When Lily arrived back at her dormitory, she was pleased to find her roommates had already returned from Slughorn’s party and were asleep in their beds. Quietly, she tiptoed to her bed and had just pulled back the blankets when she heard a voice whisper her name.
Lily turned around for the source of the noise and saw Meredith propped up on her elbow in the bed next to her.
“Where were you tonight? I didn’t see you at the party,” Meredith whispered suspiciously.
Deciding to leave out James, Lily nonchalantly replied, “That’s odd. I was there. I wonder why you didn’t see me.”
A small smile crept over Meredith’s face. “I was with Sean.”
Lily tilted her head slightly to the side. “Who’s Sean?”
“He’s a Hufflepuff Prefect. I only agreed to go with him so I’d have a date to the party but I ended up having a really good time.” She paused at Lily’s smirk and furrowed her eyebrows. “Not that I’m over James at all. Sean means nothing to me compared to James.”
With that, Meredith turned to face the other way in her bed, ending the conversation and leaving Lily with a new wave of guilt.
As Lily stared at the ceiling from her four poster bed, she thought about what Meredith had said and replayed the events of the evening in her head. Why had she kissed James on the cheek? She might have given James the impression that she wanted to be more than his friend. The way she had danced with him at Slughorn’s party would certainly be enough to make him think that.
Glancing over at Meredith, Lily felt her stomach clench. If anything ever happened between her and James, Meredith would be heartbroken. Lily remembered the way Meredith had written Mrs. James Potter all over her notebook just two years ago and almost laughed to herself. She would have to tell James that the kiss meant nothing and that she only wanted to be friends with him. Yes, they would only be friends, despite anything she might have felt between them that evening.
Making up her mind, Lily rolled over in her bed and finally drifted off to sleep.
CRASH!
Jolting awake, Lily sat up in bed and looked around the room to find Kelly sitting at the foot of her bed. She appeared to have just dumped out the contents of her trunk and was anxiously sorting through a pile of books, clothes, and papers.
“Kelly, what are you doing?” asked Lily in annoyance. The other girls in the room also appeared to have heard the commotion and were beginning to stir.
“Kelly, go back to sleep. It’s too early to be up…,” moaned Marlene McKinnon from across the room.
Kelly looked at Lily with dark pleading eyes.
“I totally forgot that I have an Arithmancy test today. And on top of that, I can’t find my textbook or my folder of number charts to study,” she sniffed and wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
Hearing birds chirping, Lily glanced out the window and saw that the sun was beginning to rise, dimly lighting the room. Despite the fact that she had gotten to bed late the last night, Lily reached for her slippers and went to her friend.
“Don’t worry. I’ll help you find it.”
Kelly managed a small smile.
“I’ll keep looking through my things in here but I may have left it in the common room. Would you mind checking for me?”
“No problem.”
Lily gave her friend a reassuring smile and then trudged down the stairs to the common room. Breakfast would not be starting for fifteen minutes but there were already a few students awake finishing homework or catching up on reading assignments. At the first glance around the room, Lily did not see Kelly’s large Arithmancy textbook or her bright blue folder that she kept her notes in. She knelt down on the floor, checking to see if it may have been accidentally kicked under the couch. As she felt around in the dust, she sneezed.
“Bless you.”
Sitting up and turning around, Lily saw Andy wearing a huge grin descending the stairs to the boys’ dormitories.
“What are you doing down here this early?” Lily questioned.
Andy shrugged and replied, “I might ask you the same.”
Lily explained the situation to Andy, who nodded with concern.
“I think I might have accidentally grabbed her things yesterday after class,” said Andy calmly, reaching into his book bag. He pulled out Kelly’s textbook and blue folder and gave them to Lily. “Could you run these up to her and then meet me back here? There’s something I want to run by you.”
Lily gave Andy a suspicious look and then ran up to her dormitory to give the book and folder to a very grateful Kelly. When she returned, she saw Andy sitting on the end of the couch closest to the fireplace, fingering a bracelet.
“Andy, what’s that?” Lily said, taking a seat next to him.
