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 68: The Chase Begins
"Oy! Remus!" called out Sirius as he spotted his werewolf friend.
Remus looked across the crowded platform and located Sirius, who was waving him over. Next to Sirius stood James and Peter. As he approached his friends he saw Peter's parents bidding their son goodbye, his mum licking her fingers and smoothing down his hair, causing Peter to grimace. On the other end of the spectrum, James' mum was tousling his hair and laughing in surprise as her son reached over to return the gesture. Sirius eyed both of the mums warily, reaching a protective hand up toward his hair in hopes of avoiding any such gestures.
"Remus!" exclaimed Marianne, trying to smooth down her mussed hair. "It's good to see you again."
"Good to see you too, Mrs. Potter," replied Remus.
"Marianne," she corrected. Looking around, she asked, "Where are you parents? Haven't they come to see you off?"
"Erm…we said goodbye outside the barrier," lied Remus. The only goodbye he had gotten was a note scrawled by his mum that morning telling him to make sure he packed his lunar charts.
"Oh, that's too bad," said Marianne. "I was hoping I could meet them, since you're such good friends with James and Sirius."
Remus shrugged. Sensing his friend's unease surrounding the subject of his parents, James said, "We'd better get on the train. It'll be leaving soon."
"Okay, but not before I get my goodbye hugs," said Marianne. She hugged Sirius and when he wasn't paying attention reached up to upset his hair, causing an almost girl-like shriek to escape as he desperately tried to fix it.
Laughing, Marianne turned to James and gave her son a lengthy hug. Looking over his shoulder, she caught the glance of a familiar red-haired girl standing several feet away. The girl, noticing Marianne watching her, quickly turned her attention toward a first-year student, helping her onto the train.
Marianne squeezed James a little tighter as she whispered into his ear, "I see the 'love of your life' is here. How about we invite her over?" She stepped back and saw the confused gaze on James' face. When he saw the glint in his mum's eyes his look instantly turned from a confused to a worried one.
"Mum-" he started.
Before he could finish Marianne called out, "Lily!"
Lily turned around and saw Marianne waving her over. Glancing nervously around her, Lily took a deep breath and slowly made her way over to the group.
Marianne smiled and said, "It's Lily, right?"
Lily nodded and said, "Hello, Mrs. Potter."
"It's Marianne," she replied. Seeing James' red ears and severe expression, Marianne nudged him and said, "Well, James? Aren't you going to say hello?"
James, trying to ignore the mirthful expressions on his mates' faces, gave his mum one last steely glare before trying to throw on one of his casual grins. He slowly turned around, ready to act charming and nonchalant and said, "Hello, Ev…-ans…" James' voice caught as he saw the stunning redhead before him. 'Why, oh why, does she have to look even more beautiful?' he wondered to himself. Not only that, but he noticed that Lily Evans looked less like the 11 year old child he had had a crush on and more like…well, he certainly didn't want to dwell on those thoughts with his mum standing right behind him and Lily nervously avoiding his gaze.
"Hello, Potter," she replied, her voice hitching a little. There was an awkward moment of silence until Lily turned to the others and said, "Hi Remus, Sirius, Peter," to each of them in turn.
Sirius was trying to hold his breath in an attempt to avoid cackling loudly at the look on James' face. 'Poor bloke,' he thought. 'Marianne does have a knack for embarrassing him in public, though he's doing a spectacular job of panicking on his own…"
Remus poked Sirius in the side and said, "I think I see Alice over there."
Sirius looked across the platform and saw his girlfriend attempting to adjust the owl cage that had tried to teeter off her cart. Sirius was about to sneak off to greet her when he heard Marianne say, "Alice? That's your girlfriend, right Sirius?" Sirius inwardly cringed, knowing what she was about to say. Smiling, she said, "I'd like to meet this girl. Alice! Over here!" Alice looked up and Marianne shouted, "Your boyfriend's over here!"
Sirius, trying not to look at the vengeful smirk forming on James' face, watched as Alice blushed and pushed her cart through the crowd until she reached the group. She greeted Sirius with a hug and a chaste kiss on the cheek, fully aware of the several sets of eyes upon them.
"Hi Alice," said Lily, relieved at seeing one of her best friends.
