A/N: Sorry for the delay everyone! APs are ruining my life and I could barely get this chapter out. Fear not! I promise that within the week I will update again! I would like to thank my beta Verasque for helping me edit the story so far! Enjoy reading!

Hope

He was beyond frustrated. After having to endure yet another class with the elusive Lily Evans, he could feel himself being tested to the limits.

"Remus, are you sure that this is necessary?" James asked in frustration. Making sure that they were the only two still in the Potions room, he continued. "If I wait any longer I might just spontaneously combust!" He banged the table with his fists, and he felt his jaw tense.

"Prongs, you know that's not exactly possible, right?" his friend backed out of his seat and began to clean up the mess around the table.

He glared in response. "That's not the point! The point is that your advice is driving me absolutely insane. I've lost count of how many times I've wanted to drag her into a nearby corner and snog her senseless." He sighed and leaned back against the table and crossed his arms across his chest.

Remus halted his wand movements to carefully look at his friend. "I know you've had a tough couple of months," he stated slowly. James snorted in response. "But you've done so well so far! Although the kiss may have been a step backwards, you know that she responded."

"That doesn't mean anything." He looked away trying to hide the obvious pain on his face. "She could be right. This could just be a physical thing…"

"Do you even hear yourself? Whatever happened to the sure young man who knew he was in love?"

Watching his friend resume to clearing up the table and putting all the ingredients in the right places, he pondered the question over carefully. "I know that she is the girl that I want to spend the rest of my life with. But it's a different question to get her to see that same fact."

"She needs time –"

"She's had SIX YEARS!" he bellowed.

His friend's expression remained serene throughout, and despite the withering looks James had begun to give him, he had not backed down, which further infuriated the angry teen. "Does Lily matter to you?"

"Goddamnit Moony you know she does!"

"Then why are we even talking about this. If you care for her, then you should have the patience to wait it out."

Watching his friend stand there in contemplation, Remus took that as allowance to continue. "Like I said before you so rudely interrupted me, she needs time to get to understand the feelings she has for you. You've lived with these feelings for a while now, but she's just beginning to see them. You will scare her away if you force this on her, and you need her to come to you. Your job is done."

The breath he was holding was released in a shuddering sigh. "Let's get some lunch." Grabbing both his and his friend's bags off the ground, he waited for him to settle everything before handing Remus his things. Both boys exited dungeons and climbed the steep stairs to the Great Hall.

"C'mon lover boy, let's go meet the stares and smiles of your fair lady," he chuckled as the raven haired boy stopped and reddened. Noticing his friend had continued walking, he ran to catch up. If I need to feel like this and go through this to get her then I would do it a million times if it would mean that she would kiss me like that again…

Helpless to do anything else, he could only hope.


It was not often that he had the urge to severely sabotage a Professor. Wait, he took that back, he never had the urge to physically sabotage a Professor. But this was just too much for him to handle.

"Calm yourself down Prongs, or you might burn Professor Flitwick's hair with your death glares," Sirius jokingly remarked from his right. He lounged casually in the back of the class with his feet propped up on the desk in front of him. James could only clench his fists in response. Tensely sitting in his seat, he gritted his teeth at the scene occurring in three rows in front of him.

Michael Davies and Lily's heads were bent down over a piece of parchment furiously scribbling notes to one another. In his opinion, Davies was sitting far too close to her, for his arm was around her chair while he leaned in towards the pretty redhead with a glint in his eyes.

"This type of behavior cannot be healthy," Remus stated. He, too, sat very relaxed next to the other two Marauders. "Prongs you are going to have to accept that she can't always be your Charms, Potions, Arithmancy, and Transfiguration partner. I feel as if I missed something."

Sirius glanced over at them and gave them a wicked grin. "You forgot Astronomy and, of course, shag buddy."

"Thanks a lot Pads," James whispered sarcastically and resumed to glare at the close couple while his friends snickered next to him. "Perhaps I'm wrong, but isn't the point of being my friend to help me win the girl and not comment on how Flitwick here stupidly paired up Lily with my archenemy?"

"Look, mate, we get that you're frustrated and all, but relax. I know Davies is making a move to get you riled up. Moony knows that Davies is making a move to get you riled up. And, hell, even Minnie knows this!"

"Padfoot, McGonagall isn't even here to witness this."

Sirius leaned forward. "Doesn't mean she doesn't know. Bloody clever woman…" he was met by bemused stares from his friends. "What? She is!"

"Anyways," Remus moved on, "Besides his lunacy, Pads makes a good point. He's trying to get under your skin, Prongs, and you are letting him get away with it."

"Well how the hell does she not notice the shit he's pulling on her?" All three boys winced in unison as they watched Davies lightly kiss Lily's neck as she giggled breathlessly.

James and Remus resumed Lily watch while Sirius slouched back into his seat. James felt his face flush in anger as the green-eyed girl before him sighed and leaned into the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain.

