Chance

***

Chance

Chapter two

By duva

***

'Who did you bribe with what?' My head flew up at the voice.

'Hi, Evans, nice to see you too,' I said, smiling. 'Congratulations on making Head Girl.'

She sighed. 'I guess I should say the same to you.'

I shook my head. 'No need, I'm not Head Girl.'

She rolled her eyes. 'You know what I mean, Potter,' she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. I suddenly found it a little hard to breathe. 'But, as I was saying, who did you threaten in order to get this position?'

'I'm as surprised as you are,' I replied. It was the truth. I was still amazed at the fact.

'Maybe Dumbledore has finally cracked,' she said, but there was a small smile on her face. 'Right, I'd better get back to my friends. See you in the prefect's carriage later.'

It was the first day of term, and I was standing on Platform 9¾, waiting for Sirius who was away doing God knows what. I stared a little at the retreating form of Lily Evans. She really did have the ability to turn my brains into mush, now more than ever.

'Prongs!' A voice suddenly came from behind me, and I whipped around. Sirius was back, accompanied by Remus.

'Padfoot tells me you're Head Boy,' Remus said as a means of greeting, eyeing the badge on my chest. I nodded. Tilting his head, he said, 'Just who the hell did did you bribe - and with what?'

*

After the feast that night, I had figured out a few things. The first one was that I definitely preferred being Head Boy to being a prefect. (And being able to boss over Snape again was only part of the reason!) I also knew that I liked working with Lily Evans. When I could put a coherent sentence together, that was. As long as she didn't look at me, I usually didn't have a problem.

The first few weeks passed without much happening. I was insanely busy, with Head Boy duties, Quidditch practice and NEWT revising, and life was pretty much as dull as the weather.

On a grey, foggy Thursday at the end of September, I was sitting, as usual, in the Great Hall with the prefects, discussing this and that. I wasn't paying much attention to the meeting, however. I was staring, quite intently, at a sixth year Hufflepuff prefect, who in his turn was staring just as intently at Lily Evans.

Alright, people weren't supposed to be staring at Lily Evans in prefect meetings. Only I was supposed to do that.

It was making me surprisingly angry, watching that bloke watching her. By the time she announced that the meeting was over a few minutes later, I was fuming, and had decided to show that little creep that he wasn't the only one who found her pleasant to look at. I glanced up at the ceiling. It was grey, yes, but it wasn't raining.

'Evans!' I called, getting out of my seat. She was nearly by the door, but at my voice, she turned around and walked back into the room. Most of the prefects had already left, but there were some of them left, including the staring Hufflepuff.

'Yes?' she asked, crossing her arms across her chest. I suddenly got very nervous. This was not a good idea.

I couldn't exactly back out now, though, could I?

'Er, I was just wondering if you'd fancy a stroll around the lake,' I said quickly, stumbling a little over the words.

I could tell from her reaction that she didn't think this was a very good idea, either. She furrowed her brows together, crossing her arms more tightly. 'Are you asking me out?'

I was very aware of the Hufflepuff - Stephen Welsh; I think his name was - looking at me with something closely resembling amusement in his eyes. 'Er, yeah,' I mumbled, staring angrily at Welsh, who seemed to get the clue and scurried out of the Great Hall.

'No, Potter, I will not go out with you,' Lily said tiredly. My heart sank. The anger I had felt towards Welsh seemed to increase by a couple of thousand percent.

'Fine!' I snapped. 'Fine. I'm a horrible person, and you'll never go out with me, I get it.' I turned to stomp out of the Great Hall, the anger now mixed with embarrassment.

'I might have considered it if I didn't know why you want to go out with me,' Lily said.

'Oh, you know the reason, do you?' I asked, not turning around to look at her or stopping. I did slow down a bit, though.

'Yes, I do,' she said quietly, in a voice quite unlike the confident one she usually talked in. 'It bugs you that I'm probably the only girl who has turned you down.'

I froze. Did she just say what I think she just said? I turned around to meet her gaze, without even bothering to try to hide the disbelief in my eyes. 'Is that what you think?'

