Rendezvous by the Lake
Disclaimer: JKR makes all of the money off of these characters. I just mess with her ideas…for free.
Summary: Sitting in front of the Hogwarts lake was an eleven-year-old redhead. James was immediately intrigued by her. Six years later, he was just as intrigued, if not more. The two of them spent quite some time by that lake. They fought, they laughed, they fell in love. This story takes you through their seven years of rendezvous by the lake.
Year Three
It was third year and James was curious.
He was perched in a tree by the lake wondering how long it would be before a certain redhead showed up.
He had overheard her tell her friends that she was planning to go study by the lake later. But that had been well over an hour ago and now he was beginning to worry that she had changed her mind.
It was cold and James considered going inside, but before he had the chance to move, he heard footsteps in the snow. Pulling his invisibility cloak tighter around him, he turned to see Lily Evans walking toward him.
"Stupid Potter and his stupid friends," he could hear her muttering.
James smirked. He wasn't quite sure what he had done this time, but he was sure he would find out about it soon enough. For now, he figured it was better to stay hidden.
He watched Lily sit down in the snow with her back up against the tree and open a book. She had stopped muttering by now and seemed completely absorbed in her book. Every now and then, she would shiver and pull her cloak tighter.
James continued to sit in the tree looking down at Lily. It was then that he wondered why he was there. He had simply heard that Lily would be there later and had gone off to see her. He did not know what he wanted to do, but he would have to think of something. After all, he could not just sit there until she was finished studying. It was common knowledge around the Gryffindor tower that Lily Evans could study for hours. Nor could he go back to the castle. He could not get down out of the tree without Lily seeing him. He was trapped.
He stood up on the branch and steadied himself by holding on to the trunk of the tree. This caused snow to fall from the tree and onto the book Lily was reading.
She looked up, but of course did not see anything because James had wisely donned his invisibility cloak. He pressed himself up against the tree to make sure she could not see up the cloak.
Lily shrugged and turned back to her book, lightly brushing the snow off of it.
James let out a sigh of relief and turned back to the task at hand. He had to get out of there without Lily seeing him.
He stepped from the branch he was currently on to one next to it. From there, he hoisted himself up to a higher one. There, he paused, straddling the branch to make sure Lily had not heard him. She had not, so he continued.
James stood up on the branch and stepped onto the next one. His foot slipped out from under him causing a good deal of snow to fall from the tree.
Lily's head snapped up. She slowly got to her feet and pulled her wand out. She began to circle the tree cautiously.
James quickly pressed himself against the tree again.
Again not seeing anything, Lily shrugged and went back to where she had been sitting.
Letting out a breath he had not noticed he had been holding in, James continued around to the back of the tree. Knowing he would not be able to climb down with his invisibility cloak still on, he removed it and stuffed it into his pocket.
Holding on to the branch where he was currently perched, he let himself drop to the ground. He then checked once again to make sure Lily had not heard him. He poked his head around the tree and saw that Lily was still reading peacefully.
James turned back around only to find himself mere inches away from a long white beard. It took all his self-control not to cry out in surprise.
"Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Out for a walk?"
"Erm, yes," James said meekly.
"Ah, Miss Evans," Dumbledore greeted, looking over James's shoulder.
James shut his eyes. He knew that Lily was right behind him and that it was only a matter of time before she put everything together and figured out that he had been watching her from the tree. She did not have top grades for nothing.
Smiling brightly, he turned around to face a very confused Lily Evans.
"Evans," he greeted.
"Potter," she said curtly. "Professor Dumbledore."
"What brings you two young Gryffindors out here on such a cold winter day?" Dumbledore asked.
"I was studying under that tree," Lily explained gesturing to the tree and her book.
"I was out for a walk," James said. "I have to keep in shape for Quidditch."
He smirked at Lily who rolled her eyes. He knew she thought he was arrogant, but he did not exactly help himself by acting like a prat every time she was around. He couldn't help it. That was just how he was.
"Well, I'd hate to see our top student and star Quidditch player fall behind in their respective areas of achievement because I kept them from improving."
There was a twinkle in the headmaster's eye that made James a bit uneasy.
Once Dumbledore was out of sight, James turned back to Lily.
"Well," he said. "I guess I'll be going. I promised Remus I'd meet him in the library."
"Oh no you don't." Lily grabbed his arm to prevent him from going anywhere.
"Why are you really out here?" she asked. "Don't give me any of that `out for a walk' nonsense," she said as he opened his mouth to repeat the lie he had just given Dumbledore.
"I know perfectly well that you weren't training for Quidditch," she continued. "I would have seen you if you had been."
"Lily, dear," he tried. Her eyes flashed dangerously. "Would I lie to you?"
"Yes," she muttered.
"Erm, do you think you could let go of my arm?" James asked timidly. "I can't feel my hand."
"Oh," Lily whispered, releasing his arm. "Sorry."
