12 Red Roses

Chapter 1: Valentine's Day

I do not own anything you recognize.. I am not JK Rowling and do not wish to take credit for her genius.

Lily Evans sat by the Great Lake the morning of February 14, or as everyone called it, Valentine's Day. Lily had gotten up especially early to come to the lake to clear her head. As she breathed it the scent of freshness and a little bit of dirt Lily knew this was her favorite place it the entire world. The best part about it is that nobody came to the lake this early or when it's as chilly as it was in February. The lake was especially what she needed on a day like today. 'Valentine's Day.' Thought Lily, 'Stupid and useless holiday.'

It was no secret that lily did not enjoy this particular holiday. Most of the reason for this despising hatred was the fact that she never had anybody to celebrate it with. Every time she got a boyfriend a certain messy haired Marauder, by the name of James Potter, always messed it up. The last time Lily had a boyfriend, James had hexed him with a jelly legs curse just because he was holding her hand. 'I will never forgive him for that.' Thought Lily as she played with her hands, shook her head, and dangled her feet over the water. Her auburn hair fell around her face and her forest green eyes sparkled in the dawning sunlight.

To Lily the morning sky looked like a canvas of neon colors, all of them bright and happy, which was exactly the opposite of how she was feeling at the moment. It was 7:15 a.m. and Lily had nothing to do. 'Besides go to breakfast,' her mind suggested. Truthfully Lily didn't want to go to breakfast and see all of the happy couples. Just the thought of it made her stomach just a little queasy. It would only remind her that she's a lonely 16 year old, and it didn't help that all 3 of Lily's best friends had boyfriends.

Although Lily regretted her decision, she decided to go to breakfast. When she walked into the Great Hall, though, the sight of the room almost made her puke. Almost the entire room was pink! There were hearts everywhere too! They were even floating in midair. Lily sighed and walked down the Gryffindor table and sat next to her best friend, Alice Flanagan, and her boyfriend, Frank Longbottom.

"Hey Alice." Lily mumbled as she took a seat. "Hey Lily." Alice sighed happily as she stared into the loving eyes of her boyfriend. What was worse was Frank stared back with the exact same expression on his face as Alice. Suddenly they started snogging as if nobody in the room was watching. "And now I have lost my appetite." Declared Lily as she sat down the piece of toast that she was considering eating. "I will see you later, Alice." Lily said as she got up from her seat and made her way to the exit. Of course Alice paid no attention to her as she was so wrapped up in her boyfriend.

As Lily walked out of the Great Hall, she ran into a certain person that she would rather not have seen today, or any day for that matter. "Hello Evans. Happy Valentine's Day, my love." James Potter grinned down at her. His eyes were full of mischievous glee. The same glint he had in his eye when he pulled pranks on the Slytherins. "I'm not in the mood today, Potter. Lily replied coldly, while she glared daggers into his eyes.

"Not in the mood for your true love on Valentine's day?" James asked baffled. His hand covered his heart and his expression feigned hurt. "Since when are you my true love?" Lily asked the bespeckled boy in front of her. "Since the day I met you when I made a promise to myself that I would get you to love me somehow and someway. Enough about me though, why do you hate Valentine's Day so much?" he asked actually being serious for once. "If you must know," Lily stated, "I have no patience whatsoever for this holiday, it's just an excuse to spend money. I have never celebrated it and never will." After the words exited her mouth she crossed her arms over her chest and walked away. James' smirk widened as he whispered, "We'll just have to change that then."