Tale as Old as Time

“Tale as Old as Time”

By marzoog

The sky looked like navy velvet out of the window Lily Evans noted. She longed to be out there, but wasn’t it too cold? And weren’t the Quidditch team out there? She would not be seen taking a moonlight stroll by the lake by the Gryffindor Quidditch team. They would think she was insane or something. Well, they hardly noticed her anyway, why should they care if she were taking a walk in the moonlight by the lake? Lily finally decided to go after thinking that it was cowardly not to go just because she was afraid of what people would think of her for it. She would never act cowardly.

The crisp night air turned her cheeks a nice rosy color and the velvety grass felt good under her feet. Yes, she was glad she came out. There was no one in sight, how stupid of her to suppose there would be, and it was a gorgeous night. The kind of night you never wanted to end, with all its velvety starry loveliness. The very air itself seemed like you had gone into a perfectly heated swimming pool, wrapping itself around you like a warm, pleasant blanket of contentment. She had not just thought that. All those L.M. Montgomery novels and too many readings of Les Mis were going to her head she concluded.

She sat down on a stone by the lake, it was rather uncomfortable, but the view it had made up for it. On it you could see across the lake, to the lights of Hogwarts and you could even see a bit of the forbidden forest. It was a captivating view, and for several minutes Lily just sat and took it all in.

Then she heard footsteps behind her and she looked up to find herself staring into the large brown eyes of one James Potter.

“I won’t help you with your Charms homework if that is what you want.” She said a wee bit saucily.

“I don’t need your help. A fellow can come and enjoy a pretty view of he wants can’t he?” he said as he took a seat on a rock near Lily’s.

Now Lily Evans and James Potter were not exactly friends, nor were they exactly enemies. IN fact they rarely talked to each other. They were both on the quiet side you might say, though Lily was more prone to be dreaming than James and James was more prone to mischief than Lily. They just barely ever talked to each other, that was it. They had never had a conversation that had lasted more than 10 minutes outside of class.

All James had ever gotten to, or cared, to know about Lily Evans was that she was a wiz in Charms, a little geeky and although she had quite a few friends, her head more often than not stuck in a book.

All Lily had ever gotten to know, or cared to, know about James Potter was that he was the Quidditch Captain, a Transfiguration genius, a bit on the quiet side, but still had the reputation of attracting women like flies, and he was best friends with Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Petegrew.

Tale as old as time

True as it can be

Barely even friends

Then somebody bends

Unexpectedly

“So…” James awkwardly tried to start a conversation

“Sew buttons on your underwear…” Lily was pretty sure James would never have heard the Muggle saying

“EW, why would I sew buttons on my underwear? Heck, I don’t even wear underwear, I wear boxers.” James looked rather disgusted; Lily giggled.

“A little too much information there, Mr. Egotist. “Sew buttons on your underwear” is a Muggle saying in response to “So”, or “So there”.”

“I am not a egotist!” said James, forgetting his quiet Head Boy status

“Are too!”

“Am not!”

“Are too!”

“Am not!”

“You realize this is pointless right?”

“Yep, and so, I was wondering, if a Muggle says to me trying to start a conversation awkwardly and says “So”, or “So there”, I can say “Sew buttons in your underwear?”

“Well, maybe, it depends on the Muggle.” Lily managed to say through her laughing, this was rich, she thought, the very idea of James Potter saying “Sew buttons on your underwear” was sidesplitting.

“Hmm…I’ll try that sometime.”

“I wouldn’t recommend it.”

“Oh, why not?”

“Because it would be too funny, I don’t know, only some people consider that saying offensive.”

“Ok, fine then, what should we talk about now?”

“Well in a book I read once called “The Blue Castle” they said that if you can sit with a person in silence for half and hour and yet be perfectly comfortable you and that person will always get along, and if not then you never could get along and it was no use to even try.”

“You read too much. Did you just get that quotation out of your head?”

