Hey Guys! Sorry it has taken me so long to update, but it has been a busy
week. I want to thank everyone that took the time to review the last
chapter! I just want to apologize to those of you that need therapy for
reading the Bellatrix/Lestrange make out session. I know it was awful, but
I couldn't resist it.
I want to especially thank: LJstagflower4e/JCtigerwolf4e and Padfootlet for always posting such wonderful and hilarious reviews!
I also want to sincerely thank: flyingwind33, Sammy Solo, Amanda, Divine Sanity, MuGgLeNeT27 and hp4eva for their insightful reviews and always making my day!
You guys are awesome!!!!!
I want to take a second to apologize if this chapter seems really slow, but I promise there is a reason behind it!
Here's the usual: Harry Potter does not belong to me. I tried to make him mine, but was unfortunately bit in the bum by one of J.K. Rowling's mean guard dogs when I tried to break into her house. Those little bulldogs can jump pretty high. Anyway, so, hence, thus and therefore, Harry Potter is not mine and it belongs to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. Don't sue me. Thank you.
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Chapter 12: Valuable Advice Only Comes At Sunset
Lily had avoided James like the plague for the next few days. She avoided him at meals, in classes and she had been lucky enough not to have patrolling duty with him since the incident. She couldn't believe what she had done. She had been wrestling with her emotions since it happened. Suddenly she felt confused. She had hated him for as long as she could remember. She had always felt that he was arrogant, immature and just a plain all around git. But now she didn't know how to feel. She didn't want to admit that she enjoying his company and that he made her laugh more than anyone else or that she liked the way he looked at her. But mostly she didn't want to admit to that she had liked the way it felt when they kissed. Lily had never been kissed like that; so tender but so full of passion.
Lily stared into the fire of the Gryffindor common room, hoping that an answer on what she should do about this James Potter business would appear in it.
"What do you think Lils?" asked Liz looking up at her from her parchment.
"Huh?" said Lily blinking and turning to look at Liz.
"I just read you my entire potions essay. Weren't you paying attention?" asked Liz skeptically.
"Oh, yeah I was. I think it was pretty good," said Lily turning to look back at the fire.
"Alright, what's going on?" asked Faith from her chair next to Liz. "You've been acting weird all week." Lily sighed and continued to look into the fire. She didn't know if she wanted to tell her friends about what happened. "Earth to Lily. Come in Miss Evans, this is your friends calling and requesting that you wake the hell up and talk to us."
"Nothing is the matter. I'm just tired that's all," said Lily, returning to her essay.
"Oh you don't get off that easy missy. You've been acting weird since Saturday night," said Faith, putting her essay aside and making herself more comfortable.
"Spill it, because we'll just pester you about it until you can't stand it anymore and either want to tell us or curse us into next week," said Liz, following Faith's lead and putting her essay aside. Lily sighed and knew that it was hopeless.
"If I tell you than you must promise me that you will not laugh," said Lily looking grimly at her two friends.
"We promise," said Liz leaning in closer to make sure that she didn't miss anything.
"Alright. Well Saturday night I had patrolling duty with Potter. Things were sort of tense all night. He kept acting like there was something that he wanted to tell me, so naturally I asked him what he wanted. We started to talk about things and he asked me if I meant everything I said about him to Alexander and I said yes," Lily took a deep breath, dreading the next few sentences. "The next thing I know, he is telling me how beautiful my eyes are and.........we kissed." Lily looked down at her lap in shame.
"Well it's about damn time!" said Faith smiling at Lily. Lily looked up at her with surprise.
"What? You can't be serious?" said Lily, not believing her ears.
"Yeah I am," said Faith, leaning back in her chair. "Lily the way you have been acting, I thought maybe something was wrong in your family or you were sick. But kissing Potter isn't a bad thing."
"Faith! It is a horrible thing!" said Lily looking at Faith with disbelief. "He is an arrogant git. How long has he been trying to make me go out with him? This is just another angle of his to try and make me feel something for him so I'll go out with him." Lily looked at Liz for support. Liz looked nervously from Lily to Faith, who was still grinning.
"Well," said Liz uncertainly, "I don't know what to tell you Lily. I mean there is nothing wrong with fancying him. In fact, Faith and I have been saying for a while now that you two would make a great couple.........."
"Liz! You are suppose to me be my support!" said Lily disbelievingly.
"Sorry," said Liz, looking to Faith for some sign of support.
"Sorry my foot! I can't believe you two. You are suppose to be my best friends and here you're telling me to go out with the school's biggest git!" Lily sat back in her chair and crossed her arms.
