It had started out as the perfect day.
James had walked out of the Boys Dorms with his fellow Marauders, laughing hard at their latest prank on Snape. He walked to the Great Hall and sat down across Lily, wedging himself between Mary McDonald and Alice Fortescue, who had scowled before ignoring him. They had been having a rather nice friendly debate about Muggle inventions to settle their nerves, but it was harder with him there. He was love struck, and that had made them feel worse about what would happen.
"Evans!" He finally called from across the table. She looked up at him with her emerald eyes that held a steeliness he didn't notice.
"Go out with me?" He asked, already anticipating his answer. A hex a yelling match and insults that almost drove him to stop trying.
"Yes," She said and returned to the book she was reading.
"What!" James exclaimed, falling off the bench. He got up and looked at her disbelievingly.
"You said yes?" His eyes were so wide they almost beat out his glasses. Mary and Alice's expressions grew more subdued but James barely noticed.
"Yes, I did," She replied quite calmly. "Unless you'd rather I say no."
"No!" He cried out. "The Three Broomsticks?" He asked hesitantly. Lily, instead of yelling that it was a prank, which Mary and Alice desperately wished for, it would hurt him less, had nodded. James walked over to the Marauders who sat by the edge of the table, out of earshot of the girls.
"Ah, bad luck Prongs," Sirius said, clapping a hand on his shoulder. Remus, however, who had heard every word, was just as dazed as James.
"She said yes," He said.
Sirius faltered.
"What?" He asked.
"She said yes," He said, slightly louder as a grin started creeping up on his face.
He jumped onto the table.
"She said yes!" He yelled, throwing his fist up in the air. He ignored the murmuring of the first years and the shock of all the rest. He was in bliss, complete and utter heaven.
"I told you she would say yes, I told you!" He crowed. Sirius saw Slughorn discreetly pass Minerva a galleon, to which he grinned at. Even the teachers had their bets, and McGonagall looked pleased with herself, though she made it as unseeable as her.
It had started out as the perfect day. James stayed on Cloud 9 for the rest of the afternoon until it was time for his date, to which he went into a panic. The others had reassured him, and off he was, in the Three Broomsticks by himself at a table, waiting for Lily. He ran a hand through his hair nervously. What if she got cold feet? What if she had gotten hurt? What if she had forgotten? What if the whole thing was a prank? His thoughts were reassured when he saw Lily, lovely as always, and sent a grin at her, his confidence returning, but not suffocating. She sat down across him, smiling her beautiful smile and brushed some hair over her shoulder, her green eyes bright.
"Hello, Potter," She spoke softly, with none of her usual venoms. James had fallen hard in that moment, making Alice and Mary sigh sadly. This was crossing a line.
"Ev-Lily," James corrected himself. The correction had startled Lily slightly, but she pushed down the feeling in her chest, not letting her eyes betray her.
"What made you say yes?" He asked suddenly, about halfway through their date, and Lily bit the inside of her cheek.
"Something... Changed."
Something had changed, but not for the better.
The rest of the date had gone smoothly. James had hung onto every word Lily had said, a puppy-dog look on his eyes. They had a mug of Butterbeer each, and walked around Hogsmeade, both smiling and laughing.
Lily had realized that James was nothing like they thought. He was kind, thoughtful, and his hazel eyes twinkled behind his glasses like he had eyes on no one but her. But Lily was in too deep. She couldn't back out now. She had to do it. He deserved it.
Right?
They walked around Hogsmeade, sharing their thoughts honestly, on James' side, mostly. Lily had walked them to the edge of the Hogwarts grounds, the other three Marauders watching anxiously from the distance. They saw them talk. They saw Lily look at her feet and say something. They saw James' face darken. They saw him look at her. They saw him rush over. They saw him grab his head in his hands, nearly pulling his hair out.
"What happened?" Sirius asked.
"It was a prank," He cried out. "It was a prank. To get back at me!"
