Chapter 10
Just a Friend?
Disclaimer-Not mine.
"Is this week ever going to end?" Sirius said, exasperatedly as he plopped down at the Gryffindor House Table.
Julia blinked up from her work and threw him a weak smile. "Probably not."
"It's all because of these bloody O.W.L.s." Sirius said.
"I've finished studying for them already." James piped in looking up from his Quidditch magazine.
"That's a lie." Lily piped in with a roll of her eyes.
James looked at Lily and frowned. He still couldn't forget what she had said about not wanting to go out with him. "Whatever..." He mumbled.
"But really how could you finish studying everything you're learned from 1st year until now in what, six, seven classes?" Lily asked.
"I said whatever." James said throwing her a dirty look.
Lily rolled his eyes at him and began to pack her books up. "I'm leaving. See you around." She muttered.
"Why?" Sirius asked. "We just got here."
Lily sighed, "Because I don't want to listen to him mope." She said pointing to James.
"Get over yourself Evans." James replied tartly.
"Excuse me but you're the one with the ego the size of Africa." She snapped heading off towards the Great Hall doors.
James rolled his eyes and looked back down at his magazine. "Why have you two been bickering so much lately?" Sirius asked.
"Because she's so bloody...proud."
Julia raised an eyebrow at him. "Well you've been at each others throats for nearly a week."
"Yeah well..." James said trying to ignore them, it would only make him angrier if he listened to their criticism.
"Say have you decided how you were going to ask her out?" Julia wondered. James choose to ignore this question. He hadn't told them what had happened with Lily. He was too embarrassed and upset about it.
"Well Potter?" She urged but still got no answer.
"What does that mean? You've asked her?" Sirius asked, replying to his silence.
"...No I haven't..." He lied but Remus, who was sitting quietly next to him knew different.
"But I thought you told her in the common room." He piped in. He had been in the Common Room that day talking to Oliva.
James looked from Remus to Sirius's anxious look plastered on his face. "Fine I did ask her. She said no." He stated simply.
Julia's mouth down. "Lily said no to going out with you?"
"Bloody rub it in why don't you." James said sourly.
Julia frowned, "How did you tell her?" She asked.
"Do we have to talk about this?" James said flipping the page of his magazine.
"Yes." Julia replied. "How did you tell her?"
James sighed, "I sort of just blurt it out actually. I said that I've had a crush on her and I love her."
"And..." Sirius urged.
"I believe her exact words were, 'Get over it lover boy'." Explained James still not looking up from his reading.
Julia exchanged a worried glance with Sirius. "So it was definitely a no then?" Sirius continued, still not believing it. He thought Lily and James were a match made in Heaven.
"It was a no Sirius." James said.
"But...I can't believe it." Remus said.
"Why not? You must of heard her eh? You were sitting in the room as well." James said.
"Well I heard you say you wanted to talk to her but then I just blocked you out. Figured you might want some privacy." James and Sirius raised an eyebrow at Remus's comment. The truth was that Remus didn't exactly block him out on purpose, he just happened to get distracted by Olivia.
"But why would she say no?" Julia asked.
"Maybe because she doesn't like me?" James said as if it were a very obvious answer.
"Yeah but...You're James Potter."
"Nice spot there Carr." Sirius said sarcastically.
Julia grinned and corrected herself, "What I mean is that no girl has ever said no to James Potter."
"Again, thanks for rubbing it in." James repeated.
"Bloody prat..." Sirius muttered.
"Prat?" Julia asked.
"Yeah Lily is a prat."
"Oh," Julia said. "Well, does she really know how much she means to James? Did you tell her James?"
"I tried." James replied.
"So what now?" Julia asked.
"So now, he finds himself a new girl." Sirius said with a shrug.
James sighed and set the sports magazine down. "I can't just give up on her."
"Why not?" Sirius asked.
"Because he loves her." Julia replied.
"You love her enough to spend your whole life chasing after her?" Sirius asked.
James shrugged, "Yes."
Sirius raised an eyebrow at him. "Just get over her Potter. She's not worth it."
James looked down again not wanting to argue about this much less talk about it.
Sirius sighed and continued, "Maybe you could give her a chance to think about it." He said trying to give James some hope. "She might change her mind."
James looked up at Sirius and shrugged, "Yeah right. When has Lily ever changed her mind about anything? She's so bloody stubborn." James replied.
"You never know mate." Sirius said.
James shrugged, "I guess."
