The next day, Lily and Marlene filed into the N.E.W.T.-level Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom buoyed by the knowledge that it was a dueling day. While all students looked forward to such class periods, the talented pair had been sparring partners since their first year and always relished an opportunity for another intense, if good-natured showdown. Over the years they had disarmed and sent each other flying across the room dozens of times since their first face-off, though by now both had developed enough skill and depth in their repertoires that they mostly canceled each other out. Still, the two witches gabbed gaily as they waited for Professor Osorio to arrive and let them at each other for the day.

The middle-aged wizard arrived shortly, his carefully tailored robes flowing gently behind him as he entered the room. As was always the case with the Defense Against the Dark Arts post, Federico Osorio was new this year, but he had quickly become a favorite of the witches at Hogwarts. Hailing from Italy, his jet black hair and olive complexion made quite the impression on both the girls and budding young women who were so used to seeing the more traditional British fare. Regardless of gender however, all the students seemed to appreciate his heavily practical approach and dramatic flair.

"I am tired of the complacency in this room!" he announced boldly upon reaching the front of the room. "There are some who would prefer I not speak of this, but how many of you have seen the papers?"

The students murmured amongst themselves, almost all raising their hands.

"Good! Then there is no excuse! It has not been so long since Gellert Grindelwald sowed similar evil on the entire continent. We now know why he did not focus his attentions so heavily on your land, but those of us who bore the brunt of his movement…we do not soon forget."

Lily and Marlene shared a look. Scanning the classroom they could see many of their classmates doing the same, though Potter and his band of brothers seemed for once to be paying rapt attention.

"As you are all aware, today is another dueling day. I am tired of seeing the same spells. The same combinations. The same routines. In the real world, the witch or wizard you fight to the death may not be one you know so well. For this reason, I am re-assigning you–"

As the murmuring reached a fever pitch, the Italian raised his hands to silence them.

"I am re-assigning you," he began again, "to new dueling partners. These new partners will be suited to your level of skill, but they will also be suited to your weaknesses. Allow me to demonstrate! Mr. Potter! Miss Evans! To the front!"

A collective 'ooh' rose up from the crowd as the two approached their Professor.

"The first of these new sparring pairs. I am eager to see Miss Evans how your well-strategized flourishes handle Mr. Potter's power and precision. Likewise Mr. Potter, I am interested to see if your invention can be a match for Miss Evans's firm knowledge and peerless preparation. You will be before me today."

Both students nodded, walking to opposite sides of the classroom as they waited for Professor Osorio to pair off their classmates in a similar fashion. After several minutes, the professor took a seat behind his desk at the front and bade his class to begin when ready.

Lily was the first to draw her wand, holding it only slightly in front of her chest, her other arm outstretched before her. She watched carefully as her opponent responded in kind, though he held his wand loosely at his stomach, bending slightly at the knees and waist. When it came time to bow, Lily did so dutifully. Potter on the other hand smiled widely before making a dramatic flourish.

As the duel began, Lily silently cast a shield charm, expecting Potter to strike quickly. For over a minute however, he did nothing. She watched him warily, eyes narrowed, but the most she could detect was the slight swaying of his upper body. The first minute quickly became two, then three as Lily held her shield and Potter's torso continued to move ever so slightly in a subtly circular motion. As she began to lose patience, Lily stopped herself. She realized that Potter was baiting her. For some reason he wanted her to attack him first. Lily thought quickly. For all his personal faults, Potter was a talented wizard. It had been naïve to think he wasn't just as capable of non-verbal magic as she was, despite their ages. He must have detected her shield. Perhaps if she lowered it…

The time had come. The instant Evans dropped her shield, James was on her with a flurry of attacks, casting to disarm twice, followed by a stunning spell. Though she capably parried them, James was pleased to see her forced back a half step. However he was forced to respond quickly to a return onslaught. Casually, he swatted her minor spells away while closing some of the distance between them. Stepping forward again, James blocked two more, before aiming a stunner at her torso and a tripping jinx at her feet.