“Yes, and I think you read quite a lot yourself Mr. Perfect.”

“Yeah, but I read good stuff, like action books and fantasy and wizard novels, Muggle novels are always so boring. And do I detect a hint of sarcasm in the nickname Mr. Perfect?”

“I like classic Muggle books better, even if they are not action packed. And yes, I think that you would have to be daft not to catch that note of sarcasm in the nickname Mr. Perfect.”

“So am I daft then?” James cocked his face into an adorable look up at Lily

“In some ways, yes.” James’ face fell slightly, “and in some ways that’s a good thing.” His face brightened up again. Lily wondered why he should care so much of her opinion that his face was falling when she criticized him, or was that just acting?

Just a little change

Small to say the least

Both a little scared

Neither one prepared

Beauty and the Beast

Lily hummed while James thought of a response, neither in too much of a hurry to talk again; just enjoying each other’s company was enough.

“So, what do you think makes people daft?”

“Well, for one thing, you seem to think that you can own a girl like an object or money.”

“No I don’t!”

“Yes you do, you know I’m right.”

“Well, fine then, but I’ll have to try and convince you of that one. I will prove I don’t treat women like inanimate objects.”

“Wow. You used a big word, little Jamesie-Wamesie is growing up.”

“Please cut the sarcasm and mean comments,” he looked up at her a little pleadingly, “I get it from almost every other girl in this school that I could have a decent conversation with, and I don’t need it from you too.”

“Ok, fine, truce. It just seems like your too pretty-boy looking to have a brain of any size, shape, or capacity.”

“Ah, so the girls of Hogwarts say, but that’s not true. Generalizations about people are generally not true. Just because I am, as you say, ‘pretty boy looking’”, he gave his robes a self-satisfied tug at the collar line,” doesn’t mean I don’t have a brain.”

Lily giggled, this was priceless, James Potter scrunching up his face as he tripped into the lake after patting himself a wee bit too hard in the head and losing his balance, what a tale to tell the Hogwarts female population. She laughed hysterically as James pleaded for her to help him out.

“You got yourself into this mess James Potter, by losing your balance, and you can get yourself out of it.”

“Lily,” He shook his finger out of that water at her, “what did I tell you about generalizing people, especially me? Please help me!” the adorable look was on his face again.

“Well, alright then.” Lily got off her stone and went over to the side of the lake; she caught James’ hand and was trying to help him pull himself up when she found herself being pulled in.

“James Harold Potter!” she shrieked

“Hey, you wouldn’t help me.”

“Is that any reason to get me in the lake?”

James looked almost sheepish

“Yes.”

“Ugh, “Lily groaned, “I’ll get you.”

“You’ll have to catch me first.” And James was off swimming in the opposite direction of the rock.

Lily swam to catch up with him and she eventually did. Lets just say that James had never had so much water dumped on him in his life as in that water fight, and yet, he couldn’t help smiling through it.

Lily had looked good when she was angry, her eyes shining. I did not just think that, he said to himself while he was lying in bed. No Potter, she’s just Lily Evans, the quiet, yet always outspoken, girl who is your friend…sort of. You can’t fall for her; you don’t even really know her.

Ever just the same

Ever a surprise

Ever as before

Ever just as sure

As the sun will rise

Within the next few days James found himself wanting to spend more time with Lily Evans. He was surprised at these feelings alot. What did Lily’s Evan’s green eyes and flaming red hair have that the blonde statuesque beauty of other girls lacked? He didn’t know; he only knew that he was finding himself wanting to spend more and more time with Lily Evans. Maybe it was that she didn’t submit to his bidding like half of the girls at Hogwarts. Maybe it was because she made him laugh and growl at the same time. Maybe it was because of the way her green eyes lit up when she talked about books or perfume of “Apple Fantasy” she wore. It was just her. Or was it the way she made James feel when he was around her?

