Changed?

Disclaimer: I do not own anything! Sob! I confess it, okay? It all belongs to the great and powerful JKR.

AN: Hey! It's me again! This is possibly the most terrible piece of literature that has ever existed, but I felt like posting it anyway, because I felt like I needed to do something with it.

James Potter stood on the corner of Privet Drive looking down the street tentatively. He had only been taking a walk, when he saw a figure curled up in a ball under a willow tree in front of Number 4 Privet Drive, crying.

At first he was going to just walk down the street and pretend to not notice the stranger, when he realized that this girl wasn't a stranger. She was Lily Evans, the girl he had been obsessed with for two years.

Now he wasn't sure what to do. Should he just walk past Number 4 without stopping? She was surely too distraught to notice him. But James knew that if he walked past her the urge to stop and talk to her would be too strong to ignore. Maybe he should turn around and go home. But did he want to leave her on her own, crying? Of course not...if he had it his way, he would always be around to comfort her.

James wanted so badly to go and put a comforting arm around the charming girl, and soothe her. What worried him, though, was that she would think he was making fun of her. That would mess up everything. He was trying to deflate his head, and become less show-offish. She was actually starting to tolerate him. Attempting to comfort her could ruin everything he had worked so hard to change during sixth year.

But James being James started walking down the street toward Lily. Now that he had decided to stop at her house, he felt like he wanted to be by her side immediately, and so he broke into a jog.

When he reached Number 4, he started walking again, not making a sound as he crept towards her. When he pushed aside the branches of the willow and was in clear view of the crying girl, she looked up and gasped.

"Lily-"James started to say.

"Potter!" Lily cut him off in a thick voice. "What are you doing here? Go away."

"Lily, what's wrong? I was taking a walk, and then I saw you."

"Nothing's wrong Potter. Just leave me alone. Please."

James walked over to Lily and sat down next to her, and, surprisingly, she didn't scoot away from him.

"I'm concerned about you. What's wrong? Please just tell me," murmured James.

Lily closed her eyes, as if giving up her battle to keep James in he dark about her problems, and said thickly, "My father had cancer-that's a muggle illn-"

"I know what cancer is, Lily," James said quickly.

"Oh. Well, er...today he..." her voice broke. "He passed away," she finished quietly, between deep, steadying breaths.

James felt terrible for her. 'A girl as nice as her shouldn't have to have such bad things happen to her!' he thought indignantly. James had an internal struggle with himself on whether to put his arm around her or not, and then decided that she was too distressed to get horribly mad over it. He hesitantly put an arm around her and pulled her into a half-hug. She astonishingly didn't pull away, and instead put her head on his shoulder and sighed.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"For what?" James asked, nonplussed.

"For crying like this. You must think I'm appallingly childish. I just-"

"Lily," James said softly, "You are not childish. Anyone would cry if their father passed away."

At these words, Lily broke into a fresh bout of sobs.

"Oh, Lily, I didn't mean to make you cry...."

"No, James, it's just...it's so distressing. And now, my sister is kicking me out of the house because her fiancé is moving in and she is embarrassed by me, and I have nowhere to go, and now my dad is dead and...." Lily's broke off as she started sobbing once again.

James was confused. How could Lily's mother let Petunia kick Lily out of the house? When James asked Lily this, she quietly explained that her mother had died three years ago. James was filled with anger once again. It was so unfair for Lily to have to deal with so many things at such a young age. Suddenly, he had an idea.

"Lily," he said, carefully planning how to request his idea, "youcouldmebbelivwimeforabit". Yep. He was a real smooth talker.

"What?" Lily asked in honest confusion.

"Er...well...I was just thinking that...well, it's just an idea, but...er...."

"Come on, Potter, you can tell me," Lily said, wiping her eyes.

"Do you—if you need a place to stay—d'you want to come live at my place?"

"Live—live with you?" Lily repeated incredulously.

"Forget it...it was just an idea. I didn't mean it suggestively, I just meant it as a...a...peace-offering of sorts, I guess. Not that I don't care about you, of course." James stuttered quickly. Wait. James Potter stuttering? Since when did Potter ever act in the least bit self-conscious?

"No...I was just surprised, is all. I mean, I guess if you wanted me to love with you.... That is, if it wouldn't be too much trouble...." Lily stammered out.

"You mean you'll really come?" James asked loudly. Lily flinched at the volume of James's voice, but replied,

"Yes."

Maybe, just maybe, James Potter wasn't so bad....

AN: Well, wasn't that terrible? Please read and review! I would really appreciate constructive criticism, as long as it doesn't get too harsh. No flames please! Tell me what you think. Should I keep writing it, or should I totally delete it from fanfiction forever? PLEASE REVIEW! And please also read my other story, which, if I do say so myself, is a load better than this piece of crap.