Hello everyone, new chapter is up! Yey! Finally finished it! I hope you like it as much as I do. Thanks for everyone that reviewed and if you have the time to do so again I'll appreciate it! PA.
Chapter 6 – Game on
She bit her nails for the umpteenth time and exhaled sharply. Anxiety had completely taken over her every fiber and the arms on the wall clock seemed to move unbearably slowly just to spite her. She stared at the object giving it a fierce death glare, hoping it would make it go faster somehow; it was always her last resort and it worked most of the time. Not today, though. She sighed dejectedly: six more hours. Three hundred sixty minutes. Twenty-one thousand six hundred seconds. The clock seemed to stop under her scrutiny and she turned her back to it, fighting the instinct to stick her tongue out at it.
She couldn't believe that her vacation was over and that in - she glanced quickly at the cursed clock again - twenty-one thousand three hundred forty-eight seconds she would be boarding the red train back to school. Every year she suffered the same predicament: the closer the beginning of term, the less she slept. And this year it was even worse. She had gotten that glossy badge she had dream of and wanted to prove herself worthy of it. But that wasn't all of it. She was impatient because she missed everything; her friends, her four-poster bed, the amazing food and magic. She missed the beautiful scenery and the halls swamped with people hurrying to get in or out of class, but most of all she missed him. She even missed the possibility of seeing him and that chaotic head of hair of his.
The cruel clock struck five in the morning and she wished she could be sleeping, for she knew that staying up would only make her a bloody wreck the next morning. Seventh year. The best of it all; the worst of it all. James Potter. She smiled widely at the sound of his name as she said it out loud in her room. The best of it all; the worst of it all. She wanted to see him desperately, but she was dreading it. He was the only person that could make her lose her cool within a heartbeat and the only one that could make her heart skip that very same beat over a smile. She hated to admit it but he always could get her hot and bothered. And now they had a truce, or something of the kind, an indefinable agreement that made her unsure of their relationship. She was sailing uncharted waters and she had no idea where she was going. She sighed deeply. She wanted to know if they were going to be friends or if they would only talk every so often. She wanted to know how to act when he were close, if she should talk, wave or nod. She cursed her ineptitude on handling social situations. She shook her head and thought that the thing she wanted the most was just to look into those caramel chocolate eyes that seemed to pierce her soul, to be near him. Oh, how pathetic, she thought disappointed at herself and let out a breath slowly. Pathetic? Yes. Truthful? Definitely. Sometimes reality was just too harsh and time too slow for Lily Evans to take.
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He was looking at heavy trunk on the foot of his bed. It was firmly shut and it held the answers for the upcoming year. He scoffed, if only those answers could be found so easily, if only they could fit inside a trunk, if only they were this close to his grip. He heard his mother's voice calling him, in that sweet but very authoritative manner few people could master, and grinned. He was going to miss her. But then again, he always did so it wasn't anything new. He glanced around the room: trophies and books fighting for space in the crammed shelves and laughing pictures and posters hanging on the walls. Home. He smiled a soft smile; he loved it there, he loved that he knew exactly everything about every little bit of that gigantic construction. And what he loved about school was exactly the opposite. He loved that Hogwarts was always a puzzle, with so many pieces to find and so much to discover. Every year never failing to be exciting and thrilling. And now it was time to go back, and although he wanted to stay, he felt joyous to be leaving. Not only because of the school itself but also because of the many other alluring aspects that inhabited it; well, actually one in particular.
A few minutes later he was sat on the kitchen counter eating his crisp waffles, dismissing the chair like he always did, chatting away the early morning with his mother and best friend. They laughed together sincerely, the comfort they felt in each other's company palpable. And he wished she could be there. He sighed wistfully to himself, as the other two family members continued on with their antics while his thoughts flew to her once more. He had the strangest ideas sometimes; he wanted to see her eating waffles and sipping orange juice in the morning, her auburn hair messy and her manners forgotten. He wanted her to be in the most ragged boxers and top she owned and he wanted Lily to be laughing along with him over whatever stupidity his best mate was saying that day. He wanted her to share conspiratorial looks with his mother when they thought he wasn't looking, her green eyes sparkling with mirth. He wanted her to be a part of his life. He wanted all of her, all the time.