Sirius sent a vicious glare at the redhead. He would've gone over there and hexed her an inch of her life if James wasn't there. He saw her looking over. He gave a threatening enough stance that she looked away. Peter had gone very red and swore at her with no hesitation. He swore at her name and her and for breaking Prongs heart and surprised them with his multitude of swears.
Remus's reaction shocked the three of them the most. He let out a feral growl under his breath, his eyes going bright gold before returning to the brown they were. He helped pick James up between the two of them and they had gone to the castle, Peter sending very threatening glares at anyone who approached them, scaring off many girls. McGonagall looked at them in confusion, not being able to understand what had happened until someone had made a noise complaint about the Gryffindor Common Room. She had gone upstairs to Mary McDonald yelling at Lily Evans.
"You just had to break his heart, didn't you?! It doesn't matter to you that James is human, or, or has feelings, or loves you more than life! All you wanted to do was get payback for a Slytherin that called you a you-know-what!" Mary shouted. Lily looked petrified. The other students were watching, slightly scared. Professor McGonagall came to interrupt.
"What seems to be the problem?" She asked sternly. Mary glared furiously at Lily.
"The idiot took James out on a date as a bloody prank and broke his bloody heart!" She shouted. Professor McGonagall looked very appalled. Before she could berate lily and Mary for the noise complaint, the four Marauders came into the common room.
James looked to be in a right state, his eyes puffy, his cheeks flushed, hair dishevelled, and a distraught look on his face. The other three Marauders looked very angry, and Lily gulped. James caught sight of Lily and ran right up to the boy's stairway, slamming the door to their dorm behind him, leaving a resounding bang. Sirius, Remus, and Peter glared at the redhead.
"How could you?!" Yelled Remus, surprisingly. "You knew he liked you, and he was trying to change for you, but you went and pranked him with something like that?!"
"Have you honestly no idea how bad he's feeling right now?" Peter seethed, his face turning red. "He's feeling betrayed, cheated, hurt, and heartbroken." Sirius, who was slowly getting madder, exploded.
"I CAN"T BELIEVE YOU! THE BLOKE BLOODY LOVES YOU AND YOU TELL HIM YOU LOVE HIM AND THEN TELL HIM IT WAS A BLOODY PRANK AND THAT SNIVVELOUS IS BETTER THAN HIM AND THAT-" He was cut off by McGonagall who flicked her wand and silenced them.
"I will talk to Miss Evans," She said stiffly. In a lower voice, she added, "You ought to go see your friend." The three of them stomped upstairs one by one, slamming the door each time, Sirius almost breaking it.
Peter sat down next to James, muttering swears under his breath. James was sullen and quiet, not noticing anything. Sirius sat on the other side of James, almost off the edge of the bed. James leaned into Sirius' shoulder, eyes closed. Remus sat down in front of him, eyes occasionally flashing gold.
"She doesn't deserve you," Peter broke the silence, speaking quietly. Remus agreed angrily.
"I can't believe she would actually do that," James said brokenly.
"Do, am I really that bad? Worse than Snape, a poor excuse of a person, that I don't deserve my parents-" His voice cracked at the end, burying his face in his hands. Sirius, Peter, and Remus' eyes flashed angrily.
"She brought up your parents?" Remus questioned faintly. James nodded, tears brimming in his eyes. Sirius growled.
"That bi-" James let out a small muffled sob, cutting off Sirius' words. Peter patted James' arm.
"Sorry, I just, I haven't talked about them since they-" He let out another muffled sob as Sirius began to sniffle slightly. The other two boys simply sat in silence, unaware what to say or do.
"We'll get Lily back in the morning, eh?" Peter quietly questioned. Sirius nodded as James wiped his eyes, nodding slightly. Peter and Remus pushed the four of their beds together, and changed into their pyjamas, convincing Sirius and James to do the same. The four of them eventually lay huddled under their blankets.
"Just like old times, huh?" James choked out, eyes blurry. The other three nodded.
"Yeah."