She shrugged. I didn't avert my gaze, but she did. She was staring down at the floor, and I had no idea of what to say. The anger from earlier and the disbelief I had felt at her words had completely vanished, leaving only one thing behind.

Hurt.

How could she think that? I wouldn't... I'd never... I needed to tell her this, that she'd gotten it all wrong, but I couldn't seem to find my voice.

'I'd never do that.'

Ah, there it was. Too bad I ended up sounding like a three year old who had just lost his favourite toy. Oh well, you couldn't have everything. She didn't look at me when she answered. 'Why, then?'

'It doesn't matter.' She looked up at me at this, tilting her head quizzically.

This time, it was I who wouldn't look at her. Shit, what had I gotten myself into? 'You're different,' I said very quietly, staring intently at my shoelaces.

'Different?'

I gave a deep sigh and locked my gaze with hers. Better do it fast and painless. 'I can group the girls I have dated into two categories,' I said harshly. 'The first one is the ones who only want to go out with me because I'm a decent Quidditch player. They'll talk to me, listen to me, but once I mention something unrelated to Quidditch, they become uninterested. They don't care about me as a person; they only care about me as a "the Quidditch star".' I drew a deep breath. Why was I telling her this? What good could possibly come from it? 'And the other is the ones who will only go out with me to get Sirius's attention.'

Lily's mouth fell open. 'People do that?'

I gave a short, humourless laugh. 'Oh, yeah. Remember Tara Wells? Once she had talked to him, she wouldn't waste any more time on me.'

'And Sirius is okay with that?' Lily asked, incredulous.

I scowled. 'Of course not! He'd never do anything that he thought would hurt me.' How could she even think that?

A heavy silence fell over us once again.

'And I'm... different?' Lily finally asked. I gave a curt nod. 'How?' she asked.

I laughed then. She looked surprised at my reaction. 'How?' I asked, not believing what she had just said. 'How are you not? You don't care about what a person is - it's who they are that matters to you. Not looks or talent, but the person inside.' Lily blushed at my words, and it took me a moment to recover enough from this to be able to go on talking. 'You're fair. You're intelligent. You have humour. You're interesting to talk to. I find you intriguing; I always have.' I glanced over at her, having avoided her eyes as I spoke. 'That's why you're different.' She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. That was just as well, because I had finally caught up with what it was I was telling her, and all I wanted to do was to run away. What was the matter with me? I sighed again. 'But none of that matters,' I said very softly.

'It doesn't?' Lily asked, apparently caught off guard by my words.

'No.'

'Why not?'

'Because,' I said, starting to walk towards the door again, 'you won't even give me a chance.' I opened the door. 'And I'll accept that,' I said as I exited, trying very hard to force myself not to run.

*

My mood didn't exactly improve in the following days. I had never felt so down because of Lily Evans before, and that was saying something. It wasn't even the fact that she had turned me down once more that was the worst part - it was what she had thought of me that hurt. She seemed to have me painted up as some sort of a Casanova, dating every girl in the school.

How wrong could you possibly get?

It was true, what I had told her about my dating experience. It hadn't taken me long to figure it out, and once I had, I had kind of lost interest in dating. Of course, the fact that I was completely besotted with Lily hadn't helped, either. I had dated few enough girls to be able to count them on my fingers, and even less of them had ever come back for a second date. I had never had a proper girlfriend; my record was when I had dated a girl for a little over three weeks back in fifth year. What an accomplishment, eh? So, where this Casanova image came from, I had no idea. It was stupid, and it was as far from the truth as you could get. In fact, it was pretty ridiculous. I wasn't even interested in any other girls.

I wasn't too happy when I came walking into the common room one late evening in early October, my Quidditch robes dripping from the rain outside, completely worn out, and noticed a big, yellow paper posted on the wall.

It could only be announcing one thing, and, sure enough, it told me that the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year was coming up.

Just what I needed. To go into the village, swarming with happy couples, and, if I was really lucky, get to see Lily Evans on a date with Stephen Welsh.

