Dear Lily, As always, James

Dear Lily, As Always James

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Chapter Three: Everything Happens For A Reason

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"My mum fell out of the boat!" shouted Harry with amusement. "Nobody ever told me that!"

"The thing I find strange is that Lily took swimming lessons. She was always such a good swimmer," replied Remus with a slight grin.

"Maybe she decided to take lessons after she fell in?" put in Harry.

"Very good point, Harry."

"And she slapped him?"

"All the time. It was like it was her favourite thing to do."

"He was a very good writer."

"James was always a good writer. Very descriptive. Right from the heart." Remus' eyes glistened, showing a sign of coming tears. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Why don't you read this one." Harry handed the next letter to Remus.

"Thanks Harry."

"Well, it is from your attic."

"But he was your father."

"And you were his friend." Remus then took the letter from Harry's out stretched hand and used the pocket knife that lay on the desk to slit it open.

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Gryffindor! Those were the best words I've ever heard. I have to thank you Godric! Now I'm in the same house of my Hogwarts Express Girl. Well, I guess now I could call her my Gryffindor Girl, still the girl of my dreams, and always will be.

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James went to join Remus at the Gryffindor table. Theodore Sacklebolt, and Veronica Williams were two others sorted into Gryffindor that James knew of. James began to worry when he couldn't spot his Gryffindor girl.

"Where is she Remus! I can't find her!"

Remus had his head turned towards the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, whom was giving the welcome speech.

"Remus!" James tugged on his robes to try and gain his attention. Remus sighed and turned his attention to the desperate James.

"She's gone! Lost! You said she was in Gryffindor!"

"She is."

"No she isn't!"

"Can you just shut up for one moment. I want to hear what the Headmaster is saying." Remus, unfortunately had missed the speech and only caught the last few words.

"Dig in!" announced the Headmaster.

On the once empty plates, were now a variety of foods. Bangers and mash, chicken, salads, and much more. Upon seeing the food, James forgot about his Gryffindor girl and indeed "dug in".

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I knew that at Hogwarts the house elves made the food but I never imagined that it would be quite like this. There was a very peculiar looking jelly that I had never seen before. I took some and put it on a couple crackers. It tasted really good! That is until Remus told me I had just eaten a half a jar of hot pepper jelly. My ears were bursting with smoke and my tongue now had a hole in it. Luckily, Remus fixed me up. I was bloated by the time I was finished and walked out of the Great Hall. We had to follow two Prefects. Their names were Louise Gray and Joshua Thomas. Patricia and Narcissa, or should I say Pat and Nar, where sorted into Gryffindor too. Unfortunately for me, Narcissa has just grabbed my hand and has started to call me Jamsie, again.

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"Jamsie! I'm so glad you were sorted into Gryffindor with me and Pat!" Narcissa squealed with delight. "Though, it wasn't that surprising since you said that you were the Heir of Gryffindor."

"Er, right" said James. He wished that this Prefect would hurry up. As much as he didn't want to say it, Narcissa was really getting on his nerves. Quite abruptly, all the first year Gryffindors stopped. James bumped into a girl in front of him and quickly apologised.

"Sorry about that"

The girl turned around to face him and said, "Don't worry, I'm fine." She had wavy light brown hair with peacock blue eyes. James didn't know her name, as he was not listening to the ceremony. "I'm Margaret Moonstone," she said sweetly.

"I'm James Potter," he replied.

"I already knew who you were. Your dad works at the Ministry as an Auror. So does mine."

"Oh," was all that he could think to say.

It was then that James realised that the reason they had stopped was because they had reached Gryffindor Tower.

"First years gather around," said Louise. "This is the entrance to Gryffindor Tower."

"The password is Neddih Erised," said Joshua. The portrait of the Fat Lady opened and the first years followed the Prefects into the common room.

"This is the Gryffindor common room. Feel free to take a look around," said Louise.

Joshua cleared his throat and said, "The boys dormitories are up the stairs and on the left."

"And the girls, up these stairs and to the right," finished Louise. Then they both retreated to their groups of friends.

"Come on James. Let's check out the dormitory," said Remus. James nodded, glad to get away from Narcissa.

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We had our own dormitory, the first year boys. Nobody else had gone up yet, so Remus and I decided to trade chocolate frog cards. I still had some left from the train. While I sat there, the thought of what my Gryffindor girl was doing at that moment killed me. I had to find out her name, before the night was over.

