CHAPTER 15: STAR
"Kris, are you really sure that…?" Lily started, but abruptly stopped as she caught something with her eyes.
"Lily, I love you very much," that was written on a white flag, waved by Sirius manually."Oh really," Lily said, her eyebrows twitching.
Kristanna laughed. "I supposed this is something," she muttered.
"Hey, Prongs!" Sirius shouted, looking at James crazily. "I'm looking stupid here," he said.
"Do you?" James asked. "Don't be like that, Padfoot, I thought you're my friend!" James shouted in amusement.
"But why do I have to do this?" he asked him.
"Well, that's just the first," James said, winking.
Later that day, when Lily went out to the veranda to merely stare at the beach, she saw something.
"Hey, James, what are you doing there? The sun's too hot!" she shouted, looking pitifully at him.
"This is called sacrifice!" James shouted, still lying on the sand. Once again, he did what he did the day before.
Lily smirked and giggled. "Come over here!" she shouted.
James got out of his lying position and took the bouquet he got for Lily. He went back to the sand to dive for his shoes and ran up to the house. He climbed the wall and went to the veranda where Lily was standing.
Lily hit him hard on the head. "That's not a good thing to do, James," she scolded.
"You told me to woo you again. Is it not a good idea?" James asked her playfully.
Lily mockingly hit him, punched him, and slapped him. "You're really a jerk, James Potter," she said, as he finally caught her and embraced her.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Lily was looking at the window. "That James Potter will never learn," she sighed as she closed her eyes, the wind touching her face. "Ow!" she said.
She opened her eyes and realized that there was an owl sitting on her lap, biting her finger because she didn't notice the owl's arrival.
Lily, offended with the attention-seeking bird, took the rolled-up parchment and read it.
"Reaching out a hand to pick a star might not be as you have wished, but it won't dirty your hands."
Then she spotted something glittering like a star, at the end of the beach. Attracted with the sight, she got out and followed the beautiful light. It was an amazing sight. It was like seeing a star on land. She was eager to see the star closely so she approached the light, running along the way.
She stopped as she looked at the light captivatingly. Then she saw a silhouette holding the star-like thing.
"I never knew that you'll be attracted with this," James said, holding up a stone that lighted up like the stars in the sky.
"What's that?" Lily asked, making a grab on the stone but James held it back.
"I picked it up earlier, it fell to the sea," he said simply. "This, actually, is a meteoroid," James explained. "However, this one is really weird. It was able to retain its light," he said.
"Can I keep it?" Lily asked him with pleading eyes.
"Don't worry, it won't dirty your hands," James said jokingly.
"You mean…" Lily started.
"Before, I promised you that I will give you a star," James explained. "Now, I have kept that promise. I got that just for you and for you alone," James said.
"Thank you, James!" Lily said, hugging him tight that he was out of breath.
She raised the 'star' overhead and saw its radiant beauty and luster.
FLASHBACK
"Why don't you try to give me a star?" Lily asked James as they stared to the starry sky. "Taking one won't hurt, they're too many."
James looked at her disbelievingly. "Even magic cannot do that," he said reasonably.
"James, reaching out a hand to pick a star might not be as you have wished, but it won't dirty your hands," Lily reminded.
"You have a lot of quotable quotes," James said, kissing her cheek.
"Honestly, James, I'm serious. Trying to do it doesn't hurt. It doesn't hurt at all!" Lily argued.
"Lily, is it really hard to explain to a smart woman like you?" James asked.
To this, Lily didn't answer. "What time is it?" she asked instead.
James glanced to his watch. "It's five minutes from midnight," he said.
"James, tell me if it's midnight, okay?" Lily told James.
"Why?" James asked.
Lily looked at the stars and said, "They told me that if it's midnight and you happen to count a hundred stars, the one you love will be happy for eternity."
"Do you really love me that much that you carry to count all the stars?" James asked teasingly.
Lily frowned. "Who told you that I'm counting the stars for you?" she asked him sarcastically.
"Because I know you love me," he said, kissing her.
END FLASHBACK
"Do you care to count the stars?" Lily asked innocently, attempting to hide that she can now remember that certain thing.
James looked at her, bewildered. "How did you…?"
NCSP:
"Sure they are," Kristanna said darkly. "I'm the head of St. Mungo's and until now, since they started that excretal-project, there's no hospital allowance." She carried the tray of potions. "If that hospital is not magical, we'll be killing a million patients a day!"
Lily snorted. "Why aren't you telling the Ministry?" she asked.
"Hello? As if my super-perfect grammar is a treasure for those Ministry creeps," she said, rolling her eyes. "Maybe they just dump my letter to the trash bin, no matter how my owl bites them. Don't worry. I'll send a Howler next time."
