Summary: James Potter is in love with Lily. However, she's got a crush on another guy. James would do anything for Lily to make her happy, including help her to get her man.

Disclaimer: Cyrano de Bergerac was written by Edmond Rostand, and the plot of it belongs to him. The real Cyrano belongs (or belonged, he's waaay dead now) to himself. Some of the jokes about the glasses are taken from the movie Roxanne. All the character's are JK's. In short, nothing's mine.

Author's Note: This story is based on the play Cyrano de Bergerac. It's a really good play, so go read it when you're finished with this fic. Anyhoo, this fic came to me in a burst of inspiration. It's going to have a happier ending than Cyrano, fortunately! Also, Cyrano's nose is replaced by James' glasses, if you couldn't figure that out. (I couldn't imagine a big-nosed James, so I cheated ^_^)

Well...R&R...

Roxanne

By Lady Wildcat

Witty and clever; those were the words to describe James. He was smart, but one generally didn't see that. Certainly not handsome--although his warm brown eyes and quick smile lured some girls, his too-messy black hair and round glasses didn't add up in some girls' books. He'd only had a few girlfriends, as he was often overshadowed by his "exceedingly good-looking" (as Sirius jokingly called himself) best friend Sirius Black. Everyone loved James, however: he was too good-natured not to be.

Right now, James didn't feel loved. Some first year had just knocked him down in the halls, and after stammering apologies to the Head Boy had scurried off. James stood, brushing himself off, and looked at his watch. "Dammit," he muttered as his long legs strode down the hall. Already five minutes late for Transfiguration with the Slytherins. He pushed his hair out of the way and angrily adjusted his glasses.

His glasses. He hated them. They were cokebottle glasses; thicker than anything. They were often the first--and the last--thing a stranger noticed about James. They just couldn't seem to get past his lenses. He'd tried everything--even Muggle contacts--but nothing seemed to work. He simply could not see without them.

Bursting into the Transfiguration classroom, James was relieved to see that McGonagall wasn't there yet. He plopped down into an empty seat next to the Head Girl and his close friend, Lily Evans. "Where's McGonagall?"

"Don't know." Lily was as sweet as a person can be and just as pretty, but she had a mind like a scalpel. She and James had been friends since first year and just seemed to get closer as the years passed. Now she took out a quill and began toying with it. "We've been waiting for fifteen minutes."

"Why so late, Jamesie-poo?" a voice drawled in his ear. James turned to see Sirius, Remus, and Peter sitting behind him.

"Stupid first-year--" McGonagall swept in at that moment, and James shut up.

"So sorry I'm late, meeting with Dumbledore." The professor dumped her things onto her desk and scanned the classroom. "Miss Evans, would you please collect the homework?"

"Yes, professor." Lily got up and began gathering parchments from the Gryffindor side of the room as Professor McGonagall sorted out her teaching materials. She deposited the essays onto the professor's desk and walked over to Severus Snape, holding out her hand.

Snape yawned. "I didn't do it."

Lily's green eyes widened. "But...we've had since last month..."

"So?"

"Miss Evans, Mr. Snape, what's this about?" McGonagall leaned over her desk.

"Snape didn't do his essay, Professor."

Her eyes narrowed. "I'm afraid, Mr. Snape, that that essay was a major part of your grade. Twenty points from Slytherin, and see me after class. You may continue, Miss Evans." Lily nodded and walked over to the next desk.

James saw it before he registered what was happening: Snape stuck out his foot, whispered, "Tell-all," and Lily went sprawling. She looked up at the coolly smirking Snape and the giggling class, eyes filling with tears.

James stood, outraged. "Professor, Snape has unjustly taken out his aggressions on an innocent fellow student."

"How's that, Mr. Potter?"

"He tripped Lily simply for telling you that he didn't do his essay."

Snape sneered. "And how would you know?"

"I saw it happen."

"I'm sure you did, Four-Eyes."

Anger welled up inside of James, but instead of screaming at Snape, he turned coolly to Professor McGonagall. "Snape, obviously, is much too simple to even think up a proper mocking of my physical features, let alone a creative comeback at Lily that would not get him caught. Do you know how many times 'Four-Eyes' has been used to describe me? If Snape had been creative, he could have made the comment 'Wow! You could span the Atlantic with those!' Or perhaps, taking the nicer route, 'You must love birds to let them perch on the top of your lenses!'"

The class started to snicker; McGonagall looked amused. Snape sputtered as James went on.

"If he were a Muggle Studies student, he could have said 'Do you need windshield wipers for those things?' Perhaps the sarcastic answer 'Ooh, what happened, did your parents lose a bet with God?' Maybe Snape could have replied with 'Can you see through walls or what?'"

Lily got up from the floor and smiled at him. James continued, slipping into his talent of the glib tongue. "He could have said a variety of things, including display of his knowledge of Greek mythology with 'Hey, look, Cyclops' cousin!', display of his fashion sense with 'You know, you could de-emphasize your glasses if you wore something larger, like France.' and display of wit with 'I think the lensmaker's ruler slipped.' He could have said 'It must be wonderful to be able to see the sunset in China!' and 'Can you see through walls or what?' Instead, he chooses the generic insult of 'Four-Eyes'. Therefore, Professor, I ask that twenty points be taken from Slytherin for tripping Lily and ten points for Snape's unoriginality!"

The Gryffindors burst into applause. McGonagall smiled wryly. "All right. Thirty points from Slytherin. And just for that speech, Mr. Potter, ten points to Gryffindor."

The Slytherins looked murderously at James, but his eyes were only on one particular girl in the room.

***

Lily sat next to James at lunch. "Thanks for sticking up for me back there."

"No problem, Lils."

"You know I wouldn't have done anything," Lily said softly. James nodded. Lily took problems sitting down, quietly bearing the brunt of them and not doing anything.

"It's okay. Hope I helped."

"You sure did. That glasses speech was bloody brilliant." She grabbed a sandwich and rose. "I'm off to the library. See you."

"Bye," James called softly, watching her retreating back.

Over the course of the seven years that they had known each other, Lily had told James all of her secrets. Every hope, every dream, every wish of hers had been poured out to James. He, in turn, had told her almost everything about him. Almost everything. There was one secret he would never tell her.

James Potter was in love with Lily Evans. And she would never know.

Author's Note: Hope ya like it! Press the little blue button and REVIEW!!

Best,

Lady Wildcat