Lily parried the first with ease, but only noticed the second coming in low at the last moment, narrowly sending it harmlessly into the classroom floor. Potter had been clever closing the distance between them. While it reduced both their reaction times, it also cut her time to take a considered approach to the fight. Without realizing it, she had allowed Potter to force her into a predictable pattern of weak attacks from which he could easily press an advantage. The question was how to escape.

James quickly realized that Evans was onto him when she sent a powerful jet of water his way as her next attack. Sliding aside, he cast another tripping jinx low, which she again deflected. Sending more water his way followed by two stunning spells, she was pressing to equalize their positions again. This was not something James was prepared to allow. Ducking low, he used a shield to direct the spray of the water upward and outward, back in her direction. Cast without precision, the stunning spells flew harmlessly by and James closed the distance further, sending a flurry of attacks in her direction. This was the moment.

Lily barely had time to deflect each attack away and was quickly pressed back toward the classroom wall. Her weight now firmly on her back foot. Desperately she reached for something stronger, sending a swarm of ropes and chains in Potter's direction. She noted the surprise in his eyes. It was her last chance and he'd have little time to deal with them. With two quick slashing motions, Potter dashed her hopes with finely executed severing charms and flicking his wand tip upward twice in a strange motion, she was dumbfounded as he seemed to produce only a simple stunner. In response, Lily cast a simple shield of her own. She was terribly surprised when the seemingly innocuous spell surged straight through and she quickly found herself flying toward the wall.

As he watched Evans fly backward, James's first feeling was one of triumph, but they almost immediately faded into panic as he realized she was going to hit the wall. Aiming his wand at her, he bellowed. "Arresto momentum!" It caught her in the nick of time, causing his sparring partner to slide a short distance on her bottom before her back gently touched the wall she had been hurtling toward.

Lily felt her face go red with both embarrassment and anger. Potter had bested her in Defense again. And he'd managed to look chivalrous in doing so, saving her from the wall. But more importantly, Potter had cheated. There was no other explanation. He had to have used some impermissible spell to have breached her shield like that. In a moment she was off the ground and in his arrogant, smirking face.

"Potter! What are you playing at?"

"Rescuing you from a wall at the moment," he said casually, ruffling his hair in that way she found so irritating.

"Like hell," she roared, ignoring the crowd of fellow students that was quickly pausing to take in the spectacle. "You used a barred spell!"

"That is a bold accusation, Miss Evans," their professor interrupted.

"And a lie," James spat, his eyes lit with anger. "You're just sore you lost."

"Last time I checked unblockable spells weren't allowed in this classroom!"

"I never cast an unblockable!"

"I had a shield up! Anyone could see it!"

Professor Osorio stood and aimed his wand at the feuding pair in turn before shouting, "Silencio!"

The class burst into laughter at the sight of Lily, her face almost as red as her hair, now inaudibly thundering away and gesturing theatrically at James as he spat back silenced retorts, his glasses nearly sliding off as his face contorted in outrage.

"Miss Evans. Mr. Potter. Enough!" the Italian wizard bellowed. "The rest of the class, you are free to go. We will discuss your experiences today in our next lesson."

Their professor's command had served to bring James and Lily out of the heat of their fury, whereupon they quickly noticed that they had been silenced for the last thirty seconds or so. Removing the spell, Professor Osorio gestured toward two chairs he had conjured for them.

"A well won duel, Mr. Potter," he began. "Impressive spellwork, but even more impressive use of space."

"But Professor!" Lily protested. "You saw my shield! He cast–"

"Mr. Potter," Professor Osorio interrupted, "I understand your anger, but you will control it in the future in my classroom. This is not the last time you'll duel Miss Evans and I expect your post-duel conduct to be exemplary in the future, no matter the circumstances. Do I make myself clear?"

"Certainly, sir," James nodded.

"Excellent. Then you are free to go."

"But–" Lily spoke up again.

"Quiet, Miss Evans!"

"Yes, sir," Lily answered meekly.

"You are a talented duelist yourself. I paired you with Mr. Potter because quite frankly, aside from his friends…and perhaps Mr. Snape, I think you're probably the only student that could handle him."

