--Second Chances--
"Hypnotism is so underrated," Sirius scoffed.
"Sirius! Shut up!" Remus hissed. "If you want me to do this properly then you're going to need to shut your mouth!"
Sirius immediately closed his mouth and stood aside for Remus to do his work.
Lily had fallen asleep on the couch in the Gryffindor common room and it was perfect timing for the marauders' plans.
Remus bent low and mumbled a spell to make the art of 'hypnotism' work.
"You're going to forget who James Potter is for twenty-four hours, Lily. You are going to forget who he is and think that he has never existed to you. Tomorrow you will show up in the coffee shop in Hogsmeade for the weekend trip. Just stay there. Forget who James Potter is, and go to the coffee shop."
He mumbled the end of the spell and stood up to face Sirius.
"And so it all begins."
The sun was falling as the clock ticked 6 o'clock. Rain was lashing at the windows of the coffee shop and occasional bolts of lighting would light up the sky. Lily Evans was sitting at a small table in the corner, her nose in a book, absentmindedly tracing her finger around the rim of her coffee cup.
She might have noticed Sirius and Remus sitting a couple seats away, wands tucked under the table, ready to act, with a number of spells up their sleeves.
The bell above the door jingled as someone entered the shop. Lily didn't look towards the door, but instead glanced out by the window she was sitting next to, looking at the rain.
A handsome young man with untidy black hair approached her and put his hand on the seat in front of her. She glanced up.
"Excuse me," he said. "But is this chair taken?"
"No, but I'm expecting someone very shortly," she replied sweetly.
"Would you mind if I sit here, until he, or she comes?" he asked.
Lily glanced out the window again.
"They do seem to be pretty late…"
"You never know who you might be turning down," James said with a smirk.
Lily gazed at him. "Sorry. Nice try, though."
He tapped the chair in thought. "Sure thing," he said.
Remus looked at Sirius and with a nod he moved in reverse, as if being replayed. A distant ding! was heard.
The young man approached Lily and stood waiting until she noticed he was waiting for her.
"Is this seat taken?" he asked.
"No, its not," Lily said smoothly.
"Would you mind if I sit here?" he asked, indicating the chair.
"Yes, I would," Lily said sourly.
His smile fell. "Oh."
Remus flicked his wand.
Ding!
"Is this seat taken?" he asked.
Lily glanced up.
"No, it's not," she said.
"Would you mind if I sit here?" He seemed sweet enough.
"No, go ahead," she said, returning to her book.
"Thanks," he said, sitting down. He glanced around the crowded coffee shop. "Every place else seems to be taken."
"Mm-hmm."
"Great place."
"Uh-huh."
He glanced at the book.
"What's the book?" he asked, gazing into her eyes.
Lily looked at him. "I just wanted to read in quiet, if you don't mind."
He nodded. "No. Sure thing."
Sirius shook his head.
Ding!
He looked around.
"Every place else seems to be taken," he said, watching her.
"Mm-hmm."
He looked at her book. "Great place for reading," he said.
"Uh-huh."
"What's the book?"
"The Sound and the Fury," Lily said without looking up.
"Oh. Hemingway."
Remus grimaced and with another flick:
Ding!
He drummed his fingers along the table.
"What's the book?" he asked.
"The Sound and the Fury," Lily said.
"Oh, Faulkner." He nodded his head.
"Have you read it?" Lily asked, looking up for the first time.
"I'm a Chudley Canons fan myself," he said with a smirk.
Remus rolled his eyes.
Ding!
"Have you read it?" Lily asked.
"Yeah, at summer camp."
"Where was summer camp?" she asked.
Sirius scoffed into his shoulder.
Ding!
"I was lying; I never went to summer camp. I just liked to party." He grinned.
Lily smiled. "I thought the book was pretty boring."
"Start over," Remus mumbled.
Ding!
"I'm James by the way," he said, smiling at her.
"I'm Lily," she said, bookmarking her page.
"Hi."
"Hi."
