A/N: This chapter is dedicated to all those who also lack boyfriends.

The Former

Lily had expected Alice to appear rather surprised in her letter. After five years of proclaiming her hatred of the four miscreants that were narcissistic enough to give themselves their own label and after a year of desperately avoiding the eyes of the aforementioned boys, Lily suspected Alice would have questions and possibly even concerns. However, Lily did not prepare herself for the amount of capital letters and punctuation that Alice had deemed necessary for such sentiments. Now, Lily was surprised Alice had not used a howler. However, since the letter had started with just a bunch of exclamation points, Lily was insanely grateful. Maybe Frank had told Alice to keep the letter written. Yes, that was exactly something Frank would do. Lily made a mental note to send him some Honeydukes chocolate this weekend at Hogsmeade. Obviously, Lily had underestimated her best friend.

Lily chuckled as she reread Alice's letter. The words were so familiar, and she could hear Alice yelling them into her ear. Of course, Lily knew exactly what feelings had spurred this reaction. In fact, if Lily had not been the one hanging out with the Marauders for the past few weeks, she would not have believed herself either. It was just that absurd.

Yet, it was wonderful at the same time.

Smiling to herself, Lily took out a quil and began to write a response to Alice's bewilderment. She was a few sentences in when she heard the portrait hole open. Lily looked down at her watch that Slughorn had forced her to buy. It was about time he came home. It was nearly ten o'clock.

"Hey, Lily," James croaked.

Lily, expecting to see James, was shocked when she looked up and saw more earth than boy. James, clad in his Quidditch robes, was covered in mud, sweat, grass, and what appeared to be dried blood.

"James!" she exclaimed. "What in the name of Merlin's left shoe happened to you?"

"Left shoe?" asked James, quirking up an eyebrow. "Really, Lily." He laughed but then stopped, clutching his side.

"What's the matter?" asked Lily worriedly.

"Nothing," he replied nonchalantly. "I just made a mistake during practice. I was telling Lisa---she's our newest chaser---a better way to handle the quaffle, and I never saw that bludger. Nasty buggers. It's worse when you're not expecting it. The wind gets knocked out of you."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," said James, trudging over to a chair and sitting down. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply. "I just might never get up from this chair."

"You look awful," commented Lily.

"Thanks," James replied. "That's always a nice one to hear from girls."

"You know what I mean," explained Lily, rolling her eyes. "Are you in pain? Do you need me to do anything?"

"No, I'm fine. I'm just gonna stay still for a while. Movement bad."

"You should get out of your uniform. It's completely covered in mud. You should have cancelled practice. It's pouring outside!"

"We needed to have practice because the match against Slytherin is just three days away. Besides, a little bit of water never hurt anyone."

"Boys," Lily grumbled under her breath. She got up and walked to James's armchair. Raising her wand she stated, "Scorgify!"

James looked down at his Quidditch robes and then smiled. "Thanks."

"Sure," said Lily, walking back to her own chair. She picked up her quil and began writing again.

"What are you doing?" James asked. He sounded so exhausted.

"Writing a letter to Alice. She probably thinks I've been put under an Imperius Curse, or something. She has a tendency to overreact to things. I guess we both do. That's why we make such good friends. Anyway, I told Alice that I've been spending most of my time with you and the rest of the Marauders and now it seems that I have to tell her my favorite type of jam to prove that I am, in fact, Lily Evans."

Lily waited for him to say something in response, but he was silent. "James?" she called as she peered over her letter at his chair. He was sleeping.

Shaking her head, Lily got off her chair and walked back over to him. "James?" she called again quietly. He made no response. His head had lolled to the side, and he was breathing quietly. He looked so adorable as he slept, like a newborn baby. Lily brandished her wand again and levitated him slowly to his bed. She took off some of his bulkier padding and then pulled the covers up to his bed. Leaving his room, Lily whispered "Goodnight, James," before closing his door.

