Greetings! This is my first fanfic story, so I hope it's okay. Although my greatest wish is to be J.K. Rowling, I am not her, therefore, this entire story belongs to her!
Please review when you've finished reading. I value your opinion, and you have a say in whether I continue writing this story or not!
James Potter's heart faltered for a moment, sputtered back to life, then hammered against his rib cage the moment he spotted the love of his life. She was down the corridor, a few meters ahead of him and his three best mates, walking deep in conversation with Marlene McKinnon. Lily Evans. She was nodding agreeably with something Marlene was saying, her lips pursed together, like she was trying to think of a solution to a complex problem. He knew that expression all too well; it was the expression she wore whenever Professor McGonagall asked her a question about theories, laws, or properties in Transfiguration class. James held his hand to his heart, feeling the quick, pounding pulse beneath his fingertips. He shook his head at his own reaction. It was ridiculous, the way she affected him. And it was even more ridiculous that his heart tried to jump out of his chest every single time he had caught sight of her in the past six years. Seeing as they attended the same school ten months of the year, you would think the reaction would erode, but nope. Apparently not.
"Hey!" He called down the hall. "Evans!" He didn't honestly know what he was planning on saying, but he felt the urge to talk to her, to see her up close and personal, to count the cute little freckles that were sprinkled across her pale cheeks and button nose.
She swung around, her brow furrowed into an irritated frown over her almond shaped eyes, the exact shade of a brilliantly polished emerald gemstone. They were also as hard as gemstones as she glared at him. She must have recognized his voice; she never frowned at other people when they called her name. Why did she seem to hate him so much? Okay, well, he knew why. He'd been a real prat most of the years he'd known her. He just wanted another chance though, a chance for her to really know him. Maybe she wouldn't despise him so much if she saw him how he was normally, not the falsely confident and egotistic fifteen year old boy she always seemed to think of him as.
"Yes?" she said, her tone wary.
"I was just wondering if-" She cut him off.
"James Potter, for the one hundred and fifty-eighth time, I will not accompany you to Hogsmade." Lily turned away from him and marched down the hall, her long, dark red hair swinging from side to side with her hips. Marlene cast him an apologetic glance, but followed after her, nearly running to keep up with Lily's quick stride.
"Sweet of you to keep track of how many times I've asked you out!" James called loudly after her, slumping his shoulders a little as she left the corridor.
"One hundred fifty-ninth time lucky, Prongs?" Sirius encouraged, leaning against a stone pillar, looking as though he hadn't a concern in the world. His midnight black hair fell into his deep gray eyes with a sort of casual elegance, framing his tan, chiseled face and partially concealing his dark, haughty eyebrows. Sirius (aka Padfoot) was James' best mate, and occasionally people mistakened them for brothers. They were both tall, well built, and had dark hair, but while Sirius had the proud, aristocratic features and elegance of his long pureblood lineage, James was more fair-skinned, with hair that persistently stuck up out of the back of his head and round, wire-rimmed glasses to help his nearsightedness.
James shook his head dejectedly as a sense of despair settled over him. "I was seriously just going to ask her if she wants to be a Potions master when we're all done with school."
"Why?" Remus' pale brow furrowed over his light blue eyes.
"I don't know." James shrugged. "I'm just curious. I barely talked to her last year at all. I don't know what her plans are after we finish here." What if I never see her again after this year? he thought worriedly, but didn't voice his concern aloud. The idea merely darkened the cloud that seemed to hang over him.
"She'll come to her senses, Prongs." Remus said kindly.
"I hope so." James grimaced.
The scars on Remus' face were thrown into sharp relief as they walked through a patch of sunlight cast through a cobwebbed window in the corridor. The school nurse could do incredible things with a wand and a tube of odoriferous ointment, but some wounds were too powerfully magical to heal by normal means. The first few grays were already peeking through his tawny brown hair, a strong indicator of the stress he faced every month. James immediately felt guilty for pitying himself about his issues with Lily. He didn't have to face the excruciating and horrible transformation from human to wolf every month like poor Remus did.
"Of course she will." Sirius consoled.
"We'd better hurry up, you know how Professor Greenhorn gets during NEWT year." Remus said, shouldering his book bag more securely as he quickened his pace. "We don't want to be late."
Peter scurried after him, no doubt terrified of what Greenhorn would say if they weren't at Herbology in time. James and Sirius followed behind them at a leisurely pace.
"Who needs NEWTs, really though?" Sirius complained stridently. "Not to sound like an 'arrogant toerag.'" He wiggled his dark eyebrows at James. "But I mean, honestly, we were at NEWT level in fourth year, for Merlin's sake!"
