A/N: I'm trying to stick as closely to everything that I know from the books and fandom, but I don't want to be ~too predictable~ so expect a surprise or two. This story will contain a lot of Jily, as they're the main couple in this, but there will be other ships popping up here and there. Eyes emoji. I'll be trying to update this every Monday.

Disclaimer: All characters and ideas alike belong to JK. However I do not support her ideas irl. Thanks.

Chapter 1

The Promise of a New Year

September 1st 1977

A cold breeze forced Lily to pull her black and red cloak tighter around her slim frame, stepping off the train onto the platform below. It wasn't unusually cold for the time of year, but the wind carried a chill with it that made the redhead shiver. The prefect had so many promises for the upcoming year; she was determined to make the next two years of her school experience count. She meant, really count. It was her dream to become an auror after all.

If there was one thing to be said about Lily Evans, it was that she had high hopes. Objectively, she was very pretty. She had been blessed with long, thick auburn hair that she often left to fall down her back. Nobody was sure where she had inherited it from, since neither of her parents mirrored the colour. It contrasted with her pale skin, which freckled in the sun. But the first thing you'd notice about Lily was her bright green eyes, which always looked kind and inviting.

"Lily! Marlene!" The redhead turned to follow the voice, focusing on her friend a few short feet away. "I've found us an empty carriage", called out Mary, beckoning her friends to follow her. Mary McDonald was short, with shoulder length brown hair that fell evenly around her round face. Her brown eyes matched her dark hair. She wasn't as clever as Lily, but still remained one of the brightest in her class. She stood by the foot of the carriage, holding it for the two girls that approached.

Just as it seemed that they were ready to go, a tall, scruffy haired boy approached their carriage, and he seemed to be in a mess. "Remus?" Lily spoke, leaning towards him from her seat. "Is everything okay?"

The boy, known as Remus, fought against the wind to brush his messy brown hair out of his face as he turned to the redhead with an awkward smile. "Have any of you seen James Potter?"

Each girl shook her head, prompting Mary to speak. "No, sorry." Remus sighed, looking defeated.

"Weren't you all in the same carriage on the train?" Another asked.

Nodding, "We were, but then-" He shrugged, the same look of defeat on his face.

"It's James. He can't have gone far." Mary reassured him, and again he nodded, but that didn't relieve his frustration.

"I'll see you inside." He groaned, and without giving them a chance to respond, he moved onto the next carriage, where the girls could hear him repeating the same question.

"I wonder what Potter has got himself into now." Mary gossiped, turning herself back in towards her friends.

"I bet he's with Hannah Bogsprout." A seventh year Hufflepuff that they'd all heard very little about, except that she had broken up with her long term boyfriend, Frank Longbottom, before they had all gone home for the summer. "I heard they've been writing to each other over the break." A blonde named Marlene joined in the gossip, her elbows on her knees as she leaned in. Her golden curls were held back with a red ribbon, the same red as the details on her robes. She had a pretty face, and carried herself in a graceful way.

"Where did you hear that?" Mary asked.

"On the train. Some third years were talking about it." This prompted an eye roll from the redhead, who stayed silent. Of course the most important topic of conversation to a group of third years was the love life of Potter.

See, that was the thing about James Potter. He was everything Lily wasn't. Where she tried to do the right thing, he did whatever impressed the people around him. He was, in Lily's words, a bully who cared only about his own gratification, and on the occasion, the gratification of his three best friends. But even that, Lily thought, was still in his own best interest. He was tall, with thick black hair, which he frequently touched. Round glasses sat on his nose, not hiding the hazel eyes that he possessed. He had an even, slightly tanned complexion. And the most annoying thing about James Potter, was that all the girls fancied him. Except Lily.

"No, no." Mary replied, simply shaking her head. "He's getting back together with Carlotta Meloni."

"How do we know it has anything to do with a girl at all?" Lily spoke up, leaning back in her seat, looking less than impressed with the girl's choice of conversation.

"Because it's James Potter." Mary reminded her, and the other nodded. "If the rest of the marauders don't know where he is then-" Lily had heard enough, and she tried to tune out the rest of the conversation. Rolling her eyes, the prefect folded her arms across her chest, looking out across the fields before her as the carriage took them closer to the castle. Her eyes wandered, like her mind, to the home that they'd be staying in for the next several months.