"Oh get off it," said Faith irritably. "I won't sit here and listen to you criticize us for telling you the truth. Why are you getting so upset about this anyway? So you kissed Potter, big deal. Chalk it up to experience and get over it." Lily sat there and stared into the fire in silence. She couldn't believe her best friends were giving her this advice. They were supposed to be scolding her for kissing that arrogant toad, not congratulating her on it like it was some wonderful achievement.
"I think the reason you are sulking and putting up such a big fight about it is because deep down you like him and you don't feel sorry for kissing him," said Faith, looking at Lily with a smirk on her face. Lily looked over at Faith and let out a long, heavy sigh.
"What did you do after you kissed him?" asked Liz.
"I ran away," spat Lily shaking her head. Liz and Faith broke out into laughter.
"You ran away!" laughed Liz, "Was it that bad? Was he slobbery or something?" Lily let a smile slip across her face.
"Actually, it wasn't to horrible. But I just felt so embarrassed. I didn't know what to do. I just wanted to get the hell out of there, so I bolted," said Lily shaking her head. "I feel like a bloody idiot."
"Have you talked to him since?" asked Faith.
"Come on, how can I face him. I mean what am I going to say?" said Lily. "Besides, I don't even know if I like him. I think I just got caught up in the moment."
"Yeah, but what a moment," said Liz dreamily. Lily let out a disgusted sound and grabbed her essay.
"Anyway, I don't really want to think about James Potter at the moment," she said dipping her quill in ink, "Let's get this essay done before midnight."
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"Five more minutes," called the Potion Professor from his desk in the front of the room.
James stirred his cauldron slowly. He was pretty sure that he did everything correctly. He looked next to him at Sirius. Sirius was lazily leaning back in his chair while his charmed spoon slowly stirred the bubbling liquid in his cauldron. He looked over at James and gave him a broad grin, as if this was a big achievement. James returned the grin and looked ahead of him at Remus. He was slowly stirring his cauldron while talking to Liz, who was working next to him. James's eyes wandered two rows ahead of him towards Lily and Faith. The girls looked like they were in deep conversation. James felt his heart sink into the bottom of his stomach as his mind flashed to the other night. He kept replaying the kiss over and over in his head. But immediately the shocked look on Lily's face swam before his mind, followed by a sea of red silky red hair running away from him. He had tried to talk to Lily for several days without success. It seemed like she was constantly with one of her friends or else she would leave the room before he could go over to her.
"Alright. Your potions should be finished. Bring up a sample with your name on it to be graded."
James corked his sample and followed Sirius to the teacher's desk. As he walked back he saw Lily packing up her things, still in deep conversation with Faith. He decided he would attempt to talk to her on the way down to the Great Hall. This was starting to get ridiculous and he needed to talk to her before quidditch practice tonight.
"Are you coming, mate?" asked Sirius, waiting for James with his backpack slung over his left shoulder.
"Yeah hold on a minute," said James packing up his potion ingredients. Lily and Faith walked past them quickly and headed out the door. James shoved the rest of his things in his bag and zipped it up.
"Alright let's go," he said walking quickly past Sirius.
"Where's the fire?" asked Sirius, running slightly to catch up with James.
"I want to catch up with Evans before dinner," said James, walking faster to close the gap between him and the girls.
"Mate, you need to let it go," said Sirius, finally catching up to him. "You kissed her and she ran away. What more do you need to make you understand that she doesn't want anything to do with you?" James cast Sirius an irritated look and continued to follow Lily.
"No I'm not trying to start an argument. All I'm saying is that you should give him a chance," said Faith casually as the girls walked up the dungeon stairs.
"Faith! Why are you taking his side? I thought that you were suppose to be my best friend?" said Lily disgusted.
"I am not taking anyone's side Lils. I'm just saying that from what you have been saying all class period, it seems to me that you just don't want to admit that you are attracted to him," said Faith watching the reflections in the windows. Lily let out a disgusted sigh. "You act like it's this huge problem. If you like the guy, then go after him. Who cares what people think."
"I don't care what people think. The problem is that I don't even know what I think. For as long as I can remember he has been this disgusting, arrogant, bullying jerk and now because he said some nice things to me and we kissed, I'm suppose to overlook the rest of it?" said Lily looking at Faith for support. "I can't fall for a guy like that. I need someone who is mature and . . . . . . . . . what are you looking at?"
"Your boyfriend is behind us and closing in fast," smirked Faith, still looking at the reflections in the windows.
