Chapter 1: Nothing

Prompt: "Prove it."

James had sat in silent horror as Sirius crumpled the letter from his mother. Apparently, Walburga had had enough of Sirius' "sorry attempt at rebellion" and was determined that as the Black heir, it was time to get serious about his future. To Walburga, this meant getting married. She expected his response within the fortnight.

Sirius had fumed silently, and James, James who always had something to say, couldn't find the words to comfort his friend. What could he even say that wasn't empty condolences?

Sirius was barely speaking with his family, and saw the letter for what it was: an ultimatum. Either fall in line, marry Victoria Selwyn, and inherit the Black fortune– or be disowned completely, burned from the family tapestry.

He could put up a good front, but James knew better. It was his family. Even if Sirius didn't agree with them, and spent the majority of his time ranting about their insane and bigotted views, they were his family. It was a lot to ask a man to give up at barely seventeen years old.

That had been over a week ago. Over that week the marauders had schemed and plotted, had tricked and manipulated to the best of their ability, only to be met by Walburga Black's mild annoyance at their antics.

They'd even tried appealing to Victoria Selwyn herself, with less than optimal results. She cared little for how Sirius felt about it all, and eagerly anticipated becoming Lady Black, and the access to the Black vaults that came with the title.

With little less than a week until his mother's deadline, Sirius had grown even more impatient and impulsive than usual. James spent most of his time trying to keep Sirius out of trouble, and when that failed, trying to minimize the damage as much as possible.

What didn't help, was the dirty looks and snide comments thrown their way by Lily Evans. It had started out as a huff of disapproval when they'd been partnered together in transfiguration. He'd asked her what was wrong, and she'd replied with a shrug and an airy, "oh, nothing."

Then he'd been discussing the issue with Sirius over breakfast, trying to remind him that many pureblood marriages were marriages of convenience. "All I'm saying is I'd be more than fine with a wife in title only, who turns a blind eye to any other witch who catches my eye."

This had earned him and Sirius a glare of disapproval and a cold shoulder for the rest of the day.

Two days later, Evans had taken the hostility up a notch. She frequently remarked, making sure they were within earshot, about how stupid it was that purebloods still subscribed to the notion of arranged marriages, and "isn't that lot inbred enough already?"

Sirius' face flamed a dark, embarrassed red, and James stood abruptly, grabbed him by the arm and exited the library where they'd been sitting.

Evans, however, wasn't content to leave well enough alone. Oh she never said anything directly to Sirius, but her disparaging comments about pureblood traditions continued, loudly, and always clearly enough, should they have any doubt who she was talking about.

"The concept of entering into an arranged marriage solely to retain one's family fortune? Disgusting."

"I can't imagine throwing my life away on a decision I made when I was seventeen and would regret it for the rest of my life."

"Well of course you'd consider your family, but not when it means raising the next generation of inbred, bigotted, pureblood brats."

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about, Evans," he'd finally snapped at her.

She'd simply turned her nose up and walked away from him, in an act eerily reminiscent of their relationship fifth year.

After that, he'd made a point of keeping both himself and Sirius well away from Evans and her poisonous tongue.

He was angry with her, but mostly he was disappointed.

He thought they'd come a long way from where they'd been two years ago. But more than that, she'd become friends with his friends. She and Sirius got on like they'd always been best mates, Evans and Remus had been close since third year, and she always went out of her way to be kind to Peter.

And them? They'd gone from being mutually antagonistic, and barely tolerating each other, to a strong partnership as head boy and head girl. Two weeks ago, he would have said that Evans was one of his best friends. Friends. Because that was all she– all they both wanted.

But friends didn't turn their backs on each other when times got tough, or treat friends the way she'd been treating Sirius the last two weeks.

Sirius, who was, at this moment, meeting with his mother to let her know that he would not be marrying Victoria Selwyn, and she could disinherit him for all he cared.

James walked briskly to the one-eyed witch passage to Hogsmeade. He wanted to run, but didn't want to draw attention. But he knew Sirius put up a strong front, but would need him when the surely disastrous meeting with his mother was done.

He'd been lost in his own thoughts, and focused on keeping his pace just shy of running when he heard someone calling his name.

"Hey, Potter! Potter!"

He knew that voice. And listening to Evans rant about pureblood marriage traditions wasn't something he was particularly interested in reprising.

"Potter!"

She'd sped-up, her pace at a near run, from what he could hear of each footfall on the stone floor of the corridor.

"JAMES!"

Fine. If she wanted to have it out, then fine. He'd rather not do it in front of Sirius anyways. He stopped dead in his tracks, and spun to face her.

