*Disclaimer: I'm not J.K. Rowling, so I don't own Harry Potter*
A/N: yes I know I have a million other things I should be writing, but inspiration struck, and hey what better way to kick off October than writing about Jily. I hope you like it. (It's a one shot, so I won't be continuing it-especially since I have other stories I really should be working on.) If it's any consolation, it only took me a little over two hours to write this so at least I haven't been spending weeks on this when I could be working on LWUP or something else. Anyways, I would really love it if you would review and let me know what you think! Enjoy!
Nobody else knew. But then again, wasn't that how their whole relationship went?
Although she didn't tell anyone, in her sixth year, Lily Evans' hatred for James Potter dwindled until it was practically non-existent. Yes he had been a git in the past, but people change and grow up, and James had. It started with him just sitting at her library table in the back corner one day. Neither of them spoke as the two sat and studied everything from Transfiguration to Ancient Runes. This became a regular pattern with him sitting there every Tuesday and Thursday night—the nights when he didn't have Quidditch practice. As time went on, Lily found James bearable and dare she say it, even pleasant company. Of course this never occurred to her until one day when he didn't show up.
Lily had begun to take it as given that she and James would sit at her table in the back corner of the library and study every Tuesday and Thursday night. One Thursday however, he didn't show and Lily realized that she actually missed his presence. Who would have thought? Evans and Potter, people said they would never get along in a million years with the way they fought, but here she was actually missing him.
The next Tuesday he was back, to her unspoken relief, and gave some excuse about being sick—she later learned that it had been a full moon and he and the Marauders had been with Remus—before sitting down to study silently. However, that day things changed. They both were working on their potions essays, when he spoke. James asked her a question about potions, and rather than quip at him to figure it out for himself if he was as smart as he claimed to be, she simply scooted her chair and book closer to him and began to explain the concept. In fact, although Lily would never admit it, the scathing response didn't even occur to her.
After that day, they worked together and helped each other with anything they had trouble on. That was the only place they talked though, that table in the back corner of the library, and no one else knew, not even the Marauders. One day, he changed things again. After explaining a particularly complex Transfiguration principle to her, he asked a simple question.
"We're friends right Lily?" James asked her.
"Yeah, of course we are James," she responded with a smile.
"Just checking," he replied with a grin before slipping her a chocolate frog, which he knew was her favorite.
"Thanks," she whispered still smiling and the two resumed studying like nothing happened.
It didn't even occur to her till she was lying in bed that night that James Potter, her rival of many years, was indeed now her friend. He had crept up on her, and Lily found that she didn't mind one bit.
Later that year when Lily got a letter from her sister Petunia saying that she was getting married that summer, but Lily was not allowed to be in the wedding no matter what their mother wanted, Lily didn't even consider talking to her roommates about it. She hadn't really planned to tell anyone, but that night when she met James to study, he could tell that something was wrong. When he asked, she didn't even try to deny it. Instead, Lily packed up her books, and stood like she was going to leave, much to James' chagrin. However instead of leaving, she simply stood and watched him silently. James, catching on, quickly packed his own things and followed her out onto the ground where they walked and she told him everything about her relationship with her sister. She had never told anyone this much before, not even Severus because he disliked Petunia from early on and made faces whenever Lily mentioned her. It felt good though to let it out, and it was nice, Lily thought, that James was the only other person who knew the full story. When she got to the part about the letter, James gave her a hug and let her cry on his shoulder, something no one had done for her before—well no one other than her parents, but they didn't really count because that was part of their job as parents. When she stopped sobbing, she smiled gratefully albeit still a little teary eyed at him. James then proceeded to make her laugh for the rest of the night, neither of them returning to their dorms until 2 in the morning, and they were the only ones that knew.
No one knew that they wrote letters all summer. Sirius did pester James about his mysterious correspondent, but James said nothing and quite effectively changed the subject whenever it was brought up. Lily didn't tell anyone either, and when she needed a date for Petunia's wedding, she asked James. It never occurred to her that they weren't going as just friends, that maybe she didn't want to be just friends with James Potter.
His parents knew where he was of course, and obviously her family knew he was there, but no one at school knew that their future head boy and girl were spending more and more time together. She danced with him, and it was magical. They had both had a wonderful evening full of more laughter and smiles than Lily ever thought Petunia's wedding would bring about. Though Lily would never admit it until later, she knew that day that they were meant to be. Before James left after Petunia and Vernon had set off for the honeymoon, she pulled him off to the side. Lily did something daring that day. As they said goodbye, she kissed him on the cheek before cheekily asking a very important question.
"Oi Potter, will you go out with me?" she asked, as he had many many times in their past.
