It wasn't that she didn't like James Potter. Although she would never admit it, she liked James Potter more than anyone should ever like James Potter. If she had to bet a Galleon on it, she'd say that she liked James Potter more than he liked himself.
Which was exactly the problem.
She spent three years fighting with him, because if she told him that she liked him just like every other girl at school, he wouldn't have given her the time of day.
It's not that she liked what James Potter did. She thought the way he played with that stupid Snitch was annoying, the way he hexed people (mostly Snape), and the way he and the other stupid Marauders were always walking around like they had just been named the most attractive wizards of the year.
The Snitch was annoying because it was a constant reminder that he excelled at the one thing she could never manage to get the hang of; flying.
The hexing people was annoying because it was a constant reminder of the fact that he had seen all along what she couldn't; that Snape was a git.
The Marauder swagger was annoying because it was a constant reminder that he could have any girl in the school; if she wanted him, she was going to have to stand out from the rest.
So, when James Potter asked Lily Evans to Hogsmeade for the first time, she said no. Make him work for you, she kept telling herself. James Potter needs a challenge.
So when James Potter asked Lily Evans to Hogsmeade again, she said no again. One step closer, she convinced herself. Stick to the plan.
When James Potter asked Lily Evans why she wouldn't go with him, she told him the truth. That she thought he was an arrogant toerag. Of course, he didn't know the actual reason that Snitch annoyed her so much. But admitting that would be admitting defeat.
And then when James Potter grew up a little bit, she thought that maybe she could accept a date to Hogsmeade. That was what her heart had wanted the whole time.
But when he asked her again at the beginning of sixth year, she said no. It was still too soon. She hadn't won him over yet. By then it had become almost second nature. She had grown used to saying no and insulting him. But that look of defeat in his startling hazel eyes she could never quite stomach.
When he asked her why, she called him an arrogant git. But that was no longer the reason. The reason was that she was terrified. To Potter, it was all a game. She had convinced herself of this. The minute she agreed to a date, the game was over. He would turn his attentions to someone else. She almost wanted to tell him to keep holding on, because one day she wouldn't be able to deny her heart any longer. Almost.
Then he hexed a third year. And she thought he really was an arrogant git.
When James Potter asked her to Hogsmeade again that year, she said no without even registering what was happening. That scared her almost more than the thought of Potter actually getting her. What was she becoming?
Then James Potter was made Head Boy. She, of course, was Head Girl. All the students, including Potter and herself, thought that Dumbledore was off his rocker. But as the old professor winked at her during the Sorting Feast, a small voice in her heart whispered that maybe Dumbledore knew more than anyone gave him credit for.
Luckily for Lily, Potter had stopped hexing people randomly. Unluckily for Lily, he didn't ask her to Hogsmeade.
Her heart had known it all along- that one day, James Potter would stop paying attention to her. He called it love, but she knew otherwise. You don't stop loving someone one year for no reason. Her plan hadn't worked; she rejected the boy one too many times and now she had to pay the price.
When she asked him about it, he gave her a nonchalant answer. He didn't want to tell her that you can only have your heart broken so many times before it stops putting itself back together.
As he lay in bed that night, he couldn't help but think about the fact that Lily Evans wanted to know why he hadn't asked her to Hogsmeade. Fortunately for Lily, he could feel his frayed heart mending already.
And when James Potter asked Lily Evans to the second Hogsmeade date that year, she was surprised. Her brain didn't have time to override her heart, and she found herself agreeing to go to Hogsmeade with that stupid black haired Marauder.
She went with a wary heart; she knew that he had won the game, and soon he would find another girl to chase after. A small ray of hope, however, still pulsed through her veins. That maybe, just maybe, the game had ended in her favor. All of the rejections had definitely caused James Potter to notice her, and they definitely set her apart from the rest of the drooling girls. Although she had abused his ego, she hoped that she had stolen his heart.
James Potter was just as surprised as Lily; she was finally giving him the chance to show her what a decent guy he really was, and maybe then he could finally win her heart.
Of course, they didn't know that their hearts had already melded as one. But really, when you're seventeen, who does?
And when, after that first Hogsmeade date, James Potter asked her to go again, Lily Evans relaxed a little.
Her plan had worked after all.