Just That Simple
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Of course it had to be him who sent the note.
Lily Evans sighed as she stood in the entrance of The Three Broomsticks calculating the odds of leaving without having him notice. She pinched the bridge of her nose when she felt the familiar eyes on her. Too late. Running a hand through her thick red hair she reluctantly made her way towards the person who had requested her company. Surprisingly, he wasn't surrounded by his usual group of friends. Her green eyes narrowed when his hand immediately shot up and ruffled his hair. Ugh.
What was she thinking when she found that note?
[Meet me at noon in The Three Broomsticks this weekend.]
Note to self. She thought as she cautiously sat down across from him. Ignore any unsigned notes.
"I wasn't sure if you would actually show up." He admitted. Tilting his head, a grin formed on his lips. "I'm glad you did though."
Well if you found a note on your table that told you to meet someone there, what would you do? Lily thought sardonically. Then she realized how irrational it was that she came here in the first place. What if the note had been some sort of trap set by someone who wanted to kill her? She was a muggle born for crying out loud! There had to be thousands of witches and wizards who wanted to see her dead. Avoiding these types of meetings was one of the first things her parents taught her as a child. Just because she was a witch didn't mean that she was immune to this type of danger.
Merlin, how did she become Head Girl when she was so careless?
He cleared his throat and brought her out of her thoughts. "Evans, you really shouldn't let your mind wander when someone's speaking to you."
Great, leave it to him to make her realize yet another flaw about herself.
She rolled her eyes. "Where was this side of you in school, Potter? Things just go in one ear and out the other with you."
"I'm deeply hurt by your accusation." He stated with his hand on his chest. "I pay loads of attention in school."
"Let me reword that. Things that aren't about quidditch and pranks go in one ear and out the other with you."
He beamed. "Well, close enough."
James Potter, star Chaser in the Gryffindor Quidditch team, a member of the infamous Marauders, and one of the most sought after guys at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the flesh. To add to the list, a now reformed gentleman (and she uses that term loosely) and recently made, Head Boy. The fact that he was a very rich pureblood didn't hurt his reputation at all either.
Although Lily had to admit that he had changed since she exploded at him by the lake during their fifth year, she was still sketchy about his sudden self-reform. No longer did he hex people walking down the halls or boast (for the most part anyway) about how he and his fellow Marauders owned the school.
As a matter of fact, he turned out to be a pretty intelligent person which surprised Lily very much. She never knew that there was actually a functioning brain in his head until recently when she demanded to know why he had been made Head Boy at the beginning of the year. Lily smiled slightly at the memory of her demanding to see Headmaster Dumbledore, convinced that there had been a mistake.
= = = = =
"There has been no mistake. Mr. Potter is the new Head Boy." Dumbledore said pleasantly. The Headmaster watched as James leaned over to whisper "I told you so!" to the shell shocked girl.
"But Headmaster!" She protested. "He's one of the Marauders, the biggest group of troublemakers that Hogwarts has ever seen!"
"You say it like that's a bad thing." James said amused.
"How can you make him a role model for the students? He's spent nearly all of his time here in detention! Black and him have broken the record for most times landed in detention in a month!"
"It was actually a week…" He trailed off when Lily whirled around and fixed him with a glare. "Do you mind?!" she hissed, green eyes flashing dangerously. James held his hand up and preceded to gaudily motion his silence, all the while infuriated her even more.
Dumbledore smiled knowingly and managed to conceal it as Lily turned back at him.
"While that may be true Miss Evans, Mr. Potter is also one of the brightest students I've come across in a long time."
James replied. "Thank you sir."
"Since when?!" she demanded. How could this slacker be one of the best students in her year?
The headmaster shuffled through a pile of parchments on his desk. After a minute of searching, he finally pulled one out and handed it Lily. She took it and scanned the contents, her eyes wide. She slowly turned around and gave James a disbelieving look.
Confused, he asked. "What happened?"
"You received eleven O.W.L.'s in the fifth year?"
"Of course," He stated like it was common knowledge. "I do know my materials Evans, contrary to your belief. I just failed Divination since I don't have the 'third eye' or whatever rubbish they told me." His hand shot up to ruffle the back of his head and grinned. Lily turned her attention back to the parchment in her hand to confirm the dreadful news.
Merlin, he did better than me! In every single subject, he had received an O except for Divination. Even in Charms, one of his weakest subjects, he managed to scrape one in. Numbly, she handed it back to Dumbledore, failing to see the mirth in his twinkling eyes.
"Are you satisfied with my reasons now Miss Evans?"
She nodded meekly and James grinned wider behind her.
