Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and events from J.K. Rowling's wonderful Harry Potter books. I am writing this for my own enjoyment and hopefully for the enjoyment of readers. Anything you recognize belongs to JKR. The rest belongs to me.
Chapter 60: Biting the Bullet
"Honestly, Padfoot! I think I can take care of my own trunk!" yelled James.
"Now, now Prongs! We can't have you lifting this heavy trunk. You might sprain one of your royal fingers or drop it on one of your royal toes," replied Sirius with a cheeky grin. Ever since James had told Sirius the news that he was the Heir of Gryffindor, Sirius had taken every opportunity to rib him about it.
James scowled at Sirius but as soon as Sirius turned to lift the trunk into the Hogwarts Express James smiled. 'Leave it to Sirius to lighten up the atmosphere,' he thought. When James had found out the news from Joseph he was in complete shock. He was quiet and brooding for several days before Sirius finally dragged the truth out of him.
When Sirius turned back to his friend, James' pretend scowl returned. "Ah, c'mon Prongs!" whined Sirius. "Lighten up! What are you so upset with me for anyway?"
James shook his head and said, "If you keep up these jokes then someone might overhear. Really, Padfoot - can't you keep a secret?"
Sirius' eyes widened as he exclaimed, "What are you talking about? It's just a little teasing and I know that nobody's overheard! I can, too, keep a secret. Need I remind you about Moony?"
James nodded but added, "Maybe so, but you didn't keep your mouth shut when you blabbed to my mum about Evans."
"What about me?"
James' heart stopped and plummeted into his stomach as he slowly turned around to see Lily standing there. 'No, no, no,' James thought. 'She did NOT just overhear us!' He glanced at Sirius, who was trying very hard to not look amused by the situation. Realizing that his face had quickly gone from pale to flushed over his inability to speak, James ran a hand through his hair and tried to cover his embarrassment with a grin. "Evans," he said, "alright, there?"
Lily's eyebrows rose as she watched him tousle his hair, making it stand in all directions. She turned to Sirius and asked, "What did you blab to his mum about me?"
Sirius chuckled as he saw James turn another shade of red and once again run a hand through his hair. He looked at Lily and replied, "James didn't want me to let his mum know how you topped him in Charms."
Lily studied Sirius for moment, knowing he was lying. She thought about pursuing the truth, but opted to leave the matter alone. "I see," she replied, before boarding the train and disappearing down the corridor.
James let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding and looked at Sirius, who had finally started howling in laughter. Giving Sirius a light smack on the back of his head, James exclaimed, "It's not funny!"
Sirius rubbed the spot where James had smacked him and smiled. "It IS funny! Here you are scolding me for my big mouth and it turns out YOU are the one with the big mouth." When James glared at him Sirius shrugged and said, "Hey! Don't blame me. I was the one who saved your royal butt just now."
James' expression softened and he said, "You're right, I'm sorry."
The boys climbed aboard the train and searched until they found an empty compartment. Once they had settled into their seats, Sirius asked, "So when are you gonna ask her out?"
"Who?" asked James.
Sirius rolled his eyes and said, "Evans!"
Before James could respond the door to their compartment opened as Peter and Remus entered. After exchanging greetings and chitchatting about their holiday, Sirius repeated the question.
"When are you gonna ask Evans out?"
Peter smiled and said, "You're gonna ask her out?"
"No," replied James. "Yes….maybe. I don't know. She isn't exactly friendly toward me."
"She doesn't turn around and run away from you anymore," said Sirius. "That's a good sign."
James smirked and said, "Yeah, she's gone from running away to ignoring my presence. That's a sure-fire sign that she wants to date me."
Remus finally spoke up. "Prongs, you should just ask her."
James was surprised. Out of the four of them, Remus was the closest to Lily since they often studied together. If Remus thought he should ask her out, then maybe he knew something James didn't. "You think she'll say yes?" asked James.
Remus shrugged. "Either you bite the bullet and ask her out or you'll always wonder about the missed possibilities. It's a yes-no question. If she says yes then you will get your chance with her. If she says no then you'll be no worse off than you are now."