"That's quite alright," he replied, flashing her an award-winning grin.
She rolled her eyes and returned to her place under the tree. She opened her book and began to read once again.
"What are you studying, Evans?" James asked.
"Transfiguration," she said simply.
"Why?"
"Look, Potter," she snapped. "It's been great chatting with you, but if you don't mind, I'd really like to get back to studying."
"I like Transfiguration," James continued, completely ignoring her outburst.
Lily let out a strangled cry of frustration.
"I believe we've had this conversation once before," James said. "In first year. Back when we were friends."
"We were only friends for thirty minutes," Lily pointed out. "Then you pushed me in the lake."
James chuckled at the memory.
"Oh yeah," he said. "That was funny."
"Almost as funny as what you and your stupid friends did today?" she asked.
"That depends," James said. "What did we do today?"
Her brilliant green eyes flashed again and James unconsciously took a step backwards.
"You put hiccoughing powder in my pumpkin juice at breakfast," she growled. "I couldn't stop hiccoughing for over two hours. Do you know how uncomfortable that is?"
"I can imagine," he said with a grin.
"I can't believe you," she muttered.
"What makes you think I was behind that prank?" he asked.
"Because you're the only one who would do something like that to me."
James did not want to admit that she had a point, but he honestly had not done that, although he had a very good idea of who had.
"I swear it wasn't me," he said.
"Yeah right."
"No, really. I had nothing to do with it. I won't deny that it was my friends, but I can swear on my grandfather's grave that I was not involved in any way, shape, or form."
Lily eyed him suspiciously. James shifted slightly. Why was he so desperate to make her believe him?
"Why should I believe you?" she asked. "You've never given me reason to."
As if on cue, Sirius came running across the grounds.
"James!" he shouted. "You'll never guess what I did to Evans this morning."
He stopped short when he saw who James was talking to.
"Uh oh," he muttered, trying to turn away before Lily had time to punish him.
He was not quite fast enough.
"Sirius Black!" she shouted. "It was you who put the powder in my juice?"
Sirius fumbled for words.
"No," he finally said. "I'm quite sure I don't know what you're talking about, Evans."
"I'm sure you do," she growled dangerously. "You put hiccoughing powder in my juice at breakfast."
"Did it work?"
James flinched as Lily let out a strangled cry and began to chase after his friend, screaming every single curse and hex she had managed to learn.
James felt sorry for Sirius, he really did, but he knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of those curses. He knew that it was exactly what his friend needed at the moment. It would definitely teach him a lesson.
"James!" Sirius shouted.
"Potter can't help you now, Black," Lily cried, charming his shoelaces to tie themselves together. Sirius promptly tripped and fell on his face.
"No, Evans," he whimpered. "Please don't hurt me. I'll be good. Honestly, I will. I swear I won't ever direct another prank towards you."
"Too late, Black," she growled. "You should have thought about that in first year. You've pulled one practical joke too many and I think it's time you paid for it."
Sirius looked like he was going to fall down to his knees and beg for mercy. James figured he should intervene before his friend was either was murdered or made a fool out of himself.
"So, Black," Lily was saying. "How many pieces do you want to be in when I send you to the hospital wing?"
"One?" Sirius tried.
"I could," Lily mused. "But what would I do with the other pieces?"
Before James could make a move, someone disarmed Lily. It was not Sirius or James.
Looking around, James saw Remus standing nearby with Lily's wand in his hand.
"I couldn't let you hurt him, Lily," he said with a small smile.
"I'm muggle-born," she muttered. "I don't need magic."
James caught her as she attempted to lunge at Sirius who had curled up in a ball in the snow to protect himself.
"Whoa, Evans!" James laughed. "Calm down. You're very energetic today."
She muttered something incoherent.
"What would killing Sirius solve?" he asked.
"Everything," she murmured, piercing Sirius with her gaze.
"Now, now," Remus tutted. "What have we told you about that temper?"
Lily sighed, calming slightly.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I don't know what came over me."
James let go of her.
"Apologize to Sirius," he instructed.
She rolled her eyes and turned to where Sirius was standing, having just untied his shoes and gotten to his feet.
"I'm sorry, Black."
"I'm sorry, too, Evans."
"Now hug," Remus tried.
Lily shot him a disgusted look, but Sirius quickly scooped her up into a hug.
"Put me down!" she screamed.
When Sirius set her back down on her feet, Lily promptly lunged at him once again. This time, however, she was not intercepted and succeeded in knocking him to the ground. Straddling him, she raised a hand to hit him in the face.
Fortunately, James was quick. He managed to pull a struggling Lily off of his best friend.
"Let go of me, Potter," she cried, thrashing about in an attempt to escape his hold. "I know what I'm doing."
"Lily!" Remus cried over her shouts and curses.
Breathing hard, she calmed once again only to find herself seated in none other than James Potter's lap.
