The Lake

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter nor will I ever.

"Wash out your mouth," said James coldly. "Scourgify!"

Pink soap bubbles streamed from Snape's mouth at once; the froth was covering his lips, making him gag, choking him -

"Leave him ALONE!"

James and Sirius looked around. James's free hand jumped to his hair again.

It was one of the girls from the lake edge. She had thick, dark red hair that fell to her shoulders and startlingly green almond-shaped eyes.

"All right, Evans?" said James, and the tone of his voice was suddenly pleasant, deeper, and more mature.

"Leave him alone," Lily repeated. She was looking at James with every sign of great dislike. "What's he done to you?"

"Well," said James, appearing to deliberate the point, "it's the more the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean…"

Many of the surrounding watchers laughed, Sirius and Wormtail included, but Lupin, still apparently intent on his book, didn't, and neither did Lily.

"You think you're funny," she said coldly. "But you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag Potter. Leave him alone."

"I will if you go out with me, Evans," said James quickly. "Go on… Go out with me and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again."

Now Lily Evans had always considered herself a bright witch, much to the apparent chagrin of James Potter, who always found himself second to none but the redhead herself. Her marks were consistently at the top of their year, and if it weren't for James, it wouldn't even be close.

But she could also be impulsive. So incredibly impulsive to the point where she didn't think about the next words that came out of her mouth, when she unthinkingly yet bitingly retorted, "Fine, Potter, you insufferable prat. I'll go out with you if you promise you'll leave Severus alone. And I swear to Merlin I will personally kick your arse if you even think about cursing him, or anyone for that matter, again."

James had stopped listening the moment Lily Evans, the love of his life, the center of his dreams, the object of his fantasies, said the words 'I'll go out with you.' At first, he thought he hadn't heard her correctly. To be truthful, he hadn't realistically expected anything short of a cold rejection from her, for all of his previous attempts usually ended that way, but this turn of events rendered him speechless and open-mouthed for a brief moment. Realizing this, he quickly closed his mouth and resumed the cool, proud face that he was normally seen with.

James smirked. "Why, Evans, it's a shame you waited until the end of term to finally agree to go out with me, although I'm sure we'll be able to rendezvous plenty this summer, if you catch my drift," he said with a wink that would have most girls in the school swooning.

But Lily was not "most girls," and if anything, she was more annoyed by his arrogance than ever, but also angry with herself for ending up in such a situation. Quickly, she assessed the reactions of the small group that had gathered under the beech tree. James's mates were trying unsuccessfully to hide their amusement with their hands, clearly entertained by the whole ordeal. James himself still wore that stupid smirk that she so desperately wished to wipe off, but Severus was the one who caught her eye. He looked furious, hurt, and confused all at once, and Lily had a hard time not feeling guilty for her rash actions that had probably just hurt him a lot. She tried to give him and understanding look, but he wouldn't meet her eye.

In fact, the more she thought about it, the more Lily realized just how grand of a mistake she had made, but the damage was done. The news that Lily Evans agreed to go out with James Potter would spread like wildfire, and she wouldn't be surprised if the whole school knew by dinner.

Flipping through all of her possible options in her head and not finding an alternative, she grabbed James by the arm and half dragged, half marched him up to the castle, ignoring the wolf-whistles and low conversation breaking out amongst the students gathered outside.

Seconds later, Lily shoved them into the Entrance Hall, which was thankfully empty due to the majority of the student population enjoying their time out by the lake.

James, of course, was completely oblivious to her irritation. He couldn't get over the fact that Lily, his Lily, finally came to her senses and went along with what he claimed many times was her carnal instinct.

When the two finally came to a stop near the side of the wall, he smirked and was the first one to speak. "Couldn't wait to get your hands on me, could you Evans?" he said smugly. He turned them around to where her back was to the wall and his arm was loosely around her waist.

However, Lily was not having it. Glaring at him, she slapped his arm away. "Shut it Potter, or I'll hex you. The only reason I brought you in here was to… er -" She lost her train of thought when she noticed how intently he was looking at her.

James noticed her slight hesitation and took the opening. "To what? To snog me here where anyone could walk in and see us? I must say, Evans, you're quite the exhibitionist," he said with a wry grin. Once again, he took hold of her waist but with both arms this time. He leaned forward until her back was pressed against the wall.

Unlike last time, however, Lily was unable to extract his arms from her this time. With much of his weight leaning against her and her back trapped firmly against the wall, there wasn't much she could do but glare at him defiantly. "You're absolutely ridiculous if you actually believe that. Look Potter, this is all just a huge misunderstanding. I never meant to agree to go out with you, you pompous prat. It just slipped out and I wish that you…" but she was interrupted by his chuckling. "What's so funny?"

