Disclaimer. Finally.

Okay, I just wanted to clear some things up. First of all, obviously, I do not own HP. But I'm basing my plot, albeit loosely, on Hana Yori Dango aka Boys Over Flowers aka Meteor Garden. Sorry if I confused anyone.

Lils

"Aargh!" James shouted. He fell out of bed, hitting the ground with a resounding thunk. His head, elbow, and knee had connected with the floor at the same time. He picked himself up from the ground, attempting and failing to retain some of his dignity, and glared at Sirius. "What are you doing?"

Prior to James's spectacular wipeout, Sirius had been standing next to James's bed. He was completely dressed in a pair of designer jeans and a stripped button down shirt. A few seconds later and he would have woken James up, presumably in a way preferable to James's method of falling. However, Sirius's presence had been enough to wake James up. And waking up to someone staring at you: not pleasant.

Sirius snickered. He tucked his jet black hair behind his ear and smiled slightly. The smile reached his eyes, for once. "Let's go," he prompted.

James glared at him again before realizing that Sirius didn't care. "Where?" James finally broke down and asked.

"Candice," Sirius replied.

James nodded his head, as if that was all the explanation needed. In this case, it was.


Remus and Peter met them by the exit. As they walked, Remus waved to McGonagall, currently absorbed in the business of rounding up the third-years. McGonagall returned the greeting, looking somewhat frazzled. The thirteen and fourteen year olds crowded around her, jostling for the best position. When they had gotten Remus's attention they stopped, immediately. McGonagall didn't want to admit it, but sometime everyone being afraid of the Marauders helped.

"Why are you guys up this early?" James asked. As a rule, the two of them never woke up before nine on weekends. Unless there was a girl involved. Or parents. Or both, in some really weird cases.

Peter jabbed his head in Sirius's direction. He didn't give any further explanation. "So, where are we meeting Candice?"

"At the hotel where she's staying," came the answer.

"And you thought that getting two Hogsmeade weekends scheduled one after another would be pointless," Remus teased James.

James nodded and conceded the point. He ran a hand through his permanently ruffled hair and sighed. He almost wished he had worn warmer clothes. It was prematurely chilly outside and a t-shirt just didn't cut it. "We need to get something to eat while we're there," he commented. "I'm starving. Call it hangover, but I need food."

"Grouchy," Sirius commented.

James looked over his friend. He was still wearing that button down shirt, with the long sleeves, and rubbed his elbow for emphasize. Sirius got it instantly and burst into more laughter. Peter and Remus looked on in puzzlement.

"Just ate," Remus informed him. Peter nodded as well. James desperately hoped Candice was hungry.


At the same time, a mile away, Lily Evans was thinking the exact same thing. "Candice, can we be done now? I'm starving." She gave Candice what she hoped was a puppy dog expression. Then again, Candice was a pureblood so she might not know what a puppy dog was.

Candice looked at Lily in pity. She had woken up Lily at seven that morning for some 'girl time.' This translated into shopping at the most expensive stores in Hogsmeade. Lily had almost passed out looking at a few of the prices.

And after all of that, Candice still hadn't quite grasped why a new girl was hanging out with the Marauders. More to the point, why the Marauders were hanging out with anyone period. Even back when she had attended Hogwarts, they didn't socialize. Everyone bowed down to them and did whatever they wanted, true. But it wasn't the same thing. Candice felt that she had grasped a part of it, though. Lily's personality. She could see why that would be appealing to James.

Candice looked at the clock on the wall. "Of course. We have to meet the boys anyways. I promised them I would meet them back at the hotel." She walked her purchases up to the register and deposited a large amount of galleons with a keep the change. With a flick of her wand, the numerous bags began to trail after her, floating through air. Her heels clacked as she strode across the wooden floor.

Lily mentally sighed, knowing who the 'boys' were. Why had she agreed to this again? Then Candice began to speak again and Lily knew why. This girl practically oozed charm. It was impossible not to like her.

"Here," Candice said, handing Lily a small bag.

Lily held out her hands, palms out, in denial. "I can't accept a gift from you."

"Why not?" Candice was genuinely confused. Money didn't mean much to her. She was one of the Dales. Money had always been there and always would. Besides, Candice made an excessive amount of money as an actress. The present equaled about five minutes worth of work.

"I've known you for less than a day," Lily pointed out. And she didn't want to be indebted to anyone. Especially not a friend of the Marauders.

