[author note] Well, look at this! Kitty is actually writing Harry Potter fanfiction? Gasp! But yes, I am, but it's only a one shot. A James/Lily one shot. Yay. Enjoy. [/author note]
"Oh, Remus, wait up!"
The tall prefect spun on his heel as his name was called, looking down the hallway. A girl was jogging towards him, and even from a distance he could tell who she was by her red hair.
"Lily," he greeted warmly, smiling down at her as she caught up with him. She only went up to his shoulder this year – even though last year they had been about the same height. "Did you come from Slughorn's Christmas party?"
Lily scoffed, brushing a hair back behind her ear and adjusting the prefect pin on her dress. "You know I did, Remus. Avery Williams asked you to come with her, didn't she?"
"Yes, she did," Remus replied, twirling his wand as they walked down the hall. His voice seemed quiet in the empty hall, even though it echoed off the walls. "But you know she's just trying to get at Sirius." Lily looked at him, but he kept his eyes locked on the staircase at the end of the hall.
"Oh, Remus, don't think that way!" she said, sounding alarmed. Remus couldn't help but smirk. "Please don't tell me people don't just ask you out to get to your friends. Please. You're so much better than that."
"Well, thank you," he murmured amusedly, "but that's what's been happening recently. I just cannot guess why."
"If you haven't noticed, Remus, you're friends are fairly popular," she pointed out. "Especially James. Who doesn't deserve the treatment girls give him."
Remus just nodded, still twirling his wand. A painting grumbled as they walked by, interrupting its sleep with their conversation.
"And who does he think he is, anyway?" Lily continued, her voice slowly growing in volume. More paintings woke up, but when they saw it was only two Gryffindor prefects, they nodded off again. "Just because he's a huge Quidditch star does not make him king of the school. And-oh, Remus, I'm sorry," she said abruptly. Her fellow prefect looked over at her, gray eyes perfectly innocent and lacking expression, raising an eyebrow.
"What for, Lily?"
"I know you're good friends with James, and-" Remus was just shaking his head. Lily looked confused.
"It's fine. He's actually been rather insufferable lately. Continue, please."
Lily gave a light, barely noticeable sigh, and resumed her rant. "And he thinks he can just get any girl he wants, which is why he bothers me so much. And the worst part about it is, all the girls he does actually want will jump into his lap without a single thought. And even worse is," she added, her voice dropping so low that Remus had to strain to hear it, "I think I may actually want to be one of those girls."
His wand dropped. It hit the floor so abruptly that red sparks shot out the end. Remus smiled apologetically at her and bent down to pick it up.
"Lily, this doesn't sound like you," he said once he straightened up, and they continued down the hall and up the steps, remembering to jump over the one that vanished. "You might like James, but you're not one to degrade yourself to literally jumping onto his face as soon as he started the sentence, 'Want to go on a ride with me?'"
Lily sighed, frustrated. "I know, I know. Should I let him suffer without my companionship until next year?"
Remus just smiled and resumed his wand twirling. "How about this? If James is Head Boy next year, you go out with him."
"Or what?"
"What do you mean, 'or what'? This isn't a bet, Lily."
Lily pondered this for a second.
"Alright. I'll do it. If Mr. James Potter, not a prefect in any way, becomes Head Boy next year, I will date him. But Remus, if you end up being Head Boy-"
"Don't worry, I won't."
"I doubt this, but I'll take your word for it."
They continued on in silence for a moment as they approached the Gryffindor common room, and then Lily spoke up again. "Remus?"
"Yes?"
"Can you not mention this to anyone?"
"I wouldn't want to for the world."
"That's good."
The next year, James Potter and Lily Evans were Head Boy and Girl, and yes, they did start dating.