The previous night was not the end of James's pre-match jitters. For the next few days he paced around the room and muttered unintelligible things to himself as he obsessed over strategy and tactics. Lily had half a mind to just shake him and tell him to snap out of it. Except, however perverse it was, Lily almost wanted the match to never happen if he would continue to do crunches in the early morning without a shirt on. Yes, she realized that this was the boy who had terrorized her for years until she had ultimately sought revenge in the worst possible way mere months before he had been orphaned and that they had only recently begun a tentative friendship with each other. Still, Lily doubted anyone could find her in fault after seeing James's abdominal muscles. Lily shook her head. Although life had become considerably better over the past month, it had also become considerably more complicated.

Regrettably or happily, depending on which perspective one had, the morning of the Gryffindor-Slytherin Quidditch match finally arrived. The entire school was buzzing with excitement. When Lily walked down to the Great Hall in the morning, ever single conversation seemed to be centered on the match. It was as though James's paranoia had infected them all!

Lily settled into her usual chair and then looked up, expecting to see James wolfing down some sausages and toast because, as he had repeated constantly the past few weeks, protein and carbohydrates were crucial for Quidditch players to maintain energy. Instead, James, looking a little squeamish, was staring at his empty plate.

"What's up with him?" Lily asked Remus.

"He's always like this," replied Remus, sighing. "He's Gryffindor's Quidditch hero, so he always seems to panic right before a match because he thinks he'll lose. He loses that look on his face like he just kissed the Bloody Baron once he gets onto his broom. Then, once he wins the match, he will realize how ridiculous he was being and how Gryffindor would never lose a match. It's all about self-confidence."

"Huh," Lily mused as she sipped her pumpkin juice. "And here I thought he never questioned his supreme greatness."

This earned her a shaky grin from James and a barking laugh from Sirius.

"Good one, Evans," Sirius commented appreciatively. He clapped his arm around James's shoulder. "Those Slytherins are never going to know what hit them. I mean, look at them," said Sirius, glancing at the table on the far side of the room. "They're greasy and sallow. And look us brave Gryffindors. We have perfect hair and complexions. Well, some of us," amended Sirius, ruffling James's hair in a brotherly way.

"Ooh, Sirius, not the hair," Peter teased.

James's hand immediately jumped to his head, and he began to finger his locks anxiously.

"Cut it out, you two," Lily, shooting both boys dirty looks, reprimanded. She looked at James and her voice turned more soothing. "James, your hair is fine. The Quidditch match is going to go as planned, and afterwards I will help you find better friends." Lily smiled to herself as she ignored the yelps of protest from Peter and Sirius. "Now, you should really eat something."

"I'm too nervous to eat," James said finally. "In fact, I feel like I might throw up."

Sirius scooted over. "Make sure you keep it to the other side of the table, mate."

Lily rolled her eyes. "James, you can't throw up if you haven't eaten anything."

"Not true, Lily," Peter said. "There's always something down in your stomach ready to come out."

Lily turned to Remus, the only other relatively sane person of the group.

"Trust me, you don't want to know," Remus advised her.

"Okay. Look, James, just a little bit of toast. It'll help keep your strength up. I'll even put raspberry jam on it, your favorite," she finished with a smile. Two days ago while they were on patrol Lily and James decided to ask each other the jam question to prevent any Imperius Curse mix-ups.

She passed him the toast, and he hesitantly nibbled the edge of it. Slowly, he swallowed and then took another bite. Lily beamed at him.

"Woah, Evans," said Sirius, impressed. "No one's ever been able to get James to eat on match days. You have a gift. It must be your feminine wiles."

"Feminine wiles?" Lily echoed skeptically.

"They're deadly especially when mixed with a short skirt."

Lily rolled her eyes and then listened to Sirius, Remus, and Peter's discussion of the strengths of the Gryffindor Quidditch team as she finished her breakfast. After about ten minutes, James put down his bit of toast he had left. "Time to go," he murmured.

"Kick their smarmy asses!" Sirius urged him.

"Don't be a hero and get hurt!" Peter said.

"Remember that it's only a game!" Remus stated.

