Author's Note: High School is once again in full swing. I actually like a lot of my teachers, and as my dad likes to tease, none of them have taken an instant dislike to Allison P. I know that the whole situation is my fault because before the first day I was really and said "but what if all of my teachers develop an irrational hatred of me? This year is going to be terrible!" He has yet to let me live that down…it is my professional opinion that he never will. Fathers!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the recognizable characters from the best-selling Harry Potter series. They remain, as they always will, in the hands of J.K. Rowling.
Charmed Love Chapter 28
March 18
Somewhere over the Rainbow, more accurately called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"Actually it is called sarcasm, Beth. I'm not going to let you, or anyone else for that matter, borrow my new copy of Northanger Abbey." I said as I walked down to the Great Hall for early Saturday breakfast.
"But Li-ly, you know that I haven't read that in ages. And I am you best friend in the entire world, so you know that you want to let me read your copy of Northanger Abbey, that is what best friends are for you know?" Beth persisted while we walked into the hall.
"You know as well as I do that you have never read any of the Austen books. So what is the real reason behind your sudden, intense desire to read them?" I teased helping myself to some of the scrambled eggs that were sitting on the table.
"You are always harping on us to read some more, Lily. I didn't think that it would be a problem if I suddenly showed an interest in one of your books." She replied, taking her seat across from me.
"Going to have to agree with Beth on this one, sweetie. You haven't a leg to stand on in your refusal to share the leather-binded goods." Alice added, never losing the opportunity to spread the, what she calls Austen-craze, to anyone who showed even a remote interest. I thought that I was a dedicated fan, but Alice took this to a whole new level.
"It isn't that I don't want to give her my book. It's just that, well, Look." I implored as I held up her battered notebook that she carries around with her religiously. She says that it is her everything notebook, but any of us who know her better know that it is most likely her journal of sorts. She has been scribbling her life away in that thing since…ever.
"What does my everything notebook have to do with the unavailability of the Lily Evans public-to-her-friends library?" Beth retorted as she reached across the table to retrieve her notebook from my outstretched hand.
"Well, no offense to your beloved notebook, Beth, but the thing is falling apart." I said as I lifted the duct-taped cover.
"In her defense, Lily, that surgery was my fault. I accidentally stepped on it when I was getting out of bed a couple of days ago, and slipped and fell flat on my rear-end. The cover didn't stand a chance." Alice described as she made whooshing movements with her hands.
"But this book is my baby. I love it like the child that I don't currently have. And when you have a child you protect it with every fiber of your being. You DON'T send it knowingly into a war zone." I said holding the book close to my heart.
"But Lily, you know I won't-" Beth pleaded.
"Your sad puppy dog eyes will have no effect on me, so don't even try." I exclaimed turning pointedly away.
"Aww, but Lily." She continued.
"No."
"Are you sure?" Beth asked.
"I am positive." I affirmed.
"Are you positive about the fact that you are positive?"
"I am more positive about this that I have been about anything in my life." I exaggerated eating another forkful of scrambled eggs.
"Ohhhh, wait until I tell James. And to think that he probably thought you were the highest level of positive where he is concerned." Beth taunted
"My relationship with James Potter has nothing to do with this conversation." I snorted, not a particularly attractive sound. Not that it actually stopped James from coming up behind me to place a kiss on the back of my neck that was exposed from leaving my hair up today.
"What's this about our relationship not being important to your conversation?" James questioned as he pulled on the Quidditch robe that he had been carrying.
"James, we were talking about the fact that I am not going to lend Beth my beautiful, new copy of Northanger Abbey. So, you were really not in the conversation." I explained as I scooted over on the bench so that I was leaning slightly into him.
"Why aren't you going to lend her your copy? I thought you two were friends again?" James continued as he sent glances in Beth's direction.
"Yeah, I thought we were friends. Lily!" Beth inserted, trying to play the guilt card.
"We are friends, Beth, better than before I'd wager." I reassured her. "But that does not mean that I am going to send my beloved child into your binding-creasing, corner-folding, passage underlining clutches!"