"Do you come in here a lot?" James asked, quirking his brow.
Lily gave him a suspicious look. "Why are you asking?"
James leaned back a bit. "Just interested."
She glared at him. "Are you really interested, or are you just trying to pick me up?"
"No, I'm really just interested," James said earnestly.
Lily tilted her head to the side. "Why would you be interested in whether I come in here a lot?"
"I'm just… getting acquainted."
Lily growled. With every passing word her voice got more and more hysterical.
"Maybe your interested for the sake of making small talk, long enough to ask me back to your place to listen to some music, or because you've rented a great tape for your VCR, only all you want to do is make out — which you don't do very well — after which you'll go into the bathroom and pee very loudly, then pad into the kitchen to get yourself a pop, without asking me if I'd like anything, and then you'll confess that you've got a girlfriend named Stephanie who's away at school in Belgium for a year, and that you've been involved with her ON AND OFF in what you'd call a very "intricate" relationship, for about SEVEN months. None of which interests me, mister!"
By this point she had risen to her feet and leaned down on the table looking James directly in the eye. She slammed herself back into her seat restlessly.
Past experiences much?
James scooted back a bit.
"Ooookay," he said, casting nervous looks around the room.
Remus and Sirius slammed their heads against the table repeatedly.
Ding!
James propped his head in his hand.
"Amazing how you can live right next door to someone in this town and never even know it."
Lily nodded.
"I know."
"City life."
"It's crazy."
Lily wasn't liking this James all that much.
"You weren't waiting for somebody when I came in, were you?" he asked, curious.
"Actually, I was," Lily said, glancing out the window.
"Oh," he said, his smile falling. "Boyfriend?"
"My husband," she said flatly.
"Ah."
"Moron," Sirius hissed.
Ding!
"You weren't waiting for somebody when I came in, were you?" James asked.
"Actually, I was," Lily said, her eyes traveling to the door.
"Oh. Boyfriend?"
"Sort of," she said with a nod.
"What's a sort of boyfriend?" he asked, confused.
"We were meeting here to break up."
"Oh," James said, a smile stretching on his face.
"Start over," Remus said, with another flick:
Ding!
James looked Lily in the eyes.
"What's a sort of boyfriend?" he asked, smiling.
Get this prick off your friggin back! Lily thought.
"My lover," she said flatly. Then, looking towards the door, waved to someone behind him. "Here she comes now!"
"Oh, God," Sirius moaned.
Ding!
"What's a sort of girlfriend?" she asked, watching James intently.
"My mother," he said tonelessly.
Two heads hit the table again.
Ding!
"You weren't waiting for somebody when I came in were you?" James asked.
"No, just reading," Lily sighed.
"Sort of a sad occupation for a Saturday night, isn't it? Reading here, all by yourself?" He smiled to himself.
"Do you think so?" Lily asked, frowning.
"Well, sure," James said, nodding. "What's a good looking woman like you doing out alone on a Saturday night?"
Lily glared at him. "Trying to keep away from lines like that."
James's eyes widened in shock. "NO! Listen—"
"Complete idiot," Remus muttered.
Ding!
"You weren't waiting for somebody when I came in, were you?" James asked.
"No, just reading," Lily sighed.
"Sort of a sad occupation for a Saturday night, isn't it? Reading here, all by yourself?"
She rolled her eyes. "I guess I was trying to think of it as an existentially romantic. You know—cappuccino, great literature, rainy night…" She gazed out the rain-splattered window.
James smiled at her. "That only works in Paris. We COULD hop the late plane to Paris. Get on a Concorde. Find a café…" He winked.
Lily chuckled. "I'm a little short on plane fare tonight."
James snapped his fingers. "Darn it, so am I."
"To tell you the truth, I was headed to the movies after I finished reading this section. Would you like to come along, since you don't seem to be able to locate a waiter?"
James glanced around the room and tapped his knuckles to a rhythm on the table. "The waiters sure are in a different time zone here."
"Would you like to come?" She looked at him expectantly.
