Fourth Year – Part Two

It was a normal day in the Gryffindor common room. Or, at least normal for most people…except for the girls and the Marauders. They were busy with their own thoughts that Professor McGonagall's stack of homework was laid forgotten, even by Lily. In fact, the two people most absorbed in their thoughts were Lily and James.

I just don't get it, she thought, as she looked over at James. Why do I keep thinking about James? Is this – love?"

Arabella was falling asleep on her Potions homework and glanced at her best friend. "Hey, Lils! You all right? You look tired."

Lily glanced sideways at her. "Oh, I'm fine. Just a bit overwhelmed with McGonagall's homework, that's all."

Bella shook her head. She knew that Lily was easily lying, for she never really had trouble on any type of homework, even Transfiguration, her worst subject. So she tried another attempt to start a conversation again.

"So, what's with you and James?"

Lily turned to look at her sharply. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you guys don't argue as much as before. And you're even nice to each other sometimes. That's not something we usually see every day."

"We made a truce to be civil to each other, remember?" Lily grinned. "It's working. The whole school's in a shock."

"Well, obviously. Even Dumbledore's a bit shocked, and he knows almost everything that goes on in this school."

"Well, that's great, Bella, but there's nothing 'with' James and I. We're civil to each other…is that so surprising?"

"For one thing, Lils, it is sort of unsettling not to hear you and James' voices on full volume in Gryffindor Tower every day."

Lily laughed. "Oh, it's become that much of a routine, has it?"

Bella grinned back. "Oh, more than you'll ever know, Lils. Why don't you guys just kiss and, well, get married after Hogwarts, have Harry, and hopefully don't get the worst from life."

Lily raised her eyebrows. "Bella, you already know that James and I are going to die. It's nice, isn't it? You're fourteen years old and you know that you marry your arch nemesis, have a kid, and then die."

Her best friend rolled her eyes. "The one thing you need to change, Lils, is your sarcasm. It's way too—you."

"That's what makes it special, isn't it?"

Meanwhile, James was absorbed in his thoughts as well and didn't even bother to listen to Sirius' lecture on their Animagi potion.

"Hello, earth to James!" shouted Sirius, nearly awakening half the common room, who were asleep on their textbooks and parchment.

"Huh?" James jumped. "Gee, what was that about, Sirius? Why'd you have to interrupt me?"

"Interrupt you from what?" Sirius grinned wildly. "Did you have a fantasy about Lily?"

The former choked. "What are you talking about? Of course not! I was just thinking about—er—my Animagi form."

Remus looked up with interest. He knew that James was thinking about Lily again, as it was obvious that he liked her, but this was an excuse that he couldn't miss hearing about. His soft gray eyes scrutinized his friend closely, which made James squirm even more.

Sirius bounced on the balls of his feet. "Well? Well? What animal d'you want to become? Huh? Huh?"

"Calm down, Sirius," said James, laughing. "I was thinking, maybe a deer…or a stag. Yeah, that's right, maybe a stag."

"A stag?" Sirius looked disappointed. "That's so boring, Jamie. A stag is so stuck-up and proud. But then again, so are you."

James glared at him. "Thanks a lot, Sirius."

"What I want to be is a dog. A big, fluffy one, preferably black with blue eyes. I'll be better than any old deer. Dogs are lovable and cuddly, and so am I." He smiled smugly.

Remus rolled his eyes and turned to Peter, who was quietly muttering potions under his breath. "What do you want to be, Pete?"

The little boy stared at the tall one with his watery blue eyes. "Um…I don't know. I mean, I'll probably be a small animal, since I'm not worth much."

James patted his little friend sympathetically. "Don't worry, Peter, you'll be a great animal. Maybe a cat, so you can help freeze the Whomping Willow."

(A/N: Stupid Peter! He doesn't deserve sympathy! After what he did to Lily and James…)

Suddenly, Jennifer ran into the common room, sobbing hysterically. Remus jumped to his feet and ran to her, but she pushed him away and flew into the girls' dormitory.

"Let's follow her," said Lily to a bewildered Arabella. They ran up to the fourth year girls' dormitory and saw Jennifer crying on her bed.

"Jen?" said Arabella gently. "What's wrong, dear?" She hugged her friend closely.

Jennifer looked up with large, teary blue eyes. "Malfoy—and Snape. They threatened me and told me that you were all going to d-die." She sobbed harder.

Lily looked around at Bella. "You don't think they found out about—you know."

