Lemon Tree by ficexchange

Merry Christmas, Johanna (hanna-o)!

Lemon Tree

I'm sitting here in the boring room

It's just another rainy Sunday afternoon

I'm wasting my time

I got nothing to do

I'm hanging around

I'm waiting for you

But nothing ever happens and I wonder

By now the Marauders had unhappily admitted defeat to the creature known as Lily Evans. What would this creature enjoy doing in her natural habitat alongside the humans at Hogwarts? Torturing the poor human James Potter who for, some reason that the other Marauders could not understand was why, hopelessly in love her. Lately James found he spent most of his time moping about the hotheaded girl.

So if you were to ask the King of the Gryffindor what he was doing at this moment in time, he would shrug and go back to shamelessly stalking Lily Evans. At this moment James is sitting in one of the plush scarlet chairs in the empty common room. While many students are finishing last minute homework, James Potter is gazing out the window. The pouring rain taps loudly on the windows, but James is far too engrossed in what he was looking at.

He looked sadly out and his gaze pierced through the rain as he glared into the back of Amos Diggory's skull as he and Lily were kissing in the rain. James instantly abhorred all clich�s the moment the proud Hufflepuff had surprised both Lily and James by kissing Lily. As the couple broke apart James saw twins smiles on the wet students faces. A lone tear slid down the crushed Gryffindor boy's face as Lily grabbed Amos' hand and tugged him closer to the door. The laughter through the thick, rain stained glass echoed inside James' ears as he imagined it.

After five minutes of waiting, the wet apple of James' eye skipped through the common room door. James spun around as quickly as he possibly could to meet her at the door. There was a moment of silence as James' sad eyes bore into hers. Almost as if the two were having a unofficial staring contest, they stared without blinking for almost a minute. James shakes his head, bringing down another tear as he blinks and flees from the girl of his dreams.

I'm driving around in my car

I'm driving too fast

I'm driving too far

I'd like to change my point of view

I feel so lonely

I'm waiting for you

But nothing ever happens and I wonder

It had been a few weeks since James had seen Lily and Amos kiss in the rain. It wasn't the first time he had seen her with another guy. The Marauders were somewhat used to Lily Evans' going through her fair share of boyfriends, none were very serious. Every time, whether or not it was serious, James ended up heartbroken to the extremes, but stayed true to his stalking regimen.

James stalked out to the pitch on another one of the common rainy days. He dragged his expensive, overpriced broom in the mud beside him. Eventually James reached the soggy green grass and lazily kicked off into the dark sky. It was part of his routine, just like stalking Lily was. James flew as quickly as he knew how for what seemed to be hours.

James finishes his practice with a low dive into the cold wet mud. As James walks back to the warm castle, feeling the mud dry onto his skin. In habit, the raven haired Quidditch player ruffles his hair, but removes the hand from his mud stained hair upon remembering Lily's great disliked of the habit. James stumbles into the kitchen's to have his ritual of unworthiness.

Like any day before where he had felt unworthy of the great Lily Evans, James slumped into a stool as ten house elves rushed towards him. They offered him any type food he had ever imagined and more, like usual. Then, James feeling quite pathetic, spilled his day to the house elves. They always made him feel better, and James found they gave great pep talks. Every day the same, James would walk out, a chocolate chip cookie in his hand, using the other to wave.

His high doesn't last long as he showers and goes into a fitful sleep. By the next morning Lily Evans is walking proudly along her boyfriend, almost as if she were bragging without saying a word. With every day, James Potter becomes more determined to win over the heart of the girl he thinks is worthy of no boy. But James Potter is not a boy; he is a man. That was what Sirius told him anyway, but most of the time James liked thinking he was worthy of the girl of his dreams, but only in his dreams.

I wonder how

I wonder why

Yesterday you told me 'bout the blue blue sky

And all that I can see is just a yellow lemon-tree

I'm turning my head up and down

I'm turning turning turning turning turning around

And all that I can see is just another lemon-tree

Even with his many daily pep talks, James still couldn't win Lily over. He often spent hours wondering what she could not like. He could see that he was intelligent and attractive, and James wasn't evil. James had changed his opinions on almost every single thing in his life so that she would find it acceptable. Even with all of that the dark haired mess wondering why he was still attempting what seemed to be the impossible.

Every word Lily Evans says, James burns into his brain. Whether or not it is nice, or even if it's not directed to him, he hears it loud and clear and can never forget. Lily had been with Amos for a few days over two weeks and James was finding himself even more depressed. It was one of things that happened when Lily got more serious with her boyfriend. Even with the speeches Sirius gave to him about her coming around eventually, James couldn't imagine it ever actually happening.

James sat slumped against the beech tree as Lily and Amos laughed and walked around the grounds. James would pray that she might just turn to see him staring and dump the git to stay with James. Although, when Lily did catch him staring she sent him a glare and continued to go back into her blissful facade with Amos. James knew it had to be a facade, because the house elves had promised James that Lily would only ever be truly happy with him, not the vile Amos Diggory.