"She considers a book her child?" James questioned with a worried-for-my-sanity look on his handsome face, but then again I can be a tad biased. About the handsome part that is…
"Yeah, it is a long story. You shouldn't be worried. Anyways, you knew that she was a few flavors short of a Bertie Bean Box when you asked her out, if you follow my train of thought." Alice replied to James's inquiry with a smug look on her face, I could tell that she was proud of that bean comment.
"I DO NOT HAVE CLUTCHES!" Beth shrieked, lifting her eyebrows in a reproachful manner.
"While I would ordinarily agree with you, I have to stand by my opinion in this case. You are definitely not going to use my copy."
"But Li-ly!"
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"Even with a cherry on top?"
"Now you just sound pathetic. Everyone knows that the cherry-on-top thing stopped working when you were three." I teased.
"So take pity on me and let me use your book." Beth reasoned.
"Not going to happen." I said as I grabbed another blueberry muffin.
"Oh, for the love of Merlin's right buttocks, just give it up Beth. I highly doubt that Lily is going to cave, so for the sake of eating breakfast in peace, I am going to lend you my copy." Alice said punctuating her sentence with a vindictive bite of toast.
"Okay. I now love you most because Lily is being a horrible friend and not letting me use her copy." Beth reproached, glaring in my direction.
"I didn't know that you were in competition to be the most loved with your friends? Does it bother you that you are not number one anymore?" James asked as he placed a kiss on the top of my head.
"Nah, not too much. I know that Beth is just blowing off steam. If she was just holding in it, it would be much worse later. Trust me." I turned my head so that my nose was in the crook of his neck.
Have I ever mentioned that my James smells divine?
I saw you remembering that I mentioned that. If you could notice that, but you can't. Because you are a book. And therefore not able to notice stuff like that. I really need to get a hobby. Or at least stop asking questions from inanimate objects.
"So are you pumped for that Quidditch match today, James?" Remus asked finally arriving and joining in the group. He looks exhausted; maybe he is not getting enough sleep. I really hope that the other Marauders are not keeping him up all hours planning some more of their pranks. Although, I have noticed that there have not been as many unfortunate events happening to the Slytherins this year, but my guess that the reason behind that is because their beloved James is not sharing a dorm with them anymore.
Not that I care or anything. Their pranks were always so childish. And stupid. And otherwise not entertaining at all. Really. Don't give me that look. The pranks were immature. End of statement/story/tale whatever you want to call it.
"I guess that I am excited. We are only playing Ravenclaw so that means that it is pretty much an easy victory. Their best players are Vanessa and possibly Eli. But even those two are nothing compared to us." James boasted, squeezing my shoulders with the arm that he had wrapped around me.
"Hey! Vanessa is a great chaser, certainly good enough to take you on, Mr. James Potter." Alice defended her close friend, even though she probably knew that Ravenclaw doesn't stand a chance of winning. Because, come on, everyone knows that the Gryffindor team has had a perfect record for the past 3 years.
"Nothing against Vanessa, St. Prongs, because I know that you too are best mates, but they are going down. I bet Vanessa won't score as many points as Prongs here." Sirius smirked, clapping James on the back.
"Vanessa has had a damn good season too. She is undoubtedly the best female chaser in the school. Which automatically makes her better, because like I said, she is female." Alice argued, letting her I-am-woman-hear-my-roar/feminist side bubble up to the surface.
"Definitely." Beth agreed as she peaked up over the copy of Northanger Abbey that she just Accio-ed from their room.
"You must be sniffing some weird potions because your brains are certainly addled." Sirius replied.
"They are smarter that you are." I added finally deciding that this time was as good as any to enter the conversation. Maybe I should start paying attention to the stuff around me and not just become infused in the my-James-smells-wonderful bubble.
"So, Evans. Where do you stand on this issue? Are you with Team Edwards or Team Potter?" Sirius questioned in an announcer-like voice, holding his hand by my face as if he was holding a microphone.
"I don't think that there is a safe answer here." I replied trying to avoid the question that I was not even sure that I had the answer to.
