Author's Note:

sillykitty201: Late chapter.. late chapter... oh no, it's a late chapter! *shriek* Okay... calming down... super sorry this happened and thank you all for being patient! Now on with, um, everything else! First thing on the agenda...

BREAKING NEWS! basketballbr0909 has quit fanfiction! I know, I know, I'm so sorry! The reasons and circumstances will remain unknown… but hey! I still post, haha!

So her and I are still working on this together on the same google doc, however she will just not be posting. If she ever has anything to say to you (whether it be important or just a 'Hi I'm alive and enjoy the story!), I will let her write it in my author's note, although mainly now it'll just be me and you!

Snape's part is super short.. sorry! But what basketballbr0909 wrote for James and Lily more than makes up for it!

Now, you may go off and read but first, basketballbr has something to say to you all!

basketballbr0909:: I'm so sorry, guys! I truly am. I love fanfiction, and trust me, it's not because I hate fanfiction or anything. I just have some issues with the site, that's all. Like sillykitty201 said, I will say anything I want through her! She said it was okay if I just make an author's note on her story every time we post, which is perfect. Thank you, sillykitty201! And she said it was okay if I just make an author's note on her story every time we post, which is perfect. Thank you, sillykitty201! And thank you all all so much for understanding! Enjoy the chapter!

Once more! I wrote Snape and basketballbr0909 wrote Lily and James. ENJOY!

James Potter

Lily Evans

Severus Snape

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day.

I am already envisioning all the things that could go wrong tomorrow. Obviously, Potter is going to do some kind of stupid act tomorrow. Mallory and Alice will probably also have a breathtaking performance tomorrow too.

And me? Well..

It's not like I like anyone yet. But I don't want to be heartless or anything, so I'll just give one quick card to Sev. I could probably find some sort of cool magic trick in-

Oh, no, no, no. I know what you're thinking.

I don't like Sev. He is strictly in the friend zone. I just want to be nice and give him a card, okay? And plus, the whole Whomping Willow incident got me picturing him on a whole new level.

Sev is just so… he's so obsessed with Potter. And when I mean obsessed, I mean he's always obsessing over our stupid rivalrly with them. Sure, we hate them, but he takes it on a whole new level.

Sheesh. Why can't boys be normal for once?!

"Hey, Lil!" Alice says, swiftly disrupting me from my thoughts.

I swerve my head around to face her. She is positively glowing. She is also blushing furiously, and her eyes can't seem to properly meet mine.

"Uh, hey," I say after a few seconds of me staring open - mouthed at her.

"Ummm… so.. Frank, he, he umm.."

"He what?" I say impatiently. Alice has been obsessed with Frank almost the instant she first saw him. I remember that incident vividly. It was on our first day of school.

Five minutes into class, a gang of five boys walked in. I wrinkled my nose in frustration, because I hated when latecomers disrupt class time. However, Alice stared dreamily at the boy leading the gang. He had a wild look about him, except his glasses made it look like he was cross between someone wild and tamed. I would've completely ignored him, but it was Alice's lovesick expression that turned my head towards him.

The disruptive newcomer showed no signs of embarrassment of being late. Instead, he took a seat in the back, accompanied by his four friends. I rolled my eyes - both at Alice and the newcomer. Professor McGonagall was clearly irritated too.

"You're late," she said sharply. I smirked, happy that they were getting a talking to. Sadly, this comment didn't waver his bright smile.

"Sorry," he said happily. A little too happily, might I add. Alice continued to stare at him, and she whispered "He's so cute!"

"My friends and I lost the way," he continued.

"Sure," I muttered.

Professor McGonagall glanced at me abruptly, and I swear I could see a hint of a smile on her face. She looked back at the boys, and only let out a sigh.

"This will not be tolerated again," she added strictly.

"Yes, ma'am," Frank replied. His friends laughed, but even worse, I could see a hint of a smile on Alice's face.

Why do all my friends fall for the worst boys?!

"He said he loved me, and that he wanted us to be a couple," Alice finished shyly.

"That's amazing!" I said, embracing her.

"Thanks," she finally said when we pulled away. Then, she pulled out a card from her pocket. She handed it to me.

"Is this good?" she asked. I looked at it. It was a simple drawing of a girl and boy, holding hands and walking in the park. On the top, it says "Happy Valentine's Day!" in pink and blue loopy letters. I nodded slowly. It was an average card, I guess.

