Disclaimer: I'm an amateur! I don't write for a living. I write for fun. It's my hobby—not work. I write for the lack of anything else productive to do. I don't own Harry Potter. It's all JK Rowling's.

A/N: READ THIS FIRST! Forgive me if you wouldn't like this chapter. You may not have expected this from me, but I spent a lot of time thinking about this. I have been searching my mind for ideas for nights (even the nights when I was supposed to have my mind focused on my exams), trying to think of anything to write that I know you guys would love. I had so many ideas, but somehow, they didn't fit right—or maybe some ideas did, but in one way or another, it caused conflict to the previews chapters. This is far the best I could do for now. I would have love to ask for an extension, but I already promised you guys that I would upload this chapter on the 21st or on the 22nd—and I don't like breaking promises—and the fact that I somehow annoyed some of you guys by posting the Sneak Peak chapter caused me to hesitate and ask. So please don't expect too much. Expecting too much would mean much disappointment as well.

AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT YOU SHOULD READ CAREFULLY. YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS ANYTHING. THIS IS LONG, SO PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ANYTHING BEHIND OR SKIP ANYTHING. EVERYTHING IS IMPORTANT.

Chapter Thirteen: The Last of the Notes

When Lily woke up, she was surprised to see that her dorm room was empty. Normally, people wake up at around ten in a Sunday morning. Remembering that it was Valentine's Day after all, she shrugged it off and went her way to the bathroom.

While dressing herself to get ready for breakfast, she remembered quite suddenly that it was strange that she didn't hear her friends getting ready for their dates. Glancing at her watch, she noticed that it was way too early for them to get all ready and set up.

Grabbing a book by her bedside table, she went her way downstairs, eager to see her friends. But as she stepped out of her room, she felt that there was a change in the atmosphere. She could hear silent buzzes downstairs, sounding to her as if the Gryffindors were working on something together. Curious, she hurried her pace, and soon enough, she was on the last step.

"It's Lily!" she heard someone say. She couldn't however point out who said it for the common room was quite occupied. Straining her neck to check if her friends were there, she was disappointed to realize that their presence was absent.

Like magic, the once chaotic scene in front of Lily seemed orderly. She heard the portrait hall swung open and she willed herself to see who had entered. To her relief, Jen, Hailey and Katie emerged from the portrait. She was about to go and greet them when she saw Jen signaling her to stay put. When Lily gave her a confused look, asking her what the matter was, Jen mouthed 'trust me…' Although she was still puzzled, she stayed.

She was still positioned on the last step of the staircase but she didn't think of stepping down. When she brought her eyes back to the scene in front of her, she was surprised to see six Gryffindors lined up in front of her, windowing each other.

Her heart pounded fast against her chest when she suddenly noticed that Derek was first in line. Smiling at her, he spoke, starting off on showing Lily what he had in his hands.

"Remember this?" Derek asked. When Lily shook her head no, he smiled even wider. "When you were in your first year, a little boy thought that it was fun to tease you with your hair. After all, it was different from the rest. While the majority had blonde, black, or brown hairs, yours was red. It humored him even more when he found out that you had a short temper. Teasing you, he discovered, was a fun task." Derek stopped, wondering what his next line was. When he could no longer remember it, he took out a piece of crumpled paper from his pocket. "Sorry." He said. "I sort of forgot." Lily, and the rest of the Gryffindors, she noticed, laughed with her. "Here it is. Shall I continue?" he asked. This time, Lily nodded her head.

"He told me that he regretted what he did. He made you cry, though you had no idea that it was him who did it. According to him, he was watching you one night in the common room while you were doing your homework. Fortunately for him, take note miss Lily that this thought was of an eleven year old, annoying, little boy. So don't take it against him when he used the word fortunately, ok?" Derek asked. Again, Lily nodded with a laugh. "Fortunately for him, you had to grab something from your room. Thinking that no one would have interest on your things, you hurriedly went off and left your things in the common room—one of the many things that you left behind was your hair brush. Excited as he was, he took it, replacing it with a note, saying that you would have no need for it—for your hair was a basket case; it was unmanageable and will forever be."

"As you know, he returned it three days after. When he found out you cried endlessly about it, his conscience took the best of him. He left it on your chair one day, leaving with it another note, begging for your forgiveness." Derek finally took his eyes away from the note and looked at Lily. "He's been wondering miss Lily, have you forgiven him?"

Feeling her eyes well up in tears, she decided that it was best for her not to speak so as not to lose her composure. She nodded her head at Derek and smiled at him. Satisfied with her answer, Derek approached her and handed her a Tulip. "This is from me, not him. I just wanted you to know that I don't think your hair is ugly. I think it's really pretty." Touched by what Derek said, Lily deiced to lean in and give the little guy a kiss. "Thank you Derek. You're a sweet boy." Contented, he marched away, joining the rest of the Gryffindors at the end side of the room.