"If you two would excuse me now, I have some things that I need to take care of." The Headmaster rose and both students nodded and made their way out the door. Just when James was about to step out after Lily, he heard Dumbledore call his name. Turning around, a pair of warm blue eyes greeted him.
"Mr. Potter, do try not to give Miss Evans too hard of a time this year." He said knowingly and James couldn't help but grin back.
"Why Headmaster," he replied innocently. "Where ever would you get that idea?"
= = = = =
Lily had spent the rest of the day nursing her pride while James continued to seek her out. Apparently, he was still hell bent on getting her to date him. Naturally, she did what every level headed girl would do in her position.
She hexed him so bad he was in the Hospital Wing for a week.
…Well not really. It would've been bad if the Head Girl did something like that at the beginning of the year. Lily had to settle for telling him off on the staircase in front of a few Slytherins and Ravenclaws. James left her alone after that humiliating episode and for a while, she was sure that he had finally gotten the message. Unfortunately, old habits die hard and he was back to pestering her again by the end of the week.
A waitress suddenly appeared and placed two butterbeers in front of them, startling Lily out of her thoughts. James thanked her and when he saw Lily's confused expression, he grinned. "Well I figured that zoning out on me must be a dehydrating activity so I decided to get us something to drink, my treat of course."
She nodded, slightly surprised. "I see." He was definitely getting better as the days passed though. She took a sip in hopes of hiding the smile that played on her lips. Glancing up to see James grinning foolishly at her, she knew that he'd seen it. Prat.
Lily lowered her glass and closed her eyes for a moment to push her memories aside for the time being. When she opened them again, she was slightly startled to be staring into his brown eyes.
It wasn't the fact he was looking at her without her knowledge that surprised her. No, she had gotten used to it over the years - when she felt like something was burning a hole in her back, most of the time it had been him. There had been the occasional 'accidents' where the back of her robes literally did catch on fire though, but it stopped completely when James found out who did it.
Malfoy had been in the Hospital Wing for weeks.
This time however, his eyes were serious, pensive almost. There was no trace of humor or mischief at all. He was staring at her so intently that it made her very self conscious.
"I-It's rude to stare y'know…" Lily stuttered out and to her horror, she felt a bit of heat rise to her face. Must be the butterbeers. Apparently James thought otherwise and once again, the lopsided grin made yet another appearance. "Sorry. I was just wondering what you were thinking of."
"Well I was wondering why you asked to meet me here." She replied curtly, grateful that her steady voice had returned. Her eyes narrowed a bit as he shrugged and ran his hand through his hair again - what a horrible habit.
"I just wanted some company. Sirius landed in detention again and the others stayed back to take care of something and I figured that the next best thing was if you came."
Lily blinked. Wait, did he just trick me out on a date?!
"No, this isn't a date." He said as if reading her mind. Then he added mischievously, covering her hand with his. "But if you want it to be, I don't have a problem with it."
"Don't fool yourself." She pulled her hand away quickly. "Why didn't you get a real date then?"
He pulled his hand back and took a sip from his glass. "Didn't feel like it." Lily raised an eyebrow but didn't press further. That seemed to be his answer an awful lot lately. Whenever someone would gather enough courage to ask him why his love life had been somewhat dead, the answer was always, "I don't feel like dating now."
She couldn't complain though. Ever since he stopped dating every girl in their year, excluding herself of course, he had also stopped badgering her to go out with him. He still asked once in a while, but he wasn't as persistent as before so they began to build a friendship tentatively. But that didn't mean that she trusted him at all - far from it actually. They could merely hold a decent conversation on their best days together.
"Am I supposed to spend my entire day with you?"
"You act like you might die if you did." He said sarcastically.
Before she could stop herself, the words fell out of her mouth. "It's a risk I'd rather not chance." Guilt washed over her almost instantly when his head snapped to the side - as if she had slapped him - to hide the hurt expression on his face.
Did she have to be like this? James thought, clenching his fists underneath the table. Sure he'd been a git in the past but he had changed for her.
Over the summer, his parents had questioned if he was truly their son when he started his summer assignments in July. Sirius nearly had to be admitted into St. Mungo's from shock ("My friend has betrayed me!"). It hadn't been easy to say the least. His relatives - what was left of them anyway - dropped by just to tease him about how he was finally growing up and how "this Evans girl" was surely the cause of this. His father especially had been quite unbearable.
"So, when are we going to meet this Lily Evans?" He teased. "I'd like for her to share some of her secrets on how to get you to behave." A lot of the time he went to bed early in frustration. When it came time to return to Hogwarts, James was sure to show his new self to her. He barely got a response back, certainly not the one that he wanted. Having the girl you've been sweet on for years accuse you of being possessed isn't a very nice feeling after months of self re-evaluation.