Lily shook her head at her boys. "Good luck, James," she said with a smile.

His lips curved upwards but did not form a full smile as he left to collect the rest of his team. Lily watched as the scarlet blob exited the Great Hall before she turned back to her pumpkin juice.

"I bet you ten galleons James sends some Slytherin bloke to the Hospital Wing," Sirius said to Peter.

"Really, Sirius?" asked Lily, shaking her head.

"Okay," he replied ignorantly. "Fifteen galleons."

Lily felt slightly consoled when her forehead was not the only one hit by a palm in frustration. Thank Merlin for Remus John Lupin.

When Lily journeyed down to the Quidditch Pitch with Remus, Sirius, and Peter at her heels, she could not help but to feel excited. Although she had been to matches before and liked the sport, Quidditch had never seemed as exhilarating as it did to her now. There was an energy among the students of Hogwarts that heightened as Lily took her seat. Dressed in a red sweater with her Gryffindor scarf, Lily blended into the red mass around her. Still, nothing could make a person stand out from a crowd like being next to Sirius.

"Hooch!" Sirius screamed at the top of his longs. "Are you bloody BLIND? That was an illegal pass! Call a foul!"

He was standing on top of his seat and waving his arms around like a raving lunatic. Lily shook her head in disapproval. How could one person possibly generate so much noise? And at all times? Lily wondered if Sirius had once performed a Sonorus charm on himself and then forgot to take it off. It would explain a lot, and it would be such a Sirius thing to do. Still gesturing like a madman, Sirius was capturing the attention of nearly everyone around him, particularly the females.

Lily rolled her eyes. Boys took sports too seriously, especially Sirius. Lily turned to Remus, her friend during times of stupidity who would join in for sarcastic comments or knowing glances, but he was also yelling at the top of his lungs and shaking his fist threateningly at the players. Even Peter was mouthing off furiously. "Boys," Lily muttered under her breath.

She turned her attention back to the game. One of the more unattractive Slytherin chasers had possession of the quaffle. Lily watched as he swerved back and forth like a green snake being chased by a flock of scarlet red birds circling around him and awaiting their prey. Lily did not blame him when the panicked boy dropped the ball. She clapped politely as one of the Gryffindor chasers captured the quaffle. Her interest sparked when the fourth year threw it to James, who caught it and then flew expertly down the Pitch.

Flying seemed as effortless to him as breathing was for Lily. She was memorized by the way the air seemed to support him more than his broom did. It all seemed so natural, so obvious. A leaf on the wind, but at the same time, he controlled the wind. This was James.

Whack.

Lily blinked. Once. Twice. Three times. A disgruntled Slytherin beater rammed his bat with all his might into James's shoulder, which twisted backwards at an odd angle. Lily could not contain her fury.

"Bloody hell!" she shrieked shrilly. "What the ruddy hell was that for? Just because you're losing doesn't mean you can nearly take someone's arm off! Foul! Call a foul! Throw him out of the game! For Merlin's sake, Hooch, control those Slytherin brutes! Those gits! Those disgusting, horrible, dirty excuses for human beings!"

Red in the face, Lily took a huge breath. She heard chuckling and then looked around to catch the culprit. Remus, Peter, and Sirius were staring at her with expressions of sheer awe.

"Merlin," Peter whispered in amazement.

"Lily," Remus voiced in equal shock. "You're screaming because of Quidditch."

"Yeah," Lily huffed. "So?"

"You always say it's a barbaric sport that only serves to beat each other into senseless pulps and give the players windblown hair," Peter replied.

"I changed my mind," Lily spat.

Sirius grinned doggedly and attacked Lily in a spine-breaking hug. "I knew we would corrupt you one day!" he sang happily.

"Sirius!" Lily croaked. "Can't breathe!"

"Oh, sorry, Lils," Sirius apologized as he released his death grip on her.

"It's okay," replied Lily faintly as she clutched her chest. "Oxygen is only vitally important to human life."

"Pay attention, guys," Remus said urgently. "Madame Pomfrey's checking out James's shoulder."