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James got up and brushed himself off. His robes were still a little damp from falling in the lake, so the dust had stuck to his robes.

"James, what are you doing?" asked Remus.

"I'm going to find out the name of that girl if it's the last thing I do. I have to know."

"Can't it wait until tomorrow?"

"No. I will know tonight!" James marched out of the dormitory and down the stairs. He spotted her sitting alone, while the other first year girls chatted away at the table beside her. With all his courage he made his way towards her.

"Um, hello," said James. She didn't look up. He had to think quickly. "I'm sorry about making you fall into the lake." James felt stupid apologising for something that was most definitely not his fault but if she would talk to him, he'd do anything. James' heart leapt to his throat as she lifted her head.

"Oh. It's you."

Being very brave, James pulled up a chair and sat across from her. The girl then sat straight up.

"Why won't you forgive me?" She blinked and said nothing. "Could you tell me your name?" She didn't blink this time but still said nothing. "Is something wrong?" She then sniffed and looked directly at him. James wanted to hold her hand for her eyes were red and her cheeks, wet. A very quiet noise issued from her mouth, "Yes."

The first year girls had stopped talking and were focused on the two of them. James, without thinking, did grab her hand. She didn't seem to mind. Until, quite suddenly, she got up. "I really shouldn't have told you that," she whispered. She ran from the common room, tears still falling. James got up as well but was stopped by an arm pulling him back.

"Her name is Lily Evans. I'd thought you'd like to know," said Margaret, the girl James had bumped into earlier.

"Thanks," he mumbled and went up the stairs to the dormitories. There was now not only Remus but also three more boys. They were all sitting in the middle of the room, each with a bunch of wizard cards. James only recognised one. The boy that had helped him get Lily back onto the boat.

"Hey James," said Remus. "Want to join us?"

James sat beside Remus away from the rest of the boys. "This is Peter Pettigrew." Remus pointed to a chubby, short boy. He looked a little frightened.

"Hello," said James uncertainly. He offered his hand out to Peter. The boy jumped but extended his hand slowly.

"And this is Theodore Sacklebolt. His father works at the Ministry as an Auror," Remus stated.

"Uh hi," said Theodore.

"Hi!" said James brightly. "Would you mind if I call you Theo?"

Theodore simply nodded. James took this as a yes.

"And I'm Sirius Black," he said unamused. "And since I already know your name," he pointed to James, "I think the introductions are over. I'll be going to bed now." Sirius pushed himself up with his hands and trudged to the bed beside James'.

"Well that was rude," said Theodore.

"Shut up! I can still hear you Theo," replied Sirius with emphasis on Theo.

"Eeek!" squealed Peter.

"You too Pettigrew!"

"I guess we should go to bed. It is quite late," said Remus.

"Who are you my mother?" asked James with a smirk on his face.

Remus grabbed a pillow and threw it at James. Theodore and Peter laughed.

"I SAID SHUT THE HELL UP!" Sirius had now gotten out of bed. He was fuming. "What did you think I meant when I said it the first time?"

"Well sorry. This is my first year and I intend to have fun. And if that means making noise and not shutting up, then I'll do it. It's your problem you won't join in," James said sternly.

That had been the wrong thing to say. Sirius started to advance on James. Peter and Theodore slowly crept into their beds. Remus stood a good distance away but didn't run to hide. James kept his ground. When Sirius reached him, he grabbed the front of his robes and pulled him closer so that he could whisper in his ear.

"I don't want to make this a difficult year for you Potter," he spat. "But if you ask for it, I'll be happy to mess up that pretty little face of yours." He then let go and retreated to his bed. James took a deep breath.

"Are you alright?" asked Remus in a whispered voice.

"Yeah Remus. I'm fine. Go to bed. I'll see you in the morning."

"Alright James. Good night."

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I don't know who this Sirius Black thinks he is. I really want to know why he was put into Gryffindor. He seems like a Slytherin to me. Then that Peter character. Quite jumpy. More like a Hufflepuff if anything else. The Theodore fellow seems nice enough. Actually, I am quite surprised Remus was sorted into Gryffindor. He just seems really smart. He could have been a Ravenclaw. But everything does happen for a reason.

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