It was a warm,breezy,summer morning when a beautiful, green-eyed girl was riding her bike up and down the road, her red hair flying out behind her.
This lovely girl was Lily Evans.
Even though Lily seemed perfectly normal today, she was far from normal.
Lily was a witch.
Lily Evans went to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy during the year, but at this moment she was on summer vacation.
Even though she had to spend the holiday with her sister, Petunia, who....didn't like Lily as much as she used to, at least she was away from Potter.
James Potter.
James Potter the stalker.
James Potter the stalker who never. Left. Lily. Alone.
But at least she was free now.
Freeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
It felt so good to think it.
While Lily was thinking about all of this, she ran into a pole.
She backed up by pushing her feet across the pavement. See? James even embarrassed her when he wasn't here! Not that she ever got nervous around him, it was just....
"Hey, Lils!"
Oh great,now she was hearing his voice in her how she loathed him.
"HEY! EMERALDS!"
Why was it getting louder? Even better, now voice was using her annoying nickname, referring to her eyes.
Lily made a sharp turn on her bike where a shocking sight awaited her eyes.
Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and James Potter were standing on her street, James waving like an idiot. They appeared so suddenly it was like they had just popped up out of nowhere.
Of course they had just popped out of nowhere, she thought.
They had all just passed their apparation test.
She started to get off her bike when her pants got caught on the handlebars, but when Sirius started toward her to "help", she quickly managed to get herself free.
Blushing, she reluctantly walked toward the grinning marauders.
"Remus,"she said, holding out her hand. He grasped it, held it up to his lips, and gently kissed it.
"Lily,"he replied,letting go and grinning.
"Sirius," Lily said formally moving on to the next boy in line
"Lils!" he exclaimed ignoring her outstretched hand and giving her a big hug.
When he finally released her, she slowly moved on to the boy at the end of the line.
"James," she said (did she sound almost shy?),holding out her hand for the third time.
"Lily..." he muttered dreamily, staring into her eyes. He tried to kiss her hand like Lupin did, but, still gazing at her face, missed her hand by a few inches.
"Uh..."she mumbled backing up after everyone had finished their greetings. "What are you guys doing here,anyway?"
"Well," Sirius began before anyone else could answer. "I've been staying with Jamsie here for the summer, and we were bored, so since we've been bugging his mum so much, she agreed to let us come visit you as long as Remus would come with us and 'supervise'."
"Well where is Peter?" Lily asked,wondering where the small, slightly nerdy boy who normallly followed this popular group everywhere was.
At this, James and Sirius burst out laughing.
So Remus answered.
"Wormatail's mother said he couldn't come because he has a rash on his backside that needs 24/7 care."
Lily tried to keep a straight face, but failed and started giggling.
Soon they were all laughing at Peter, but eventually, their chuckles subsided.
"So you guys came all the way here just because you were bored?"
"That," said Sirius,smirking," and James wouldn't shut up all summer about how wonderful you are."
Both Lily and James blushed.
"You...you think I'm wonderful?" she asked shyly without looking at James.
"'Course I do," he muttered."Why do you think I've been chasing you all these years? I knew i couldn't rest until you were mine..." he finished just as shyly.
Suddenly, James had never seemed so handsome.
Lily had just started walking toward him when Sirius yelled "Let's do something fun! Let's...uh....I know! POOL PARTY!" Then, ripping off his shirt, ran to the front yard with Lily's mailbox in front of it, conjured a pool out of mid-air (Lily wondered what he would do when the Ministry enforced the new law that students couldn't do magic over the holidays) and started filling the inflatable kiddie pool with the clear water gushing out of his wand.
Why couldn't Sirius have just kept pointing out interesting clouds to Remus while Lily and James were talking? They were finally getting somewhere...
Now that the pool was full, Sirius was summoning Remus's shirt, so he would be forced to swim with them, but Moony wasn't giving up that easily. But, eventually, he quit struggling and agreed to join them if Sirius would act civilized.
Lily excused herself to go change,walked inside and upstairs to her room (thank goodness the rest of her family wouldn't be home until late that night), and started searching through her drawer for a bathing suit.
She started thinking ludicrously of which one James would like better...
No.
She was thinking crazy, she told herself.
She did not have a crush on James.
Finally, dressing in her white bikini with dark purple polka dots, she walked downstairs to find Remus standing reluctanly by the pool's edge, Sirius about to canon-ball into the still very shallow pool, and James lounging handsomely on the other side of the pool.
When Lily walked toward them, Remus inclined his head toward the pool and grimaced.
James looked stunned.
Sirius wolf-whistled and started singing.
"She wore an itsy-bitsy,teeny-weeny,purple-polka-dot bikini!!!"
"THANK YOU, Sirius, i believe that's quite enough," she grinned.
"A'ight," he said, hopped in the pool, and pulled an unsuspecting Remus in after him.
"I-Wha-YOU!" Lupin spluttered as he finally emerged from the depths of the still, very shallow pool.
"Yup, me," Sirius smirked at before Remus could reply, Sirius drowned him out with what was supposedly another one of his great ideas.
"TRUTH OR DARE!"
Everyone groaned as he beamed around at them all.
"Come on! It's a great idea! You first, Moony, truth or dare?"
"Must I?"
"Yes, must you,"
Lily giggled at his terrible grammar.
"Fine. Truth."
"Okay...Let me think of one..."
Sirius put on a face of intent, mock conentration.
"Okay, Remus, is it true that you own a muggle radio?"
"Yes,it is."
"Is it also true that you like to listen to a certain muggle chick named, if i'm not mistaken, Brittney Spears?"
"Er...Well...Yes,sometimes..."
"NO WAY!" Lily yelled."Me too!!!!!!!"
"Wow, two birds with one stone, guess that means it's your turn, Prongs,"Sirius said, turning to smile wickedly at James while Lily looked a little confused."Truth or dare?"
"Uh...Dare."
James wasn't a Gryffindor for nothing.
"Okay then...hmm...I want to see you-"and he whispered into James's ear so Remus and Lily couldn't hear.
"No...No way,are you insane?!" James asked Sirius.
"You know you want to."
"But do you want me killed?!" James yelled.
"Do it."
James sighed, stood up ,and stepped out of the pool.
"Lily, could you come here for a second?"
Lily felt butterflies erupt in her stomach.
"Uh...Okay..."
She stood up and walked over to James.
James just stood there for a second looking at the ground watched by a nervous Lily, a curious Remus,and a smirking Sirius.
Suddenly, James looked up and kissed Lily full on the lips, and he felt a crazy sensation in his stomach. He couldn't think. He was wrapping his arms around her waist, the smell of her strawberry shampoo flooding his mind...
Lily pulled away and stared at James.
She backed away, not taking her eyes off of his, then started stomping toward him.
James saw the look on Lily's face and started backing away nervously.
Lily ran up to James, looking like a mad-woman, grabbed his shoulders forcefully...
And,applauded by Remus and Sirius,kissed him again.