THE STRANGEST COURTSHIP

Chapter One:

The Challenge

Lily Evans arrived at King's Cross Station full of excitement; it was going to be her fifth year at Hogwarts, and she hadn't seen her wizarding friends all summer. Being a muggle, she'd been a camp counselor during the days and waited tables during the nights; anything to get out of the house so she could be away from her horrific older sister, Petunia.

Petunia was a muggle, but that wasn't what made Lily abhor her so; both Lily's parents were muggles as well, and she still missed them as much as ever during her time at Hogwarts. But from the day Lily had received the letter informing her that she was a witch, Petunia had become cold and bitter towards her. Whether Petunia's bitterness stemmed from resentment, jealousy, or just disgust, it had torn the two sisters apart irreparably.

Needless to say, Lily had needed a reason to stay out of the house during those long summer days when tempers quickly boil....and with the fiery tempers that Lily and Petunia shared, fights were likely to erupt all too often.

As soon as Lily stepped through the barrier at Platform 9 3/4, she began scanning the crowd for the face of her best friend, Arabella Figg. But before she could spot the Arabella's long brown hair, however, Lily was dismayed to see four tall heads approaching—the Marauders.

The Marauders were the biggest trouble-makers in the school, and also the most handsome; consequently, they were rather arrogant and lusted after by most of the female population of Hogwarts. For these reasons and others, Lily loathed the sight of them.

But Lily's red, curly hair was hard to miss, and the boys had made a beeline for it as soon as they saw Lily enter the station. Her spitfire temper made her easy to rile up, and she was consequently one of the Marauders' favorite targets for teasing and pranks. And so the four Marauders were heading straight for an angry Lily Evans, and Arabella was nowhere in sight.

"Evans," said Sirius with a low whistle as he stopped across from her. His eyes kept darting from her face to her chest; she had become quite beautiful over the summer, and he didn't know what to make of it. "Not the gawky, brainy redhead with the hot temper we left last summer, eh?" She narrowed her eyes at him, and he amended himself. "Well, not gawky, at least....apparently the hot temper is still intact."

"Sirius, could you at least wait until we're on the train to torment me?" Lily asked with exasperation just as the other three Marauders stepped into view. Their reactions upon seeing Lily were quite different. Sirius' eyes had widened and he'd shot her a sarcastic taunt; Remus raised an eyebrow at her and then rolled an eye at Sirius ("Sorry Padfoot here's drooling over you like a dog; have a good summer, Lily?"); Peter put a hand to his mouth before letting out a weak giggle ("Ha, Lily, see you haven't changed!" which of course wasn't true at all); and James....James heartbeat quickened and he felt his throat constrict when he saw her, but on the outside he just met her eyes for a barely perceptible moment before nodding ("Evans."). Then Lily began to fiddle with her wand as she stood there awkwardly for a moment, reddening under the stares of the four boys.

"Erm....I have to go....find Arabella," she said finally, and James let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. "So....no pranks on the train, okay? I'm a prefect, now, you know," she said weakly, pulling a silver badge out of the pocket of her jeans; she hadn't changed into her school robes yet.

And with that Lily turned and was enveloped in the crowd of students, leaving behind her four very dazed Marauders. "So. That's Lily, then," said Remus finally, not voicing his thoughts but knowing what the others were thinking. Sirius was more blunt about it:

"Damn," he said, leaning back on one of the station walls for support. "She....she's....she's a fucking goddess." Sirius' eyes glazed over as he imagined Lily on the muggle beaches that summer....in a bikini. He licked his lips without realizing it, at which point James finally spoke up:

"Get a grip, Sirius," he said more angrily than he meant to. "You know you can't have her; she's Lily Evans, straight-laced, smart-ass, hot-tempered, prefect Lily Evans....so stop thinking that; it'll never happen."

Sirius was not used to being told that something would never happen with a girl; he raised an eyebrow and turned to James. "I take that as a challenge," he said with a smirk.

"No you don't," said James quickly, paling a little. "You heard what I said; you don't even like being around her, and all she ever does when she sees you is argue."

"I like a girl who can hold her ground, stand up for herself," said Sirius staunchly.

"She's too smart for you, anyway," said James. "You're too immature for her; besides, she's virginal, and it looks like she wants to keep it that way."

"Hm," said Sirius contemplatively. "A girl has yet to resist my charms....and I think I'd like a virginal girl, especially after that whore Eva Malfoy."

"Sirius, don't use Evans like a prize, like a challenge," said James seriously, with a hint of pleading almost imperceptible in his voice, but his eyes hard and his jaw set.

"What's this, James? Are you feeling something for Evans? Or, more likely, are you just going soft?" Sirius taunted.

James' eyes flashed darkly, but then his trademark stubbornness and pride flared up in him; he refused to be softened by a girl—he was a Potter, after all; girls were supposed to go soft for him. So, putting all better judgement aside, James gave in. "Fine, Sirius," he said lazily, as if he couldn't care less, "try to get Evans to go out on a date with you on her own free will; that means no bribes, threats, blackmail, or anything else....uncouth, all right? So here's the deal, Sirius: if you can't take Evans out on a date by winter break, you have to....do all of our Divination homework for the rest of the year."

Remus, who hadn't spoken at all throughout the whole ordeal, let out a slow whistle. "Ouch, Sirius," said Remus, "the stakes are high; that could be quite painful." But Sirius ignored Remus; a glint was in his eye.

"And if I do take Evans on a date before winter break...." began Sirius.

"You won't," said James definitively, though there was a small sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. "There's no way in hell."

"Yeah, yeah, James. Sure," said Sirius. "But if—hypothetically—she for some reason went out on a date with me, then you, my friend, have do something even better. Because of the odds all being against me, you know." Then Sirius whispered something quickly into James' ear, at which James' eyes widened and his ears and neck reddened.

"I don't think....I mean, that's a little...." said James desperately, nervously.

"Oh, ho, my friend, I thought it was you who said there was 'no way in hell' Evans'd go out with me, eh? So you've got nothing to worry about, right, old boy?" Sirius elbowed James cheekily, smirking from ear to ear. James looked sullen, and still rather embarassed from what Sirius had said.

But the old Potter pride kicked in. "Fine," said James shortly. "But it won't happen. We're on."

"To Lily," said Sirius. "Because she and I are no longer on a last-name basis." James and Sirius shook hands, then the four Marauders boarded the Hogwarts Express. Their fifth year had begun with a bang.

In the next chapter....the Marauders walk in on Lily and Arabella at the worst possible moment....