Bella shook her head. "I don't think so. We'd never tell those slimy gits, but the Marauders…" She hesitated.

"I'm going to talk to them." Lily left the girls' dormitory and found the Marauders deep in conversation—something you didn't see every day.

"Hey," she called.

The four turned around and smiled at Lily. "Hey, Lils, what's up?"

"What's wrong with Jen?" queried Remus anxiously.

Lily looked grave. "She said that Malfoy and Snape said that we were all going to die."

Everyone was silent. How could Malfoy and Snape possibly know that Lily and James were going to die?

"Are you sure?" asked James hesitantly.

"Of course I'm sure!" Lily snapped back. "Would Jen ever lie?"

"Well, sorry, then," shot back James, his temper getting the better of him. "You don't have to be so defensive."

"Well, the situation is serious, Potter, so I need to keep you in line."

"What the—"

"The situation is me?" asked Sirius in surprise. "Why, I'm honored!"

Lily shot him a nasty glare. "Sirius, stop with the pun and shut up. This isn't funny! You Marauders—ugh!" She stormed out of Gryffindor Tower.

Arabella looked worriedly after her best friend. "Maybe you should follow her, James."

James, apparently, was still in a testy mood. "Why should I? You're Evans' best friend."

"Well, first of all, you two definitely need to sort out some priorities together, since you've been getting along so well these past months. Second, Lily obviously likes you, so you need to convince her more."

"What?" James was indignant. "She does not like me!"

"'Course she does," said Violet confidently. "Isn't it obvious?"

"Not quite, Vi," admitted James.

"Vi," sighed Sirius. "You should have known. Only the two lovers are oblivious; everyone else knows."

"Knows what, exactly?"

"James, just stop trying to understand and go find Lily!" cried Jennifer, wiping away a stray tear from her eyes. Remus put his arms around her comfortingly.

James rushed out of Gryffindor Tower and saw Lily crying right outside the portrait hole.

"Lily?"

Lily sniffed, wiping tears away. "I'm sorry. But you Marauders—you guys think all of this is just fun! There's more to life than pranks and girls, you know."

James smiled and hugged Lily close to him. "Lils, I know you probably think we're all immature prats…but we really aren't. It's hard to believe I know"—he grinned at Lily's incredulous look—"and I guess we just want to lighten up the mood. I mean, it's not all that great when everyone's depressed, so we just like to make everyone laugh to feel better."

She smiled and snuggled closer to him, forgetting for a moment that she still didn't like him very well. "Thanks, James. I suppose I did get a little emotional, but it angers me to see people not taking things seriously."

James secretly enjoyed Lily hugging him, and had a whiff of her subtle perfume. She smelled of peaches and strawberries, and he buried his face into her hair.

"James!" Lily pushed back, her temper getting the better of her again. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Oh—er—sorry," he bumbled, scrambling to his feet. "I was just—er—" However, James was saved just in time by Sirius, who ran right into him, since he was in such a hurry.

"Sirius—geroff!" mumbled James from the bottom, as Sirius continued to squash him.

"Oh, sorry Jamie-boy." He directed his attention to Lily. "You all right, Flower? Did ickle Jamsie make you mad?"

"Oh, it's nothing, Sirius," said Lily quickly, not looking at James. "I'm all right now."

"Good. Because if I hear you do anything to Lily"—Sirius waved an accusing finger at James—"you'll be sorry, Jamie."

James rolled his eyes and stood up. "Yeah, whatever, Sirius. C'mon, let's get inside before Filch and his stupid cat comes and accuses us again."

Sirius followed his best friend through the portrait hole, but Lily lingered behind, smiling slightly.

Maybe James isn't so bad after all.

***

"And Gryffindor wins!" cried the commentator, who was a fifth year Gryffindor. "The score is one hundred fifty to twenty. Ooh, tough luck there, Slytherin."

Slytherins were heard jeering, while the rest of the school was cheering loudly, especially at James Potter. All the girls, except for the Slytherins, were swooning and fluttering their eyelashes as James flashed his famous "Potter smile" at everyone.

Lily, however, wasn't impressed. "Look at Potter," she sneered, "grinning like the idiot he is. I swear, he's even more self-centered than—than—"

"Sirius Black?" suggested Arabella, frowning. She was now hesitant friends with the Marauders, though she still loathed the said Sirius.

Lily shook her head. "Nah. Sirius is cool. Potter, though"—she shook her head darkly—"he's too egotistical than…let's say, Gilderoy Lockhart."

