This is not related at all to my other story Life – Marauder Style although feel free to read that if you want to
My first one shot, enjoy :) and please please please review
Also a big thanks to greysky3 for proofreading this for me
~~~ I Never Hated You ~~~
"You think you can just strut around the castle and do whatever you want without there being any consequences, but people get hurt, Potter! Open your eyes, those around you are affected!" Lily screamed as she followed James down the corridor and into the Heads' Common Room.
"I do not strut," James shouted back defensively
"That's what you focus on? Do you even think about the effects your actions have?' Lily said bewildered as their friends trailed behind them. She could not stand James Potter, stupid, arrogant, bullying boy who cared for no one but himself. The pair had had more than their fair share of arguments over the previous six and a half years, each one ending in a similar way, a rejection then a slap or a hex. The frequency of the arguments between the pair had increased significantly over the last few months for some reason no one could fathom. Lily knew this was inevitable though; they were both head students and forced to share their own private dormitory. This boy that stood in front of Lily Evans now made her blood boil and she had no idea why he got such enjoyment out of winding her up. Every single day they couldn't go without snipping or shouting at each other. In all honesty Lily was fed up of all their arguments and she had said to herself, many a time, that she would stop fighting back, be the bigger person and just ignore Potter for the sake of her Head Badge at least.
"Why do you even care? It's not like they affect you. And why do you care about Snape? I thought you'd figured out in fifth year how much of a git he is," James ranted, as he paced back and forth around the room. He couldn't understand why Lily still cared so much. Snape was a filthy, greasy, good for nothing Death Eater. He was one of the reasons people like Lily were in danger, yet she continued to defend him. How could it be that the whole school saw him for what he was, obsessed with the Dark Arts and in league with You-Know-Who himself, every one could see it, but her?
"Lily, calm down," Alice muttered from behind the redhead. She was leaning against the door to Lily's dorm Mary at her side. The pair had seen many, many fights between James and Lily and although worried about their friend they were bored of the fact every argument was the same.
Lily ignored her friend. "We have history, Potter! For five years he was one of my best friends you can't just flip the switch and ignore something like that. Sure, we're not friends anymore - which by the way you had quite a strong hand in - but that doesn't mean I will just stand by while you bully him!" If she was completely honest with herself she didn't know why she felt compelled to defend her ex-friend. He obviously knew where his loyalties were and despite his continuous apologies since that summer day, when she had told him to leave her alone, that they were no longer friends, and she didn't want to be associated with someone who believed in what he believed.
"He deserves it, the greasy git," a voice muttered from behind James.
"Shut it, Black!" Lily warned despite secretly believing him. She put her hands on her hips, glaring at him.
"Just saying," Sirius put his hands up defensively. He stood with Remus and Peter behind James like Lily's friends were behind her. The five of them had somehow gotten caught up in the feud and couldn't seem to escape. Sirius was enjoying the fight in front of him as it provided him with a nice excuse not to do his homework. Remus sunk to the floor and looked around him. There was a book about a metre to his left just tucked under the sofa. Must be Lily's, he thought. He reached over grabbed the book then started scanning through it, not interested in the repetitive argument.
"Look, you can't blame me for that disgusting word that came out of his mouth. Or the fact that he is so obsessed with blood status or dark magic and his bloody Death Eaters. He is evil, Evans, why can't you see that?" James was tired of her being so ignorant "I thought you'd be smarter than that, being the best at anything and everything but your just so stuck up your own arse that you cant see what's right in front of your face."
Mary and Alice gasped. They had never seen James say anything like that before to Lily. James's words only made the situation worse and Lily's anger was boiling up inside her again.
"How dare you, you arrogant, bullying, pathetic little thing. You can't talk about me being stuck up my own arse when all you care about is yourself!"
"That's where your intelligence has failed you again, Evans, because I care for those around me. I care for my family, for my friends who are practically family. I care for Mary and Alice and the rest of Gryffindor. I care about Hogwarts and the professors I care about the people, the muggleborns, AND I CARE ABOUT THE FUCKING WAR AND THE EFFECTS IT HAS ON THOSE AROUND ME I LOVE, AND THE WORLD I LIVE IN - THE WORLD I MAY POSSIBLY HAVE TO RAISE MY CHILDREN IN IF NOTHING IS DONE TO STOP IT!"
"Oh yeah?" Lily scoffed 'I bet you think you can stop this war that your mere presence will make Voldemort think, 'Oh, that Potter boy is involved, let's go back to our caves and hide,'" Lily retorted sarcastically, waving her hands about.
"Well at least I would be doing my bit to help, to help those who need help - all you care about is what grade your going to get in your N.E.W.T.S. Open your eyes, Evans, there is a bloody war going on, there are more important things than sucking up to teachers!" It was well known that Lily Evans prided herself in being the best smart arse in the castle – not that she'd say that, she was more likely to say some crap like knowledge is more important than pranks.
"HOW DARE YOU!" Lily screamed for the second time but this time she pulled out her wand and sent a Body-Bind Curse towards James. The Head Boy however was quicker as he easily blocked it then returned a curse of his own.
Lily blocked it and the pair started circling the room throwing spells at each other and blocking them without pause.
Sirius hit Remus on the shoulder; the latter looked up to see his friend point towards the duelling pair. Remus put down his book, now concerned as to what might happen. They usually ended up duelling but they usually weren't this angry at each other, although something else about this duel seemed different to Remus, it was more emotive than usual, more passionate than anger.
