A/N: This is a James/Lily fic. If you like it, great, you can review! If
you don't like it, fine, you can still review. Flames are understood and
used to fry bacon for my breakfast in the morning. So here it is. Hope u
like it.
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1.1 The Story with the Ending Everyone Knows
Chapter 1: Christmas Eve
It was Christmas Eve morning and Lily Evans knocked on the dorm room door and received a simple "come in." She opened the door with a warm smile that soon turned into a scowl. The only person in the dorm room was James Potter lying face down on his bed, and that was NOT what Lily wanted to see.
"I came to see Remus," she nearly growled at James.
"I don't know if you noticed, but he's not here," James said in a faint voice that may have been caused by the fact that his head was buried in a pillow.
"I noticed that," she said in an acid tone. "Did he leave any notes or messages or anything?" she said as she walked over to Remus' bed, which was next to James'.
"Why?" James asked in a voice that held a sneer. "Trying to get him to be this week's flavor?"
Lily spun around with almost a hiss. "No you great clod! If you must know, he promised to give me some tips on my Vampire essay," she said angrily. "Besides, he was last month's flavor," she said with a mean sort of smile.
Lily was actually a very likable girl. She was sweet and funny with soft curly hair that flowed down her back. The hair was brown with an undertone of dark red giving her hair a look of light red that darkened every year. Her eyes were green and mostly warm and friendly. Right now, they resembled two chips of green marble because they were so hard. James always seemed to bring out the worst in her. Any time she was around him, she ended up saying and doing things simply to hurt him. She didn't like doing it and usually regretted it but not enough to apologize or stop doing it. Of course, they were not always fighting. There were moments when they were civil and polite. And there were even times when they seemed to be almost friends. Their friends liked those times even less than they liked the fights. When they were being civil or nice, everyone spent the whole time waiting for the fight to break out.
For James' part, he would normally have been prepared to like a girl like Lily as a friend. It was partly because of the way that they had met that he did and said the things he did. She would say something and he'd say something back, and then she'd respond... It was a vicious circle that seemed to be unbreakable. The two groups of friends, if not for the blood feud between them could have spent a lot more time together and enjoyed it. But, they refrained from spending time together because they hated the constant bickering.
James turned toward her, lifting his face from the pillow that had obscured it before. "Well, he didn't tell me anything. He's probably down in the Great Hall. Why don't you let me be and go find him?" he rolled over on his back and closed his eyes.
Normally she would have made another acid comment and flounced out again taking his advice. But she couldn't help but notice the redness of his eyes and the streaks of tears that were on his cheeks.
"What's wrong with you?" she said in a condescending tone.
James rolled over again and faced the door. "Let me be Evans," he said so softly that she barely heard him. "I can't deal with you today."
One of Lily's main faults was curiosity. She never could let something go until she knew the whole of the story. So, of course, she was afire with curiosity about what was wrong with James.
In a softer voice she said, "What's wrong Potter?"
"I didn't even tell my friends, Evans. Why would I tell you?" he asked, his voice still soft and low.
"Come on Potter. What's the matter?" There was no response.
In an effort to coax a response, she went to the other side of his bed and sat on the chair that was there. His eyes didn't open and he made no move to stop her from sitting there. She reached over to the nightstand and took a Kleenex.
The next thing James felt was a Kleenex wiping away the tears on his cheeks. He jumped slightly and moved away, his baby brown eyes now fixed on her.
She smiled to herself. It never failed. Like the time she had needed help on a potions essay. He had refused to help her so she had kissed him on the mouth. While still in a daze he had answered all her questions and she had slipped away before he came to himself. Even if he didn't like her, he was still fifteen.
She was fairly certain that his problem involved Elly Mae who was the blond of the month. So she could barely hide her disgust as she leaned a bit closer. "What's wrong Potter?" she repeated.
He looked at her and his eyes filled with tears again. "My sister," he said then stopped. "My sister's dying," he said in a barely perceptible voice.
She stared at him in shock. She had been so sure that he was distressed about some silly little thing. She hadn't even considered the possibility that it was something more important.
"What's wrong with her?" she blurted out, still dumfounded.
"She has leukemia," he said, his voice filled with pain.
Lily was now very confused. "But," she stammered. "But, a simple medication charm will heal any witch or wizard with leukemia. Even if they didn't find it right away," she said.
