Author's note: I've been MIA for a while, but I'm back!! The title of this story is Latin for "towards better things." Enjoy!
The final bit of Fifth Year passed by in a blur. Everyone noticed how quiet James was. James noticed how Lily seemed to avoid him at all costs. He couldn't blame her though. He disliked Snape with every fiber of his being, but that didn't extend to Lily.
"Would you just get over it?" Sirius snapped as they packed their trunks. "Snivellus had it coming, and besides, he was going to call her that sooner or later."
"So?"
"I think Sirius is trying to say it's not your fault," Peter piped up.
Remus said nothing when James looked his way.
"Just because it was bound to happen doesn't mean it was going to happen now," James said with a sigh.
"You're acting like a professor," Sirius groaned.
Peter whistled. "That's... wow."
"I'm so insulted," James replied sarcastically.
Sirius flopped face-first onto his bed. "Prongs, mate, you are bloody impossible."
"No, I'm trying to be realistic."
"Since when?" Sirius snorted.
James cracked a small smile, but said nothing.
"I agree with James," Remus said suddenly.
James turned to face him. "You do?"
"Yeah. That is, if you're saying you're a prick who deserves Lily's anger."
Copying Sirius, James fell face-first onto his own bed. "It's true," he mumbles into his pillow.
Remus sat down next to him. "You should apologize to her."
"I tried," James sighed. "She won't listen. She just tells me to sod off."
"Classic Evans." Sirius rolled onto his side. "Just give up. "
"We aren't all heartless," James retorted.
"Who the hell are you calling heartless?" Sirius asked indignantly.
"I think James should apologize until she forgives him," Peter suggested.
Remus grinned. "I reckon she might get a wee bit annoyed."
"But maybe she'll listen." James stood up. "I'm gonna go talk to her."
"Good luck," Sirius snorted.
"Thanks, mate," James replied with a wink. He slipped out the door and down the stairs, praying she wasn't in the girls' dorm.
He found her sitting on the floor in the Common Room organizing some parchment. James stood awkwardly for a moment. When she didn't look up, he cleared his throat.
She looked at him and frowned. "Sod off."
"I haven't even said anything!"
"I really don't need an insincere apology right now," she answered, looking back at her parchment.
"Insincere?" he exploded. "Do you really, REALLY think I'm insincere? How many times have I tried to approach you? Do you realize what people have said to me? They're telling me that Sniv— that Snape was bound to say it sooner or later, so it's not my fault. It is my fault! I was a... a... a toerag! No, I am a toerag. I'm trying to be better." His voice grew soft. "Look, Evans, I'm just trying to say that, we'll... I am sorry. No one deserves to have their best friend say that. Even if their best friend is practically a Death Eater."
She looked up at him, a tear making its way down her cheek.
"Bloody hell," she whispered.
"Oh hell!" he exclaimed. "Now I've made you cry!"
"You're an idiot," she told him. Suddenly, she smiled. "An idiot, yes, but at least you've got some decency."
He sat down across from her. "Can you forgive me?"
She shrugged. "Might as well. Can't stay angry forever, now can I?"
"Do you—" He stopped.
"Don't say it," Lily warned.
He chuckled. "I wasn't going to, I swear."
"Then what were you going to say?"
He hesitated, then looked her right in the eye. "Do you want to try and be friends?"
She smiled. "Yeah, alright."
"Really?"
Laughing, she ruffled his hair. "Don't sound so shocked. You know you're charming."
"You think I'm charming?"
"Don't let it go to your head," she teased, cuffing his head for emphasis.
"What head? It's so tiny!"
His joke earned him a bright smile. "You tell yourself that, Potter."
