First, I would just like to say thank you! This is my first Marauder story, and I'd greatly appreciate your input/feedback! Review to help me improve my writing (Constructive criticism only, please. Don't be rude.)!

Second, I feel that I should disclose that I'm American. I tried my best to write it in a very… British way? I apologize if there are incorrect usages of some of the terms, or if I in any way offended you if you are from England (Really Europe in general!), I certainly didn't mean to.

Third, I (obviously) don't own Harry Potter, or any of the characters within the series — J.K. Rowling does, and I am simply giving my take on the Marauders(plus Lily)'s lives. Aside from a few of the side characters, it's all J.K. Rowling's brilliant mind. *All Hail The Queen*

Fourth, this story will be told from Lily's perspective, even though this first chapter is from James's. It is simply meant to portray how he feels about her, and then it will be up to Miss Evans to riddle out the mysterious James Potter!

Enjoy!


The Little Things

Chapter One: The Visually Impaired King


The inevitability of it all was almost amusing. Because he was a boy and she was a girl, and they were polar opposites. Because she was studious; he was negligent. Because she was cautious; he was impulsive. Because she was modest; he was arrogant.

If looked at objectively it probably could have been predicted, yet no-one saw it coming. Not even them. Love is a tricky thing to pinpoint, but he could tell you the second he fell in love with her. It was the way her emerald eyes sparkled in the sunlight, and the way the sun made her red hair look like fire. It was the way her laugh was loud and filled the room, and the way she bit her bottom lip when she was concentrating. The way she cared a little too much about her marks, and the way she always had a witty reply at the ready. It was the little things that were James Potter's downfall.

It had been a day just like any other. He was fiddling with his round glasses, and sitting with his friends. With his back against the tree and his legs crossed in front of him, his eyes followed her as she walked across the grounds with a boy. As she laughed at something he said, James looked away and furrowed his brow.

"Perhaps," said Remus, "If you weren't so keen on staring at Lily all day, you wouldn't be in detention tonight." He was a skinny boy with mousey brown hair, and matched James in height at 6 feet, 2 inches. He had muted green eyes that James would often get jealous of in first year. Remus was often perceived as the most responsible of the Marauders, and this false assumption sent his mates roaring with laughter. No, just because Remus finished his homework and was on his way to joining the Slug Club didn't make him responsible. He was a Marauder, after all.

"It's not my fault McGonagall assigned an unrealistic amount of homework! Staring at Evans has got nothing to do with it." James protested, sitting up a little straighter and directing his attention to the game of wizard's chess being played by Sirius and Peter. As Remus snorted in disbelief, Sirius's knight leapt forward and bashed Peter's rook until all that remained were a few large chunks and some dust. Peter huffed, and Sirius grinned triumphantly.

"Speaking of staring at Evans," Sirius said, casting a mischievous look at James while Peter scrunched his face up in concentration over his next move, "Heard that Prosser was seen eyeing her in Charms, and that he's planning on asking her to Hogsmeade. Want me to… discourage him?" Sirius was only 5 feet 7, but he was more muscular than his taller friends. The black hair which came down to his shoulders, was currently in a very sloppy bun, but he was more often than not seen with it untidy and loose. Sirius was often perceived as tough, with grey eyes, and a roguishly handsome face, but mostly because he occasionally smoked, but because the taste of cigarettes would usually ward off any girls he was after, he hadn't much gotten into it. Peter, on the other hand, had never even tried a cigarette. He refused to share his height with his mates, but they'd determined he was at least 3 inches shorter than Sirius. His dirty blond hair was cut fairly short, and his blue eyes were a dulled shade of Forget-Me-Nots.

James chuckled, "Prosser? He's no threat. What's he? Slytherin?" Sirius nodded and James continued, "She'd never date a Slytherin. I think Snivelly is proof of that. Besides, I don't think he's got the guts to actually ask her out." He added with another small laugh. Sirius just shrugged, and returned to his game.

James's eyes slid back over to Lily like a magnet, and he watched her sit down and take out a book. Whether it was a textbook or a book she was reading simply for fun he could not tell from the distance he sat, but the boy sat down next to her and took out one of his own. Just as James had predicted, the boy was none other than Severus Snape - the greasy, black-haired best mate of Lily Evans. He was in Slytherin, and James hated him with every fiber of his being. He had half a mind to go over and hex the prat into oblivion, but before he could suggest it, Remus gave him a scowl and shook his head slightly.

He knew he should've been working on the homework for McGonagall, but he couldn't bring himself to open his bag and fetch the necessary supplies. A few more minutes passed and with it a few more of Peter's chess pieces, and feeling the nagging tug of boredom, James went back to staring at Lily. She really was beautiful, even from a distance. She was biting her bottom lip, her eyes scanning the pages intently, and a small smile crept onto his face. It wasn't often he got to look at her for so long. Especially without her hexing him. This only made him smile more, of course.

