“He just “ gets on my nerves!”
Lily sighed and flopped on her bed. “I thought it was my day for a pity party.”
Adette laughed. “You had the whole morning to mope “ it’s my turn, now.”
Lily smiled. “Alright, fair enough.”
“Here “ I believe these belong to you.” Adette opened her book bag and started pulling out book after book.
“Oh…” Lily blushed, slightly embarrassed at the fact that she had made her friend carry several of her books. “Yeah “ thanks for that.”
“No problem,” Adette said, brushing off the comment with a wave of her hand. She tossed the books one by one back to Lily. “I mean “ ” Adette shrugged before teasing her friend “ “ it was either putting the books in my bag or letting James carry them…”
Lily neatly propped each of her books on top of her desk against the wall, and turned to glare at her. “Not funny.”
“To you,” Adette giggled. “After tomorrow, we’ll both be laughing about this!” Lily’s face remained stony. “Oh, come on, Lily! Lighten up!” Adette searched for a way to make her friend feel better. “Here “ I’ll help you “ how about that?” Adette jumped over her bed and kneeled on Lily’s closed trunk. “And keep in mind I don’t help just anyone “ so feel privileged.”
Lily stood from her bed and walked towards Adette. “And how exactly are you planning on helping me?”
“Well,” Adette started, “first, let’s talk about your appearance, shall we?”
Lily nodded, waiting to hear where Adette was going with this.
“Your hair…” She reached out and took a strand of Lily’s long, curly auburn hair in her hand. “You can either put it up or leave it down. Leave it down,” she gestured to Lily’s hair now, “and you look far more attractive.”
Lily smiled at the compliment. “Well, thank you.”
“But tomorrow, you should put it up.”
“But “ ” Lily stammered “ “ you just said “ ”
“Remember who you’re going out with, Lily…” Adette reminded her with wide eyes. “Are you trying to appear as if you’re getting dressed up to go out on a date, or do you want to look like you’re just grabbing a Butterbeer with a friend?”
Lily’s mouth formed the shape of an “O”.
Adette climbed off of the trunk and opened it. “Next topic of concern,” she started, digging through Lily’s personal belongings, “is your clothes.”
“Alright,” Lily nodded. “Something casual that I wear everyday “ ”
“ “ except that you can’t wear your robes,” Adette quickly corrected her friend, tugging several shirts out from the bottom of the trunk. “Now, here are a few examples.” Adette held up two clothing items. “But remember,” she quickly pulled the shirts closer to her so Lily couldn’t see them just yet, “you still need to wear something relatively nice “ I mean, you are still going out in public “ but you also want something that will keep you warm.” Adette now showed Lily her choices. “Option A - ” she held up a long-sleeved, emerald green shirt “ “ is both casual, but also fits your curves rather nicely. And,” Adette added with a smirk, “it also brings out the color of your eyes, if I do say so myself.”
Lily laughed at this side comment.
Adette pulled the shirt back down and, this time, held up a large, hand-knit sweater. “Option B is a bit… different.”
Lily made a gagging noise at the sight of the shirt. “My grandmother knit that for me!” she shouted, sounding petrified that Adette had even decided to use that sweater as an option. “Have you ever seen me wear that thing?”
Adette analyzed the small unicorns embroidered on the front of the pink sweater. “I dunno,” she shrugged. “I thought I might have seen it on you once or twice on the weekend.”
“I have never - ” Lily strongly emphasized the word “ “ worn that a day in my life!” She waved a hand toward her bedside table where a photo of her family was lying out. “I only bring that sweater to make my mum think I wear it!”
“Well, now is the time when you want to wear it!” Adette pointed out. “It enhances none of your features “ I imagine all it would do is hang off of you like an old potato sack!”
“Oh,” Lily said sarcastically, pulling the sweater from Adette’s hands to analyze it herself, “that makes me feel loads better. Really.”
“Just consider it, alright?” Adette jumped onto the bed, landing just beside Lily. She hugged her friend and put on a smile. “I promise “ we’ll burn it tomorrow night and you can tell your mum that Sirius set it on fire.”
Lily wrinkled her nose in deep thought. “Well,” she sighed, folding the sweater and setting it on her pillow. “I guess if this is what it takes…”
*
Lily stared hard at herself in the mirror.
I can’t believe I’m about to do this.
She tugged on the bottom of her sweater and turned to the side, cringing. There was nothing she could do to salvage her appearance.
Quickly, Lily threw her hair up into a ponytail and opened the door of the bathroom.
“Hello?” Lily peeked around the door, searching for her roommates. And, with a rush of immense relief, she realized that Adette and her other roommates had already left to spend their day at Hogsmeade.
