Disclaimer: Anything you recognize is not mine
Chapter One: A Familiar Conversation
"Ah, that feels wonderful," Lily Evans declared as she let her feet dangle into the lake. Her fiery red hair shone brilliantly in the bright sun.
"You're telling me," Dorcas Meadowes replied, closing her bright blue eyes and turning her face towards the sun, her face surrounded by a halo of her fluffy blond hair.
"Nothing like a good foot-soaking after a big test," Marlene McKinnon agreed, lazily brushing a stray brown hair out of her face.
Alice Merrythought sighed heavily. "I'm so glad the O.W.L.s are over. That was, I have to say, the most horribly bloody ordeal I've ever been through!"
"Amen," Emmeline Vance sighed. Then, a mischievous smile playing across her face, she used her foot to splash some water at Lily.
"Hey!" Lily cried, dipping her hands into the water and throwing some crystal cool water at Emmeline, soaking her hair and splashing the other three girls as well.
After that they laughed at Emmeline's quickly frizzing hair.
"Oh, look, Lily," Dorcas said after awhile. "It's James and his 'Marauders'. I think James fancies you."
"He keeps looking over here, too," giggled Marlene, her brown eyes dancing.
"Oh, please!" Lily laughed. "Honestly, he thinks he's God's gift to Hogwarts! He just asks me out for the fun of it. He loves to annoy me. I mean, what on earth would he want to do with me?"
"A little more than snogging," Alice said in an exaggerated stage whisper.
All of the girls erupted with giggles as Lily flushed a bright red that rivaled her hair. "He may be cute, but you'd never catch me snogging James Potter. I don't really fancy big heads."
The group erupted into laughter again. "I'm more of a Fabian Prewett fan myself," Dorcas giggled, twirling a blond strand of hair around her finger.
"But we all know that Gideon's the cuter one!" Emmeline replied. The other four girls giggled with her.
"Oh, I wish this right here would last forever!" Lily exclaimed. "Or that maybe we were on a beach somewhere or something. Mmmm!" She stretched luxuriously to illustrate her point.
"I wish we could get a picture of all five of us, right here, just like this," Emmeline sighed. "Then we could remember this day forever."
"Have you guys thought about what you're going to do?" Lily asked everybody.
"I've talked to Alastor Moody about becoming an Auror," Dorcas said thoughtfully. "It sounds like a job that I would like to do."
"And you're very good at Defense Against the Dark Arts," Lily added.
"Thank you," Dorcas said, bowing her head and giggling.
"I want to so something at the Ministry," Marlene said thoughtfully. "I'm not quite sure yet. Who knows, I might apply to be the first female Minister of Magic!" She grinned mischievously.
"After you marry Sirius Black, of course," Amelia added slyly, her gray-blue eyes sparkling. Marlene promptly splashed her. Everyone in their circle of friends knew about the borderline obsessive crush that Marlene had on Sirius Black, who was a friend of James Potter.
An outburst of laughter erupted from close to the beech tree where James Potter and his friends sat. People were crowding around, and Lily could distinctly see Severus Snape in the center of the circle.
"Oh, no," she breathed, getting up and running over.
"What is it?" Marlene asked, alarmed.
"Potter," was all that Lily replied, her red hair bouncing behind her as she ran.
"Wash out your mouth," Lily heard James say as she approached the circle. "Scourgify!"
Lily was horrified to see and hear Snape, however much she disliked him, sputter and choke on the pink bubbles.
"Leave him ALONE!" she cried.
Potter and Black whipped around. Because of their similar coloring and how inseparable the two were, most of the younger Hogwarts students thought that they were brothers. Both of them had jet-black hair, but Potter's was naturally messier. Lily felt a pang of annoyance on top of her anger at Potter as she saw his hand shoot up to his hair to rumple it and make it even messier. He thinks he's so cool, Lily thought to herself disgustedly, trying to keep her temper.
"All right, Evans?" James asked, gazing at Lily. He hoped he sounded mature enough for her. She was so gorgeous standing there, a red halo around her head, her normally sweet face contorted with anger.
"Leave him alone," Lily repeated. Was he deaf or something? "What's he done to you?" I really hate him, Lily thought to herself. I don't know if I really can keep my temper this time.
"Well," James said slowly, trying to sound as important and cool as he could, "it's more the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean. . ."
