Disclaimer: HP belongs to JKRowling.
Year Two
In which opinions change (for some of them, anyways)
James scowls at his distorted reflection in the tarnished trophy as he scrubs at it with a toothbrush. The administration long since learned that separate detentions were the only option when it comes to dealing with the Marauders, but James doesn't understand how he is always the one with the worst detention assignment. Sirius gets to skin Boomslang for Slughorn, Lupin at least gets to go up to the top of the Astronomy Tower to clean telescope lenses, and Peter, the lucky git, gets to go into the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid. It's really not fair. James would switch with any of them (especially Pete) faster than you can say Wingardium Leviosa.
But it's not really the detention he's angry about, or even the fact that the Marauders got caught sneaking into the Slytherin common room and transfiguring all the green and silver banners to read "Snivellus Snape is a slimy, sneaky, son of a bludger who is in dire need of a bath." No, the reason that James Potter is taking his aggression out on the poor, innocent trophy in front of him lies with a certain redhead. A certain redhead who is currently attacking a golden medallion with equally angry zeal. The animosity between the two of them is practically tangible, so much so that even Filch vacated the trophy room as quickly as he could after giving them their toothbrushes.
Lily is the one to break the silence, "I heard about your little stunt in the Slytherin dorms, Potter. I hope you realize that what you guys did to Sev was absolutely vile."
"You wound me, Evans," he spits back, gritting his teeth and polishing all the harder "Besides, I think you've lost whatever moral high ground you once had, don't you? What's little Miss Perfect doing in detention with a 'vile' miscreant like me, anyway?"
She doesn't miss a beat. "If you must know," she says loftily, moving on from the medal to begin work on a plaque, "They found out I was the one who charmed Mrs. Norris's fur to glow in the dark. Why do you think Filch left so quickly? He's trying to wash the charm out, but it will last for at least another month." She sounds almost pleased with herself.
"That was you?!" James can't believe his ears. The cat's newly neon nature had saved his and Sirius's rear ends on a late night raid of the kitchens just this past Tuesday, and the pair had sworn to find and thank whoever had been responsible for that early warning system.
"You don't have to sound so surprised. You act like you think this is my first detention or something." Lily still sounds annoyed with him, but there's something else – something like amusement? – bubbling up beneath the complete and utter detestation he's used to.
"It's not?" James turns away from the trophy to stare at her, "Who are you and what have you done to Evans?"
She laughs at the look on her face, and James is taken aback. She's... pretty, when she laughs. He never noticed that before, and for some reason, he feels his face grow hot and his stomach do a backflip, so he whirls around and reapplies himself to polishing that darn trophy before she notices that something's unmistakably wrong with him. Is he coming down with dragonpox? But that's ridiculous, he had his bout with dragonpox when he was seven.
"Good Godric, Potter," she's still chuckling, "I know I'm not you but this isn't my first detention by far. Let's see, there was the time Marlene and Mary and Lis and I broke curfew to transfigure one of the staircases into a giant slide, and we forgot to change it back afterwards. And the time Marlene dared me to paint gags onto all those rude portraits near the girls' loo so they'd stop wolf-whistling every time a girl walked by. And that charm I put on Binns's board so it draws silly cartoons behind his back while he's lecturing, so I can actually stay awake in his class. And the time -"
Evans is a lot, well, a lot cooler than he realized.
"Whoa, Evans, I had you pegged complete wrong. I thought you were some kind of goody-goody two-shoes," he admits, wondering why, exactly, his heart is pumping so loud, " I mean, it's understandable, isn't it, since you're always telling us off for every little thing."
Her laughter stops, and even with his back turned, he can feel her smile dissipate, "Just because I don't agree with your idea of fun doesn't mean I'm some teacher's pet. It means that I don't approve of bullies. Which is what you and your idiot friends are."
"We are not!" he protests, but the reflection in the silver of her green, green glaring eyes silences him. She turns around with a huff, and scrubs that plaque to an inch of its life.
James finishes the trophy and moves on to the next award, as he wonders how that conversation went rotten so fast. And at how, just for a moment, Evans seemed... fun. And nice. And stuff.
He blushes again, without knowing why.
Over the course of the night, James attempts half a dozen times to rekindle the connection he thought he felt, with feeble comments about the weather, and their Astronomy essay, and even how the Cleavers were doing this season, but Lily stubbornly continues ignoring him, leaving him to wonder why getting the silent treatment from a girl he hates hurts so much.
They finish their detention in silence.
It's not until detention is over and James is back in his dorm that he suddenly realizes that he's just fallen for Lily Evans. Bollocks. Sirius will never let him hear the end of it.
A/N I think Lily wasn't a goody two shoes, not the way Hermione was in the first few books. Lily was vivacious and cheeky and well-liked. I like to think she got into her fair share of mischief, but never let fun get in the way of her sense of justice. Just my two cents. :)