"Well, I appreciate that sir, I–"

"Nevertheless," the professor interrupted, "I am extremely disappointed in your behavior today. You are a House Prefect. A person that your schoolmates look to when judging the conduct of others. And the accusations you made in my classroom were both inaccurate and inappropriate."

"Inaccurate, sir? You know I'm not normally impertinent–"

"Absolutely inaccurate. Tell me, did Mr. Potter's spell look to be a stunning spell to you? Were you able to observe–"

"Well, yes sir. I mean, the wand, the color…it did."

"And did you notice anything…different…that preceded it?"

"Of course I did! He flicked his wand twice upward…that's what made me realize that he must have cast an unblockable."

"Miss Evans," Professor Osorio said, shaking his head. "That was not an unblockable spell."

"Well it was no simple stunner!"

"No. It wasn't."

"Well then how–"

"It was a clever bit of magic. Commonly used by Mr. Potter and Mr. Black. I believe you'll find something on it in the library…"

"The library? But–"

"I'm not going to tell you anything more. You'll have to find it yourself…"

"Why did you tell me at all? I thought you wanted us to be unfamiliar with our dueling partners now."

"I want all of you prepared for the world you'll be facing. But at the same time, I am still partial to a level playing field…" he smiled. "You of course realize you're expected to follow the same instruction I gave Mr. Potter."

"Of course, sir."

"You're free to go Miss Evans."

"Thank you, Professor," Lily said, getting up to leave. As she left the classroom, she came to a terrible realization. She had to apologize to James Potter.

It had taken her until the middle of Charms to swallow her pride and until an hour after lessons had ended to track him down. Potter, decked out in his quidditch gear was leaving the castle for the first practice of the new term. He was accompanied by Katie, and a fully-padded Sirius Black. Could it get any worse for her? Sirius had already heard her outburst in class and had barely been restrained by their mutual friend Remus, and of course Katie had been there as well. She sighed. There went that budding friendship.

As she exited the castle, Sirius was the first to spot her, promptly elbowing his best friend in the ribs. Potter immediately turned toward him and Lily could see whispers being exchanged as the group stopped. He met her eyes with a firm stare before turning to Katie. "You carry on with Sirius alright? I'll just be a minute."

"Sure," Katie said trudging forward after shooting a warning glance in Lily's direction.

"What do you want, Evans?" he said sharply as soon as the pair were out of earshot.

"Look…about earlier."

"What about it?"

"I just…I think there was a misunderstanding and–"

"Oh there wasn't a misunderstanding. I got your message loud and clear. I'm a cheat. That's the only way I could possibly out-do you."

"That's not…I don't think that."

"Pssh!" James scoffed. "You know, Evans? I may be an arrogant prat at times, but at least I don't try to pretend otherwise."

Lily's cheeks burned at his rebuke. "That's fair," she said, looking off into the sunset.

"Excuse me?"

"I said it was a fair thing to say. I do get a little…worked up about my standing at times. Maybe it goes to my head. And of course I'll always agree that you're an arrogant prat."

James smirked. "I said at times."

"More like at all times," Lily fired back, laughing lightly despite herself. "Anyway…I guess what I came here to say is that I'm sorry."

"For?"

"For questioning your integrity...as a duelist."

"Always the qualifiers with you, Evans," James said, shaking his head.

Suddenly their conversation was interrupted by shrieks from the pathway toward the Forbidden Forest. Turning their heads they could see first year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs running frantically back toward the castle, occasionally being struck down by a jinx or a stunning spell. Without a word, the pair took off toward the fray at full sprint.

"What the hell is going on?" James shouted as the spells continued to hit fly at the fleeing first years.

"I've no idea…" Lily answered, producing her wand. "I think they're coming from there," she said, pointing her wand in the direction of the rock wall behind the caretaker's hut.

"And there!" James yelled, pointing at the top of the hill above them.

Following his wand, Lily could see a hooded figure wearing all black, a crude cloth obscuring all but his eyes. "Do you think they're…you know?"

"Course not," James said quickly. "They can't cross the boundaries without permission. And they're not actually hurting anyone," he finished as he fired a Reductor Curse at the area of the wall Lily had indicated. "There you are," he chuckled as a similarly-clad figure scampered up the hill to join his comrade.