"Gil's nice," argued Bella. "Sirius is not. He's so deceiving, I swear."

"You're just mad because he snogged Lori Paterson a while back. You know, Bella, I do think it's time for you two to kiss and make up."

Arabella frowned darkly. "Lily, you know we've done that twice already. He's not getting a third chance."

"But—"

"NO!"

"Oh, fine. You needn't be so fierce, Bella."

"Huh! I should be fierce. What about you and James, Lily Evans? Or should I say, Lily Potter?"

"Arabella Black…"

"Lily Potter…"

Remus chuckled as the two best friends continued to bicker with each other, his arm swung casually over Jennifer's shoulders.

His girlfriend grinned. "You thinking what I'm thinking, Remie, honey?"

"Hmm…Lily Potter and Arabella Black sound good?"

"Well, you're on the same track. We should get together Lily and James and Arabella and Sirius, so everyone will live happily ever after."

He laughed. "Oh, Jenny, that's almost impossible. We may as well let fate decide those four stubborn idiots' futures."

Jennifer smiled and kissed Remus fully on the lips. "Remus, I know we've always wanted that in the past. But I think it's time to do a little matchmaking ourselves, without the help of Lily and James."

Remus glanced questioningly at her, his face furrowing in confusion.

She grinned. "Well, usually, Lily and James are matchmaking other couples, right? Well, now we're going to do them a favor and bring together two couples. How does that sound?"

Her boyfriend sighed. "Oh, Jen, that's a fine idea, all right, but don't you think they should work this out themselves? I mean, we're not going to always be there for them when they get into a fight."

"I suppose you're right…like always."

"Of course I am." And he tackled Jennifer to the ground, both of them kissing passionately.

Arabella spotted her friend in a full snog-and-make-out session, and sighed. "There goes an obsessive couple all right."

Lily craned her neck to see Remus kissing Jennifer with love and passion. "Aww…they look so adorable."

"Disgusting is more like it, Lils. Look at them! They're literally eating each other."

"Bella, don't you remember how it was when you and Sirius were still together? You guys would snog and do—er—other stuff on the couches in the common room, in front of everyone."

"Don't mention him, Lily."

"Oh, get over it, Bella! It's time you two make up. I'm so sick of this stupid grudge you guys are forming against each other! Whenever I used to see you guys snog, I could see love in those eyes, Bella. You guys were head-over-heels with each other, and you still are. Why won't you admit it?"

"Because…" Arabella shook her head. "I know it's true, Lils. I'm just scared."

"Scared? Of what, Bella?"

"Of how vulnerable I'd be if I started dating Sirius again. I mean, you know he takes advantage of me. He snogs me, his girlfriend, and then he snogs another girl out of nowhere, right in front of my face! What kind of boyfriend is he? No, Lily, I'll never date him again, just to protect myself."

"Bella, I suppose you are right. But when Sirius realizes that you're the only girl for him, you'll be ready too, to make up with each other. In the mean time, you can enjoy snogging with Amos Diggory." Lily visibly cringed.

Arabella sighed. "I know you dislike Amos, Lily, but he's a nice guy, and he respects me. He even told me he loved me yesterday." She smiled dreamily.

Lily rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry, Bells, but I can't believe the fact that Diggory is a 'nice' guy and 'respectful'. Besides, how can you get together with him so quickly when you were angry with him two months ago?"

"Oh, he said he's been waiting for me all this time. Isn't he such a romantic? Arabella Diggory…it sounds so right, doesn't it?"

Lily had to snort at that comment. Arabella Diggory was the worst possible name she had ever heard before, but Arabella Black sounded nice in her ears.

Suddenly, a stream of scarlet-clothed figures sweeping into the Quidditch field and congratulating the team members interrupted them. Girls were blushing furiously as they kissed Sirius and James' cheeks boldly, while boys thumped them on their back for congratulations.

"Humph. Look at Potter's smug face," sneered Lily, glaring. "He's such a prat—"

"What happened to your truce with James?" asked Arabella, amused. "I thought you guys were on speaking terms. And you went to the Halloween Ball with him."

"Yes, it was a very bad choice, wasn't it? But I was caught on that plan to get you and Sirius together that I didn't pay any attention to my sanity. Now I'm back to hating Potter again."

"Lily…"

"What?"

"Don't look now, but James Potter is walking your way with that smile of his."

Lily turned around, and sure enough, James was "strutting" toward her through the wave of supporters, grinning broadly.

