That thing known as a disclaimer.... I do not own any of these characters, and I'm not JKR. If I was, this story would be way better
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My name is Lily Evans. I am a seventh year student at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I'm also Muggle born; this means there are some here -- mainly those nasty Slytherins -- who think I shouldn't have been allowed to attend. They think the only people who should be allowed to attend Hogwarts are Pure-bloods, students whose ancestors were all witches and wizards. Thankfully, not everyone thinks that way. Especially not James. James Potter. He is such a prat. But I love him; I haven't always. I used to loathe the sight of him. He was -- actually still is -- rather a show off. Always running his fingers through his hair, playing with a Snitch and being quite awful to Snape, although I don't catch him quite as often as I used to.
I suppose my attraction to James began with Remus Lupin. Dear Remus.
It was late one evening in my sixth year and close to exam time. Remus had always been a rather sickly looking boy, but that night he looked especially terrible. I would soon discover just why that was.
I was studying Dark Arts in the Common Room. James and his friends Peter and Sirius had already gone up to their tower room. Remus had chosen to stay downstairs for a while longer. Being sick so much of the time and skipping classes every once in awhile, he studied harder and longer than the rest. The Common Room was silent but for the turning of our pages and the occasional writing on parchment. An almost full moon outside the window cast a bright light across the floor. Remus kept glancing nervously at it. I was having some trouble with my DADA homework and went to ask for his help.
"Remus, would you mind helping me on the werewolf essay? I promise to help you with your potions homework in return." I smiled at him. I would never have asked this if James was there. He would never have let me forget it. Remus smiled back, though it was a rather wan half-smile.
"Of course Lily, what do you need to know?"
"Professor Lwellyn asked us to write about the lives of werewolves and mentioned it would probably be on our finals, but I'm having a hard time finding some good information. I hate to copy from the same book as everyone else. I heard him compliment you today on writing an excellent essay."
"Ah yes, well, he was very kind." And so began a very nice hour where we discussed werewolves and their lives and how they were treated in society.
"That is really terrible." I said at one point. "To think people will judge them so quickly! Most of them are only evil once a month, and I'm sure precautions could be taken."
"Yes, but there are enough bad ones to make people suspicious of them all."
A little while later, James came sleepily down the stairs. He looked startled to see Remus and I sitting together. "Lily what are you doing still up?" He said, rather surprised.
"Hello, Potter. I didn't realize we were on a first-name basis. And I was studying with Remus if you want to know." I said, then picked up my bag and left quickly, not wanting to hear his teasing. Surprisingly, he said nothing, he followed me, reaching out to grab my arm, I was already half-way the stairs up as he placed his foot on the first stair. And that’s when it happened. The stairs collapsed, becoming a slide. I found myself on top of James. I'd never been so close to him before, those dark hazel eyes staring into mine. It was then I really took notice of his face. His strong features, dark eyebrows. I suddenly found myself looking at his mouth, wondering if what it would be like to kiss him, when he spoke,
"Hello, Beautiful," he said, breaking my though pattern and bringing me back to my senses. I was up, up the stairs, into my dorm, slamming the door behind me. I sat down on my bed breathing hard. What had just happened? I'd wanted to kiss James and almost had I found myself thinking about how handsome he was, how...what was wrong with me? I was supposed hate him! How could I possibly like some one who was always showing off, teasing Snape and generally causing disturbances with his friends. I slowly changed into my pajamas and crawled into bed. But sleep brought no relief: my dreams being filled with his face.
Morning came and went. I avoided James as much as possible the next day. Not that it was an easy thing to do. Being in all the same classes, it was hard not to see him. I was simply too confused about how I felt to talk to him. So I did my best to ignore him.
After lunch I had a free period and not wanting to be in the Common Room were James was, I made my way down to the lake. I was surprised to find Remus out there as well. Looking even worse than the night before. His face was pale, and his eyes were full of sadness.
“Hello, Remus,” I said, catching up with him.
“Oh, hello Lily.” He quietly replied.
“Are you alright, you seem to be a bit down.”
He smiled, “Nothing for you to worry about Lily. I’ll be alright in a day or so.”
“I don’t think I had the chance to thank you last night for helping me with my homework.”
He nodded. “Do you mind if I walk with you?” I asked, “I could use some company and fresh air.” Again he nodded.
As sweet as Remus was, and as much as I enjoyed his company during that hour, he could not take James off my mind. It wasn’t that we talked about him, no we talked about school, family, our summer plans and the like, but still my mind dwelled on James. What was he doing this summer? Why had he been so kind last night? Thoughts like that flitted through my mind as we talked. I knew I felt differently for Remus then I did for James. I just wasn’t sure if what I felt for either was love, or simply friendship.
Night fell. I hoped to talk again with Remus -- that was, if James would ever leave. However, Remus did not appear in the Common Room the entire night. In fact, as I thought about it, he had not been at dinner. My mind wandered from Remus back to the homework I had in front of me. Soon the Common Room was empty. James had gone upstairs an hour before. Not that I had been watching him of course. The full moon cast a white light across the floor; it was really a lovely night. Suddenly, I thought I heard a noise coming from the stairs to the boys’ dormitories, but when I looked, there was nothing there. A moment later, the portrait hole door opened and closed. Strange, I thought, why would that happen? I considered getting up to check, but decided against it. Then a moment later, the door opened again. This was aggravating, but to my utter surprise, James stepped through...
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Haha! Cliff-hanger! I hope you enjoy. Reveiws are much loved! Thanks a million to my Beta, Midnight_Marauder who betaed my first 3 chapters.