Suddenly, something hard hit his face, and he was snapped out of his Lily-induced daze. "Prongs. Seriously, you're getting creepy about it. You can't just stare at her and smile for no reason. You look mental." This was said by Sirius, who James assumed was also the thrower of the pawn that now lay in the grass. He grunted, and mumbled, "That hurt, you know," and rubbed his cheek.

And that was him. James; Prongs. Black hair he mussed up on purpose because Lily had once told him it looked better that way. As an insult, of course, but he took it to heart anyways. He had hazel eyes that he used to wish were all the way green, but now thought they were better left to Lily.

And James Potter looked at Lily Evans, and felt his heart explode. Not the little flutter or flip-flop it usually did when he looked at her, but a nuclear explosion. He knew this wouldn't be good. He knew this couldn't end well.

-::-

The next day, James had his Defense Against The Dark Arts O.W.L. He'd been quite nervous about the exam but now that he was actually taking it, he thought he could at least manage an "Exceeds Expectations". He finished up the last of the written question he was answering, and brought the parchment back down to read what he had written. Deciding that he had answered it acceptably, he yawned and reached up to ruffle his hair. He glanced at Professor Flitwick, and then turned and grinned at Sirius, who was four seats behind him.

Sirius gave him the thumbs-up. He was leaning back in his chair, so it was only standing on two legs. Behind him, Millie McSorely was eyeing him hopefully, but he hadn't yet noticed. Quickly becoming bored, he took out a spare bit of parchment and doodled a snitch onto it. He carefully started sketching the letters L. E. on it, his mind drifting to Lily…

"Quills down, please!" squealed Professor Flitwick. "That means you too, Stebbins! Please remain seated while I collect your parchment. Accio!"

More than a hundred rolls of parchment zoomed towards Professor Flitwick's outstretched arms, knocking him off his feet. James laughed and looked sideways at Remus, who was a few seats to the left, to see him smiling softly as well. A couple students from the front desks moved to help the little professor back to his feet.

"Thank you… thank you," panted Professor Flitwick. "Very well, everybody, you're free to go!"

James hastily crossed out the L. E. he'd been embellishing, jumped to his feet, stuffed his quill and the exam question paper into his bag, which he slung over his back, and stood waiting for Sirius to join him.

Sirius, Remus, and Peter all found their way to him, and they started out of the classroom. Peter looked very worried, but besides him they were all confident they'd done their best. "Did you like question ten, Moony?" Sirius asked as they reached the entrance hall.

"Loved it," said Remus briskly, "'Give five signs that identify the werewolf.' Excellent question."

"D'you think you managed to get all the signs?" asked James sarcastically.

"Think I did," said Remus seriously, as they joined the crowd thronging around the front doors eager to get out into the sunlit grounds. "One: He's sitting in my chair. Two: He's wearing my clothes. Three: His name's Remus Lupin…"

Peter was the only one who didn't laugh, though James thought it was quite clever. "I got the snout shape, the pupils of the eyes, and the tufted tail," Peter said anxiously, "but I couldn't think of what else —"

"How thick are you, Wormtail?" James said impatiently, "You run round with a werewolf once a month —"

"Keep your voice down." implored Remus. They continued to bicker over which questions they had gotten right and wrong all the way down to the lawn by the lake. "Well, I thought that paper was a piece of cake," Sirius said. "I'll be surprised if I don't get an Outstanding on it at least."

"Me too," agreed James, putting a hand in his pocket and pulling out a struggling Golden Snitch.

"Where'd you get that?" Peter questioned.

"Nicked it." James replied casually. He started playing with the Snitch, allowing it to fly up to a foot away before recapturing it; a skill he'd learned in quidditch practice. Peter watched him in awe. They stopped in the shade of a beech tree and threw themselves down on the grass. James trailed Lily and a few of her friends with his eyes as they came out of the Great Hall and pulled their socks and shoes off, cooling their feet in the water.

Remus had taken out a book and begun to read. Sirius was staring around at the students milling about on the lawn, looking quite contemptuous and bored. James was stilling playing with the Snitch, lazily letting it in and out of his grasp, and running a hand through his hair so as to not let it get too tidy. Peter was watching with his mouth open. Every time James made a particularly difficult catch, Peter would gasp and applaud, rather stroking his ego.

After a few minutes of this, Sirius had apparently had enough. "Put that away, will you?" Sirius said irritably. "Before Wormtail wets himself from excitement." Peter blushed slightly, but James just grinned.

"If it bothers you," he said, and stuffed the Snitch back into his pocket.

"I'm bored," Sirius complained. "I wish it were a full moon."

"You might," said Remus darkly from behind his book. "We've still got Transfiguration, if you're bored you could test me…. here." He held out his Transfiguration book. Sirius snorted, "I don't need to look at that rubbish, I know it all."

