~*Author's Note*~ Ok guys this chapter is a combination of chapters two and three from the other one.  After this chapter everything is going to be new and original (I hope).  Again any suggestions and comments or even questions are welcome, but please no flames (i have a fragile ego).

Disclaimer: Yet again, I did not think up most of these characters, J. K. Rowling did.  If you see something new than it most likely belongs to me.  Sorry if this story sounds familiar to you, but I have not yet read one like it.

CHAPTER 2: THE PROPSAL

            "James Potter, Where have you been?!" yelled Lily, whose emerald eyes were narrowed in her fury.

            "What do you mean?" asked a bewildered James absentmindedly.  He had just gotten back from his outing with Luna.  He was extremely happy because their date had gone so well.  Luna had met him at the Quidditch pitch after his practice.  From there they walked around the lake talking about Quidditch.  James had learned that Luna's favorite team was the Pride of Portee because she thought their robes were cute.  She also told him that the famous Pride chaser, Catriona McCormak, who had so far been on the Scotland national team twenty times, had a son in the seventh year named Kirley.  He was starting his own band called The Weird Sisters.  But this conversation wasn't what was making James so happy.  At the end of their night, when they reached the entrance of Ravenclaw Tower (a suit of armor that was holding a mace) Luna had given him the best goodnight-kiss he had ever been given.  Even the suit of armor dropped his mace.  As he entered the Gryffindor common room at nine-thirty that night, however, he faced the wrath of the enraged Lily.

            "I waited for and hour for you in the library to work on our project.  Where the hell were you?"

            The entire common room, who was now listening intently, gasped.  Lily never, ever swore.  In fact, she lectured those who did for hours on the importance of keeping a civil tongue.  They all knew how angry she must be.  Everyone knew how much Lily valued schoolwork and her education.  Even the first years, who were stupid enough to start a game of Exploding Snap by her in their first week.  When the deck of cards exploded, it not only singed little Oscar Wood's eyebrows, but it had set Lily's Ancient Runes paper on fire.  She was so angry that she could have breathed fire and singed more than Oscar's eyebrows.

            A few people almost giggled at James' carelessness as a look of realisation dawned on his face.  He had completely forgotten about his meeting with Lily in the library in all his excitement over seeing Luna.

            "I... er... I was talking with Lun--,"

            But he was cut off by Lily once more.  "If your new flavour of the week is more important than your education, then I think you need to sort out your priorities a little better."  Perhaps, in her anger, she just wasn't thinking clearly, or perhaps she just wasn't thinking, but she jammed her hand into the pocket of her robes and pulled out her wand.  Again, the common room gasped as a whole; they had never before seen Lily this infuriated, she never hurt a fly.  She opened her mouth to say the magic words, but just as she was about to curse James into oblivion, Lily's best friend, Venus Moss, snatched it out of her hand.  Lily rounded on Venus, who took a step back and cowered under her glare for a second.

            "What are you doing?!" she strained through gritted teeth.  Venus gave her a meaningful look.

            "We are going upstairs to the dorm, and you are calming down, Lil," she whispered.  Venus flashed the crowed an award winning smile as she dragged Lily, who was still glaring daggers at James, up the stairs and into the girls dormitories.

            When Venus had managed to get Lily into the fourth year girl's room and shut the door she turned to her friend with an odd look on her face.  "What got into you back there, Lily?" asked Venus.

            Lily was still fuming over James.  "He totally blew me off for some girl!  Man, I hate it when guys think with their di--,"

            "Lily, calm down," soothed Venus.  "What would you have done if you had to meet James in the library, and Derek had just asked you out?'

            Her friend paused for a moment, thinking.  "That's completely different," cried Lily indignantly.

            Venus just rolled her eyes.  "Of course it is."

*     *     *

            When James and Lily  finally did meet to work on their History of Magic project, they were very subdued.  Whenever James looked up from the piles of books he was reading all he could see was Lily glaring ferociously at the pages of her books, like she was mad at them instead of James.  She took her own notes and shared nothing with him, but let him look off her parchment after she had finished jotting down a note.  When he tried to share potentially useful information with her, she would glare at him and write down the notes on her parchment with a look of utter disgust on her face.  It was as if the thought of him being right revolted her.  She didn't speak to him at all, however when Lindsey came up to her to ask which rebellion they had chosen, she smiled politely and said that they weren't quite sure yet so they were researching them all.  If she wanted to show something to James, instead of saying, 'Do you think this would help at all,' she would push the book in his face and point expectantly to a paragraph.  The fifth time this happened James spoke up.

            "Look, Lily, you can't keep doing this!" he yelled, earning himself a reproving glare from Madame Pince.  "Sorry," he muttered.

            She gave him a look, with her eyebrows raised as if to say, "Why not?"

