Lily vowed to never give in the James' constant attempts to woo her. She was just too stubborn to let that happen. However, that didn't stop her from becoming best friends with Remus Lupin. Remus was so nice, and had a really venerable look about him. She found the look endearing. Every time the two were talking and the subject of James arose, Lily would pierce her lips together and give a huff. When seeing this, Remus would simply chuckle and change the subject. Although, one day, Remus finally said to her,
"Lily. He's not all that bad. Once you get past that arrogant shield he wears, he's actually a brilliant person. Sirius isn't so bad either," the boy chuckled. He looked back at Lily, who was still turned away. "Really, Lils. Give him a chance! He is head over heels for you! If you wanted him to be more humble, he'd get rid of the stupid 'I am better than you' act. C'mon, please?"
Lily turned toward him and gave him a look with daggers in her eyes. Remus jumped back a bit from surprise, and Lily softened.
"Sorry, Remus. It's just… Well, I guess…" She sighed and continued. "It seems silly just to stop disliking him now, to be honest. I don't really have a reason to hate him since Sev-"
She cut off, remembering the sharp stab of betrayal from a couple years before. Remus responded with a sad smile.
"Just go to the game, Lils. Cheer him on. Congratulate him while he's still in his Quidditch robes. He'd be unbelievably happy. Really."
"Fine," Lily surrendered. "But this doesn't mean I'm interested in him!" Lily said as she got up from the bench they were sitting on, and started walking backward to reassure herself to Remus.
"Sure it doesn't!" he taunted back. Lily rolled her eyes at Remus, turned around, and continued forward. Remus chuckled again and leaned back against the wall. He smiled. One day, when James and Lily dated, they'd thank him. He just knew it
Lily looked at herself in the mirror in the dormitory. Her hair was wavy, but not frizzy. Her robes were her favorite set: softer than the others and just a tad bit tighter. She liked the idea that she had curves. She realized her reflection was smiling like an idiot, so she shook her head free of all the frivolous thoughts. She grabbed her scarf and headed toward the Great Hall for dinner. She entered and found an empty spot next to Remus. He was only with Peter Pettigrew.
"Er… Hullo, Lily," Peter squeaked.
"Hello, Peter," she replied kindly. He bowed his head, hiding the fiery red that had rushed to his face. Remus looked over at her and half smiled. Their cozy dinner was interrupted, however, by the two 7th year boys people liked to refer to as 'Gryffindor's Rogue Bludgers'.
"Oi! Look who's joining us this evening, Sirius!" James Potter nudged Remus further down the table and took the spot next to Lily.
"Ah," Sirius gave a dramatic gasp. "Maybe she's finally going to acknowledge the past 6 years of your begging her to love you!" He gave Lily a knowing wink and sat on her other side. She suppressed a giggle.
"Hey there, Black. Watch it!" Despite the confidence in James Potter's voice, he went slightly pink. Regaining his composure, James draped his arms around Lily's shoulders. She stiffened and sighed. No way to escape now. She made a mental note: Remus was in trouble for getting her into this. She took his arm off of her shoulder.
"Don't get too cozy, Potter," she warned. It was at that very moment that James looked at her seriously and gave an enormous belch. Sirius, Remus, and James roared with laughter. Even Peter was tentatively laughing. As the four were still doubled over in laughter, Lily shook her head, gave a small laugh, and thought, Boys. It would be five minutes before James or Sirius could even talk again.
Lily actually enjoyed dinner. She did not enjoy the fact that her eyes would involuntarily trail toward James. She kept saying to herself that James was nothing special. Lily felt nothing toward him. She barely even felt friendship… Even Lily knew that she was lying to herself. She was watching the Quidditch match at the moment. She thought of the kiss on the cheek she gave to James for good luck. Not wanting James to know how she felt, she also gave one to Sirius. Now, her eyes glanced past Sirius (who was playing the beater position alongside Frank Longbottom) to see the Gryffindor Seeker: James Potter. He was cocky, leading the Hufflepuff Seeker away from the snitch to give Gryffindor more time to score. Finally, after an hour or two of playing, James caught the snitch. An uproar from those clad in red and gold: the Lions had won by over a hundred points.
James cut his victory lap short and flew over to Lily in the stands.
"M'lady?" he asked, offering his hand. Knowing it was crazy, she mounted the broom with him. He took off, soaring over the Black Lake. He landed, not too soon, in a courtyard within the castle. James helped Lily down.
"Now, Lily," he said, all confidence gone. "You know this, but I have been yours from day one. I have done everything to try and prove myself worthy of you. Your nice, smart, uncommonly beautiful, and I dunno if I could live a day without seeing you."
"James," Lily smiled, but he continued to spill out everything he admired about her for the last 6 years.
"You can be friends with anyone, your talented at spell casting, you're accepting-"
James cut off for one reason. That reason happed to be that Lily rushed forward to kiss him full on the mouth. He pulled back, euphoria setting in.
"So, Lily Evans," James' confidence was back, as could be predicted since he got down on one knee in a corny manner, "would you like to accept the honorable position of being my girlfriend?"
Lily rolled her eyes as she had so many times at him, but this time with a smile. She nudged him so he fell from one knee to his butt. She sat next to him, took his hand, and snuggled close to him. Then she kissed him again. She pulled away and raised her eyebrows.
"Does that answer your question?"