Maybe it was the chill in the air, or the dull conversation that made the carriage ride seem too long to Lily, but when they finally arrived at the castle it had seemed like an eternity. Following her friends, but still not quite engaging in their gossip, she headed with the rest of her year into the welcoming gates of Hogwarts. Inside, there were groups of teenagers chatting, while a few teachers seemed to be trying to help the first years, who seemed, as Marlene commented, to be getting smaller and smaller each year.

That was when she saw him. Across the room, surrounded by a group around the same age, all wearing black and green cloaks. He looked like he'd aged significantly since the last time she had seen him. His hair was slicked back with gel, and his once lovely smile was gone. The light that Lily had once recognised in him was gone. He looked even less like the boy that she used to know. No, he wasn't the boy that she used to know. He saw her too, and as quickly as their gaze had met, Lily broke it, turning her back to him as she tried to forget that she had even seen him at all.

( Two hours later )

The sorting ceremony never took long. Gryffindor had taken on ten new eager faces, who sat nervously near the front of the hall, while Lily made a conscious decision to not look over at the Slytherin table. The welcome feast was always the best that year and Lily had eaten as much as she could stomach before she was ready to retire. But first, she needed to walk the first years back to their dormitory. There had still been no sign of James Potter. Not that she had noticed.

The maze of corridors in the castle were easier for her to navigate as a sixth year, and the small group of first years that accompanied her looked just as lost as she had on her first day. She'd made her way to the portrait for their common soon, and spoke the password Lions Mane. After a few short minutes of making sure that they were settled, she left the first years to enjoy their first night inside the castle, prompting them to stay inside until breakfast tomorrow.

The sixth year common room wasn't far, and Lily quite enjoyed the quiet. She almost wasn't ready to go into her own dormitory, where she was certain that more gossiping would ensue.

"There she is." A voice spoke, and Lily refused to turn around. Instead, she kept walking forward. "Go on, Severus." Encouraged another of the group. "Do it."

The name- that name- made her falter for a moment. It was the last name she wanted to hear right now. Still, she shuddered to think what they were encouraging him to do. No. She stopped herself. That wasn't her problem. He wasn't her problem. Not anymore. He wasn't the boy that she once knew.

"Well if you aren't going to-" The voice spoke, which Lily now recognised as Avery.

Footsteps approached the prefect, and she walked even faster, but it wasn't long until the group caught up with the redhead, standing in her way across the isolated corridor. Avery stood in front of her. He was tall, and he had dark blond hair which he kept tidily. His face was slim, and seemed to be made from stone. His eyes were sharp, and his voice sharper. "Well, well." He sang, a smug grin across his face. Two wizards stood by his side. Mulciber, a dark haired boy with a stern expression, and him. She didn't look at him. "I'm surprised you've returned this year-"

"Why wouldn't I?" Lily questioned quickly, refusing to give him a chance to continue.

Avery didn't appreciate being interrupted, and it showed across his sour face. "Because people like you aren't welcome. Not anymore." The blond paused, waiting for her witty comeback, but met silence. "I thought you'd learned your lesson last year." His voice was still crass, but it held a hint of amusement. At that, he turned to give the boy on his left a grin. The boy didn't return the smile, and instead he dropped his gaze to the cold, stone floor. "Or do you need to be reminded?"

Swallowing, Lily refused to be intimidated. "I have every right to be here-"

"No!" Avery stopped her, his voice somehow even more piercing. "You have no right to be here, mudblood." There it was. The word that took the breath out of her lungs. She stood, stunned in front of the three boys. If only she had taken Mary's offer to be accompanied in taking the first years. "Go on, Severus. Finish the job this time." The boy grabbed his friend, pushing him forward to be face to face with Lily. "Do it, Severus." He encouraged, and reluctantly, the dark haired wizard raised his wand at her. His eyes didn't quite meet hers until his wand was pointing directly at her, a sadness to his features. Lily almost felt sorry for him. Almost. "Do it."

A flash of blue light caused her to flinch, but after a moment, she realised that she had not been hit. Instead, before her, Severus had fallen to the floor, and the two wizards that accompanied him were running away. One, Avery, was pulled from where he stood and was hung upside down by his leg by an unseen force. He squealed, dropping his wand to the floor, before he too was dropped, landing with a thud on the stone floor. Scrambling, the three boys ran as fast as they could, away from Lily and the force that had protected her. It was then that the redhead turned behind her, meeting the gaze of somebody that she didn't expect to see.

"..Potter."

