Disclaimer: Harry Potter, Hogwarts, or anything that has ever been mentioned in the Harry Potter books does not belong to me. I would like to own them, and make billions of dollars every year, but the only thing in this story that is mine is my plot, if you can call it one. I am simply one of those very sad people who obsess over something that isn't real. Also, James's letter at the bottom is a direct quote from AIDA. So please, don't sue me, all I have that is of any value is a cello and a computer. Thank you for your time.
Prologue
Lily Evans walked around the lake for one last time, still reeling from the knowledge that her time at Hogwarts was over. 7 years had gone by so fast. Hogwarts had truly been her home, more so than the place where she lived during the summer with her parents and her sister.
And yet, Hogwarts was never the same after that one day, six months ago, when four small words had brought Lily's entire world to a crashing halt.
I accept your wager. Not what you would expect, when informed of a destroyed life. But those words had meant everything to Lily.
She knew she should have known better than to trust James Potter. SHe knew it. But, at the same time, she was glad she had. She knew that she would never feel that same rush of joy with anyone else, knew that she would never love anyone else as much as she loved James. But that only twisted the knife in the wound.
Maybe you should have listened to him, a voice scolded in her mind. He did seem very anxious to have you understand, after all.
Oh, sure, anxious, the other, more cynical self replied. It took him what, 45 hours to get a new girlfriend? He never cared. Not at all.
He told you that he loved you.
This is James Potter, remember? He's probably told millions of girls that. You don't need to worry about him anymore. You're leaving, and you're probably never going to see him again.
That much was true, at least. Her NEWT scores were extremely good, and she had accepted an offer to go study curses and the like at an institution in Paris, finding ways of blocking them, counter-curses, things like that. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and she had been wanting to do it every since she was in her first year, when Professor Flitwick had mentioned it in class one day.
Not to mention that you'd be away from James Potter.
Lily frowned. Would that voice never leave her alone? Yes, she would like to be away from him. The last six months had been a complete torture.
He had done as she had asked, and left her alone, except for when they had had their Head duties. But that had been more painful than anything he could have said. She would sometimes feel like he was staring at her, but when she turned around, he was talking with his friends.
On the subject of his friends, that was another reason that she couldn't wait to leave. Her best friend, Anna Smith, had been going out with Sirius until around the middle of the year, when something drastic had happened. Lily had no idea what it was, but, from what she gathered, Sirius had done something stupid.
Anna had refused to tell her anything, pleading that Lily had done the same thing during the break-up with James, but Lily had heard quite a few interesting rumors.
Rumors that Snape was in the hospital wing for some unknown injury. Rumors that Remus and Sirius, who had never been in a fight before, were refusing to speak to each other. That one was startling, but what was even more startling was the fact that James was siding with Remus.
Normally, Lily wouldn't care what was going on with the Marauders. They didn't really concern her anymore. But she had the vaguest intuition that this problem had to do with her.
There had been a time when she was on her way to the common room, and had heard Sirius protest loudly, "Well, if Snape hadn't show her that note, then there wouldn't have been a need for all of this."
He and Remus had shut up when they saw her, but the questions were still flitting around her mind. But she had no need to think about any of this. This chapter of her life was over. And none of it seemed to matter anymore.
The train would leave in about thirty minutes. She had said her goodbyes, and had nothing left to do, so she had decided to watch the squid float lazily around the lake, and bask in the sun's warmth.
"Cutting it a little close here, aren't you, Lily?" James Potter had crept up behind her while she was musing, and now stood right next to her.
"Does it really matter to you, James?" She responded, somewhat icily. What business did he have, coming up and ruining a perfectly good moment?
James stuck his hand and his pockets, looking somewhat self-conscious. "Look, I know we didn't part on the best of terms," Lily scoffed quietly, but he ignored that, and continued, "And I'm sorry for that. I just wanted to wish you luck in whatever you're going to do now."
"Thanks," She replied, somewhat taken aback. What was he playing at? Sure, they weren't enemies like they had been once, but they still weren't friends, and she had no idea where he was going with this discussion.
"And I wanted to give you my address and such. See if maybe we could keep in touch. I've always enjoyed your company, Lily, and you always have had really good advice. Now, I need to be leaving. Bye." He handed her a folded slip of paper, and hurriedly walked away.
Lily weighed the options in her mind, and then, mustering all her willpower, threw the little piece of paper into the lake. It seemed like a drastic thing to do, but Lily was, above all things, a realist.
She knew that James Potter brought with him heartache and despair, and she didn't need any more of either of those things.