The last of the first years on their way back from Care of Magical Creatures were entering the line of fire now. James leapt in front of a stunner aimed at one, being knocked to the ground hard. Rising, he began launching a flurry of offensive spells in their direction.

Meanwhile, Lily was busy protecting as many as she could with shield charms as they passed, pausing only occasionally to send a stunner or disarming spell toward the hooded figures as a means of giving James some cover from the numerical advantage the mysterious attackers would have otherwise enjoyed.

"We've got to close distance," James urged. "I'm moving in. Get the first years clear and then join me," he yelled as he charged forward, deflecting a rapid series of attacks before firing off a couple of his own.

"You can't go it alone!" Lily protested. "Two to one? Not for a minute!"

"Then I guess you'll have to hurry up and join me," James yelled back, panting from the furious pace at which he was having to deflect a barrage of hexes.

Suddenly, a third figure appeared from behind the hill, firing a different spell in James's direction. The wizard didn't see this one coming as he fended off the last of the others' most recent onslaught. With his shield down, it struck him squarely in his left flank, tearing his robes and leaving a small bleeding gash in his skin.

"Hell!" James cried out, deflecting more spells before another from the mysterious third party hit him again. "Evans! Could really use a bit of help here…"

"Just a couple more first years…" she yelled back, urging the stragglers up to the castle as quickly as she could.

This time when the barrage came, James elected to save his shield for the late arriving spell, rolling on the ground to dodge the others and deflecting the attack easily. Caught off guard by his new position, the original attackers were unprepared for James's quick response, one being immobilized by a full body bind. Quickly, Lily strode forward along with him, helping to parry the continued attacks by the remaining two while closing the distance between them.

"The one on the left is mine," James growled as he crossed Lily's line of fire.

"Right," she nodded, proceeding to focus on the last of the original pair.

James made sure to use stronger shield charms as he advanced on the late arrival to the scene. Whoever it was, they were here to play rough. James was finished playing. Deflecting the next curse easily, James began to rain down spells on his target. Narrowly dodging a particularly sinister sounding curse, he flicked his wand twice upward and surprised Lily's mark with a stunner that laid him out cold for the moment. Though he was rewarded with another gash in his flesh, this time on his shin, James was pleased to see his assailant beating a hasty retreat. As they approached, the figure James had stunned managed to rouse the other and the pair followed their compatriot away from the scene.

"That's right!" James gasped out loudly. "Run off after you pick on first years! Cowards!" He eased himself to the ground to rest.

"Merlin!" Lily exclaimed. "How did you do that?"

"You know what they say, Evans," James started, wiping his brow and flashing her a devilish grin. "Practice makes perfect."

"And where do they practice that?"

"Me and my mates in our spare time," he chuckled. "Suppose I'd best get to quidditch practice though. They'll be missing me..."

"You can't possibly practice like that!" Lily protested. "You should be in the hospital wing."

"Evans," James panted, "two broken ribs and a bruised sternum in the match against Ravenclaw didn't send me to the hospital wing, and neither will this. It's a few cuts and a bit of blood."

"You've bled all over your robes…"

'The robes, I can take care of. The cuts…well, Katie wants to be a Healer…I'm sure she'll have something."

"Potter…"

"I'm fine, Evans," James insisted. "Thanks for the assist."

"You're–"

"I'm fine," he repeated firmly. "You've got bigger things to worry about than my paper cuts. Jog on."

Lily shook her head before starting her trek back to the castle to report the events. As she reached the pathway leading to the entrance she spared another glance at his's shrinking form. "Unbelievable," she muttered to herself. "He's completely, completely mental."

A/N: As promised, some James and Lily interaction. It hopefully reveals a bit more about both of them and puts into the open some of what I think might have been flaws for Lily, both in terms of her approach to certain areas of magic and personally. As I've already indicated, their interaction will ramp up from this point forward, but do not expect their existing relationships to be neglected. You can also expect a little more from the Marauders this half of sixth year, and in particular more action for both Remus and Peter, who will absolutely still be trying to pull off his solo prank.

As always, thanks for reading! If you're enjoying the story, please leave a like if you haven't already and review below!