( Two hours earlier )

James had snuck away from the train as soon as they had pulled into the station. He definitely wasn't getting an addiction, no. He could stop any time that he wanted. The last thing he'd meant was for his friends to send out a search party. All of which, he avoided, sitting on the grass away from the rest of his year. He thought, for a while, about the potential that the year held. He wondered about the pranks that him and his friends would pull. Who would be their first victim? His mind wandered to the girls; first of which, was Lily Evans. He'd had a crush on her for years, and, unlike the cigarette that hung from his lips, it was no secret. James had asked her out, and been rejected, an embarrassing amount of times. But no, this summer he had told himself that the infatuation was over. He was over Lily Evans.

See, the thing about Lily Evans was that she was everything that James wasn't. She worked hard in classes and received outstanding grades. She was kind, and attentive, even to those who, in James's mind, weren't worthy of it. She remembered everybody's name, and would make time for anybody that needed it. Which always seemed to be somebody. You see, the thing most annoying about Lily Evans was that everybody loved her. Most of all, James.

Once the carriages had left, he felt confident enough to begin walking towards the castle. If he was lucky, he'd miss the entire sorting ceremony. Who cared about the first years, anyway? As long as he made it there in time for the welcoming feast, he knew that he could slide in without anybody really noticing that he had been missing.

But it had been longer than he had anticipated. Not only had he missed the sorting ceremony, but the feast too. His stomach rumbled. There was only one place that he could go.. The kitchens.

Patting his full stomach, he left the kitchens less than half an hour later. He was truly stuffed. Now he just needed to get back to the common room without being caught. A task that was much too easy for the marauder. He knew Filches patrol like clockwork, and all of the staff would be too busy getting ready for their first day back to worry about Potter walking the castle at night. The smell of smoke on him was almost gone, but just to be sure James pulled out his wand and waved it down his robes, eliminating any lingering smell. Well, he had to keep the secret somehow.

That was when he saw her. Red hair, not even glancing in his direction. She was alone. And though he wanted to go over and speak to her, he had stopped himself. Old habits really did die hard. No, he had meant it. His obsession with Lily Evans was over. But before he took another step, three more students turned the corner, cloaks decorated with green, following her silently. And among them was Severus Snape. James watched, almost hiding in the neighbouring corridor, as they went the same way that the sixth year girl had gone. "Go on, Severus." Encouraged one of the group. "Do it." And though he had promised himself that he would no longer be infatuated with her, he couldn't help but follow.

( Present )

"You're welcome, Evans." He grinned, putting his wand back into his cloak pocket. James always had an air of confidence around him. A confidence that seemed to impress everybody. But not her.

"I didn't-" Lily shook her head, her fists balling up in frustration, which was written across her pale face. "You didn't need to do that."

James raised his eyebrow. "From where I was stood-"

"He wouldn't have hurt me!" She protested. And maybe she still believed that on some level. She wanted to believe that. Even though she didn't recognise him anymore, she wanted to believe that her ex-best friend wouldn't actually hurt her."You didn't need to do that." She repeated, softer.

For a moment, he was taken back. But it didn't last, and he didn't let it show. "And miss out on a chance to show up Snivellus? Never." His arrogance heightened, and with it, a smirk across his face.

"Why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Call him that?" She folded her arms. James had a habit of nicknaming everybody in the school, including himself. He found it much easier to remember than their real names. Snape had earned the nickname Snivellus in his second year at Hogwarts. Which was, not by coincidence, the same year that the former had started crushing on Lily Evans. But that didn't matter. Because he was over it now. Shrugging, James refused to answer. The lack of reply caused the redhead to retreat, turning to leave.

"Why are you always so unimpressed with everything that I do?" He questioned, before she'd fully turned away from him.

Turning her head to face him, her green eyes met his. There was a hesitation, and James almost held his breath. "Because it's you that does it." She answered with spite, and walked away.

"Give it back!" Peter cried as Sirius toyed with his friend's wand, holding it higher so that the smaller, Peter, couldn't reach. Sirius had long black hair, which stopped just before his shoulder, a pale complexion, and a height advantage. Peter on the other hand, had short, messy sand coloured hair, which became messier with each jump as he attempted to get his wand back.

The boys dormitory wasn't huge, and contained four single beds, all with curtains attached for their own privacy. One of the beds had remained untouched, belonging to James Potter. The room was decorated in orange and red; the house colours.