James chuckled and leaned in to my ear. "You can answer honestly; I promise that I won't think any differently of you if you don't say Team Potter." He whispered leaning in so far that I could feel his lips moving and forming the words on my ear. I felt my skin warm almost instantaneously.
"Do you care to put your galleons where your mouth is, Black." Alice challenged, her golden eyes flashing with delight, because Sirius could not resist a bet, no matter what the stakes.
"Only if you care to reciprocate, St. Prongs." Sirius returned as he set down his fork.
"45 galleons is the wager. I get the money if Vanessa gets the same number of points as James, here does. And you get the money if James scores more points. Is that a deal?" Alice declared.
"I accept, but be prepared to lose your money, because James always gets the most points." Sirius taunted with the air of someone secure in his decision.
"Well, I am going to go down to the pitch because I want to get a good seat so that I can watch those galleons fall out of Black's pocket, figuratively of course." Alice corrected, always the conscientious grammar police.
"I'll go with you; are you coming, Lily?" Beth asked as she picked up her navy jacket that was sitting right next to her.
Before I got a chance to reply in the affirmative, James interrupted. "You go the Quidditch games? I thought that you avoided those like the plague."
"Of course I go to the games. I might not have had much luck with the sport personally, but that doesn't mean that I can't go to the games." I replied, not bothering to explain that the real reason I went to the games is because I loved watching him. His already animated features became even livelier, which was always a pleasure to watch. But what was so nice about it, is that he had not known that I was watching him, or even that I was at the game apparently. I was okay with him not knowing. It was just something that I did.
"Lily Evans goes to the games. I can't believe it." James wondered.
"Well, were else am I going to see you play the sport that you can't otherwise stop talking about. It was preferable to not having any idea what is going on." I said not really knowing how else to respond.
"Hey, I haven't been talking about it that much. It was a lot worse in past years, as I am sure Remus could attest to." James replied as we walked down the corridor on our way out to the field. "So your reason is no even valid, try again."
Could he tell that I was just dancing around the real answer? I don't know. Maybe I don't even care. Should I care? I don't know. Did I remember to turn my alarm clock off? Shoot, I don't remember. Maybe I should just give up on this. Man, lying gives me a headache.
"Because I actually enjoy it. Is that so unbelievable?" I decided that the part truth was the best route was the safest route to take, or at least the one that it is not incriminating no matter what I do.
It took me a minute to register the fact that he was not answering me. This, as I am sure you could guess, was not very reassuring in the least bit. Actually, it made me contemplate the benefits of hiding under a rock until the red from my cheeks goes away.
And then after I was ready to start searching for a rock large enough to hide under, James planted like the biggest Hollywood-worthy kiss on my very unprepared lips.
When he pulled away about 10 seconds later, to say that I was stunned would have been a huge understatement. "What-?" I managed to get out before his right hand that had been holding me to him on the small of my back, shot up and clamped over my mouth.
"Don't say anything." He commanded. "I know how difficult that is going to be for you, but please don't say anything right now."
Not able to respond to that question without making me look like an idiot or further proving his point, I just glared at him with all the indignation I could muster.
"I just need a moment for it to sink in that Miss Lily Evans actually enjoys watching Quidditch, no matter how ludicrous I find that conclusion." He said looking down at me with a smug expression on his face. "You know, you are very adorable when you are not talking."
I think the I-cannot-believe-that-you-actually-said-that look accurately described my feeling to perfection.
"Now, as much as I don't want to, I am going to remove my hand so that I can kiss you again, seeing as that would be very difficult through my hand. Do you promise not to say anything?" He whispered, taking another step closer to me, only then realizing that we were no longer walking.
I just looked at him, not really sure if I was angry or just mildly ticked off that he still had his hand over my mouth.
"First of all, I hereby promise that if you ever do that again, I am going to have to hex off your testicles. Second, I can be quiet-" I ranted punctuation each phrase with a poke on his shoulder.
"I will keep that in mind." James said coldly before turning away to continue walking down the halls.
"Now don't get your wand in a knot simply because I didn't stay quiet. Because that is just a stupid reason to be ticked." I warned as I hurried over so that we were once again walking side by side.