            "If we don't communicate properly, the entire project will be ruined and we'll get a zero."

            Lily gave this some thought.  In the end she decided that getting a good grade on this project was more important than her pride and her newly established silent treatment towards James.  After all, if she wanted to be a prefect next year, then she would need top marks.  She supposed she would talk to him, but only if she had to.  Apart from this project she would act like James Potter didn't even exist.

            "Fine, James.  But we'll have to end our little study session here because I have to meet Derek in ten minutes."

            "Oh, I see.  Is your flavour of the week more important than your school work?  I think you need to sort out your priorities, missy!" mocked James, fluttering his eyelashes at "flavour of the week."

            "No," Lily strained, starting to get mad.  "I'm just getting sick of you!"  And with that she shoved her notes and books and such into her bag and stormed out of the library leaving James sitting at the table, eyebrows raised in amusement.

            That evening James was sitting with the rest of the Marauders in their little corner of the common room.  They were gathered around at table on which Remus and Sirius were engaged in an "exciting" game of Wizard's Chess.  James sat up in his pouf just in time to see Remus' knight trample on Sirius' pawn.  The latter gave a painful wince and thought that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to bet fifteen galleons that he could beat Remus, who had been pronounced Wizard's Chess champion in their first year.  Sometimes he secretly wished he didn't have such a big ego. 

            "I swear, that girl is impossible," said James taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes.

            "Who, Lily?" said Sirius distractedly as he moved his bishop to take Remus' knight.  "Ha! Take that!  Who's the champion now, buddy?" he shouted at Remus.

            "Check mate," said Remus, not trying to suppress his amusement in the look on Sirius' face.  "That'll be fifteen galleons, 'buddy.'  And remember, don't mess with the best."

            "Yes, Lily.  She's impossible!" said James trying to get the attention back on him as Sirius dug fifteen galleons out of his pocket and grudgingly shoved it into Remus' open hand.

            "Impossible?  Don't tell me James Potter is giving up on a girl!" exclaimed Sirius in mock surprise as Remus and Peter started to chuckle at Sirius' melodramatic performance.  Peter then left and went up the dormitory stairs saying he needed some rest.

            "It's not like she's my girlfriend, Sirius.  Besides, I never even tried," said James defensively, trying to protect his reputation.  "Why would I?  She's impossible!"

            "Care to make a bet, James?" said Sirius, a familiar twinkle in his eye.

            "Hold on just a minute," broke in Remus.  "Are you sure you want to make another bet after you horribly lost your last one?" he asked, counting the galleons Sirius had just paid him.  His friend shot him a look as if to say, "Stuff it."

            "What do you mean?" asked James, slightly curious.

            "I bet you ten galleons that you can't... er... 'tame the shrew' so to speak," Sirius challenged.

            "Sirius, she's only a shrew to James," Remus pointed out.  Sirius shot him another glare, but it didn't matter because James didn't hear him.

            "Hey, great idea, Sirius," said James sarcastically.  "Just one problem.  I have a girlfriend."

            "Oh yeah..." Sirius' face fell in disappointment.

            "But, I think I recall someone recently dumping a certain third year?" prompted James, jerking his toward a group of girls trying to comfort another girl who was sobbing hysterically.

            "Hey, I felt really bad about that, O.K.?" Sirius defended himself.

            "Of course you did," came James' short reply.  "How about you try to 'tame' Lily?  Ten galleons," he added after Sirius didn't respond.

            "Alright," he decided, thinking that he would be ten galleons richer the next day.  After all, who couldn't resist what Sirius like to call his "Black Magic?"

            "Wicked," said James, a smile playing on his lips.  "Now all you have to do is pry her off that Derek kid she's always raving about."

            "Damn it!" shouted Sirius in frustration.  "I forgot she had a boyfriend!"

            James laughed to himself as he headed up the stairs to the boys dormitories.  "This'll be the easiest ten galleons I ever made.  If there's one thing that girl loves more than school work, it's Derek."

                                                                        *           *           *

            When Lily got back from her date with Derek that night she was in complete bliss.  She danced into her room and plopped lightly down on her bed.  She fell asleep dreaming of her wedding day.  She was walking down the aisle in the most beautiful white dress robe she could imagine, an iridescent white and mint green color.  Her eyes were fixed on her husband to be, who was standing at the end of the aisle with his back to her.  She recognized Derek's hair.  Why was it so messy?  That didn't seem like Derek.  She turned and saw the best man who was wearing a huge grin and was laughing like crazy.  Lily gasped as she recognized who it was.  What was Sirius Black doing at her wedding?

*A/N*  O.K., I'm not really trying to make this a love/hate thing, but I'm feeling a bit Shakespearian and therefore am making Lily's anger excessive.  Anyway, please review and tell me if you like what's going on, or if I should just scrap the whole thing and start over!  Thanks!