You wish Potter : A Jily Fanfiction

The Forbidden Forest

It had been a strange, endless week. Despite the desperate attempts of their friends, James and Lily hadn't spoken to each other since the night they arrived. James couldn't shake the feeling of despair that swallowed him whole when he passed Lily, pink cheeked and bright eyed from the crisp air outside. When Lily saw James, goofing around in a huge armchair by the fire, rosy warm and full of life, she longed for him with every bone in her body. Yet each stayed as quiet as the other.

It wasn't until the following week, on a particularly blustery Tuesday morning, that Marlene McKinnon took matters into her own hands. The Gryffindor seventh years descended the dozen or so steps to the third floor charms corridor, trying to shake off their morning grogginess. The cool air in the old classroom was refreshing, despite the dust and the strong sent of old books.

Lily and Marlene took their seats at the back of the room, continuing their conversation in urgent murmurs. James lingered by their desk, itching to hear more of the conversation that so frequently mentioned his name.

"Come on, Prongs," yawned Sirius, shoving him lazily to his seat.

"Hang on, James, would you sit with me?" Remus asked, winking and swinging his battered satchel onto the seat directly in front of Marlene's.

"Yeah, sure mate, why not?" James shrugged, grateful for his friends subtle thoughtfulness.

It's very difficult to concentrate in an introductory charms lesson on turning vinegar to wine, especially when the two girls behind you are whispering intently, and you seem to be the topic of their pressing conversation. So you can hardly blame James Potter for falling off his chair, when the shrill voice of Professor Flitwick broke the silence of scratching quills and rustling papers. Flitwick continued to squeak over the snorts of laughter from his class, as James jumped up and straightened himself out.

"Miss McKinnon, please feel free to share with the class whatever it is you and Miss Evans feel is more important than my lesson," squealed the professor through tightly pursed lips.

"Actually sir," Marlene stood up, glancing down at the panicked face of her friend, "There is one thing, if you don't mind?"

Flitwick bounced on the balls of his feet, dangerously close to the edge of the precariously stacked books he was standing on. He flushed red, quite taken aback, but nodded and said, "By all means."

"Well okay, so you probably all know that, er, James..." Marlene pointed at the dark haired boy in front of her, who chose this moment to hide his blushing face in his hands, then continued. "James has had a massive crush on Lily for, well, forever, and that Lily pretty much locked him in the friend zone." Lily also buried her head in her arms. "But recently it's been more than that...then some things happened..." she sighed. "Anyway, Lily told me this morning that, she's only realised, how much James meant to her, now that he's gone." Lily's jaw dropped. "I know how Lily feels about him, but I don't think she knows yet. Anyway, I think they need to give each other a chance; I think they need to give them a chance."

Marlene sat back down and Flitwick hurriedly got the rest of the class back to their work.

Remus and Sirius grimaced at each other as they watched a tear splash to the page that James was shakily writing on.

*****

"Come on Evans, just admit you fancy Prongs, and give the bloke a break," pleaded Sirius, planting himself between Lily and the staircase to the boys dorm, where his best friend had been hiding all afternoon.

"Sirius! Just let me past! I have to speak to him!" Lily swatted at his outstretched arms, groaning with frustration.

"I told you, Evans, there's no point! He doesn't want to see you! Now...say you like him."