A/N – Hey! Sorry for my late update, I've been very busy this week. But it's all over now, so faster updates! Thank you to my reviewers! Thank you to 'liz' and 'georgie' for the tips on how to improve. I hope the next few chapters are an improvement :). So, here's the sixth chapter!
Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, I would not be writing fan fictions about it, would I?
I was trying to push my feelings for James away, trying to convince myself that I'd just felt confused, and my feeling had not been because I had a crush on James. I'd been avoiding him all week successfully, but a little voice in the back of my head kept telling me that I'd have to speak to him sooner or later. I ignored it. And, to my surprise, it worked. Until Tuesday morning came and brought with it Potions class.
"Right, class, I'm going to be putting you into pairs today, so...Alice Prewett, Remus Lupin," Slughorn began. Alice screamed "Yessss!" and pounded a fist in the air, "Yes, Miss Prewett, indeed. Now, Marlene McKinnon, Sirius Black," Alice groaned, picking up her books and moving over to the seat next to Sirius, who was grinning slyly. I smiled at her sympathetically, turning back to Slughorn. "Emmeline Vance, Peter Pettigrew" I ended up being last, and I couldn't believe who was the only other person left. James. Just my luck. I moved over to his desk and ignored his questioning look, getting the ingredients and placing them on the desk. This was going to be awkward...
He didn't bring up the…'incident' until the end of the lesson. I presumed this was because everyone was too busy talking to listen in on our conversation. He suddenly looked up from the cauldron, which was currently holding what looked like a perfect batch of Dogbane potion.
"Lily, what are you thinking?"
"About what?" I asked, trying to look casual and distracted by the Advanced Potion Making textbook, which was very hard, considering it was one of the most boring books ever made.
"The kiss." I was amazed how calm he could be about such a subject.
"You mean the almost kiss." I corrected him, still looking at the textbook.
"Close enough. Now answer the question!" And I was about to answer it…when the bell rang. I packed up my books in a hurry, then picked up my bag and exited the classroom, shouting over my shoulder at him.
"Sorry, tell you later!"
Luckily, the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher did not put us into pairs, thank Merlin. In fact, everything was going perfectly well. And it continued to go well, at least on my part, for the rest of the day. But I got the impression James's wasn't too impressed by what happened at dinner that evening…
"Hey, Lily, can I ask you something?" Frank Longbottom asked, coming over to my table, where I was sitting with Remus, James, Sirius, who I was still ignoring, Peter, Marlene, Emmeline and Alice. Me and the girls all shared 'The Look'. It was something we did when we thought something was going to happen. Something to do with a boy. It was stupid really, but we'd been doing it since second year and now it was a habit. I turned to face him and smiled at him. He looked nervous.
"Sure. Go ahead." I prompted
"Um, can we go somewhere a bit more…private?" Sirius raised an eyebrow at him and grinned.
"Why Frank, what exactly are you planning to do with Lily here?" I shot daggers at him and the fellow Marauders, who were all trying to stifle a laugh as Frank's face reddened. All, I noticed, except James, who also glared at him.
"No, no, I didn't mean – " Frank stuttered
"Oh, relax, Frankie, it's all good. Just have her home by eleven," Sirius laughed, then looked at me, "Off you go." I frowned. His feelings for me had quickly diminished. Although I really couldn't care less what he did anymore. I shrugged it off, then stood up and followed Frank out of the Great Hall, into the Entrance Hall, which was deserted.
"So, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" I encouraged.
"Oh, yeah, I um…was wondering...well, Hogsmeade weekend is coming up, and I was just thinking…maybe you could…um…"
"Go with you?" I smiled.
"Yeah, that." He nodded eagerly, relieved.
"Sure. I'd love to go with you." I'd also love to go with James, I thought, although I pushed this thought to the back of my head with force. I had to get over this. It was pathetic. James, of all people, was not a person I would have those feelings for. Friends? Maybe. More than that? Definitely not.
"Great. I'll meet you here at nine?" He asked, his nervousness gone. I nodded, then walked back into the Great Hall with him.
"I'll see you later, Lils." He grinned, walking back over to his table. I grinned back, then walked back to mine. All the girls looked at me expectantly, and I just nodded. They all went into a fit of squeals, while the boys all looked utterly confused. I smiled. Frank Longbottom…not bad, Lily, not bad at all…
It took him two days to figure it out.
"So, I hear your going to Hogsmeade with Frank." He said, trying to sound as casual as possible, although I was sure I could detect a faint trace of jealously in his voice. It must just be my mind, playing tricks on me, I thought, shaking my head. We were back in Potions, and Slughorn had told us that the pairs we had worked in whilst making the Dogbane Potion, I noticed Sirius grimace at the memory of this, were now going to be permanent for the rest of the year. Just my luck.
"Yeah. It's going to be awesome." I smiled awkwardly, trying to come up with something to change the subject.
"Yeah." He mumbled.
"Who are you going with?"
"Me? Oh, I haven't got a date yet." I tried to ignore the way my stomach dropped when he said yet.
"Oh." I finished dumbly.
"I was thinking about asking this girl, but I don't think I should. What do you think I should do?"
"I think you should go for it anyway. It can never hurt to try." I tried not to get excited. He was talking about me! James Potter, who was a guy who could ask any girl in the school, wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me! Stop it, Lily, you're going with Frank.
"Ok, thanks. I will. In fact, I'll do it now." The excitement bubbled up inside me, despite my attempts to push it down.
"Hey, Alexis, will you go to Hogsmeade with me?" He yelled across the room. To my utter confusion, I felt my whole world collapse. It was then I realised that my crush on James Potter was bigger than I ever thought it was. A lot bigger.
A/N – Sorry if there are any mistakes in this chapter. I want to get it up now and I have to go out RIGHT NOW. So please point out any mistakes I've made, and I'll edit them out later. Thanks. As for reviews, let's go for…12. A nice, even number. So go review, and I'll update!