"Its nothing major," Candice was finally catching onto the problem. Lily still shook her head. "Consider it an apology than," Candice finally said. "I'm sure the Marauders haven't been exactly gracious."

Lily shook her head and laughed at the same time. Her hair ticked her face as she did so. It was taking some time to get used to this haircut. Candice finally thrust it into Lily's arms after another few minutes of debating, refusing to take it back. Lily sighed and accepted the fact that Candice was intent on giving it to her. She upended the bag onto her palm. Two earrings spilled out. They were made of silver; two stags, antlers proudly pointing to the air. Small diamonds sparkled, representing the eyes. The earrings themselves were smalls as well, not studs but not oversized either. They wouldn't be noticeable except in flashes as she moved her hair. They matched her necklace perfectly. Lily wondered how Candice had bought them without her noticing.

"Thank you," Lily gushed.

Candice waved it off and deposited the rest of her packages in front of a bellman. She told him her room number and handed him a few sickles as a tip. "I'm glad you like them," Candice said. She didn't tell Lily the main reason why she had thought that Lily would like them. The stags didn't just match her necklace.

"James!"

James was the first one to stumble through the door, followed closely by the rest of his friends. Candice greeted them all as she had greeted them yesterday, and just as enthusiastically. Lily wondered where she got the energy from. It had been a long day.

The four didn't seem to notice that she was there. "Please tell me that you're hungry," James pleaded.

Candice's hair whipped around. They had walked back outside while they were talking. She brushed a blond tendril out of her face and laughed. "Sorry. I ate before I shopped. Lily was starving though."

James did a double take and looked at Lily. Lily instantly blushed. James frowned and grabbed her arm. "If my hangover is making me hungry, you have to be starving," he muttered. He raised his voice a tad. "Come on, I'll buy."

Lily allowed herself to be dragged for a few meters before she shook her arm out of James's grasp. "Have fun," she heard Remus calling. She frowned again and turned around to glare at him. The four remaining were smiling at her. Sirius offered a small wave. Lily made a mental note to yell at him later. Maybe next time they were by the trees…

"You seem awfully eager for food," Lily turned her attention back to James.

James turned his head to face Lily. "Hangovers always make me hungry," he repeated his earlier feelings. "I'm surprised you aren't more famished. It's not like you had any more food left in you from yesterday."

Lily blushed ever harder than before. Her hand flew up to cover her open mouth. "I am so sorry," she apologized. She realized the irony in that. Lily Evans apologizing to James. She was willing to guess there were bets about this thing. "Were your clothes?"

"Completely and totally ruined?" James nodded his head. He opened the door to a breakfast place and walked in, leaving Lily to trail in after him. James slid into a chair, Lily opposite him. He picked up the menu and scanned it.

"Sorry?" Lily said again, phrasing it as a question as well. "I can't remember much about last night, actually. Only bits and pieces. I remember," she ticked the things off on her fingers, not even bothering to look at the menu, "throwing up on you, saying something about the rose, and a guy in an alley?" She furled her eyebrows at the last bit, clearly trying to remember more about the incident. "Oh god. Did I pass out on him?"

"Don't worry about that last one," James reassured her. He raised his hand and summoned a waiter. "You took care of him." He laughed at the memory. "And then you passed out, on me," he clarified. He rattled off his order and handed the menu to the guy. The waiter turned to Lily expectantly. Lily picked up the menu for the first time and began to look at it. Five seconds later, James got frustrated. He plucked the menu from her hands and told the waiter to bring them two of his order.

"James," Lily protested. She looked from him to her menu and back to him. The waiter got the hint and handed her back the menu. She smirked and looked it over again. James tapped his foot in irritation. He began to drum his fingers along the edge of the table. Finally, Lily flashed a smile at the waiter. "I'll take this," she pointed to her order and handed him the menu. The waiter nodded his head, slightly dazzled. Lily turned back to James and arched her eyebrow. "Hungry?"

James didn't bother to answer the question. As she turned her head, something sliver caught his eye. He swept his hand off the table and leaned in closer to her. "What do you have in your ears?"

Lily fingered her new earrings self-consciously. "Candice bought me some new earrings," she muttered, uncomfortable with James staring so intently at her.

