InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Toot!"

James C. Potter (stagswagger) wrote in loremrpg,
@ 2011-03-16 15:33:00

Entry tags:

!complete, !incomplete, james potter, lily evans

Characters: James and Lily
Note: Open to any student interested in joining in. Feel free to start a new comment thread or join in the main one. We don't mind!
Setting: The Great Hall around dinnertime, September 16th
Content: SFW
Summary: James had twenty-four hours (and then some) to suss out how to make things right.

James Potter was a great prat. As evidence of his recent act of stupidity, he had a lingering red rash in parts he wouldn't talk about again in front of Evans. At least not any time in the near future anyway. No, James was all too painfully aware of the extent of her vindication, and he wanted absolutely no further part in that. By no means was he a coward, but one more run-in with a hex to the goods, and he might find himself unable to have children in the future. As tempted as he was to suss that little tidbit out with Lily, he thought the better of it. All that free time away from classes at least served his better sense some.

The thorn in Lily's side racked his brain for what seemed like the entire evening in regards to how he could make amends with the fiery redhead. He knew a simple 'Sorry' wouldn't suffice in this case. Even if she had been willing to accept that, though, James preferred to dream bigger when it came to quality. He could half-ass many things, but his attraction to Lily wasn't something he wanted her to take lightly anymore. Although he and his mates could joke about it until the hippogriffs came home, at the end of the day it did bother him to some degree that she simply couldn't see. Or refused. He didn't know which it was, but Lily had him convinced she was blind to his intentions.

Without much further delay, James decided to send an owl home to his father for assistance. He kept things brief so as to prevent provoking his mum's questions, but even so, was able to adequately display the sense of urgency that they respond promptly to his request. Within no more than one hour of his owl delivery, what he had requested was delivered to him via return owl. He had to admit it was a bit smaller than anticipated, but he could make it work. Besides, the fact it wasn't as large as others he'd seen only had to imply it wouldn't take near as long to modify.

Just as he'd anticipated, his project had come to completion only two hours after lunch. It was amazing how much one could complete without the nuisance of classes to get in the way of things. He snuck in to the Room of Requirement to get a stack of items that he was told would do the trick, fingering through the thick stack prior to hauling it out of the room and back to his dormitory. By means of slipping the enchanted key in to position, life was introduced to the gadget. He spent the remainder of his afternoon practicing what he'd say, an idea totally foreign to him but one that was almost necessary at this point. If he could just make Lily see he wasn't all bad this once, maybe she would be willing to overlook those other times he was (and all future transgressions at that)!

James ran his master plan by Sirius and the others, though he didn't get the vibe his best mate was near as excited for him as he'd first expected. Literally shaking Sirius out of it, James managed to gain his support. The two planned their premature trip to the Great Hall for dinner, just to make sure everything was in place prior to. Then, to give himself enough time to appear casually late, James paid off a Gryffindor second year to watch the package addressed to Lily Evans. Within its contents were a note attached to a list. Once that was read in its entirety, the brown paper covering the actual gift itself was charmed to disintegrate to reveal the contents: a muggle record player and a handful of records. Sirius was standing by at the ready with the key that would bring the muggle contraption to life, and if he followed the game plan to a T, all would begin to unfold immediately after Lily's completion of the words James had written.

When the time finally drew closer to dinner, James retreated a ways back so as not to be seen by any other students, particularly not Lily or her mates. He watched as she made her way in to the Great Hall, and from that point slowly followed her in, giving her enough time to take her seat and sort through the prize on her own.

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ungilded
2011-03-17 07:56 am UTC (link)

Though she hated to admit it, even to herself, dancing with James on the tables in front of the whole school? It was fun. Really, that was the sort of general tomfoolery that Lily could get behind: it didn't hurt anyone, it didn't disrupt classes, and everyone involved walked away with a smile on their faces. That, and James still got his customary ego boost and rush of attention, so he ought to have been pleased too.

