising her eyebrows as she spoke.
"James and Sirius made a bet on the first day of school," Tracey said before slowly adding, "About you."
"Me?"
"Sirius bet James fifty galleons that he couldn't make you fall in love with him after ten days of dating," Tracey informed the petite red-haired witch.
Lily looked curiously across the room at James. His expression hardened and he was standing with his arms crossed as Rina talked to him. Lily wasn't concentrating on what Rina was telling him though, she could only think of what Tracey had just said to her. Her brain was trying to register the words, but it was a difficult task.
A bet? Is that why he stuck with her after the horrible things she did to him? Is that the only reason he was still with her now? How could he? "Are you serious?" she asked.
Tracey nodded her head and replied, "Sirius told me when we were still dating… I know I should have told you sooner, but I was afraid of what you'd say." Tracey knew her words were a lie, but wanted her sweet revenge on Sirius Black.
"Oh my God,' Lily said, not talking to anyone. She stumbled over to the wall and slid down it. She forced herself to take in deep breaths and physically told herself when to exhale. She couldn't believe this was happening to her. James Potter made a bet about her. She felt like her entire world was crashing down in front of her. And she thought she loved him. No, she didn't love him anymore. He was exactly like he always was. He didn't change at all. He was still a jerk, bigheaded, and an ass.
Taking a deep breath out, Lily set her drink down on the ground and used her hands to fan herself. She needed air. She needed to escape all of this. She needed to sort out everything. Hoisting herself off the ground, Lily picked up her drink and downed it in one gulp, it was the one time she wished someone had spiked the punch. She then headed toward the portrait hole. She pushed past the dancing couples, past the strange looks she was receiving, and past the comments flying around her. She reached the portrait hole and quickly made a dart outside.
Meanwhile, while Tracey informed Lily of the bet, James was learning new information as well. He heard Rina approach him and she tore him away from his friends. "What is it?" he asked.
"James, I don't know how to say this, but it's time you learned the truth about Lily Evans," Rina began.
"What?"
"Did she ever tell you why she began to date you in the first place?" Rina asked.
"She changed her mind about me," he replied, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
"No, no she didn't."
"What do you mean?"
"When she started dating you, she still hated you… James, I'm really sorry about this. I wish what I had to say wasn't true, but it is… Lily started dating you to drive you away. She thought that if she dated you and did mean and crazy things, she'd make you realize how wrong you were for each other," Rina informed him. She had an expression of sympathy across her face, but her heart was overcome with joy. This was the moment she'd been dreaming about.
"No," James said, shaking his head as he spoke. "That can't be true."
"Think about it," she said. "The weird Hogsmeade restaurant, you're pink room, the pet names, the clinginess, and the list goes on."
James ran his hand through his hair. Everything Rina said made perfect sense. He couldn't believe it. He felt so used. He couldn't believe he actually loved Lily. She used him. She never actually cared about him. She only wanted to humiliate him and drive him away. How could she?
He had a puzzled expression on his face. Everything was fake; everything in the past ten days was fake. None of it was real. He felt betrayed, lied to, and heartbroken. It was as if Lily had scratched her way into his chest, ripped out his heart, and stomped on it with her chunky platform shoes.
"James, if there's anything I can do," Rina began and gently placed her bright red painted hands on his arm.
He snatched his arm away though and looked at her as if she had three heads. "I just want to be alone right now."
"Oh, well, okay, but if you need me, let me know," she said, her heart sinking as she spoke. This wasn't what was supposed to happen. He was supposed to come running to her with open arms. He was supposed to realize his love for her. He was supposed to forget all about Lily Evans.
Instead, he stared at the redhead from across the room, his eyes narrowing in on her. He watched as she stormed out of the room, bumping into people without even apologizing for it. Her felt a sour frown appear at his lips as she escaped through the portrait hole. He immediately followed her, bitterness hardening his heart.
Once the portrait hole opened, he stepped out onto the cold floors of the corridor. He saw Lily at once. She stood at the wall, an angry, smoldering look on her face. Her arms were crossed and she was looking up at the ceiling.
"You used me," he exclaimed, not being able to control his anger.
"You made a fucking be about me," she hissed, jumping slightly at the sound of his voice.
"You only dated me to drive me away," he stated, his brow knit closely together. "You practically ruined my life with all your bloody crap you put me through."
"Me?" she hollered. "You bet that I would fall in love with you after ten days."
"Okay, so that may have been bad," he admitted. "But what you did to me was ten times worse… My God, you fucking made up rumors about me, called me gay, made me sign your mum's birthday card, made up fake families, named our future children fucked up names, and so much more… You fucking screwed with my life… What I did to you was so much better than what you did to me."
"You want to bet on it?" she retorted, not impressed at all by his speech.
"Shut up, you know I'm right," he shouted.
"You're bloody insane," she hollered. "You made a bet about me. You only stayed with me so you could win some money! Is that all I was to you, just a piece of money?"
"Shut up," he slowly said, sounding very frustrated.
"Don't tell me to shut up," she snapped, her emerald eyes heatedly piercing into him.
After several minutes of silence, James finally said, "You know what Lily, you wanted to lose a guy in ten days, congratulations, you just did." He shook his head and turned on his heel, muttered the password and started toward the Gryffindor common room.
"No, James, I didn't," she yelled after him. "You can't lose something you didn't have."
He didn't turn around though, he continued walking into the room. He didn't look back at her. He didn't want to see her face again. He was too angry to do anything. He was too hurt to do anything. He walked past everyone in the room, letting them all stare as he furiously strolled over to the boy's staircase and made his way up to his room. He opened the window and threw everything Lily ever brought into the room outside. He didn't ever want to see anything that related to Lily Evans ever again.
Meanwhile, Lily still stood outside the Gryffindor portrait hole. She leaned her head back and allowed it to slam against the cold walls. She slid down the cold surface, not stopping until she was sitting. The wall felt good against her head, slightly cooling it from the fuming anger she felt. She tightly blinked her eyes, forcing herself to conceal her tears.
Little did she know, but she just witnessed the greatest thing that ever happened to her walk straight out of her life…
Author's Note 2: So there's Day 10! Please don't be too mad at me! The stories not over quite yet, still one more chapter to go! Also, I'm not actually sure if people began to dance to that song like that in the late 70's or 80's (the movie came out in 1978), and I'm pretty sure it was an American thing, but I don't care. Anyways, REVIEW! It'll makes the writing process easier for me, which means faster updates for all of you!