AN: Well, we'll see how this goes. I have yet to finish an entire story, but oh well. I'm going to try and bring alot of Mary MacDonald into this story. It's their seventh year, which means JPLE later on, and SBMM (in my opinion, they belonged together :)).
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The (Very) Fine Line Between Love and Hate
Chapter One: Sarcasm and Sexiness
"Oh, Lilykins!" James said in a singsong voice. The redhead infront of him twitched slightly but didn't turn around, just continued cutting her roots into tiny, perfect sized pieces.
"Lily flower!"
"What?" she snapped.
" I just thought you might like to know that there's a Hogsmeade weekened next weekened."
"And why would I want to know that?" she asked impatiently, though she knew exactly what was coming next.
"Because you'll be coming with me, and you'll need plenty of time to decide what to wear on those nice legs of yours. The skirt is my favorite, but..."
"Is there a problem, Mr Potter?" Slughorn asked, coming over to the table he and Sirius shared. He had not even started to prepare his ingredients.
"Of course not, professor," James said.
"And Black, tolerant as Miss MacDonald is, I'm sure those flying bits of paper aren't doing much for her concentration. Get to work."
Sirius, who had indeed been chucking balled up pieces of paper at the back of her head, shrugged and pulled out his own roots to cut. James was secretly glad that it was not a partner assignment, since Sirius was chopping his root so distractedly that the size of the pieces ranged from a centimeter to two inches.
By the end of the class there was a sticky blue substance smeared on the floor and a putrid smell of dirty socks hanging in the air. Judging by the fact that the smell was much worse on his side of the room, James deducted that Sirius' miscut roots were behind the odor.
"Ah, Miss Evans, by far the best," Slughorn said proudly while Lily tried not to look too smug. "You, I believe, were the only one in this class to properly complete your Draught of Living Death. To the rest of you, I would like an essay on the proper brewing of the Draught. To be handed in friday. You are dismissed."
Everybody rose quickly to gather their ingredients and were out the door within seconds. Unfortunately, the odor didn't seem to want to leave.
"Hey Mary..."
"Shove off, Black," Mary MacDonald said, shooting him a blazing look she strode past them, flicking her long brown hair back and wrinkling her nose at the smell.
"Oh, she so digs me, Prongsie, me and my sexiness," Sirius said, turning to his friend as they walked through the hall to lunch.
"Why, because she called you Black? I'm not sure where you get these notions, Pads, but if someone calling you by your last name is a surefire way of telling they're in love with you, then I guess you and Slughorn could have a little something something going on..." Sirius punched him hard on the arm, and James winced as he took a seat at the Gryffindor table. "What? It could be kinda hott... I guess if you go for that kind of thing."
"Oh Lord help me, rid my mind of these terrible, terrible images..."
"You must really like beer bellies, Paddy..."
"Being forced to think these things is sinful."
"Love is not a sin, my good fellow..."
"If you don't shut the fuck up right now I have a good many ideas as to where this fork could go." He held up the polished silver fork and waved it threateningly.
"Okay, okay," James said, holding up his hands in surrender. "To tell the truth the images weren't much pleasanter in my mind..."
"But she soo has to like me," he said, stabbing at his potatoes.
"Sluggy?"
"Mary!"
"Padfoot, oh Padfoot, however did thy head become so large," said James. "Not every girl is in love with you."
"Hypocrite! What about you and yonder red headed ball of fury? But of course, Lily Evans must be an exception."
"Oh, your sarcasm kills me. But didn't I tell you? We're going to be married and have five kids named Billy, Milly, Philly, Dilly..."
"You would be a cruel father," Remus said, settling onto the bench beside James. "You name your kid Dilly and he will never have a single friend."
"Don't be a spoil sport, Moon, you're ruining one of his Lily fantasies."
"Oh, sorry. I should have known not to intrude when I saw the dazed look on his eyes and the drool running down his chin."
Sirius laughed loudly as James, snapping out of his reverie, wiped his chin on his sleeve only to find that there had been no drool. "Oh, ha ha," James said. "You just wait, Sirius, when I'm going out with Lily and you're still hopelessly chasing MacDonald we'll see who's laughing."
"I have a way bigger chance of getting MacDonald then you do Evans! Come on, you'd think if she wanted to go out with she would have done the first time you asked her?"
James stuck his tongue out. "Maybe I've grown on her."
"Maybe she's grown to loathe you even more over the past few years."
"Maybe you should stop talking because Mary hates you more than Lily hates me."
"Oh yeah?"
"Do I, perhaps, sense a bet coming on?"
"Perhaps you do, dear Moony, perhaps you do."
"Is that a challenge?"
"Must be," Sirius said. "Let's see... I'll bet you that I can get MacDonald to go out with me before you can get Lily. And it has to be done before Christmas break."
James seemed to fight with himself for a minute. "Deal," he said, shaking Sirius' outstretched hand.
"What's the wager?" asked Peter, who had sat down beside Sirius moments before.
Sirius looked thoughtful. "Okay James, if I win, you will stand up in the middle of breakfast and confess your undying love to Professor McGonagall, via poem."
"Oh that's how you want to play it? Then, same for you, only it'll be Slughorn, and yours well be a confession through song and dance."
"Oh, and its a tough wager on both sides! Should be interesting to see how this one works out," Remus said, commentator-style.
"Keep up the commentary, Moon, and I'll chew up your shoes again," Sirius warned him seriously.
"But these ones are new!"
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"They are definately up to something," Lily said.
"Who?"
"Potter and Black. Who else?"
Mary pulled a face. "Why do you say that?"
"They keep looking down at us... then looking away really fast. At first I thought it was just Sirius, and that's obvious because he's basically in love with you..."
"What?" Mary said loudly and a few people turned to stare.
"Oh come on Mary, it's so obvious. Sirius Black doesn't waste his precious thoroughly self-absorbed time throwing little bits of paper at someone he doesn't like."
Mary rolled her eyes, turned slightly pink and changed the subject. "Oh well, that doesn't mean they're planning something."
"They're always planning something," Lily said fairly. "Not that I care at all... Potter's a complete toerag, and Black's...
"Sexy."
"What?!"
"Sexy, but a total ass," Mary covered. "Even you can't deny it. You're not blind."
"No, I guess I'll give him that. But anyways, we better go, Charms starts in a few minutes."
"Yay," Mary. "Another class with Black. I'm practically faint with excitement."
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AN: Not very long, I know. But it was just the introduction. The other chapters will (hopefully) be longer. I can only see this being a ten chapter fic, but it could go longer. I'll update whenever I can.
PS; review review review :)