Lily felt a fresh wave of disgust as the people standing around them laughed. Potter grinned at her as though this had justified his actions. "You think you're funny," she said coldly. "but you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him alone."
Potter's eyes lit up like he had an idea. "I will if you go out with me, Evans," he said quickly. "Go on. . . Go out with me, and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again."
There he goes with that stupid name, she thought. This time she wasn't going to be polite. She had been quite mannerly when turning him down in the past, but this time he'd gone too far. She couldn't hold on to her temper a minute longer. "I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid," she said simply.
"Bad luck, Prongs," Black said briskly. "OI!"
Snape had attacked Potter with his wand, creating a gash on the side of his attractive face. Before Lily could react, Potter retaliated, and the next thing she knew, Snape was upside down in the air.
Lily felt horrified that she almost laughed with the crowd at the sight of Snape's skinny legs and his horribly dirty underpants. "Let him down!" she said with the heart-felt fury she felt for Potter, and for herself at the moment, for almost laughing)
James grinned. He had another opportunity to show Lily just how talented he was. "Certainly," Potter said, jerking his wand upwards. Snape abruptly fell onto the ground.
No sooner had the disoriented Slytherin found his way to his feet than Black decided to put a full Body Bind on the unfortunate Snape. This was too much. Lily had to stop it.
She quickly whipped out her wand. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!" she shouted.
James and Sirius eyed her wand. James knew exactly what kind of power Lily possessed, and although it was one of the things he admired about her, it scared him to think that he provoked her to use it.
"Ah, Evans, don't make me hex you," James said, bluffing. He knew she'd be quicker on the draw. He just hoped that she didn't know it. He also hoped that she didn't know that he liked and respected her too much to hex her.
"Take the curse off him, then!" Lily said defiantly. She knew that Potter, who would curse just about anyone else in the school, wouldn't harm a hair on her head.
James sighed. She had called his bluff. He muttered the counter curse and then took up, once again, his arrogant and bullying air. "There you go. You're lucky Evans was here, Snivellus –"
"I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!" Severus spat, not looking directly at Lily. He couldn't keep up his cold manner if he looked into her warm face. He knew that if his friends found out that he was in love with her that they'd be after her blood. He couldn't take that risk on her life.
Lily blinked, taken aback by his lack of gratitude. "Fine," she said coolly. "I won't bother in the future. And I'd wash your pants if I were you, Snivellus." Her temper had gotten the better of her, and right now she couldn't care less what she said to anybody at the moment, especially Potter.
Lily wasn't the only one shocked at Snape's lack of gratitude. James felt a fresh new wave of anger towards Snape. Lily was just trying to save his worthless greasy hide! "Apologize to Evans!" he roared, pointing his wand at Snape.
"I don't want you to make him apologize," Lily shouted at Potter, a fresh new wave of anger towards him rising up in her. Because of her loss of temper, James Potter was going to hear everything she thought about him. "You're just as bad as he is!"
"What?" James cried, scandalized. How could he, James Potter, be as bad as Snivellus? "I'd NEVER call you a --- you-know-what!"
Lily shook with anger. That wasn't the point. "Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you've just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can --- I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK." Feeling she couldn't live with herself if she said anymore, Lily stalked away.
"Evans!" James called, trying to get her back so that he could apologize. Lily heard Potter calling her name and decided to ignore him, stomping harder as she walked. "Hey, EVANS!" James called again. She wouldn't come back.
James threw himself in the grass, puzzled. "What is it with her?" He tried to act like Lily Evans was no important matter to him, but Sirius saw right through James's act. It wasn't even that good of an act.
"Reading between the lines, I'd say she thinks you're a bit conceited, mate," Sirius replied.
"Right. Right ---" Me? Conceited? James thought angrily. To take out his frustration, he decided to pick on Snape once again. Levitating Snape in the air once more, "Who want to see me take off Snivelly's pants?" The crowd around him laughed and made retching noises. James grinned outwardly, but inwardly, a voice was telling him it was wrong. It was a voice that sounded awfully like Lily Evans's voice.
"So, what happened?" Alice asked as Lily plopped down angrily and splashed her feet into the water.
"If you want a brief summary," she said carefully, "Potter is a jerk and asked me out again, Snape is a jerk, and I lost my temper, so they both know it. Potter is still picking on Snape, though."
"Just forget about Potter. He just lives to play Quidditch, be adored, and to make everyone who annoys him miserable," Emmeline said sympathetically, patting Lily's back.