"Lily!" Alice rushed over and hugged her. "Have you seen Marlene yet?"
"No, but I haven't checked the train yet. I suspect she's with her latest boyfriend," replied Lily.
Hearing the first warning whistle, Alice glanced at Sirius and whispered to Lily, "Do you mind terribly if we sit with the boys on the way? I only got to see Sirius once since summer started."
Lily glanced at the boys, feeling James' gaze burning into her. She turned to Alice and replied, "Actually, I'm supposed to sit up front with the prefects."
"That's right! I forgot you made prefect!" exclaimed Alice, giving Lily a congratulatory hug.
"Prefect?" said Marianne. "That's wonderful! Congratulations, Lily."
Blushing, Lily said, "Thanks, Mrs. Potter." Before Marianne could protest being called 'Mrs. Potter,' Lily turned to Remus and said, "We'd better get going or we'll be late for the meeting."
Remus followed Lily's rapidly retreating figure onto the train but before the boys could follow them they were swept up into another goodbye with the remaining parental figures. Peter boarded the train, trying to wipe away the lipstick smudges his mum had left on his cheek.
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"Seriously, if I didn't look like my dad I'd wonder if I was adopted," complained James to Sirius and Peter as the train sped toward Hogsmeade. "Did you see the way she embarrassed me?"
Sirius smirked and said, "Yeah, Prongs. I noticed. She was the one calling out at Alice on the platform at the top of her lungs. I'm surprised she didn't think to use the Sonorus charm. I must say, though, that I can definitely see the family resemblance between you and your mum."
"What?" exclaimed James. "What are you talking about?"
Suddenly, Peter dove across the compartment to catch a chocolate frog that was making a desperate attempt at escape. Sirius, seeing his favorite treat, snatched the runaway frog and took a big bite, giving Peter a chocolaty smile in triumph. "Sorry, Wormtail. You snooze, you lose." Turning back to James, he replied, "Prongs, your mum knew exactly what she was doing. She was just trying to get a reaction out of you, just like you do with our prank victims at school. Plus, in some weird maternal way she was probably trying to concoct a Potter scheme to help you out with Evans."
"That was helping out?" asked James disbelievingly.
"She was just doing what you do, trying to get her to notice you," Sirius pointed out.
James muttered something under his breath about overbearing mothers as the compartment door opened.
Alice walked in, having returned from the girls' loo where she had just changed into her school uniform. She sat next to Sirius, who scooted over to make room and placed an arm around her. "What did I miss?" she asked.
"Just talking about how James' mum was trying to help set him up with Evans," said Peter, who received a kick and a glare from James.
Alice laughed and said, "Don't bother, James. It's no big secret that you like her."
"Huh?" said James.
"It's rather obvious," said Alice.
Sirius suddenly smiled like a light bulb had turned on inside his head. He kissed Alice on the cheek and with his most convincing puppy dog eyes, suggested, "Alice…you're friends with Lily. What if you…you know, put in a good word for James, here?"
Alice smiled and pinched Sirius on the cheek. "Nice try, but Marlene and I already did that."
"McKinnon, too?" Sirius asked disbelievingly.
Alice laughed and said, "Yeah, Marlene. It's only you she can't stand, not James."
"What did Evans say when you talked to her about me?" asked James.
"She didn't say much. She avoided the subject and when Marlene and I pressed the issue she became rather irritated with us," said Alice. With an apologetic voice, she said, "I wouldn't get your hopes up too high, James. I'm sorry."
James sat there for several minutes in silence, his face unreadable. Then he shook his head and said, "I'm not a bad guy. I don't think I'm ugly - lots of girls have told me they think I'm cute. I'm good at Quidditch, I'm smart, and I'm funny."
"Humble too…" muttered Alice.
James continued. "I don't see what's so horrible about the idea of dating me."
"James," said Alice. "I don't think Lily is going to agree to date you."
James, his face flushed from frustration, said, "I just don't think she's paid enough attention to me. She doesn't know that I'm not a bad guy. If I can show her that I'm a good catch then I'm sure I can get her to change her mind."
"Well, that little panicking routine back on the platform really swept her off her feet, I'm sure," joked Sirius.