Andy looked up with a smile across his face and gave the bracelet to Lily. It was a gold charm bracelet with a heart engraved with the initials, KH.
“Wow, Andy. What’s the occasion? This is really nice.”
“Today is our one month anniversary. Is this too much? I didn’t want to get her chocolate or flowers so I got this. If it’s too much for one month, I’ll save it for later but I””
“Andy,” Lily interrupted, giving him back the bracelet. “It’s perfect. She’ll love it.” Suddenly, she heard footsteps descending the girls’ staircase and Andy hurriedly shoved the bracelet back into its box and put it in his bag before Kelly appeared.
“Hey, sweetheart! Guess what? I was stressed out over nothing. The test today is on chapter three, not chapter four. I know chapter three like the back of my hand!”
Kelly walked over to Andy and kissed him on the cheek. “I’m hungry. Do you want to go to breakfast now?”
Andy nodded, slung his book bag over his shoulder and took Kelly’s hand. They were almost out of the portrait hole when Kelly noticed that Lily was not following them and turned around.
“Are you coming, Lils?”
“No, not right now. I still have to change out of my pajamas.”
Accepting this answer, Kelly nodded and stepped out into the hall with Andy while Lily made her way up the staircase to the girls’ dormitories.
By the time Lily had changed, fixed her hair, gathered her necessary books for her classes that day and made her way to the Great Hall, the room was packed with students. She took an empty seat at the end of the Gryffindor table next to her roommates, Amber Nguyen and Alice Brown, who were gossiping about Alice’s new boyfriend, Frank Longbottom. As she buttered a roll, she looked down the table where James was sitting with the other Marauders. She would try to catch James after breakfast on the way to Defense Against the Dark Arts and explain to him that her kiss meant nothing.
“Lily,” she heard a familiar voice call when breakfast had ended. She slung her book bag onto her shoulder and turned around to face James accompanied by the Marauders. “Why didn’t you sit with us? You know we would have made room for you.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, I just…”
“Is it because Prongs asked you out again, Lily?” asked Sirius with a crooked smile. “Because I told him that if he ever wants a chance to go out with””
“Sirius! Look, there’s Vanessa! I think she wants you to walk with her,” James said, pointing across the room.
“Where? Where is she?” asked Sirius, momentarily losing interest in the conversation.
Lily looked from James to Sirius and giggled.
“Vanessa! Wait for me!” Sirius called across the room. Then turning back to James and Lily he said, “You got rid of me now, James, but I’ll be back soon. Have fun with Evans.” Sirius clapped James on the shoulder and then went to his girlfriend.
James turned to Lily and gave her an apologetic look.
“He didn’t mean that, Lily. I mean, I haven’t asked you…”
“I know. I was meaning to talk to you, though.”
“Okay. Hey guys, would you mind giving us a little privacy?” James asked his friends.
The other boys reluctantly nodded and turned down a different hallway to go another route to class.
James looked at Lily and raised his eyebrows. “So, what did you want to talk to me about?”
Lily gazed into his hazel eyes and felt her heartbeat quicken. For some reason she couldn’t remember what she had wanted to say.
“Oh, I just…,” she stammered.
“Yeah?”
“I was just wondering if I could see your essay on Red Caps,” she finished dully.
“Oh, that’s all? Sure, I’ll let you look at it,” James said, reaching into his bag. “It’s probably not as good as yours, though.”
“Oh yeah? You’ve always been so great at Defense Against the Dark Arts. I’m better at Potions.”
He smiled and handed her his essay.
*****
For the rest of the day, Lily felt just as awkward and uneasy around James. She had had multiple opportunities to talk to him about the night before but she could never seem to find the right words. After Defense Against the Darks she walked with him to Potions and ended up talking with him about the weather. But however embarrassed and awkward she was around him, James never seemed to mind and continued to sit with her and walk with her to class.
That night when they met to patrol the castle, Lily was determined to tell him. She would not give him any more encouragement that she wanted to be anything more than friends.
As soon as Lily and James left the common room for patrol duties, though, James was the first one to bring up the previous night.