Little did the four know that Lily was on the other side of the Great Halls doors, leaning against the wall, listening to every word they said.
It wasn't that Lily was completely oblivious to how much she had hurt James. She knew that it hurt him bad, but she just didn't want to go out with him.
James was like a brother to her. He was always looking out for her; though sometimes she thought he was looking after her too closely.
"Hey Lily." A voice said next to her. It was Tom. He was headed into the Great Hall, towards the Gryffindor House Table, most likely to talk to his sister.
"Hey Tom." Lily replied glancing over at Julia who was sitting close to Sirius, their hands locked under the table. The message was clearly that the two were more then friends.
Lily knew a disaster would follow if Tom learned about Sirius and Julia. He was a very over protected big brother and wouldn't stand for Sirius as anything more than a friend to Julia.
Tom didn't seem to notice yet but Lily knew Julia didn't want Tom to know about them yet. Lily bit her bottom lip and pushed past a group of students in the door way. "Pardon..." She mumbled speeding ahead of Tom.
Lily threw a glance behind her to see Tom was just a short way behind her; too close to verbally warn the pair. "I'm back." Lily said pushing apart Julia and Sirius, sitting down between them.
"Evans what's your problem?" Sirius asked after being shoved down the bench.
"Shh..." Lily said.
"Hello to all of you." Tom said approaching the table.
Julia wheeled around not expecting her brother here now; she thought he had a class this period.
"Hey Tom." She said to her brother.
The other greeted him polietly. "So how have things been going?" Tom asked Julia.
Julia nodded and replied, "Fine."
"Doing well in your classes then?"
"Uh huh." Julia replied.
"Staying out of trouble?"
"Of course."
"Anything I should know about?" Tom asked.
Julia shot Sirius a glance before replying, "Nope. But I did tell someone."
Tom knew she was talking about their parents and lowered his voice, "Who?"
"Black." Julia said nodding towards Sirius.
"And you feel better?"
"I guess."
"Told you so." Tom said.
Julia rolled her eyes, "Yeah."
"I just found out today that you were dating Black." Said a slimy voice from behind Julia. She turned to find Severus Snape, smirking like a mad man.
Snape had picked up on the fact that Julia didn't want her brother to know about Sirius. Snape was a very alert student and rather smart, though he didn't get as much credit as he deserved.
"That's ridiculous. Julia and Sirius dating? Please..." Lily said narrowing her eyes at the greasy haired boy.
Tom frowned and turned to Julia. "Are you dating him?"
"No." Julia said trying her best to keep eye contact. She didn't like lying to her brother, but she knew what the consequences would be if she didn't.
"Good because I would have had to hex his-."
"Tom please." Julia said glancing at Sirius to see if he had heard Tom but Sirius was too preoccupied by Snape.
"And if I find out that you are together I'll-."
"Tom we're not dating." Julia interrupted.
Tom nodded and backed away from the table. "You better not be."
"Good bye Tom." Julia said waving him away.
"Bye." He said before turning towards the Ravenclaw Table.
"Snivellus you arse." James said standing up from the bench.
"Yeah do we have to embarrass you in front of the school again?" James asked.
"Let it go guys." Julia said knowing this would end bad for all of them.
Sirius looked over at Julia and nodded. He didn't want to upset her so he sat back down. James, however, wasn't in such a hurry to let it go.
"You better watch your back Snape." James warned not taking his eyes off of the Slytherin.
"Why? Because you might pathetically try to heck me with my back turned; seems to be the only way you can get a good hit in." Snape hissed.
Instinctively, James hand went to his pocket and he drew out his wand. Snape flinched but didn't look away. "Get out of here Snape." James warned.
Snape glanced down at the wand in James's hand and knew there wasn't enough time to draw his own. "Whatever. We'll show you in the match on Saturday." Snape said but James just rolled his eyes.
"You're not even on the bloody team Snape." He said but Snape chose to ignore this as he stalked off to his own House Table.
"Bloody prat." Sirius mumbled angrily.
"He's not worth it." Julia said.
Sirius shrugged and decided not to go on about him anymore.
"Thanks by the way Lils." Julia said. "For the heads up, I mean."
Lily shook her head modestly. "Not a problem; You'd do the same for me."
"Please Lily."
"No James."
"Please."
"No!"
"But I-."
"Leave me alone Potter!" Lily snapped wheeling around at him. "Bloody ask me again and you'll be on the floor with a broken nose!" Lily warned.
