Chapter 8-Realizations
It almost seemed as if James would have given up on Lily. She certainly thought that was the end. Yet, just as he had proven for the last six and a half years, James Potter was a persistent person. Lily caught him catching glimpses of her, smiling at her, generally looking in her direction.
Not one of her boyfriends had ever come back to her after a break up. Although she and James had never dated, he seemed unwilling to give up. It was still hard for her. James was a person who would want everything; he had waited so long. It would be horrible to just accept, date for a little bit, then dump him after all his continuing efforts.
So she sat, taking notes on the most boring of subjects, History of Magic. She looked over at her friends. Ruby and Vita were passing notes, Erin was braiding her own hair, and Leah was sleeping. Lily looked around. It seemed as though her friend was not the only one sleeping. Sirius Black was sleeping as well.
"Brutus," Professor Binns called, pointing his finger at Sirius. "Wake up! You too, Granola."
"Padfoot, wake up," James nudged his friend.
"Was he talking to me?" Sirius slurred, his eyes half open.
"Yes," Remus harshly whispered, embarrassed for his friend. Professor Binns looks quite angry. It seemed as though he had been neglected one time too many.
Ruby had stopped passing notes and was trying to wake Leah.
"Bower, sleeping in my class is unacceptable," Professor Binns lectured, his ghostly eyes narrowed in frustration.
"The name is Black. Say it with me, Sirius Black," Sirius commented.
"Whatever," the ghost brushed off. "You will never pass your NEWT's if you continually drone off in this class. What will you become without History of Magic, boy?"
"Minister?" Sirius offered.
"No!" Professor Binns shouted. "You'll become some sort of criminal with that attitude."
"Padfoot, a criminal. Nice one, Professor," Peter chuckled.
"This is no laughing matter," Professor Binns continued. "You too, Garnet. No more sleeping in my class. Classes are for learning."
"Could you try teaching something a little more stimulating then?" Leah asked, clearly frustrated from being woken up.
"That's what I'm talking about," Sirius agreed.
"Detention! Glue and Barns, you'll serve detention in the trophy room tonight at eight o'clock. No magic," Professor Binns wailed.
With a slight shake, he resumed teaching the class.
"That senile living dead," Leah grumbled. "I'll be there for hours doing those trophies."
"At least you have Sirius," Erin pointed out. "He serves detention almost every night. Trophy room should be a usual thing for him."
"Wow," Leah whispered. "I'm paired with a pro."
"That's not something to be proud of," Vita reminded her.
"When you have never done much Muggle housework in your life, it is!" Leah argued.
"Ladies!" Professor Binns yelled. "I am trying to teach."
"You keep trying," Leah muttered under her breath.
.X.
"Hey Evans!" James called, walking up beside Lily as she went to go sit outside.
"What do you want, Potter?" she asked. This was the first time that the two of them had spoken since their so-called 'incident'.
"Just to talk," he answered coolly. "Also, to inform you of a feeling I've been getting."
"What kind of feeling?" Lily questioned.
"That we'd end up together," he said.
"Oh," she answered, rolling her eyes. "That feeling."
"You don't feel it?" he asked her. "Should I recap the first time I felt this feeling?"
"It's not necessary," she informed him.
"There I was," he ignored her. "Standing in line, about to get sorted. My nerves were a mess, I know, hard to believe. The Sorting Hat was singing it's song. Sirius was dancing along to it. I remember this because I was thinking, 'Wow, he has no rhythm'. Anyways, as I was standing there, I saw that eye-catching hair of yours. Even at eleven, I knew you were something special. I felt a feeling that you were someone worth getting to know. Since then, I've just been drawn to you. It may have been the magic of the school, or even Sirius' dancing. I tend to think it was the hair."
"What a story," she replied, sitting down underneath a tree and laying out her homework.
She had the rest of the afternoon to finish, and then she had to return to classes. The sun was shining, the leaves turning their autumn color. Here she was, with James Potter, unable to concentrate on her homework. He was recalling the first moment he became infatuated with her and she actually had listened.
"Isn't it?" he admired. "That's one the grandkids will be hearing."