She watched the little piece of paper bob for a few minutes, and then turned and began her descent to the carriages, which would take her away from her, away from the memories, away from the joys, away from the tears.
It was indeed a rash choice of hers. If she had looked, she would have seen the small writing at the bottom of the note, under the scrawled address.
I'm sorry for everything I've said, and for anything I've forgot to say too. When things get so complicated, I stumble, at best, muddle through. I wish that our lives could be simple. I don't want the world, only you. I wish I could tell you this face to face, but there's never the time, never the place. So this letter will have to do. I love you. James
Lily could have ended everything for both of them right there, but she was too stubborn, too unyielding before change. So they went off in their separate directions, James becoming an auror and Lily became a master of anything and everything that had to do with curses.
They continued their own lives until one day, three years later, when the French Ministry of Magic received a desperate plea for help.
There, I told you a sequel would come. And so it has. Not precisely cheerful, but I happen to like angst.
You know the drill. You've read, now you go review. Please, hold of on the anonymous flames. I know that some people hate my writing, and I'm sorry. But you can very easily explain what's wrong in common, courteous words rather than yell at me about how much I suck.
And I'm sorry for anything that's too American or modern. I try, I'm just too used to the pop culture.
Now, to answer my reviewers from the last chapter of Of Notes and Bets,
sassafras029- Oh, I feel very special. And Kudos must go to you, also. But, alas, I cannot have a cat. My three dogs would eat it.Hikaru- They cannot be happy, for no one can be happy. Happy is a dog that lives at my house and bounces around a lot.
prongsandpaddy- I told people that putting their lives or sanity in my hands wasn't smart. But did they listen? Nooooooooooooooooo.
dolcezza113 – Personally, I've always been a fan of the cloning theory. ;-)
EmeraldEyedEvans- WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU CAN'T BE SANE IF YOU DO SWIM TEAM! I DO SWIM TEAM AFTER ALL, AND I'm… good point. And your writing voice can't be happy. I hate to say it, but it's true.
Silverlie- aw, thanks. And it's okay that you didn't discover my story until now. Some still haven't discovered it.
ThelovelyladyLily- Do you want a tissue?
marauderbabe289- Beautiful answer, but someone beat you to it. However, since you did get the quote, you can have a Remus of your very own. (Hand him over)
musicgirl141- woops. But I don't want to die.
nebulia- (Wipes rotten veggies off self) Fine, you've proved your point. Here's the sequel.
Mimbulus- Very good, but two people already mentioned it. So you get a copy of 101 Ways to Murder a Pettigrew.
PinkyTheSnowman- very sad.
Alatariel Linwe Narmolanya- NO, NOT THE GREEN VEGETABLES! ANYTHING BUT THE GREEN VEGETABLES!
Moonw- Did in a sequel, but that story's over.
Veneficus10- Yeah, I did set myself up for this one.
le manchot du destin- I don't like Neville that much, plus I'm not one to argue with the facts of the book. Harry is born, his parents just have a few difficulties.
Angelfire Shikala- Fluffy endings can be obnoxious after a while. Did I make enough shocking things happen? And the ditzy blond cheerleader joke is that my friend, EmeraldeyedEvans, who co-writes this story, is a cheerleader, and I tease her about it whenever I can.
Danu3- I'm sorry I made you cry. Well, not really. It's very sad.
munch010- Thank you. Here's your sequel.
Prongsie-Jamesie- OUCH! You didn't have to do it hard!
Ent Child- That is the point of my sequel
poters property- Dude, first off, you haven't been spending enough time with teenagers. They tell each other they love each other all the time. And I have not killed Harry, and they will end up together. They just didn't at the end of that particular story. So chill. Geez.
NorberttheDragon- I love it when people beg. It makes me feel so powerful. And yes, I've seen potter puppet pals. I actually started a trend of them around the middle school.
andomguy51- NO, NOT Sirius! (Takes him and hides him in a closet) There, now you can't have him.
harrysmom- YEAH! SOMEONE GOT THE QUOTE! There was actually a whole lot more of it, basically all of Lily's responses, but that's okay. So, do you want a part? If so, give me a name to refer to you by. OR you can just take a copy of 101 Ways to Murder a Pettigrew
Anonymous- I'm sorry. I'm an American teenager, we all slaughter the lingo. Please forgive me. Thank you for pointing it out, though. Now I know to look for it.
Now, I have said all I have to say.
You are getting sleepy. Very very sleepy. You are under my spell. When I clap my hands, you're going to click that purple button down there and review. Ready? (CLAP)
Ciao-ness to the third power platinum edition,
Sally