Remus lay on his bed, flicking through his copy of The Daily Prophet, barely paying attention to what was happening just feet away from him. He was much more interested in the bold headlines which occupied the pages. With his hair now out of his face, a light scar could be seen, reaching across his nose and finishing on his cheek. There was speculation on how he'd accumulated it, ranging from battling dragons to falling off his broom, but Remus never confirmed or denied anything.

"Padfoot, I'm not kidding." Peter whined, jumping to try to grab his wand back.

"Oh come on, Wormtail. You can jump higher than that." Sirius teased, before looking off in the distance to think. "Wait. Can rats jump high?" He asked the other in the room. Remus shrugged, not taking his eyes off the paper, and Peter continued to jump.

"If you don't give it back I'll-"

"You'll?"

Peter paused. "I'll hex you."

Sirius laughed, waving the others wand high in the air. "With what wand?" He teased, causing the smaller boy to groan.

"If he doesn't hex you, I will." A voice from the doorway interrupted the games. James walked into the room, stopping to sit down on his bed. "Why did you let him take your wand again, Wormtail?" He exasperated.

"I didn't do it on purpose." Peter sighed, jumping again to finally grab his wand from Sirius's grasp, who had given up in trying to tease the other, his attention now on James.

Even Remus had put his newspaper down, a hint of worry across his face. "Where have you been? It's dark."

James shrugged, completely nonchalant. "I fancied a walk." The others exchanged a glance. It wasn't unusual for James to wander around the castle, especially at night. But he almost always gave his friends a heads up first.

Remus' expression didn't change. "Where?"

"With who?" Sirius added, interest piqued as he sat down on his bed too. There was no worry in his expression. Unlike the others, he was used to his best friend's habits. Over the summer he had stayed with the Potters after some family drama in his own house.

"Around the grounds. Alone. What's the big deal?"

"We were looking for you everywhere." Answered Remus, sitting up now.

"Well you needn't bother. I'm fine."

"You missed the feast." Peter added once he had safely tucked his wand away in his pocket.

"I went to the kitchens." He beamed a toothy grin. The elves there were somewhat familiar with the four boys, and were no stranger to them turning up to eat leftovers from their feasts. "You guys worry too much." With that, James leaned back against his headboard, folding his arms behind his head.

Sirius agreed, giving a glance at Remus. He did worry too much. "We thought you were with that Hufflepuff girl.. What's her name?"

"Hannah?" Peter spoke, his voice quiet and unsure.

"The one."

"Who's Hannah?" James enquired, suddenly interested at the mention of a girl.

"Longbottoms ex girlfriend." Clarified Peter, tugging at the fabric of his sleeve. James looked even more confused, shooting a glance over to Sirius for help.

Sighing, Sirius understood at once. "Weeds." He said simply, and it was like something had clicked in James's mind.

"That's what people are saying?" The boy asked, an eyebrow raised. The others nodded. Quickly, he shook his head to dismiss rumours, the black curls on his head becoming messy. "Why would I be with Weeds? Isn't she dating-"

"They broke up."

"Oh." James didn't care much for school gossip. Especially anything that didn't involve himself. "They could've come up with somebody better than Weeds." He sighed, one hand playing with the thin frame of his glasses.

"Like who?"

"I don't know. Like-"

"Like Evans." Sirius spoke, too quickly, followed by a laugh which echoed to the other two marauders.

It didn't quite reach James. Rolling his eyes, he threw his pillow at his roommate with force. "Shut up, Padfoot."

September 5th 1977

It was always weird, Lily thought, coming back to Hogwarts after being at home for months. At home, she couldn't use magic. It was illegal, by magic law, to use it underage and in the presence of a muggle; and back home she lived with three. But being back at the castle meant that Lily could use magic as much as she wanted. And she did. She could charm her hairbrush to brush through the knots in her hair when she was too tired to do so. She needn't make her bed the long way, why, just wave your wand at it and the bed would make itself. Lily had missed using magic.

The class that she had missed the most was one which she excelled in; potions. The exact science of it came naturally to her. It helped, also, that Professor Slughorn was her favourite teacher, and she his favourite student. It was for this reason that Lily felt awful about running late to his class. Her punctuality, just like her grades, were outstanding.

Once the bell had rung for A History of Magic to finish, the redhead had set off to make it to Slughorn's classroom. If she was early enough, which she usually was, she could ask him how his summer had been before the rest of the students arrived.