"Maybe your grandkids," Lily said. "Although, I'm not too sure your wife would like that."
"Oh, didn't I tell you?" he inquired. "Right after Hogwarts, you and I are going to get married and have dozens of little kids. They'll have your hair, your eyes, your intelligence, and my killer reflexes. Yes, only my reflexes will be passed on. Hopefully, those poor kids won't have this mop of hair."
"Fat chance of any of that happening," she said, still trying to read from a Potions textbook. It was odd that she couldn't block him out. Normally, when they went through such a routine, he would talk and flatter, and she would all out refuse to listen. Something was wrong. She wasn't in control anymore and she was actually hearing what James was saying.
"You wait, Lily," he predicted. "You'll succumb to my dreadful charm in no time."
Normally, this would have sounded arrogant to Lily. Yet, this time, she found it humorous. He wasn't gloating, he was just trying to act confidant in front of a girl. It was sort of cute, in a way.
"What charm?" she teased.
Oh no, was that me flirting? Was I actually returning a line to his dreadful attempts? Did he notice?, Lily thought to herself anxiously.
He noticed alright, but he seemed pleased about it. His eyes danced in a way that seemed to have recognition of what
was going on. He seemed to have figured out the reply to the question Lily had left unanswered the previous week. He
wasn't allowed to give up on her yet; not just yet anyways. There was still hope.
.X.
"You're not giving up?" Remus asked. "Even after what happened last week?"
"No, Moony. Today has proven to be something meaningful. I was talking to her today and she was actually taking in the words I was saying. Something in her tone, her eyes, her presence, it seemed to convince me that I wasn't supposed to be done with her yet. There was more to uncover, you know?" James explained, flopping onto his bed with a lovesick, happy look about him.
"No, Prongs," Sirius said apologetically. "I really don't. You're starting to scare me. Did she seduce him, remove his masculinity, and instill another language in his head?"
"Padfoot, he's in love," Remus deduced. "That's why he's acting like this."
"Love? You think love helped him go mental? I'm still thinking Evans did something. Those girls are conniving creatures," Sirius proposed, all while getting ready to leave for his detention.
"Hasn't stopped you from liking them," James snapped. "Speaking of, there is a new one. I'll figure out which one you like."
"You don't have the brains," Sirius topped.
"So there is a girl," Remus uncovered.
"You're very perceptive, Moony," James praised. "We'll get it out of him in good time. Three Marauders are better than one."
"Unless you're trying to fight the greatest Marauder of all," Sirius shot back, smiling at the humor in all of it.
"We all know I'm the greatest Marauder of all," Peter said, dramatically and utterly convinced it was the truth.
"Yes, Pete. You're absolutely right," Sirius said, sarcastically.
"Where would we be without the antics of the infamous Peter Pettigrew?" James questioned.
"The stealth, cunning, Wormtail," Remus provided.
"The thumb-sucking, mama's boy, lard of a human being, Pettigrew," Sirius mumbled.
"You forgot bed-wetter," James added.
.X.
Leah entered the trophy room at quarter after eight that night, breathing in the smell of wax. She saw Sirius, bending over the already gleaming trophies.
He looked up at her, hearing the footsteps she brought in, and smiled.
"We shouldn't have a hard time tonight," he explained. "I polished them just last week."
"They need to get some more original ideas for detentions," Leah mused.
"I agree," he said. "This gets a little boring after awhile. The thrill is gone."
She grabbed a washcloth and some polish and started scrubbing at the golden awards. She looked over and saw Sirius, his black hair swaying as he worked. His gray eyes were narrowed in concentration. He looked remarkably hardworking in such a light. She laughed to herself.
He looked up at her, confused.
"You look so different," she commented. "Normally, you're just plotting the next prank. When you're in here, you looked somewhat innocent."
"Wow," he contemplated. "No one's called me innocent before."
"I said you looked innocent," she said. "That means nothing as to how you actually are."
They returned working. He looked over at her, her strawberry blonde hair tied into a loose knot at the back of her head. Her amber eyes were fun and energetic. Detention seemed to have no effect on her free spirit whatsoever.
For that, he was in awe.
A/N: I personally like that chapter. I hope you all did too.