She blushed, realizing that she had been doing that a lot lately. To hide her discomfort, she glanced around at the scenery. She had never actually been in here before. Like all of the stores that Candice had dragged her to, it catered exclusively to the rich people. The walls were a deep blue, the delicate silver chairs contrasting nicely. Waiters were dressed nicer than Lily herself. The other patrons were older, sophisticated. Each and every one of them looked like they had just stepped out of some ad. To tell the truth, so did James.

James leaned back in his seat. "Huh," was all he said. He was going to have to ask Candice about the earrings later.

"So how did you meet Candice?" Lily changed the subject.

"It's a funny story actually," James answered. A smile played on his lips as he thought about it. "I was about five at the time. I was sitting in the corner of a party, bored out of mind and this girl came up to me. She came up to me and stuck out her hand. Candice introduced herself and then started talking about my staircase. Apparently, her mansion didn't have ones as straight as ours."

Lily laughed, putting one hand to cover her mouth. "She didn't!"

James nodded. "So there we were at this really fancy party, sliding down a staircase. Of course, Candice goes first. I was standing at the top watching her. She slides down and my father walks around the corner. Bam!" He hit his hands together in emphasize.

Lily laughed again, imagining a little Candice dressed in a silk poofy dress colliding with a man that looked exactly like James.


James walked out of the restaurant first, this time holding the door for Lily. He smiled as she walked past him. "Thanks for breakfast," she said. "You were right, that did make me feel better."

James nodded. "Aren't I always right?"

Lily let that one go, feeling gracious.

James looked back up the street, back towards the inn. He felt shy all of a sudden, a rare occurrence. "Listen, Lily, the guys are probably gone by now. Since I don't know how to find them," a lie, "you want to just hang out. We can check out Honeydukes."

Lily smiled, unexpectedly. "Yeah," she said slowly, not really believing it even as she said it, "I would like that." She told herself it was because he had been a gentleman when she passed out last night. She told herself it was because he had saved her once. She told herself she owed something to Candice, who had quite obviously pushed them together.

She lied.


James laughed and bumped into Lily. He raised his arm and pointed at the person across the street. The man, wearing a neon green robe and hat, was having a conversation with thin air. He was very passionate about the conversation apparently. He was waving his arms around and twitching slightly. Lily smiled at the scene he was creating.


Lily stumbled, catching her foot against the pavement. She crashed into James. "Sorry," she said.

James was sprawled on the pavement, Lily on top of him. Lily pushed herself and then offered a hand to James. James ignored it, correctly judging that he weighed a lot more than Lily. Instead, he got to his feet himself. He shrugged off her apology. A concession for him. A Marauder had gotten hurt and no one had paid.

From inside the Three Broomsticks a girl with blond hair smiled. So maybe what Lily had said had been truth. After these pictures though…well James wouldn't be looking at her the same way. Lily Evans had been arrogant. She had stolen not one, but two of the best boys in school. It was time for her to pay.


"Admit it. You had fun, Lily" James teased her lightly. He was referring to the time that they had spent at Honeydukes. After half the day that had passed, they had finally gone. The people in the store had followed them around like puppy dogs, convinced that James wanted to order a huge amount of sweets for his next party. They had personally waited on them hand and foot, allowing Lily to sample everything in the store.

And strangely enough, Lily had. James hadn't been as cocky or as conceited. Arrogant, yes, but he was improving. The rich life, she had to admit, wasn't too bad either. She nodded. "Lils," Lily finally said. "I like being called Lils."

James nodded. He had never actually heard anyone call her Lils before. Not that he paid much attention. Lils; he liked it.

"So," James said with a mischievous grin that so perfectly fit his face, "where to next, Lils?"


Lily walked back to Hogwarts wearing a smile. On one side of her Candice was talking about all of the great clothes she had bought that day. The four of them had conveniently been 'missing' for the rest of the day. She had already listened to Lily talk about her day with James. Lily hadn't admitted too much. They talked, ate, and laughed. That was all Candice had gotten out of her.

On the other hand, if Candice's story was true, Lily felt sorry for the guys. A day of shopping?

"I think you should let me give you a makeover," Candice announced, breaking her babble.

Lily about fell again. "What!?" she asked, almost hysterically.

"A makeover," Crystal repeated. She said it like it was the most sensible thing in the world. "Your hair, no offense, looks like it wasn't cut quite properly."

James winced as she said this. For her part, Lily laughed. "You're right on that account." She glanced at James and Peter, causing Remus and Sirius to join her in laughing.

