Author Note: Wow! Chapter 1 had a really great turnout… I'm so glad to hear from all of you! I hope you guys enjoy this next chapter just as much (or more). Can't wait to hear from you!


Second Year

"Evans!" a voice called down the corridor. "Wait up!"

Lily spun around immediately, cutting short the conversation with her friends Mary Macdonald and Alice Andersen. Noticing James running up from behind her, she rolled her eyes. "Go on… I'll catch up with you two," she told her friends, sighing. Mary and Alice shrugged, and continued on their way.

"What do you want, Potter?" Lily asked, crossing her arms as she waited for James to catch up. "I told you before, I'm not letting you copy my Astronomy homework."

"Astronomy?" James smiled. "Don't worry, Lily. The only star in my life is you," he told her, wiggling his eyebrows. The gesture, which was supposed to look suggestive, came off instead as awkward and silly.

Lily couldn't help but laugh at this. "What's your point, Potter?"

"Will you be my Valentine?" James asked, his eyes pleading.

"Oh, not that stupid holiday again!" Lily had completely forgotten it was Valentine's Day – she had successfully avoided all talk of such things until now.

James tilted his head in confusion. "May I take that as a 'yes?'"

Lily hugged her books tightly and shook her head. "No, you may not."

"But Lily!" He stopped in his tracks.

Lily kept walking. "Oh, enough of that… we're going to be late for class!"

"I'm not giving up so easily." James grinned. "I hope you know that this year, I have a back-up plan."

"What's that?"

"Well… what would be the fun if I told you?" James laughed. "Let's just say I've got a few more tricks up my sleeve…"

The two rounded the corner and approached their next class.

"Whatever they are, I'm not interested," Lily told him, and with that she entered the room.


"I think it's sweet!" Mary exclaimed, squeezing her pillow happily. "Isn't it sweet, Alice?"

"Terribly sweet!" Alice agreed, grinning at Lily, who merely continued to blush and shake her head. "You should just say yes, Lily."

"'The only star in my life is you,'" Mary repeated, erupting in giggles. "I wish a boy would say that to me!"

Lily bit her lip and revealed a small smile. "Why don't you go find Potter, then? I want nothing to do with him."

"What's so bad about him?" Alice asked, genuinely curious.

"Everything." Lily rolled her eyes. "Honestly, he's just bugged me since the day we met. He was such a git to me… and to Sev…"

Mary's giggling subsided. "Oh no," she said. "You're not still friends with him, are you?"

Lily glared at her. "Of course I am!" she exclaimed defensively. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Mary shuddered. "He frightens us, Lily. You know that! You've seen who he hangs around with."

Lily shook her head. "Don't be silly, Mary – he's not like that. Sev's my best friend. I'd know if he were up to something."

"I think," Alice said, reverting back to their original subject, "that you should forget about all that and just say yes to Potter. It's Valentine's Day! Get in the spirit of things!"

"Well, I think," Lily replied, closing the subject, "that this is a sorry excuse for a holiday, and that Potter would do better bothering someone else this year." She glanced at the clock. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to go down for dinner now."

The three friends exited the dormitory and headed down the stairs, where they found James's best friends Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew waiting.

"Evans!" they called out.

Mary and Alice giggled, knowing this had something to do with James. "See you at dinner, Lily!" they called in unison, as they hurried out the door.

Lily crossed her arms. "Hello, boys," she greeted them, inwardly thanking Merlin that James was not waiting as well. "What can I do for you?"

"Peter, you go first!" Remus hissed at the chubby boy, as he and Sirius pushed him forward.

"This is from the Honorable, the Courageous, the Charming – James Potter!" Peter announced, clearly having memorized this title. "A poem for you." He cleared his throat. "Roses are red, violets are too…" He shook his head. "No, that isn't right. Hold on."

Sirius and Remus snickered at this, while Lily merely raised an eyebrow.

"All right." Peter took a deep breath. "Roses are red, violets are few…"

"No, Wormy!" Sirius exclaimed. "It's 'roses are red, violets are poo…'"

Peter nodded. "Right… thanks. Roses are red, violets are poo… hey!"

At this, Sirius and Remus nearly fell on the floor laughing, while Peter stood beside them, looking completely distressed. Lily merely stood patiently and waited for the boys to settle down.

"Don't worry about it, Peter," she reassured him. "I'm not much for poetry, anyway."

"Show her the flowers, Wormy!" Remus coaxed his friend, hoping it might help him to regain his confidence.

"Oh, right!" Peter smiled at this, happy that Lily hadn't burst out laughing as well. He reached into his robe pockets, but frowned when he couldn't find the flowers. "Oh, I know they're in here somewhere! They must be." He continued to rummage around hopelessly, when suddenly he remembered where he'd last placed them. He reached into the back pocket of his pants and pulled out a bouquet – or at least, the remains of a bouquet.

"Oh dear," Peter said, shaking his head. "I'm so sorry. They were lilies… James is going to kill me!"

Lily took the bouquet of green stems (for that's all that was left – crushed green stems) and mustered a small smile. For some reason, she pitied the boy. "They're lovely," she said comfortingly, setting them down nearby.

"At least we've still got the chocolates," Sirius told her, turning to Remus. "Right?"

Remus' eyes shifted nervously. "Erm… oh, yeah, of course…" he said, reaching into his robe pocket tentatively to pull out a heart-shaped box. "I might have eaten one or two, though."

Lily opened the box, to find it completely empty. She raised an eyebrow.

"Moony!" Sirius exclaimed, bursting out in laughter all over again. "All the chocolates?"

"You're not the only one James is going to kill, Peter," Remus muttered.

"Where is James, anyway?" Lily inquired. She couldn't believe he had gotten his friends involved in the whole charade.

"Down in the Great Hall waiting for you," Sirius said. "So… will you be his Valentine?"

Lily shook her head slowly. "Sorry, boys. It's not you… you were great… it's him." With that, she left the Common Room and hurried down to the Great Hall.

Rushing over to the Gryffindor table, she found James waiting for her with a grin on his face. "So," he said, "how about it, then?"

Lily groaned. "You sent your friends to ask me?!" she exclaimed, smacking his arm. "After I already said no to you?"

James's face fell. "You didn't like the poetry?"

"The poetry about poo?" Lily shook her head. "No. I didn't."

"Poo?" James couldn't help but laugh. "Peter must have flubbed the lines! Although I must say… that is pretty funny…"

"Yeah," Lily agreed, "if you're five years old."

"What about the flowers?" James asked. "Did you get those?"

"Completely crushed."

"And the chocolates?"

"You mean, the empty heart-shaped box?"

James sighed. He knew it was a mistake to trust his friends in this endeavor. "I'm sorry. My friends really messed up, didn't they?" He tried to make light of it.

"No," Lily said. "You did. Why can't you just take no for an answer?!" With that, she turned to find her friends. Conversation with James was pointless.


Acknowledgments: I want to thank kadygal, Joanne Heart, His Half Blood Princess, CelticFairie, Miss DnG, siabrach, LILYandJAMESareCUTE, -Jeisa-, Tyem Myodyor, andrisaroo852 for your reviews on Chapter 1. Hope to hear from you again!