"Why is she holding it like that?" Peter asked.

"It's probably dislocated," answered Remus, sounding a bit nauseous at the thought. "She's going to have to pop it back into place."

Lily watched in horror as Madame Pomfrey braced James's arm. He winced slightly, but, otherwise, his face remained still, focused, like he was concentrating very hard on something.

"He's so resilient," Lily breathed.

'Yeah," agreed Sirius with a shaky laugh. "James can pretty much withstand anything."

"That's the only reason why he has been able to put up with you for so long, Sirius," Remus teased.

Lily laughed as she felt the tension of the crowd diminish. Turning back to the game, she applauded enthusiastically as James successfully executed his penalty shot. "Go, James!" she cheered.

Remus turned to Sirius and muttered in an undertone, "I can't believe she likes Quidditch now."

Sirius laughed. "Maybe we should just make it official and give her an obscure nickname already."

Nearly an hour and one caught snitch later, the hoopla of hugging and cheering had diminished enough amongst the Gryffindors that they could think to move from the Pitch to the Gryffindor Tower. As the team trotted off to the locker rooms, Lily and the rest of the Marauders left to prepare the Common Room for jubilation and firewhiskey. When Sirius finally declared that there was enough food, Remus conjured up some music, and the party commenced. About fifteen minutes later, the team sauntered through the Portrait Hole. Lily felt the Gryffindors were making too big of a ruckus. Sure, they had won the match, but it was still only Quidditch! Still, she had to admit, freshly showered, clad in his clean scarlet leather getup, and grinning from ear to ear, James did look rather swoon-worthy.

Throngs of Gryffindors swarmed around their triumphant Captain as they demanded his account of the game and his predictions for the Cup. As anxious to speak to him as everyone else appeared to be, Lily busied herself by getting something to eat until the adoration died down. It took a long time. All the Gryffindors loved James. He was nice, he was charming, he was sweet, and he was their hero.

Lily hovered over the refreshment table as she waited for the giggling third year girls to finally unhook their claws James. As she was grabbing a butterbeer, Lily noticed that James was looking at her. He smiled at her, and she waved back friendly. He murmured something graciously to the girls before walking towards Lily.

"Hey," he greeted her cheerfully.

"Hi," said Lily.

"Could you grab me a butterbeer? I'm parched."

Lily grinned. "You must be. I don't know what's worse the girls or the Quidditch."

"Definitely the girls," answered James, chuckling to himself. "At least in Quidditch the players are less grabby."

"I guess it comes with the Captaincy," Lily remarked.

"Yeah, it gets ruddy annoying, but I don't want to hurt their feelings," said James, opening his butterbeer. "Ahh," he winced.

"Are you okay?" asked Lily worriedly. "Your arm must be in loads of pain from such a fresh injury."

He sighed. "Twinges a bit still, but that's just ghost pain. It'll fade eventually. I've had worse."

"The girls get a tad feisty," Lily joked.

"Yes," said James, laughing. "It's like battling Devil's Snare to get past them."

"Well, I don't want to be another teenage fan girl, but I think you were pretty excellent today."

"Thanks, Lily," said James sincerely. "That means a lot." He paused to smile at some secret joke before continuing. "Anyway, Lily, I don't think anyone could ever group you with those other girls. I'm fairly certain that if you fawned over me, it would mean the apocalypse," he teased.

"Ahh, yes," she replied with a laugh. "I can't stand cocky Quidditch players who think they know everything."

"We don't know everything, Lily," James corrected her jokingly. "Everything just changes to fit our needs."

Lily chortled. "I have a question for you, Mr. Quidditch Star. How come you aren't the seeker if you like hearing your name chanted so much?"

"I thought about it. Not to sound conceited," he continued with a wink, "but I do have pretty decent reflexes. I just never liked the idea of only being useful for one thing. As a chaser, I'm active the entire game, and, if I do my job right, I can even get enough points that the snitch doesn't matter at all."

"I never really thought about that," Lily admitted.

"We've never really talked before."

