Disclaimer: I don't own anything. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling and the story is based on the Korean movie "My Tutor Friend".
Rating: PG-13 or T
Summary: James Potter seems on top of the world: popular, good looks & good grades in almost everything except Arithmancy, and needs it to pass. Lily Evans: studious, temperamental, good girl was appointed to tutor.
Title: Loving my Tutor
(A/N): Second chapter everybody! (answers to your reviews are on my livejournal - just go on my profile and click on homepage)
Chapter TWO
It Can't Be That Bad
Later that day, James was given the information, by a first year Gryffindor boy, that McGonagall wanted to speak with him. He already knew what that 'little chat' was going to be about. Since the beginning of the year, she has been repeating over and over how important it was to be Head Boy and it's a privilege he should take more with seriousness.
"Or maybe she's going to give me another detention…" thought James nonchalantly.
Arriving in front of the office, James knocked twice until he heard a voice from within the room calling out, "Come in."
He entered slowly into the room which was decorated in red and gold, and closed the door behind him.
"You said you wanted to see me professor..."
"Ah yes, Potter. Please take a seat." said McGonagall in a dull voice, pointing out a chair in front of her desk, inviting him to sit down. "I think you know why you are here, don't you?" she asked quietly.
"Yes, I know. It's because of my lack of effort in…" James started to recite what he usually says to McGonagall each time he summoned to her office.
"You are here because you are failing Arithmancy, my dear boy." interrupted McGonagall.
James looked at her, surprised and yet apprehensive, not knowing what to say. He was quite surprised that this time, it wasn't about taking his post as Head Boy more seriously, as he presumed this conversation would be about.
McGonagall took out a parchment from her drawer, looked at it sternly and finally said, "I see that you have a Troll for your Arithmancy last week's exam, and the week before too."
"Yes…" answered James slowly trying to see what was the whole point in all of this. "And, professor Taggart, your Arithmancy teacher, told me that you have been having difficulty during all these years at Hogwarts. Is it true Potter?"
James didn't know what to say, and before he could reply, McGonagall asked him, "Tell me Potter, do you plan on leaving Hogwarts this year?"
"Yes, but I don't see…"
"I'm afraid to tell you, that you're going to have to do better in Arithmancy. All you have to do is have an Acceptable" James opened his mouth to reply "If you wish to graduate from Hogwarts."
"And what do you suggest I should do" asked James with a slightly offended tone.
"I've already appointed you a tutor. She is the best in her class in Arithmancy" answered McGonagall.
"And who might be this girl?" James became interested, praying it would be a pretty girl.
"Your fellow Head student, Miss Lily Evans"
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Lily felt the need for some fresh air or a good talk with her friends. Ever since she became Head Girl, she spent most time tutoring on weekends, and patrolling all week long. It seems to her like an eternity since she last saw her friends and she now grew lonely and needed to see her them again.
She quickly brushed her dark auburn hair, tied it in a loose ponytail and walked towards the Gryffindor's common room. Not wanting to think about her tutoring sessions with Potter, she hoped her friends would be the solution to forget all about it.
As she went in, she saw only a few students spread across the room, sitting on what looked like very comfortable cushioned chairs. Since none of her friends seem to be in the common room, she climbed up the stairs to the girls' dormitory. Lily opened the door to her friends' room, waiting to see her friends, but no one was there.
"Why isn't anybody here when I need them? " thought angrily Lily "Oh yes… they're all at Hogsmeade" as she realised that today was still Sunday.
Disappointed, she sighed and walked down the stairs, and sat on one of the sofas. She closed her eyes, and imagined that she was in a world where she didn't need to tutor anybody and she was having the time of her life with her friends. But suddenly, the image of James popped into her head, smirking at her. She frowned while her eyes were still closed.
"Are you alright, Lily?"
Lily immediately opened her eyes to see Remus Lupin looking back at her anxiously, carrying thick books, its pages slightly yellow. Remus and Lily have been friends ever since they became prefects in the fifth grade.
Smiling up at him, she said "Oh, it's you. Hello Remus. And yes, I'm okay, though I could be better." Lily muttered that last part of the sentence.
Remus put down his books on a nearby table and sat down next to her on the sofa and asked calmly "What happened? Unless you feel uneasy telling me about it."
"Not at all Remus, you know every well that I trust you." Lily smiled sweetly at her friend. "I just think that I did a nasty mistake accepting to tutor other students. It ruins my weekends, I can't go to Hogsmeade with my friends. And honestly, the students that I have to tutor are… there are no words for them except, bloody morons!"
Remus chuckled, "And who's the bloody moron this time, Lily?"