"Merlin, Evans," he laughed. "You curse like a sailor."
She blushed faintly.
"Will you please let me go?" she asked sweetly.
"Oh no," he replied. "I'm not making that mistake again. You're not going anywhere."
"But I can't move."
"Exactly."
Lily pouted for quite some time.
"So," Remus began. "Am I correct in assuming that she found out about the hiccoughing powder?"
Sirius nodded.
"I told you it was a bad idea," Remus continued matter-of-factly.
"Well if I had know she was going to react like that," Sirius whined. "I would have put it in Snape's drink like usual."
"Is that why she's so mad?"
"Yes," James replied.
"She just snapped," Sirius cried. "I've never been so afraid for my life."
The current situation was quite comical. Lily, James, and Sirius were all seated in the snow. Lily was in James's lap pouting and glaring at Sirius. Sirius was sitting a good distance off, staring wide-eyed at Lily as if afraid she might attack him again at any moment. James was struggling to keep a straight face while holding on tightly to Lily. Remus was standing above the other three, watching in case something else happens.
"Sirius," Remus said, breaking the silence. "I think we should go back to the castle so James can let Lily go."
Sirius nodded and scrambled to his feet, not taking his eyes off of Lily. The two of them said goodbye and left.
James did not let go of Lily's waist until he was sure his friends were safe inside the castle. When he did, she quickly hopped off of him.
"What's with you, Evans?" he asked. "We've pranked you Merlin knows how many times and you choose now to go psycho on us? You could have killed Sirius."
"That was my intention," she muttered.
He laughed.
"I'll never understand you," he said. "But I'd like to. I think I'll study you for a while and write a book called The Inner Workings of Lily Evans. It will be a best seller."
Lily snorted.
"Yeah right," she said. "Like I'd let you anywhere near me long enough for you to get to know me that well. And besides, you couldn't write a book. You refuse to do your Potions essays."
"You're right," he sighed. "I couldn't do it, but it was a good idea. Maybe I'll just research for my own pleasure."
"Maybe not."
"So, Evans," he said, pretending to be interviewing her. "Why do you get angry so easily? Sirius was only having some fun, and no one got hurt."
"He just pulled one too many pranks," she said simply.
"I see," he continued. "And when did you start to express your anger in such a violent way?"
"I used to beat my sister up all the time," she told him. "We never got along."
"You have a sister?"
"Yes," Lily sighed. "Unfortunately. She's a Muggle and she hates me for being a witch."
"That doesn't seem fair." James frowned. "How can she hate you just for being who you are?"
"I think its jealousy," she said. "Either that or she actually hates my guts. How would you feel if you had a sister who you thought was just like you, but one day you found out that she belongs in a world you didn't even know existed. Wouldn't you be a little confused and jealous?"
"I suppose," James muttered. "But it doesn't give her an excuse to be mean to you."
"And what gives you an excuse to do just that?"
James paused.
"Well," he began. "Your sister is mean just to make you feel bad about yourself. I'm not actually mean. I just tend to pull pranks at your expense. They aren't mean. You just don't think they're as funny as everyone else does."
Lily snorted.
"They're definitely mean," she said. "I don't think they're funny at all."
"So what if I swore to you that I would never pull another prank on you again?" James rushed.
She eyed him suspiciously.
"You wouldn't do that," she said slowly. "It's against your religion."
He grinned.
"It's not." He extended his hand to her. "I swear I'll leave you alone if you promise to try to get away from your books."
Lily eyed his hand warily.
"You're not lying?" she asked. "You'll keep your promise."
"I swear. Deal?"
"Deal."
They shook hands and finalized the deal.
"Now about your part of the bargain," James began. "You have to do something unexpected. Join the Quidditch team or kiss a Slytherin. No, never mind. That last one is too disgusting. Even you don't deserve that kind of torture."
He paused to think.
"Um, get drunk or talk back to a teacher. Dance in the middle of the Great Hall. Don't do your homework for once."
Lily scoffed.
"I don't want to do any of those things," she said.
"You have to do something," James reminded her. "Because otherwise, our deal is null and void."
"Oh, all right," she sighed. "I'll fall asleep in History of Magic or something."
"Uh oh," James laughed sarcastically. "That's dangerous, Evans. You sure you want to risk it?"
"Shove it." She hit him on the arm.
Suddenly, Lily became very cold. She was so cold she began to shiver. Looking down, she noticed that her sweater was beginning to unravel seemingly all by itself.
"Potter!" she yelped, trying to stop the unraveling. "What are you doing? You swore you would stop these stupid pranks!"
"It's not me," he cried, raising his hands in innocence. "When I make a promise, I keep it. However, I cannot be responsible for the actions of Sirius Black."
Lily growled and glared up at Sirius, who was sitting in a window, aiming his wand at her and waving cheekily.
Sensing danger, James quickly got up and made his way back to the Gryffindor Tower before it was too late.
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