James squirmed a bit. "That's a very nice offer but…"
She rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh. Girlfriend?"
"Two actually."
"Bloody idiot," Sirius groaned.
Ding!
Lily looked at him expectantly. "Would you like to come?" she asked.
James grinned. "That sounds like fun. What's playing?"
"A couple of the really early Woody Allen movies." She smiled back at him.
"Oh," James said, frowning.
"Don't you like Woody Allen?" she asked, knitting her brows in question.
"Sure. I like Woody Allen," he lied.
"But you're not crazy about him," Lily said dryly, catching on.
"Those early ones kinda get on my nerves," he admitted.
"Uh-huh," she said, rolling her eyes.
"He's not appreciating his chances, is he?" Remus asked.
Ding!
"Y'know I was headed to the—" James started.
"I was thinking about—" Lily began.
"I'm sorry," James said earnestly.
Lily smiled. "No, go ahead."
"I was going to say that I was headed to the movies in a little while and…" he trailed off.
Lily grinned. "The Woody Allen festival?"
He nodded. "Just up the street. Do you like the early ones?" he asked.
"I think anyone who doesn't out to be run off the planet," she laughed.
"How many times have you seen BANANAS?" James blushed at such a question.
"Eight times," Lily said happily.
"Twelve," he said triumphantly. "So, are you still interested?" he asked.
Lily sat in silence for a moment.
"Do you like crumb cake?" she asked, looking him up and down.
"Last night I went out at two in the morning to get one. Did you have an etch-a-sketch as a child?" he challenged.
Lily broke out into a full smile. "YES! And do you like brussel sprouts?"
"No, I think they're disgusting," James declared with a grimace.
"They ARE disgusting!" Lily said, joining the grimacing.
Remus and Sirius exchanged grins themselves.
Ding!
"I believe a man is what he is," James said wisely.
"I think so too," Lily agreed.
"So what if I admire Trotsky?"
"IDIOT!" Sirius breathed.
Ding!
"So what if I had a total-body liposuction?" James asked indifferently.
"Sure. You just can't hang a sign on a person," she said finally, smiling.
"Screw progress," Remus growled.
Ding!
James leaned across the table until he was inches from Lily's face.
"Do you believe in marriage in spite of current sentiments against it?" he asked.
"Yes," Lily said quietly.
"And children?"
"Three of them," she said with a smile.
"Two girls and a boy," James said, gazing into her eyes.
"Kathleen, Opal and Harry."
James looked deep into her eyes.
"And will you love me?" he asked quietly.
"Yes," Lily whispered even quieter.
They were mere centimeters from each other's faces.
"And cherish me forever?" James asked, still quietly.
"Yes," Lily whispered.
James grinned. "Do you still want to go to the movies?"
Lily smiled. "Sure thing," she said.
"WAITER!" they called together.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"Still think it was a good idea?" Remus asked as they watched Lily and James walk out the door.
"Oh yeah… that spell was marvelous," Sirius approved.
"Lily will remember who he is in the morning though," Remus said.
"And she'll remember that she fell in love with him – that's the glory of the spell."
"I still can't believe James did it."
"With our help."
"With the help of magic, Sirius," Remus corrected.
"A little time shifting spell works wonders."
"What was with the dinging?"
"It signaled a new chance."
"Well, at least James made it."
Sirius laughed. "Yeah. But he needed a lot of second chances."
Author's Ramblings: I hope this wasn't all that confusing. This is based off a play that I acted in last year, titled 'Sure Thing.' The original character names were Betty and Bill (haha, I know). But the whole point of it was to give them a second chance to fall in love. That if you simply rewound the tape and started over, they'd have a better – a second – chance. The actual play is simply superb and I enjoyed playing Betty. It was really long, but I had to shorten it a lot to make it seem story-length.
And I know there aren't movies in Hogsmeade, but deal with it. I'm the evil author! And, also, I apologize again. I don't know if they even knew who Woody Allen was.
I hope you enjoyed it! Please leave a review on your way out!