“Lily, tell me what’s bothering you. I know you’re upset from last night and you’ve been trying to tell me about it all day. What’s wrong?”
“What? Nothing’s wrong at all. Why would you think that?” she lied, taken aback that he had known what was bothering her all day.
“Lily,” James admonished, raising his eyebrows.
Lily sighed. “All right. Well, remember how I kissed you on the cheek last night?”
He nodded.
“It didn’t mean anything. Nothing at all. I was really worried because we went to Slughorn’s party together last night and danced together and I kissed you on the cheek before I left that you would expect us to become an item.” She hesitated, and took a deep breath before continuing, “I never mean for us to be anything besides friends, James.”
After she finished, she looked at James, who was focusing on the floor as he walked. He was silent for a few moments, taking in everything she had said before he spoke.
“Okay,” he said simply.
“What?” she said, disbelievingly. “After all these years of pursuing me and vowing that you’ll marry me someday, you accept friendship? You’re okay with knowing that we’ll never be more than friends?”
James glanced at a large painting on the wall and then nodded.
“I’m fine with that. I never thought that by kissing me on the cheek, you were implying we would be more than friends.”
“Okay,” Lily said with a smile. “You don’t know how much better I feel now that I’ve got that off my chest.
“I could tell you look worried all day. I still can’t believe you blew up your potion today in class. You should have seen Slughorn’s face,” he said with a laugh.
Lily giggled. She could always count on James to turn an awkward moment into laughter. “So…now that I know, could you tell me about being an Animagus?” she ventured.
He tapped his chin and then replied, “Well, since you already know, I don’t see any harm in telling you more about it.”
They climbed a set of stairs before James cleared his throat and began in a deep voice, “Once upon a time there were four boys who went to Hog””
“James, seriously,” she protested with a giggle.
“Okay, okay. Well, ever since we found out Remus was a werewolf, we wanted to help him with his transformations. For years, we worked hard and eventually taught ourselves how to become Animagi in our fifth year. Like I said, it was a lot of work but it has definitely paid off. Now every full moon, we sneak out with Moony and don’t have to worry about getting bitten and becoming werewolves ourselves.”
"But James! That's really dangerous! You could get seriously hurt!"
"Nah, we're alright."
"James-!"
"We can take care of ourselves..."
Lily considered that for a moment and then replied, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” She hesitated and then continued. “I would love to have friends who would do that for me, who are so loyal.”
“You do have loyal friends, Lily. I know from watching you and your friends for years. I am sure that Kelly and Andy would do anything for you.”
“And Meredith?” Lily countered, raising her eyebrows.
“I didn’t finish. Even though you might doubt it now, Meredith is still one of your best friends and I’m sure she would do anything for you, too. When you’ve been friends with someone for so long, you learn to trust that they’ll always be there for you.”
Lily smiled to herself, surprised at how loyal James was to his friends. Even though she knew the boys had been friends for years, she had no idea how close they really were.
For the next two hours, James and Lily talked comfortably about everything from their friends, to teachers and classes, to their families and pets. When they returned to Gryffindor Tower, Lily reached over and gave James a hug.
“I had a lot of fun tonight, James. I’m so glad we sorted out the friendship problem.”
As she started to climb the staircase to the girls’ dormitories, Lily looked back at James and was almost positive she saw a small look of hurt on the boy’s face. Seeing Lily, James quickly gave her a smile and turned to go up the boys’ staircase. Lily stood there for a moment slightly confused before deciding it was nothing of importance and then continued up the stairs.
*****
“Miss Evans and Mr. Potter, would you kindly pay attention?”
Lily dropped her quill with surprise and turned to face McGonagall. She had been sitting in the back row of the classroom with James, passing notes about their teacher.
“Would you care to summarize what we have been discussing for the past ten minutes, Miss Evans?” McGonagall inquired.
Lily racked her brain for something to say while watching James surreptitiously slip the parchment they had been writing on into his book bag.
“Uh…Grant’s Law?” Lily tried.
“Gamp’s Law,” coughed James.
Before Lily could change her answer, McGonagall spoke again.