"Miss. Excuse me, m-miss." A small boy ran out in front of her in the crowded corridor.. His eyes were wide, like a deer in the headlights. It took a moment before Lily placed him; of course, the red crest on his robes gave it away. He was one of the first years that she had walked back to Gryffindors tower that first day. Though she was rushed, the redhead smiled at him politely. "I'm sorry.. I'm l-lost. I c-can't find anybody that I know." He stuttered nervously. "C-can you tell me where the greenhouses are?"

The greenhouses, of course, were on the other side of the castle from where she was headed. It caused a moral dilemma for Lily; show the boy where his class was, and risk being late to her own class, or let the boy fend for himself and end up even more lost in the huge castle? The answer was, annoyingly, simple for her.

"This way." She pointed. "I'll walk you there." She spoke with a smile as she began to lead the way towards the greenhouses, through the bustling corridors of the castle. Lily was, as Marlene had criticised, too nice for her own good sometimes. "Who do you have for Herbology?" She enquired, making conversation with the boy.

"I- um, P-professor Beerly."

She nodded. "He's lovely." She reassured him. "He likes it when people ask a lot of questions. And if you score highly on his quizzes, he gives out sweets." This made the boys' eyes light up. Lily, of course, always scored highly on the quizzes.

"Thank you miss."

"Lily." She corrected, her smile reaching her eyes.

"Miss Lily." The kid smiled back, his nerves washed away. "I'm Harry Stibbons."

Five minutes. Lily looked at her watch and saw that she was five whole minutes late. As fast as she could, she rushed to her class, which was easier now that all of the corridors were empty.

"And that's how-"

She burst through the door, red hair windswept and her breathing laboured. Slughorn stopped immediately, pausing to look at her.

"I'm sorry." She panted "A first year-" She began to explain, but the profesor held his hand up for her to stop.

"All well, Lily. No harm done." He mused, not needing to hear the rest of her explanation. "You haven't missed much. Please find your seat." And with that he turned back to the class.

"But don't underestimate this potion-" Slughorn droned in the background, while Lily looked around for her seat.

A set of blonde curls, half up in a red ribbon, sat at their usual table in the middle of the class, but as Lily stepped closer she realised the seat beside the blonde was taken. Black hair, just above the shoulder. She recognised him at once. Sirius. She walked over, as quietly as she could, to stand next to the occupied table. Marlene turned to her with a smile, waving softly, before the redhead turned her attention to her male companion.

"Get up." She whispered, but Sirius shook his head. She grabbed at his robe, pulling him off the chair, but with little success.

"Lily. Please sit." Slughorn called out, causing the girl's cheeks to redden.

"Sir, there's-"

"There seems to be a spare seat at the back there."

Turning, the redhead saw that there was indeed an open seat at one of the back tables. Only one person sat there. It's inhabitant, and subsequently her partner; James Potter. She sighed. It had all clicked in her head. Sirius sat happily in her space, next to Marlene. But Sirius's chair remained empty. For her. Turning back to the black haired boy beside her, she noticed a smug grin on his face. "Go on." He muttered, causing her to grind her teeth.

Lily didn't cause a fuss, especially not in her favourite teachers class, and so she disgruntledly made her way to the back of the room and sat down in the free chair without a sound.

"Hey, Evans." James mused, but was met with silence as the redhead pulled out her books. Her attention shifted to Slughorn in an attempt to catch up on what she had missed, while her fingertips scrambled, turning the pages as she listened intently for a hint of what they were studying today. "Page 15." Potter whispered, leaving over to her side of the table. Nodding, Lily turned to the page, still not saying a word.

"Now, in your pairs I want you to try to make a draught of peace. Remember, this is a very highly skilled potion, which will take a lot of patience and care. The pair that succeeds will get extra credit on their assignments." Slughorn finished, before turning away as the class erupted into noise.

Silently, she began tracing the instructions on the paper, reading them inside her head. Though her grades were always outstanding, Lily couldn't say no to extra credit when it was offered.

"Evans." He spoke in a loud whisper, distracting her momentarily from her reading, though she didn't look up. "Why were you late?" There was a teasing edge to his voice, and it caused her to grind her teeth once more. Her silence only encouraged him. "Have you ever been late before?" She said nothing, frustration growing. A laugh escaping his lips, he turned to face her. "You haven't, have you? You really are a goody-two-shoes."

Looking up from her book, Lily glanced in his direction, catching a glimpse of the amusement on his face. "Because I follow the rules?" James nodded enthusiastically, causing her to groan. "Sorry if I want to do well in school." Lily looked back at her book, before reaching out to grab a small bottle labeled Honeywater.