"Well, I think that I've got a reason to be ticked when all I asked is for you to keep your mouth shut for a couple of seconds, because I wanted to ask you something special. But you can't even manage that." He retorted still not even meeting my gaze.
"James I would hope that after knowing me for as long as you have that you would have realized that I would only be able to keep my mouth closed if my life depended on it. But other than for the security of my life, I usually keep talking." I laughed, relieved that he was probably only blowing off steam before the match today.
"I realize that, and usually it is one of the things that I like most about you, but...It doesn't matter; I don't have time for this right now." He said pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.
"Oh," I replied, just a little shocked that he was about to turn and leave. We usually kissed before he just left, but I guess that that wasn't going to be happening today.
I tried stepping forward to reach up for his face, but he just turned around and took a step away from me. I awkwardly grabbed my wrist with my opposite hand, acutely aware of the fact that they were now empty.
"So I'll see you after the game?" I questioned in a higher more insecure voice that I was hoping for. Great, now he probably thinks that I am just pathetic. Which I probably am, considering the fact that I can't keep my mouth shut.
He turned around and saw me standing there, his face changed instantly…I can only imagine what in the world he is thinking. And quite frankly I don't want to know. "Yeah, we can meet up in the common room." He replied, and upon seeing my stunned look at his response (I was expecting something more like No, Can't); he continued, "I'm not angry at you, Lily. Just a little nervous and other stuff like that." With that, he walked away, leaving me standing alone just outside the door.
Not knowing what else to do, I walked down to the pitch to get a seat with the rest of my friends.
"Hey there you are, Lily. We were looking all over the other stands for you. We thought you accidentally got into the wrong one or something." Beth said gesturing to the seat right next to her, in our usual front row right behind the Gryffindor Hoops.
"Ha-ha, very funny." I replied without much humor at all.
"Oh, don't get your wand in a knot." Alice replied from the other side of Beth's boyfriend, Colin. "You know that we only tease you because you are our best friend. So, feel special."
"Or, in other words, we only tease you because we love you so much. If we didn't tease you, it would be because we didn't like you that much." Beth added after Alice was done speaking.
"I know guys. It is just that James and I just parted on a rather sour note and it is putting my wand in knot because I don't want to leave from the situation without fixing it." I replied resting my head comfortably on Beth's shoulder.
"You sure are tense where he is concerned, aren't you?" Beth replied, softly patting my knee.
"It is just that I don't want to screw anything up. I am just so afraid that one day he is going to wake up, and realize that I am not all that spectacular and he is going to wonder what in the world he is still doing with me." I confided, turning my head slightly so that I could smell the wool from her sweater. It may seem odd, but Beth also smells nice. Not in the same sense that James does, her sent doesn't make my head grow cotton; but after being friends for so long, she just smells comforting.
"Don't say stuff like that. Do you know how many guys out there would curse James just to get a chance to date the Lily Evans?" Beth scolded, laughing slightly.
"It's not that I don't think that I'm a great catch. Because I know that I am." I boasted sitting up to look her in the eye. "I just am so afraid that James has put me so high up on a pedestal that I can't ever hope to live up to what I am supposed to be. And that when he realizes that I am not that perfect, he is just going to walk away."
"Silly, Lily. That's not going to happen." She assured me, her clear blue eyes shining with friendship and loyalty. But that was just the problem, I wasn't sure if she wouldn't just say something like that even though she knows that it is not true, just for the sake of friendship.
I was about to reply when everyone started cheering, suddenly reminding me that I was at James's Quidditch game. Maybe I should start paying attention.
"Ah-ha! GO VANESSA!" Alice shouted after Vanessa just scored a point. Alice wasn't usually so vocal at games; I had a feeling that the fact that she had a bet going on this game has something to do with the excessive cheering.
The game continued much the same way. Alice cheered loud enough to be heard in Dublin, and my eyes never left the form of my flying James Potter.
