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

Chapter 21

Later that evening, Lily found James working on his Astronomy chart in the Heads Common Room. She dropped her bag next to her feet and sunk into the couch next to him. James gave her a small smile as he continued working on his chart.

Interested, Lily peered over his shoulder to try and make out the unfamiliar lines. As James referenced his textbook, Lily watched as he diligently added new lines to his chart, making sure to mark the points of intersection with his quill.

As James reached up to ruffle his hair, Lily's hand shot out and grabbed his wrist, "Stop that."

James frowned at her as she sighed, "I hate it when you do that. You're probably going to be bald in the next six months if you don't stop."

"Don't you worry about me being bald. I've got those Potter genes."

"It's a miracle your parents managed that mess." Lily gestured to his hair.

"Oh, trust me, they tried. It's actually pretty ironic, actually."

Lily turned to him, confused. "What's ironic?"

James gave her a small smile. "My dad invented Sleekeazy's."

Lily gaped at him. "Sleekeazy's Hair Potion? The Sleekeazy's Hair Potion?"

James rolled his eyes. "There's only one."

"But- but- you- your hair- how?" floundered Lily, searching for the best question to ask.

"Oh, my father tried, but I was always his only failed experiment. He always loved that, though. He said that every successful product should have at least one failure." James smiled.

"'Two drops tames even the most bothersome barnet...'." Lily hummed the signature slogan of the potion.

"Yes, I know, people teased me about that for the longest time, but I never minded. I hated that slogan, but it was the reason I was able to live so comfortably, so I never really complained."

Lily's smile slid off her face as she realized what he was saying. "Your family is rich because of Sleekeazy's?"

James nodded absentmindedly, as he filled in the lines on his chart.

Lily straightened up and grabbed his arm. "James! You should have told Slughorn! He loves people with connections... you're perfect!"

James gave her a small smile. "Oh, Slughorn did try to recruit me to his Slug Club."

"What? What happened?"

James sighed. "I fed him some lie about how my father wasn't the Fleamont Potter from Sleekeazy's."

"Why would you say that?" Lily asked, confused.

James finally turned to look at her, focusing on her green eyes. "I never wanted to be chosen for something because my father was famous. I wanted to do it on my own merit, like you, Lily. You had no connections in the Wizarding World, but look at how far you've come, Ms. Head Girl. Anyways, it turns out I was never a Potions prodigy, so I don't feel like I lost out on anything."

Lily's cheeks warmed as she looked at her lap, embarrassed.

"Don't be shy, Lils. You deserve everything you've achieved."

Lily laughed. "Shut up, Potter. You're not good for my ego. I don't want to end up with a big head like you."

James reached out to twirl her long red locks between his fingers. "I guess we could always try Sleekeazy's on you. My father always said that he got 'unique results' on redheads."