The First Date
Anxiously waiting at the Gates to the castle, James discreetly checked his appearance. His robes appeared to be clean, at least no visible signs of stains were available and the edges all seemed to be in tact. Checking the golden watch his parents had given him for his seventeenth, the nervously watched the castle doors again.
"Don't show nerves, and try not to be your usual self" Those words of sage-like advice going through his head. Remus had better be right, because he had chosen to follow his advice over Sirius' of " Just don't look at that absolutely gorgeous Seeker from the Ravenclaw team so that she sees." Although come to think about it, that was also a piece of pretty useful advice.
But Sirius need not have worried, because as he saw Lily walking down the front steps to the castle he thought that no other girl on Earth could compare to the beauty that was Lily Evans. She wore a bright red skirt with a form fitting white cardigan, under the open front black robes .Lily nervously walked towards James and gave an timid half smile as she drew near.
" Er.. you look really nice Lily" , James hoarsely said. "Shall we go?"
With a nod of her head and a soft smile, Lily indicated yes. They walked together in companionable silence for a short distance as they made their way towards Hogsmeade. They had purposefully left a little bit later than the rest of the school so as to avoid the curious eyes of many people. And this pairing would have definitely had the school's gossip channels busy- the ultimate prankster with the rule abiding Head girl.
"So where are we going?" Lily asked after a short while. "Three Broomsticks?" she asked, her eyes saying that somewhere a little more private and out of the limelight was preferable. James immediately caught the inflection and hastily adjusted his plans, because he did in fact intend to take her to the Three Broomsticks.
"Well, I was thinking that we could get some food stuff at the local market and go for a picnic up by the hill. The view there is beautiful and the day is so lovely, it would be a shame to waste it indoors." he invented widely.
Lovely? Did I actually say the day was lovely and the view beautiful? James inwardly groaned as he thought about his words. Lily however seemed most pleased by the thought that James appeared to have put in to the date and smiled broadly at him.
"That sounds like a fantastic idea! I've never been up on the Hill in all my visits here!"
Surprised by her reaction, James realized that his altered plans, did in fact sound a lot better than sitting all day awkwardly in Three Broomsticks surrounded by prying eyes. However, being the suave guy that he wanted to portray, he refrained from letting out a sigh of relief. However, out of the corner of her eye, Lily scanned his expression and suspected the truth. She said nothing, because as hard as it was to believe, James had actually grown on her this year. He no longer seemed to be the juvenile imp who disrupted classes and teased others. He somehow seemed to have matured this past year, which Lily was slow to admit, made him a little more appealing to her. Even his friends, seemed to be a little less arrogant and snobbish to her eyes, or maybe her judgment of them had always been coloured by her intense dislike for James himself.
Remus was actually a very kind, intelligent boy, whilst Peter, the most unlikely of that group was shy and reserved. Sirius however, she still reserved judgment on. Though James and him were the closest of the group, Sirius off- handed comments and seemingly callous actions and pranks caused her to think twice. Also his personal background called for some suspicion in these dark and trying times. His brother seemed to be the poster boy for Voldermort support, so Lily continued to withhold further judgment to his character until she knew him better. Besides James seemed to trust him, and he seemed to be as about anti-Voldermort as they came, so maybe Lily thought that she had just misunderstood Sirius. In any event, if this relationship with James was to progress further than this first date, she would have to get to know his friends better.
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