Chapter 1: Ditching It

James' POV

They laugh. But they don't understand. How could they? Sirius: Women are like underwear. I don't wish to give an explanation. Remus: Eh, he's got enough problems of his own. Peter: Okay, social outcast but for us.

How are they to know that I'm absolutely serious? I don't just want to shack up with her in a broom cupboard. I don't just want to date and ditch. I'm not looking for something I can't have. Well, I am looking for something I can't have, but not just because I can't have her…Lily Pot—er, Evans. Lily Evans. I am completely and utterly in love with her, to the point of disaster.

And, she notices me. Oh, why does she have to notice me? I am noticed for the wrong reasons. I am not exactly…shy. Ha! Shy! ME! Yeah, no. Not ever. I have played so many pranks, humiliated so many people, and said so many of the wrong things that I don't think there isn't ONE person in the whole of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that hasn't heard my name, or have been made fun of by me, including teachers. Unfortunately, that includes Lily. She hates me. Maybe. I don't really know, because I usually don't stick around to find out after a prank has been played. One night, I decided this was it. She WOULD be mine, Snivellus would leave her alone, and we would run off into the sunset with one of the unicorns that lived on the Eastern edge of the Forbidden Forest. Well, okay. I've only seen a couple of those unicorns, and they might've already migrated by now. Yeah, it's January. They're as good as gone. As I was saying, this was the final straw.

"Guys, I think I want out." I told them.

"Well, I think we would all ditch the Transfiguration homework if we could, mate," Remus laughed. See? I told you they laughed.

"But McGonagall would have our hides if we skipped even one night, you know that." Sirius added.

"No, mates," I told them, attempting to explain. "I mean I don't…I don't want any more pranks, at least not by me."

"WHAT?" There was a group gasp and the dramatic WHAT? From the two other Marauders came shocked looks. "W-what d-do you mean…no more pranks?" Sirius asked incredulously.

"Well, Padfoot, we've had a good run, but…I've got more important things to do."

"Such as…?" Sirius trailed off suggestively. Then they both gasped again.

"LILY EVANS!" Remus and Sirius exploded in unison.

"He just wants to ditch us to go in pursuit of a girl!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Well, no!" I said defensively. "Not you guys! Just our—"

"Tomfoolery? Shenanigans? Troublemaking? There are lots of things that the teachers have called what we do," Remus suggested.

"Guys, don't take this so hard!" I exclaimed, surprised at their reaction. "I'm not ditching you. I'm ditching the behavior that's taking me even farther away from the possibility of there being a relationship between me and Lily. I just…you wouldn't understand. You really wouldn't." I said sadly. I got up from the table and walked to the stairs to the dormitory. But I paused near the door, just to see if they had more of a reaction that they didn't want me to see.

They did. "Can you believe that git?" Sirius blew up. Remus didn't say anything, just looked shocked at my empty seat at the table we'd been doing our homework on.

"Actually, I can guess what he's trying to say." Remus remarked calmly. "What did you get for number six?"

"Um…wardrobes. But WHAT? You can UNDERSTAND this moron?"

"Well think about it. Lily always takes offense to our pranks, even if they're not directed at her. Probably because she has been the victim before. Oh, and thanks, that question was weird."

"No problem. You're siding with the traitor? I mean, you make sense, but don't you WANT James to stick around?"

"Of course I do. What kind of question is that? He's my friend, too, you know?"

"Yeah, sorry. But you can see why I feel strongly about this, right, Moony?" Sirius asked Remus imploringly.

"Yeah. I s'pose."

"And James is a—"

"Wait, hold up a sec, Pads!"

"No, lemme talk. He just wants—"

"NO, really, Padfoot! Maybe—"

"Jeez, no!"

"Will you just shut up a second?" Remus bellowed quite loudly.

I got tired of standing outside the dorm door and just went inside, but casting a charm to increase my hearing ability to still make out what the Marauders were saying. "Okay, now that everyone is staring, Sirius," Remus said scathingly. "Let me explain my idea." Moony must've put a Silencing Charm on Sirius, because he'd shut up. "We want James to stay, right? He said he would, he just won't pull anything. What was his explanation? He wants Lily and him to be together, and maybe if they were, he would have fun with us again." Remus removed the Silencing Charm and Sirius spoke.

"That…might work…" I could practically hear his mind working. Boy, his hamster was slow. "If we could get them together, James might be more willing to spend time with us like he usually does?"

"That's my thinking. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Let's get to work!"

"But we're doing—"

"I'm already finished."

"What?"

"I already finished Transfiguration. Just copy."

"Oh, thanks. Well then, yeah. Let's plan! What shall we call this plan?"

"Hmm… Mission: Together."

"A fitting name," Sirius agreed. They said it together: "Mission: Together."

"It sounds… Muggle-ish!"

I laughed at the ridiculousness of my two best friends.

Remus' POV

Sirius and I shook on our new plan. Only then did I realize how hard this might actually be… Lily hated James. Hated him with a heated passion. The question was: Could we turn that passionate dislike in to passionate love? Eh, I doubted it. But it was probably worth a try anyway. Not only that, but I'm sure that after Sirius told James about Mission: Together, James would kill us both if we didn't at least try.

"So what's our first plan?" Padfoot asked me. I was silent. "Oh, come on, mate! We're the Marauders! We can do this! Probably…" he looked back down at his homework. "Would number seventeen be 'Ferreverto?' That seems weird, we learned that in our second year!"

"No, Pads, drop the homework for a second. We can ask Frank for help later. What will we do?" Sirius pushed the homework aside, dropping his pencil with it. He shrugged, looking like he had no ideas but really didn't care, either.

"Well, we can't exactly have them go out for a moonlit dinner, now can we? She'd never say yes. We have to screw all the traditional stuff, just skip it."

"Hmm…What if we throw in just a little tradition?"

"What…do you mean…?" he asked, confused.

"We have to go tell James, grab your bag." We grabbed our stuff and jumped off from the table and ran upstairs.

When we got upstairs, James was lying on the bed reading Quidditch Today and was the picture of relaxation in his softest pajamas, legs crossed with one foot carelessly hanging off the edge of the bed.

"James!" Sirius and I cried at the same time. "We had an idea!"

"Yeah, I know. Mission: Together."

"How did you…?"

"Hearing-Enhancement Charm," he told us, bored.

"Oh," Sirius looked disappointed.

"Well, so what do you think?" I asked, still excited.

"I think that we're all ignorant and void of ideas," James said dully.

"Right. Well, as much as that might be true, I think this is worth a try. I thought you would be the most excited about this!"

"Oh, believe me, I am. I'm just feeling…hopeless."

"WAIT!" Sirius was jumping up and down. "I've got an idea!"

"Crap," James and I said together. When Sirius had an idea, we would either end up in detention with Filch or covered in jelly. I, for one, preferred the jelly.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, or else I'd be very rich.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yay! My very first James/Lily story! Next chapter should be up soon, while I'm still working on my other story, "Debris." Yes, that's sorta free advertising. This chapter's kind of short, sorry. Next one shall be longer. How do you like it? Any suggestions? PLEASE REVIEW!