Glisten

"So anyway Evans, the glistening dewdrop of my heart, will you do me the honor of accompanying me to the village of Hogsmeade on Saturday next?" James Potter struck an idiotic pose, reminiscent of that statue of Sir Archibald the Arrogant outside the fourth floor bathrooms. Or maybe it was Egbert the Egotist, which was down the Charms corridor every day but Thursday. No one knew where that damn statue ever got off to on Thursdays. Thinking of this, I could hardly keep a straight face. Generally, I didn't bother with the whole straight face thing when Potter asked me out, but this time, it was necessary. I was going to get him! James had asked me out at least once a week since we were eleven years old. In past years, I had simply turned him down flat. But I had decided that this year would be different.

It was inevitable that James would ask me out. He knew it drove me crazy, but he did it anyway. So this year, I was going to give as good as I got. No more simple scathing, witty responses for me. I was going to rely on the adage 'actions speak louder than words.' Maybe then he would get the picture and leave me alone. I had explained the plan to my two best friends on the train as soon as I found out that James was the Head Boy, and they were eager to help.

"Oh, Lily, can we help you come up with things to do to him?" Colleen O'Brian, my petite blonde friend said, with a thoroughly evil grin. Colleen and I had been friends ever since Peeves the Poltergeist had dumped a huge bucket of flobberworms on us in first year. In response, I nodded, with an equally devious smile.

"Of course we are going to help her! Why else do you think she told us?" That was Alice Parker. She was the definition of adorable, with her shoulder-length brown hair and sparkling eyes, and one of the nicest people I had ever met, but she loved a good joke as much as a Marauder.

A Marauder, of course, was one of a group of four seventh year Gryffindor boys who wreaked havoc throughout the school and were basically worshiped by all. James, with his gripping hazel eyes, messy black hair and commanding presence, was the ringleader. The others were Sirius Black, who was arguably the most attractive guy to ever set foot in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Remus Lupin, who was delicate looking but had an extraordinary inner strength that no one could miss, and Peter Pettigrew, who was not as attractive as the others, but was friendly and fun-loving. I didn't mind Remus and Peter. James and Sirius rubbed me the wrong way. They were arrogant, stuck-up bullies with puerile minds and infantile senses of humor.

The girls were a great help with my plans. Alice suggested spilling something hot on him and Colleen came up with the idea of making him vomit slugs whenever he tried to speak to me. That spell lasted nearly a week. It was brilliant. Although I never would have admitted it, not even to my best friends, I was starting to enjoy it when James asked me out, because I took a somewhat sadistic pleasure in the nasty ways I turned him down. Sometimes, I looked forward to it all week.

So that was why I forced my face into a pleasant, even sexy look, tossed back my long light red hair, stepped towards him and said, "So I'm your glistening dewdrop, am I?" I could see him swallow. He was ogling me again. Blimey, I hated it when his eyes roved over my body like I was some kind of...object. When he nodded, I went on, "Well, if I glisten for you, it's only fair that you glisten for me, right?" I took another step closer and put one hand lightly on his chest.

"Right, glisten, only fair," he stammered. He was very nearly drooling. I traced his Head Boy badge with my index finger, and licked my lips suggestively.

"Ready?" I asked. This time, he could barely even bring himself to nod. Having successfully incapacitated him, I knew it was time to act. I shoved.

Words cannot describe the satisfaction I felt as James fell into the lake. It was simply brilliant! I felt completely triumphant. And as I stood there gloating, I heard cheers and applause from behind me. I turned and faced the massive crowd. Nearly all of Hogwarts was out there! Instinctively, I curtsied. Then I blew kisses. I was swept up on either side by Alice and Colleen, who were laughing merrily as they pulled me up the hill.

As we made our way to the Gryffindor common room, Alice remarked, "You know, Lily, I think you are starting to enjoy it when James asks you out." Colleen nodded in agreement. I opened my mouth in protest, then shut it. How did she know I enjoyed it? I never had in the past, but now something had changed. Still, I decided against confessing.

"I enjoy humiliating him the way he humiliates me," I said saucily. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"Of course there's nothing wrong with that. It means there's something wrong with you!" Colleen ducked as I swung at her. "You know I'm kidding, Lily. But in all seriousness, do you still truthfully hate James like you used to? I mean, now that you are spending all this time together, what with you being the Heads of the school."