"What?" said Lily; nonchalantly looking over her shoulder. James was walking at great speed, with Sirius trying to keep pace. She didn't want to talk to James yet and she knew that's why he was trying to catch up to her. He had tried talking to her all week and Lily had successfully avoided him. Lily looked around for an escape.
"Quick! In here!" said Lily, pulling Faith into the girl's bathroom.
"What are you doing?" laughed Faith, as Lily hugged the door and peaked around it.
"He's standing outside the door!" whispered Lily. "What the hell is doing!"
"Maybe he wants another kiss and he figures if he corners you in the bathroom then you can't get away," laughed Faith leaning on one of the sinks.
"He's a nutter!" said Lily, turning to face Faith.
"No, he's in love," smirked Faith. "Lily you need to talk to him. I mean look at you. You are hiding in the bathroom for crying out loud! This is not the Lily Evans I know."
"You're right," sighed Lily, "But I can't talk to him yet. Maybe tomorrow when we have patrolling duty together, but not now." Lily turned back to the door and peaked to see if James was still there. The hallway was empty and there was no sign of him anywhere.
"Good, he's gone," said Lily turning back to Faith.
"That's good. But unfortunately all of this time spent in the bathroom makes me have to go," said Faith walking into a stall and shutting the door.
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Lily and Faith entered the Great Hall ten minutes later. Lily wanted to take the long way in case James was lurking around the halls waiting for her. To her relief, he was sitting down amongst his friends talking and eating. Lily took her usual seat by Liz and tried not to glance at James.
"Where have you two been? I was starting to get worried," said Liz as the two girls started filling their plates with food.
"We had to go to the bathroom," said Lily, focusing on a plate of chicken. Faith started laughing.
"That is the perfect entree for you Lils," laughed Faith looking at Lily with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "Chicken."
"Oh, shut up Faith!" said Lily, the corners of her mouth twitching.
"Did I miss something?" asked Liz, skeptically looking from Faith to Lily.
"Yes. We just spent ten minutes hiding the girls bathroom because Lily is too chicken to face James Potter," said Faith, digging into her plate of rigatoni and marinara.
"What?! Lily you did not?" asked Liz smiling at Lily. Lily nodded her head once and continued to eat her chicken. Liz broke out into laughter.
"I'm so glad you two are amused by this," said Lily tartly. "I'm so glad my personal suffering is providing you adequate entertainment." Liz and Faith continued to laugh all throughout dinner, making Lily like her two best friends less and less with each comment made about chicken, kissing or bathrooms. Lily was glad to see them go off to quidditch practice after dinner. She was looking forward to a teasing-James Potter free evening.
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If there was one thing that could take his mind off of anything in the world, it was quidditch. James was glad to be up in the air again. Everything was much simpler when you are flying on a broomstick a hundred feet in the air. The wind whipped through his hair and the cool breeze felt good on his face. The team was looking good. He felt that they had a good chance at the Quidditch Cup this year. The new team members were improving with each practice and he was sure that they would do well on their first match Saturday morning against Slytherin.
"All right! Good practice everyone!" called James after he blew his whistle to signal the end of practice. Everyone flew towards the ground and dismounted off of their broomsticks. "I'll see everyone at the game on Saturday." Most of the team started walking towards the locker room.
"Are you coming?" called Liz, heading towards the end of the field.
"You go ahead. I have to ask the captain about something," said Faith. Liz gave her a questioning look and turned towards the locker room. Faith walked over to James and Sirius who were packing up the trunk of quidditch balls.
"Hey Captain, you got a second?" said Faith, handing Sirius her beater's club to be placed back into the trunk.
"For my favorite beater, of course," said James, squatting and closing the trunk.
"Oy, I thought I was your favorite beater?" said Sirius in mock tones of hurt.
"You were until Ravenwood made the team," said James grinning mischievously at Sirius. Sirius placed his hands on his hips.
"Is it because I don't look as good in a skirt?" said Sirius, a mock look of hurt on his face.
"Well, you do have the skinniest legs I've ever seen," said James, looking at his legs and shaking his head. Sirius hitched up his pants to his knees and began to prance around like a ballerina.
"If you two are finished," said Faith looking impatiently at the boys, her arms folded across her chest.
"Come on Ravenwood," said Sirius prancing over to her. "Why don't you have a nice long look at my legs?"
"Sirius, all that looking at your skinny legs does for me is induce a desire for chicken wings," smirked Faith.
"Well, I'll allow you to have a nibble on them, or anything else you fancy love," grinned Sirius. Faith let out a disgusted moan and hit him hard on the shoulder.