James watched idly. "I'm late and I do well in school." Not that he felt the need to defend himself. He wished that she would loosen up a little.

"I've seen you in detention more times than I can count." Lily added a few drops of the liquid into the cauldron, a small fizzing noise emitting from the pot.

A smile crept up his face, reaching his hazel eyes. "Ah, so you have seen me." Sighing, Lily set the bottle down, before she began looking for the next ingredient. She didn't want to entertain whatever conversation he was trying to initiate. She had been late, and she'd lost her partner. Her partner who she had worked with for the last three years. To Sirius Black. "Come on, Evans. I'm not that bad."

For the second time, her gaze cast over him, noticing first how brightly his eyes were, and then the way that they watched her. "Can you pass me the ginger?" Was her response, to which he chuckled. With a nod, he grabbed the pot of ginger and held it out for her. Lily took a pinch and added it, before reaching for another.

"I haven't even had detention yet." He said confidently. He was always so confident. It was almost endearing, if she hadn't found it awfully annoying.

"It's only been four days." A smile finally reaching her lips, Lily shook her head, her eyes shifting between the potion that was beginning to steam and her partner. "I bet that it won't last long."

James's eyes lit up. "Bet?"

"Err.." The redhead turned to him, a nervous look about her.

"C'mon. Live a little." He smiled, to which she rolled her eyes. "If I don't have detention for a week-"

"Two weeks." She corrected, a smile working its way onto her lips. He noticed, and nodded in agreement.

"If I don't have detention for two weeks, you have to go on a date with me."

Lily's eyes widened. No, she couldn't agree to that. "I don't think-"

He cut her off. "But if I do, I'll leave you alone."

Pursing her lips, the redhead looked at him with thought. He could be bluffing. How could she trust his word? James grinned in return, holding up both hands to show that his fingers weren't crossed.

"You'll leave me alone for good?"

"For good." He repeated. "Solemnly swear."

Her lips curved into a smile. James Potter would leave her alone for good. Not only that, but he would have to leave her alone. There was no way that he would last the next two weeks without getting in trouble. Hell, he couldn't last two days without getting caught hexing a first year or insulting a teacher. Yes, this was the answer that LIly had been hoping for. He held out his hand for her to shake, raising an eyebrow as he waited for her response.

"Deal." And they sealed it with a handshake. It was then that she noticed how soft his hands were. His grip was strong, but not tight, and for a moment she swore she felt something in the pit of her stomach. No. Pulling away, her smile turned into a light laugh. "I can't wait for you to lose."

"Careful, Evans." James replied, mirroring the smile woven into her features. "Somebody might accuse you of having fun." To that, she laughed once more, rolling her eyes at him playfully.

As class finished, Lily waved goodbye to her partner, and waited for Marlene to do the same. The two girls left, as did the rest of the class, until just two boys remained. The two marauders met in the doorway, Black giving his friend a positively smug grin. Their plan had worked.

"Nice one, Prongs." He complimented, tipping his imaginary hat to him. James bowed in response, a laugh leaving his lips. "How did you know she'd take the bait?"

They began walking, slowly so as to leave some space between themselves and the rest of their classmates, "I knew that she couldn't say no to a first year in trouble." James replied, which received a pat on the back from Sirius. "Which reminds me, you owe that little shit two galleons."

Pausing, Sirius looked at James with a blank stare. "I owe what?"

James shifted, his smile widening at his friend. "I wasn't the only one who benefited from Sprites handiwork. I saw you and Marlene McKinnon." At the mention of the blonde's name, Sirius's attitude switched. He became almost bashful, with a hint of smug. James put his arm around his best friend, pulling him in close as they walked. "You're welcome. And you can thank me by paying that kid two galleons."

Sighing, Sirius shook his head disapprovingly. "Why couldn't you have just threatened to hang him off the astronomy tower like we usually do.."

September 12th, 1977

A week had passed, and true to his word, James had avoided getting any detentions. It wasn't without difficulties, of course. The marauders were infamous for their pranks. Once, James had been close to getting caught, until Peter had run interference and cleared his name. Another time, Sirius had happily taken the blame for hexing a third year boy who, as he claimed, wouldn't call him "your highness." Yes, this was too easy.

Lily had maintained her punctuality, and her seat next to James in potions. For the first time since they had met all of those years ago, she had finally begun to see how intelligent Potter really was. He could do almost any potion without much thought. It's like it came naturally to him. And it left Lily in a kind of awe that she hadn't experienced before.

