James and Lily Potter : Sixth year

Chapter 18: summer of sixth year

Meanwhile, James' house was still rowdy and loud, as he and Sirius set off fireworks everywhere, keeping Mr. and Mrs. Potter quite entertained for the night.

"Hey, Prongs, look at this one!" exclaimed Sirius, setting off a bright neon green one. "Looks like Lily's eyes, hey?"

James turned pink and looked away. "Er—yeah, Padfoot."

"James, isn't that Lily's owl?" asked Mrs. Potter, peering at the small owl that was tapping at their window.

"Is it?" he said eagerly, and immediately sprinted toward the window and took the owl inside.

"Oho, a love letter, is it?" said Sirius, grinning slyly. "Read it out loud, Prongs."

"No way!" James laughed and scanned the letter quickly. Then his eyes grew wide, and he nearly fainted dead onto the ground. Luckily, Sirius caught him before his head hit the floor.

"All right, Prongs?" he asked anxiously. "Was it Lily?"

"Sirius..." James smiled shakily. "S-She...she..."

"She what?"

"She's going to accept me if I can prove my love to her."

Sirius jumped up and started to cheer loudly, startling James' parents, who weren't paying any attention to their conversation.

"Sirius Black!" shrieked Mrs. Potter. "Stop it right now! What did the letter say, James?"

"Er—" said James shyly.

"This calls for a man-to-man talk," boomed Mr. Potter. "Now, Sarah, don't pester our son, this conversation is for men only."

Mrs. Potter rolled her eyes. "Well, have fun."

"What about me?" said Sirius pleadingly. "I go too, right, Mr. Potter?"

"Merlin's beard, Sirius, call me 'Dad' already," said Mr. Potter, laughing. "And of course you're coming; you're a man too, and you're also my surrogate son."

"You mean it? Wow, thanks Mr. P—I mean, Dad." He grinned.

Mr. Potter took the two boys to his study, and motioned for them to sit down. They obeyed, not knowing what else to do in these situations.

"James, tell me what the letter says and what's been going on between you and Lily for the past three years." He raised an eyebrow.

So James spilled everything, beginning from where he discovered his feelings for Lily in his fifth year, to the contents of the letter that he had just received. Mr. Potter listened gravely and attentively, not missing a single word.

"Well, James," he said, when his son finally finished his tale, "that's quite a story. Now, let me tell you something.

"When I was at Hogwarts with your mother—"

"Don't worry, I already know your story," said James hastily.

"What? How would you know?"

"Er—Professor Hurst told me at Potions one day."

Mr. Potter appeared angry. "That git told my son our story? Well, did he tell you how I got your mother?"

"He said that you charmed her or something."

James' father snorted. "Charmed her...ha! Yeah, right. No, James, that's what I'm about to tell you right now. I didn't charm your mother; it wouldn't be possible. No, you see, I showed her my love for her.

"It was Valentine's Day, and I took her to a small shop. Not Madam Puddifoot's, mind you; that place didn't open yet. So I took her there, and I told her why I loved her so much, and why she meant so much to me. And I tell you, James, my boy, that is no charm; it's honestly...it's the truth. Women like to hear about the truth from us men; they don't like it when we tell them in a roundabout way. They want it plain."