"You are sick!" said Faith disgusted.
"Only love sick for you love," grinned Sirius, picking up his broom. "If you want to make me healthy again, then you should meet me in the common room later, let's say midnight."
"Why Sirius that sounds wonderful," said Faith batting her eyes at Sirius. "But if I'm not there by 12:01, feel free to sick your head in the fire and inhale," said Faith sarcastically, turning away from Sirius and towards a laughing James.
"I'll see you in the locker room in a few," said James grinning at Sirius. Sirius slung his broomstick over his shoulder and headed towards the locker room, singing the Weird Sister's song "Ill Tempered Witch". James turned towards Faith.
"Well what is that you need to chat with me about? You seem to be doing just fine in practice." Faith took at deep breath.
"It's not about quidditch. It's about Lily," said Faith, looking at him seriously. James's face dropped and he looked away for a moment.
"What about her?" he said, suddenly fascinated with his quidditch kneepads.
"I need to talk to you about her. Can we sit somewhere more comfortable?" said Faith, motioning to the bleachers. James nodded and followed her over the nearest one. James took a seat next to Faith and stared at the field. Faith turned in her seat so she was facing him.
"I don't know how to say this, so I'm just going to do it," said Faith, sitting up straighter. James looked at her sideways, not fully sure if he wanted to have a discussion about Lily with her best friend.
"I know what happened on Saturday night between you two," said Faith.
"Yeah, so," said James, trying to act like it didn't bother him.
"Well, I think Lily handled it wrong. More importantly, I think Lily knows she handled it wrong, though she is too embarrassed to say so," said Faith. James turned to look at her. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He thought for sure that Faith was going to scold him for trying to make a move on her best friend. Faith smiled at the shocked look on James's face.
"Well, now that I have your full attention," said Faith, cocking her head to one side. "Look Potter, I know how long you have liked Lily. In fact the whole school knows how long you have liked her. However, your past indiscretions, mainly having to do with your arrogance, have left Lily to detest your very existence." James sighed and looked back at the field. He didn't want to hear a lecture about school rules right now, especially from someone who wasn't exactly a rule-abider herself.
"So what you are saying is that she thinks I'm a bloody, conceded git. Thanks but I already knew that. So if that was your point than I think I'm going to go hit the showers," said James irritably and making to stand up.
"That is not my point," said Faith, looking at him mildly amused. "If you would sit down and hear me out, then I promise you won't be disappointed." James looked at her skeptically and reluctantly sat back down.
"Over the past few weeks, mostly since the start of term, Lily has been toiling with the fact that she is beginning to find you attractive. I don't know what happened over the summer, but it is noticeable that you have changed Potter. And for the better. You are showing that you have matured from a bullying git to a responsible young man. Lily sees this and she also sees, as do I, that you are treating her more like a woman and less as a prize to be won." James didn't know what to say. He looked at Faith in shock.
"It is plain to see that you really care for her. I have seen if over the past few weeks, and I see it more and more with each passing day. Lily sees this change in you and she's conflicted. Does she go by your past experiences or does she take a chance and allow herself to be with you? Is this a new James Potter or is it an act?"
"I'm not acting about anything," said James looking at Faith intensely. "I would never try to deceive her. I care about Lily and all I want from her is to truly feel about me the way I feel about her." Faith looked into James's eyes, searching them. After a moment a small smile spread across her lips.
"I believe you Potter. So I'm going to give you a small, but valuable piece of advice." Faith leaned in closer to him. "Don't get discouraged about the other night. She does feel something for you, but she isn't sure whether or not it is worth the risk of following that feeling."
"So you're saying that I should show her that my intensions are true and that I've matured?" said James, looking at her hesitantly. Faith smiled.
"Exactly," said Faith with a small wink. She leaned back and stood up. "You know, I've always said that you two would be perfect for each other. Hopefully you can make her realize it too."
She gave him another small smile and slightly nodded her head. She walked down the stairs and onto the field; heading for the locker room. James sat there, his heart feeling immensely lighter. Lily didn't hate him at all. She actually did feel something for him. Now all he had to do was not mess it up and show her that he actually was mature. As he sat there watching the sun set into the earth, he replayed the conversation over in his head. He couldn't believe that Faith, Lily's best friend, had actually given him, James Potter, helpful advice on how to win Lily over. He looked over at Faith, who was just exiting the field. He smiled to himself as she entered into the locker room. He could see why Lily trusted her. She was a loyal friend. He looked back at the orange and red sky. He silently vowed to himself that starting tomorrow, he was going to work twice as hard at making Lily realize that they were meant to be together.
