AN- James/Lily! Because there is nothing better.
Enjoy!
I wrote this spur of the moment at 1:00 in the morning, so please excuse any errors I couldn't find.
So, Lily Evans enters her sixth year at Hogwarts and her world gets turned completely upside down. Severus Snape is no longer her best friend and she's actually had an enjoyable conversation with a Marauder (though it was Remus, so that's not too surprising).
No, the thing that really tilts and twists her world is when James Potter sits across from her in the library.
"Evans," he greets, hazel eyes brightening behind round glasses.
"Potter," she sniffs, not even looking up from her Potions book.
"How was your summer?"
"It was wonderful. You weren't there."
He grins in response to her quip (because he just won't bloody give up), "Glad to here you had fun, then."
Silence follows them over the next few moments. He's just staring at her and it's very distracting. Not because it's James but because someone is staring at her and how on Earth is she supposed to get any work done and she finally huffs and slams the book shut.
"What?"
James blinks in surprise, "Merlin, Evans, calm down. I just wanted to see how your break went."
She groans and sweeps all of her books, quills and parchment into her bag. With a final glare, she marches out of the library.
Of course, he follows.
"Oi, Evans! Wait a moment. Would you-"
She twirls around and awards him with a blazing, almost deadly look from her green orbs. "No! I would not like to go to Hogsmeade with you, Potter. Get that through your thick skull!"
He raises an eyebrow at her and holds out a book, "I was going to say, would you like your book back."
"Oh." The heat fades from her eyes and transfers to her face. She doesn't look at him as she takes the book back. "Thanks."
"No problem."
He grins at her, slips his hands in his pockets and walks away.
"He didn't ask you out?" Mary wonders.
Lily shakes her head and falls back onto her bed.
"Maybe he's given up," Alice suggests.
"Maybe he's found someone else," Mary supposes.
"Maybe he's a bloody git who's just trying to mess with my head," Lily mutters.
Alice and Mary giggle.
"If so, he's doing a great job."
They both manage to dodge the pillows Lily aims at them.
"So, you're not asking her out? For the entire year?" Sirius asks, perfectly bewildered.
James nods as he shovels food into his mouth.
"And, somehow, this is supposed to win her over? Ignoring her?" Remus inquires.
James shakes his head and speaks around a mouthful of chicken, "Not ignoring her. Just not asking her out."
"It won't work," Sirius says, "She'll forget all about you and go out with the first available bloke."
"We'll see," James smiles smugly.
The first week goes smoothly.
On Monday, James picks up the quill Lily drops in Charms. He hands off with a smile and turns back to focus on Professor Flitwick's lecture. Lily narrows her eyes at him, suspiciously.
"What?" he asks out of the corner of his mouth.
"Don't you have anything to ask me?"
He turns to her (thankfully, they're both sitting in the back today) and smiles. Lily braces herself for it because the question is about to come out-
"Would you mind lending me some parchment? I've nearly run out and he's not even half-way done."
Wordlessly, Lily pulls out a piece from her bag and hands it to him.
"Thanks, Evans,"
On Tuesday, he holds the door open for her, outside Transfiguration. She stops in the middle of the doorway.
"What are you playing at, James Potter?"
"A boy can't be a gentleman without being judged?" he asks, his voice sounding offended and Lily has to hand it to him- he's a bloody good actor.
She stomps past him and throws her stuff down next to Alice.
"I've got to hand it to him," Alice says as James takes his seat without so much as a glance towards Lily, "He's good."
On Wednesday, they work together in Herbology and Lily refuses to speak with him.
"Lily, should I put this plant in the small jar or the big jar?"
"Lily, I think our plant has teeth."
"Lily! Lily, it's biting my finger! Lily, it won't let go!"
In the end, she gets fives points taken off Gryffindor but she's very proud of herself because she didn't rise to Potter's bait.
On Thursday, James sits across from her in the library again and she glances up from her Potions book.
"What?"
"I'm not asking you out anymore, Evans," James says, getting straight to the point.
"Oh, really? And why is that?" Lily leans back against her chair and crosses her arms over her chest.
"Because you'll reject me. Because I'm tired of hearing you say no. And, because, I genuinely want to be friends with you. So, you can stop with the whole detective act. I'm not playing any games nor am I trying to psyche you out. I promise."
Then, he gets up and walks out, leaving behind a flabbergasted Lily.
On Friday, they're paired together in Potions and she actually speaks to him, works with him, and even laughs a couple of times at his jokes.