At that thought, I stopped thinking and wondered when exactly I had started referring to him as "my James". I didn't know if I was supposed to be thinking that. We weren't officially together, but we did all of the typical "together" type of things. We held hands in the hallway, talked until the last possible minute before class began, picked food off of each other's plates at mealtimes, and we kissed a lot. I felt face and neck grow warm as I remembered how we had kissed the night of my birthday.
"It seems that instead of going to talk to his team during the final minutes of the break before the game continues, James Potter is flying in the direction of the box. This is un-precidented in Quidditch history, so I can only imagine the thoughts running through the minds of the fans watching the game." A young Hufflepuff commentated, bringing me out of my thoughts.
It was a good thing that happened too, because the next thing I know, James is hovering in the space in front of me. "Hey there." He greeted me looking so composed; one would think that he did this every game.
"Are you allowed to do this?" I asked, looking around us, fully aware of the fact that the entire student body of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was watching our every move.
"I don't know, I don't think that is has ever been done before, so there can't be a rule against it." He smiled, glorying in the fact that I was utterly befuddled.
"Well, that is certainly the attitude to have." I replied, not sure how else to reply in this highly irregular situation.
"Isn't it though?" He touched a thoughtful hand to his chin. "Anyways, that isn't the point of why I am over here."
"And what, pray tell, is the reason for flying over here in the middle of the Quidditch game." I asked standing up. I reasoned that it was better to take this on my feet because sitting down did not feel right any longer.
"I wanted to ask you something very important. The important thing that I wanted to ask you earlier, but then the moment was ruined…" He continued, his eyes growing warm and crinkling around the corners.
"I am sorry about that. I just hated the fact that you had put your hand over my mouth like I was a little kid, and I had to retort. And, I am talking again and stealing your moment, so I'll stop now." I finished seeing his expression change into a knowing smile.
"Well, you know that my birthday is in nine days, and my parents always have a big celebration for it. This year they decided that they wanted it to be something more like a ball, so I have to have a date. I was wondering if you would honor me with your arm for the evening." James formally requested, taking my hand and placing a kiss on the back of it. The sort of gentlemanly-like things that he knew made me go weak at the knees, due to my probably-unhealthy addiction to Jane Austen and Julia Quinn.
"I would be delighted to go with you. And just so you know, I took ballet lessons for six years when I was little, so you needn't have fear for your toes getting stepped on." I replied, trying my hardest to be cute and girlfriend-ish.
"Shall we seal this with a kiss?" He inquired, and before I had a chance to respond, he was already kissing me, and as I am sure you can imagine, I was okay with that.
He pulled away after a couple of seconds and flew back to his team. The game resumed with surprising speed and I was still standing like an idiot with a hand against my cheek.
"-Ey! Love-struck, do you think that you could put your ass back on the bench." Some person, who probably over-indulged in the firewhiskey before the game, said from behind me.
I sat down, and did a little happy dance in my seat. I felt like singing, or possibly composing some really bad poetry. James asked me to a ball. I was going to get to see him in a suit. (There was no doubt in my mind that he would look devilishly handsome)
"Lily, you so have to let me help you pick out your dress. Because you have to look perfect, and you can't do it alone." Alice piped in, her eyes gleaming at the thought of a shopping trip in Hogsmeade the following weekend.
"Sure, I don't see why you can't. I was a lot of people's opinion, and you do always choose the most spectacular dresses." I replied, smiling because I knew that we would have so much fun together.
"And I'll even have Sirius's money because so far this game, Vanessa has been unstoppable." Alice gloated.
I just looked at her, wondering when she was going to realize that she was implying that my James hadn't been playing as good.
"That is not to say that James hasn't been playing well, because he has. It is just that Vanessa has been playing extremely well." Alice revised.
"Oh MY GOD! LILY!" Beth shrieked, grabbing my cloak and pointing towards the field.
At first I didn't see anything. But then out of the corner of my vision I saw James falling through the air and landing in a heap on the earth below. I don't even remember screaming or anything of that sort. All I remember is staring at the ground with a look of absolute horror.
My stomach clenched and twisted as I contemplated if he was hurt and for one panic-stricken moment I prayed that he had not died. He had been pretty high up in the air when he had fallen, and was already being whisked off the Hospital Wing.