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Don't forget to review!
I want to especially thank: LJstagflower4e/JCtigerwolf4e and Padfootlet for always posting such wonderful and hilarious reviews!
I also want to sincerely thank: flyingwind33, Sammy Solo, Amanda, Divine Sanity, MuGgLeNeT27 and hp4eva for their insightful reviews and always making my day!
You guys are awesome!!!!!
I want to take a second to apologize if this chapter seems really slow, but I promise there is a reason behind it!
Here's the usual: Harry Potter does not belong to me. I tried to make him mine, but was unfortunately bit in the bum by one of J.K. Rowling's mean guard dogs when I tried to break into her house. Those little bulldogs can jump pretty high. Anyway, so, hence, thus and therefore, Harry Potter is not mine and it belongs to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. Don't sue me. Thank you.
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Chapter 12: Valuable Advice Only Comes At Sunset
Lily had avoided James like the plague for the next few days. She avoided him at meals, in classes and she had been lucky enough not to have patrolling duty with him since the incident. She couldn't believe what she had done. She had been wrestling with her emotions since it happened. Suddenly she felt confused. She had hated him for as long as she could remember. She had always felt that he was arrogant, immature and just a plain all around git. But now she didn't know how to feel. She didn't want to admit that she enjoying his company and that he made her laugh more than anyone else or that she liked the way he looked at her. But mostly she didn't want to admit to that she had liked the way it felt when they kissed. Lily had never been kissed like that; so tender but so full of passion.
Lily stared into the fire of the Gryffindor common room, hoping that an answer on what she should do about this James Potter business would appear in it.
"What do you think Lils?" asked Liz looking up at her from her parchment.
"Huh?" said Lily blinking and turning to look at Liz.
"I just read you my entire potions essay. Weren't you paying attention?" asked Liz skeptically.
"Oh, yeah I was. I think it was pretty good," said Lily turning to look back at the fire.
"Alright, what's going on?" asked Faith from her chair next to Liz. "You've been acting weird all week." Lily sighed and continued to look into the fire. She didn't know if she wanted to tell her friends about what happened. "Earth to Lily. Come in Miss Evans, this is your friends calling and requesting that you wake the hell up and talk to us."
"Nothing is the matter. I'm just tired that's all," said Lily, returning to her essay.
"Oh you don't get off that easy missy. You've been acting weird since Saturday night," said Faith, putting her essay aside and making herself more comfortable.
"Spill it, because we'll just pester you about it until you can't stand it anymore and either want to tell us or curse us into next week," said Liz, following Faith's lead and putting her essay aside. Lily sighed and knew that it was hopeless.
"If I tell you than you must promise me that you will not laugh," said Lily looking grimly at her two friends.
"We promise," said Liz leaning in closer to make sure that she didn't miss anything.
"Alright. Well Saturday night I had patrolling duty with Potter. Things were sort of tense all night. He kept acting like there was something that he wanted to tell me, so naturally I asked him what he wanted. We started to talk about things and he asked me if I meant everything I said about him to Alexander and I said yes," Lily took a deep breath, dreading the next few sentences. "The next thing I know, he is telling me how beautiful my eyes are and.........we kissed." Lily looked down at her lap in shame.
"Well it's about damn time!" said Faith smiling at Lily. Lily looked up at her with surprise.
"What? You can't be serious?" said Lily, not believing her ears.
"Yeah I am," said Faith, leaning back in her chair. "Lily the way you have been acting, I thought maybe something was wrong in your family or you were sick. But kissing Potter isn't a bad thing."
"Faith! It is a horrible thing!" said Lily looking at Faith with disbelief. "He is an arrogant git. How long has he been trying to make me go out with him? This is just another angle of his to try and make me feel something for him so I'll go out with him." Lily looked at Liz for support. Liz looked nervously from Lily to Faith, who was still grinning.
"Well," said Liz uncertainly, "I don't know what to tell you Lily. I mean there is nothing wrong with fancying him. In fact, Faith and I have been saying for a while now that you two would make a great couple.........."
"Liz! You are suppose to me be my support!" said Lily disbelievingly.
"Sorry," said Liz, looking to Faith for some sign of support.
"Sorry my foot! I can't believe you two. You are suppose to be my best friends and here you're telling me to go out with the school's biggest git!" Lily sat back in her chair and crossed her arms.