"Yeah," agreed Sirius. "You need to ask her out or you'll drive yourself…and us…nuts mooning over her from a distance."
"There's a Hogsmeade weekend coming in a few weeks," said Peter. "You could ask if she wants to meet you for a drink."
"You'd better ask her soon or someone might beat you to it, like that White bloke did last fall," said Sirius.
"Alright, alright! I'll do it," replied James.
For a minute there was silence as James and the others sat there, staring at each other. Finally, Sirius said, "Well?"
"Well, what?" asked James.
Giving an exasperated sigh, Sirius said, "GO! Ask her!"
"Now?!" asked James, incredulously.
Laughing, Remus said, "Yeah, Prongs, now! There's no time like the present."
Peter nodded in agreement.
James took a deep breath, stood up and wiped his sweaty palms off on his pants. After he left the compartment, Remus asked Sirius, "Do you think he has a chance?"
Sirius smirked and said, "With Prongs I can't rule out the possibility, but probably not."
"Then why did we push him into asking her out?" asked Peter.
"Because if he doesn't then he'll never get over her, and he'll continue to drive us nuts. If she tells him no then maybe he'll realize it's time to move on," said Sirius.
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Lily was sitting in a compartment with Alice and Marlene, reading a book. Actually, she was staring at the pages more than reading them. Her thoughts were on the return to Hogwarts. She had mixed feelings about her return to the school. Her visit home had caused her to revisit some old ghosts that she thought she had buried during the past few years. She was filled with self doubt about her abilities despite being among the top students of her year.
Lily's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the compartment door. Shortly thereafter, the door opened and James stepped inside. He looked at Lily and in an awkward shy tone asked, "Can I speak with you for a moment?"
Lily looked at Alice and Marlene and back to James. "Er…yeah, I guess."
After a moment James added, "Alone?" He nodded toward the corridor.
Lily stood and exited through the door which James had opened for her. After she left, Alice asked Marlene, "Do you think he has a chance?"
Marlene smirked and said, "The way she usually acts toward him, probably not. Strange, though. I don't know why she's so against him."
Alice's eyes widened as she said, "I thought you didn't like James."
"He can act like a prat sometimes, usually when he's around Black, but for the most part he's a pretty decent guy," replied Marlene. "Besides, I think he really likes her," she added.
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After they entered the corridor, James dawdled as a group of second year students strolled by. When they had passed out of earshot, Lily asked, "What is it you wanted to say, Potter?"
James looked at Lily, who had her deep red hair tied back, with a few strands falling loose and brushing the fair skin of her cheeks. He nervously ran a hand through his hair, summoning up his courage. "Well…erm, there's a Hogsmeade weekend coming up, and…you, that is I…what I mean to say is- do you want to meet me for a drink?"
As the words hung in the air, James watched Lily, waiting for a response. Surprisingly, he saw a look of pure shock on her face, and something else - something he couldn't quite put a finger on. He had expected one of two reactions: 1) anger or 2) happiness - not what he was seeing on her face.
A few fifth year Ravenclaws had entered their section of the train however they remained at the other end of the car.
"Evans?" prodded James.
Lily gulped and replied, "I can't."
James hopeful expression dissipated and he said, "Oh. Okay."
Lily nodded and turned around to return to her compartment. Before she could open the door James said, "Hey, Evans?"
Lily slowly turned back around and said, "Hmm?" She watched in amazement as he once again ruffled his hair. 'No wonder it's never neat,' she thought.
"I wanted to ask you…why won't you go with me to Hogsmeade?" he asked.
Lily's gaze dropped to the floor and after a moment she replied, "I'm already going with someone."
"Oh," James said, again. Before he could help himself he asked, "Who?"
Lily took a deep breath as she glanced at the Ravenclaws, who were still congregated at the opposite end of their car. Turning back to James and seeing his expectant expression, she stuttered out, "G-Gilderoy…Gilderoy Lockhart."
James let out a disbelieving laugh as he said, "What?! You're not serious!" When he saw Lily nod, he shook his head and said, "Lockhart! You're going on a date with Lockhart?"