"This'll liven you up, Padfoot," said James quietly. "Look who it is…." Sirius turned his head, and he became very still. "Excellent," he said softly. "Snivellus."

As Snape emerged from behind the bushes previously blocking their view of the greasy boy and set off across the grass, Sirius and James stood up. James knew Remus wouldn't approve, but he pushed the thought from his mind and began to stride over to where Snape was with Sirius. "All right, Snivellus?" James said loudly.

Snape reacted with lightning speed. He reached in his pocket and his wand was halfway into the air before James shouted, "Expelliarmus!" Sirius let out a bark of laughter as his wand flew twelve feet into the air, and landed in the grass behind him with a little thud. "Impedimenta!" he said, pointing his wand at Snape, who was knocked off his feet, halfway through a dive toward his wand.

James took note of the crowd they were beginning to attract. Some students had gotten to their feet and were edging nearer to watch. Some looked apprehensive, others entertained. He continued to harass the Slytherin boy, filling his mouth with soap, hanging him from the air so his robes feel over his face and his underwear was exposed, and taunting him, until someone intervened.

"Leave him ALONE!"

James and Sirius looked around for the source of the command. When his eyes landed on Lily, his free hand jumped to his hair again. "All right, Evans?" James said, keeping his voice pleasant and deep.

"Leave him alone," Lily repeated. She was looking at James with disgust. "What's he done to you?"

"Well," said James, deliberating the point,"It's more the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean…."

Many of the audience members laughed again, Sirius and Peter included, but Remus still had his eyes in his book, and didn't even crack a smile. James made a mental note to tell him to get in on the fun later. "You think you're funny," she said callously. "But you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him alone."

How was it that she sounded so attractive when she was mad? "I will if you go out with me, Evans, " James said quickly, jumping at the opportunity. "Go on… Go out with me, and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again." His heart raced at just the thought of her saying yes, though he knew she probably wouldn't.

Behind him, the Impediment Jinx was wearing off. Snape was trying to reach his wand, spitting out soap suds as he crawled. Lily scoffed. "I wouldn't go out with you if it were a choice between you and the giant squid," she said. James grinned, and that explosive feeling started back up again. He was used to the rejection, but he always enjoyed the creative insults she managed to come up with.

"Bad luck, Prongs," said Sirius dismissively, turning back to Snape. "OY!" But it was too late; there was a flash of white light and a searing pain was introduced to James's face, splattering his robes with blood. James whirled around, all traces of a smile gone, and a second flash of light later, Snape was hanging upside down in the air, his robes falling over his head. The crowd cheered, and James, Sirius, and Peter roared with laughter. Lily's expression, however, remained furious, "Let him down," she hissed.

"Certainly," James said and with a smirk, he jerked his wand upward. Snape fell into a crumpled heap on the ground. Extricating himself from his robes, he quickly tried to shuffle over to where his wand sat in the grass. He never made it, though, because at that moment Sirius shouted, "Petrificus Totalus!" and Snape keeled over again, stiff as a board.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Lily warned. She had her own wand out now, and James and Sirius eyed it warily. He vividly remembered the last time he was on the receiving end of one of her hexes, and he didn't fancy going through anything like that again. "Ah, Evans, don't make me hex you," James said earnestly.

"Take the curse off him, then!"

James sighed dramatically, then turned and mutter the countercurse. "There you go," he said and Snape got to his feet again, "You're lucky Evans was here, Snivellus —"

"I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!"

Lily blinked, and James was too appalled by his repulsive choice of insult to say anything in her defense. "Fine," she said, recovering rather quickly. "I won't bother in the future. And I'd wash your pants if I were you, Snivellus."

Suddenly feeling the need to play the knight in shining armor, James found his voice again. "Apologize to Evans!" He roared at Snape, pointing his wand threateningly at him.

"I don't want you to make him apologize," Lily shouted, rounding on James. "You're as bad as he is…."

"What?" he gawked, "I'd NEVER call you a — you-know-what!"

"Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you've just got off a broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can — I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK."

She turned on her heel and began hurrying away. Her words stung, and this time he didn't grin. But as soon as her face was out of view, the miniature bombs going off in his chest lessened. Why did that keep happening? She'd been screaming at him, yet he was loving the attention she was giving him. That didn't mean…. He wasn't…. He couldn't be. He'd have to be a masochist to fall in love with someone who hates him. Before he had time to think it over more, and missing her already, he called out.

"Evans!" James shouted after her, "Hey, EVANS!" But she didn't look back.

"What is it with her?" He asked nonchalantly, trying and failing to look like the question meant nothing to him.

"Reading between the lines, I'd say she thinks you're a bit conceited, mate." Sirius said.