"Oh get off it," said Faith irritably. "I won't sit here and listen to you criticize us for telling you the truth. Why are you getting so upset about this anyway? So you kissed Potter, big deal. Chalk it up to experience and get over it." Lily sat there and stared into the fire in silence. She couldn't believe her best friends were giving her this advice. They were supposed to be scolding her for kissing that arrogant toad, not congratulating her on it like it was some wonderful achievement.
"I think the reason you are sulking and putting up such a big fight about it is because deep down you like him and you don't feel sorry for kissing him," said Faith, looking at Lily with a smirk on her face. Lily looked over at Faith and let out a long, heavy sigh.
"What did you do after you kissed him?" asked Liz.
"I ran away," spat Lily shaking her head. Liz and Faith broke out into laughter.
"You ran away!" laughed Liz, "Was it that bad? Was he slobbery or something?" Lily let a smile slip across her face.
"Actually, it wasn't to horrible. But I just felt so embarrassed. I didn't know what to do. I just wanted to get the hell out of there, so I bolted," said Lily shaking her head. "I feel like a bloody idiot."
"Have you talked to him since?" asked Faith.
"Come on, how can I face him. I mean what am I going to say?" said Lily. "Besides, I don't even know if I like him. I think I just got caught up in the moment."
"Yeah, but what a moment," said Liz dreamily. Lily let out a disgusted sound and grabbed her essay.
"Anyway, I don't really want to think about James Potter at the moment," she said dipping her quill in ink, "Let's get this essay done before midnight."
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"Five more minutes," called the Potion Professor from his desk in the front of the room.
James stirred his cauldron slowly. He was pretty sure that he did everything correctly. He looked next to him at Sirius. Sirius was lazily leaning back in his chair while his charmed spoon slowly stirred the bubbling liquid in his cauldron. He looked over at James and gave him a broad grin, as if this was a big achievement. James returned the grin and looked ahead of him at Remus. He was slowly stirring his cauldron while talking to Liz, who was working next to him. James's eyes wandered two rows ahead of him towards Lily and Faith. The girls looked like they were in deep conversation. James felt his heart sink into the bottom of his stomach as his mind flashed to the other night. He kept replaying the kiss over and over in his head. But immediately the shocked look on Lily's face swam before his mind, followed by a sea of red silky red hair running away from him. He had tried to talk to Lily for several days without success. It seemed like she was constantly with one of her friends or else she would leave the room before he could go over to her.
"Alright. Your potions should be finished. Bring up a sample with your name on it to be graded."
James corked his sample and followed Sirius to the teacher's desk. As he walked back he saw Lily packing up her things, still in deep conversation with Faith. He decided he would attempt to talk to her on the way down to the Great Hall. This was starting to get ridiculous and he needed to talk to her before quidditch practice tonight.
"Are you coming, mate?" asked Sirius, waiting for James with his backpack slung over his left shoulder.
"Yeah hold on a minute," said James packing up his potion ingredients. Lily and Faith walked past them quickly and headed out the door. James shoved the rest of his things in his bag and zipped it up.
"Alright let's go," he said walking quickly past Sirius.
"Where's the fire?" asked Sirius, running slightly to catch up with James.
"I want to catch up with Evans before dinner," said James, walking faster to close the gap between him and the girls.
"Mate, you need to let it go," said Sirius, finally catching up to him. "You kissed her and she ran away. What more do you need to make you understand that she doesn't want anything to do with you?" James cast Sirius an irritated look and continued to follow Lily.
"No I'm not trying to start an argument. All I'm saying is that you should give him a chance," said Faith casually as the girls walked up the dungeon stairs.
"Faith! Why are you taking his side? I thought that you were suppose to be my best friend?" said Lily disgusted.
"I am not taking anyone's side Lils. I'm just saying that from what you have been saying all class period, it seems to me that you just don't want to admit that you are attracted to him," said Faith watching the reflections in the windows. Lily let out a disgusted sigh. "You act like it's this huge problem. If you like the guy, then go after him. Who cares what people think."
"I don't care what people think. The problem is that I don't even know what I think. For as long as I can remember he has been this disgusting, arrogant, bullying jerk and now because he said some nice things to me and we kissed, I'm suppose to overlook the rest of it?" said Lily looking at Faith for support. "I can't fall for a guy like that. I need someone who is mature and . . . . . . . . . what are you looking at?"
"Your boyfriend is behind us and closing in fast," smirked Faith, still looking at the reflections in the windows.