James looked at her sadly. "That's right," he said bitterly. "Any witch or wizard." Lily still looked at him confused. He sighed. "I've never told anyone why she goes to a different school than Hogwarts. The truth is... the truth is she goes to a muggle school because she's a squib," he said looking away and blinking back tears.
Lily went white as a sheet. "So, there's nothing that can be done," she said in a trembling little voice.
"Very good Evans. Ten points for your house," he said savagely. "Now let me be," he said turning his back to her again.
She sat there for a moment looking at him then she jumped up and came to the other side of the bed again. "Oh, no you don't," she said grabbing his hand and pulling him to his feet. He stood there a moment blinking at her. "You aren't going to sit here on Christmas Eve and mope around," she said trying desperately to think of a way to divert his attention.
If he had said anything else, she would either have scoffed and teased or blackmailed him later. But you don't do any of the above when someone's sister was dying. If it had been any other day, she would simply have left quietly. But she wasn't going to let him sit there on Christmas Eve!
She dragged him out of the room and down to the common room. At first he sat in a chair and gazed into space thinking about his sister while she sat making feeble attempts at conversation. After a few minutes of that, she rather feebly suggested a game of chess. To her astonishment, his eyes brightened a little bit and he readily accepted.
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At the moment, the other Marauders were down in the Great Hall eating breakfast with a few other Gryffindors.
"So what exactly did James say when you woke him up?" Remus asked, leaning towards Sirius so he could whisper.
"I'm not exactly sure but I know it involved swear words," Sirius replied in a whisper.
Peter who had been following the conversation leaned in. "It all comes back to that letter from yesterday. Why wouldn't he tell us what it said?"
James' owl Evee had come yesterday with a letter for him. He had opened it eagerly, scanned the first few lines and started trembling. His eyes had gone wide as he read the rest of the letter and his skin had gone pale and clammy. Soon after he had said he was tired and gone off to bed. They had not been able to get any more out of him.
This morning, Peter and Remus had gone down to breakfast early because they were morning people and James and Sirius were NOT. When Sirius had gotten up and tried to get James up, he had been unsuccessful. He had tried long and hard to get James out of his sad cocoon but to no avail. After a while, Sirius had left saying that he was going down to breakfast. James had mumbled something along the lines of, "I'll be down soon."
Once in the Great Hall, Sirius had wasted no time telling his friends what had happened. They were all distressed; James had never shut them out like this before. They finally decided to leave him alone till lunchtime and then try again.
They had just finished eating when Kit and Lucille had come up to them. Kit had shoulder length red hair that was as bright as a redhead can physically be. She had ocean blue eyes and a round face that was usually bright and cheery. Lucille had deep brown almond shaped eyes and long black hair that fell past her waist. It was hardly ever down though. She usually had it up in some intricate new fashion. Today it had been separated into three parts and each part had been braided. The three sections had then been braided together. For her it was actually rather simple, but it was elegant and pretty. They were fellow Gryffindors and Lily's best friends as well as part of Sirius's "fan club". Kit was usually giggly and flirtatious when she was around Sirius but right now she was rather earnest. Lucille was always earnest but she was looking even more so than usual.
"Any of you seen Lil?" Kit asked looking at the Marauders.
"We've looked everywhere for her and we can't find her," Lucille added.
Sirius flashed his best smile at Kit. "Sorry we don't know where she is. I know where she's not though."
Kit smiled back at him and almost giggled. "Where's that Siruis?"
"Gryffindor tower. If she was you'd hear the yells and shattering pottery because James is up there."
Everyone at the Gryffindor table laughed at this. Lily and James near hatred for each other was well known.
"She'll show up," Remus said looking at Lucille. "Its Christmas Eve after all. She'll show up with some wild tale of hers to explain away her absence."
This too sent the Gryffindors into gales of laughter. Lily always had some crazy tale to tell that was only loosely based on what had really happened. Because of this, Kit and Lucille weren't really worried. Lily was frequently gone for the whole day and always had a great narrative to explain away the absence just as Remus had said.
Kit and Lucille joined the Marauders as they went outside for a walk that soon turned into a snowball fight that ended up as more of a battle. By the time they were finished, lunch was almost over and they had to hurry in to get any food. And James and Lily were still missing.
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A/N: Disclaimer: I own Elly Mae, Kit, and Lucille. All other stuff mentioned is owned by other ppl. Not me. *sobs*
So, what did u think so far? Please review! I can use the flames to melt all the snow out of my driveway. Shoveling is such a pain! lol.
