Disclaimer: Well, let's see. If I was J.K. Rowling, I'd be a wonderful writer. And I'm not. So there's your disclaimer.

A/N: Enjoy the chapter! And the third chapter of 'Of Love Letters and Hatred' is in the making. I stayed up all night writing and rewriting this, so I hope I got it all right.


"Alohomora!" Lily charmed a broom cupboard open to find a pair of second years tangled together. "Up you get, the two of you, back to your dorms. The next time I see you out of bed, I'm taking ten points off Ravenclaw!"

"Lily, wait. Hear that?" Whispers were coming from the other corridor. James grinned wickedly. "I'm going to go see what that's all about. Be right back." He turned the corner swiftly, leaving Lily all alone. She walked further along the corridor, charming cupboards open, and opening unsuspecting doors-

"Ah, we've got her now, Bella," a drawling voice said from behind her. Lily spun, facing three seventh year Slytherins. Two of them she knew: Bellatrix Black and Rodolphus Lestrange. Lily narrowed her eyes and drew her wand.

"What are you doing out of bed, the lot of you? Move along, now, before I have to take points off Slytherin."

"We came here for you, Lily dear," Bellatrix said, circling her. "Incarcerous!" Ropes bound Lily, tightly so that she couldn't move.

"Filthy Mudblood," Rodolphus sneered. "We should kill her, Bella."

"Let's not be so harsh, Rodolphus," she chastised. "She needs to suffer. Expelliarmus!" Lily's wand flew out of her hand.

"Why are you doing this?" Lily panicked. "I'll, I'll - James! James!"

"Potter is busy with a few others at the moment, Evans," The third Slytherin, who Lily now recognized as Julius Nott, said. "Hold your tongue. Silencio!" Now Lily was helpless, completely bound, wandless, and she couldn't scream for help. She couldn't cry out when they kicked her, yelled at her, slapped her. She couldn't do anything.

"Let's go, Bella," Julius urged. "Before anyone finds out." Bellatrix turned to Lily, a nasty smile on her face.

"Avada Ke-"

"Expelliarmus!" James appeared out of nowhere, dried blood on his cheek and a cut on his forearm. The Slytherins' wands flew into James's hand.

"I'll be reporting this to Dumbledore," James said, his voice dangerous. "Now leave. Go!" he barked, sending them scurrying away.

"Emancipare," he muttered, not taking his eyes off Lily. "Sonorus." Lily opened her mouth to say something, but a searing wave of pain hit her forehead, making her cry out.

"Lily! Oh Merlin..." he sat down next to her and pulled her close to him. There was blood trickling down the side of Lily's head, and she had cuts and bruises on her neck. Her eyes were barely open.

"Potter," she muttered, and the corner of James's mouth turned up. He stood, taking Lily with him, and gently picked her up, briskly walking to the hospital wing. Halfway there, she put her arms around his neck, and leaned her head against his chest. James's heart swelled. This is what he'd always imagined: Lily in his arms, the two of them laughing and smiling and utterly in love.

Then there was the chance that Lily didn't reciprocate his feelings.


"Potter!" Madam Pomfrey screeched when he entered. "What have you gotten the poor girl into this time?" She hurried over and started tending to Lily.

"We were doing rounds." He took a moment to regain his composure. "I heard whispers coming from the east corridor. I told Lily to stay while I checked on it. As soon as I stepped into the hallway, four Slytherins attacked me - I Stunned them, but then they simply disappeared. I heard Lily scream for help, but by the time I got back - " James gestured toward Lily. "There were three Slytherins who were attacking her."

"Did you identify any of the seven?"

"I could only identify those who went after Lily," James said. "Bellatrix Black, Rodolphus Lestrange, and Julius Nott."

"To think that those kinds of students attend Hogwarts," she muttered under her breath. She finished tending to Lily, brushed back her hair, and pulled the blanket over her. "Come here, boy," she commanded.

James winced as she cleaned the cut on the side of his face. "Will there be a scar?"