The next one, Lily recognized, was a second year girl. Like Derek, she showed Lily something. "I have with me here a small figurine of a Christmas tree. He remembered before when you two were still on your second year, he started the "Lily is a Christmas Tree rhyme.

"Lily is a Christmas tree.
I hope all will be merry like she.
Hair as red as Mars, temper so mercurial.
Take cover, for her green eyes are monster like.
Hair so red, eyes ever so green,
isn't she perfect for Hogwarts' Christmas tree?"

The little girl allowed the silent laughter to subside before continuing. "Like the hairbrush, you had no idea that it was him. He was too smart, he thought. He wouldn't want to get himself in trouble for something he knew he just did for fun." She paused to breathe and then continued. "Now, he's somewhere in this castle, wondering again of the same thing. Have you forgiven him for his stupid rhyme? God knows he was stupid for thinking all those things. He loves your hair. He loves your eyes. He loves everything about you. So again, he asked me to ask you this: Will you forgive him?"

Tears started to fall freely from Lily's eyes. Again she nodded, but now, she managed to say something. "I already did. Please tell him that." Smiling at her, the little girl nodded her head and said, "I will."

Next in line was a third year boy whom she knew was in the quidditch team. On his shoulder was a broomstick. Like the others, he gave Lily a smile.

"He remembered on your third year, a friend dared you to ride on a broomstick. He was at the field then, playing with his friends when he saw you ride the broom. He was fascinated by your stiffness that he stopped and watched. He swore to me that he didn't plan on anything. He just wanted to see you attempt to fly." The kid paused a while, reminding himself not to say James' name, nor tell Lily that he was his teammate. "But having a best friend like his is very unfortunate. Distracted that he was with you, his best friend thought it would be funny if he directed the bludger towards his direction. He was hit on his right shoulder, hurting him. Though it was a harmless gesture for them boys, he needed revenge. And for him, revenge meant ruining his best friend's hair. But like a skilled quidditch player, his friend dodged, causing the spell to hit you instead. Instantly, your hair turned greasy, somewhat slimy, resembling the color of a rotted pumpkin." The third year boy smiled knowingly, finding James' behavior similar to that of a little kid who is infatuated with someone. "Knowing that the two of you don't really consider each other friends, he made a quick exit, leaving you wondering who cast the spell."

"This boy seemed to wonder a lot of things right now, don't you think?" The boy asked. "Again, he's wondering if you could forgive him. He was once foolish, childish and stupid, doing things that hurt you. Could you find it anywhere in your heart to forgive him? Because believe me, he's truly sorry for everything he did."

Lily laughed as she remembered the incident quite clearly. Hailey and Katie dared her to ride on a broomstick to prove her point that she was not frightened to fly. But unluckily for her, she got hit by a spell that caused her hair to look unhairlike, for the lack of any word to describe it. She remembered going through hell for two days for it was only two days after that they figured out what spell was cast on her.

Again, Lily could not hold any grudges on him. He was a kid then, stupid and foolish in his own ways, but he's now sorry and that was what's important. Slowly, she nodded her head and smiled.

Like the others before him, he smiled at her and left.

Next in line was fourth year boy, and with him were lilies. He gave Lily a smile like the others did and started. "You might not have remembered this but I was the one who handed you those lilies when you were in your fourth year. This guy asked me to hand you those lilies, thinking of asking you out. But before he could introduce himself to you, you already professed your hatred for him for you were allergic to lilies. Ironically, he actually thought those were your favorite flowers. Thinking he would impress you, he asked me to give you a bouquet of them. Wrong move, wasn't it?" The boy smiled at her and transfigured the lilies into tulips and handed them to her. "You were in the hospital wing for a day after that. He wanted to apologize for assuming things. He should have asked what your favorite flower was and he's truly sorry for not having the guts to apologize personally then. Could you forgive him, he asked."

Not having the heart to stay mad at him still, she nodded. Her tears somehow subsided, but in her eyes, she was dying to know who he was. She has been thinking nonstop about him for the past several nights and these revelations were only causing her to think of him more.

Lily recognized the girl in front of her as a prefect. In her hands, she held several heart shaped papers. "You're probably wondering why I'm holding with me these hearts." She started. "Well, according to him, in his fifth year, he was refusing to accept the fact that he was finding you attractive, that he was enamored with you." She gave a chuckle then continued. "Being the immature boy that he was, he went out with different girls for weeks. He asked all the girls he found attractive that time, save perhaps you and your friends, to take his mind off of you. But still, he found himself thinking about you, never realizing that you took him whole. He broke hearts in an effort to forget you, but as stubborn as he was, his heart was refusing him to."

"He's now sorry that he did those things. He knows you're wondering why he's apologizing to you and not to those girls. He did already. He owled them weeks ago, asking for forgiveness. And now, he's asking for yours. He apologizes for using you as his reason for hurting those girls; sorry that he was an idiot and a selfish prat, as what you've called him." Finally, she asked her, "Can you forgive him?"