“Mr. Potter, I already know that you know Gamp’s Law of Elemental Transfiguration. Miss Evans, on the other hand, does not,” she said sternly. Turning to Lily, McGonagall continued, “If you do not understand Evans, it would be much better to consult with me than to pass notes with Potter.”
For the rest of the class, Lily tried her hardest to pay attention and take notes but left the classroom still unsure of how to do the homework. Sure enough, that night Lily took out her notes to finish her homework and did not understand a word of it. Deciding to ask for help, she found James sitting at one of the round tables with Sirius and Remus.
“Moony, what’s the difference between a Flitterbloom and Devil’s Snare? I have no idea what Sprout was saying in class today,” Sirius whined.
“Hey, boys,” Lily said, greeting the Marauders cheerfully. “James, can you help me with the Transfiguration homework? I still don’t understand it.”
“Sure, just let me finish this essay for Slughorn,” replied James.
Lily read a few lines over his shoulder. She had already finished the essay on antidotes a couple days ago.
“James, a bezoar is a stone from the stomach of a goat that cures most poisons, not a plant that cures hiccups!”
“Oh, well,” said James, seeing his error. “The essay was terrible anyways. I’ll fix it later. Now what do you need help with?”
Lily led him over to the table where she had been working. Kelly had apparently gone up to bed already because several girls occupied the table. They had pushed her things onto the floor and were gossiping animatedly.
“Excuse me, I was sitting here,” Lily said to the girls.
A petite blonde with curly hair turned around looking annoyed but her face immediately broke into a smile.
“Were you two using this table? I’m so sorry,” she said sweetly.
Olivia and her friends gathered their belongings and stood up to leave. As they started up the stairs to the girls’ dormitories, Olivia ran her fingers through her long hair and then looked back, giving James a coy smile.
Lily glared at Olivia before turning back to James, whose eyes were also lingering in Olivia’s direction.
*****
On Saturday morning, Lily was woken up early by Kelly talking in her sleep. After tossing and turning for a while, she changed and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast. Andy and James were sitting at the Gryffindor table with other members of the Quidditch team, eating breakfast.
“Hi, Lily,” Andy said, smiling.
“Why are you boys up so early? I thought I would be the only one down here,” Lily said.
“We’ve got Quidditch practice in an hour. If you’re not doing anything, you can come watch us,” James offered.
“I wouldn’t be in the way would I?” she asked, uncertainly.
“Of course not. The Slytherin game is next weekend and we need to get used to playing in front of an audience.”
“Well, I’m not much of an audience, but I guess I can come watch,” Lily agreed.
After breakfast, James and Lily headed down to the Quidditch pitch together. It was a beautiful morning; birds were chirping, the sun was shining, and the sky was a clear blue. Lily glanced over at the mass of trees that made up the Forbidden Forest. They were a mixture of gold, crimson, and orange and before long they would be bare and snow would cover the ground.
Lily took a seat in the first row of the stands while James went to change into his Quidditch practice robes. Slowly, the other members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team arrived and practice started.
For the next two hours, Lily watched James conduct practice. James seemed like a very good captain. He was patient and enthusiastic and tried to make every player feel important. Lily had a feeling that he might have strived extra hard to appear this way because she was there. Several times throughout the practice she caught James glancing down at her from the air, as if to make sure she was still there.
The morning’s practice went fairly well. The team played scrimmages and worked on various drills to improve their technique. Despite only having a few weeks of practice, Lily had to admit that the team had come a long way since the start of the school year. After practice, every player touched back down on the ground sweaty and exhausted.
“I think you have a pretty good chance of beating Slytherin next weekend,” she mentioned to James as he took a long swig from his water bottle.
“I hope so. I wouldn’t want to let Gryffindor down on my first game as captain.”
“You won’t. You seem like a great captain,” Lily replied genuinely. She turned to Meredith and Andy who were passing by on their way to the changing rooms.
“Good job, guys! I wish I could fly like that,” she said, cheerfully.
“You can. I’ll teach you,” said James.
Lily quickly turned around to face him. “I was kidding.”
“So?”