James frowned. "You stink Evans."
"Then why are you bothering me?" Lily asked turning the corner of the dungeon. They had just had their last class before the weekend; that class being Potions.
"Because I want to go to Slughorn's party with you..." He said.
"But I told you no."
"You're not going with anyone else though."
"And how do you know that?" Lily challenged.
"Because you would have told me." James replied.
"Or maybe I didn't tell you because I didn't want to hurt you anymore than I already have." Lily said, her eyes narrowing at the stubborn Gryffindor.
James recoiled a bit. "So you are going with someone?" He asked in a more gentle tone.
Lily debated whether to lie to him or not but decided that lying would be to cruel. "No I'm not."
"Then please Evans!"
Lily's hand gripped her wand tightly as she pulled it out. "I'm warning you Potter. Don't push me." She said holding the wand at his nose.
"Alright, Lils I'll stop." James said eyeing the wand cautiously.
Lily gave James an appraising sort of look trying to decide whether she believed him or not. "Fine." She said putting her wand in her pocket.
They continued down the hall towards the Gryffindor Common Room. "You know," James said after a minute or so of silence. "I'd make a great boyfriend."
Lily sighed frustrated. "James stop."
"No I really would." He continued. "Ask any girl that has dated me. Even if I dumped her, they still like me at least a little."
"Shut up Potter..." Lily warned.
"No but really I do make a good one. I'm kind and-and loving. I even have chivalry! Er...Like I'd open doors for you...And give you my jacket if you were cold."
"James I don't believe that." Lily said.
"But it's true!" He argued and Lily knew he was right. He might have dated girls he never even liked but he treated them relatively nicely, even if he was using them.
"Besides I don't like that kind of stuff." Lily replied.
"Come on every girl likes that stuff." James said with a roll of his eyes.
Lily stopped walking and turned to him. "Oh yeah? Well not this girl."
"Liar." James said childishly.
"Let me clue you in Potter." Lily began. "When was the last time I let a guy pay for my dinner or buy me ice cream? When have I taken a jacket a guy has offered me?"
James frowned, he had forgotten about those things. "But you still like it a little right?"
Now that the aggressiveness was out of James's voice, Lily returned to talking to him like a friend. "Well a little, but I don't want a guy going all out for me. I mean, I'm not incapable of opening a door for myself."
James nodded, "I guess I get that."
"Yeah..." Lily replied.
They walked in silence until they reached the common room and James asked, "Say you want to get something to eat on Saturday after the quidditch game?"
Lily turned to James and frowned, "And who else is coming?" She asked.
"Well I thought it could be just you and me." James said.
"Like as in a date?"
"Er, yeah."
"God Potter would you bloody leave me alone!" Lily said muttering the password to the Fat Lady. "Find yourself another girl. Heaven knows you can have any girl you want!"
"Not you."
"Is that why you want me?" Lily asked. "Because you can't have me?"
"No." James shook his head. "I want you because I love you."
Sirius, Julia and Remus looked up from their homework at the two arguing. "Just say yes Evans..." Sirius mumbled to himself. "Say yes to James."
"Oh please. James, how many girls have you told that to?"
"Huh?" He asked.
"How many girls have you told 'I love you' to?"
"But-that's..."
"Answer the question."
James frowned. He had said that to a lot of girls. "But I never really meant it when I said that to them."
"And why should I believe that you mean it this time?" Lily asked putting a hand on her hip. Every time Lily put her hand on her hip, she wore an expression of being displeased; something that reminded James a lot like his mother.
"I-Because I..." James said frowning, frustrated with her.
"Because he stalks you?" Sirius piped up from the corner.
"He-!" Lily started angrily before she really understood what Sirius had said. "Wait what?"
Sirius stood up from this table. "You better stop talking to James like you are now." He said, his temper taking the better of him.
"Sirius please..." Julia said putting a hand on his arm but Sirius ignored her.
"He hasn't left me the bloody hell alone and you want me to treat him respectfully?" Lily argued.
"I bet I can prove he loves you." Sirius said walking up to her. "How many people keep a box filled with old photo graphs, useless receipts, toothbrushes belonging to just a friend?"
"What?" Lily asked completely thrown off.
"Do you know that James has a stalker box upstairs in his door filled with useless junk he stole from you?"
Lily turned to James. "You've been stealing from me?" She said stupidly.
