Your Greatest Fan

~The strands in your eyes

That color them wonderful

Stop me and steal my breath~

As hard as he tried, James Potter could barely form the words to the

beginning of his essay for Professor McGonagall. He had been sitting there idly for nearly half an hour with a blank parchment, tapping his quill lightly against the wooden table. Transfiguration was his best subject too, but lately the sixteen-year-old wizard had only one thing on his mind. And she was sitting on the other side of the Gryffindor common room, directly in his line of vision. He watched adoringly as she flicked a lock of red hair from her eyes and leaned over to look at the notes of a second year she was tutoring. Her brow crinkled slightly in concentration as she read. It made James smile. Everything she did seemed to make him smile these days.

~Emeralds from mountains

Thrust toward the sky

Never revealing their depth~

Suddenly, she looked up, her striking green eyes locking into his. James froze, feeling his face grow warm with embarrassment, but she just smiled. When his shell-shocked expression didn't change, she mouthed to him, What? Something wrong?' She put a hand up to smooth her hair or brush something from her robes. James shook his head. No, nothing' he mouthed back. In his mind, his response continued.. 'You're absolutely perfect'. She smiled at him again before shifting her focus back to the student.

~Tell me that we belong together

Dress it up with the trappings of love~

James let out a sigh. He could feel his heart thudding harder in his chest and realized he had been gripping the quill so hard it left a dent in his finger. Why was she doing this to him? Outside of the Marauders, Lily Evans and himself had been best friends since their first year at Hogwarts. And only friends. Sure, James had always thought she was pretty, but he had never wanted anything more than her friendship..until now. Now he could hardly get through a day without at least once thinking of her in a romantic light. When they walked side by side down the hallway, he often fought the urge to lace his fingers through hers. When she was cold, he wanted to do more than give her a scarf or a cloak. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and never let go.

~I'll be captivated

I'll hang from your lips

Instead of the gallows

Of heartache that hang from above~

James' thoughts were cut off abruptly by laughter as a cluster of girls

climbed through the portrait hole into the common room. One raven-haired girl with large violet eyes laughed the loudest. The sound made James want to cringe. Rose Everett. A name forever notorious in his memory. She broke his heart right before Christmas break. It destroyed his holiday so horribly that James even opted to stay at school instead of going home for once. His family had always been thrilled about his relationship with Rose and were constantly asking about her in their owls. He didn't have the heart to tell them that after nearly two years it was over. He didn't want them to

know the truth, that the girl he once cared for so deeply had been seeing another boy behind his back for one of those two years. It was one of the worst moments life offered him..

~I'll be your crying shoulder

I'll be love suicide~

..and then there was Lily. One of the greatest blessings in his life. Peter, Sirius and Remus had all gone home for vacation, but she stayed back with him. She had once told him that Hogwarts felt more like her home than any place else. James was grateful for her company. He would never forget that night they sat on the floor of the boy's bathroom, talking for hours after dinner. He spilled the contents of his heart out along with a downpour of tears. He was quite sure that Lily had never seen him cry before and yet it didn't seem to alarm her. She still listened intently to everything he had to

say. Most notably, she gave him the warmest hug he'd ever felt and kissed him tenderly on the cheek before bidding him goodnight. He finally smiled for the first time in days.

~I'll be better when I'm older

I'll be the greatest fan of your life~

>From that moment on, James began to feel a tingle scatter through his veins whenever he thought of Lily. That tingle turned into a feeling so strong, it enveloped his entire being. He thought he was in love with Rose, but his love for Lily seemed insurmountable in comparison. It scared him. How could his emotions get so riled up over one girl? It took him no time to realize she wasn't just one girl. She was extraordinary. She was everything he had ever wanted. Why did it take him almost six years to see it? The smart little redhead in pigtails he met on the Hogwarts Express was now an

astounding, beautiful young woman. And James, despite his grades and Quidditch ability, was still a prankster who got a rise out of turning all of Severus Snape's underwear Gryffindor colors (how, exactly, he and the Marauders accomplished this is unknown). Certainly a sophisticated girl like Lily wouldn't want a guy like him... or would she? He wished he knew the answer.

~You're my survival

You're my living proof

My love is alive, not dead~

"James?"

He blinked. Lily was now standing in front of him, a small grin on her face.

"Hm?"

"It's almost ten o'clock and... eh..." She averted her gaze towards the still-empty parchment that sat before him. "...you must have dozed off for a moment or something... but, do you want some help with that? I know it's due tomorrow and I--"

"Yes!" James almost blushed at the tone of eagerness in his voice. "I-I mean, sure. I'd like that."

"Alright, good."

She took a seat beside him and they both reached for the book at the same time. His fingers grazed her hand. Gingerly, he let them rest there. This was it. He took a deep breath, everything in his heart and mind standing at the edge, preparing to jump, to let Rose and the past fade away.

"Lily... I..."

~I've been dropped out,

Burned out, fought my way

Back from the dead

Tuned in, turned on

Remembered the things that you said~

"Yeah?"

Those shining green eyes stared back at him attentively and all too soon, his stability was gone.

"I just want to.. .thank you, you know, for doing this."

"Oh... Yeah, sure. It's no problem."

She seemed calm, but unless it was James' imagination, she was turning just as crimson as him. The two friends stared at one another for a brief moment before she turned back to the essay. Almost reluctantly, their hands parted.

"So... transfiguration..."

Lily began to flip through pages, trying to look absorbed in the material. However, the traces of a different kind of smile slowly crossed her lips. And if at all possible, James suddenly loved her even more.

~I'll be the greatest fan of your life.~