Lily stepped out into her dormitory and sprinted across the room to her bed in order to grab her coat. She quickly put her arms through it and held the front of it closed over her sweater.
She slowly made her way down the winding staircase. Once she reached the bottom, Lily peeked around the corner, crossing her fingers that the room would be empty. And, to her satisfaction, it was void of nearly all Gryffindor students.
Except James.
Lily took one look at James’ appearance and her insides sank. He was wearing jeans, just like her. However, instead of his normal t-shirts and sweatshirts, James had decided to throw on a blue shirt underneath a second, striped shirt that was left unbuttoned. And, to make Lily feel even worse than before, she watched in a startled silence as James checked his reflection in the glass trophy case, pressing a hand up to his hair to flatten it before she walked down.
Lily groaned.
She felt horrible. She had gone through all of this trouble to make James think she looked unattractive when all along, she realized, he had been trying to do the opposite “ to impress her.
I can’t do this to him, Lily realized, feeling guilt swell inside of her. He’s still my friend “ and whether or not he likes me, I would feel horrible about embarrassing him by looking this ridiculous.
And, without a second thought, Lily spun on her heel and ran back up the steps to change her clothes.
*
Lily tiptoed back down the stairs, peeking around the corner once more. She saw that James was still standing at the bottom of the steps, waiting patiently for Lily “ even though she was more than half an hour late.
She straightened her posture and put on a smile. And, as calmly as possible, Lily put her hand on the railing, stepped down “
“ and missed the step.
“Lily “ are you alright?”
Lily blinked several times, looking around at her surroundings. She had slipped, feet first, down to the bottom of the staircase. And, now, she was sprawled out on the floor at James’ feet, looking up at his concerned expression.
“Oh “ uh “ yeah, I’m fine.” Lily sat up and shook her head, trying to run a hand through the hair that she had just brushed out minutes ago. She looked up just far enough to realize that James was holding his hand out for her to take.
“Are you sure?” James asked, gently touching Lily’s arm as she refused to take his hand and stand up on her own.
“Yeah “ just a bit of a tumble…” Lily laughed softly, afraid to show her blushing face. She looked down and began smoothing out her green shirt in an attempt to avoid eye contact.
James, too, let out a laugh, but it was much louder. “I’ll say.”
Lily froze. He had just made fun of her. He made fun of her!
She instantly felt the awkwardness of the situation lift. He had responded as if this were an everyday conversation “ like they were just a couple of friends, out to grab some drinks!
“Oh, like you’ve never done it?” Lily retorted, grateful for James’ jokes. “I seem to recall an incident with the grand staircase this fall…”
“That doesn’t count,” James countered, holding up a finger. “Sirius deliberately tripped me.”
“So that’s what you called it when your shoes were left untied…”
James laughed. “Touché,” he retorted, stopping the insults.
Lily smiled. “Good,” she said. “Because I vaguely remember something about you craving a Butterbeer.”
“I am.” James nodded, holding out his arm. With a lopsided smile, he asked, “Shall we?”
Lily grinned and looped her arm through his. “Let’s.”
*
“Adette “ did you want anything?”
The blonde-haired girl looked between her roommates and the ice cream store. “No “ I’m fine.” She pointed to a wooden bench. “I’ll just sit out here and wait for you all to finish.” And before the other girls could ask why she didn’t care to join them, Adette sped over to the bench and sat down, impatiently tapping her foot on the ground.
I saw them go into the Three Broomsticks, she told herself, searching frantically through the window of the building directly across from her bench. I know they’re in there…
“Foster,” a surprised sounding voice interrupted her thoughts. “Friendless, dateless, and sitting alone in the cold “ not a good image for a young lady.”
Adette glared at the intruder. “Funny, Black,” she spoke dryly. “Now keep walking before I feel the need to break something.”
Sirius just chuckled. “Am I interrupting something?” he asked casually.
Adette pulled her scarf up around her chin “You’re not interrupting anything,” she muttered, wishing that this dull response would make the boy realize there was nothing exciting going on; when he had no way to torture her, Sirius often gave up and was more likely to leave.
But it seemed to be the opposite.
“Well…” Sirius replied, sliding onto the bench next to Adette. “Then you wouldn’t mind if I joined you?”
“Actually “ ” Adette cleared her throat “ “ I do.”
“Oh “ I’m sorry,” he spoke smoothly. “Then I am interrupting something, aren’t I?”
Adette fumed. She could have sworn that smoke was coming out of her ears. “It’s nothing, Black,” she muttered, staring adamantly at the pub across the street. And, by sheer dumb luck alone, Adette saw a flash of red sweep past several of the windows inside of the Three Broomsticks.
Her posture instantly changed; she sat up straight and tall, as if this would be able to help her see better than before.
Unfortunately, Sirius noticed this change.