"What?" said Lily; nonchalantly looking over her shoulder. James was walking at great speed, with Sirius trying to keep pace. She didn't want to talk to James yet and she knew that's why he was trying to catch up to her. He had tried talking to her all week and Lily had successfully avoided him. Lily looked around for an escape.
"Quick! In here!" said Lily, pulling Faith into the girl's bathroom.
"What are you doing?" laughed Faith, as Lily hugged the door and peaked around it.
"He's standing outside the door!" whispered Lily. "What the hell is doing!"
"Maybe he wants another kiss and he figures if he corners you in the bathroom then you can't get away," laughed Faith leaning on one of the sinks.
"He's a nutter!" said Lily, turning to face Faith.
"No, he's in love," smirked Faith. "Lily you need to talk to him. I mean look at you. You are hiding in the bathroom for crying out loud! This is not the Lily Evans I know."
"You're right," sighed Lily, "But I can't talk to him yet. Maybe tomorrow when we have patrolling duty together, but not now." Lily turned back to the door and peaked to see if James was still there. The hallway was empty and there was no sign of him anywhere.
"Good, he's gone," said Lily turning back to Faith.
"That's good. But unfortunately all of this time spent in the bathroom makes me have to go," said Faith walking into a stall and shutting the door.
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Lily and Faith entered the Great Hall ten minutes later. Lily wanted to take the long way in case James was lurking around the halls waiting for her. To her relief, he was sitting down amongst his friends talking and eating. Lily took her usual seat by Liz and tried not to glance at James.
"Where have you two been? I was starting to get worried," said Liz as the two girls started filling their plates with food.
"We had to go to the bathroom," said Lily, focusing on a plate of chicken. Faith started laughing.
"That is the perfect entree for you Lils," laughed Faith looking at Lily with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "Chicken."
"Oh, shut up Faith!" said Lily, the corners of her mouth twitching.
"Did I miss something?" asked Liz, skeptically looking from Faith to Lily.
"Yes. We just spent ten minutes hiding the girls bathroom because Lily is too chicken to face James Potter," said Faith, digging into her plate of rigatoni and marinara.
"What?! Lily you did not?" asked Liz smiling at Lily. Lily nodded her head once and continued to eat her chicken. Liz broke out into laughter.
"I'm so glad you two are amused by this," said Lily tartly. "I'm so glad my personal suffering is providing you adequate entertainment." Liz and Faith continued to laugh all throughout dinner, making Lily like her two best friends less and less with each comment made about chicken, kissing or bathrooms. Lily was glad to see them go off to quidditch practice after dinner. She was looking forward to a teasing-James Potter free evening.
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If there was one thing that could take his mind off of anything in the world, it was quidditch. James was glad to be up in the air again. Everything was much simpler when you are flying on a broomstick a hundred feet in the air. The wind whipped through his hair and the cool breeze felt good on his face. The team was looking good. He felt that they had a good chance at the Quidditch Cup this year. The new team members were improving with each practice and he was sure that they would do well on their first match Saturday morning against Slytherin.
"All right! Good practice everyone!" called James after he blew his whistle to signal the end of practice. Everyone flew towards the ground and dismounted off of their broomsticks. "I'll see everyone at the game on Saturday." Most of the team started walking towards the locker room.
"Are you coming?" called Liz, heading towards the end of the field.
"You go ahead. I have to ask the captain about something," said Faith. Liz gave her a questioning look and turned towards the locker room. Faith walked over to James and Sirius who were packing up the trunk of quidditch balls.
"Hey Captain, you got a second?" said Faith, handing Sirius her beater's club to be placed back into the trunk.
"For my favorite beater, of course," said James, squatting and closing the trunk.
"Oy, I thought I was your favorite beater?" said Sirius in mock tones of hurt.
"You were until Ravenwood made the team," said James grinning mischievously at Sirius. Sirius placed his hands on his hips.
"Is it because I don't look as good in a skirt?" said Sirius, a mock look of hurt on his face.
"Well, you do have the skinniest legs I've ever seen," said James, looking at his legs and shaking his head. Sirius hitched up his pants to his knees and began to prance around like a ballerina.
"If you two are finished," said Faith looking impatiently at the boys, her arms folded across her chest.
"Come on Ravenwood," said Sirius prancing over to her. "Why don't you have a nice long look at my legs?"
"Sirius, all that looking at your skinny legs does for me is induce a desire for chicken wings," smirked Faith.
"Well, I'll allow you to have a nibble on them, or anything else you fancy love," grinned Sirius. Faith let out a disgusted moan and hit him hard on the shoulder.
"You are sick!" said Faith disgusted.
