"You haven't asked me that all year," Lily said stupidly. James' hopes crashed.
"Yeah, I know," he mumbled. "Never mind, I'll see you later."
James began walking away. What was he thinking? He should have kept his promise.
"James, wait!" Lily caught his wrist, tugging him back. A sudden increase in heart-rate made James nervous again. Was that his hopes rising? James realised Lily still hadn't said anything and was twiddling her fingers.
"I'm not saying no," Lily said finally, looking up at James with big green eyes. James didn't dare to grin in celebration. "But I'm not saying yes either."
What was Lily playing at? Did she think this was a game?
"I want you to show me why I should be yours," Lily mumbled, blushing faintly. James frowned.
"I've been doing that all year," he pointed out. "Is that not good enough for you?"
Lily was shaking her head. "I don't know what you've been doing all year, James, but this is different. Show me why I should want to be yours. Show me that I can trust you, and show me what I've been missing out on. Show me that I've been stupid for the last six years for not calling you mine."
James smirked at Lily's awkwardness. His smirk sparked a reaction in Lily; she stood up straight with her shoulders back and her chin high in the air. "Is that a challenge?" James grinned. Determination shone in Lily's eyes. "Yes, that's a challenge."
She began to strut away, swaying her hips ever so slightly. "Challenge accepted," James called out happily. Lily smiled to herself.
"Just to make it a bit more tricky," Lily said as she turned to James, walking backwards now, "You have seven days."
"I could do it in five!" James yelled at her retreating figure. This time, Lily did not turn.
"Then do it in three," was her reply.
What had gotten into Lily? When did she get so bold?
Lily hurried off to class, overthinking their entire encounter. In three days' time, Lily would either have James Potter to call her own, or not. Just three days.
In her mind, a week was an acceptable time. She should have remembered that James liked to show off. Maybe her original deadline should have been a month?
It didn't matter now. Three days.
Three days was both the longest and shortest amount of time for James. While he only had three days to convince Lily of his worth, he still had three days. That was 72 hours. Actually, it didn't seem like that long at all.
Maybe he should have stuck with a week, instead of being overly confident. Five days was probably pushing his luck. But of course, Lily would have to top him. She always did.
James spent that entire morning lost in thought. He only had three days… but the Christmas Ball was his plan… James definitely wanted to officially ask her at the Christmas Ball. That was the whole reason for the bloody thing anyway.
Three days. If only he could do one a month or something…
James had an epiphany. Lily had said three days, right? No other criteria or constrictions. She didn't specify that they had to be three consecutive days. James could easily space out this challenge.
But, James was a gentlemen and he would not leave Lily to work that out on her own. He would write her a letter, explaining the predicament and his solution.
Girls loved letters, didn't they?