Why couldn't she just give him a chance? He'd never done anything to her, which really was something if you think about it, and she would always turn him down without hesitation. If only he wasn't in love with her, those "Not in a million years!" or "Leave me alone!" wouldn't have engraved themselves in his chest so much. But he was and even though he endured rejection upon rejection with a shrug, even if his heart had sustained enough damage to leave him crying bitterly to sleep almost nightly over his unrequited affections, James never gave up hope.
He had stopped dating altogether since he knew that everyone else paled in comparison to Lily. It was just a reminder of what his life would be like, would become, if Lily walked out of his life after they graduated. He couldn't bear the idea of spending his life with another witch. He'd rather die than live without her…but it was painfully obvious that it was the exact opposite with her.
James knew that he was losing this battle. Lily Evans was too good for him. She knew it, he knew it, hell even his friends knew it. And as much as he hated it, Lily would end up with some lucky bloke and he would be nothing more that the-boy-who-annoyed-her-at-school to her.
Even so, he was determined to have at least one memory of just the two of them so that she would at least be able to look back and know that he was a decent guy - just one memory to comfort him that he was in her grace for a moment in time.
That was the real reason he wrote her that note. But as usual, everything ended before it began. Not even ten minutes in and she's already admitted that being around him might actually cause her to keel over. James winced and shook off the urge to grasp his heart - no doubt it was breaking again.
"Look, I promise not to make a move on you if you would just…just be pleasant today." He watched her carefully and when she didn't answer, he sighed and ran his hand through his hair for perhaps the tenth time that hour. "Forget it…this was a bad idea. Sorry for dragging you out here." James stood up to leave with every intention to drown himself in a bottle of firewhiskey he had stashed under his bed for such occasions, when he felt a slight pressure on his arm that held him back. He turned to see Lily looking at him with apologetic eyes.
"Sorry, please stay." Lily said quietly. James hesitated, but sighed and slowly sat back down. He could never deny her anything. He smiled though, despite his initial bitterness. After all, she had stopped him from leaving. That had to be a good sign right? Good mood temporarily restored, James was determined to show her the side of him that she always turned a blind eye on.
Meanwhile, Lily couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes. She was ashamed of how she was acting. Somehow, he always managed to bring out the worst in her and it really wasn't fair to him at all. He hadn't done anything to merit her spite - recently anyway. What was worst was that he had been nothing but nice to her yet she still kept believing the worst in him. He was always there to make her smile when she felt a bit down and Merlin knew he did just about anything to get a laugh out of her.
When did she become such a cruel person?
Shaking her head slightly, she looked at him and decided to try and make an attempt to be nicer to him. "So, er- what were you planning to do today?" She cringed at how terribly awkward she sounded.
He raised an eyebrow at her. "Is Lily Evans actually nervous?" He teased. "Floo the Daily Prophet, I've got breaking news!" Lily rolled her eyes and promptly kicked him under the table, satisfied when she saw him wince. Wait, wasn't she supposed to be nice to him?
Well, I did say 'try'. She thought. "Answer the question Potter."
"Aren't we violent today?" Receiving a glare, he held up his hands in defense. "Nothing special really, just to a walk around Hogsmeade."
"You really have nothing special planned?" Surprise laced in her voice.
He allowed himself to smirk a little. "You sound disappointed Evans." Lily rolled her eyes. "Honestly Potter, you need to stop thinking so highly of yourself. If you really have nothing planned, then I might as well stock up on a few things."
James drained his cup and slammed it down, startling her. "Ready when you are."
"Slow down, I'm not even half-way done with my own!" Lily admonished, taking a slow sip from her cup out of spite. Honestly! She thought. Feeling his eyes on her yet again, she was ready to tell him to cut it out when her ears perked at the sound of her name. Apparently, they weren't the only Hogwarts students enjoying a drink today.
"That can't be them! She'd never willingly have drinks with him." One girl exclaimed.
"Exactly, Lily Evans would never be seen with James Potter in public, much less a Hogsmeade weekend!" Another piped in.
"I'm telling you that it's her!" A third voice insisted. "Who else do you know has hair that shade of red?" Lily blushed at that, subconsciously reaching up to smooth her hair back.
"Now who's the one with the hair habit?" James teased. Snapping her hand back down, she glared at him, embarrassed. "Shut it Potter!" The gasps made her glance back at a group of girls sitting a few tables away from her own. James' admirers no doubt. She thought, surprisingly irritated.
"That is her! I told you so!"
"But what is she doing sitting with James? I thought she hated him!"
"I knew she liked him all along! She was just hiding behind her so called 'hate'. She's so transparent." The girls all nodded in agreement.
