PURELY BY ACCIDENT
There was so much of it. If there was one thing that seventeen-year-old Lily Evans could not resist it was chocolate. There was a variety: dark, light, and even white chocolate. She was about to take a bite when her stomach gave a loud grumble. She woke up with a start to realize that she had only been dreaming.
Lily tried to fall asleep, but hunger and a craving for something sweet kept her awake. Maybe I should head over to the kitchens for a quick snack otherwise I will never get any rest, thought Lily.
She quietly entered the Head’s Common Room. It was decorated in gold and red, representing Gryffindor, which was both her and the Head Boy’s house.
As Lily made her way towards the exit, she allowed her mind to wander. She remembered the train ride at the beginning of the year. It was at that time when she learned that the Head Boy was the notorious James Potter. He was a Marauder, a prankster, a flirt, but definitely not Head Boy material. She refused to admit that she would have to work with him for the rest of the year. She even planned out a speech for Dumbledore listing all the reasons why James was unfit for the position. Surprisingly during the prefects meeting, he acted mature and took the position seriously. It was from then that Lily slowly got to know, understand, and enjoy James for who he was.
As Lily walked across the common room, she bumped into none other than the boy she was thinking about.
“Hey, Lily,” James said nervously.
“Hey,” Lily replied, trying to walk around him and continue her journey to the kitchens.
“Umm, well, I was wondering,” James started, running his hand through his already messy black mane of hair.
“Can you hurry it up, James, because I’m kind of in a hurry.”
“Yeah. Sure. Of course. Well you know how we’ve been friends for a while-”
It was from that point Lily stopped listening. Her mind drifted to the kitchens. She had been there a couple of times before, and each time, the house elves would have a new, delicious treat for her. Now, Lily wasn’t prone to breaking the rules and going out past curfew, but she reasoned that this time it was an emergency. If someone caught her, she would need a plausible story. She needed something sweet and if she didn’t get it soon, she was positive she would fall over and die. It was a rare disease that only chocolate could cure. Her mind started to visualize all the different types of chocolates she could eat in the kitchens. Maybe she could ask the house elves to bake her a chocolate cake.
“Yes, that sounds lovely,” she thought aloud, forgetting completely that James was in the room with her.
“What?” he asked.
“Erm…I…” Lily started.
“Great,” James cut her off excitedly. “Be ready by eight on Friday. I promise you won’t forget this date anytime soon!”
Wait, did he just say date? Lily thought. But before she could say anything, James skipped away to his room.
Well, there is nothing I can do now. I’ll just find him during class tomorrow and tell him it was all a mistake, Lily decided, making her way to the kitchens.
The next day, she spent the whole morning trying to find James. Apparently, he over slept and missed breakfast and their first class, Charms. Lily did not have time to talk to James until the end of Transfiguration. As she was approaching him, she was cut off by Sirius Black, James’ best friend and partner in crime.
“Hey,” he said, looking at her.
Lily looked over her shoulder. No, he was definitely talking to her. Sirius never said more than a few words to her, unless it consisted of making fun of her, pulling a prank on her, and did she forget to mention making fun of her. Sirius Black never wasted the energy talking to a girl unless he wanted to share a broom cupboard with them.
“You know, Lily,” he continued, bringing her back to reality, “James told us about last night. I have never seen him so happy before. And I want to thank you for that. I don’t think I could see him heart broken again.”
Lily blinked. Sirius was being serious (no pun intended). This had to mean something because never in her life had she seen him remotely solemn about anything and to him life was a joke. Lily couldn’t walk up to James now and shatter his happiness, not after what Sirius told her.
It’s just one date, Lily considered. Besides, once it goes badly it would give us a reason why we should only remain friends. Lily grinned at the brilliance of her plan.
Friday quickly approached and Lily found herself looking at her reflection five minutes before she was to meet James. She wanted to look good, but she didn’t know why. After all it wasn’t as if she had a crush on James, even as handsome as he was. She laughed at the picture of her swooning over him
Lily studied her outfit. She was wearing a dark green shirt, the same color as her eyes, and a jean skirt. She decided that she would wear her hair down and in loose curls. She looked at herself one more time before she deemed herself ready for the date.