No, thanks.

*

So, when weekend arrived, I stayed at the castle sulking, while my friends trotted off to Hogsmeade. Sirius had a date (something that didn't make me feel the least bit happier) and Remus and Peter were just going to fill up on our stocks from Zonko's.

I had sat inside for a while, even after finishing my mountain of homework, but the weather outside was calling to me. I was even finding it hard to sulk when it was such a lovely day. The sun was out, illuminating the yellows and reds of the leaves, and there didn't seem to be any wind at all.

After careful consideration, I grabbed my cloak and walked out onto the grounds. There were some younger students milling around the castle, but all of the higher classes seemed to be either inside or in Hogsmeade. Just as well; though my mood had lightened a little due to the weather, I still didn't particularly feel like talking to anyone.

I started walking around the lake. I had always liked it out here; it was so peaceful. Not many people seemed to come here, either, which was an added bonus. I wasn't expecting to meet anyone, which was why it came as a bit of a shock when someone behind me quite distinctively said 'Hi.'

Of course, it just had to be Lily Evans. Naturally. I mean, who else would it be? I dragged a nervous hand through my hair. 'Hi.'

'Nice day, isn't it?' she asked, catching up to me and starting to walk beside me. I glanced at her. Her cheeks were a bit red from the cold, and her hair was the exact same shade as the autumn leaves above us.

'Lovely,' I agreed, not taking my eyes away from her face. 'What are you doing out here?'

'Oh, Dumbledore needed someone to watch over the first years and I volunteered,' she said. 'They have all gone inside, though, so there isn't much left for me to do.' I chuckled a little, and she looked up at me.

'What about you? How come you aren't in Hogsmeade?' she asked, those damn eyes of hers boring into mine. I really couldn't think when she did that.

'Huh?' I asked intelligibly. Great. Now I had been reduced to one-syllable words. Fantastic. She quirked a brow at me.

'Hogsmeade. Today. Why aren't you there?'

'Oh,' I answered. Still a one syllable word. 'I didn't have anyone to go with.'

'Your friends?'

'I didn't fancy going with my friends,' I mumbled.

She laughed then. 'Oh, come on. You're trying to tell me you couldn't get a date?'

'Well, I'm glad you think so highly of me,' I said, chuckling. 'If you must know, I didn't try.'

'To get a date?'

I nodded. She wrinkled her brow, looking at me questioningly. 'Why not?'

I sighed. Was she really this dense, or did she just enjoy tormenting me? 'Because there's only one girl I would like to take to Hogsmeade.'

She looked down at the ground, a smile playing over her lips. I'm glad the situation was entertaining to someone. 'Why didn't you ask me, then?' she asked, grinning up at me. She actually grinned at me. Oh, sweet torture.

'There are only so many times a guy can be turned down without getting the point,' I told her. She laughed a little.

'Oh? And how many times would that be?'

'Thirty-six.'

'You've kept count?'

'Of course,' I replied, acting as though this was the most obvious thing in the world. 'I have even sorted the rejections into different categories. There are your regular refusals, the ones where you don't even answer, and, my personal favourite, those that come with an insult or two.'

She actually laughed then. Not one of her usual little half-laughs, but a full, throaty laughter. This fact had barely registered in my head when she did something even more unexpected.

She reached over and grabbed my arm.

She. Grabbed. Me. Lily Evans grabbed me. And it didn't end with grabbing, either. 'Come on,' she said as she tugged gently at the sleeve of my robes, voice still full with laughter.

'Where?' I managed to croak out, though I have to admit, anywhere would have been fine with me just then.

'Hogsmeade,' she said and linked her arm with mine, starting to lead me off towards the village. I gaped at her.

'What are you doing?'

She looked up at me, smiling, and I had to concentrate very hard on the task of walking to keep from tripping over my own robes. When she answered, it was in a soft voice, her serious tone tinged with playfulness.

'I'm giving you a chance.'