"The bigheaded, idiotic, arrogant, toe-rag Potter!" Lily said loudly, which made a few heads turn in their direction. "I just can't be around him. He brings out the worse in me! He is just so bloody…" She stopped dead in her tracks. At that moment, Lily realised who she was talking to: Remus Lupin, one of James Potter's best friends.
Lily has never really liked any of the Marauders, Remus being an exception.
First there was Sirius Black. She couldn't deny that he was very handsome, and could see why many girls were after him. And she even let herself admit that Sirius was quite charming at times. But even though with all those good qualities, in the back of her head, she still remembered all those years at Hogwarts he spent on annoying Lily; pulling pranks on her, making fun of her red hair, etc.
After that, there was Peter Pettigrew. They have been sharing the same classes for seven years now, and yet she doesn't know anything of him. To her eyes, he was the short boy who just followed James and Sirius around. But she knew that he isn't everything that meets the eye. On the outside, he looked like a very shy, gullible boy, but he did have a mischievous side. Lily distinctly remembered in her fourth grade, Peter put a hex on her, which made her sing each time she sat down.
And for the finale, there was James Potter. Ever since the first grade, James and Lily could just not cooperate with each other. Lily remembered that on her first day at school, she didn't know how to get to her first Transfiguration class. So she decided she'd ask someone, and the first person she saw, was James.
She asked him, and he told her all the wrong directions to get there. She eventually got lost, ending in an empty dark hall on the fifth floor. Professor Dumbledore was the one who found her there, sitting on the floor against the wall, sobbing because she wasn't able to find her way back. He brought her to her to the right classroom, where she spotted James grinning at her. Ever since that day, she loathed him.
Both, James and Lily had matching tempers. They almost disagree with each other on everything. They seem to just invent reason to start arguing with each other. It shocked everyone when they've heard that Lily and James were Head Girl and Boy. But from the beginning of the year, they've both agreed to not talk to each other, so that way they couldn't cause a scene.
"Erm, what I meant… that is…he's a…" Lily said frantically, blushing. At the lost against finding the right words, she closed her mouth and looked up at Remus nervously, expecting to see him angry, to find out that he was actually laughing.
"Don't worry about it Lily. I know and everybody else also knows that you two don't precisely like each other very much" chuckled Remus gently.
"Don't like each other? Like? I think the words you're looking for are 'you hate each other', my dear friend." laughed Lily sarcastically "We have been at each other throats ever since we met."
"True. Which leaves the rest of the world wondering, how you two manage to do all the work together and live in the same room." snorted Remus "James tells me that you two just leaves notes around and never actually discuss your work as Heads face to face."
Lily quickly retorted, "Well, that is the only way we could think of so that we can manage things. But I have to say; your friend takes his job as Head Boy a bit too lightly. I usually end up doing the work all by myself while he's out snogging some girl!"
Remus raised an eyebrow, leaned his back against the sofa and answered back coolly, "Ah, my dear Lily, you know that isn't completely true. James does actually take his post seriously… well at least he's trying to. I see him making an effort everyday. You have to understand, Lily, that it's not in his character to erm… follow the rules." finished Remus.
Lily giggled at that statement. Finally, she thought that her day wasn't too bad, now that she talked with Remus. "Maybe tutoring Potter won't be as bad as I thought it would be. If Remus is able to be his friend, I know I can at least be able to be civil with him." Lily thought.
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The young girl finally bid her friend goodnight and walked back to her own common room. On her way, she took out a few points from boys who were running and yelling in the hall, apparently playing some sort of game.
But as she stepped into the common room, she saw James sitting in a nearby chair looking at her with a book open and a few parchments lying around in front of him on the table, the tip of his quill in his mouth.
Lily nodded at him instead of saying 'Hello', looked away, avoiding his eyes, and sped up toward her room, still feeling his gaze upon her back. At last, she reached the door. However, she heard James' voice calling out to her "Evans, can I have a word with you?"
She turned around so that she would face him. She could see sincerity in his eyes, so she walked back calmly and seated herself on the other side of the table, across him.
She looked at him and asked politely "So, what do you want to talk about, Potter?" putting back a strand of hair in the back of her ear.
"Evans, I think you already know." James answered sharply, adjusting his glasses to prevent them from sliding down from the bridge of his nose.
Lily stared uncertainly at him and shook slowly her head. "Please don't let it be about the tutoring lessons. Anything. Not the tutoring. Not the tutoring." Lily pleaded in her mind.
James looked straight into Lily's emerald eyes, his hazel eyes pouring into hers and replied, "It's about the tutoring lessons you were appointed to give me."
"Darn it..." scolded Lily in her head.
(A/N): It's only a very very small cliffhanger. You can already imagine by yourself what will happen. Review!