"I hear you." James agreed as they passed a group of sixth year girls, who giggled nervously as the Marauders passed by
"Ladies." Sirius acknowledged them with a nod. A particularly small girl with oversized robes let out a nervous-sounding squeak, turned radish red, and hid her face behind her hands.
"I still don't understand why girls are constantly giggling when I walk by." Peter mused as the two dark-haired boys caught up. "Or are they laughing at you? I never know."
"It's you, Peter." Sirius drawled, shaking his hair back from his face. "Haven't you noticed? They obviously all fancy you!"
"You're joking, aren't you?" Peter looked fretful.
A faintly pitying expression crossed Sirius's dark eyes. "Oh, look, there's Alice!" He changed the subject quickly and lengthened his stride to catch up with her.
"Sirius!" their friend Alice grinned at him, her cute, round face and baby blue eyes lighting up at the sight of the four boys.
Sirius pulled her into a friendly hug and ruffled her chestnut hair. "How are you this fine day?"
"All right, I guess…" She stuck out her tongue. "Lily is driving me slightly mad."
"She does the same to me." James sighed, slipping an arm around Alice's shoulder. He felt her shoulders shake with soft laughter.
"I think she drives us mad in somewhat different ways."
"I would hope so." James remarked. Alice elbowed his firm stomach playfully.
"Why is she driving you mad?" Remus inquired politely.
"She talked my ear off at breakfast; she simply won't stop talking about James." Alice groaned dramatically.
James smirked. So she was thinking about him...
"Grumbling, more like it." Alice added thoughtfully.
"Well, it's a start." James deflated a bit. "We all know she loves me." He found it easier to deal with the fact that the only girl he'd ever loved seemed to detest him when he at least pretended otherwise.
Alice put on a high-pitched voice, apparently in an imitation of her best friend."'That Potter! What a conceited, vainglorious, swollen-headed snotrag!' Sure. She most definitely fancies you." Alice rolled her eyes, returning to her normal voice
"Vainglorious?" Sirius raised an eyebrow at her. Alice shrugged.
"That's Lily's vocabulary for you."
"She just hasn't come to terms with her passion for me." James raked his free hand through his hair again, causing it to stick up in all directions.
"Oh, there's Frank!" Alice said, swinging James's arm off her shoulder and taking off in Frank Longbottom's direction.
"Wow, I feel so valued." Sirius bellowed dryly after her. She just gave a backwards wave in their direction.
"She said my name." James said distantly, staring at the clear, blue sky.
"Alice?" Remus looked bemused.
"Lily." James amended. "She called me James. It was the first time that she said my first name since that prank in second year..."
"Which one?" Sirius smiled charmingly at a brunette Hufflepuff as they walked onto the grounds.
"When we tricked Snivellus into taking a babbling beverage."
"Oh." Sirius grinned, reminiscing. "That was a fun one."
The four of them swaggered into Greenhouse five like they owned it, expertly evading the line of potted Mandrakes and barrels of devil's snare. Well, Peter scuffled along rather awkwardly, and James' imposing demeanor was somewhat derailed when he knocked over a vase of honking daffodils, having been distracted by Lily.
She was chatting animatedly with Amelia Bones, a seventh year Ravenclaw, on the other side of the greenhouse. James couldn't help that his attention was diverted by her. He loved when she talked so vivaciously; her emerald eyes lit up like dancing green flames and he found the way she spoke with her hands just so bloody endearing.
"Oi, Prongs." Sirius waved a hand in front of James's face. He blinked and shook his head, tearing his eyes off of the beautiful red-head.
Professor Greenhorn strode in the greenhouse, pulling on dragon-hide gloves.
"All right, class." He addressed the seventh year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws. "As you all know, this year is NEWT year,"
"The most important year of your education that will determine the success of your future in the world of Magic." James and Sirius recited noisily, knowing Professor Greenhorn's speech by heart.
The Professor rolled his eyes in their direction, but he was far too used to the Marauders being disruptive to make a fuss about it. "Thank-you, Potter, Black." he sighed. "Now I trust you all have your dragon-hide gloves and protective eyewear..."
James only half-listened for the next ten minutes. He was staring avidly at Lily. He loved the way her hair caught the light and turned streaks of it to gold, and the way she attentively watched the professor as though education was the most important thing in the world. She was so clever, so attractive, witty and interesting. If only he could have her. Head girl, best in the class, easily the prettiest girl in all of seventh year... did he even have a chance? She was the one girl that made him feel small and insignificant, the one girl who wasn't impressed by his Quidditch fame or 'irresistible charm' or even his significant academic achievement.
Lily shot an irked glance at him when she caught him staring. He merely smiled and looked away after a long moment.
"Now I want you to pair up, so we can plant the Venemous Tentacula." Professor Greenhorn instructed, surveying his class through outdated spectacles. James and Sirius instinctively moved towards each-other at these words.