*

It was funny; when we were sitting in the Three Broomsticks about half an hour later, my bad mood had completely vanished. In fact, I was feeling happier than I had in a very long time. It could have something to do with the fact that Lily Evans was sitting right across the table from me, smutting a Butterbeer, and telling me about herself.

'Yeah, my sister is pretty awful,' she said, chuckling. 'She's quite a bit older than me, and she doesn't like magic.' I looked questioningly at her. 'Alright, that was an understatement. She thinks I'm a freak.'

'What?' I asked, appalled. Lily smiled at my reaction.

'Yeah, I know. To tell you the truth, though, she's the freak. She's nearly thirty and she's getting quite desperate about not being married yet. She still lives with our parents.' She laughed at this, and I joined in.

'Your sister sounds almost as nice as Sirius's brother,' I said, chuckling. At her puzzled look, I added, 'Slimy little Slytherin fourth year. Rotten.' She nodded in understanding.

'What about you? Any awful siblings?'

I shook my head. 'Only child.'

'Ah, lucky,' she smiled.

'I guess,' I replied. 'Sirius lives with me though, and he's got enough crazy relatives to fill the entire world.'

Lily looked interested. 'I always wondered... that insanely scary girl in Slytherin? The one with the long dark hair? Her name's Black, isn't it?' I nodded. 'She's his sister?'

'Bellatrix?' Lily shrugged. 'Nah, not quite that bad. Cousin. She is scary, though.'

She laughed again. 'I know a few first years who have had nightmares about her. Recurring ones.' We laughed both laughed at this.

'You're not scary, though,' she said suddenly, smiling at me, and I felt my face go red. I had been having such a nice time talking to her that I had almost forgotten how nervous I got when she looked at me. 'You're actually quite nice; who would've known?' I laughed again at this.

'Thanks, Evans, I'll take that as a compliment,' I said, trying to sound confident. 'You're not too bad yourself. Although you are kind of scary.'

Lily raised her eyebrows. 'I'm scary?'

'Yup.'

She looked both amused and confused at the same time. 'Why?'

I shrugged a little. 'You just are. But you're not scary in a Bellatrix way. You're scary in a good way.'

'There's such a thing as being scary in a good way?' Lily asked, apparently very amused at my words. My stomach fluttered a little.

'Of course there is. Like a haunted house,' I explained, watching her eyebrows rise higher.

'I'm like a haunted house? I'm not quite sure I like the sound of this. Maybe I should be offended,' she said, but there was amusement in her eyes.

'Haunted houses are scary in a thrilling way,' I said. 'They scare you, but at the same time, you're excited, and once you know you'll get out of it alive, they are really quite a pleasant experience.'

She looked at me, her head tilted for a moment, then broke into a smile. 'You have a way with words, Potter,' she said, and I know for sure that I blushed then. All I had done was saying the first thing that had popped into my head; I was just glad that for once it hadn't made her upset.

'So,' she said, drinking the last of her Butterbeer, 'does this mean we'll be visiting the Shrieking Shack after this?'

*

When I entered the common room that evening, Sirius, Remus and Peter had all gotten back, and were sitting around a table near the fire.

'Where've you been?' Peter asked as I walked over towards them.

'Hogsmeade,' I said, plopping myself down on the couch next to Remus.

Sirius scowled. 'What a mate you are, eh?' I gave him a very puzzled look. 'We all decided that we couldn't leave you here in that ruddy awful mood, so we have been back here, looking for you since early afternoon, and you have been in Hogsmeade all this time? I'm hurt,' he said, looking at me with decidedly fake hurt puppy eyes. I smiled.

'Thanks, guys, I appreciate the gesture,' I said, standing up. 'It was just such a lovely day; I couldn't bear to spend it in this old castle.' As I walked towards the dormitory door, their puzzled voices drifted past me.

'What is the matter with him?' Remus asked in awe.

'Multiple personalities?' Peter offered.

'PMS?' Remus suggested.

'Lily Evans,' Sirius said, and I smiled. He really did know me better than I knew myself.

***