It was unfair. She couldn't make him fall head over heels for her, and then detest him so tremendously. It was simply cruel. He was livid, and desperate for a way to take out his anger. Because he couldn't deny it anymore. He was in love with Lily Evans, and he resented her for it. Thinking wasn't helping, though. It was only making him angrier.

"Right," James said furiously, looking around for something to ease his temper. His eyes landed on Snape again. "Right —"

With another flash of light, Snape was hanging upside down again.

"Who wants to see me take of Snivelly's pants?" said James callously, and the crowd cheered again.

-::-

After he had finished the last of his O.W.L.s, James traipsed back to the Gryffindor common room with Peter in tow. Neither of the boys had ever found History of Magic very interesting, and had consequently stayed up until the early hours of the morning trying to study for the exam. They passed a group of Hufflepuff girls, who all giggled and batted their eyelashes as they passed, but all James had the energy for was a wink before turning back to his anxious friend.

"What did you put for question thirteen?" Peter asked worriedly. "I think I got the goblin rebellions in the proper order, but —"

"Hush, Wormtail. You'll give me a headache if I have to keep hearing about that rubbish," James complained, adjusting the strap of his bag. "Besides, the exam's over. Nothing you can do even if you did get it wrong."

Peter didn't reply, but furrowed his brows at his friends' dismissal. As they climbed the stairs to the Fat Lady's portrait, a first year Gryffindor boy with flaming red hair knocked James as he was adjusting his glasses, and they went soaring out of his hand.

"Oy! Watch it!" James barked as he half-glared, half-squinted at the boy. Try as he might, he could not tell if the blurry shape of what he thought was the small Gryffindor was someone he knew. "S-sorry!" the boy squeaked, and James grunted in response as the red head scurried away.

"You good, Prongs?" inquired Peter as James turned back to him.

"Hm? Brilliant. I just, you know, can't see you. Or where my glasses went. Or much of anything." said James sarcastically, hoping Peter would take the hint.

James saw Peter's blurry head bob up and down, and he went to search for his friends' glasses. They must have been knocked further away than he thought, however, because after couple minutes of searching Peter still hadn't located them. James had turned to look at Peter's fuzzy outline sweep the floor in search when he heard a female voice from behind him, making him jump.

"Employing your mates to scrub the floor now, are we? What a charitable King you are, Potter, letting him be in your presence." If there had been any doubt who the owner of the voice was before he whirled around to face her, there wasn't anymore. Even through his bleary vision he could see her fiery red hair, a glowing blob a few feet away from him. He guessed by her tone she had raised one of her eyebrows and crossed her arms in disapproval. He grinned, his stomach squirming with the pleasure of seeing her again.

"I try," said James in mock tones of concern. "But every visually impaired King needs his glasses. Haven't seen them around, have you, Evans?" He ended by flashing her his most dazzling grin, and he could imagine her rolling her eyes.

She snorted. "Honestly, Potter, are you even a wizard? Accio Glasses!" she said, and he heard her wand swish. He faintly heard the sound of the brims of his glasses scraping along the stone steps, and Lily made a move to catch the spectacles as they flew towards her. James felt rather embarrassed he hadn't thought of this solution before she came.

She advanced toward him and held out her hand, presumably with the glasses in them, though without them on he couldn't tell. He reached out his own hand and aimed for hers. It missed. James felt his cheeks get hot, and he self-corrected, making contact with Lily's hand. Her palm was warm, and smooth, and delicate. He realized he'd never felt her hands before and lingered there a few seconds longer than he should've, but he almost winced when he thought how rough his own must feel, and quickly snatched his glasses up and slid them onto his face.

Everything slid back into focus, and he realized for the first time that some of Lily's mates were standing a few yards behind her, watching the scene unfold with amused expressions on their faces. He let his eyes travel back to Lily. She too, was wearing a small smile; she was proud of her insult. It was cute…

"You know, Evans, every King needs a Queen. Interested?" He asked, giving her a wink.

Her smile immediately dropped and she tucked her wand back into her robes, brushing past him and continued down the staircase with her friends. "Sorry, I've got a date with the giant squid, remember?"

He called, "Evans!" and she glanced over her shoulder, but didn't stop walking. "You forgot to bow to your King!"

She muttered something, aimed a spell at him from over her shoulder, and a silvery-blue mist shot out of her wand tip. "Sod off, Potter."

He and Peter, who had righted himself and come to stand next to James, leapt out of the way as her charm hit the step they'd been standing on, blue slime covering it. Deep purple bubbles started to ooze out of it, and James was glad he'd gotten out of the way. He looked back at her retreating figure, and grinned again.

Look on the bright side, he thought cheerfully. She didn't call you an arrogant toerag this time!


A/N: How'd I do? I'd love to hear what you thought! Also, apologies on the James bullying scene — it went on for quite a bit, but I think it shows well how much Lily dislikes him. I tried to input some of James's thoughts into there…