"Oh, I'm so stupid!" Alice said. She pulled out her wand, and suddenly, the pink and blue writing started rising from the card, and suddenly, the image was in front of me. Except, the boy and girl became Alice and Frank, and I could see their actions. On the side of the image, there were little loopy blue and pink lines outlining the image.

It was all truly spectacular.

"Ally, this is amazing!" I breathed.

She grinned from ear to ear. "You really think so?"

I smiled genuinely. "I do."

Alice grinned, and she quickly waved a goodbye and left. She left me there thinking for a while.

It is Valentine's Day, after all. Why not have a little fun with it?

My hands are sweating buckets. It's Valentine's Day, and I am anticipating giving a card to Sev during dinner. I really want to, but I'm hoping it doesn't give him the wrong message.

Sev is a great guy, but I don't think I have feelings for him. When I'm around him, I feel light - hearted and airy. I wrote "best friend" on the card just in case, but I still don't know if he'll understand.

I sigh, and decide that I can't back out now. I finish my meal, but, like usual, more food fills my plate. I ignore it and, determined, walk up to the Slytherin table. I am so lost in my thoughts that I don't realize that the Slytherins are making fun of him.

Because of me.

I expect Sev to shake it off and tell them to knock it off. But instead, his cheeks turn pink, and he looks down at his food.

I am already halfway at the table, clutching the card tightly in my hand.

There's no backing out now.

I take a deep breath, and walk over to Sev. My bright green eyes gaze into his pitch - black ones. I am a little breathless, because I can't seem to find the best way to give him the card without seeming dull or romantic. I force myself to smile.

"Sev!" I say, almost as if this was rehearsed.

"Lily!" he says, but I can tell he is a little embarrassed that I am here. I feel a little hurt, but I remind myself that I don't like him. I keep my smile on, and I stutter through, saying, "I, uh, made you a card.." while handing it to him. He looks eager to see the card, but he tucks it in his pocket. I feel even worse, because I can't believe my best friend can't manage to open a card in front of me. I mean, does he really care that much about how his friends think of him? My smile fades a little, but Sev is too embarrassed to notice. I shake my head a little, and I hear a faint thank you from him. I flash him another forced smile, heading back to my seat, feeling worse than ever.

I pick at my food, and Alice scooches next to me.

"Boy problems?"

I open my mouth to protest, but close it.

"You could say that," I mutter dejectedly. She puts her arm around me, and before I know it, we are walking back to the Gryffindor common room.

She sits on my bed, and then I automatically sit beside her.

Before I know it, I am explaining everything that has happened today, and Alice is clinging onto my every word.

"That is quite the situation you got yourself there," she says finally.

I realize that she's right. I've been holding all this in for so long, and finally telling Alice everything makes me feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulder. Alice's smile suddenly fades.

"What happened?"

Alice looks at the floor, a sad look on her face. "I feel so bad," she whispers.

I open my mouth to ask her why, but she cuts me off.

"I've always been talking about how my life is so great with Frank and all, and here you are, feeling horrible."

I open my mouth again, but I don't think lying straight through my teeth would help this situation. I did feel a little left out when Alice was talking about Frank, but she's my best friend, and I couldn't just start blabbing about my problems. Alice sits straight up again, and I try to think of something comforting to say.

Sadly, I have nothing. There's nothing I can say without lying, which means I'd have to settle on the truth.

"Yes, Alice. You're right," I start.

Alice looks a little surprised, but I decide to ignore her and continue.

"I felt a little left out, but guess what? I'm happy for you guys," I take her hands and smile. Alice gives a sad smile, and I say "I may not have found a Frank or a Sirius yet, but at least I have two best friends who care for me." I'm about to include Sev, but I decide it's better to focus on Alice and Mallory for now.

Alice smiles, and then gets a mischievous glint in her eye.

"What?" I say, genuinely confused.

"You may not have found a soulmate, but that won't stop me from trying to help you find one," she says, that mischievous glint still in her eye.

I realize what she means as soon as the words come out of her mouth.

"No! Alice, no!" I say, louder each time.

"Steve is cute, isn't he? A Ravenclaw… you two would get along perfectly," she says, examining her nails.

I cross my arms and don't respond.

"I'll take your silence as a yes, then."

I throw a pillow at her.

Potter. Valentine's Day.

My two least favorite things.

Bah.

Potter is sure to give Lily a valentine. Obviously, she'll reject him, but it's still annoying. I was thinking about giving her a card, but she probably doesn't like me back…

I'll make her succumb to my charms soon enough….

