The problem with Snape, he reflected, wasn't that he was a slimy git. (Okay, so that was part of the problem, but not the whole thing.) The problem with Snivellus was that he had this remarkable tendency to fuck up James' social sphere. He and Lily had been friendly before Snape decided fully to hate him. He and Lily had been almost friends again before the Mudblood incident.

And now Snape had moved on to the Marauders. Sirius had gotten high and tried to prank him in the worst of ways, James had saved him, Remus was mad at Sirius and Sirius was mad at himself and James hated it.

"Trouble in paradise?" the redhead asked. She flopped down into the chair next to him and draped her legs over the arm rest.

"Evans, I'm not in the mood." Lily was pretty and freckled and a prefect, but that didn't mean he had to listen to her being a git.

"Ha, I bet you're not."

There was enough bitterness in her voice to make James quirk an eyebrow at her. "We were kids then," he said, testing the waters.

"We're kids now."

"We're both of age."

"It was a year ago," Lily snapped, swinging her legs off of the armrest and glaring at him.

James shrugged at her. "Maybe I've changed," he said. Okay, that wasn't true. He (mostly) didn't hex people, but he still loved fun and his friends more than anything. Which was why this was a problem – Sirius and Remus fighting wasn't good for his social sphere or fun.

"People don't change. They get older," Lily said.

"I've matured, then," James said, shrugging and looking her in the eyes. When they were fourth years that would have made him blush, but they weren't.

Lily snorted. "That's likely."

"You weren't a saint yourself," James said.

Lily glared at him. "I never hexed people for fun."

"Really," James said, "Because I seem to recall you hexing Sirius one Monday morning when he hadn't said anything to you or Snape."

Lily blushed. "That's different."

"You're also harassing me now, when I'm clearly upset, even though I'm sure you have far better things to be doing," he pointed out with a lazy wave of his hand. "You were never a saint."

"I never claimed to be."

"Good."

"Anyways, I don't think you should be talking when you caused my best friendship to get avada kedavra'd in front of the entire school," she snapped.

"Did I call you that word?" he asked.

"Mudblood?" He winced as it left her mouth. "No, but you might as well have."

"Ha," he said. "By that logic, it's Sirius' fault Snape was a twat."

"Is that why you're all fighting?"

James scoffed, "We're not all fighting. Remus is fighting with Sirius who is fighting with himself."

"Fine. Is Snape being a twat why Remus is fighting Sirius?" The corners of her lips quirked up at him.

James shrugged. "Yes."

They sat in silence for a minute. Lily broke away from his gaze and cracked her knuckles for a minute. "I was never a saint," she said. "But neither were you. And neither was Snape."

James shrugged at her, a sheepish smile on his face. "I never claimed to be."

"And it's not your fault he's a purist," she said. "And I'm sorry about your friends."

"Anything else, Evans?" he asked.

"I still don't like you," she said. "And people don't change."

"They get older."

"Mm," she said. "There's an eyelash on your face. Very masculine."

With a laugh, she walked away.

James frowned and flopped back in his seat.

Now what was that all about?