On her first day of school seven years previously Lily had vowed, when she had seen how all the girls drooled over the Marauders, that she would never be like them. She had vowed to treat the Marauders like human beings, whatever the rest of the female population might do, and she wouldn’t be the kind of girl who melted just because a ‘popular” boy smiled at her. Now she was in a tricky situation. One that had thick black glasses, big brown chocolate eyes, black messy hair and the most adorable puppy looks in the world. Ugh, I will not fall for James Potter, the egotistical prat that he is; I will maintain my dignity. Besides, its not like he’s given me a second glance. And I barely know him, how could I fall for him?

Tale as old as time

Tune as old as song

Bittersweet and strange

Finding you can change

Learning you were wrong

The next morning at breakfast Lily walked by James’ table, only to see him breaking up with his flavor of the week. The girl started crying and ran out of the Great Hall. Lily went up to James to give him the tongue-lashing he deserved.

“What did you do that to her for?” Lily demanded

“Do what?” James asked, trying to sound if he was ignorant of what she was talking about.

“Just go and break up with her after only going out with her for one week? I told you, you treat women like inanimate objects.”

“I do not! I was very nice to her when we did go out!” James protested

“But you just crushed her under your heel just now, like her aside, isn’t that just as bad?”

“No, some people are mean to their girlfriends while they go out with them, but I just break up with my girlfriends periodically to get a little change.”

“A LITTLE CHANGE!” Lily almost shrieked, “You go around breaking poor girl’s hearts for just a little change!”

“Lily… calm down…for god’s sakes don’t make a scene.” And James had to drag her by the arm out of the Great Hall to get her to quiet down.

Again James had to notice the fiery look in her eye was appealing. It was as though her eyes were made of emerald fire. Her hair was streaming back from her head in a sort of mane, the red going against her pale, almost pasty looking skin. She wasn’t exactly beautiful, but she was defiantly cute looking. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that those eyes were the single most beautiful thing James had ever seen. They were like the truth, boring into him. They pierced his sense like a dagger and her knew that they could never lie. Not when they were looking like that.

Certain as the sun

Rising in the east

Tale as old as time

Song as old as rhyme

Beauty and the Beast

Suddenly Lily forgot what she was arguing about for second, those brown eyes seemed to make her stand still in time, then she came back to herself with a jolt. Had she, shy, bookish, Lily Evans just yelled at her not friend, not enemy James Potter, for…for having so many girlfriends? Surely there must be some reason behind it, some reason why she had just burst out like that, some logical reason to explain those flip flops in her stomach and those butterflies her heart. Some reason…there must be.

James was silent too. They just looked at each other; then he stepped forward. Then she did. It was sort of like a trance, sleepwalking, anything but an ordinary logical reason. It almost frightened Lily. It was not normal or logical or had a reason behind it. It was just there. Something, something tugging at her heart since that night he had pushed her in the lake. Just there, there was no other way to describe it. It was just a feeling, just a silly emotion, nothing worth counting or feeling. Or was it? Lily couldn’t tell, maybe she just didn’t want to try.

“Lily…why did you do that?”

“Because you were annoying me and that Hufflepuff girl is nice, and you don’t deserve her if you just going to keep dumping girls like you throw away trash.” Lily’s voice was slightly less firm than it had been, but James didn’t seem to notice.

“I don’t throw girls away like trash. I try to treat them with respect. I just can never seem to find the one.” James looked faintly wistful, like one does when one confesses a dream we feel others might consider foolish.

“James…there are about one-hundred and sixty-eight girls at Hogwarts (A/N I worked this out; might be right, might not, but I did 6(for the number of each girl in each house per grade) times 7 (the number of grades) times 4 (the number of houses) and it equally 168), surely you can find one who you like or even love enough to go out for more than a week with!” Lily practically fumed.

“I have.”

“What?” Lily’s voice betrayed her shock, or was it disappointment, quite clearly.

“You.”

Tale as old as time

Song as old as rhyme

Beauty and the Beast