I followed in a flurry of movements and after what seemed like an eternity, I was standing next to his bed holding his hand in my own.
"What happened? What's the diagnosis, Professor?" I asked after taking several deep breaths.
"It would seem that his broom had been jinxed and he was thrown from it while he was diving for the Quaffle. When he hit the earth, many of the weaker bones in his body broke from the impact. I was able to fix them all, but the potion that I gave him for the pain will keep him unconscious for the next 36 hours." Madame Pomfrey said I she made a couple of notes on his clipboard and hung it at the foot of his bed.
"That sounds painful." I grimaced, hating to think of him being in that much pain. I knew that he would be up and about in no time because I had seen Madame Pumfrey's work enough times to trust her in these types of situations.
"I know that you must be worried so I will let you stay in here for the rest of the night. You can just use one of the other beds in the hospital so that you can get some sleep. But also know that the potion will leave him unconscious for the rest of the evening. You aren't going to get a response out of him, of any kind." She advised placing special emphasis on the last phrase before she closed and locked the door.
I laughed a little bit when I realized that she meant that we couldn't have sex tonight. It was funny and mortifying that one of the adults here thought that James and I were making love at all and probably on a regular basis. If only James knew. He would probably die of laughter.
I looked back down at him, and another wave of sadness washed over me as I remembered his figure falling down from the sky, and all the while knowing that there is nothing that I could do. I knew that I never wanted to feel that level of helplessness again.
"You really don't have any idea of how special you are to me, do you?" I asked out loud, feeling bold in the knowledge that he could not hear me.
"I wouldn't be able to bear it if anything ever happened to you. You have become such a big part of my life. I look forward to all of the times that we get to talk and laugh together." I continued sitting down on the corner of his bed, still holding his hand in my own.
"I find it hard to believe that I ever hated you. But then again, I don't know if I ever hated you, because to hate someone that personally I would have to actually know them. And I didn't know you, at least not who you really are. I just thought that you were an arrogant, bullying prankster, and I hated you for it. But I know now that you are smart, funny, and probably about just the best guy that I have ever had the fortune to meet." I affectionately ran my fingers through the hair by his ear.
"Even though we sometimes get on each other's nerves, like you leaving your school robes on the back of the sofa even though you know that bothers me, and my inability to keep my mouth shut…I can't imagine someone I would rather spend my last year with." I could feel my nose start to buzz, thinking of nothing but this sedimental crap as Sirius would call it.
"I am glad that I got to know you. Plain and simple. And the only thing that I regret is taking so long to finally figure that out." I continued, rearranging my body so that I was lying out next to him on top of the covers. I yawned, only then realizing how tired I was.
"I think that I might be in love with you James Potter." I said placing a soft kiss on his lips before snuggling down, pillowing my head on his chest.
"Yes, I think I must love you." I whispered before falling asleep.
Author's Note: So after a much longer period that I had intended I finally got a chapter up. I really hoped that you all like it, because I sure am proud of it. I like adding in my own little quirks into the characters, because I for one also despise when anyone folds the corners of in one of my books.
I also want to take the opportunity to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY Kate! I know that your 16th birthday is not until next Sunday, but I could not help but include a special note thing for you. You truly are one of my muses. And I thank you for all of your inspiration, even though you do read the end of the book first so you know if you want to read it. (Another one of my pet-peeves)
I am also going to start a new thing at the end of the chapter entries and on my profile. I am going to give a recommended story for anyone who is looking for something new to start reading. So in honor of my friend, I am going to recommend her story. It is called
"Confusing, Enchanting, and Loving Hermione". Her name is BookishBeauty94. It is a Draco and Hermione Love Story, and I think that it is ever so nicely written, (although I admit that I might be a tad biased). While I know that some of you cannon-only fans out there are probably cringing in your seats, all I have to say is give it a chance; you may be surprised and enjoy reading it. I know that I was when I started reading for that pairing.
So after another really long author's note, I bid you adieu once more.
Love and happily yours, Allison.
P.S. 5,667 Words total! Longest chapter ever!