The Enemies Who Fell in Love

A/N: Okay…This is my first romance fic, and my first L/J fic. So…please don't be too hard on me! Especially because I have no idea how the whole plot dropped into my head. I've never even had a boyfriend!

So if this is total crap, you can flame…but please flame nicely! AND REVIEW!!!

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The Enemies Who Fell in Love

Lily Evans, a girl with mercilessly curly red hair hanging to her waist and bright green eyes sat on her bed looking tired and thoughtful. Time to pull another prank on James Potter. He'd gotten ahead of her today in their "prank war", as you could call it, by sending her a Howler with a hex on it and throwing a Dungbomb, over two tables, into the middle of her food.

She remembered again why she'd gotten into this contest of prank-pulling. James, in their first year, had said her eyes looked like a plant and wondered out loud what kind of plant was growing inside her head instead of her brain, to make her so dumb and her eyes that color. She'd thrown a Dungbomb at him (…and a couple knives…hehe…), and that had started the "war", which had been going on until third year, the year they were in now. It was starting to get boring, but neither of them would have dreamed of ending it.

And Lily was smart. That was why she had been put in Ravenclaw. She'd figure more and more pranks out until she finally collapsed, or until she won over James.

Lily thought a moment, then sighed and took 20 Filibuster's Fireworks, 30 Dungbombs, and 10 Howlers out from under her bed. It would take a lot to subdue James Potter this time. He seemed to have been trying to torment her even more lately. Tripping her in the halls, throwing fireworks in her cauldron, casting spells on her food, sending her Howlers, and throwing Dungbombs. She wished it would stop.

Sure, they'd always been pretty much enemies, but it sometimes Lily thought maybe it would be better if she were just friends with him. She realized that if he weren't playing so many pranks on her all the time, that she might actually quite like him.

He was a great student, as smart as her (that was one reason they fought), and he was pretty nice to everyone except her as well. And everyone loved his pranks, except Lily, who experienced them too much. Sometimes, they made her want to cry. And he never seemed to be a bit regretful about how embarrassed she got when he sent her a Howler and insulted her, for example. Of course, if she ever really cried, she thought he would probably at least show some regret. But he would never want to be friends with her.

Lily went downstairs to start her day specializing in pranks on James Potter.

*****

By the end of the day, she had thrown all the Dungbombs at James at various times, thrown all 20 fireworks into James' cauldron during Potions, and sent him all 10 Howlers at breakfast. A very satisfying day on the whole, she thought, watching the lake as she sat at its edge.

But she wondered how James had felt. She was almost sure, that after throwing about the 10th Dungbomb at him, for a split second, James had looked as sad and regretful as she was about the whole thing. But just for that split second. In the next moment, it was gone, and she wasn't quite sure it had ever really happened. But it had got her thinking.

She took a piece of parchment out of her pocket and began to write, sitting there on the edge of the lake, her curly hair hanging in her face.. A few minutes later, she was just standing up and tucking it back in her pocket, with a sad and thoughtful look on her face, when it was snatched out of her hands.

Lily spun around very quickly, furious and scared of whoever-it-was looking at the parchment. Then, she saw James, waving it back and forth. It was all she could do to keep from crying. Oh, dammit dammit dammit!

He sang, "I've got Lily's parchment! I've got Lily's parchment! How about I rip up your homework, Lily?"

"Give the damn thing back!" she screamed. His mean singing and her screams had gathered a crowd of other people that had been sitting by the lakeside as well.

"Oooh, shy, are we?" He laughed, with his eyes twinkling mischeviously, and looked at the parchment, holding it out of Lily's reach, as she was quite a bit shorter.

He began to read. Aloud. In front of the crowd. Lily felt the tears threatening to pour out of her eyes, but they weren't quite there yet. And this was what she'd written:

James, James read mockingly, staring for just a second at his name, I know that we aren't really friends--more like arch-enemies. But I want to be friends, James, I really do. And I really like you, James. I think you're smart, and--

"And you're nice to everyone except me!" Lily interrupted. The flood gates opened and tears poured from her eyes. "You're smart and nice and really, James…" She fled across the grounds, crying.