And, they walk out of class together and walk down to dinner together.
The friendship begins.
"Can I ask you a question?" Lily wonders about a week later.
She and James are sitting in the common room together, on the couch in front of the fire. They are working on Transfiguration homework.
"What?"
Lily bites her lip, waits a moment, then blurts it out, "Why me?"
James raises an eyebrow; he has no idea what she's talking about.
"Every girl in this school would gladly drop everything to go to Hogsmeade with you. They worship the very ground you walk on and yet, all this time, you've chased after me. And, it's no secret I couldn't stand you. I always turned you down and yet you kept coming back. Why?"
James is silent. He's not avoiding the question, he's merely pondering the answer.
"Well, you're bloody gorgeous for one (Lily blushes). You're also extremely brilliant. I liked that I could have an actual conversation with you, even if you were telling me how bloody arrogant I was. I liked that you called me a prat and you didn't fall to my feet because...you were a challenge."
"That you had to win?" Lily asks hotly.
"I don't mean it like that!" James insists. He sighs, flustered, "You just...you were different from other girls. Plus, you're bloody gorgeous."
"You already said that," Lily remarks dryly. But, she's smiling.
"Can I ask you something?" His hand ruffles his hair in a nervous gesture.
She nods.
"Did you really hate me as much as you said?"
It's her turn to wonder, "I don't think so. I mainly hated you because you treated Se-some people really badly. But, I suppose, after I lost some...influence on you...I decided you weren't as bad as I thought. You were still a prat though."
"So, you don't hate me anymore?" he asks, a grin a mile wide on his face.
"I hate you less than I did last year," she offers with a shrug and a teasing smile.
James nod. "I'll accept it."
Seventh year rolls around and Lily is Head Girl and James is Head Boy and she doesn't really mind because they're friends.
(I know, it's shocking)
Suddenly, though, James is different. He still laughs and jokes and pulls pranks but he's a little bit more mature. He carries himself like a man and Lily can't look away from his intense eyes, his crooked smile or his toned body (hey, she's only female).
They patrol the halls together and he can still make her laugh and she finds herself wanting to spend more time with him. Soon, his friends become her friends and her friends become his friends and Lily, Mary, and Alice (occasionally accompanied by long time boyfriend Frank) are constant guests at the Marauders section of the Gryffindor table.
And then breakfasts together become study sessions and Hogsmeade trips spent laughing and enjoying each others company and Mary and Remus start dating and Lily finds herself falling, falling, falling in love. With James Potter.
One morning, she walks down to breakfast with Sirius and she sees James talking to one of his Quidditch teammate, a pretty sixth year. Sirius calls for his attention and James waves him off, grinning at the girl and Lily's stomach drops as she touches his arm and flips her hair and flirts with him.
After a moment, James walks over to the duo, grinning and Sirius scoffs.
"Don't tell me you're ditching us tomorrow?"
"Michelle invited me to Hogsmeade," James shrugs apologetically, "Can't reject the poor girl. She'd be devastated."
Lily tunes them out as they walk into the Great Hall and, when she takes her place between Alice and James, she finds she's suddenly lost her appetite.
The next day, the girls dress warmly and meet up with three out of the four Marauders and Frank and they all grab breakfast before stepping out into the chilly day and walking the long path to Hogsmeade.
Lily finds herself laughing (it's forced) and smiling (it's fake) and having an all about good time (not) and she never thinks about James and his date once (liar).
The seven of them enter the Three Broomsticks and claim a table in the corner. After a round or two of Butterbeers, Lily feels the cold air drift in and looks towards the entrance. Her heart misses a beat; it's James and Michelle.
They take a table close by and Lily can't bear to hear her laughter and his smooth voice carry over so she offers to grab the next round and bolts out of her seat before anyone can stop her.
She waits at the counter and taps her foot and does not listen for his voice. At all.
Sirius joins her. "You alright, Evans?"
He's taken to calling her by her surname now that James won't. She nods her head and smiles at him.
"Fine. Why?"
"You couldn't get away from them fast enough," Sirius tells her.
Lily blushes "That obvious, am I?"
"He waited forever for you, ya know. No matter how many times we told him to get over you, he never did."
Her smile is bitter, "Is this where you tell me I'm too late?"
"This is where I tell you that he's still waiting. He still loves you."
"Impossible. He hasn't asked me out in over a year, he's done with me."
"He promised to never ask you out. It's killing him, Evans, but he refuses to break his promise. I think he always hoped you'd do the asking."