“I haven’t picked up a broom since first year,” Lily said.
“It’s not that hard. You’ll like it. Just wait here while I change,” he said giving her a smile.
“Oh, no, I’m going back to the castle,” Lily said and she started to leave.
“Come on, Lily. Just try it. Andy and Meredith love flying.” He quickly got in front of her to block her path, giving her a pleading look.
“Fine! Go change. You can teach me,” Lily said, defeated.
Lily sat down on a nearby bench while James went to change. She instantly regretted her decision to let him teach her. She had not enjoyed flying lessons in first year and she had no desire whatsoever to learn again.
Before long, James returned with wet hair, clean clothes, and two broomsticks. He handed Lily one of the brooms with a wide grin on his face.
“Okay, you want to mount your broomstick like this,” he directed, straddling the broomstick.
Lily put the broomstick between her legs and gripped tightly to the end of the handle.
“No. Your hands need to be lower down on the handle. And don’t grip so tightly.”
He placed his hand on top of hers and rearranged her grip. Lily was surprised at how gentle he was.
“Now, kick off hard. You’re not used to it yet so you won’t go too high. Just hover for a few seconds and then lean forward to land.”
She looked at him uncertainly.
“Don’t worry, Lils. I’ve been flying since I could hold a broom. I won’t let you hurt yourself.”
With that consolation, Lily kicked off the ground and was astonished when her broom shot several feet into the air.
“James! What do I do?”
He kicked off the ground and rose to where Lily was desperately clinging onto her broomstick.
“First off, don’t panic. You’re only about five feet off the ground. Second, don’t hold the broom that tight. Just relax and let the broom do the work. All you really have to do is turn and keep your balance.”
“That’s all!” Lily exclaimed sarcastically.
“Try going a bit higher now.” He rose several feet higher and looked down at Lily. “Come on, you can do it.”
Reluctantly, Lily directed her broom a few feet higher.
“Follow me, now. We’ll work on turning.”
He began to fly around the Quidditch pitch, turning right, left, and then right again.
“This looks hard, James,” Lily said.
She slowly started to follow James. As he sped up, Lily tried to speed up.
“See? You’re good at flying, Lily. I bet you’re having fun,” James added with a laugh.
Although she didn’t want to admit it, Lily was having fun. Once she had gotten over the initial fear of flying, she saw why Andy, James, and Meredith had such a passion for it.
Wanting to show James how much she had progressed, Lily raced through the air, turning and twisting. The wind whipped through her hair as she increased her speed and she laughed with delight. Flying was so much fun. Why had she been so frightened before? Suddenly, Lily turned too sharply and slipped off her broomstick. She managed to grab the handle with one hand but when she looked down and saw how high she was, she panicked.
“James! Help me!” Lily screamed.
James looked over at her clinging onto her broom with one hand and his eyes widened with fear.
“Try to swing back onto the broom. I’ll fly under you in case you fall.”
Lily tried to climb back onto the broom but her hands were sweaty and her grip loosened. When she felt her body fall, she screamed, but instead of landing on the hard ground far beneath her, she landed in James’ strong arms. Relief flooded her as she realized that she had not fallen to her death. Lily looked up at James and began to babble her thanks.
“Oh, Merlin…James, you saved me…thank you so much…never ever again.”
Once they touched back down on the ground, Lily jumped off the broomstick as quick as she could.
“I can’t believe you talked me into doing that. I’m never flying again.”
“You weren’t that bad. You just need practice.”
“I might just accept that flying is not my thing.”
James laughed and Lily felt a smile creep its way across her face. With the exception of nearly falling to her death, learning how to fly hadn’t been that bad. James had caught her and saved her life once again.
More than Meets the Eye by lilybobily7
Chapter Notes: Sorry, I haven't updated in a while. Hope you enjoy chapter 11! =]
Disclaimer: Most everything in this story belongs to JKR.
Chapter Endnotes: Hope you liked it! I would love to hear what you thought. Feel free to review, whether it's good or bad and I'll try to do everything I can to make the story better. =]
Also, once again I'd like to thank my beta for all her hard work with this story.