"Yeah," Lily commented.

"I like talking to you," mumbled James with a hint of blush.

"Me too," replied Lily, trying to hide her face with her hair.

"James!" Sirius shouted from across the room. "Mate, come here! Remus's gonna open up the Zonko's stuff!"

James looked at Lily. "You interested?" he asked with a raised eyebrow and smirking smile.

"Why not," she replied with a smile.

"Let's go," said James, winking.

The next morning, Lily woke up feeling anxious. Perhaps it was all those Sugar Quills she had consumed the night before. Traces of last night's events lingered on Lily's person. Her face still had ash marks from multiple games of Extreme Exploding Snap, a game Sirius invented at three in the morning that involved firewhiskey. Her chest hurt from these new sweets that made her hiccup, but that also could have been from the firewhiskey. Finally, Lily was wearing Remus's cloak because her shirt was somewhat mangled by an accident involving a fanged Frisbee, a badly timed movement, and Peter Pettigrew. The events all seemed a tad hazy. Lily was not sure if she wanted to remember all the ridiculous things that happened. This was so unlike her. Yet, all she could think about was getting ready so she could to Hogsmeade with her boys.

Though she rushed about her room with a bit too much enthusiasm after she showering, nothing could speed up the process of picking out the proper outfit. What does one wear to go to the local village with the four most popular guys in school, one of whom you kind of have feelings for but the entire situation is too complicated to even make sense? Lily decided to go with jeans.

After one last final inspection in the mirror to make sure she had not missed anything from the previous night, Lily hurried out of the Heads' Dorm and went to breakfast. Oddly, the Marauders were missing from their usual spot. Lily frowned as she sat down. It was their normal feeding time, and Lily knew that if they, especially Sirius, did not eat at least every three hours they tended to get a tad cranky. Her wandering, wondering thoughts faded as the post came and Charm dropped a letter onto Lily's plate.

"Hey, there, Alma," Lily greeted her softly. "Thanks, girl, you're the best."

The bird hooted and nipped Lily's finger affectionately before flying away.

Lily opened her letter to find a lengthy bit of scrawl from Alice.

Lils!

Hello, my fiery friend. I know I've been a bit of an idiot lately. Sure, I was rather surprised when you sent me that letter telling me about your friendship with the Marauders. I mean, it's not every day your best friend tells you that she's consorting with the enemy. But, your last letter and Frank convinced me I might have gone a little overboard with demanding a test to see if you'd been Unforgivabled. Remus really is quite dashing. I'd be his friend, too. Just don't tell Frank I said that!

I know I said I'd try to meet up with you on one of these Hogsmeade weekends, but I'm so swamped today. Literally. Moody is making us learn how to survive in difficult environments. I didn't know that when I signed on to fight the evil forces of darkness I would also need to bring bug repellent. Plus, I don't even let Frank see me without mascara on (Those pesky brunettes. They have all the luck. What about us poor blondes and redheads whose eyelashes aren't naturally dark?). Now he's going to see me all sweaty and gross from the swamp. I'm going to look exactly like that swamp monster muggles always seem to talk about. Too bad they just don't realize it's another Giant Squid. Merlin, they are rather dim sometimes. Especially your sister.

Right! I won't be able to visit you today, but I don't think it'll be that bad. Now you can just go out with the four biggest troublemakers from Hogwarts. Have you broken any school rules yet? I'd pay fifty galleons to see that. Too bad they're masters of unruliness. I'd pay even more to see McGonagall's face as you sat in detention.

Well, I love you, dear. I miss you greatly. We desperately need to see each other soon. I miss your face and the common estrogen you supply. Boys are fantastic (I know this from experience), but they aren't the same as your best friend. You can't turn to them and say all grouchily that you're PMS-ing. They'll freak out and won't be able to look you in the eye for nearly a week. (Again, from experience).

Love you, Lily!

Alice

Lily laughed loudly and decided she would need to send Alice some Witch Weekly magazines for the time being. This distance was not healthy for Alice. She was beginning to sound even more scatterbrained than usual.