"I don't think so, boys." Professor Greenhorn said, not unaware of the two boys' inclinations.
"Mr. Black... go with Ms. Abbott," he ordered. Sirius grinned lazily at the pretty blonde Ravenclaw. "And Mr. Potter with... Ms. Evans." James quirked his eyebrows at Lily, who was looking away from him determinedly with a frown upon her pallid visage.
"Everyone else may pair up as they like; I don't believe any one else is able to create pandemonium like Mr. Black and Mr. Potter."
The class milled about for a moment, searching out partners before settling down at the table. James sauntered towards Lily, since she apparently wasn't moving.
"Guess it's your lucky day, Lilypad." he pulled out a chair for her at the table courteously, mentally slapping himself for sounding so pretentious. That was what she hated him for the most, but he couldn't help it. She just made him so nervous, cockiness was like an instilled defense mechanism.
She ignored him, and sat on the other side of the table. He shrugged inwardly and plopped down across from her.
"So what are we doing exactly?" James asked, trying not to stare at her too intensely.
"Planting these seeds." she indicated the small packet in front of her. "Don't you ever pay attention?" she frowned. "I have no idea how you get such good grades."
Wow. That was almost a compliment. Almost. "Who says I get good grades?" he asked, curious if she knew how many O's he'd received on his OWLs.
"If you didn't get exceptionally high grades, you would've been expelled by now." she said plainly, avoiding his eyes.
"That's probably true." He shrugged, reaching for the packet of seeds.
"Don't-" Lily cried as he tore it open thoughtlessly. Black, bean-sized pods shot out of the packet and flew in all different directions, but most of them landed on their robes.
"Gahh!" Lily shrieked as the seeds clung to them and started biting through their clothes. They both stood up and began shaking the seeds off of them, flailing their limbs wildly, Lily still shrieking and James cursing angrily.
"Evanesco." Professor Greenhorn pointed his wand at the pair of them, vanishing the seeds and tossing them a fresh bag down the table. They stopped thrashing about to see the entire class staring at them, some snickering or looking frightened for their sanity.
Lily glared at her partner ferociously.
"Thank-you Mr. Potter and Ms. Evans for demonstrating exactly what I instructed not to do." the professor drawled. "Five points from Gryffindor for not paying attention and for disrupting my class."
"You made me look bad." she hissed at James, rubbing her upper arm in pain as the rest of the class turned their attention back to planting.
"Here, have some of this." He pulled a small jar of yellowish goo out of his robes pocket. "Rub it on the bites, I think it will help." He handed her the jar, which she looked at apprehensively.
"It won't... make me break out in boils or something, will it?" she questioned distrustfully. "What is it?"
"Do you think I would do that to you, Lily?" James rolled his eyes at the glass ceiling. "It's diluted bubotuber pus."
"I do know what you did to Severus last week." she said, narrowing her eyes at him and accepting the jar.
Oh, how he adored those long, dark auburn eyelashes.
"Well that was Sniv- Snape." James shrugged. "And the boils only lasted three days." Lily opened her mouth to say something, but shut it quickly.
"Well, he probably deserved it." She muttered, opening the bubotuber pus cautiously and dabbing some onto her palm.
Lily's insulting Snape should've made James ecstatic (having hated him since first year), but the hint of sadness in her voice made him exactly the opposite. Anything that hurt Lily hurt him. It was just the way it was.
She pushed her hair back from her face and shed her robe, handing it to him. He held it for her graciously and tried not to sweep his eyes down her body. He failed entirely. She was wearing a simple outfit of flared jeans that hugged the curves of her legs rather well and a deep green long-sleeved shirt that revealed her shapely torso, usually covered by a school robe. She was nearly a foot shorter than James, no taller than five foot two, but she was utterly perfect in his eyes
"Are you going to just stand there and gape at me Potter?" she asked sternly, while rubbing the concoction onto her lightly freckled arms.
"Sorry." he said, quickly throwing her robe over his arm and pulling on his gloves. "And Lily?" he hesitated.
"Yes?"
"About... Snape. I wish I could make it better." He let his passion for her leak into his words. He thought she understood, because when she looked at him, startled, he could've sworn her vivid eyes glistened a little more than usual. "Now let's plant some seeds to grow a plant that everyone despises!" He grinned, faking immense enthusiasm.
Hope you enjoyed it! Pretty Potter please review. I'll know if you're reading, (handy story stats), but if you're not reviewing, I'll just assume you didn't like it, so if you did like it, please let me know. I never finish anything I start writing, but if I'm getting a lot of positive reviews I will keep this story up. Also, don't forget to follow! It's two in the morning right now, so I'm going to bed.