Written for QLFC Round 8 [Tornadoes, Chaser 3]

(main) Theme - believing in the unbelievable even when nobody else does.

(word) forgive

(emotion) frustrated

(phrase) on his/her knees

Thank you to Quinn, Adi, and Vic for betaing!

"For the last time, Potter, no!"

"Stop moping around, Prongs," Sirius says irritably. "She's not interested. Move on. There are more fish in the sea. I heard Emma Wiggins fancies you—"

"I don't care about Emma," James interrupts, his eyes dull and hopeless. "I don't care about anyone. I just want her."

"She's turned you down over and over again," Remus points out. "Maybe give her a break?"

James looks outraged in the face of Remus's doubt. He seems reinvigorated, a fire kindling in his eyes.

"She's just being stubborn," he insists. "Yeah, that's it. She's just in denial about her feelings for me."

Remus bangs his head against the table and wishes for it all to be over.

"...WILL YOU GO OUT WITH ME, EVANS?"

Lily stares, white-faced and petrified, as the envelope bursts into flames and crumbles into ash. Her mates, who are sitting around her, also look at the envelope with shock. A delicate silence hangs over the hall, but is immediately shattered by an infuriated Lily.

"Potter!" she screams, storming towards him with an inferno in her eyes.

"Yes, my angel?" James asks lazily, a self-indulgent smirk on his face.

"You — insufferable — arrogant —" Lily seems to be struggling to find an accurate enough adjective to describe him, so James inserts his own.

"Charming? Handsome?" he says, grinning broadly like an insane fool. The better, wiser part of him tells him he shouldn't be risking her wrath. Lily Evans is a skilled witch and a master at hexes.

As usual, though, he ignores that part of him.

And as usual, Lily screams at him, and he listens, but doesn't respond.

"You conceited git — you have the nerve to send me a Howler — how immature are you — "

And that's where everything fades away, because he's heard this many times before. Her words blend into jumbled, melded sounds, because he's distracted by how beautiful she looks when she's angry.

And then his smirk turns into a lovesick grin, or so he's been told by his mates — "Sickening," Sirius tells him, disgust etched on his face — and then, he's jerked out of his reverie by a sharp pain in his cheek. He's drawn out of his thoughts just in time to see Lily pulling her hand back.

"You sicken me," Lily informs him, sounding eerily like Sirius. She wrings her hand, looking repulsed. "Ugh, you'll never grow up, will you?!"

And she marches out of the Great Hall, Snivelly tailing her, but not without giving James a smug look.

James has never wanted so badly to wipe the smirk off of his oily face than he does now.

"Another day, another defeat."

Sirius is the first to comment as James slumps in his seat, acutely aware of the judgmental stares upon him. "I told you, didn't I? She's never going to —"

Remus's pointed glare cuts him off.

"It's not over yet." James straightens, determination surging through him like a wave. He's more resolved to win Lily's affections than he's ever been before. "I think Snivellus is the one tainting her mind, so we need to make sure he gets his comeuppance…"

Nobody questions him; James is too far gone. And besides, why would they pass up a chance at pranking Snape?

Another successful prank, but Lily Evans is once again pissed off. They didn't mean to target her, but naturally, wherever Snape was, she was too, and was subsequently caught in the crossfire.

So while James lets the love of his life vociferate him, his companions watch him, shaking their heads with dismay.

"I don't think she's ever going to fall for him," Peter says. The other two nod their agreement.

"What are we going to do?" Sirius asks, dejected.

"I don't know, Sirius," Remus sighs. "I don't know."

(He's lying. He does have an inkling of an idea. Lily doesn't seem to appreciate it when unwanted attention is drawn to herself, which James does every time he tries to ask her out. She doesn't also like the way James behaves — the root cause of her despise. If James could get rid of both of those, he could potentially win Lily over…)

(But he doesn't know if James is ready for the change. It would mean deflating his ego, less pranking, meaning he couldn't antagonize Snape…

So Remus keeps the idea to himself. Who knows, maybe James isn't as thickheaded as everyone thinks. Maybe he'll realize on his own.)

"That wasn't a good idea," James mutters as he stomps into the dormitory, covered in slime from head to toe. "I need a shower. Preferably a cold shower."

He heads into the bathroom as the other Marauders — thankfully spared from the slime — gather round Remus's bed, looking slightly crestfallen.

"That was the worst ask attempt ever," Sirius says baldly. "What the hell was James thinking? Did he really think being on his knees and begging for a date would work?"

"That wasn't the worst part," Peter says. "He thought hoisting Snape up by his trousers would convince her."

Too many thoughts are crossing Remus's mind, the most prominent one being what the bloody fuck was James thinking, but he doesn't voice that aloud for obvious reasons. He has a reputation to maintain, after all.

But his friends are allowed to say whatever they'd like.

"I don't see why he picked Evans," Sirius huffs. "Of all the birds, he has to fancy the most stubborn swot of them all."

"Lily isn't that awful," Remus argues. "She has a good head on her shoulders, and her so-called obstinacy is her disapproval of James's actions."

"Or of James himself," Peter disputes. "Sirius isn't wrong."

Remus is clearly outnumbered here, so he shuts his mouth.

No one believed he'd succeed. No one believed he'd win over Lily Evans.

But sometimes, the unbelievable is not the unattainable.

James changes.

No one would thought he could do it, but he comes back from the summer holidays practically a different person, a shiny new Head Boy badge pinned to his robes.

And then, the unbelievable happens — Lily forgives him.

"You know, James, you're not so bad anymore," she tells him, a hint of admiration seeping into her voice. "I might just consider taking you up on that offer for a date."

James's insides do a happy dance, but outside he keeps his composure. "So, wait… does that mean —?"

"Ask," she prompts him.

James, being James, has to do it in the most dramatic way possible. "Lily Evans," he proclaims, kneeling down and grabbing her hand, "would you give me the honor of accompanying you to Hogsmeade this weekend?"

Lily tries to remain stoic, but she bursts into a fit of giggles. "Yes, you doofus," she says, clapping a hand over her mouth to control her giggles. "Yes."

What follows a proposal is a kiss, but it's too soon for that, no matter how badly he wants to kiss her.

He'll just have to wait.

(Thanks to her, he's used to it, but this time, the future is looking optimistic.)

WC: 1185