“What are you doing?” he mumbled, half to himself. His gaze followed hers to the window. And, looking as if Christmas had come early, started to laugh loudly.
“You’re spying!” he accused her. “That’s what you’re doing, sitting out here all alone “ you’re bloody spying!”
Adette quickly shushed him, slapping his arm. His slight flinch told her that she must have hit him hard enough to have left a red hand print. “You don’t have to tell the entire village.”
But Sirius couldn’t have looked happier. “I can’t believe it “ Adette Foster is spying on her best friend!” He burst out laughing. “Well…” he corrected himself, turning to face Adette. “Not only that “ but you’re spying on her while she’s on a date!”
Adette shot a deadly look at her enemy. “With your best friend.”
“Wait, what?” Sirius looked closer into the window. “That bloody stag,” he muttered, not quite loud enough to hear. “He said he was meeting up with someone else “ but he never said it was Lily!”
Adette couldn’t help but smirk. “At least my friend told me.”
Sirius rolled his eyes. Before he could find an insulting response, Adette gasped.
“I can’t believe it…”
Sirius’ eyes darted back and forth between Adette and the window. “What?” he hissed, unable to realize what had Adette in awe.
“Look at her outfit,” she murmured. “And her hair “ she left her hair down!”
He lifted an eyebrow, clearly not seeing the importance in this observation. “And what does that have to do with anything?”
“Leaving your hair down practically gives you the best tool you could ever use on a date!” Adette said as if it were obvious to everyone but him. “For example,” she continued, “if Lily wanted to draw more attention to herself, all she would have to do is a small hair flip.” When Sirius showed no understanding of this concept, Adette looked at him as if he was missing half of his brain. “Haven’t you ever seen a girl flip her hair before?” he continued to look confused. “You know,” she quickly continued, tossing her own blonde curls over her shoulder. “That.”
Sirius chuckled. “Oh, yeah “ I’ve seen that a few times before…”
“It’s a classic,” she explained, turning back to the window. She gasped again, but this time put her hand out and dug her nails into Sirius’ arm. “And so is that! Lily is so going to have to explain everything tonight…”
“What “ ouch “ get your grimy hands off of me!” Sirius made an effort to pry Adette’s fingers off of his wrist, but it wasn’t until she had loosened her grip that he was able to do so. “Look “ I don’t see what the big deal is,” he grumbled, massaging his arm until the numbness went away.
“The big deal,” she mimicked Sirius, not recognizing the fact that she had just injured him, “is that they’re flirting!” Adette rounded on him. “Are you blind, or do you honestly not see what’s happening before your eyes?”
“They’re not flirting,” Sirius scoffed at the idea. “All she’s doing is laughing! She does it all the time…”
“She’s not laughing,” Adette immediately corrected him with a smile, “she’s giggling. Completely different.”
“It’s not “ ”
“Giggling is much more feminine,” Adette explained, as if speaking to a five-year-old. “But at least she wasn’t extremely obvious and did something like put her hand over her mouth.”
Sirius groaned. He felt that as if after every ridiculous comment Adette made, he lost a clump of brain cells. He was slowly being tortured to his death “ very slowly.
There was no doubt in his mind. James would pay for this later.
“They’re just so cute together!” Adette sighed.
“Yeah, well…” Sirius struggled to find an appropriate response. “At least James isn’t flirting back or anything…”
“Oh, no,” Adette said sarcastically. And then, after a sufficient pause, she smartly replied, “He started it.”
Sirius laughed at the absurdity of the statement. “Of course he did…”
“Really,” Adette said with a nod. “He’s being a gentleman.” She grinned. “Not only did he grab both of their drinks, but he also pulled out her chair.” She smiled to herself. “I’m sure that’s not how he acts around his friends.”
Sirius was too shocked for words. He sat in a stunned silence, watching the date continue. I should have never come over here in the first place “ Moony was right, yet again…
“Oh “ look “ ” Sirius pointed to the window, sounding relieved “ “ their date’s done “ they’re leaving.”
Adette shook her head. “No, they’re getting a second round,” she replied.
“How do you bloody know that “ ”
“See?” She nodded towards the Three Broomsticks. Lily stood and picked up their mugs. “She’s “ oh my god “ did you just see that?”
Much to Sirius’ dismay, he nodded rather regretfully. “Yeah, I saw it…”
“James “ he just checked her out!” Adette nearly screamed, unable to control her excitement. It took all of her strength to keep herself seated. “I told her that James still liked her! It’s so obvious!”
Sirius grumbled. “So she’s cute,” he admitted. “But that doesn’t mean he’s in love with her.” He started to shake his head and chuckle. “Look, Foster “ you’re overanalyzing every single little detail.” He looked smug. “I hate to break it to you “ but you’re insane.”