Candice continued, slightly perplexed. "Anyway, you would look even more adorable with the right haircut and clothes." She smiled, happy at the prospect. The Marauders, while good friends, didn't really let her try make up on them.

Lily was trying to find a good way to say no when she heard the perfect excuse. "Lily Evans?" A man called. The voice became more certain when it became close. "Lily!"

Lily turned around slowly. "Chase?" she squealed. "Chase Lindsay!" She squealed again and rushed at the man. He swept her up in a hug that lasted several moments before he pulled back and held her at arm's length. "What are you doing here?" she asked, unable to keep the excitement out of her voice.

He smiled proudly and plucked at his new robe with one hand. Lily noticed that it was brand-new with a designer appearance. "I'm rich," he announced with obvious delight.

"No way!"

His grin became even wider. "My family struck oil. So we sold our land to some company. My dad invested the money and got lucky. Anyways, we had enough money that I transferred schools. If I can't compete with you in brains, I'll just buy my way in with money," he teased her gently.

"I can't believe this," Lily answered him. She finally stepped away and examined him. He looked good, she realized. He had grown a few inches and, thankfully, his hair had grown about the same. He was no longer buzzing it as short as possible since he couldn't afford a haircut. Instead, it was a deep, rich brown with a slight natural curl. His body, she also noticed, was as good as shape as it had ever been, even when he had been working that construction job. Yet, through all that, he still gave off a slightly nerdy aura. He was still the boy that she had known her entire life. She wondered if he was still overly obsessed with chess.

Chase looked her in the eyes. "Go get dinner with me. We can catch up on old times. You can tell me the ways of this school," he pleaded with her. His expression was hopeful, wistful.

"Lily?" Candice asked from behind them. Lily turned around to acknowledge her, not answering Chase's question. Candice glided up to her, in her stylish blue dress. She nodded her head in Chase's direction.

"Oh," Lily realized. "Candice, this is Chase Lindsay. He's an old friend. We used to go to the same school. Muggle school," she acknowledged the fact.

Candice brushed her long brown hair out of her face and stuck out her hand. Chase shook it, slightly amazed that anyone still greeted people in that way. He accredited it to a rich person thing. He shook her hand slightly before dropping it awkwardly.

"Candice Dales," Candice introduced herself.

"It's nice to meet you," Chase answered. "Umm…" he stammered suddenly. He looked over her shoulder back at the Marauders. James was glaring at him, while Remus laughed. "Is one of those guys your boyfriend?"

Candice laughed. "No," she replied. "Why?" She turned around to look at them herself. She noted James's murder expression. Waving them over, she was amused.

"I'm Chase," Chase introduced himself.

"Yeah," Peter said wryly, "I figured."

Chase blushed slightly. Yep, Lily thought, same old Chase.

James spoke up, his eyes blazing. "How do you know my Lily?" he asked.

My Lily!? was Lily's only thought. She was about to blow up on him when Chase spoke up.

"We're old friends and schoolmates," Chase explained. His eyebrows furled in confusion as he realized something. "Wait, did you say my Lily?"

"Good question," Lily put in. She gave James a warning glance. "This had better be a very good explanation." Her face was enough to convey the or else behind the comment.

James walked closer to Lily, not noticing that a slight crowd had gathered around them. Lily hanging out, laughing, with the Marauders was an unusual event, enough to warrant attention by itself. A new guy on campus, possibly loaded? The crowd was large, expanding every second.

James threw his arm around Lily's shoulder, staking a property. A lazy grin stole to his lips. "Well, Chase," the name was pronounced with a condescending slowness, in pity, "Lily and I are dating."

Lily's thunder got stolen again. She really wanted to rant at James. They had had a fun day, and then he pulls this.

"What!" A shrill shriek pierced the air. Crystal pushed her way through the crowd. The shriek was unnatural sounding, enough to cause everyone to look at the person who had caused it. "You are going out with her now!?"

James wasn't given enough time to answer the question. Instead, a large stack of photographs was thrust into his hands. He briefly glanced down to look at pictures of Lily. Lily and Sirius.

"That Mudblood is two-timing you. She's been meeting with Sirius all week. Who knows what else she's been doing."

Sirius

Sirius

Sirius

James's brain shut off. His arm slipped off of Lily's shoulder; his grin fading.

"What!?" Chase piped up. "Are you really dating both of these guys, Lils?"