It was a cold Monday afternoon, and the girls had finished their classes for the day. The corridor wasn't busy, as they began to make their way back to the common room to relax before dinner began in the great hall. Lily walked, almost arm in arm with her two roommates.

"Y'know, at first I didn't think we'd have anything in common but-" Marlene began.

"You and Black? In common?" Mary asked with a raised brow. "What would you both have in common?"

Lily looked between them both. She had noticed how well Sirius and her friend had been getting along since the seating arrangement in potions. Often Marlene would speak about something funny that he had said, or how he had looked at her a certain way. It was a way that Lily had seen Marlene about boys in the past, but she had never expected to see her fawning over Sirius Black.

"We have a lot in common." The blonde argued, brushing her ringlets behind her ear. "He likes the same music as me. We said that we're going to go and see Crimson Wands next summer."

"Five galleons says you won't even be talking by next summer." Mary bet, which Marlene met with a smirk and a nod.

A distant voice interrupted their conversation. "Lily!"

The redhead froze in place, her heart sinking into her stomach. Mary and Marlene stopped, just steps ahead of her; when they turned, their faces reflected Lily's tension.

"Lily, wait."

She wanted to run, honestly, but her feet couldn't move out from underneath her. Not because of any hex or spell, but out of the sheer weight that her heart carried when she had heard his voice. They still hadn't spoken a word since last year. Not since it happened.

He moved into her vision, much to Lily's disapproval. "I need to talk-"

"You've done enough talking, don't you think?" Marlene interrupted, her hands on her hips as the boy tried to move closer to the prefect.

"I think you need to go." Mary folded her arms across her chest, glaring at the other. The two girls stood on either side of the boy, ready to pull him back if their friend asked them to.

"Please, Lily." He begged. For the first time in months, the redhead actually saw him up close. His eyes were dark, almost consumed by blackness, and wore thick dark bags under them. His jet black hair was tucked behind his ear in a fashion unlike Lily had seen before. He looked sick, she thought, though she wished that she didn't care.

Marlene raised her eyebrow, her hand on her wand in case she might need it, while Mary continued to stare at him with daggers in her eyes. "You need to leave her alone." The blonde spoke.

"Not until she tells me to." His eyes never left her emerald ones, and Lily wished that the ground would open up and swallow her whole. She didn't want to tell him to go, but she struggled to breathe with him around. "Lily?" He encouraged her to speak. "I'm sorry, okay?"

And while she had waited months for an apology, the two words meant nothing to her. "I can't do this right now." Were the only words that the redhead could get out, before she pushed past him, her legs on autopilot to get to the Gryffindor common room as quickly as she could. Hot tears in her eyes threatened to fall down her flushed cheeks, blurring her eyesight as she clutched her books tighter against her chest before-

BUMP

Not looking where she was going, the redhead ran straight into somebody unsuspecting, her book falling to the floor. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." She repeated, tears falling from her eyes.

"Lily?" Spoke a soft voice that she recognised, though only from her prefect meetings, and Lily looked up into blue eyes that watched her. "Hey- why are you crying?"

"I'm sorry, Frank. I was-" She paused, not wanting to divulge information, before footsteps caught up with her in the corridor.

"Lily?" Mary asked, putting an arm around her friend at the sight of tears. Lily felt embarrassment running through her. It wasn't enough that Severus had made her cry, but now Frank, the head boy, had seen her too.

"I'll kill him." Said Marlene, one hand clutching onto her wand tightly. Fiercely protective. That was how you could describe Marlene. The sweetest person to those close to her, but the first to charge into battle at the drop of a hat.

"Who?" Frank questioned, leaning down to pick up the prefect's book.

"Snape." Mary said in a hushed tone, taking the book from the seventh year boy, before mouthing "thank you" at him. Frank said nothing, though he had heard about their altercation the year before. It wasn't exactly a secret around the school, but Lily still didn't wish to talk about it. "We should get back to the common room." She urged, her arm sliding down the redheads back as she began to pull her forward. Marlene, on the other hand, looked like she still wanted to seek revenge. "Mar, c'mon." She encouraged, and reluctantly the blonde followed.

"Crimson Wands?" Remus repeated, an eyebrow raised as he looked up from his book.

Leaning back against the corridor wall, Peter shrugged. "I've never heard you listen to Crimson Wands."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "I listen to them sometimes. That isn't the point. The point is, I can tell she's into me." Like James, Sirius had a confidence about him that oozed with ease.

