(A/N) This is for Miss Ginny Weasley, who so kindly requested a James/Lily that I have taken an entire week to write. For shame, I know. It normally doesn't take this long, but sometimes life catches up to you. Please, enjoy.

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James Potter was the perfect bad boy.

Hair the color of pitch, eyes bluer than the summer sky, a body toned from ardurous quidditch training, and a penchant for mischief. Yes, James Potter was everything my mother told me to avoid. And for the longest time, I was mommy's little angel. I studied hard, went to bed early to rise even earlier and even at my vegetables. I'm sure Katherine Evans couldn't be more proud of her good, little witch.

After a while though, I got bored.

There's nothing like studying the same topics night after night to drive a girl batty. All the friends I had made in my year had long ago realized that I was a stick in the mud and didn't like to play. Nevertheless, I maintained my perfect status as Head Girl and did not budge an inch from my high horse. I had the heart of a Ravenclaw and it could not have been more gloriously represented than in me.

Of course, that was until Severus Snape got the Dark Mark.

Dear Severus, shunned by his class mates and ignored by his teachers, he was my quickly fading beacon of success. His change put lifee into focus for me. For so long I had ignored the war because it didn't directly affect me, but there he was, the one man I had held out hope for, turning towards the darkness as though he couldn't bear the light. It just about broke my heart completely.

James taught me how to live again.

We snuck out at night, not to snog or other various reasons, but just to stare at the stars and talk to one another. We talked about our parents and growing up in two different worlds. We spoke of life after Hogwarts and what we planned to do with ourselves. When we weren't slipping out after hours, we played wizard's chess in the common room and it was there we shared our first kiss. Now, I wasn't his first kiss to be sure, but there was something undeniably magical about that moment in the common room when we, two young loves, shared such an intimate moment with each other.

When he proposed to me at the train station, I wasn't surprised.

How long had we danced around each other, hiding our feelings and our burgeoning relationship from the school? We had made our choise to stand for love, our next move was to stand for freedom. Not two weeks after school ended, we were formally inducted into the Order of the Phoenix. We declared ourselves the front line of defense and we would stop at nothing to defeat Voldemort. We were ardent supporters of his destruction and were devoted to this cause more than anything else.

Harry was the only thing that slowed us down.

He wasn't a negative, no. He was the greatest blessing James and I could ever receive. His tousled black hair combined with his father's features made him look mischevious, but those green eyes, my green eyes, made him look warm and inquisitive. He made me look at the world and realize that I wasn't just fighting for freedom, I was fighting for his future. I had to slow down and accept my role, not just as protector, but as mother. Harry was my pride and joy, but he was so much more than that.

He was the reason I fought so hard against Voldemort.

He gave meaning to the sacrifices we made day to day. He kept my heart soft when the world forced me to be hard. I watched as Frank and Alice fell to the Dark Lord, as numerous others were murdered in his name. In the end, it was my softness that James began to fight for. I watched him worry over me endlessly, even losing sleep some nights to care for Harry when I was worn out. James was the best thing to happen to me and Harry was the greatest gift of all.

There's nothing I wouldn't do for them.