What If Lily Had Chased James?

Lily Evans heaved a sigh. She gazed longingly at the boy sitting near the lake's edge with his friends, playing with a Snitch that he had undoubtedly stolen.

"I don't know what you see in the arrogant prat," her best friend, Severus Snape, muttered.

"And I don't see what you have against him," she answered, letting another sigh escape her lips as James made a rather impressive catch.

"That's because you choose to ignore what's right in front of your face," Severus hissed. "They're jerks, the lot of them, and you're just under their spell."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Sev, did you ever stop to think that you might be just a little bit jealous?"

Severus glared at her. "Whatever Lily. If you're going to sit around and drool over James Potter, I'm going somewhere else." With those words, he stood up from his spot on the ground and stalked away, leaving his best friend alone.

Lily continued to gaze at the object of her affection for a few more moments before she stood up. She wasn't going to get a date by sitting on the grass and watching him from afar. She ran a hand thorough her vivid ginger hair, then made her way to the group of boys.

*~*

"Here comes your girlfriend, Prongs," Sirius Black joked as he noticed Lily walking toward them.

James' fist closed over the small fluttering ball once more before he followed his best friend's gaze. "Oh, no," he groaned as he watched the redhead approach.

"What's wrong?" his other friend, Remus Lupin, asked, looking up from the book he was reading. "You have something against gingers?"

"No, she's hot and everything," James answered, "but she's too…easy."

"How would you know?" Sirius inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"That's not what I meant," James told him. "I just meant that I like to work for the chance to date a girl, and Lily doesn't give me that challenge."

Sirius nodded. "I see what you mean, mate."

"Whatever you're going to do, you'd better do it now," Remus said softly as the girl entered the shadows of the tree that they were sitting under.

"Alright, Evans?" James asked, giving Lily a half-hearted smile.

"Hi James," Lily responded, unable to keep a sigh out of her voice. "I was wondering if you wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me next weekend."

"I'd love to, Lily," James said, quickly thinking up a story, "but I've got detention that Saturday. Maybe some other time."

The redhead's face fell slightly, but she hitched her smile back into place before the boys could notice. "Yeah, some other time," she repeated. "Well, I guess I'll talk to you later," she added before heading off toward the castle.

Needless to say, 'some other time' never came. Lily finally gave up on James, and shortly after she finished school, she married Severus. It made perfect sense; they had been best friends since they were little. The couple had two children, Leena and Christopher.

FIN