The Life and Times of James and Lily Potter
Summary: Lily Evans despises the fact that she may just be falling for an immature prat! A life-changing event brings Lily and James to become friends and possibly more! If you haven't guessed, this is an LEJP story, starting at the end of their 6th year and going on. Mild DH spoilers!
Chapter One: We Regret To Inform You…
"POTTER!" Lily's shriek echoed through the Great Hall.
"Yes my Lily-flower? You called?" James replied with a smirk.
"Maybe you could inform me as to why my hair is PURPLE?!"
"Well you see, I figured that if I altered your outside appearance, you might have a change of hear and agree to go out with me!" James comes out behind Lily as she stands up from the Gryffindor table, turns her around, and grabs her hands. "Evans, will you go out with me?"
Seeing as he had grabbed both of her hand, Lily did not have the option of slapping him. "Potter, do you really expect me to say yes? You just turned my hair purple."
"Hey, not all by himself! I helped!" exclaimed Sirius Black.
"Yeah, it wasn't all me… Besides, you should give me a chance! You never know, you could be happily surprised!" James figured out his undying love for Lily in the fifth year. Before that, he had constantly asked her out just to be a pest. Now, though, he really did want to go out with her.
"Tell you what, Potter. Deflate your head, stop hexing random people, and call me Lily, and I'll go out with you." This was one of Lily's usual responses, and the other three Marauders exchanged knowing looks. They were positive that they would later be helping James with another plan to fulfill all three of these requirements. "Now, kindly let go of my hands and TURN MY HAIR BACK TO NORMAL!"
James resignedly lets go of her hands and mutters, "Moony?" Remus Lupin raises his wand, and Lily's hair is returned to its original auburn state. She then promptly walks off to her next class just as the owl post arrives.
James receives a letter and opens it, glad to have a distraction from the latest rejection. He reads it, and his whole body goes numb. Sirius, Remus, and Peter, noticing this, rush to his side. They read the letter as well and respond accordingly. Sirius's face is immediately drained of all color. Remus sits down at the table and puts his head in his hands. Peter passes out.
Lily, realizing she left her bag and books in the Great Hall, reluctantly turns back. As she arrives, she sees all four Marauders in their current state, and curiously goes up to them. "Potter? Black? Remus? What's wrong?" Receiving no answer or even acknowledgement, she reads the letter in James's hand. The letter reads:
"Dear Mr. Potter,
We regret to inform you that today, June 10th, a man who fancies himself 'Lord Voldemort' murdered your parents. We are doing everything we can to capture said maniac, and stop his lethal ways.
Regards,
The Ministry of Magic"
"Oh, James," Lily whispers, a tear leaking out of her eye. Not really knowing what to do, she grabs James's hand and leads him out of the Great Hall. He follows her in a daze. 'The others can figure out something. I know the Potters were second parents to all of the boys, but right now James needs comfort. Wait, since when am I calling him James? What is this feeling? Compassion, pity, what? This is so new! And why on earth am I feeling this for JAMES POTTER?' Lily's mind is racing with all of these thoughts. She brings James into an empty classroom, and he collapses, sobbing, into her arms. Surprised at first, she stiffens. Then, Lily puts her arms around him slowly, and begins to caress his hair in a caring way, murmuring words of comfort while tears flow freely down her face as well. After what seems like an hour, his sobbing subsides and they stand there in an embrace. Lily is stroking James's hair still, and she pulls back from him a little to look at his face. She takes her thumb and wipes the lingering tears from it.
"I'm sorry," James croaks, staring pointedly at a chair behind Lily. "It's just that I was so shocked and—"
She covers his mouth with her hand and cuts him off angrily, "James Potter! You have absolutely nothing to be sorry or ashamed of! A horrible thing just happened, and you needed comfort. I'm sure that your friends would have eventually provided some, but you needed immediate care. Plus, you probably wouldn't have cried in front of them. Sometimes you just need," she pauses, "and outlet of emotions."
"I know it's just that you hate me, and now you probably think I'm some pansy or something."
"I do not think you are a pansy! And I don't hate you!" This statement receives a look from James, and Lily adds, "Well, okay, we have had our differences, but I don't think I've ever really hated you! Pulling pranks hardly warrants hatred. You were always just a bit of, well, a pest."
"I know, and I'm sorry! It's just that around you I don't know what to do! I truly like you Ev-Lily! I just freeze and act stupid…"
"Look, maybe it's because you couldn't really function who was comforting you, but just now you were in no way your usual pompish, egotistical, prat-ish self! Of course, that could have just been shock, but if you act more like this all the time, I can see friendship in our future."