"Did somebody call my name?"
James turned around and saw Lockhart standing behind him smiling, his teeth as white as ever. Lockhart looked past James at Lily, and gave her a wink. When James glanced down the corridor, he saw a group of Ravenclaw girls who looked disappointed that Lockhart had turned his attention to Lily.
"My ears were burning. What adventure of mine have you been discussing?" asked Lockhart.
Lily smiled and said, "Actually, Gilderoy, I was just telling James about our plan to meet in Hogsmeade in a few weeks."
Gilderoy's smile widened and he chuckled, replying, "Of course! I can't wait to tell you of my latest trip to Germany over the holiday. I came across a pack of giants, all of them at least 20 feet tall-"
"Gilderoy!" interrupted Lily. "You wouldn't want to spoil the story by telling me now, would you?"
James watched, dumbfounded, as Lockhart nodded and grabbed Lily's hand, giving the back of it a kiss. James' hand started to find its way toward the handle of his wand, however before he could do anything, Lockhart had turned and walked back to the group of girls.
He looked back at Lily, not realizing his jaw was hanging in shock at the situation. "I can't believe it," he muttered.
Lily glanced at him nervously before disappearing into her compartment.
James soon found himself inside his own compartment, not really remembering how he got there. As he slumped down onto his seat the other Marauders exchanged knowing looks.
"Didn't go well?" asked Remus.
"Not at all," James glumly replied.
"Sorry, mate," said Sirius.
"I can't believe she said no to you," added Peter.
James shook his head and said, "Well…she didn't exactly say no. She's already going with someone."
"Who?" asked Sirius.
James looked Sirius in the eye and replied, "Lockhart."
Sirius snorted and asked again, "Who?"
James continued to look Sirius in the eye, his expression dead serious.
Sirius' eyes widened in surprise and confusion. "Bloody hell! Is she under the imperious curse or something? What possessed her to go out with that idiot?"
James shrugged and lowered his head in defeat.
Remus spoke up, saying, "It's time to move on, Prongs. I know you really like her, but you can't keep moping around. You should at least try to ask someone else out."
Sirius nodded. "You need to broaden your horizons, Prongs. I can think of a few girls who would say yes if you asked them out."
"Hmmm, maybe," James said. He didn't really want to think about any other girls at the moment, but maybe Remus and Sirius had a point. He decided he would ponder the idea of asking someone else out at another time. For the time being, he wanted to sulk.
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Lily sat down in her compartment and leaned over, rubbing her face with her hands. Had she really just made a date with Gilderoy Lockhart, she wondered. When James had asked her out, she was floored. She had the notion that he still liked her, but she thought she had discouraged him from approaching her to ask her out.
Seeing his hopeful face, she couldn't bring herself to say yes. She told him that she couldn't and tried to make a graceful exit, but he had decided to pursue the matter and ask why. The first thing that popped into her head was that she already had a date. When she saw Gilderoy down the corridor she knew she could use him - he was the perfect patsy. If she said they were going to meet in Hogsmeade, then she figured he would automatically act as if it had been his idea all along.
"Lily!"
Lily looked up and saw Alice and Marlene staring at her incredulously.
"You don't think you can actually sit there and not tell us what Potter talked to you about, do you?" asked Marlene.
Lily fidgeted as she saw the expectant expressions of her friends. Taking a deep breath, she explained how James had asked her on a date to Hogsmeade, and how she turned him down. Then she muttered out the last part about Gilderoy.
"YOU WHAT?!!!" shouted Marlene.
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A/N: Okay, so was I overreacting, or do you want to kill me? Just remember - if you kill me now, you'll never see how Lily and James eventually get together.
So after reading this chapter are you angry? Confused? Slightly nauseated? If you answered 'yes' to any of those questions then my job here is done. *evil snicker*
Thanks to my latest reviewers: mystical cah, hpfreak, Anu, Nyscat, Golden Phoenix, delpheena, Alicia, A New Reader, ilyse, AshleyM, Mani12191, granger1191, sista7, Scoudouc, and Jo Bob.
Next chapter: Another day in Hogsmeade.