Then a girl Lily recognized as a seventh year Ravenclaw flipped her hair back and glanced coolly in her direction. "Personally, I don't see what the big deal is with her anyway. She's not even that pretty. Red hair, green eyes, how Irish of her."
"Miranda!" A girl admonished next to her, though by the way she tried to smother her giggles, Lily knew that she agreed with her.
Lily felt her face burn with anger and embarrassment. James, who had been staring at her with quite a smitten look on his face felt his heart tug at how utterly adorable she looked when she blushed. Sensing that something was amiss however, he frowned as the giggles drifted to his ears.
"Don't Miranda me," The Ravenclaw replied. "It's true and you know it. James could do so much better. I feel sorry for her really. She only has Head Girl going for her, and everyone knows that James will get bored of her and move on. She'll be another has-been in another week or so, mark my words."
Maybe we should consider targeting Ravenclaws too. James mused, gripping his wand tightly. He saw Lily bow her head down and lifted her chin up with his hand. He was startled to see her blink back her tears. He was even more startled when she spoke.
"I'm sure that Ravenclaw would've been happy to go keep you company today." Lily said bitterly.
"Evans-"
"I'm done, let's go." She abruptly got to her feet and nearly stormed out had he not grabbed her arm and spun her around. "You're not actually listening to those girls are you?" He said firmly. "I thought you were better than that - letting them get the best of you."
Wrenching out of his grip, Lily shouted, "Just who do you think you are? I don't care what you think of me! And for your information, those girls would never get the best of me even if I'm at my worst!"
"Right, and that's so obvious since you're two seconds away from crying."
"I'm not crying!" She was beside herself with anger now, especially since a few drops slid down her face without her permission. "Not all tears are of sadness Potter! I'm just really mad!" Then James did something that made her falter. He smiled.
"Good." He replied proudly. "Because you have nothing to worry about. You've got a lot more going for you than Miranda ever will." He reached up and gently wiped her tears away. Lily was so surprised that she forgot to move away from his touch. Beaming now, James said in a purposefully louder voice, looking past her. "And I happen to think you're beautiful. Anybody who says otherwise is just jealous." At those words, Miranda's face burned with embarrassment as James' eyes landed on her coldly.
By now, Lily regained enough of her wits to step away from his touch and did as such only to realize that quite a few heads had turned their way - including Miranda and her girls. She saw the way they shook under James' daunting stare and she felt her anger return with a vengeance.
"I don't need you to stand up for me Potter. Save your empty words for them." She snapped and stormed out after sending the girls a scathing glare of her own. She wasn't surprised to hear the door bang open a few seconds after she had left, nor was she surprised at James calling out her name. What did surprise her was how he had managed to end up in front of her, effectively stopping her in her tracks.
He was a lot faster than she gave him credit for.
"Get out of my way." She said angrily.
He didn't budge and asked, "Why are you mad at me?"
"I don't need to explain myself to you! Go back and spend the rest of your time with those girls, see if I care!" Lily knew that she was making a scene in the middle of the streets now but she could care less. She was too angry to pay them any mind. Angry at Miranda for snubbing her, at James for defending her when no one asked him to, but mostly at herself for getting so riled up. For while it was true that those girls didn't get the best of her, that didn't mean that they didn't get to her.
It bothered Lily to no end how easily they got a reaction out of her. And since James was just so adamant about pestering her, she would take it out on him. "Go on, everybody knows that you're going to grow tired of me anyway. Leave already!"
James grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to meet his eyes. "I'm not leaving you." Lily was so struck by the panic she saw in his eyes, her anger receded. "But those girls-"
"Why would you even listen to them? They don't even know me!" And that was the problem. "I don't know you either." She said looking away.
James sighed. This was definitely not how he wanted to begin their outing. Gently, he guided her face back towards him and smiled impishly. "What do you say we fix that by spending some quality time together?" Lily snorted and slapped his hand away. Contrary to her actions though, she smiled slightly. "Think again Potter. Why would I ever want to get to know you?"
Sighing dramatically, he replied knowingly with a sparkle in his eyes. "So that you'd realize you're hopelessly in love with me and fall into my arms the second you do. It would make it getting hitched a lot easier." Lily scoffed and shoved past him. "I think you've been hit by one too many bludgers at practice. That's never going to happen."
"Never say never." James said in a sing song voice, even though she was too far ahead to hear him. He mentally patted himself on the back for cheering Lily up. Now if only I could get her to do that 'falling in love' bit...
Lily paused and looked back to see him still standing where she left him with that grin on his face. "Idiot," She muttered under her breath. A bit louder, she called, "Are you coming or not? I have supplies to restock on!"
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Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling in association with Scholastic Books, Warner Bros, etc.