He flashes a weak grin, and says, "It's a start. I'll take it. Friends?"
"Friends," she replies, pulling him into another hug.
HPHP
James and Lily re-enter the Great Hall, hands entwined. Heads turn as they walk by, people whispering, "Is that Lily Evans and James Potter?" incredulously. They head toward the Gryffindor table and sit down; Lily puts her head on James's shoulder, and the entire hall becomes dead quiet. Peter had been shipped off to the hospital wing due to the fact that he had fainted. Remus and Sirius had stopped their conversation mid-way through, goggling at the scene before them.
James looks up at them and spits, "What?" This seems to pull everyone out of their reverie, and the roar of talking students resumes.
"Uh, well… It's just…" Sirius starts.
"You see, its you, and well…" Remus tries.
"Yes. James and I are now friends. Now stop gaping and eat your breakfast," Lily lashes out, her temper rising.
"Okay, okay, no need to get mad," Sirius replies, holding his hands up in fear. "We just never thought this day would come. Anyway, Prongs mate, you okay?" He looks at James with concern. "You should talk to Dumbledore or Minnie or something."
"Nah, Padfoot, I'm fine. Besides, we have exams. I'll be fine. You lot just go ahead to Transfiguration. I'll be there in a few minutes."
"Whatever you say. See you in a few," replies Remus. With that, they all stand up and start to leave.
Lily takes James's face in her hands and whispers into his ear, "Everything will be fine. I just know it!" She follows the other two Marauders out of the Great Hall.
James too walks out of the hall, but up to the owlry. He sends a letter to his family's lawyer, who happens to be a good friend of the Potters, and asks him to send any will that he knew of. He proceeds to then go to Transfiguration. He walks in and Lily's friends, Frank and Mary Longbottom (twins), Alice Prewitt, and Nymphadora Tonks, were all sitting at one table. Lily however is sitting with Sirius and Remus. James approaches the table to find Lily and Sirius in an argument about the correct incantation to transform a raven back into an egg. He sits down and half-smiles, thinking, "Maybe today won't be so bad after all…"
HPHP
They are all beside the lake, having finished their transfiguration exam. Remus, Lily, and Frank are going over almost every question they had just answered on the exam, while James is playing with a stolen snitch, unusually quiet. Sirius is sleeping, while Alice and Mary are studying for their Divination exam and Peter is still nowhere to be found. Suddenly, a tawny owl drops out of the air and lands in James's lap. He opens it, and after reading it, swears loudly, waking Sirius. He stands up, runs his hand through his hair, and summons his broom. He takes off, leaving his friends below very confused.
By the time he got back, Lily, Remus, and Frank had resumed their conversation, and Sirius was trying to get either Mary or Alice to snog him. He dismounts his broom, and says, "Sirius, mate, we are officially homeless."
"What?" six voices exclaim back at him.
"Why?" asks Sirius.
"Well, my oh-so-bright father decided to leave the house to his brother, should anything happen to him. The two haven't talked in about twelve years, after a huge row between them," he explained through clenched teeth. "And let's just say that my uncle agrees one hundred percent with Sirius's Mum's view of Muggles. My lawyer talked to him, and he said that under no circumstances were two 'filthy little blood-traitors going to stay in HIS house!"
"The git! Where are we going to go?" shouts Sirius frantically.
"Guys, you know I would take you in, but, you know, with the size of my flat and the money and all…"
"No, Moony, we know you would if you could," interrupts James. "Now, Peter's parents hate us…"
"My parents are super-strict, or I would let you guys crash at my place," Alice offers.
"You know, you blokes are welcome to stay at my place this summer," Lily says. The others are shocked into silence.
"Are you serious?" asks James.
"No, I am!" says Sirius jovially, as if his joke were new.
Ignoring Sirius's remark, Lily replies, "Of course. We have room; I'll just have to make sure it's okay with my parents! It should be no problem!" She got up and said, "I'll go owl them now, term ends tomorrow!"
A/N: I am soooo sorry that I haven't updated my other stories in so long! It's just been absolutely crazy around here! After Harry Potter and DH came out, I have been on Harry Potter frenzy! I will get back to the other stories soon, but for now I'm going to work on this one! Tell me what you guys think! Also, is this a good length for a chapter or do you want longer, shorter, what? Just let me know, in a REVIEW!! Please! 3 Ri.