Er.… nevermind. Point is, I hate valentine's day.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Malfoy snickers, as he bumps my shoulder (HARD).

"Nothing!" I squeak out immediately, turning bright red.

"Awww… look, Snape here is the color of his little mudblood's hair! The one he was just dreaming about!"

"Shut up, Malfoy," I mutter, picking at my food.

"Why? It's so much fun taunting you!" says Crabbe, and I scowl at him.

That's when Lily comes up to the table.

Honestly, I love her, but she has got to work on her timing!

"Sev!" she exclaims, slightly breathless for a reason that I can't understand.

"Lily!" I say back, and try to muster up enough gusto to convince her that I am happy to see her and to make sure I don't get taunted by my so-called 'friends'.

"I, uh, I made you a card.." she says slowly, taking out a card from behind her back.

I look at it carefully, avoiding the gazes of everyone around me.

It is black and has drawings of silver banners across the black. On top of the black card and silver banners, there are green hearts arranged like polka dots. Polka hearts. I reach for it and she hands it to me. I want to open it, but I can't, not in front of all these people.

Slowly, I lift my head, and smile up at her.

"Thanks, Lils," I say softly, and she beams, blushing a soft pink that would be barely noticeable to other people.

She quickly flounces back to her table, and I tuck the card safely in my robes, ignoring the glares and catcalls from around the Slytherin table.

'Sev, I -heart- you! Thanks for being the best friend anyone could ask for!'

This is what Lily's card says.

It's right after dinner, and I am sitting in an empty corridor, reading Lily's note over and over again. If I close my eyes long enough, think hard enough… I can imagine that Lily loves me. Really loves me.

Wouldn't that be wonderful?

I'm not joining the Death Eater ranks just to be evil. I'm not joining because I hate mudbloods or that I think purebloods are superior.

I'm joining for Lily.

I know it makes no sense, but hear me out.

Lily is a muggleborn, and Voldemort will come after her. She is the brightest witch of her age, and she is muggleborn. She is a direct target for Voldemort. If I join his ranks… maybe I can convince him not to hurt Lily. Maybe, just maybe, I can protect Lily.

And I'll take that maybe over a no.

I'm not evil. At least..

I don't mean to be.

Those Marauders are the evil ones. They're bullies. What do they know? Them and their privileged, perfect lives…

"Snape?" I hear, and I look up to face a horrid Marauder, the worst of the worst, the one and only His Royal Ugliness, James Potter.

"What are you doing?"

"What do you mean?" I snap, and then I notice that my hands are clenched into fists.

Potter looks at me for a few seconds, his eyes growing icier, and then he shrugs and turns to leave.

I don't know what causes me to say it, but I feel a sudden fury at smug, little, perfect Potter.

"Enjoy your perfect life with your privileged little friends, Potter!"

Potter freezes in his tracks. Slowly, (dramatically) he turns around and glares at me, his eyes malicious. I sneer at him.

He doesn't say anything, he just keeps walking towards me. Finally, when he's right in front of me, he stops again.

"No," he hisses sharply, and he punches me.

"What the hell, Potter!" I scream, "You broke my nose, you git!"

But Potter has already disappeared down the hallway, no sign of him in sight.

I warily watch Lily. Boy, she looks very nervous just to give a card to Snape. She is looking back and forth at the Gryffindor table and Snape. I-

"Will you give it a rest, already?!" Sirius says as he slaps me on the back, interrupting my thoughts. I frown at him, and say "Sirius, do you think Lily likes Snape?" He thinks about it and carefully says "I don't know, James. She might.." I can tell that he's trying hard not to hurt my feelings, but also doesn't want to give me false hope. I shrug, but I feel a little hurt inside.

Maybe it's time to give up on Lily.

I look at the card stuffed in my robes. I mutter the vanishing spell, and it instantly disappears. I stare sadly at Lily. Looks like it is time to give it up.

I turn to Sirius, all smiles again. Sirius notes my change of expression. Before he can say anything, I tell him "I think I've finally given up on Lily."

Sirius's eyes nearly pop out of his head.

"For real?" he asks, not quite believing it. I fight the urge to laugh. Was I really that obsessed with Lily?

"Yes, you are," Sirius replies and I quickly realize I said that out loud.

I continue to grin. "Well, you can believe it now. I am officially over Lily."