James sent his best mate an icy glare while he said, "I was unprepared for what my mum was planning. Next time, I'll be prepared. When I ask Evans out she'll be certain to say 'yes'." James' jaw was set in determination. He had tried the friendly pursuit of Lily, even asking her out once the previous winter. He had tried to forget about her by dating a few other girls, but something about Lily always kept drawing him back to her. He decided that it was because he had only given a half-hearted pursuit that he couldn't fully give up on her. If he pulled out all the stops, then she would realize he meant business and would gracefully fall into his arms.
Sirius, Alice, and Peter all exchanged a mixture of expressions - from amusement, to worry, and confusion.
The compartment door opened again and this time Remus poked his head in, smiling, his prefect badge shining brightly on his uniform. Sirius made a dramatic gasp and pointed an accusatory finger at him. "Aha!" he exclaimed. "The enemy has arrived!"
Remus rolled his eyes. Ever since he had passed the news on to his mates that he had achieved prefect status, Sirius had been giving him a hard time about becoming an authority figure.
"You're looking at this the wrong way," James said to Sirius.
Sirius smirked at James and said, "The bloke can take away points and give us detentions. How does that not make him the enemy?"
James smiled and, glancing at Remus, said, "Exactly. One of the Gryffindor prefects this year with that power is our mate. It helps to have friends in high places."
After a moment the realization of what James said reached Sirius and he gave a mischievous grin. "You're right! We can get away with so much this year!" Turning excitedly to Remus he asked, "Hey! Can you get a list of the passwords to each common room?"
Remus gazed amusedly at Sirius, thinking that if Sirius could at the moment, he would be wagging his tail. In a semi-serious tone he said, "You know, Sirius - for that comment I should deduct points from Gryffindor…" Sirius' grin dropped before Remus could add, "…but I won't."
Sirius snorted and confidently said, "Yep, we can get away with so much this year!"
Remus looked a little worried as Sirius and James exchanged glances that showed the wheels turning in their heads, full of prankish ideas to fill the upcoming year. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that."
There was a knock at the door and Remus opened it to reveal Lily. "Lily!" Alice exclaimed, glad to see another female presence after several hours alone with the boys. "Come join us!"
"I can't," said Lily. "Amos wanted me to patrol the corridors and warn everyone that we'll be arriving in about fifteen minutes." She was referring to Amos Diggory, a seventh year Hufflepuff and that year's new Head Boy. "That's one of the reasons I'm here. Remus, I'm supposed to tell you to go to the second car to assist the students and make sure everyone gets off the train."
"No problem, Lily," replied Remus.
Lily smiled at him and James stood up, deciding that now was as good a time as any to start his plan of wooing Lily. He ruffled up his hair a bit and cleared his throat, causing her to look toward him. James threw on his most convincing smile and winked at her. Seeing her blank expression, he decided that she possibly hadn't seen the first wink so he winked again.
"Potter," said Lily, "is there something in your eye?"
"Erm-" said James, confused as to why Lily hadn't understood his flirtatious clue.
Sirius, once again deciding to rush in and save James' dignity, lied, "James got hit with a conjunctivitis curse from Snivellus earlier."
Lily frowned and said, "I won't even ask what you did to him to cause him to hex you. I don't want to know." Turning to Alice, she said, "Save me a seat at the feast, will you?" Once Alice nodded, Lily left the compartment.
Four of the occupants turned to James with amused expressions. Remus finally spoke up, "That was rather…smooth, James." Sirius and Peter sniggered while Alice tried to politely hide her smile in Sirius' shoulder.
James sucked in a deep breath and sat down as casually as possible, trying to act as if he had been expecting Lily's reaction all along. "Gentlemen," he said, "and lady," he added, glancing at Alice, "the chase begins!"
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A/N: Fun turning point to write in this story. I just have to get from point A (now) to point B (the end of the year where James is an 'arrogant, bullying toerag'). What do you think so far?
Thanks to my latest reviewers: Anu, Hermione G. Potter, delpheena, Remus'sweetie, Alicia78, PottersPrincess, Mani12191, AshleyM, tigerfairy, Jo Bob, granger1191, and Golden Phoenix.
Next chapter: James gets a surprise.