[On Hiatus] It Was Meant to Be (A James and Lily Story)

Chapter 24

By the next morning, the entirety of Hogwarts knew that something had happened between Lily Evans and James Potter. They barely looked at each other and when one of them entered a room, the other one would make some excuse and make a beeline for the exit. No one exactly knew what had happened, but the Hogwarts rumor mill had definitely crafted some interesting stories.

"I heard Potter caught her with Sirius. I mean, can you imagine? Going after the bloke's best mate? No wonder they're not talking."

"Oh really? I heard from a Hufflepuff that she slapped him for trying to get her to cheat on their next exam."

"That's bollocks! Apparently, James was smuggling firewhiskey from Hogsmeade and she found him completely plastered."

Honestly, Lily didn't pay much heed to the rumors. Whatever happened was between her and James, and she didn't care what other people thought. In fact, she was still recovering from everything. She had told Mary and Alice about what had happened, but they didn't understand what she was going through. They supported her through everything, but this was something Lily realized she would have to face alone.

It was hard not having James to talk to, but Lily had made her decision. They just weren't right for each other. They were both polar opposites and they could barely get through a conversation without finding something to disagree about.

The past few weeks, however, Lily had gotten a chance to really know James. He was smart and passionate, especially about Quidditch. He was incredibly loyal, which sometimes got on Lily's nerves, but she definitely respected him for it. He was also great at being Head Boy, Lily had to admit. Even though she knew Quidditch took up most of his time, he was always ready to help her with patrol schedules. They were a good team, rotating responsibilities and working through each other's busy schedules.

Nevertheless, Lily couldn't see James as anything more than a good friend and a colleague. She didn't want to risk anything unnecessarily. Everything was working out perfectly, but James had to go and ruin it by trying to kiss her. Lily still remembered the look in his hazel eyes when he had leaned in. Lily's stomach had knotted up and her heart jumped to her throat. He was just so...

No. You can't do this to yourself, Lily told herself. She shook her head as she resumed her walk towards the Defense classroom with Mary and Alice by her side.

"Lily, you've been awfully quiet. What's going on?" Alice asked.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing, I'm just, uh, trying to think if, erm, I missed an ingredient for my Potions essay," Lily fibbed, awkwardly.

Mary raised her eyebrows quizzically but didn't say anything.

As Lily rounded the corner, she must not have been paying attention because she came face to face with the one person she didn't want to see.

She stiffened as her eyes met his. He was in the middle of telling a joke, his eyes alight with mirth, but his smile faltered when he saw her. James lifted his hand to his hair, but thought better of it, and shoved his hands in his pockets. Lily's heart started beating frantically in her chest, and she was sure her face was the color of a tomato.

Standing next to James, Sirius cleared his throat, and Remus elbowed him in the gut.

"Hi, Mary, Alice, Lily," Peter squeaked, breaking the silence.

"Hey, Peter. We're actually trying to get to class, so we'll just squeeze past you," Alice replied, grabbing Lily's arm and trying to push her around the four boys. But Lily was frozen, her feet glued to the ground. Her eyes hadn't left James' face, and he was staring back at her intently.