His mate's bark-like laughter echoed across the house and he turned his attention back to the talkative duo next to him. His mother's eyes, the ones he had inherited, glowing with amusement.
"- Honestly, Mrs. P, why can't I just marry you? The way I see it, it'll just save us the hassle…" – Sirius supplied teasingly.
"- Oh, Sirius, don't you know you're not supposed to propose to a lady before ten in the morning?" – She replied easily in her elegant tone. "- Honestly, I thought I had taught you better than that."
"- You did, mum, it's not you." – James joined in. "- It's him. I swear; he's got bloody ADD or something."
"- James, don't curse! Where are your manners?" – His mother scolded, although she couldn't hide the small smile that was trying to break free.
"- I resent that, mate." – Sirius said and James snorted. "- Bloody unfair, that is. Sorry Mrs. P." – He said after receiving a glare.
"- Told you you've got ADD, Pads. She just scolded me for the same thing!" – James said, swallowing the rest of his waffle at once and then giving his friend a full-mouthed smile.
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The platform was absolutely crowded. Her eyes were scanning the faces quickly, even though she knew she would see him from a distance; his tall frame was unmistakable. She didn't find him, but her gaze met someone else's: a former friend, a lost confidant. His long black hair was even lengthier now, his lips seemed pursed together permanently and his eyes blank. For a minute she thought she saw something else in them, a glint of sadness, and she regretted everything. She wanted to reach out and make him see; make him steer to the right direction. If he only so much as tried, she would be there. But he turned away, the blankness back in his gaze.
She entered the enchanted train feeling a bit more tired, the sleepless night taking its toll on her, but she proceeded to look for her friends. When she finally managed to find them, hugging, laughing and gossiping were the three main activities for the following half hour. She walked in the compartment that was reserved for the Head students and greeted her companion for the year, a Hufflepuff by the name of Diggory. She left with him to fulfill her duties and whilst telling the others what to do, her eyes met with the pale blue eyes of a boy who seemed to always have a knowing smile on his lips. Remus. His smiled widened when he noticed her looking at him and she smiled back. After the meeting was over people left, she enjoyed the silence in the room, relaxing after completing phase one of her new function with success.
She walked the way back in contemplative mode, without realizing where she was going until she was in front of it. A childish carving on the side said "Marauders only" and she chuckled. Her fingers traced the outlined words slowly and she thought about just how much the life of all the people within the castle walls had been affected by those four boys in the past seven years. Their unique ability to alter everything around them and imprint their mark on everyone they met. They were something. He was something. No one that ever met him could ever forget him. She longed to see him, talk to him and hear his husky voice but she didn't have the guts to open that door, mostly because she didn't really know what to do if she did open it. So she kept moving towards her own compartment feeling completely frustrated. But as she slid open yet another compartment door to find her friends, her sight fell on something unexpected.
A tall boy with the messiest darkest hair she'd ever seen was hugging her soon to be ex-best friend. She couldn't help it; her mouth was hanging open in shock and she kept blinking as if expecting to find a different scene from the one in front of her. She stood there shell-shocked as he distanced himself from Alice while muttering something indistinct that caused the brunette to chuckle. Lily could not form a reasonable sentence so she stood there gapping like a stunned goldfish until words tumbled out of her mouth.
"- What…I mean… Wh-Are yo…?" – She stuttered in what she found to be her worst attempt to play something off.
The twosome in front of her then turned to face the source of the incoherent gibberish sent their way and as they did so, her eyes kept traveling from one to the other undecided over how to act. Since she couldn't do what she wanted (ogle James shamelessly) she settled for staring at a fixed point past them in the window.
"- Lily… Are you alright?" – Came Alice's concerned voice.
"- Oh, she's fine… She's just jealous!" – He teased.