Lily laughs- it's short and derisive- "Right. And, I suppose it's killing him right now? With Michelle sitting in front of him? Laughing at his jokes?"
Their drinks arrive and she grabs the tray and turns around and freezes. Because James is leaning over the table and Michelle is leaning over the table and they're kissing. In the pub, in front of everyone and that giant cracking sound is her heart, breaking in two.
She shoves the tray towards Sirius and blindly runs out of the Three Broomsticks, tears embedded in her eyes.
"Lily!"
James pulls himself away from Michelle and looks up in time to see fiery red hair disappear out the door. He's up in a heartbeat and walks over to his best friend.
"What happened, is she okay?"
"She's not feeling well," Sirius explains and James' eyes narrow because he can always tell when Sirius lies.
"I'm going to check on her," James says but before he can leave, Michelle grabs his hand.
"Excuse me, are you really ditching me to go after another girl?"
He shakes her hand off, "Lily's just a friend. I want to make sure she's alright."
Michelle snorts, "Please, everyone at Hogwarts know you and Lily Evans are far more than 'just friends'."
"Well," James says, his temper rising, "If so, why did you ask me out?"
"I didn't think you'd say yes. But you did. And, you can't leave."
James opens his mouth to retort but is cut off when Sirius shoves a tray worth of Butterbeers towards him.
"Take these to my table, I'll check on Evans."
Lily sits in front of the lake and cries. Because she's too late, because James has moved on, because she finally, finally loves him.
And it doesn't matter.
Sirius sits down next to her and she wipes at her runny nose and watery eyes.
"They're fighting. Over you, actually, if it makes you feel any better."
It doesn't but she appreciates him trying.
"All you have to do is tell him, Lily. He'll be yours in an instant."
"I don't deserve him," she whispers.
"That's funny, but I'm pretty sure that's how he feels about you. Merlin, you two are insane. Just get together and get it over with."
Lily laughs a little through her tears and she's grateful towards her feelings for James for the first time all day because they brought her three great friends.
She doesn't go down to dinner and she avoids the common room until it's time for her Head duties. She slinks down the dormitory stairs and ignores all the Gryffindors and crawls out the Portrait hole.
He's waiting for her in the hallway and she plasters a smile on her face.
"Hello, James. How are you."
"Don't," he tells her, his hazel eyes looking more intense than she's ever seen them, "Why did you run out of the pub today?"
"I wasn't feeling-" the lie dies on her lips as he stares at her, "I couldn't stand to see you with her."
"Why not?" he asks, his voice soft but urgent.
"Because...because I fancy you! Alright, are you happy! I fancy you, James Potter. In fact," her voice wobbles a little, "I might even love you (she can't see the brightness of his eyes and she misses the upturn of his mouth because she's staring at the floor) but it's too late. I think we shouldn't have Head Duty together anymore, I'll pair myself with a Prefect and-"
He kisses her. It's passionate like him and fiery like her and she sees fireworks and hears bells just like all those Muggle books she's read told her she would. His arms tighten around her waist and her hands run through his hair and they need to be closer and stupid oxygen becomes a necessity.
They pull apart breathing heavily and he presses his forehead against hers and she sighs in pure bliss.
"Do you have any idea," James asks, "how long I've been wanting to do that?"
Lily giggles, "For a long time, I'm guessing?"
He smiles and brushes some hair behind her ear and leans in to kiss her again but she doesn't let him.
"What about Michelle?"
He smirks at the malice in her tone, "We're going to see other people."
He leans in again but she still won't let him.
"Don't you have anything else to say?"
He pauses for a moment, then smiles, "I love you too."
This earns a monumental blush from Lily but she still won't let him kiss her.
"Lily," he whines most un-James like, "What am I missing here?"
"Aren't you going to ask me out?" she inquires with a raised eyebrow.
He chuckles. "I promised I never would, Lily."
"Fine," Lily huffs and grabs his tie and pulls his face close to hers, "Go out with me, Potter?"
"I'd thought you'd never ask," James says, smiling more brightly than the sun.
Then, he finally kisses her.
The next day, James and Lily walk into the Great Hall hand-in-hand and all their friends cheer because, really, it's about time.
"It was all part of the plan," James assures his friends.
Lily just rolls her eyes and snuggles closer to him.
AN- My only regret is the lack of Remus in here. And that Peter didn't die in a horrible Hippogriff accident.
Thanks for reading!