Soon, her fellow students were herding towards the courtyard to go to Hogsmeade. Lily, still looking for the Marauders, followed them. Lily scanned the groups of students for what seemed to be ages, but she could not find them. Lily wondered if they were still sleeping or maybe they just forgot what day it was altogether.

"Boo!" someone said from behind Lily as he put his hands over her eyes.

"Sirius," said Lily, laughing. "You're supposed to disguise your voice when you do that." She turned around to see Sirius standing with the rest of the Marauders.

"Then you wouldn't know it was me."

"Exactly," replied Lily, shaking her head.

"Aha!" exclaimed Sirius. "So you didn't want it to be me! Lily, do you not love me? What did I do to ever lose your womanly affections?"

"What did you ever do to gain them?" Remus said jokingly as he clapped Sirius on the back.

"Oh, say it isn't so, fair maiden," continued Sirius dramatically as he bent down on one knee and grabbed Lily's hand. "Say you love me too."

Lily looked at Sirius's pouting face and then winked at the smirking rest of the Marauders. Pretending to weigh her options, she finally patted Sirius on the head like the dog he was and said, "I'll think about it."

Sirius bounced up to his feet with a huge, pearly grin.

"See, James," he boasted loudly. "It's not that hard."

"Shut it, mate," James muttered.

"Where were you guys?" Lily asked. "You missed breakfast. I thought that was against the Marauder Code."

"They're more like guidelines," said Peter, laughing. "Besides, we stopped at the kitchens on our way here."

"Yes," voiced Remus. "We couldn't leave you dateless for Hogsmeade."

Lily chuckled. "So this is a date?" she asked.

"Yes, Lils," replied Sirius, throwing his arm around Lily's shoulder. "Of course, it's a date."

James rolled his eyes. "Come on, guys, let's go to Hogsmeade."

Sirius straightened with mock formality. "Forward, march!" he ordered.

Lily did not stop laughing the entire way to the village.

Three and a quarter hours later, Lily and the Marauders boisterously entered the Three Broomsticks. Bags filled with sweets, Quidditch supplies, and new Zonko's products for later, they squeezed through the crowded bar until they found a table. Lily plopped onto her chair with a sigh. Keeping up with four boys at one time was hard work.

"I'm exhausted," she murmured.

"That's no good!" Peter replied. "We still have loads to do. The day's barely even started!"

Lily's head fell into her arms as she groaned. "My feet hurt."

"Stay seated, sweet Lily," said Sirius in a gentlemanly voice. "Peter and I will go get you refreshments to restore your strength."

There was an audible thud, and then Remus grunted in what appeared to be a pained voice, "And I need to go to the loo."

Suddenly, all three disappeared, and Lily was left alone at the table with James.

Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed Sirius and Peter staring at them from the bar.

Lily laughed. "I think we've been set up."

James grinned in response. "I think so too. Lovely friend's we've got."

"Who needs enemies, right?"

"Exactly," laughed James. "Though, I'd like to think there could be worse things than spending time with me."

"You're right," agreed Lily. "I could be trapped with Sirius."

James chuckled quietly. "So, Lily, we're sitting alone at a table in the Three Broomsticks. What do we do now?"

Lily was surprised to find that the answer that almost bubbled from her lips would have been highly inappropriate. "I dunno," she said finally.

"Good, because neither do I."

"I guess we'll just have to make it up as we go. Though, we should put up a good show for them. It seems it took all their brain power to come up with this little scheme."

"That shouldn't be too difficult," mused James.

"Nope," replied Lily simply.

James leaned closer to her to drop a bag of sweets onto the floor. He was so close that she could smell his clean scent and make out every individual eyelash before he leaned back again. "So, Lily, how have you been?"

It took Lily a few seconds to answer. The boy in front of her had not seemed so quintessentially James for some time. It was hard to think straight.

A/N: there was banter. and joking. haha. please have the best day you can and leave a review! i love reading them! new chapter coming......soon.

love you all and wishing james wasn't fictional,
molly