After staring at the joyful red head for another hour, James slowly gets up to his feet. He exhales deeply and runs quickly over to Lily and Amos. When he reaches her, panting with his hands on his knees, she looks at him, disgusted. James weakly looks up and shakes his head. Before turning to run, he sets her free.

"You win." James whispers.

I'm sitting here

I miss the power

I'd like to go out taking a shower

But there's a heavy cloud inside my head

I feel so tired

Put myself into bed

Well, nothing ever happens and I wonder

After the rather dramatic event outside, James continues running until he knows he is out of everyone's view. James jogs into the empty seventh-year boys' dorm and throws himself onto his bed. He violently pulls the curtains closed around him, and kicks off his shoes. James lies down on his bed and curls himself into a ball.

When in his ball, James remembers being a carefree fourteen year old with no care for love or anything ridiculous like that. The days when he only needed his Marauder brothers and food to keep his interest. Girls were great, but you weren't supposed to fall in love with them. You were supposed to have fun and not break yourself up over one. James knew that ignoring Lily would be more difficult than it seemed, but he forced himself to pretend as if he were making it sound hard.

The next few weeks James did stay true to the promise he made to himself. He did not pester Lily any more, no matter how hard it was. Every night when he went to sleep after the day were he tried so hard, he was out in minutes. Ignoring the love in his life had the most emotionally draining thing James Potter had ever succeeded doing in his lazy life. It makes him wonder every night if it will ever get any easier.

Isolation is not good for me

Isolation I don't want to sit on the lemon-tree

I'm steppin' around in the desert of joy

Baby anyhow I'll get another toy

And everything will happen and you wonder

James finally goes to his friends and the house elves for help. He wants to reform his Lily obsessed ways. To get over the unrequited love, James desperately agrees to every thing the house elves and the Marauders offer. With about fifteen different plans marked neatly in his brain, James attempts one of the things no one at Hogwarts would ever expect to see again. James Potter asked out a girl, whose name was not Lily. She did not have red hair, green eyes, or a fiery temper from what James had heard. Suzanne was her name; nothing remotely like Lily.

After hearing of Suzanne and James (although she would protest that this was the reason), Lily Evans broke up with Amos Diggory. James did his own happy dance when he was in private, but on the outside he tried to look unaffected. Lily, on the other hand, had started to look sleep ridden and sad.

After Suzanne and James dating for a few weeks, James runs into Lily.

//////

James was walking back to the school after his last class of the day, Care of Magical Creatures. It was then that he saw the girl he had worked so hard to try and get over pull him aside from the group of students walking back to the castle. She dragged him until they were out of hearing range and turned quickly to face James.

"I'm sorry." Lily said simply, her eyes hollow. "You were right. Every time you said I would fall for you last year, you were right." Now her eyes were glistening with tears. "You were right every time you doubted my protests of ever wanting to go out with you." Just as James was about to ask something, Lily placed a shaky finger over his lips. "I do fancy you." She whispered, before running back into the castle.

James stood there in shock for what must have been an eternity. The long days he had spent attempting to break free of the obsession of her were all a waste. With the words she had told him burning into his mind, James walked back to the castle and did something he knew he had to. He broke up with Suzanne.

I wonder how

I wonder why

Yesterday you told me 'bout the blue blue sky

And all that I can see is just another lemon-tree

I'm turning my head up and down

I'm turning turning turning turning turning around

And all that I can see is just a yellow lemon-tree

And I wonder, wonder

It was now news to all around the school that the long pining James Potter had gotten the girl of his dreams. Many could not believe the two were really together, but they now were. They had now been together for two weeks, and already they had trouble.

//////

"Why do you always say that?" Lily questioned angrily.

"What did I say now?" James asked, confused to what he had done wrong now.

"You aren't listening to me!" Lily yelled, feeling frustrated. James' shoulders slumped.

"I listen to every word you say, Lily." James replied evenly. With that Lily glared and stormed out of the common room. After an hour talking with the Marauders, James decided to apologize, even though he had no clue what he had done. He took out the Marauders Map and quickly spotted her by the lake. He ran down to meet her.

"Hello, Lily," James greeted cheerfully, waving at her. "Mind if I sit?" He asked as he plopped down next to her.

"See, you didn't even wait for me to reply!" Lily replied with a pout on her face. "I told you that you don't listen."

"I'm sorry Lily," James told her, wrapping his arm around her. "Forgive me?" He asked hopefully. She simply laughed and then that easily they went back to being the happy couple they sometimes were. James hoped that it would last long though.

I wonder how

I wonder why

Yesterday you told me 'bout the blue blue sky

And all that I can see, and all that I can see, and all that I can see

Is just a yellow lemon-tree

Lily and James had just reached their three-month anniversary. They constantly got into little fights, but they always get through them with James' apologies. James can barely remember the depressing days were Lily hated him, even though they were a lot longer than their relationship. Lily still loves picking fights, James just learned different and better ways to handle them. They'll stay happy, until the next little fight anyway.