First of a series. The title is one of my favorite quotes. Drabble-esque. Lily Evans is no damsel in distress.

She hated those fairytales her mother read to her and Petunia. She hated how Petunia would swoon and smile and tell their mother how she wished she had her own Prince Charming.

And her mother smiled and said she would and turned and asked Lily,

"Do you want a Prince Charming?"

And she crossed her arms and gave Petunia, in her pretty little dress with her hair all done up in curls a pitying sort of look. And she told her mother that she didn't need saving. She was her own knight in shining armor.

She wasn't no damsel in distress.

She hated James Potter and his stupid friends. She hated how they heckled and made fun of everyone. She hated them.

They insulted Sev daily who would cuss back at them. He was used to it, he told her, used to it.

But the first time James had a go at her, Sev got truly angry and rushed to his feet. He went to draw his wand but Lily had beaten him to the punch.

"… You foul, arrogant toerag James Potter!" she said finishing her rant, waving her wand threateningly in the taller boy's face. Sev stared slack jawed at her. She gave him a wide grin before sitting back down and resuming her work.

"For future reference Sev, I can save myself."

She wasn't no damsel in distress.

She hated Severus Snape. The ungrateful slimeball. After all she done, after she'd been his friend for years when others avoided him.

And he had the gall to even utter the word 'mudblood'.

And she hated how it was of course all Potter's fault and how HE then tried to make Snape apologize. She could deal with Snape on her own, thank you very much. She didn't need James Potter's help, she didn't want his sympathy.

She wasn't no damsel in distress.

She hated Remus Lupin. The git. Of all people, he should realize that she hates help, that she doesn't need saving.

And now she was patching up his wounds, berating him for getting himself in more danger than necessary. Reminding him how precarious life was as part of the Order without throwing yourself directly into harm's way.

And he apologized and said sorry, and said that he knew-

She was no damsel in distress.

Most of all, she hated Lord Voldemort. Not the dislike she held for others, she truly despised him. He was a sick, insane freak.

And when he showed up on their doorstep that night, it was the first time she ever listened to James when he told her to run.

Because she had some that she needed to save.

And she was crying when the snake-like man burst open the door. Her husband was dead by his wand. So many people were dead.

"Step aside foolish girl."

But she stayed and she pleaded for mercy—not for her but for her son. And when Voldemort ignored her pleads and raised his wand she threw herself in front of her son.

Because if anyone was going to do any saving it was her.

Because she wasn't no damsel in distress.

Done. Thoughts?