A/N This is a new story I'm starting up. It will be a multi-chapter fic, but still relatively short :)

Oh, and I don't own Harry Potter- the wonderful J.K. Rowling holds all claim!


James Potter had a problem, an issue, a… dilemma, if you will. A certain redheaded girl had taken over his mind. He couldn't sleep at night. His grades were slipping- particularly the classes she happened to be in- and he found himself unable to pay attention in even his favorite subjects. He'd even found his appetite to be lacking, and that was something that just didn't happen.

What had she done to him? He'd always had a rather large- and rather well-known- crush on Lily Evans, but this, this was something else.

Sanity had gone on holiday. Logic had taken to running away screaming when she came into focus. Propriety, maturity, intelligence… all had forsaken him. He felt like bashing his head against a wall; maybe he could knock some sense into himself.

Smack!

"James… James? Jamesie, Jimmy, Jim-bob? What are you doing?"

Smack!

He ignored the irritating voice of one of his best mates, Sirius, and continued murdering his brain cells. It wasn't as though he actually used them.

Smack! Crash!

James jerked away from the wall instinctively, resisting the urge to rub his battered forehead. "James!" Yelled Sirius, staring at the ground. "You broke Remus'…thingamabob!"

He glanced over at the broken lamp-Remus had an affinity for muggle things, especially those of the electronic variety- pointed his wand and muttered reparo in its general direction. That finished, he continued his assault on the dorm wall.

"Alright, alright! James, stop, you're breaking the wall!" Sirius cried, staring in bafflement and horror-and some amusement, yes- as one of his best friends seemingly attempted to permanently disable himself mentally. Not that he wasn't already mentally disabled, Sirius thought.

James considered this, and thought about having to explain a destroyed dormitory wall to McGonagall. What would he say? That he was in love and felt the need to knock his brain cells out of place? Yes, that would go over well. With that in mind he stopped, stared at the dent he'd made, and rested his head against it dejectedly. He couldn't explain it, but the most recent rejection-Lily had blatantly ignored his advances, complaining of an annoying fly buzzing about her ear- had hit him especially hard. It was as though he'd suddenly woken up and realized, wow, it's been almost seven years and she still hates my guts.

She could be quite horrible to him, yes, and many-including his best friends- wondered why he even bothered. But he'd seen her, in those quiet moments no one noticed, smiling at one of those sappy romance novels she claimed she hated. He'd watched as she gave up her own much-needed study time to help some first or second year with their work. He knew her favorite color, her favorite food, her least favorite song, her favorite flower-which surprisingly (or not so much) wasn't a lily. She loved dandelions. She said, once, that just because they were weeds didn't mean they were any less beautiful, and they were often overlooked.

He knew that she absolutely hated mornings, and waited until the last possible second to get out of bed and get ready for the day. He'd seen her cry, silently, holding a tearstained letter in her hands in the back of the library. He knew that she liked to pretend she was invincible, and that she never let anyone see her cry or fall apart-in those rare moments that she even did.

He knew her. And he loved every bit-good, bad, and absolutely wonderful.

Was he forever going to be cursed with unrequited love? Seven years was a long time to be hung up on one girl, but he couldn't do anything about it. Would he die alone, loving and reminiscing a fiery redhead with a mean right hook (he knew from experience) and the sweetest smile you ever saw?

The wall was beginning to look inviting again.

Sirius, reading his expression, jumped into action. He grabbed James' shoulders and led him over to a bed, ranting as they walked-or rather, Sirius walked and James was dragged. "Oh, no you don't, Minnie'll kill us if you wreck the dormitory, and I'm not sure even I could flirt my way out of that one, so you just sit down like a good boy and tell Doctor Black what's wrong. Dr. Black will fix it."

James gave him a sideways glare. "You're ridiculous."

Sirius grinned. "No, I'm Sirius. I'd think after so long as best mates you'd be able to get my name right. But really, why were you abusing the wall?"

James scowled at the floor childishly, attempting to burn a hole through the carpet. He was feeling oddly destructive.

Apparently deciding that the floor would have to remain intact another day, he turned and flopped onto the bed, shoving his face down into the pillows. He mumbled something that, to Sirius' ears, sounded remarkably like, "Lgrfmhlnrthom."

"Yeah, whatever language that was, I don't speak it."

James turned his head to glare at the smart aleck. "It was English, you moron. And I said that Evans has deep-fried my brain." He promptly pushed his face back into the pillows-which smelled oddly of chocolate. This must be Remus' bed, he decided.

"Some form of English I wasn't previously aware of, then. And if Evans had, in fact, deep fried your brain, I-"

"Who's getting deep fried?" Remus suddenly said, walking through the doorway and raising his eyebrows at the sight-and conversation-he'd walked in on.

"-think that probably you'd have a few more problems than just a need to break things."

"Why are we breaking things?" Remus said incredulously.

Sirius turned to Remus. "Oh, Jamesie here is moaning over Evans again. I walked in on him trying to knock himself out on the wall. I, being the hero that I am, saved him just in time."

Remus looked at him skeptically. "I'm sure you did. James?"

He sighed and turned, unwillingly, to look at Remus. "Lily rejected me again."

"…I'm sorry, but I don't see how this is cause to injure yourself. Isn't this kind of a daily occurrence?"

"Hourly, I'd wager." Sirius offered.

James scowled at him yet again. "Not. Helping."

Remus shook his head. "But seriously-Sirius, don't you dare- why is this one any different?"

Sirius looked decidedly put out. James threw up his hands exasperatedly." I don't know! I don't know. It's like I suddenly realized that it's been seven years, and nothing has changed! She still hates me. I still love her. We still can't have a civil conversation. Am I doomed to live this way forever?" He sighed dramatically.

Remus looked at him thoughtfully. "No. Or at least, probably not. You just need a different course of action. A… plan B, since subjecting yourself to pain and rejection over and over doesn't seem to be getting the job done."

Sirius grinned. "Aw! But Moony, think of the entertainment value in Jamesie and Lily-flower's… interactions!" He said, for lack of a better word. Really, there was no word in the English language that did James and Lily's relationship any justice. "Quite honestly, the girl amazes me; the amount of creativity she puts into her rejections…"

"Shut it, Padfoot, or you'll find out just how much creativity I have."

Remus watched them banter back and forth, a plan forming in that brilliant mind of his. It wasn't a well-known fact, but Remus was really just as much of a Marauder as the other three-he was just far better at playing innocent. Many of their more famous pranks had been his own ideas, as much as he tried to play at being the most "mature" of the group.

Suddenly Remus smiled, a mischievous smile that few ever saw. It was so rare, in fact, that James and Sirius immediately quit their arguing and death threats and looked up at him apprehensively.

"Uh…Moony?"

"You're scaring me."

"Mooooony?"

"I have an idea," Remus suddenly said. "Just how much do you want Lily to love you back, James?"

James swallowed hard, looking down at the floor again. "More than anything," he said quietly.

Remus nodded, the pieces of his plan falling into place. This was going to be brilliant. "Good," he said. "Because this isn't going to be easy."


A/N Dun dun dun! Lol. So, first chapter! I won't ask for reviews, because I'm mostly posting this because I love writing, but it IS always nice to know what other people think of what you write ;)

Okay, so I am asking for reviews-shoot me :D

I already have the next chapter planned out and partly written, so it should be uploaded fairly soon!