Remus looked back down at his own book, avoiding the subject, while Peter looked to James for confirmation.

"She hasn't tried to curse him yet." He shrugged, to which Remus chuckled. In honesty, James hadn't been paying much attention to the tables around him. It had been hard enough trying to focus on the lessons while Lily served as a perfect distraction.

"She likes me." Sirius confirmed, though he wasn't convincing anybody. "Just watch. I bet-"

A flurry of red hair caught James's attention, his friends voices fading into the background. Where was she in a rush to get to? He watched as she bumped into Frank Longbottom, the Head Boy, and that was enough to keep him from going over. Frank wasn't a fan of James's pranks, or how often he had needed to clean up after him to avoid Gryffindor from losing more points than they'd earned. Instead, he stayed back, a keen ear on the conversation.

"I'm sorry."

"Why are you crying?" Two more witches arrived on the scene, the dark haired girl throwing an arm around Lily, and James's felt his stomach turn, making more of an effort to listen closer.

"So I told Mar-" Sirius bragged, his voice loud and confident.

"Shut up, Padfoot." James instructed, his eyes firmly on the redhead.

"What?" Sirius bit back, but the dark haired wizard followed his brother's gaze to where Lily and her friends stood. A silence fell over the group of four, as Remus put his book down, and Peter nervously stood behind the others.

"I'll kill him."

"Who?"

"Snape."

The Slytherin retreated back towards his dormitory, feeling foolish and embarrassed. A rage boiled inside of him that he didn't understand. Why wouldn't she just talk to him? They had been best friends since they were 8, way back before either of them had stepped foot inside the school. But things had been different since she had arrived here. Lily had begun to hang around with the other Gryffindor's, and her attitude had changed. She'd become, in Snape's words, too high and mighty to be friends with the likes of him.

Yes, from the first day in the school, their friendship had been tested. First, by their separation into different houses. Snape had watched his best friend walk right by him every day to sit at a different table in the great hall. Of course, they met up outside of that, often in the library to study together. And on more than one occasion, Lily seated next to him in classes; their favourite together was potions. But as the years progressed, Severus had felt her slipping away. She was changing. Leaving him behind. She spent more time in the Gryffindor tower than before, often with the girls that she followed everywhere. But when he had seen her talking to him, there was something that snapped in his mind. That was when he knew that he had lost her for good.

Throwing his wand onto his bed first, and then himself, Snape fought back tears. If the others saw him crying they'd make fun of him, definitely. That was the thing about his new friends, they took no weaknesses. And Severus never showed any in front of them. They made him feel stronger. More powerful, somehow. Something that Lily couldn't do.

"You should've seen the look on her face." A voice echoed as it entered the room, followed by two distinct kinds of laughter, and Snape quickly regained his composure. He sat up on his bed, expression fading into a vacant one. "Oh, Severus, I was wondering where you'd got to." Avery, the ring leader of the sixth year Slytherin boys nodded in his direction.

"I've just been here." Snape lied simply. He couldn't tell them about his run in with Lily. He couldn't risk it. They were already suspicious of his relationship with the redhead, and so far he'd been doing everything he could to throw them off the idea that he and Lily were still friends. "What did you do?" He asked.

"Avery hexed a third year mudblood." Mulciber boasted proudly, and Snape's expression didn't change.

"Just a simple knee reversing spell." Avery said modestly, as the other two awed him. "She'll think twice before she walks in front of me again."

Avery walked over to the foot of his bed, where he opened his trunk, pulling out a bar of luxury chocolate. He broke off a single piece, and placed the bar back in with his belongings. "Have you thought about my offer?" Snape looked at him, neither saying yes or no, just staring blankly at him. He'd thought. All he had done was think. But he still didn't have an answer for his roommate. Avery threw the chocolate into his mouth, "I need an answer soon. He wants to meet us by the end of the month." He spoke so plainly, as if he was telling somebody how he liked his tea. but Snape's heart was in his throat. The end of the month? That was only weeks away..

A/N: So that was my first chapter, and I have some idea of where the stories heading but we'll see what you guys think first! At first I was making the chapters kind of short so they'd be more readable but realised that means I'd have to write about 100 chapters to get to the end of this story. A couple of chapters coming up are focused on different characters so we don't just get a lot of James and Lily, but I hope this chapter gives you your Jily fix for the month!

Please leave reviews. They are James throwing pillows at Sirius x