Change of Heart
By Tempest Break
Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own it. Must you keep checking? Honestly... I really wish these things weren't necessary... -- Um... Lemme try and scrape together a few things that belong to me!! Let's see... The statue of the griffin! No, wait, I said that in the last one... Uh, I own probably everyone on the Quidditch team, except James. Yep. Go me.
Summary: James obviously likes Lily, but she hates his guts. This is the way it's been for six years. However, in their last year, James finally has a chance, as he and Lily are Head Boy and Girl, and share a tower all to themselves. While James rejoices, Lily would rather kill herself than spend more than a nanosecond with James, who, in her opinion, is a conceited jerk. James has nine months to reverse six years of hatred for him, and will Lily have a change of heart?
- - - - - - - - -
Chapter Six: Definitely Not Stalking
"So Muggle-loving Dumbledore made a Mudblood Head Girl," Avery was sneering at Lily. He and Jugson had effectively cornered her, and Lily, though standing tall, seemed to be doing her best not to cower.
"How much did you have to pay him?" sniggered Jugson, who apparently had caught wind of Carrow's earlier jab at the Evanses' financial state. "Bet your family is broke now."
"Let her alone, you lot," James growled, as he and the other Marauders rushed over, "or I'll kick your arses so hard you'll be inside-out."
The two Slytherins turned to face their attackers.
"Big talk, Potter," spat Avery, whose distaste for the Marauders, like Hagrid's affection for them, dated back to a certain moment in their second year. "You gonna punish us? You're a big Head Boy now, aren't you?"
"Thanks for reminding me, Avery," said James with a look of mock gratitude. "Twenty points from Slytherin for bullying and name-calling."
"You don't need to protect me, Potter – " Lily began, but James's attention was fixed upon Avery, who seemed amused by his punishment.
"Ha, House points," scoffed Avery. He elbowed Jugson, who was still menacing Lily with his sizeable bulk. "We don't answer to such children's matters anymore."
"Yeah," Jugson snickered, "only person who outranks us here is – "
"Speaking of me, Edmond?" an oily voice emerged from the corridor. James turned to see the all-too-familiar face of Severus Snape, his black robes swirling about his legs.
"Ah, Snivellus," said Sirius. "Here to back up your minions?"
"Do yourself a favor, Black, and keep your mouth shut," replied Snape, unfazed. "Your unimaginative vocabulary does little to impress."
"Severus," said Avery, addressing the oily young man, "we've only been carrying out your wishes."
"Yeah," agreed Jugson eagerly. "Carrow told us all about how we're supposed to suppress the Mudbl – "
Snape's eyes flared open only briefly when they caught sight of Lily, and James, for a short, uncertain moment, thought that he was actually going to attack Jugson for that unfinished word. However, he merely interrupted smoothly:
"I assure you, I said nothing of the sort to Miss Carrow." James disliked how Snape's eyes fixed themselves inexplicably on Lily, who refused to meet his gaze. Suddenly, the bell rang to indicate the imminent beginning of class. "But I suggest that you come with me to Herbology before you land in more trouble for harassing the Head Girl."
At the mention of her title, Lily's eyes rose to meet Snape's briefly. They were steely and cold, and James watched as Snape's changed to mirror them.
"I certainly don't need your protection, Severus, any more than I need James's," she told him.
But before Jugson could even reach for his wand, Snape had forced the two other Slytherins with him down the staircase in the direction of the greenhouse. Avery scowled at the Gryffindors over his shoulder.
"Well, that went better than expected," Remus remarked, watching their retreating backs with a scowl.
"The world would be a lot better off without those two, not to mention the oiliest bigwig of them all," Sirius grumbled. "Harassing innocent girls because of their bloodlines. They sound like me mum."
"Yeah – " began Peter, before he broke out in green-and-silver spots. His mouth opened, but no sound emerged. His hands found his throat as his mouth worked vainly to make sounds come out.
"Damn Slytherins," muttered James. "Wormtail, you'd better get up to Madam Pomfrey. You think you can make it?"
Peter nodded, clutching at his neck. He left the Marauders to stagger off in the direction of the Infirmary.
After Peter was out of sight, James turned back to Lily, who was holding her books against her chest protectively. James had the distinct impression she was protecting her books rather than herself. "You okay, Evans?" James asked, still frowning from the aftermath of the meeting with the Slytherins.
"I didn't need your help, Potter." She glared at him, holding her books more tightly and standing up to her full height. Still, James could see it was only a halfhearted attempt at saving face.
"Oh, yes, because you were handling that so well," Sirius said with an apprehensive look.