"Most likely," Madam Pomfrey said. "But it'll be gone within a few days. There," she said, placing a bandage on his forearm. "Go inform the Headmaster of what's happened."

"But Lily-"

"I'm here, aren't I? Now go."

"No need," Dumbledore stepped into the room. "Two young Ravenclaws told me of screaming coming from the west corridor a few minutes ago."

"Yes, sir."

"And was it Miss Evans who was in need of help, or you?"

"It-" James swallowed. "It was Lily, sir." Dumbledore's eyes softened. He whispered something to Madam Pomfrey, and they had a serious conversation just by the door.

"I'll take care of this, James," Dumbledore told him after he came back. "Remember - always stay alert, and when you're doing rounds - especially you two - always stay together."

"Yes, sir." With a grave expression on his face, Dumbledore left the room.

James spent the night in the infirmary, watching Lily sleep. Whenever he saw her, she was always so fierce. Now, as she slept, he noticed her delicate features, her closed eyes, her small mouth, partially turned up into a smile. James reached out to stroke her hair, to comfort her. Her neck was covered in cuts and bruises, and a surge of anger took over James. So what if she was a Muggle-born? So what if her parents weren't wizards?

And the way, oh - the horrible way she had screamed his name, full of terror and fear. That was when he knew something was definitely wrong.

"James," Lily murmured, eyes fluttering open. "Potter, what happened to you?" Lily touched the cut on James's cheek gently.

"What happened to James? Why am I Potter all of a sudden?" James tried to keep the mood light, but his voice cracked at the end, and he completely lost it. He lowered his head into his hands and let the tears come freely.

"James," Lily repeated urgently. "Is everything alright?"

"Merlin, no! Nothing's all right! They attacked you Lily, just because you're a Muggle-born, and hurt you, and - and you would have died! Black was going to kill you!" He raked his hands through his messy hair.

"Black, eh?" Lily closed her eyes. "One of Sirius's evil cousins, then?"

"Yeah. Bellatrix Black."

"She had Nott with her. And Lestrange." Lily's voice shook. "I didn't even understand at first. They - they called me a -" James silenced her by sitting on the bed next to her, pulling her close to him. He let himself cry, for all the pain and emotional hurt he'd put Lily through by not thinking things through.

"James, are you crying?"

"No. Why?"

"Don't lie to me. All these years I thought you were incapable of human emotion, and this year you're showing me a completely new person." This is your cue, James told himself. Now is when you're supposed to tell her.

"Lily, I-"

"Excuse me, Potter, Miss Evans," A worried McGonagall hurried into the room and took a seat by Lily. "Our own students," she muttered to herself. "This needs to stop."

"Hi, Professor," Lily mumbled. McGonagall smiled.

"Hello, dear," she said gently. "I presume you're feeling a little better?"

"Indeed, Professor."

"James here is doing a good job of looking after you." Lily raised her eyebrows at McGonagall and grinned.

"That he is." McGonagall leaned in slightly and beckoned to James, striding over to the corner of the room where Lily couldn't hear them.

"Just keep doing what you've been doing this year, and you'll have her in a matter of weeks." James gaped, astonished.

"How did you-"

"I was young once, Potter," she said. "I know young love when I see it. And it's not like you've been keeping it a secret." She looked meaningfully at Lily. "If you'd continued your behavior from previous years, I doubt she'd even look your way. Now you've got her wrapped around your finger, and you wrapped around hers. What's more, she's tutoring you in Transfiguration."

"Professor, about that," James stood. "My Transfiguration grades are quite high. Why did you assign me a tutor?"

"Ah," McGonagall said, leaving the room with a knowing smile on her face. "You see, Potter, sometimes teachers have to play matchmaker."


Don't you just love McGonagall sometimes? I love her. She's just that teacher. I wish I had a teacher like her, but life tends to give us things we'd rather not have. Like my math & science teacher back in sixth grade. Merlin, I hated her.

Anyway, I'm rambling. Sorry :) Hope you liked the chapter! And don't forget to leave a review, those help a lot. :)

-Vis