He joked that he might need to think about it as a giant smile took over his face and he took a step closer to her before leaning in and lightly brushing his lips against hers.
"I'll take that as a yes then," she whispered, smiling hugely as they broke apart.
"That's the conclusion I hoped you'd make Evans," James told her.
They made plans to meet up the next day at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour at 2 o'clock—their first date, and no one else knew.
James got Head Boy and Lily got Head Girl that summer. They told each other, but decided not to tell their other friends that they knew the identity of their counterpart. They went out multiple times over the rest of the summer, but most of the time, James just went to Lily's house. Due to this, no one from Hogwarts had a clue they were dating or even more than civil to one another. For all they knew, the infamous Potter and Evans had simply decided to ignore each other rather than argue sixth year. Seventh year however, the Hogwarts student body would be in for a shocker, and they—well mostly James—came up with a rather devious plan.
They wouldn't tell anyone anything at first. In fact, Lily even suggested they have a big row on the Hogwarts Express when they "found out" that they were both heads. James vetoed the idea, but agreed that they should continue the façade of merely being civil and tolerating each other. Then, when they got to Hogwarts, Lily would simply sit with the Marauders at the welcome back feast. She and James would flirt, subtly at first, but then more obviously as the night went on. After the feast, she would simply get up and walk to her dormitory like nothing happened. And if anyone asked, they both would deny everything and act like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. They would repeat the same process at breakfast the next morning, and at every meal until the Marauders and the rest of Hogwarts went mad with confusion. Finally, James suggested, and Lily agreed quite heartily, one day he would just kiss her in the Great Hall like it was the most normal thing in the world.
This, they decided would be the best and most entertaining way to finally tell people something that until the end of lunch their third day back—James couldn't stand not following through and kissing her already by that point—no one else knew. It was quite funny the way everyone in the Great Hall's mouths hung open when it happened.
Mr. and Mrs. Potter were quite old, even by wizarding standards, and both passed away early in their seventh year. Lily had become great friends with all the Marauders by this point and comforted both James and Sirius in the days, weeks, and months that followed.
She learned their secrets: the Marauder's Map, James's cloak, them being unregistered animagi, and Remus's lycanthropy—although she had already figured that one out. Lily was practically the fifth Marauder and Sirius, Remus, and Peter loved her like a sister. Sirius was the only one who knew that James had his mother's engagement ring, but he didn't really think anything of it.
And one day when James said, "Padfoot, you like Lily right?" Sirius didn't think it was anything out of the ordinary.
"Yeah, of course I do Prongs. You know she's like my sister," Sirius told his brother by everything but blood before moving the conversation back to Quidditch.
James asked her the night before graduation. The two of them had been sitting in the astronomy tower, looking out over the grounds and enjoying their final night at Hogwarts. He pulled out the ring he had been carrying around since his mother died and asked Lily to marry him. He didn't care that they were young or that there was a war going on. He just knew he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life by her side. Lily only had one answer to give. She didn't even think there was another legitimate choice other than the one she went with.
"Yes! I love you! Yes! Of course I'll marry you James!" she exclaimed in a sort of whisper, not wanting to break the special moment, before he slipped the ring onto her finger with a gigantic smile lighting up his features.
They were both so happy in that one moment, and only they knew. Well, James had asked Lily's father for permission, but James hadn't told him when he planned on asking her. This was another thing that was entirely their own.
James wrapped his arms around his now fiancée and pulled her in for a kiss. When they both returned to their dorms for the night, both James and Lily's roommates were long asleep.
She managed to hide the ring as she and the girls got ready and donned their graduation robes the next morning. Once she was all dressed and ready for the day, Lily headed down to breakfast in the Great Hall. She met James outside the doors where he grasped her left hand and pulled her in for a kiss before leisurely walking to the Gryffindor table where the remaining Marauders were sitting. As they sat down, the diamond on Lily's ring caught the sunlight and everyone gasped before the questions, began flooding in.
"Yes," she told them happily, smiling ear to ear. "He asked last night."
The news quickly spread up and down the Gryffindor table and then over to the others, and soon girls asking if it was true and if they could see the ring were surrounding Lily. She obliged, but was truly grateful when Dumbledore told everyone to take a seat so that he could make some last minute announcements and would the seventh years please pay particular attention seeing as this was their last day at Hogwarts and their graduation ceremony would take place that afternoon.
As Dumbledore gave instructions on when they were to meet outside to practice processing and giving speeches and the like, James turned to Lily and smiled, still holding her hand. She smiled back before leaning over to give James a quick kiss.
Now it wasn't just the two of them. Now everyone knew, and James and Lily couldn't be happier.