As she descended from her room, she saw James waiting for her. Lily’s breath caught in her throat. He looked…amazing. He was wearing jeans and a dark blue sweater that slightly showed his muscles. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind.
“Are you ready?” he asked, bringing her out of her stupor. She nodded numbly, not trusting herself to talk.
As they walked in the corridor, James talked animatedly. Lily slowly felt herself relaxing, soon finding opening up to him. They continued walking, and Lily was so absorbed in the conversation, that she didn’t realize she was outside until she felt a cool breeze kiss her skin. She now noticed she was at the edge of the Forbidden Forest and she stopped abruptly.
“I am NOT going in there,” Lily said determinately. James just raised one eyebrow. “I mean,” Lily continued, “we are Head Boy and Girl. We can’t just go gallivanting around the school breaking the rules, and I am willing to bet that students are not allowed to just waltz into the Forest.”
“So basically you’re scared,” James concluded.
Lily scoffed. She was a Gryffindor. She did not get scared. How dare he even suggest it? Lily would show him. She marched into the woods, only to turn around and say, “Well, are you coming or not?” James grinned and jogged to catch up with her.
They walked for a good ten minutes in comfortable silence. She wondered what he planned to do in the forest. She was pretty sure that battling the monsters that inhabited the forest was far from romantic. So if that wasn’t it, what were they doing in there?
“Here we are,” James said with a smile on his face. Lily gasped. The place was enchanting. It was a small clearing with a stream running off to one side, whispering as it traveled over the stones. The air was crisp and smelled fresh. The trees surrounding the place were picturesque. The leaves were orange, red, yellow, and brown, just like they should be in autumn. A gentle breeze was blowing, making the trees sway side to side, like they were dancing. One willow tree draped over the stream so its branches gently caressed the water’s surface. In the center of the clearing, there was a small table set up with a candle, plates, and glasses. There were two comfy looking chairs waiting for them. The plates were made of the finest china, and the glasses had the most intricate of designs. A black satin material, which covered the chairs, also covered the table. In a small crystal vase, a single white lily stood, reflecting its shadow across the table.
“How…but…” The place was so romantic it left Lily speechless.
“Sirius and I found this a couple of years ago on one of our excursions,” James stated. “We decided that if we were to find someone special, who we could see spending the rest of our lives with, we would bring them here.”
Lily blushed. Nobody had done anything like this before. Maybe, just maybe, she could give James a chance. He was obviously so sincere…
Dinner progressed, both of them talking about everything. He admitted that he found her fascinating. As James magically conjured a delicious Shepard’s pie chocolate cake, Lily wondered how he knew that those were her favorite foods. When she asked, he simply replied that he remembered her mentioning it in the beginning of the year. Her mind started buzzing. Why did she never notice this caring, wonderful side of James before?
He was, at that moment, telling Lily one of his adventures with Sirius. She hadn’t remembered a time where she laughed that hard. She felt good, elated, and nothing could bring her down.
Silence lapsed as Lily started thinking. When she was with James, she felt invincible, beautiful, and even more than that, she felt complete. He was an amazing guy, so why had she resisted him these past six years? Give him a chance, her heart urged, and this time she decided to listen to it.
For Lily, the night ended all too quickly. She found herself walking back to the common room with James. Soon, they both were in front of the fire bidding each other a good night.
“I had a great time,” James said, a twinkle in his eyes.
“Yeah, me too,” Lily replied, a little shyly. “Well, good-night, James.” She placed a small chaste kiss on his cheek and headed for the stairs.
“Wait, Lily!” She turned around to find him blushing slightly, but with a small smile on his face. “Good-night,” James said softly.
She headed up to her room, grinning. That date had been nothing short of magical. She had never experienced happiness like this; only he could make her feel this way. Who knew Lily Evans would fall for the notorious, handsome, wonderful James Potter purely by accident.
Purely By Accident by Padfoot101
Chapter Notes: This is my second (J/L) fic. I would like to thank my lovely, amazing, wonderful beta. Now the story!