Sirius quickly spreads the news to Peter and Remus, and I sit there with a stupid grin on my face, like I'm proud. Remus and Peter also have the same expressions as Sirius, and I sit there recalling all those times I've obsessed over Lily.

I guess I was a bit of a doofus back then.

"Hear, hear," Sirius says, holding a glass of soda. "To James!"

Remus and Peter do the same, and I gladly join them.

To a new life.

The next day, I happily head towards Lily's room. Lily is putting on her robes, and when I walk in, she stares at me with disgust. I ignore her.

"Come to give me your Valentine's card? You forgot to yesterday," she points out, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"No," I say, my smile fading a little. I regain my composure and continue. "I wanted to say something. I don't have feelings for you anymore. I wanted to put that out there, but I guess it doesn't matter because there wasn't a chance, anyway." My voice is steady, and Lily softens a little bit.

"Look, James. I don't mean to be harsh, but you're not exactly likeable at times. But, right now, I think you've finally come to your senses."

I nod, and I feel a little tinge of happiness at her words. I push it down, though.

Like I said, I don't like her anymore. It's time to push down all those feelings.

Lily nods, but I can sense something is bothering her.

"What happened?" I ask softly, not wanting to push my luck and make her mad.

"Alice is hooking me up with boys," she groans after contemplating whether or not to tell me. I don't know what to say to that, so I settle with silence, hoping she'll continue speaking so that this can become less awkward.

"She set me up with Steve," she continues.

I look at her incredulously. Steve?! He's a no good piece of scum! (And no, I am not just saying that because I was in love with her! I'm over her!) I open my mouth to talk to her about how stupid he is.

"Steve is a-"

I stop for a moment, and swallow my words as I continue.

"An - amazing person," I finish.

"Yeah, I know he is," she sighs. "I guess I should be happy. I'll try it out, I guess. No harm in trying, right?"

I nod, but I can sense red - hot anger boiling to the surface, and I try to push it down.

"You know what? I was wrong about you. Maybe you're not so bad a friend after

all," she says, smiling at me. My anger is replaced by ultimate joy. I try to ignore it, but I muster a smile.

I can't take this anymore.

"I, um, I got to get going," I say, stuffing my hands into the pockets of my robes.

Lily laughs a little.

"Look at that, James Potter leaving me at his own will," she says, laughing lightly. I give her a half - smile, and head straight towards my dorm room.

Why do I still have feelings for Lily?! I should be over her. She's going to hook up with that Ravenclaw, anyway! Or even Snape, for all I care! I need to get rid of these pesky feelings.

I lie on my bed, enjoying the comfort of it. Maybe..

What if I hook up with someone else? Maybe my feelings for them will overpower my (old) feelings for Lily!

My alarm rings, and I sit up quickly. I turn it off and scoop up my books.

There'll be plenty of dating for me after detention.

"Yes, I did, bye!" I say (yell) to McGonagall. I am in a chipper mood, even after all that detention, McGonagall looks at me strangely.

"Potter, what are you so happy about?" she asks, a hint of amusement in her tone. By the way she's looking at me, I can tell she's been meaning to ask me this question since I arrived, but she held it off until now.

"No reason," I lie. I am still smiling like a doofus, and McGonagall sighs.

"I will see you tomorrow, Potter," she says sternly, shaking her head.

I practically skip down the hallway.

I know exactly who I'm going to 'hook up' with. I have my heart set on Divya Patel. She sends me a Valentine's Day card every year, and she loves all my pranks.

She's perfect.

As I am reaching the Ravenclaw dorms, I spot Lily. I remember quickly about what she said about Steve. I start to get mad, but I think of Divya, and how I'm also having a date, and I calm down a little.

"Hey, James!" she says.

"Hey!" I say enthusiastically. Well, maybe a little too enthusiastically.

"What are you doing?"

"Asking Divya out on a date," I say proudly. I close my mouth immediately. Did I just say that out loud? Lily looks shocked, and I swear I can see a hint of jealousy on her face.

I shake it off. Lily obviously isn't jealous. Why would she be? She hates me!
 "Oh," she finally says. Her voice becomes low, and we don't speak for a while. I am about to knock on the door, but that's when Steve climbs out. I roll my eyes, but stop halfway.

What is wrong with me?!

"It's going to be over soon," I whisper to myself reassuringly. Soon, I'll be with Divya, Lily will be with Steve, and everything will be perfect.