"Get down," Peter cried, pushing Sirius to the floor behind the sofa as a Bat Bogey Hex - thanks to Lily - was sent their way.
"Come on, Lily, you can do better than that," James teased, blocking a Confundus Charm.
"Shut up, Potter!" Lily breathed, all of her energy going into her hexes and shields.
"You can't stand it, can you? The idea that maybe I'm not that arrogant boy from a year or so ago anymore. The one you learned to hate. That maybe I want to make a change," he said, shooting another curse her way.
The other five were now taking refuge from behind the sofa and watching intently.
"The fact that I'm a pureblood who cares about what happens to muggleborns, who wants to protect them, who wants to protect you because I care about them and I care about you, Lily, but you just can't see it."
Lily stopped short and dropped her wand, shocked. Sure, James had said that he liked her many times before, and she had shot him down every time, but this time was different. Something in his voice was different from the last time he had asked her out, and come to think of it, this was the tone he normally used when he spoke to her. At that moment she realised he didn't use that tone for anyone else, not any of the many girls he had been with, nor his friends, nor the Marauders – it was just for her. This tone had a sense of longing, care, adoration, passion, and something else that drew Lily in now that she had noticed it. She looked at him, really looked at him for the first time in months. He stood there watching her, his eyes flaring with adrenaline, no longer shallow in her opinion but deep, very deep. Her eyes travelled down – since when had she thought he was hot?
At that point everything seemed to click into place - why she seemed to be so angry at him lately, why she felt so alive duelling with him now, why she was reacting so irrationally to the situation when she knew he was right. She realised why she felt the way she did. Never had the phrase "there's a fine line between love and hate" meant so much to her as it did in that minute. She knew what she wanted. She wanted him.
This whole revelation happened in the time it took for her wand to leave her hand and fall to the floor.
"I never hated you," she muttered before running at James and throwing her arms around his neck. "Never," she repeated before crushing her lips against his. His lips were soft and warm against hers and they screamed home.
James was shocked for a moment before reacting, kissing her back with as much passion as her, if not more.
Their lips moved together in sync like it was their purpose in life. Lily's fingers curled around James' hair while his arm snaked around her waist pulling her tighter, closer to him. His tongue traced her soft lips demanding the entrance Lily willingly gave him. An electric shock shot through Lily as she wrapped herself around James. He on the other hand had never felt better in his life. After six and a half years of wanting he finally got the girl. Kissing Lily felt like he had never been kissed before, it didn't compare to any of the other girls he had kissed. It was like tasting chocolate for the first time after living a life on bread and water. It was like he had been drowning his whole life and Lily was his air that consumed him, bringing him back to life. How many times had he dreamt about this very moment, how many times had he imagined it. James could not believe that he, James Potter, was here, snogging Lily Evans. Part of him, a very, very small part of him that wasn't concentrating on Lily was glad that his friends were here, despite being embarrassing, as they wouldn't believe him if he had told them.
Meanwhile said friends just stood there with their mouths open, staring at the couple that had been at each others throats a moment ago who were now sticking their tongues down each others throats. All five were confused as to how this had happened.
James and Lily continued to kiss, getting hotter and heavier. James moved his hands down to Lily's bum, lifting her up and she responded by wrapping her legs round his waist, straddling him.
Alice was the first of their friends to recover from the shock. "Oi," she whispered, tapping Mary on the shoulder, "let's get out of here, give them some privacy."
"Sure, but what are we going to do about these three?' Mary replied, pointing at the boys who were still gobsmacked.
Alice waved her hands in front of the three boys. Remus shook his head, dazed but the other two just carried on staring.
Realising what the girls were doing Remus said "Pads, oi Pads, let's go. Padfoot, Wormtail let's go." Peter snapped out of it but Remus huffed and grabbed Sirius' arm dragging him alone. The five quickly exited the Heads Dorm muttering their disbeliefs.
Only in the back of their minds did either of them notice their friends leaving. Lily groaned, breathing heavily as James' lips left her mouth to kiss their way down her neck. She tilted her head back to allow James more access to her skin.
James' hands travelled across her thighs whilst Lily's roamed across his back. Their breathing became heavier as James' lips returned to Lily's.
Without breaking the kiss James knelt down to the floor and gently placed Lily on her back on the floor. His hands moved to her waist as he kissed her with a passion inside of him he never knew he was capable of feeling. Lily's hands moved from his back downwards and into the pockets at the back of his jeans, pulling him closer to her.
She had never felt like this before in her life, the flame that burned inside her when they were duelling was now a fire blazing through every fibre in her body as she connected with the man she thought she would never like.
Lily flipped them, then sat on top of James' waist, straddling him, feeling his arousal. She looked at him for a moment, looking into those deep brown eyes again seeing a depth in them she never thought possible, seeing right through him to his soul.
James propped himself up on his elbows and he stared into those green orbs boring into him. He had looked into those eyes countless times before but he had always seen kindness, loathing, laughter even jealousy but never did he ever think that he would see the desire, want, need and passion that he saw now. Even more he never expected to see those directed at him.
Lily bent down and kissed him hard as his hands played with the skin under her shirt. She slowly undid her top button of the blouse she was wearing. James noticed with amazement and shock but smiled against her lips. Soon Lily's blouse was open exposing a red bra. She broke the kiss to whisper seductively in his ear, "I could never hate you." She smiled as James flipped her, breathing heavily as they continued on 'till the late hours of the night.