"Lily!" James cried, regretting what he'd done. He looked as downcast as Lily, although he wasn't crying. The crowd dispersed a bit to let him through in case he wanted to run after her, but he stayed still for a few more moments and read the rest of the letter silently.

--and you're nice to everyone besides me. I think you would be nice to me if you let yourself. But I know you won't be letting yourself anytime soon.

So, I just have one thing left to say, James. I love you, love you with all my heart, but you'll go on as my arch-enemy, because you'd laugh at me if I delivered this letter. You'd never speak to me again, not even tauntingly.

Love always,

Lily

Now he ran after her. The crowd let him through, then stared after him as he ran toward Lily. He could have won a few medals for sprinting in the Olympics.

He caught up to her just before she entered the castle, and the crowd went away to mind their own business, figuring they'd better leave these two alone.

"Lily!" he cried, seeing her about to let herself in, with the tears still streaming down her face. "Lily!"

"Damn you, James. Damn you." Lily whispered. "So, now what will you do? Go ahead. Taunt me for the rest of my life. Yell. Whatever you plan to do to break my heart. Just get it done quickly." She leaned with her face against the wall, crying softly. She was ashamed of herself for bursting out like this, but she'd been holding these tears in for more than two years. And he read it. He read that letter. Why did he have to read that particular piece of parchment? Why couldn't she have just been doing homework, as he'd thought at first?

"Lily! Look at me!" James yelled.

Lily turned around slowly, her eyes red and pained-looking.

Suddenly, James closed the space between them and kissed her softly on the lips.

Then, he stepped away, and he looked as surprised as she felt. "Oh God…" Lily heard him mutter. He blushed faintly.

Then, Lily couldn't take it anymore.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, you freak?!" she shrieked. It was bad enough having him read that letter, but to make fun of her like this!

"Lily…I, er…I…" He gulped, staring at her angry green eyes. He had to do it now. You're such a dumb git, James, he thought.

"I…I l-love you, Lily." James thought he was probably giving off heat from how embarrassed he was.

"Right," Lily said bitterly. "What kind of trick are you playing, Potter? You know you don't love me at all."

James was even more embarrassed, and he was ashamed of himself for hurting her feelings so badly. He hadn't known…hadn't known…just like he hadn't known that he loved her so much until he read that letter. He'd thought he was starting to like her before, but not this much.

"Oh, Lily…but I do. I do. You don't know how much." He magicked a lily. Hopefully, her favorite flower. It matched her name. "Please. Just take this. I-I know that you'll probably never forgive me, now, after all I've done, but please just take the flower."

Lily looked up into his face, into his brown eyes that were twinkling no longer, and hesitantly reached out for the lily, taking it from him as he pleadingly held it out.

Suddenly, a great happiness spread across her features, until her whole face was glowing from it. He doesn't hate me, Lily thought, almost in disbelief. He loves me. He doesn't hate me. He loves me.

Lily abruptly ran up and threw her arms around James' neck, clutching the lily in one small hand.

"James…I love you too."

And there it was. Spoken. Not written, and not spoken mockingly, but spoken in the most sincere way possible.

They both knew there would be laughing when people found out that Lily Evans and James Potter, the biggest enemies in all of Hogwarts, had become a couple, but they didn't care. They just slowly made their way toward the castle, holding hands, while everyone by the lake laughed, with the sound ringing out across the grounds.

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So…how did you like it? I know it was kind of weird, but hey! That's my style.

This actually came partly from a dream I had. I dreamed about this girl with long, curly red hair, like my version of Lily, and a boy. And then this whole thing popped into my head sometime last night, and I wasn't able to fall asleep until I'd at least written it on paper.

I hope you enjoyed my first L/J fic…AND REVIEW!!!

-Hermione2