Disclaimer: If the characters and places exist in the Harry Potter series, they’re not mine. If you’ve heard of them only from previous chapters, they’re mine. If some events happen that you’re not sure are written down in one of the Harry Potter books, I can assure you, this isn’t a prequel, only Jo Rowling can write one of those. Nonetheless, I hope you find the story entertaining.
“What was that all about?” Alena asked the minute the four were outside.
“What was what all about?” Lily asked in return.
“You know,” said Elisha, “the whole you-and-Sirius thing.”
“What thing? What about me and Sirius?”
Janice sighed in exasperation. “You realize that all of the seventh-years in Gryffindor House now think that you and Sirius are going out, right?”
“We’re not going out!” Lily exclaimed. “I was just dancing with him for a class!”
“But you didn’t hear the music go off,” Elisha pointed out.
“We were enjoying a normal, friendly conversation!” Lily countered. “We weren’t paying attention to the music!”
“Say what you might, Lily, but soon the entire school is going to think that you and Sirius are dating,” said Alena, and the other two nodded their heads in agreement.
Lily attempted to change the subject. “Look, let’s not talk about this. It’s a beautiful day outside, let’s enjoy it.”
Realizing that Lily wasn’t going to change her mind, the other three girls agreed. The sun was shining brightly, but there were just enough clouds to cover it without hiding all the light blue. There were little sparkles on the lake from the sun’s rays, and flowers were blooming in the soft, green grass.
The foursome made their way toward a small tree by the lake’s edge, and, when they were seated, looked around the grounds for something interesting. Alena soon spotted the Marauders walking along a little ways away.
“There are the boys!” Alena exclaimed. “Should we ask them to come over?”
“I’m not sure, Alena,” said Janice. “As much as I want to see Sirius and them, they look like they’re in the middle of an argument.”
“Let’s see what they’re up to,” suggested Lily, and flicked her wand casually in their direction and muttered, “Evsdrona.” Her friends followed suit.
“”talking about, Prongs!” Sirius was saying, and James looked furious.
“You know very well what I’m talking about!” shouted James. “Why, Padfoot? Why are you going out with Lily?”
“I’m not going out with Lily, James, despite what you think!” argued Sirius. “We’re just friends having a decent conversation!”
“Urghh! I don’t want to hear this!” James paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and faced his best friend. “You have no idea how much I care for Lily. I’ve liked her since the moment I laid eyes on her! I’ve been hoping all my life that she would say ‘yes’ to at least one of my dating opportunities, but she’s so stubborn! And she doesn’t understand! I would give up Quidditch captaincy, even Quidditch, period, I’d give up looks and money and intelligence, I’d give up Head Boyship, I would ask the Ministry of Magic to snap my wand in half and banish me from the wizarding world if Lily would say ‘yes’ just once!”
James wiped away a few tears that had formed, and concluded, “Fame and glory are cool, but that’s not why I do it. I accept it, but I do what I do because I enjoy it. If she could understand that, and how I feel for her…oh, if only! I love her so much, more than any girl I know, and, even though we’re on good terms now, she still rejects me.”
He picked up a rock and threw it in the lake, then plopped down miserably. “What should I do, Padfoot?”
Sirius sat down beside him and answered, “What can I say? You have to tell her that. Are you going to ask her to the formal?”
James shrugged his shoulders. “What’s the point? She’s always said ‘no’; this won’t be any different.”
“How do you know that?” Remus joined in on the conversation. “If you quit asking her, she’ll never say ‘no’, but how will you know if she would’ve ever given the affirmative? ‘You never know until you try,’ they always say.”
James looked over at his friend. Finally he sighed. “You’re right, Moony. I have to ask her, but what if she says ‘no’?”
Sirius and Remus glanced at each other. Then Sirius answered, “I know this is gonna be hard, but if she says ‘no’, more than likely she means it, unless she says otherwise. You might have to let her go.”
James shuddered at the thought. “That’s, like, the last thing I want to do.”
“I know,” said Remus. “But you have to respect how she feels.”
“Alright.” James stood up. “I’ll go and ask her right now.”
Under the tree a few feet away, Lily brought her wand down and looked over at her friends.
“Did you hear that?” she asked eagerly. “He really does care about me!”
“What will you say?” Janice asked excitedly.
“You’ll say ‘yes’, won’t you?” Alena inquired.
“Of course I will!” exclaimed Lily. “This is the moment I’ve been waiting for ever since we became close friends!”
“I’m glad it worked out,” said Elisha softly. “Oh look, here they come!”
The four girls turned around and faced the four boys heading their direction. James was at the front, and looked pretty nervous. The girls stood and James spoke.
“Umm, Lily?” he began.
“Yes, Potter?” Lily replied.
“Listen, umm, I just wanted to say that I’ve really been a jerk.”
He paused, and Lily watched him with interest. He continued, “I’ve been pretty self-centered lately, and I’m sure you’ve been thinking that I expect you to like me because of what I do.” Another pause. “As much as I think you’ll answer with the negative, and even though I promised you I wouldn’t, I’d like to ask…will you go to the formal with me?”
James watched with bated breath as Lily considered his proposal. Lily answered, “You know, I think I might.”
Disappointed, he muttered, “Man, that’s what I thought…” Suddenly he perked up. “What did you say?”
Lily patiently answered, “I said, James, that I think I might go to the formal with you.”
James began shaking with excitement, and asked, “Is that a ‘yes’?”
“Yes, James, that’s a ‘yes’.”
James suddenly shouted, “Woo-hoo!” He wrapped his arms around Lily and began spinning and squeezing her tightly. Finally she gasped, “James...too…tight…” He immediately let go and stuttered, “Sorry!” and started running and leaping around the grounds and randomly yelling, “Yes! Woo-hoo! Oh yeah!” Then he ran back, grabbed Lily’s hand, and pumped it up and down, saying, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” and ran off to celebrate some more. This time his guy friends followed him, swishing their index fingers by their heads in a “he’s crazy” motion, and Lily distinctly heard Sirius mutter, “Prongs has gone mental!”
Lily turned to her friends who were blinking in astonishment and mused, “Well, that made him happy.”
A/N Yay, you all are thinking, she finally said ‘yes’! Yeah, James is pretty happy, and Lily’s finally feeling more secure about James’s feelings for her. Teaser for next chapter: what can happen if a Muggle-born and a Slytherin get into an argument? Thanks for reading!