Honestly, Lily was expecting James to dip her. After all, what better way to end a dramatic, very public partner dance than a dip? Maybe Lily hadn't had dancing lessons, per se, but she had gone dancing before once or twice, with blokes from the neighbourhood, and her mother had showed her what to do. She could tell, therefore, that James was going to dip her, so she continued playing along and being a good sport, arching her back when she felt him shift his grip and bend. As the music ended, James was still frozen looking into her eyes, which made Lily a bit surprised. Did he really fancy her that much? Truthfully? Sure, he had said as much in his note, and his friends had said the same, and there was all the evidence of tonight's ridiculousness, but it was one thing to know it on paper and another entirely to experience it.

They both came back to life once the applause began. Rolling her eyes a bit sheepishly, Lily obliged her fellow students with a delicate little curtsy, then she took James' offered hand as help down from the table. After all, proportionally speaking, that was a much further distance for her than it was for him! Lily let go of his hand when she was properly down, though, and that was when he asked her to forgive him.

After a display like that, how could she not, truly? Still, she wasn't going to make it that easy for him. Lily enjoyed not making things easy for James whenever possible. She scrunched up her face as if she were seriously thinking about it, then appeared to arrive at a conclusion, one that she had actually been considering before tonight's events even began. Of course, James didn't need to know that. Lily cleared her throat, and then extended her right hand for a handshake. "Hello there. I'm Lily Evans. It's a wonder we haven't met yet, despite being in the same house and year for such a long time, isn't it?" Hopefully, James would figure out what she was doing and play along, as she had done for him.

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stagswagger
2011-03-18 05:19 am UTC (link)

Of course James was beaming when he saw Lily dip down to curtsy for their adoring audience. That was a side of her that didn't come out too frequently when he was around, so the fact James helped cause that to surface made him feel even more accomplished. It also didn't hurt to be reminded she was capable of handling the spotlight. James could name so many girls off the top of his head who would have shied away when all was said and done, but that was far from Lily's response. She proved once again why Gryffindor was the house for her, facing the crowd just as confidently as ever prior to allowing James to help her down from the table.

The time that passed between the point when he'd asked forgiveness and when Lily actually verbally responded was brutal, James nearly jumping then gun by offering further words in exchange for her pardon. He forced himself to remain quiet, though, watching Lily's every change of facial expression. Initially he thought he'd have to figure something else out. Surely if it was taking her such deep thought that couldn't mean anything good! After she'd cleared her throat, however, Lily offered her hand to James. Admittedly he was shocked at first. His eyes looked down at her hand briefly as if surprised she was willing to forgive him, let alone breach the strict 'no physical contact with Potter' rule. Smiling as he shifted his eyes back to hers, James took Lily's smaller hand in his. "Lily Evans," he repeated, smiling as he grabbed the outside of their hands with his other one. "James Potter, at your service. You'll have to forgive me. I would have introduced myself sooner, but this gangly, messy-haired twot threatened to hang me from a wall sconce if I tried." James playfully carried on with Lily, attempting to keep himself from giving in to the urge to kiss her hand. Typically he would have done just that, but he wanted to prove there was more to him than that alone. James would have given anything in the world right then just to pull her in to a hug, but again, didn't want to ruin all he'd fought to secure.

Removing both of his hands from hers, reluctantly as ever, James began to escort Lily down the table back to where her record player was located. "So tell me, Miss Evans. Is there any chance you have a spare seat nearby this evening? My mates reckon they've seen enough of my ugly mug today and have exiled me from my typical spot at the table."

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ungilded
2011-03-18 04:58 pm UTC (link)

A part of Lily acknowledged that James' hands were warm when they wrapped around her own, but Lily quickly shoved that thought away. Her smirk grew into a smile when he picked up on the game, though she had to break character and laugh at his suggestion of what had kept them from 'meeting'. "You ought to have hung him from one instead, then, and see how he liked it. If anyone deserves to be hung from a wall sconce, it's gangly, messy-haired twots," Lily responded, a playful tone edging into her voice. This was the first time in recent memory that she had been playful with James; normally she was exasperated or furious. She much preferred playful.

Lily allowed James to accompany her back down the table to her prior seat, pointedly ignoring stares, whispers, and the occasional catcall from their peers nearby. It was ridiculous to be sure, but nothing she couldn't handle, and to prove it, she responded to James as if there were no one else around, almost-playful smile still clearly present. "I suppose that could be arranged," she said. Part of the reason Lily said yes was out of gratitude for James' gift, and part was to continue to test her hypothesis that James was much more tolerable when separated from his mates.

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