You guys have no idea how excited I was this morning – er, afternoon - to see that I actually had reviews. Reviews! . It brightened up my whole day. :D

Well, lucky for you guys, I had this chapter all set to post. :3 All I had to do was edit it myself a little and add some lines here and there before posting it. Huzzah!

Thank you ALL for all of your lovely comments. Despite what you think, your opinion DOES matter and will guide me throughout my fanfiction-y career. :) Merci again!

Disclaimer: If you don't remember it, then it's probably mine.








The Lily and The Stag






James felt a blush creep up his neck and into his cheeks as he watched Lily pack up her things after Potions the next afternoon. He felt his heart swell, paining him each beat. He found his hands were sweaty, and whenever he even thought about asking her anything, he was suddenly short of breath.

He bit his lip. Maybe tomorrow…

No! I said I would do it today, and I will.

Gathering his resolve, he swiftly crammed his materials into his book-bag and, swinging it over his shoulder, followed her to the staircase.

James frowned, slightly put off by the fact that girls traveled in packs. Lily was surrounded by them! Laughing; giggling; possibly gossiping. He also noticed that her friends didn't split up towards other classrooms; apparently, they had the same class she did. Great.

Lily stopped next to the stairs, taking a moment to pick up a few spare pieces of parchment that had fallen from her bag. His eyes widened hopefully as she turned to say something to her friends.

Come on! Come on! Tell them to go away! He begged silently.

A moment later, they nodded and walked up the stairs without her.

YES! He punched the air with his fist, thanking his lucky stars.

James took this opportunity as brashly as he could. He hurriedly made his way through the crowd and bent down to help her. His heart skipped a beat when she noticed him and looked up at him with those big, green eyes of hers. God, those eyes…

For a second they held his, seemingly happy to see him, and James thought he would burst. Unfortunately, they frowned at him a second later, and his heart plummeted down to his stomach.

"Hey, Evans…" he said lamely, picking up the last piece of parchment.

She scowled and snatched it from him. "What do you want, Potter?" she asked venomously, spitting his name out as if it had a very bitter taste in her mouth and she didn't want to keep it on her lips a second longer.

James tried his best to conceal the sudden stab of pain running through him as he realized just how much she hated him. But he wasn't going to give up just yet.

"You…you look very nice today," he said stupidly. Brilliant, you genius, he thought, mentally slapping himself.

Lily gave him a suspicious look as she stood gracefully, tucking the sheet of parchment into her bag with one hand. "Thank you," she said begrudgingly. "Is that all?"

"Well…" James began, standing up. He pulled at his collar nervously.

"Spit it out," she snapped.

James quickly opened his bag and took out a quill. Tapping it with his wand, the feather blossomed into a lily before her eyes.

"Lily Evans, I come here to humbly request your company this Saturday," he said as classy as he could, charmingly bowing and handing her the flower.

Lily took the flower slowly and studied it, her gaze soft. James smiled a little – apparently he had broken through her icy attitude towards him. But no time to get cocky! There was still a ways to go.

"Why do you keep asking me?" she finally asked.

"Because," he said, straightening up. "You're a beautiful, intelligent young woman who has stolen my heart and has not given it back for five years."

As he said this, he felt he would faint. He had never been this poetic before, and he was desperately afraid of messing it all up.

Lily gave him a calculating look, and James began to worry. Did he say something wrong? Did he sound stupid?

Finally she said, very quietly, "Where?"

"Hogsmeade. Wherever you want," he said quickly, his heart pounding. Was she actually considering it this time, instead of just simply saying no? "My treat," he added, in case she was having second doubts.

She looked at him sharply. "Why? Because I'm a middle-class muggle-born while you're an aristocratic Pureblood?"

James stared at Lily in shock. What was she saying?

"No! I just – " he said, surprised and feeling more than a bit insecure. "I'm inviting you. It's only right for me to pay. Besides," he added sheepishly, "I was hoping hearing that would convince you to come, but I suppose not."

Lily gave him a stoic look. James sighed, feeling horrible. After a minute of silence, he muttered, "I guess that's a no…"

Crestfallen, he began to go down the stairs, hanging his head sadly. How he had wished she would say yes, just this once…

"Wait."

He stopped and looked back at her so fast that his neck cricked. Massaging the muscle with his hand, he asked, "What?"

"Yes," she said simply.

James stared at her, his jaw hanging.

"Y…yes?" he said incredulously, hardly daring to believe it.

"Yes," she repeated, giving him a funny look.

James stood there, shocked out of his mind. Suddenly, he let out a great whoop of joy and jumped up, punching the air with his fist. He could faintly hear Lily's amused giggle as she watched this.

He quickly walked back up the stairs and smiled at her earnestly. "I…I'll….I'll see you at the front doors…I…Do you want flowers? I'll bring them anyway…If you don't like them, tell me; I can – No, what can I do? Maybe I shouldn't bring them…Do you want me to? And…oh my God, thank you, thank you…I…I can't believe this…" He said this extremely fast and with hardly any breath at all; he couldn't stop his incoherent rambling until he heard Lily's laugh.

"Calm down!" she said, trying to smother her amusement. "I'll see you at the front doors, flowers are nice but not necessary, and you're welcome." James was delighted to see that she could barely contain her smile.

Grinning madly, he said, "Okay. Saturday it is."

She nodded. "Saturday."

James let out another cry of joy and danced down the stairs and to his next class, tripping a few times but continuing to express his happiness nonetheless.