Lily turned her glare on him, and when her eyes weren't on him, James could see the strange glaze of tears. He was so surprised, he nearly took a step back. Lily turned from the Marauders and strode in to Professor Binns's class
When they entered, Professor Binns merely glanced at them before continuing with his lecture. James and Sirius took their seats next to each other, and James watched as Lily looked baffled. Her friends Selena and Colleen were already next to each other, so she had no place to sit. Remus, like the gentleman he was, gestured to the empty seat next to him that Peter normally occupied. Lily took it gratefully.
"If it had been me," muttered James, turning back to face the front, "she wouldn't have taken the seat. She probably would have sat on the floor."
"What?" asked Sirius, confused. "Who?"
"Evans," said James. "She's sitting next to Moony."
Sirius looked confused. "Maybe you should be happy, Prongs," he said. "I mean, better Moony than, I don't know, Davies." He motioned to the handsome Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain.
"I guess..." But James still frowned. He wasn't jealous – James Potter didn't get jealous – but he was confused. Why did Lily like Remus better than him? They were best friends, fellow Marauders. But then why...? He stole a glance at Lily and Remus, and found that she was actually faintly smiling. James couldn't remember ever seeing her smile in his presence.
"Hey, Binns is glaring at you," whispered Sirius, and James turned around. The ghost teacher was, indeed, staring quite pointedly at him. James smiled cheekily back and pretended to be listening.
- - - - -
Professor Ares was that year's Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and, they soon discovered, she was a relatively good one. Her only fault – which they unfortunately also soon discovered – was that her temper was too quick and harsh and often brought down on the Marauders.
James took his designated seat – it had been his since first year, and the Defense seating chart, unlike the teachers, had been permanent. He sat next to Lily, and he couldn't have been more pleased. Sirius, however, was stuck next to Snape. Remus was by some Slytherin girl, and Peter was normally next to Selena, Lily's friend. Peter's seat was empty, though, as he was still in the Infirmary, getting the spots removed.
"Open your books to chapter one and begin taking notes. We'll be testing on this next week," said Ares. When she said "testing," she had explained, she meant they would be up against whatever creature it was they were studying.
James got out a piece of paper and a pen, but it was never his intention to take notes. Instead, he scribbled a quick note to Lily, and passed it to her.
You get enough sleep? You look tired
Lily read it quickly, and then replied.
No, unfortunately a voyeuristic stalker interrupted my sleep last night. It was quite hard to relax after waking to the feeling of unknown hands ravaging my defenseless body.
Grabbing your shoulders to wake you from a nightmare hardly qualifies as "ravaging".
Oh, "grabbing my shoulders." Is that the official party line?
Yes, it is. I expect a nomination for Best Dream Rescuer any day now. What were you dreaming about last night, anyway?
Nothing you should concern yourself about. Now leave me be. Notes are stupid. I'm done now.
James tried to continue the conversation, but Lily just erased the writing and used the paper to continue her notes. James frowned slightly, but took out a new piece of paper and began to follow the professor's instructions.
"Sorry I'm late, Professor." James looked up. It was Peter, spotless but out of breath. He heard Avery snigger from where he was next to Colleen O'Brian, and Peter flushed a little.
"Ah, you must be Mr. Pettigrew. And just why were you late?" inquired Ares impatiently.
"I was in the Infirmary," said Peter reluctantly, unwilling to reveal any more information.
Ares sighed, acknowledging it as a legitimate excuse. "Fine. Take your seat beside Ms. Silver and she will explain to you what we are doing."
Peter gratefully sat down beside Selena, who whispered instructions to him. James turned back to the textbook and continued reading.
- - - - -
During the free period, James sent out notes to the players on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team to meet him for practice at six, and then he and Sirius went for a walk around the grounds. They found their beech tree on the edge of the lake and sat under it.
"So, Prongs," said Sirius, leaning against the trunk of the tree with his arms behind his head. "You reckon you really like Evans?"
James shrugged. "I dunno," he lied – he noticed that he was doing a lot of lying to his friends about where he stood with Lily. "I s'pose it just bugs me because she hates me. I don't understand it."
"She's not all that fond of me, either," Sirius offered, "if it makes you feel any better."
James chewed the inside of his cheek thoughtfully. "Why do you think she likes Moony better, then?"
"Probably 'cause he's quiet, and he likes to read, like her," Sirius told him. "Look, I know less about the girl than you do. If you want to know about her so much, why don't you just ask O'Brian at practice? She's Evans's friend, isn't she?"
"Padfoot, you're a genius!" exclaimed James, jumping up.
"Yeah, I know," Sirius said offhandedly.
After Transfiguration, in which they learned how to transform their pencils into garter snakes, James took his robes and his Nimbus 1000 out of the Head Tower and headed down to the Quidditch pitch.