"- I am not!" – She replied a little too hastily; her voice straining slightly. And when she saw the amused looks on their faces it finally dawned on her that she had completely overreacted over an innocent friendly hug, and she searched for a way to stop him from having a field day with her reaction. "- You wish, Potter."
"- Someday, Evans." – He retorted moving dangerously closer; his eyes sparkled mischievously and she understood what he was doing.
"- Better grab a chair, Potter." – She teased him right back but her lips curled up just a tiny bit. She steadied her grip on the doorframe, trying to hide the effect his presence so close to her had on her balance. She focused on not looking inside the impenetrable maze that were his eyes, for she was sure if she did her breath and knees would falter her.
He leaned in a bit, his lips inches away from her ear, so near she could feel his warm breath and smell the scent of his soap. Pine trees and peppermint. And something else, something James. She closed her eyes slightly and felt him chuckle softly at her action, which drove her crazy in annoyance and excitement at the same time, typical.
"- Is this enough bantering for you, Lily?" – He whispered with that velvet husky tone, his voice so low that it sent shivers down her spine. She bit her lip and lifted an eyebrow at him.
"- For now." – She answered in the same low whisper, forgetting her best friend was even in the room, being proud of herself for being able to form a complete sentence, even if it wasn't the most articulate one.
He watered his lips at the close sight of her rosy ones, using all of his will power not crash his mouth into hers.
"- Ok, then." – He said stepping away from her and towards the door, his hands safely tucked in his jeans pockets. "- Bye, Alice." – He paused a little. "- Lily." – And he turned to leave just after the brunette replied, but just before sliding the door shut he turned back. "- Congratulations by the way. Knew you'd get it." – He told her, motioning for the badge pinned on her chest and smiling that lopsided grin of his she had been missing for so long, too long. And before she knew it, the door was shut; he was gone, and he didn't hear her say quietly "- Thank you, James."
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He sat with his friends and smiled the rest of the way back. He had seen something in her eyes today, something that allowed his hopes to get just a little bit higher. He closed his eyes for a moment and rested his head against the window remembering how it had felt to be so close to her, the proximity so intimate that he could count the small freckles in her delicate nose. He smiled and clicked his knuckles one by one, making them pop. She was just so beautiful, so unbelievably beautiful, and she didn't really know it. He had found it incredibly hard to leave her, but he knew he had to. She was softening up, opening a little hole in her armor and he wouldn't miss the opportunity over a rushed decision. He was going to make the best of it, he was going all the way.
"- What are you smiling about, mate?" - Peter's squeaky voice interrupted.
"- Just... The game's on, Wormie." - He said his eyes twinkling.
"- What game?"
"- The only one that matters." - James said and didn't explain any further, just went back to reliving his encounter with Lily.
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The beginning of term feast was the same as always, except this year she could not sit still for a single minute and she knew exactly why. She pretended to pay attention to what the headmaster was saying, clapped at appropriate times and smiled accurately. But her mind was lost somewhere else; running towards the boy seated three sits from her left. She felt her eyes straining towards him again but caught them in time and focused her gaze at the roast in front of her instead. He was even taller this year and he also seemed more toned. She noticed many girls looking him and his friends over and giggling, their conversation topic not hard to guess. For a second she hated them; their openness and availability seemed to be alluring qualities to most boys. But then she caught his eye and he gave her a shy, almost unnoticeable smile, one she had never seen him give before, and it all went away. In fact the entire world went away and to Lily Evans for a whole minute, there were only two people in the world – her and the bespectacled boy with the sweetest smile in the world.
When she went to bed that night she felt her jaw muscle hurt and realized it was because she had been smiling for the longest time. She kept thinking about their meeting on the train, his fresh scent, warm breath and hypnotizing eyes and that bloody sexy smirk. The way he had teased her had been so familiar and yet completely different: a perfectly calculated dose of flirtation inside each word. In fact, everything about their little encounter now seemed to say "Part 1", and she knew he knew it too, and now she actually thought about it she thought it all had been his plan exactly. Lord knew he was sneaky enough to pull it off. Either way she smiled; she couldn't wait for "Part II".