I wave goodbye to Lily and Steve, and head to the Gryffindor common room. I enter the portrait hole, and spot Divya almost immediately. She is talking to Namita Khan, but when I come over, her face turns into shock. She starts to check her hair, and I laugh a little.

Man, girls really do like me, don't they? I smile at the thought.

"Hey, Divya," I start.

Divya starts subconsciously using her index fingers to twirl her perfect, black, bouncy curls. I ignore her, and continue.

"Umm.. can we speak in private?"

Namita glances at Divya, and they both share a tiny smile. Then, she leaves, and Divya focuses her full attention on me.

"Anyway," I clear my throat. "Would you mind going on a date with me?"

"Now?" she asks, trying to hide her extreme joy.

"Er, yeah," I say.

"Umm… let me check my calendar," she says quickly. She goes into her room, and ten minutes later, she is wearing an extremely sexy outfit. She is wearing tight, denim shorts, and a crop top that covers only three to four inches of her body. I gaze at her, my expression tight.

She smiles at me, and immediately locks arms with me.

This is going to be a very interesting date.

We've reached the quidditch field, but all we've ever talked about since then was school.

"Do you play?" I ask.

"Umm… no. Of course not," she says, as if she's disgusted by the game.

"What do you mean, of course not?" I say, trying to keep my voice level.

"I mean that sports makes you super icky and dirty. And quidditch is just some stupid game where you throw balls in a hoop. Big deal," she says.

I wag my finger at her and open my mouth, but she puts it down and interrupts.

"Can we just talk about something, Jamesie? Please?" she locks arms again, and I roll my eyes.

"So… ever kissed someone before?"

"No," I reply.

She looks shocked. She starts looking at me teasingly. She leans in, but I'm hesitant. Nevertheless, she swoops down and kisses me. I kiss her back, but after two seconds, I stop.

She looks at me pleadingly, but my expression is stone - faced.

"You can go," I say.

"What do you mean?" she asks, as if confused as to what happened.

"It's done. We're over," I tell her.

"What?!" Her dismay turns to anger. "You - You're just spoiled! You have so many girls fawning over you, and you're so, so picky! Ugh! I wasted all this makeup for nothing!"

MAKEUP?!

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!

SHE'S - SHE'S OBSESSING OVER MAKEUP?! I am about to give her a piece of my mind when I spot Lily coming over to me. Divya glares at me, whirls around, and leaves.

"Divya, huh? You really are bad at picking girls," Lily points out as she comes and stands next to me.

"She's an idiot," I say, rolling my eyes. I shift the topic quickly.

"What about Steve?"

"He's okay," she says, and starts picking at threads on her dress.

"I'll see you around," I mutter.

Monday, February 16th, 10:00 AM - Holly Brown: She's nice, but all she does is talk about how cool and amazing I am. She's constantly listening to me, and while I do love a girl who's interested in me, it doesn't mean I'd want her to constantly fawn over me. I think I'll come to her when I feel horrible about myself.

Tuesday, February 17th, 2:00 PM - Pandora Lovegood: She's quite interesting. She has her own opinions about herself, and I respect that. We can easily slip into conversation, but I don't feel any connection to her, and neither does she to me. Overall, she was nice.

Wednesday, February 18th, 4:00 PM - Amanda Chang: She was an interesting one. She seemed very distant at first, but she soon opened up, and I did too. We kissed once, but then she admitted that she thinks she has feelings for someone else. I didn't get mad at her, and we parted on good terms.

Thursday, February 19th, 9:00 PM - Janice Bell: She was quite a feisty one. We joked around a lot during our date, and she claims to love quidditch. In fact, we even played a few games as seekers, and we both lost and won some. I told her to sign up for the quidditch team, but she said her family was a little poor to afford a broom. I lent her one of my old brooms, which Janice took very happily, and she claimed she'd try out in the morning - after I convinced McGonagall to let her on. Otherwise, we parted as good friends.

All these girls were much better than Divya, but none of them gave me a connection as strong as the one I had with Lily. I think about this in the morning, after Janice's date. That's when Lily pops her head into my room, and I look at her with consternation.

"Hey, Lily," I say, and I feel that affection towards her once more. This time, I don't push it back.

"Hi. I need your help," she says, and comes to sit beside me. I smile a little.

"Okay, so-" she starts, but is interrupted.

By me.

I lean in, trying to kiss her, but Lily moves back, and she slaps me across the face.

Hard.

"James Potter, for as long as I live, I will never hate someone so deeply as much as I hate you!"