She crashed right into him.

– – –

She sprinted down the corridor, desperately hoping she was going the right way.

"Potter! Potter!"

He didn't turn her way, or even slow his determined pace.

"Potter! JAMES!"

He stopped abruptly, and she barreled right into him. They would have both been sprawled on the floor, had he not grabbed her around the shoulders to steady her.

He abruptly released her and took a step away.

"What, Evans?" his tone was scathing, which, she supposed was the least she deserved after how she'd treated him the last few weeks.

"You can't– you– you can't–", she panted, trying to catch her breath after the sprint down from Gryffindor tower.

He kept his hard glare on her and raised a single eyebrow, waiting for her to continue.

"You can't marry Victoria Selwyn."

The cold glare he'd adopted dropped from his face almost immediately. "What do you mean I can't marry Victoria Selwyn?"

"I mean you can't. She's awful. She is condescending and rude, and she only even wants to marry you for your fortune," she paused, before uttering the thing that had truly bothered her most, "I know she's a pureblood and all, but I never thought those things mattered to you."

"I'm not marrying Victoria Selwyn."

"Oh," she whispered on an exhale, her panic leaving her, "I mean that's good I guess."

"I never was marrying Victoria Selwyn." He looked confused.

"But, but that's not what I heard– what she's been telling everyone."

"What?" he sounded even more confused, and even a little angry now, "Selwyn has been going around saying that I was going to marry her?!"

"Well, not explicitly, but she's told anyone who will listen that she's about to be engaged to, and these are her words, not mine: 'a pureblood hottie with an ancient pedigree and the gringotts vaults to match.'"

"That would be Sirius– wait, you think I'm a 'hottie'?"

"Sirius?!" then she caught the rest of what he'd said, "No, I, uh, I was quoting her directly. I told you that."

"Yeah, you said she was going around saying she was betrothed to a pureblood hottie. But you immediately thought of me."

Lily felt her cheeks go as red as her hair.

Understanding dawned across Potter's face and she took a step back.

"Wow. You're jealous. That's why you've been a shrew the last two weeks."

"I am not jealous, and I most definitely have not been a shrew."

"You are. You're jealous. Why else would you react like that to the news that I was getting engaged?" He stepped towards her, closing the distance she'd put between them.

"You're my friend. Nothing more. But you're my friend! Obviously I wouldn't want you to marry her, she's awful," she could hear the lie in her voice, but prayed he wouldn't.

"Admit it," he said, advancing another step, "you were jealous of Selwyn because you have feelings for me."

She took another step back, "Me? Jealous? Because I like you?" she scoffed, aiming for nonchalance.

He said nothing, but stepped closer to her so that she had to tip her head back to look him in the eye.

"Oh, please," she feigned indifference to his invasion of her personal space and rolled her eyes.

"Deny it all you want, Evans. But the only reason you were so upset about Selwyn's supposed engagement is because you have feelings for me."

"You're the one who has been obsessed with me for years," she retorted, going on the offensive, "are you sure you're not just projecting?"

"Absolutely," he said, not giving an inch, "so maybe I had a crush on you when I was fifteen. Trust me, I'm well over it. I feel nothing for you."

"Yeah? Well whatever you think I feel for you, it's less than the nothing you feel for me." She wasn't making much sense, and she knew it, but she'd be damned if she backed down now.

"Prove it."

Later, Lily would claim she didn't know what came over her: years of rivalry, his constant needling, her need to have the last word, but only that she didn't have full control of her actions.

She pressed up on her toes to close the miniscule space between them, and she kissed him.

What she didn't expect was for him to wrap an arm around her waist and kiss her back. Nor did she expect the warmth and the rightness that bled through her body as he kissed her.

It could have been seconds, or it could have been hours, but Lily finally gathered her wits about her and moved her arms from around his neck (how had they gotten there?) go rest against his chest to push him away.

He released her and took a step back, breathing hard and staring at her.

"See?" she asked, slightly breathless, "Nothing."

With that, she spun on her heel and rushed back to Gryffindor tower, trying desperately not to keep replaying the kiss in her head.

– – –

James watched her hasty retreat, with a grin stretched across his face. He could still feel the echo of her kiss across his lips, and he pinched the inside of his arm just to make sure it had been real. He winced, but his grin widened.

He stood there, grinning like an idiot, until the one-eyed witch passageway opened, and Sirius stepped through.

"What happened to you?"

"Nothing," James told his friend, still unable to wipe the grin from his face, "Absolutely nothing."