"Truthfully, I still despise James Potter. All we ever do is fight. Even when he's asking me out, we're fighting."

"Does that bother you?" Alice asked. Boy, they really were poking into the feelings and emotions today! I hated it when the girls ganged up on me.

"Well, I hate to fight with anyone, but I guess I'm used to fighting with James. So no, I can't really say that it does." But my voice lacked conviction, and they both knew it.

"Whatever you say, darling." Colleen said. She and Alice then headed upstairs to the dormitory, leaving me alone by the fire with only my thoughts for company. Of course, that delightful state could never last. I heard the Marauders come in and heard James mutter something. I flew through the air and landed on his lap. I wonder how long he practiced to get that spell right. James said something about my being lonely, which of course was ridiculous.

"I would rather be alone than with you, James. You are not totally devoid of intelligence, I would think you would understand that by now." I growled, getting up from his lap as quickly as I could. Before he could come up with a good response (supposing, that is, that he was capable of such a response), I hurried up to the dorms.

Over the next few weeks, little changed. James asked me out, I turned him down. Once, I led him into an empty classroom and stole his wand. Then, I told Peeves that there were little first years in there to terrorize. Of course, he didn't need to be told twice. So I locked the door behind him. Poltergeists cannot move through walls like ghosts can. James was furious. Another time, I charmed a bludger to follow him around. He had to duck every few minutes all day long.

We also continued to argue. While James could be a very good Head Boy when he set his mind to it, he didn't seem to do that very often. So we fought. He didn't want to patrol, he would rather be out with his friends. Of course, I would rather be with my friends, but duties came first! Once, he took fifty points off of Slytherin for "unwashed hair." I was forced to give points to them all week for stupid little things. I don't like Slytherin any more than he does, but we had to be fair. Head Boy and Girl have to set an example.

Once, in the middle of one of our bigger fights, James stopped yelling in mid sentence. So I asked him what the bloody hell was wrong with him. He had the nerve to say, "You know, Evans, you are even more beautiful when you're angry. Your eyes just snap and your hair gets mussed up. It really is irresistible."

"You...slimy cad!" I had always wanted to call someone a cad, and this seemed as good a time as any. "You pick fights with me on purpose! It's intentional! All of those little things that annoy me, you do them just to provoke me into an argument! James Potter, that is low. Even for you." I stalked off to the common room. He could finish the damn patrols on his own!

After that night, we stopped fighting. We stopped communicating altogether. That was fine with me. I was blossoming in the glow of a Potter-free lifestyle. I couldn't help but notice, though, that James seemed the worse for wear. He rarely laughed. When the Marauders pulled pranks, one of the others was always the instigator. James just seemed to tag along. He stopped asking me out. When Gryffindor played Hufflepuff in Quidditch, he flew terribly. If we had been playing either of the other houses, we would have lost. We nearly lost as it was. James stopped pretty much all contact with anyone of the female gender. He even stopped messing up his hair on purpose when I walked by him.

"It is so strange," I remarked to Alice and Colleen one night. "It is like he's become an entirely different person. I think he has finally taken the giant squid sized hints I've been throwing him over the years. Maybe he's finally given up on me."

"How do you feel about that?" Alice asked. The girls had been asking me that question a lot lately. I was getting really sick of hearing it.

"I feel relieved, of course! It is nice not having him follow me around all the time. I may finally be able to have a normal life for a change."

"Define normal," Colleen commanded.

"Normal is where I get to flirt with whatever guys I want, because they won't be afraid of Potter coming and hexing them into the next century. Normal is walking to class without trying to avoid Potter. Normal is having actual conversations with guys, not arguments. Normal is not getting asked out every five minutes."

"Some of us would kill for that, you know. But that's what you want? You want to be able to do whatever you wish, with the guy you choose, not the one that chose you?"

"Yes. Is that so unreasonable?" I was getting to be a little indignant.

"It isn't at all unreasonable, Lily darling," Alice said soothingly. "So what guy do you want to choose, and what do you wish to do with him?" Not an unreasonable question. However, my answer was totally unreasonable.

"I want to argue with James Potter." The words were out of my mouth before I even realized what I was saying. I clamped my hands over my mouth in horror. Alice gently pulled them down. "Bloody hell. I like James."