Lils

James slammed his fist into Chase's head, not pausing to think about it. He just felt the rage. Chase didn't slip into unconsciousness, but it was close. He fell to the ground with a groan. James turned to Lily, shaking his hand. Blood dripped off of it, splattering everywhere. James didn't notice it. Lily wasn't quite sure whose blood it was.

James stared Lily in the eyes. He reached down and silently picked up the photographs that he had only briefly looked at before. He flipped through them, discarding each one after he looked at it. They were all of Lily and Sirius. Each time they were by the trees. Lily laughing. Lily smiling. Sirius touching Lily on the arm. Sirius laughing with Lily. The two sitting in silence, Lily reading and Sirius sketching.

He threw the last photograph at Lily. It fluttered in the air and hit her in the stomach.

Lily looked at the pain in his eyes. For a second, she forgot that she was pissed at him. And then she looked down at Chase, picking himself up off the ground. The blood had been his.

"What the hell did you do that for?" She screamed. She ran over to Chase and pressed her handkerchief against the cut on his face.

"Is it true? Are these pictures real?" James asked, ignoring Chase.

Lily didn't answer him. She was focused on Chase, trying to make sure the cut wasn't that deep. James had been wearing some type of family crest ring when he had punched him, apparently.

"Are these pictures real?" James repeated, insistent.

Lily looked down at the pictures on the ground. "Yeah, they're real," she admitted. "So what? I'm allowed to talk to people. We aren't dating." She emphasized the last sentence, making it clear her opinion of the idea. Lily didn't really care what he thought at the moment.

James didn't bother to answer her.

"What is your problem?" Chase finally said. He had recovered enough from the shock. "Why did you punch me? What gives you the right?"

James found an outlet for his anger. He couldn't hit Lily. This was someone else. James pulled out his wand, twirling it in his hand before conjuring something. He mouth twisted into a messed-up grin. All of his arrogance, his cockiness, was in his next few sentences. "I'm a Marauder. I'm James Potter. I can do whatever I want." He handed Chase the rose in his hand. As soon as Chase touched it the petals began to fall.

"What?"

James didn't answer him this time either. Chase would figure it out eventually.

James walked back towards his friends. He stood between Remus and Peter, looking at Sirius. "You're no longer a Marauder," James said. With that, he turned around. Remus and Peter looked at Sirius with apologies on their face. They walked away with James.

"James, wait!"

It was Crystal, not Lily, calling after him. If it had been Lily, he might've forgiven her.

"I'm so sorry for you. But that Mudblood wasn't right for you." Her sentence was cut off as she was flung backwards into the air. She landed on her butt twenty feet away. James put his wand back into his pocket.

Lily watched him go; wondering what had provoked such a strong reaction from James. She and Sirius had just talked, nothing else, even if she had wanted it to be. Just like she and James had just talked today.

"Who are the Marauders?" Chase asked, about five miles behind everyone else in thought process. "And why did that guy just give me a rose? Was he hitting on me?"


AN

So its my birthday today. Yay! I'm finally old. Well, not old, but the same age as my friends. So yay!

Thanks for the reviews everyone. 43. You guys are amazing.

Thanks for the review. I hoped you liked the update! Anjel: He has a cousin. Cuz I was trying to stay kind of canon. Gwen. I've mentioned her a few times. She gets a bigger part later. Thanks for the review. opalshine She has Candice. Who is nice to her. Not much of anyone else. I'm thinking of writing in a new friend soon. Girl. What do you think? I was also playing with the idea of her being Keeper. I wasn't sure whether I liked it yet so I was just leaving up for grabs for a few chapters. You think it would be good? Thanks for the review! Crystal James is getting nicer. Kind of. Mean in this chapter. But he gets better! So i'm glad you like it. Thanks for the review. Potiphar Thats what I thought. But then JKR said in an interview he was a Chaser, so...I'm glad you like it. Thanks for the review!! Ashley: I'm glad you liked the fluff. Thanks for the review!! sopleaza I'm thinking 6'4'' 6'5''. Thanks for the review the muddy worm. Thanks, the history behind your name was cool. I agree with you about Bella. Perfect! Edward, not. Thanks for the review! Anonymous: I'm not sure if you're still reading, but I threw up a disclaimer. Sorry about the confusion. Thanks for the review! melissa: Yeah, they're interviews do make them see better. I loved the long review. It made me smile! Thanks for the review!!

I hope everyone liked the new chapter! I'm off to celebrate my b-day!!

-magicXheart-