"I don't understand why you two continue to watch them. It's exceptionally clear as to what is going on," Sirius commented nonchalantly.

"Care to fill us in?" Remus smirked. "This should be good…"

Rolling his eyes at the couple in front of him, the mischievous Marauder replied, "She's in denial. She's trying so hard to not fall for our knight in shining armor here," he pointed towards James. "She wants Prongs to give up. Which you will not do, do you hear me Prongs? We've all been pulled into this ridiculous cycle you both created, and I refuse to not see this through."

The sandy-haired boy mulled this bit of information over. "Since leaving the Quaffle with Lily did absolutely no good, what's the new plan?"

"Glad you asked Moony. Prepare yourselves gentlemen. This will be our best plan yet."

James warily looked on as his friends took out a piece of parchment and began to map an intricate plan that detailed Davies' fall. Moony is the smart one, and his plan failed. What if, what if Padfoot's plan doesn't work…what will I do then?

Helpless to do anything else, he could only hope for the best.


His hands massaged her shoulders as he leaned back against the tree bringing her back to rest against his toned chest. His dark hair and dark eyes contrasted well with the redhead lying between his legs.

James harshly turned away from the couple lounging in the sun. Davies! He snarled quietly and walked back to sit at the table next to the other two Marauders. Dropping his head on his folded arms lying on the table, he quietly groaned.

"You, my friend, need to get out of Hogwarts. Anyone up for some Butterbeer?" Sirius gleefully asked.

Remus nodded in agreement and got up to look around through the disarray of the 7th year boy's dormitory that belonged to his friends and himself.

"This is why I tell you to pick up after yourself Padfoot. The Invisibility Cloak is nowhere to be found in this mess!" He sighed and continued to search through the clutter until he finally found the cloak lying underneath several books.

"Ahh but see Moony why clean up when your keen werewolf eyes can spot things for me," He gave the irate Marauder a cheeky grin.

"I don't understand why my cloak is in your room. How the hell did you even get the cloak anyways?" James's voice rang loudly throughout the room despite being muffled by his arms.

His friends looked at each other and grinned evilly as they reached over to grab his arms and pulled him out of his seat.

"What the hell?" he growled looking furiously up at the two Marauders roaring with laughter.

"Prongs, pull out the broomstick Evans has stuck up your ass and have some fun." His friends looked amusedly at him, and unable to help himself, his lips twitched, and he cracked a small grin. Sighing loudly, he gracefully got to his feet and grabbed the cloak from Remus's hands.

"Come on boys, let's go make some trouble." His friends whooped with glee, and the trio made their way out of the Common Room and down the stairs to the Great Hall under the cloak.

When they finally arrived at Hogsmeade, he turned towards the Three Broomsticks, but a tug on his shirt got him to stop.

"What now Padfoot?" he irritatingly asked. Sirius looked worriedly at Remus, both knowing that their friend was easily provoked by the smallest things

"You've been working hard lately, and we, Moony and I –"

"Don't even Padfoot. It was your idea."

"Fine. I thought that perhaps pulling a prank on our favorite Ravenclaw Quidditch captain would help you relax and take a break." He held his breath as his friend thought the idea over before he nodded in agreement.

"Sounds like an excellent idea. You should have told me this before you wanker," he joked and turned towards Zonkos. His friends let out a shaky breath and slapped hands in excitement. Their friend was back.

Despite being chased out of Dervish and Banges for trying to get the shopkeeper to fix a rigged quill that was supposed to squirt the user in the eye with ink, their shopping was peaceful and productive. They slipped unnoticed into the castle and went up to the Astrology Tower to plan out their maniacal prank. At midnight, the three sneaked into the Great Hall and came out grinning like Cheshire cats a couple hours later. The next morning, they hoped, would prove to be eventful.

The dawn broke early the next morning and the rays of light hit James in the face. Unlike other mornings where a few curses would be thrown around as he got out of bed and hopped around trying to undress and dress as quickly as possible, he stretched languidly and yawned widely before slowly getting out of bed. He dressed quickly enough and gathered his books together before descending down the stairs to the door connecting his room and the Heads Common Room.

Opening his door, he looked around the room, and when he saw no sign of the redhead that resided with him, he quickly walked out of the room. Meeting up with his friends by the Fat Lady Portrait, the three smirked in anticipation. They strolled down for breakfast in silence, each in their own world.

Once reaching the Great Hall and sitting themselves down at their spots, they amicably chatted to pass the time until their prank was revealed. Looking around, James saw that there was quite a reception this morning. The entire Gryffindor table was nearly full, missing one Head Girl, and the Hufflepuff and Slytherin tables were full enough. The Ravenclaw table also missed one person, their Quidditch captain, and the Head Table only missed Professor Vector. He pointed this out to other two, and Sirius quickly pulled out the Marauder Map.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," whispered James. They saw the small dots of Lily Evans and Michael Davies coming down the steps towards the Great Hall. Remus looked pointedly towards him, and he muttered a quick spell and pointed his wand towards the large doors of the Great Hall.