James had broken into fits of laughter at this point, noting the very serious yet adorable look on Lily's face. Eventually, his laughter slowly subdued until an expression of great amusement sat on his face. Without thinking, he said, "Nothing, it's just that I find it hilarious that you, Lily Evans, supposedly the brightest witch in all of Hogwarts, 'accidentally' agreed to go out with me, James Potter, the most handsome bachelor to ever walk this Earth." He winked to let her know he was teasing. "You must think I was born yesterday."

Lily fought to bite back a smile. Insufferable and arrogant as he was, James was funny, but she didn't want to allow him the satisfaction of knowing that. She tried her best to scowl at him. "I'm serious, Potter. It was a terrible mistake. And would you please get off of me, for Merlin's sake? You're heavy as a boulder." He was still pressed up against her and had his arms around her. It was hard to stay angry at him with his bespectacled face hovering mere inches from hers and the pleasant aroma of his cologne filling her nostrils. It also didn't help that, as much as she hated to admit, James Potter was awfully attractive.

"Are you calling me fat?" He smirked at her through his lenses. "I thought my grueling hours of Quidditch training would ensure that wouldn't be the case."

"Yes I am." She quipped back. "And why am I not surprised you didn't miss an opportunity to boast about your oh-so-difficult Quidditch regime, which I'm sure is nothing more than you tossing a few balls around."

James grinned hugely at her. "Do you not believe me, darling? I can show you the evidence." He gestured to his torso.

Lily rolled her eyes. She certainly didn't envision this happening when she dragged him into the castle. She had been preparing to give him a brief clippy explanation of the situation, then perhaps discuss how they would convince the rest of the school to zip it.

But here they were, leaned up intimately against the wall and playfully bantering with each other as if it were a regular occurrence. Grudgingly, Lily had to admit this was much more preferable to the yelling matches they usually had, but was still an odd feeling nonetheless. Realizing that she hadn't said anything in awhile, she turned her head to look James straight in the eye. That was yet another mistake. His alluring coffee-hazel eyes bored deep into her emerald green ones, imploring her to toss away everything she had worked so hard to build and lean in and just kiss him already.

As if reading her mind, he said softly, "You know you want to, Evans."

Her lip quivered as she almost gave into the temptation, but as if struck by something, Lily jolted and remembered just who she was and what she was about to do. This was James sodding Potter for crying out loud. Not a few minutes ago she had called him an arrogant, bullying toerag and now here she was getting ready to snog the bloke's pants off. And although they weren't exactly close friends anymore, she still felt like she was betraying Severus for even having these feelings for James. Quickly gaining back her resolve, she was able to pry James's hands off of her waist and push him off of her. A bit too harshly, for he lost his balance and landed hard on his backside.

Lily's natural instinct was to lean over and help him up, but she needed to show him her indifference and his inability to evoke sympathy from her. Lily felt like she was doing both of them a favor in the long run, as much as it pained her to do so. Her eyes hardening, she looked down at him and said coldly, "Don't ever touch or come near me like that again, Potter, if you know what's good for you." And with that, she turned her back on him and stalked away.

James watched her retreating form in shock. No warm-blooded girl had ever managed to escape the Potter charm before. Nobody. Not only did Lily manage to escape it, but she also greatly bruised his ego as well. My arse too, he thought morosely as he got up painfully. He couldn't fathom what had caused such a violent reaction from her when everything seemed to be going so swimmingly. He could still identify the smell of her lingering perfume, which only dejected him further.

With a sigh, he brushed the dust off his pants and made his way back up to his dormitory, His head buzzed with activity, and he knew he ought to have some alone time to sulk silently.

Grateful for an empty dorm room, he flopped onto his four-poster bed with a loud sigh, and just reflected in silence for a while. He thought about his friends who were probably still down by the tree, most likely guffawing at the whole situation. He thought about Snape, and for once in his life, James felt regretful for the way he attacked him for no legitimate reason this time.

But mainly he thought about Lily and how she had agreed to go out with him, even if it was a mistake like she claimed. Trying to rack his brain for the conversation they had by the beech tree, he vaguely recalled her saying something along the lines of, 'You better never curse Snape again.' Putting two and two together, he realized she must've said this as a condition right after agreeing to go out with him. Scowling, he punched his pillow. Angry at Snape for existing and angry at Lily for teasing him all day with her beautiful scent and fiery hair and tantalizing lips, he turned on his side and hoped for some shut eye.

Women, he thought just before drifting off. She's definitely in denial.

Hundreds of feet away, the very center of James's thoughts was thinking the exact same thing, but for completely different reasons.

A/N: What do you guys think so far? RR's appreciated.