"Bloody hell Evans!" Sirius said. "He idolizes you even more than Slughorn idolizes you." He said.
"Why don't you mind your own business Black. This doesn't concern you." Lily snapped.
"No, not this time Evans." He said before continuing, "He's liked you since first year."
"No he hasn't." Lily said thinking that to be completely impossible.
"Wanna bet?" James piped in glaring at Lily.
Lily opened her mouth but closed it not knowing what to say. The whole common room had gone silent and all eyes were on the three.
"And if you don't want to go out with him, fine." Sirius continued in a calmer voice. "But don't treat him like horse crap."
Lily frowned as she watched Sirius walk off back to Julia and Remus; both of which had their heads down avoiding eye contact from Lily.
Lily looked at James with a hint of remorse. "Is that true?" She asked him.
James nodded. "Yeah."
"...Sorry." Lily replied before turning her back to head up the stairs, not knowing what else to say.
James watch her retreat and sighed, with a roll of his hazel eyes. He shook his head and sat down next to Remus silently.
The group sat there for an hour or so. Sirius, Julia and Remus finishing up homework and James looking at the staircase to the Girls' dorm trying to decide what to do about Lily.
He wanted her. He knew he had to have her in his life as more than a friend. He felt so close but she was just out of his grasp.
"Am I a total arse?" Lily asked Julia when she entered her dorm to get ready for the party.
"Not a total one." Julia replied honestly.
"But I am horrid?" Lily asked.
"Not horrid really; maybe harsh but not horrid."
"What should I do Juls?" Lily asked throwing herself onto her bed.
"Is there any part of you that wants to go out with James?" Julia asked her. Lily laid silently thinking over that question.
Was there any part of her that really wouldn't mind dating James? Maybe a small sliver of her wouldn't mind but she knew it was too much of a risk. Besides, things were already complicated now without them going out.
"Not really."
Julia sighed, "Then I don't know what to say."
Lily groaned, "Maybe I shouldn't go tonight."
"You have to come!" Julia replied.
"Why? It'll only make James madder."
"Yeah but I want you to come."
"Why? You'll have Sirius to talk to." Lily said rolling onto her side and looking at the dorm door.
"Lily you're coming." Julia insisted.
"Nah. Besides, I have nothing to wear."
"Please Evans, you have more clothes than you know what to do with. Besides, you could always borrow some of mine."
"You're not going to let me stay here are you?" Lily asked.
"Absolutely not." Julia replied.
Lily groaned and sat up. "Fine. But I might leave it earlier."
"Alright." Julia said with a nod and she went over to the closet to find something for both of them to wear.
"And now...I wait." Sirius said plopping down on the couch next to James. He had just finished getting changed for the party. He was wearing a blue dress shirt and tan colored slacks. He looked rather put together compared to his usual self.
"Really what's up with women and taking three hours to dress." James said putting his feet up on the coffee table.
Sirius rolled his eyes, "Who knows."
The dimly lit common room was rather packed seeing as it was a Friday. There wasn't many places to go on a Friday night other than your dorm and common room. Of course, unless you were a Marauder.
"Finally..." Sirius mumbled as Julia and Lily walked out of the dorm and down that stairs.
"Damn..." James muttered as he watched the beautiful girls join them. Julia was dressed in a white halter dress that went just below her knees and accentuated every one of her curves perfectly.
Lily, however, was wearing a spaghetti strap black dress that was about the same length as Julia's. Her hair was down and curled, framing her freckled face perfectly.
James and Sirius mouth dropped as their eyes ran over the two girls. Julia blushed aware that they were looking at them.
"Stop drooling you two." Lily said with a roll of her eyes.
"You look beautiful." Sirius said to Julia, which sent her into a deeper blush.
Lily turned to James and sighed, "Go get dressed."
James brow furrowed. "Excuse me?"
"Do you want to come or not?"
"But I-." He began but Lily interrupted him.
"I don't have someone to go with and neither do you. So if you want to come to the party then get yourself to your dorm and change into something decent." She said..
James flashed her a grin, "Really? I can go with you?" He asked heading towards his dorm.
"But we're just going as friends!" She called to him. "And I mean that!"
James nodded, "Of course." He was slightly disappointed but at least he could go to the party.
Sirius smiled at Lily and said, "That was nice of you."
Lily shrugged, "Yeah, well I didn't want him sitting around here pouting all night."
A/N I'd like to thank all of the people who reviewed my last chapter. Thank you so so so so much!
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