It's time to start the party, eh?

Disclaimer: If Harry Potter was mine, trust me, book 6 would have ended very differently.






The Lily and The Stag




Was that James Potter walking with Evans? No, it couldn't be. There was no way. Lily would rather eat dragon dung then go out with him.

But then…who was she walking with?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lily walked dutifully beside James, looking down at the stone path. Her face, which had been a red rivaling her hair at first, had long returned to its natural colour. If anyone could have seen past the long hair shielding her profile, they would have seen that the bright shade had been replaced by an expression of deep contemplation.

There was no way that James couldn't hear the whispers floating above their heads. The quiet gossip fed their air of awkwardness around them, causing Lily to think about her decision. As for the effect on James, well…she hadn't properly looked at him since they had left the school. Who knows what he was thinking.

Every time someone mentioned the unlikeness of her rendezvous with James, she found herself doubting the "yes" she had so joyfully given earlier in the week. Usually Lily disdained such talk, and gave very little attention to school scandals. However, they weren't usually about her.

Was agreeing to this a mistake? After all, they hadn't said a word to each other in quite some time, though Lily imagined that was partly her fault. Still, James wasn't making any effort at all to start conversation – why was it her responsibility? Wasn't it he who came up with this idea? Furthermore, her thoughts continued angrily, his reputation was far from perfect. James and Sirius were similar in more than just brains – or lack thereof. They were both, as much as Lily hated to admit it, rather dashing, and had been since they were young. Girls, from first years up, had been throwing themselves at the two as long as she could remember – and as far as Lily knew, they rather enjoyed the attention. Who knows how far James had gone with those girls? And worse, how could she lower herself to their level? Lily suddenly felt an angry repulsion towards herself. She had become one of those drooling groupies, hadn't she; one of those vile, empty-headed, distasteful tramps she loathed so much. No wonder people couldn't stop whispering; she had damaged her reputation beyond all repair.

She quickly stopped herself, inwardly wincing. If anything was going to turn her into one of those obnoxious tarts, it was worrying about her reputation.

"Lily?" said a voice softly.

She started. That wasn't a nosy Hufflepuff – that was James.

"Y-yes?" she stammered, feeling rather embarrassed. Thank goodness he couldn't read minds; this date was already uncomfortable enough.

His eyes examined her carefully, and she felt her stomach turn. He couldn't read minds…could he?

"Where do you want to go first?" he asked politely.

She suddenly let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, causing James to give her a funny look. Oh good, she was just being paranoid.