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1.1 The Story with the Ending Everyone Knows
Chapter 1: Christmas Eve
It was Christmas Eve morning and Lily Evans knocked on the dorm room door and received a simple "come in." She opened the door with a warm smile that soon turned into a scowl. The only person in the dorm room was James Potter lying face down on his bed, and that was NOT what Lily wanted to see.
"I came to see Remus," she nearly growled at James.
"I don't know if you noticed, but he's not here," James said in a faint voice that may have been caused by the fact that his head was buried in a pillow.
"I noticed that," she said in an acid tone. "Did he leave any notes or messages or anything?" she said as she walked over to Remus' bed, which was next to James'.
"Why?" James asked in a voice that held a sneer. "Trying to get him to be this week's flavor?"
Lily spun around with almost a hiss. "No you great clod! If you must know, he promised to give me some tips on my Vampire essay," she said angrily. "Besides, he was last month's flavor," she said with a mean sort of smile.
Lily was actually a very likable girl. She was sweet and funny with soft curly hair that flowed down her back. The hair was brown with an undertone of dark red giving her hair a look of light red that darkened every year. Her eyes were green and mostly warm and friendly. Right now, they resembled two chips of green marble because they were so hard. James always seemed to bring out the worst in her. Any time she was around him, she ended up saying and doing things simply to hurt him. She didn't like doing it and usually regretted it but not enough to apologize or stop doing it. Of course, they were not always fighting. There were moments when they were civil and polite. And there were even times when they seemed to be almost friends. Their friends liked those times even less than they liked the fights. When they were being civil or nice, everyone spent the whole time waiting for the fight to break out.
For James' part, he would normally have been prepared to like a girl like Lily as a friend. It was partly because of the way that they had met that he did and said the things he did. She would say something and he'd say something back, and then she'd respond... It was a vicious circle that seemed to be unbreakable. The two groups of friends, if not for the blood feud between them could have spent a lot more time together and enjoyed it. But, they refrained from spending time together because they hated the constant bickering.
James turned toward her, lifting his face from the pillow that had obscured it before. "Well, he didn't tell me anything. He's probably down in the Great Hall. Why don't you let me be and go find him?" he rolled over on his back and closed his eyes.
Normally she would have made another acid comment and flounced out again taking his advice. But she couldn't help but notice the redness of his eyes and the streaks of tears that were on his cheeks.
"What's wrong with you?" she said in a condescending tone.
James rolled over again and faced the door. "Let me be Evans," he said so softly that she barely heard him. "I can't deal with you today."
One of Lily's main faults was curiosity. She never could let something go until she knew the whole of the story. So, of course, she was afire with curiosity about what was wrong with James.
In a softer voice she said, "What's wrong Potter?"
"I didn't even tell my friends, Evans. Why would I tell you?" he asked, his voice still soft and low.
"Come on Potter. What's the matter?" There was no response.
In an effort to coax a response, she went to the other side of his bed and sat on the chair that was there. His eyes didn't open and he made no move to stop her from sitting there. She reached over to the nightstand and took a Kleenex.
The next thing James felt was a Kleenex wiping away the tears on his cheeks. He jumped slightly and moved away, his baby brown eyes now fixed on her.
She smiled to herself. It never failed. Like the time she had needed help on a potions essay. He had refused to help her so she had kissed him on the mouth. While still in a daze he had answered all her questions and she had slipped away before he came to himself. Even if he didn't like her, he was still fifteen.
She was fairly certain that his problem involved Elly Mae who was the blond of the month. So she could barely hide her disgust as she leaned a bit closer. "What's wrong Potter?" she repeated.
He looked at her and his eyes filled with tears again. "My sister," he said then stopped. "My sister's dying," he said in a barely perceptible voice.
She stared at him in shock. She had been so sure that he was distressed about some silly little thing. She hadn't even considered the possibility that it was something more important.
"What's wrong with her?" she blurted out, still dumfounded.
"She has leukemia," he said, his voice filled with pain.
Lily was now very confused. "But," she stammered. "But, a simple medication charm will heal any witch or wizard with leukemia. Even if they didn't find it right away," she said.
James looked at her sadly. "That's right," he said bitterly. "Any witch or wizard." Lily still looked at him confused. He sighed. "I've never told anyone why she goes to a different school than Hogwarts. The truth is... the truth is she goes to a muggle school because she's a squib," he said looking away and blinking back tears.