James's players were already on their brooms. He surveyed the team. Over James's seven years at Hogwarts, he had gotten together the best team Gryffindor house had to offer. His Chasers – Colleen O'Brian, Jake Bell, and Cady Morris – hadn't once fumbled the ball in an honest game. The Beaters – David Gilmore and Lee Butterwick – were so in-tune with the Bludgers it seemed as if they knew where the dangerous balls were going before they even got there. The Keeper – Liz Hamilton – was like a brick wall, never letting a Quaffle get by her. And of course their Seeker and Captain, James himself, was superb.
As James approached, the players came down to meet him. "Okay," he said. "It's the first practice of the season, so let's start out easy, eh? Bell, O'Brian, Morris, you try to get the Quaffle past Hamilton. Gilmore and Butterwick, you beat a Bludger back and forth between you. I'll practice with the Snitch. Don't worry if you're not at the top of your game – I don't expect you to be. In fact, you'll probably be ruddy awful."
"Thanks for the pep talk, Cap'n," Colleen said loudly. The other players laughed.
"Any time, O'Brian," answered James. "Now get up in the air. Let's go! C'mon, people, hustle!"
He undid the case of balls and threw the red Quaffle to Cady Morris. The Bludger he let loose tore off into the sky towards Jake Bell, but Lee Butterwick smacked it away with his Beater stick. James let out the Golden Snitch, and gave it five seconds' head start before kicking off his broom and racing after it.
In an hour and a half, after they were done and thoroughly sweaty, James reckoned it was an appropriate time to approach Colleen. Colleen was plainly Irish, with several freckles, long sandy blond hair that she usually wore in a ponytail, and bright blue eyes. She was short and muscular and the best Chaser on the Gryffindor Team. After sharing classes and a common room with her for six years, James knew Colleen as loud and sometimes outrageous, but she never complained about the grueling practices like a few of the other players did. She was a nice girl, and James liked her.
"Hey, O'Brian," he called. "Can I walk you up to the castle?"
Colleen shrugged. "Sure, Cap'n," she replied, and hefted her Quidditch bag onto her shoulder. She caught up with James and they headed toward the castle. "So, what's up?" she inquired.
"Well, let me get right down to it," said James. "I'm interested in your friend Lily, and – "
"Ah, yes, she told me," said Colleen, nodding. "She doesn't like it that much."
"Yes, I know," he said, frowning slightly. "Anyway, I was wondering if you could help me change that."
She glanced at him. "Cap'n, I'm not sure what the rumor is, but I am not a qualified plastic surgeon."
"Not like that," James insisted. "Just tell me about her. You know, her likes, dislikes, favorite color... stuff like that."
Colleen raised her eyebrow at him. "Why don't you just ask Lily yourself?"
"She won't talk to me," said James in frustration. "That's why I need you."
"You know, I think I remember hearing about this." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Yes, that's right. This is one of the first signs that someone's becoming a stalker."
"That's a rather popular description of me lately," James remarked drily.
"Well, sorry, Cap'n, but I won't help you stalk my friend," said Colleen, walking through the archway into the castle corridor.
"Look, I'm definitely not stalking her," James maintained, keeping pace with her. "Just help me out, okay? C'mon, please."
"Oh, yes. Now I'll do it." Colleen stopped and looked at him. "James – Wow, it's weird to use your real name. Don't think I've done that since I joined the team." She paused, and then seemed to shake herself back into the moment. "That's beside the point. James – whoops, almost did it again – as much as I hate to see a grown man desperately milk his crush's friend for information, I don't think I can help you with this one. I'll see you later."
Colleen turned the way that led to Gryffindor Tower, and James, who didn't want to follow her, stood at the fork in the corridor, watching her march away. He was just thinking, Well, there goes my last hope, when Colleen called over her shoulder, "Her favorite flower is a lily!"
"Go figure," James said with a smile.
"Yeah, I'm surprised you couldn't figure that out on your own, Cap'n," said Colleen, and then she disappeared into the castle.
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Tempest: I think I'm suffering from inspirational overexertion, if that made any sense, because chapter 6 took longer than the other chapters, and it was shorter than them! Thank you SO MUCH to Hermione101888, Gypsy Lupin-Black, Marie, mooch, Neko, and meLisSa. Nothing was really resolved about whether James is a Seeker or a Chaser, but I got enough reviews saying that people didn't really care that much whether he was one or the other, so in my story, he's a Seeker. Sorry to meLisSa – I know it's cliched, but I already wrote a few chapters where it says he's a Seeker.
I also have a question for you guys. Do you want me to give Sirius or Remus a girlfriend in here? Like Colleen or Selena? I'm not sure whether or not I should. I want Sirius to be able to have a girlfriend, since he's only happy for so long, but (like having James being Seeker) it seems cliched, and I only want to allow a minimal number of cliches in a story. Same for Remus. Please tell me in your review! Bye!
8-01-07: This chapter has been revamped! Hope you enjoy it more than before.