"Only love sick for you love," grinned Sirius, picking up his broom. "If you want to make me healthy again, then you should meet me in the common room later, let's say midnight."
"Why Sirius that sounds wonderful," said Faith batting her eyes at Sirius. "But if I'm not there by 12:01, feel free to sick your head in the fire and inhale," said Faith sarcastically, turning away from Sirius and towards a laughing James.
"I'll see you in the locker room in a few," said James grinning at Sirius. Sirius slung his broomstick over his shoulder and headed towards the locker room, singing the Weird Sister's song "Ill Tempered Witch". James turned towards Faith.
"Well what is that you need to chat with me about? You seem to be doing just fine in practice." Faith took at deep breath.
"It's not about quidditch. It's about Lily," said Faith, looking at him seriously. James's face dropped and he looked away for a moment.
"What about her?" he said, suddenly fascinated with his quidditch kneepads.
"I need to talk to you about her. Can we sit somewhere more comfortable?" said Faith, motioning to the bleachers. James nodded and followed her over the nearest one. James took a seat next to Faith and stared at the field. Faith turned in her seat so she was facing him.
"I don't know how to say this, so I'm just going to do it," said Faith, sitting up straighter. James looked at her sideways, not fully sure if he wanted to have a discussion about Lily with her best friend.
"I know what happened on Saturday night between you two," said Faith.
"Yeah, so," said James, trying to act like it didn't bother him.
"Well, I think Lily handled it wrong. More importantly, I think Lily knows she handled it wrong, though she is too embarrassed to say so," said Faith. James turned to look at her. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He thought for sure that Faith was going to scold him for trying to make a move on her best friend. Faith smiled at the shocked look on James's face.
"Well, now that I have your full attention," said Faith, cocking her head to one side. "Look Potter, I know how long you have liked Lily. In fact the whole school knows how long you have liked her. However, your past indiscretions, mainly having to do with your arrogance, have left Lily to detest your very existence." James sighed and looked back at the field. He didn't want to hear a lecture about school rules right now, especially from someone who wasn't exactly a rule-abider herself.
"So what you are saying is that she thinks I'm a bloody, conceded git. Thanks but I already knew that. So if that was your point than I think I'm going to go hit the showers," said James irritably and making to stand up.
"That is not my point," said Faith, looking at him mildly amused. "If you would sit down and hear me out, then I promise you won't be disappointed." James looked at her skeptically and reluctantly sat back down.
"Over the past few weeks, mostly since the start of term, Lily has been toiling with the fact that she is beginning to find you attractive. I don't know what happened over the summer, but it is noticeable that you have changed Potter. And for the better. You are showing that you have matured from a bullying git to a responsible young man. Lily sees this and she also sees, as do I, that you are treating her more like a woman and less as a prize to be won." James didn't know what to say. He looked at Faith in shock.
"It is plain to see that you really care for her. I have seen if over the past few weeks, and I see it more and more with each passing day. Lily sees this change in you and she's conflicted. Does she go by your past experiences or does she take a chance and allow herself to be with you? Is this a new James Potter or is it an act?"
"I'm not acting about anything," said James looking at Faith intensely. "I would never try to deceive her. I care about Lily and all I want from her is to truly feel about me the way I feel about her." Faith looked into James's eyes, searching them. After a moment a small smile spread across her lips.
"I believe you Potter. So I'm going to give you a small, but valuable piece of advice." Faith leaned in closer to him. "Don't get discouraged about the other night. She does feel something for you, but she isn't sure whether or not it is worth the risk of following that feeling."
"So you're saying that I should show her that my intensions are true and that I've matured?" said James, looking at her hesitantly. Faith smiled.
"Exactly," said Faith with a small wink. She leaned back and stood up. "You know, I've always said that you two would be perfect for each other. Hopefully you can make her realize it too."
She gave him another small smile and slightly nodded her head. She walked down the stairs and onto the field; heading for the locker room. James sat there, his heart feeling immensely lighter. Lily didn't hate him at all. She actually did feel something for him. Now all he had to do was not mess it up and show her that he actually was mature. As he sat there watching the sun set into the earth, he replayed the conversation over in his head. He couldn't believe that Faith, Lily's best friend, had actually given him, James Potter, helpful advice on how to win Lily over. He looked over at Faith, who was just exiting the field. He smiled to himself as she entered into the locker room. He could see why Lily trusted her. She was a loyal friend. He looked back at the orange and red sky. He silently vowed to himself that starting tomorrow, he was going to work twice as hard at making Lily realize that they were meant to be together.
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