Lily went white as a sheet. "So, there's nothing that can be done," she said in a trembling little voice.
"Very good Evans. Ten points for your house," he said savagely. "Now let me be," he said turning his back to her again.
She sat there for a moment looking at him then she jumped up and came to the other side of the bed again. "Oh, no you don't," she said grabbing his hand and pulling him to his feet. He stood there a moment blinking at her. "You aren't going to sit here on Christmas Eve and mope around," she said trying desperately to think of a way to divert his attention.
If he had said anything else, she would either have scoffed and teased or blackmailed him later. But you don't do any of the above when someone's sister was dying. If it had been any other day, she would simply have left quietly. But she wasn't going to let him sit there on Christmas Eve!
She dragged him out of the room and down to the common room. At first he sat in a chair and gazed into space thinking about his sister while she sat making feeble attempts at conversation. After a few minutes of that, she rather feebly suggested a game of chess. To her astonishment, his eyes brightened a little bit and he readily accepted.
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At the moment, the other Marauders were down in the Great Hall eating breakfast with a few other Gryffindors.
"So what exactly did James say when you woke him up?" Remus asked, leaning towards Sirius so he could whisper.
"I'm not exactly sure but I know it involved swear words," Sirius replied in a whisper.
Peter who had been following the conversation leaned in. "It all comes back to that letter from yesterday. Why wouldn't he tell us what it said?"
James' owl Evee had come yesterday with a letter for him. He had opened it eagerly, scanned the first few lines and started trembling. His eyes had gone wide as he read the rest of the letter and his skin had gone pale and clammy. Soon after he had said he was tired and gone off to bed. They had not been able to get any more out of him.
This morning, Peter and Remus had gone down to breakfast early because they were morning people and James and Sirius were NOT. When Sirius had gotten up and tried to get James up, he had been unsuccessful. He had tried long and hard to get James out of his sad cocoon but to no avail. After a while, Sirius had left saying that he was going down to breakfast. James had mumbled something along the lines of, "I'll be down soon."
Once in the Great Hall, Sirius had wasted no time telling his friends what had happened. They were all distressed; James had never shut them out like this before. They finally decided to leave him alone till lunchtime and then try again.
They had just finished eating when Kit and Lucille had come up to them. Kit had shoulder length red hair that was as bright as a redhead can physically be. She had ocean blue eyes and a round face that was usually bright and cheery. Lucille had deep brown almond shaped eyes and long black hair that fell past her waist. It was hardly ever down though. She usually had it up in some intricate new fashion. Today it had been separated into three parts and each part had been braided. The three sections had then been braided together. For her it was actually rather simple, but it was elegant and pretty. They were fellow Gryffindors and Lily's best friends as well as part of Sirius's "fan club". Kit was usually giggly and flirtatious when she was around Sirius but right now she was rather earnest. Lucille was always earnest but she was looking even more so than usual.
"Any of you seen Lil?" Kit asked looking at the Marauders.
"We've looked everywhere for her and we can't find her," Lucille added.
Sirius flashed his best smile at Kit. "Sorry we don't know where she is. I know where she's not though."
Kit smiled back at him and almost giggled. "Where's that Siruis?"
"Gryffindor tower. If she was you'd hear the yells and shattering pottery because James is up there."
Everyone at the Gryffindor table laughed at this. Lily and James near hatred for each other was well known.
"She'll show up," Remus said looking at Lucille. "Its Christmas Eve after all. She'll show up with some wild tale of hers to explain away her absence."
This too sent the Gryffindors into gales of laughter. Lily always had some crazy tale to tell that was only loosely based on what had really happened. Because of this, Kit and Lucille weren't really worried. Lily was frequently gone for the whole day and always had a great narrative to explain away the absence just as Remus had said.
Kit and Lucille joined the Marauders as they went outside for a walk that soon turned into a snowball fight that ended up as more of a battle. By the time they were finished, lunch was almost over and they had to hurry in to get any food. And James and Lily were still missing.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
A/N: Disclaimer: I own Elly Mae, Kit, and Lucille. All other stuff mentioned is owned by other ppl. Not me. *sobs*
So, what did u think so far? Please review! I can use the flames to melt all the snow out of my driveway. Shoveling is such a pain! lol.