"It is about time!" Colleen exclaimed. "I hope you aren't too late, though."

"You're right, he's given up, hasn't he? You know what? I miss the old James. I want him to tell me how beautiful I am. I want him to ask me out five times a week. I want him to send death stares and dungbombs to every guy that looks at me. I want him to mess up his hair for me. I want him to call me stupid names like glistening dewdrop. And now it's too late." By the time I finished my little speech, tears were pouring down my face. The girls wrapped their arms around me and held me, until I cried myself to sleep.

Having come to the stunning revelation that I was head-over-heels for James Potter, I realized that I now had absolutely no idea how to act around him. Especially since I was no longer sure how he felt about me. So we continued to go about our duties in silence. Finally, on a Friday night, I got up the courage to ask him if he was okay. His jaw dropped nearly to the floor.

"Evans, I do believe that is the first time you have ever had the common decency to inquire about the state of my health!" He was so damn arrogant!

"So you just think I don't care whether you are okay or not? You think I am that much of an unfeeling beast?" I stopped walking, amazed that he could profess to be in love with me and still know so little about my personality. I was not a cruel person. The only time I was mean was when I talked to him. He should know that by now. "You think, Potter, that just because you can get on my nerves and we argue a lot and it drives me crazy when you pick on people just because you don't like them or are bored and I loathe it when you make your hair messy on purpose and I can't stand when you get all big-headed and egotistical and I hate it when you embarrass me by asking me out every five minutes, I don't worry if you stop doing those things?" My voice rose higher and louder with every grievance, so that I was screaming by the time I was done. James looked absolutely baffled.

"What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean? You hate it when I do...all that...but you worry when I don't? Lily, I swear, I will never understand you, no matter how hard I try! I know what you think of me, I'm an egotistical ass, an arrogant prat, too popular for my own good and a great bullying toerag. Don't confuse the issue!" Men! I had practically told him that I cared for him, and he had completely missed it. Something about his words surprised me a little, though.

"Have I really called you all those things? I don't remember." And that was true. I had insulted him so many times, I couldn't come close to remembering them all. Great bullying toerag didn't really sound like me.

"Well, I remember every single bloody damned thing you have ever said to me, and I guarantee that you've called me all that and much, much more." Again with the ego. As if he could come close to remembering everything I said. He knew that couldn't be true, and I would never fall for a line like that!

"There is NO POSSIBLE WAY you can remember all that, so just stop insulting my intelli-" I never got to finish the sentence. James cut me off. Let me tell you something. I hope he cuts me off many, many times in the future.

Kissing James Potter was nothing like I had imagined. It was so much better! I flung my arms around his neck and kissed back with everything I had. His mouth was burning hot on mine, and I couldn't get enough. I pressed myself closer to him, gliding my hands over his strong back. I could feel his hands in my hair, and it drove me crazy. I pushed him up against the wall, kissing passionately. I felt literally weak in the knees. It was perfect, like a kiss in a Muggle movie. I could even hear applause in the background.

Wait, applause? Who on earth is clapping? Reluctantly, I pulled away to see my friends and James' appear out of nowhere. Then I noticed the invisibility cloak. Hmm, that might be very useful in the near future, I thought, blushing profusely. James was blushing, too, and he dipped his head, running his hand through his hair. It was adorable.

"I loathe it when you do that, remember?" I whispered with a mischievous grin.

"I know, but you worry when I don't," he replied, sliding his arm around me. I was struck by how...right...the gesture felt.

"Trapped by my own words."

"Listen, I am really happy for you guys and everything," began Colleen, "but I just have to know. James, why didn't you give up on her? Everyone thought that you had. Even Lily did, when you got so depressed." The woman had a point there.

"Yeah, Lily said she realized that she cared for you when you stopped being yourself," Alice put in. "She said she missed the old James." I blushed again, as the Marauders all gave exaggerated sighs of happiness.

"I can't help myself, I never wanted anyone else. So I guess I just kept coming back for more. Lily's just the girl I'm looking for. I love her. I love you," he said, looking into my eyes. I felt them well up with tears. I was so lucky to have an amazing guy like this.

"You know what, James? You're just the guy I'm looking for. And I love you, too." Then, as our friends applauded and cheered, James and I shared the second of our many kisses, with tears of happiness glistening on my cheeks.