“Oh “ look!” Adette ignored every word and put a gloved hand over her mouth, as if she were trying to hold back her tears. “They bumped knees “ and they didn’t pull away!” She fanned her eyes. “They’re so cute…”
Sirius dropped his head in defeat.
*
“I swear “ Sirius has a loose screw.” James laughed along with Lily. “Be grateful you don’t have to endure anyone as mental as him.”
“No “ I completely understand!” Lily exclaimed with a hint of amusement. “Adette did the same thing last year on my birthday!”
James nearly tripped over the entrance to the portrait. “You’re joking.”
“I wish I was!” Lily laughed. “It was horribly embarrassing…”
They laughed the entire way to the steps of the girls’ dormitory.
Once their laughter died down, Lily instantly felt a change in the atmosphere.
This is it. Lily swallowed. The date’s done “ he’s going to try to kiss me. I know he is.
“I had fun,” Lily said with a kind smile. And she had! She subconsciously found herself wondering if she had ever laughed more than this with anyone else before. “Thanks.”
“I should be thanking you,” James quickly responded with a grin. “Technically, we went to have Butterbeers because you felt bad about being so controlling “ remember?”
Lily laughed softly. “That is true…”
Again, it fell silent. Lily looked down at the floor, trying to slow her frantic thoughts. Get out of here! If you don’t leave now, he could kiss you! It’s nothing but a disaster waiting to happen!
And who says that’s bad? Lily found her inner dialogue retaliating against her mind. Maybe “ maybe this is something I want. She couldn’t believe she was even having these thoughts right now! Maybe I actually like the guy! Is that so hard to believe?
Lily swallowed, looking back up. This was James Potter she was thinking about “ the boy she had despised up until this school year. It was entirely improbable that all of her bad thoughts and feelings that she had built up about James for over six years had changed in less than six months.
But it was still possible.
Lily leaned against the stone wall behind her, swallowing.
She watched as James took a single step forward, but kept his gaze steady and unmoving, penetrating her own eyes. It was both a struggle to maintain and to avert his expression. A part of her longed to look away from the intensity of his stare. Another part “ a very strong part “ found it impossible to look anywhere else but at him and wondered how she had been able to do so for six full years.
Her ankles went weak.
It wasn’t until that point, when Lily saw how he looked at her, that she realized she wanted this more than ever. She wanted to be kissed. But not just from anyone “ from him “ from James. She wanted to be able to brag to all of her friends that she had found a brilliant, witty, and good-looking guy, and that he loved her “ that they loved each other! She wanted “
“Well, goodnight.”
Lily nearly toppled over in shock.
She stared in disbelief as James nodded towards Lily and backed away. He turned and jogged across the common room, towards the boys’ dormitory. He took one last look over his shoulder and waved before disappearing from view.
He didn’t kiss me…
Lily could have slapped herself for how stupid she had been. It was ridiculous for her to have ever thought that he would like her as more than a friend. And even if he did “ he was smart enough to know that you could never go back to being just friends after you see them as more than friends. He was looking out for their friendship!
But every sign was there! Lily retorted, wishing it were true. He likes me “ or “ I thought he liked me…
Lily shook her head and stumbled up the stairs to her dormitory, wishing she could erase all of her jumbled thoughts.
Slowly, she opened her door, hoping not to wake any of her other roommates “ but she should have known better than to think that Adette would have fallen asleep without talking to her first.
“I saw you two at the Three Broomsticks!” Adette pounced on Lily the second she walked through the door. “You were adorable together!”
Lily tried to smile. When she found that she couldn’t, she chose, instead, to just look in the other direction.
“Of course,” Adette continued as Lily changed out of her clothes and into her pajamas, “once I saw that you wore your green shirt instead of that horrid sweater without telling me, I knew instantly that you liked him!”
Lily nodded mutely.
“But why didn’t you tell me?” Adette hissed, trying “ but failing miserably “ to keep her voice down. “I would have loved to help you get dressed up “ rather than dressed down “ if I had just known that you liked him so much!”
This time, Lily managed to get a smile to appear on her face, but it didn’t last long. When her expression dropped, she crawled weakly into her bed and snuggled into the warm, comforting blankets.
“I want details!” Adette cried, leaping onto Lily’s bed. But all Lily did was pull her bed sheets up, further over her head.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Lily muttered, burying her head into her pillow.
Adette looked shocked. She had seen them earlier! They had been having a good time! There should be no reason why Lily was upset! Something must have happened between then and now…
“What happened?” Adette asked soothingly, her behavior changing instantly. She sat on the edge of Lily’s bed and started to rub her friend’s back, just like a mother would.
And with a sniff, Lily just shook her head and answered truthfully.
“Nothing.”