"Of course," was Lily's short answer.

And finally, the last of the six was in front of her. He was holding in his hands what seemed to Lily as mistletoe. It mystified her. She didn't remember kissing anyone under a mistletoe—save perhaps Geoff.

Before the sixth year got the chance to speak, Lily begun. "Please tell me it's not Geoff Carter. Because if he is, we can all forget about this…"

He let out a laugh and looked at the others and addressed them something. "He did tell us she would react this way…" Then to Lily's relief, everybody laughed in response.

"It's not Carter." he started. "You may have remembered that you and Carter kissed underneath the mistletoe last year. You didn't know this of course, but this tulip guy has something to do about it, though not directly."

"His friends took pity on him; him not having a chance with you. Being the friends that they were, they planned on getting you two under the mistletoe that you will be forced to kiss their friend. As much as he loved the idea of you kissing him, he didn't want to trick you to it, so he declined. I am not supposed to tell you this, but his friends asked me to."

"When you were under the mistletoe, you were unable to get out. It was one of the few things that his friends have done with the mistletoe. Unless someone kisses you on the lips, you couldn't get off."

"He watched in desperation as Carter went his way to you. It hurt him to see you two kiss, and it hurt him even more when he realized that that mistletoe had something to do with you being hurt by Carter. The mistletoe somehow brought you and Carter together. As much as his friends love to break you two apart, he didn't allow them."

After this has been said, the crowd slowly disappeared. One by one, they left the common room, leaving Lily alone. She wondered what she was supposed to do. Wait for him? But what if he's not coming, Lily asked herself. But then again, Jen told her to stay put and that's what she was intending to do.

She waited a little while, and soon after, she noticed that the room was beginning to get darker. Though she knew in her heart that it was him, she still can't help but get frightened.

As she looked around, walking to observe her surroundings, she noticed that the only source of light was the fireplace. But then suddenly, the room was lit by an unknown source of brightness. When she looked up, she was astonished to find the ceiling replaced by the lights of the night. The once dull ceiling was now gone. The ceiling now resembled the one like in the Great hall, better even. She was too captivated by the beauty of what she was seeing that she didn't notice James immerge from the boys' staircase. She was then only aware of someone else's presence when she heard a voice speak the lines she was now so very familiar with.

"The distance between us was quite far, but the figure of you and him holding hands was a clear sight. From where I was standing, both of you were having a good time… Holding hands…Walking with comfortable silence… Knowing nothing about a man hurting—watching with tears drowning his eyes. His longing for someone… His love—he knows he could never have. And then, what seemed like a dream, the reality of you and him was no longer—it was finally over. Destiny may have brought you two together, but it was also fate that broke you two apart from each other. There was no longer you and him… My heart ached for your pain—and although I was hurting for you, my heart could not deny the joy of knowing you're no longer with him. I have loved you from afar…A distance I wish I could cover—somehow, to get to you… But I couldn't reach you… You wouldn't let me… The sea of your doubts is blocking my way to you… Pushing me away from you… Could you leave your uncertainties behind and give me a chance? Because after all Lily…"

James paused. He waited for Lily to finally turn around to face him. He wanted to say the final words to her, needing her to see his emotions.

Aware that her heart was pounding fast against her chest, she turned around, willing herself to face the person that hunted her for the past few days.

Looking at him straight it the eye, he repeated the lines. "Could you leave your uncertainties behind and give me a chance?" He paused, still gazing in her eyes. "Because after all Lily…" He paused a while taking a few uncertain steps towards her and continued on. "Because after all Lily, my heart beats for you."

A/N: This is NOT the end. I've completely changed this chapter, leaving the original one on my PC (and no one's going to read it 'coz I think it was crap). I'm sorry if this was not what you've expected. I do hope you liked this at the very least. I did work with this for hours, setting aside my other non-fanfiction works. And to think I've strained my brains out for this chapter. I've considered so many things, but somehow, this turned out more appealing to me. I hope I didn't disappoint you guys too much.

Please leave me a review. At least tell me what you thought of this chapter. I would love to hear what you guys have to say for I don't like wondering what your reactions were. Was this chapter terrible? Unexpected? Good? Unromantic compared to the rest, perhaps? Boring? Satisfying?

I don't know how many more chapters will be written after this. For the first time, I don't have a reserved chapter for this story, though I have an unfinished draft. Pray for me. I think I might suffer from writer's block. Hehehe.. Hopefully this problem won't last long. This chapter took me the LONGEST TIME to finish—I don't know why. I just type it, and then end up deleting it. Then type again, and then delete—the process goes on and on.

PS. I can't remember who pointed it out to me, but thank you. The sixth note held an error—and that someone corrected me. Thanks so much. I've corrected the sixth note already on all chapters. Sorry to have confused you. (The error was: Destiny may have brought you two together, but it was also fate that brought you two apart from each other.) I already changed it with the word broke. Again, thank you:-) It was a mistake.

REVIEW:-)