A/N: Jily. The canonical pairing that everyone loves. My (not so good) version.
Thanks to:
miskachick
for reviewing.
I always appreciate a nice review.^^ Hope you enjoy.
The constant rivalry between James Potter and Lily Evans was well-known throughout the castle of Hogwarts. Every banter and glare would incite much eye-rolling and sighing. The entire student body could only wish that the uncomfortable tension between them would hurry up and be solved with a quick romp in the sheets.
James, with his pride instilled into him since he was young, would never relent, regardless of how much he might think Evans was cute when she made vulgar gestures at him.
Lily, with her stubbornness as a strong-willed ginger, would never surrender even if she may have appreciated Potter's arse once or twice (or more) in that dashing Quidditch uniform.
Sirius, in all his frustration, wished nothing more than to yank the two by their ears, throw them into a broom closet, and let them cop a feel.
When James publicly humiliated Lily through humorous pranks and such, she fired right back with a witty comeback or a prank of her own. It was all very amusing to watch at first, but once it started, it never ended. Since their first year, the professors laid their bets down to see who would fall first—or at least realize. Flitwick set ten Galleons down for James. Slughorn voted James with a couple Galleons of his own. Sprout and even Dumbledore joined in the stakes, vouching for young James Potter. The lot of them knew James' tendency to be moody and passionate. Once he got sense knocked into him, the professors believed whole-heartedly that he'd be the one to start for Lily. However, Minerva McGonagall and Rubeus Hagrid were the lone betters for Lily Evans. The Transfiguration professor wasn't exactly sure why Lily would be the one to initiate, but being their Head of House, her instinct told her so. As for Hagrid, he just went with his heart, much like McGonagall.
Now in their seventh year, the professors were rather curious as to what would happen. Only brief signs of their budding love had sprouted. They remembered quite well when Lily brewed a powerful but subtle love potion back in fifth year and fed it to James. For at least a month, James's behavior had become much more obnoxious. McGonagall swore she spotted him doodling hearts around his and Lily's initials. As the month went on, the love potion seemed to become more potent, and he was seen repeatedly asking Lily out. With the gradual change, even his friends didn't notice too much until the whole debacle between Lily and Snape. After the incident, the ginger fessed up to her prank to rid herself of the increasingly lovestruck boy. She had enough to think about after all.
That particular stunt had landed Lily Evans in a month of detention. However, during that time, the professors were more worried about her emotional health since she'd been humiliated by her best friends Severus Snape. But everything had sailed smoothly soon afterwards. Lily Evans and Severus Snape had parted ways, and she and James were back to their old devices.
The professors were pretty sure James became softer though. At first, they suspected him still being under the influence of the love potion, but that suspicion quickly passed. It seemed James Potter had become more aware.
The professors vouching for James were more than happy. However, McGonagall and Hagrid continued observing Lily.
Seventh year meant it was the last year.
The professors were quite surprised to hear James Potter being made into Head Boy. They pitied Remus Lupin, who'd clearly been the better choice. They did have a sneaking suspicion that Dumbledore was abusing his power to encourage the relationship. The headmaster pointedly denied it.
What the professors didn't expect was the quickly maturing James Potter becoming a fine young man. Gone were his bullying habits. His crude arrogance only appeared from time to time. Holding such responsibility caused him to mature rapidly. Dumbledore claimed to have had this intention from the very start. McGonagall found herself scoffing at that.
James' sudden coming of age also effectively put a stop to his many pranks and mischievous behavior. Although he did enjoy a laugh or two, fooling around like the six previous years wasn't exactly a great option with his position as Head Boy. Flitwick mentioned seeing him holding a civil conversation with Lily Evans, much to his surprise.
The most unexpected thing was how they began dating. That they began to was of no question.
During a Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, the former defeated the latter in a close match. While James Potter scaled the stands on his broomstick in a victory lap, Lily Evans called out to him. He paused by her spot in the stands. The ever-stubborn ginger, Lily Evans wrapped her arms around the neck of Gryffindor Quidditch captain James Potter and yanked him in and met his lips with her own in front of hundreds of students and professors. The crowd cheered.
Momentarily stunned, James pulled away for a second before grasping Lily's face and resuming their exhilarating liplock.
Days later, James Potter and Lily Evans were seen holding hands. All sorts of rumors circulated. There was one that the two were already together before, and the Quidditch game was just to publicize their relationship. There was another that Evans made a deal of sorts with Potter. If he won the game, she'd snog him in front of everyone. The happy couple never confirmed nor denied the claims.
It was a day that went down in the history of Hogwarts. The queen courted the king.
It was also the day when McGonagall and Hagrid raked in their winnings, totaling just over fifty Galleons. The two basked in their gold and blessed the new couple with smug grins.