When the door opened, Davies walked in first setting things in motion. Large purple paint filled balloons fell from above in a never ending torrent, coating his blond hair in purple goop. Trying to slide away, an invisible force pulled him back to meet the somewhat harmless pixies throwing dungbombs. James muttered another spell, and the paint stopped falling and the pixies disappeared.

Completely drenched and stinking, he was released and as he walked towards the Ravenclaw table, small pops were heard and the entire Ravenclaw table was filled with frog spawn soap, rendering everything inedible.

For the finishing touch, a large Gryffindor banner appeared above the doors and a second banner appeared beneath it reading: We'll pound Ravenclaw into the ground. The Quidditch Cup is ours to be found!

Cheers erupted from the Gryffindor table and laughter was heard from the other two tables as Ravenclaw seethed in their seats.

He simply smirked in happiness as his friends roared with laughter, tears forming at the corners of their eyes. He looked towards the doorway again to notice an enraged Lily standing there. She, of course, had not been covered in paint and the pixies had not harmed her due to his spelling on the doors to protect her.

As she furiously stalked towards him, the laughter in the room subsided and the cheers from the Gryffindor Quidditch team quieted down. She arrived before him and grabbed the front of his robes to pull him up from his seat. She released him, only to jab a finger at his chest.

"What was that?" she gritted.

He continued to smirk. "That was a prank Lily-dearest."

"Do not call me that! You are a Head Boy! You are not supposed to be pranking others when you should be setting an example!" she shrieked. "And here I thought you changed –"

"Don't you dare talk about changing!" he interrupted heatedly. "At least I made an effort. You haven't changed in the past seven years since I've known you. Stop being a hypocrite." He could feel his eyes narrow in anger. How dare she!

She put her hands on her hips and responded. "At least I know when I've gone too far. This was ridiculous, Potter and you know that!" Back to last names are you, Lily? Two can play at that game.

"This was just some team spirit. Merlin knows we need that around here with you being a complete spoilsport!" Whoops erupted once more from the Gryffindor table, yet they were silenced with one withering look from their Head Girl. He looked closely at her and noticed that her eyes relayed a bit of hurt from that remark.

He knew that would hit her hard since she had only acted in an upright manner because she was trying to prove something to the purebloods out there. He was proud of her for actively creating a model for all muggle-born witches and wizards and hated himself for stooping so low in his anger.

Yet, all guilt flew out the window when she defiantly raised her head and moved one hand to jab his chest again. "Team spirit, huh? Then why was that prank targeted towards one person?" He clenched his fists at the point she was trying to make.

"Well I don't know," he drawled, "perhaps it could be the fact that he is the Quidditch captain for Ravenclaw." The titters around him from his team boosted his confidence. I will not back down. She's had her chance, and she moved away. Time to stop pinning and time to prove to her that she's made a terrible mistake!

"You know what James, I thought you would be man enough to handle rejection, but you pulled this shit, and I guess I was wrong. You're just a pathetic excuse for a human!" Gasps were heard at the implication she was making.

His eyes hardened. As she turned away, he grabbed her wrist and spun her around to face him again. You aren't getting away that easy. I know exactly what you're trying to pull and your insults are not going to protect you anymore.

"Then you shouldn't have led me on," he hissed. He heard Remus try to stop him, but he waved a hand behind him and his friend resumed his seat.

"Nice try Evans, but you and I both know that your insults mean nothing. I wonder what your dear boyfriend would say when he realizes that he was the rebound from just a mere kiss we shared." A stunned silence filled the room.

She flinched as if she had been slapped. He released his grip on her hand. As she rubbed her wrists, he made a move to apologize, but decided against it. She had, after all, started this.

As they stood there, lost in their own secluded world, the rest of the room returned to their breakfast and quietly chattered amongst themselves. The Ravenclaw table had been filled once more with edible foods, and they, too, went back to eating. Davies looked on suspiciously at the pair, but his glares went unnoticed by the couple standing in silence.

"What happened to us?" she spoke quietly.

"The answer to that lies within you. In this instance, I am being completely selfish and truthful when I say that this whole mess lies with you to sort out." He whispered harshly, and he pivoted on his heel and walked away from her. He refused to look back and see if she looked as heartbroken as he felt. He refused to let her pull him down like she had before. And as he avoided the goop on the floor and strode out the doors into the fresh sunshine provided by the large windows, he refused to turn around and hope that she would realize her mistake.

I won't turn around. And let you tell me I'm much too proud. All you do is fill me up with doubt. This time, baby, I'll be bulletproof.

Helpless to do anything else, he could only hope.


A/N: The last thoughts by James was from La Roux's Bulletproof. It's a great song go check it out if you have time.

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