He'd done it again. That arrogant toerag had done it again, and as Lily Evans made eye contact with his victim, lying on the ground on the edge of the courtyard, she very pointedly looked away, making it obvious that she was not going to help him. Snape knew what he'd done, and that friendship was over.
Then she glared at the offender- James Potter. He stood there smirking arrogantly, ruffling his hair, playing to his audience. He winked at her. She hated him, and he knew it. She also knew that James Potter couldn't resist a chance to massage his ego if it meant saving his own life. She swept away from the whole scene after only a moment's pause, causing Potter to swerve out of her way, avoiding a collision.
He turned in response.
"Evans! Evans, wait! Hey!" He ran after her, catching the strap of her school bag. "Hey! I'm sorry, okay? It was just a bit of fun."
Lily whirled around furiously, her face flushed with anger. She narrowed her eyebrows at him and yanked her bag out of his grip. "A bit of fun? Really, Potter? You think it's fun, then, to pick on someone without giving him the chance to defend himself, to tease and- and quite honestly, to BULLY Sev- Snape- mercilessly?" She was fuming. Her eyes shone a dangerous shade of green.
"Evans, come on, he called you a-" he stopped, took a breath, and composed himself before continuing calmly in a lower voice. "He called you a you-know-what. He deserves it."
A crowd was starting to gather now around them, watching with rapt interest. Lily Evans's fiery attitude was well known and well respected among the students.
She huffed, raising her voice. "Maybe he does, but that isn't YOUR-" here she shoved him in the chest away from her- "job! You're just as bad as him! Let him be- let me be, James- and stop acting like a child!"
James grinned suddenly. "You called me James. Is that by any chance due to your growing infatuation with me?"
Lily's shrill laughter rang around the courtyard and she shook her head in disbelief. "Are you serious right now? And I swear to God, Sirius Black, if you say a single word right now, I will send a Bat Bogey Hex after you," she said without even a glance towards the other boy who stood off to the side. Sirius put his hands up in surrender and pretended to zip up his lips, tossing away an invisible key.
"Are you joking me?" she asked, continuing to berate him. "I'm trying to have a mature conversation with you, Potter, and that's all you took away from it? Did you even listen to what I said!?" James noticed that she kept adjusting her school bag from slipping off her shoulder.
James grinned again, ruffling up his hair for his audience. "Well, yes," he said, "but it didn't warrant as much interest as the thought of you going out with me."
"I wouldn't go out with the likes of you in a million years!" She stormed towards him with purpose, and he quickly backpedaled. "You wanna know why, Potter? Because you're arrogant, you're self-centered, egotistical, immature, and, most importantly, you, James Potter, are a bully." A few people around them 'Oooh'-ed and a couple laughs were heard from the group.
A flash of hurt crossed the boy's eyes and he shrugged, crossing his arms. He let her stand there for a moment, looking up at him. They were so close he could hear her aggravated breathing. Then he replied in a volume only slightly lower than his normal tone. "Maybe. But at least I don't target people who don't deserve it."
Lily glared, her emerald eyes boring into his. "That doesn't make it any better." The students who had gathered around them in the courtyard, sensing that nothing more interesting would happen, had begun to disperse.
Lily turned and began to walk away again. James stared after her retreating figure, red hair, flying, for a few moments. Placated, he turned to his friends. "I'm going to go talk to her. See you lot at dinner?"
Remus shook his head. "You've got a lot to answer for, mate. And... quite honestly, she's right, James." He gave him a deep stare. "You know she's right."
James ignored this, pretending he hadn't heard the lanky werewolf's comment. "See you later, Pads." Sirius nodded, his lipped still pressed tightly together, then he dropped to the ground and began to search on his hands and knees for the pretend key he'd tossed away earlier.
Peter laughed at his antics. Remus kicked him lightly. Sirius groaned and fell over, playing dead.
James rolled his eyes and smiled, tight-lipped. Then he nodded at them, turned on his heel, and ran after Lily.
He caught up to her on the staircase up to Gryffindor Tower.
She spoke without turning around or stopping her ascent. "What do you want, James?" Her voice echoed on the stone, spiraling up the empty stairwell.
"Just- I just want to talk. That's all, Evans. Just hear me out." She didn't reply, but continued to climb the stairs. James took her silence as permission to continue. "You're right, okay? I know. Truth is..." he hesitated a moment, tossing a bait. "I'm incredibly insecure."
She turned around and shot him yet another glare. He laughed. "Kidding. That got your attention, though."
Lily stopped suddenly and he almost ran into her. She stood almost a head above him on the next step up. "That's the thing with you, James Potter." She crossed her arms. "Everything's about attention with you, isn't it? Even if it isn't the good kind."
James shrugged. "So, what if I like attention? Maybe I don't get it the best way, but what's wrong with being loved and looked up to?"
She snorted. "It's pathetic, to be honest. That's what's wrong with it." She looked down at him, shaking her head and pulling her schoolbag higher up on her shoulder. "People should be respected for their morals, for good leadership, for courage, for doing the right thing." Her agitated tone caught his attention."I'm not sure if you'd know the 'right thing' if it hit you on the head, Potter. And in the end, that makes you just as bad as the people who do the wrong thing."
James studied her face. She was serious, he realized. She actually thought he was just as bad as them. "Hey... Evans- Lily- I'm sorry, okay? I don't really know why I do it. But I resent the fact that you actually think I'm as bad as the people who practice dark magic. I'm nothing like them, Lily." He crossed his arms, no longer smiling.
Lily nodded slowly. "You have the potential to be an actual good person."
He grinned triumphantly.
"Except that you're not. That's the problem, James." Lily was growing more frustrated by the second.
"What do you want me to say? I'm a Gryffindor for a reason, right? I make stupid mistakes." He tried for a charming grin again, but she wasn't having it.
Lily loomed over him. He could smell her perfume- strawberries, he thought. His pulse raced again, but this time he wasn't smiling. Neither was she. Then again, she never was, around him.
"That's not an excuse! You can keep saying that all you want and using it to get out, but guess what, James Potter? If you use it over and over, then it proves that I'm right."
James was surprised to see her eyes tearing up in frustration. She continued. "You're just as bad as anyone else unless you can actually learn from those mistakes. You haven't learned from any of your mistakes in the past six years, so I'm not expecting you to suddenly start now."
She turned, stomped up the last two steps to the portrait of the Fat Lady, and spoke the password. The portrait swung open. Wisely, the Fat Lady kept quiet.
Lily's voice was dangerously quiet when she spoke, her eyes meeting his. "I'm tired of this fight, Potter. You're either going to grow up, or you're not. I'm not going to sit here waiting around for that to happen. If you decide to grow up, maybe we can be friends. Otherwise, just stay away from me."
And with that, she slammed the Portrait hole shut.
James Potter just stood there. He stayed where she'd left him for a long time, not saying a word, just looking at the place where Lily Evans had disappeared.
He knew she was right. There was a war coming; everyone felt it. The tension had been growing and it would only continue to get worse, straight up until they graduated Hogwarts. And then what? James wanted to be an Auror. He'd known that for a long time. The Potters were a proud family, and he was one of the few purebloods left who wouldn't join the cultish followers of Dark Magic.
She was right. They couldn't stay young forever, they couldn't stay out of this war, and James didn't want to. It was time to choose a side, and if he wanted to fight for the light, he knew he needed to do better. He was nothing like most of the other purebloods at this school. And besides, he thought- if it meant a chance at a life with Evans? Maybe if he showed her who he could be, she might give him that opportunity.
Lily Evans was right.
It was time for him to grow up.