"Hey, Lils," he said casually, swinging his scarlet arm across her shoulders.

If looks could kill, James would be dead and buried thirty feet deep.

"POTTER, GET YOUR STUPID ARM OFF ME!" shrieked Lily in outrage, slapping him in the process. "YOU PERVERT!"

James was shocked. "What did I do?"

Lily laughed bitterly. "Oh that's a good one—what did I do? Gee, Potter, how stupid can you get?"

"Potter? I thought we were on speaking terms."

"James Potter, you are the most egotistical prat in this whole wizarding world, and I'm not afraid to announce it to the whole school!"

James was now clearly very confused. "Lily, I haven't a single clue what I've done wrong. This isn't about another girl, is it?"

Lily snorted. "Potter, you don't remember, do you? Don't you remember what you said a week ago?"

"Er—no."

"Well, it went something like this…"

Lily was walking down the staircase from the girls' dormitory, and saw the Marauders in the common room, plotting some prank again, as usual. But as she edged nearer, she saw that they were talking about her.

"You and Lily make a cute couple," said Sirius in a serious tone (no pun intended). "If it wasn't for your sake, I'd definitely date her—she's way hot and sexy."

James raised an eyebrow while Remus snorted. "Gee, Sirius, and I thought you loved Arabella."

"Potter, don't even say a word. So what about Lily?"

"Evans," spat James, "is a goody-two-shoes and is such a perfectionist. Why would I want to date someone like her? It would ruin my rep for sure. Besides, she's so annoying, though it's so obvious that she likes me."

Lily's eyes widened, and she clenched her fists. Carefully, she wrote on a piece of parchment: I WILL ALWAYS HATE JAMES POTTER FOREVER.

James' chocolate eyes widened as he heard Lily finish her story. "Oh, Lils…I'm so sorry! I never meant to—"

"Yeah, yeah, save the puppy dog face for later, Potter. Just get out of my way!" She pushed him so hard that he nearly fell to the grass.

"Lily!" he called, running after her. "Wait!"

Lily spun around, her temper flaring up. "James Potter, I gave you a second chance this summer. You were decent, I admit, for a few months, but now you're acting like a jerk again. How stupid I was for ever thinking that we might actually be friends this year."

"Lily—"

"James." Lily stared at him with hatred. "Remember this: I will always hate you forever."

She left James looking after her with wide eyes.

Sirius ran over to his friend and looked at him curiously. "Hey, James. Whoa…you look like someone just slapped you. You all right?"

James glanced at Sirius before replying, "Do you know why Lily hates me so much?"

His best friend was surprised at the question. "Well…"

"It's because I've been such a jerk, Sirius. You remember me telling you that Lily was goody-two-shoes and a suck-up. I can't believe I said that. You know what, I don't care if Lily hates me forever, because I deserve that sort of hatred."

Sirius was surprised, but patted his friend gently. "James, don't be so hard on yourself. One day, you'll see Lily as the most beautiful girl in the world, and you'll bend down and marry her." He grinned as he saw James' doubtful look. "Trust me, James, one day it'll happen."

"Yeah," James sighed, looking up at the sky. "One day."

-

"Can I have your autograph, Mr. Potter?" asked a giggling third-year girl, as she and her friends squeezed through the crowd in the Gryffindor common room.

"Er—sure." James took a spare quill and signed his name on a piece of parchment. The girl squealed with joy and she and her friends went up to their dorm, analyzing the signature, no doubt.

Suddenly, Deanna Jackson appeared, smiling condescendingly. She approached James and linked arms with him.

"Why, hello James Potter," she purred.

James grinned smugly. Ha! So Deanna hadn't ditched him after all…how stupid he had been in the first year to scoff at her so.

"Hey, Deanna," he answered, running a hand through his hair, trying to mess it up again. (A/N: Some info gained from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix)

Lily, who had been watching all this with an eagle eye, sneered in contempt. "Stupid Potter thinks he's so great," she muttered to herself.

Arabella glanced at her friend and vaguely wondered if she had lost her mind. "You okay, Lils?"

Lily stood up angrily. "You know what? I'm not okay! In fact, I've never been okay ever since I've known that stupid prat, Potter!" She stormed into the girls' dorm furiously, managing to shoot a charm at James while passing, making his messy black hair neat.

"Oh, James, look what that Evans did to you!" cried Deanna, bursting into tears. "She made your hair neat."

"Well," admitted James, touching it with awe, "it is actually neat for once, which is more than I can say for Lily. After all, my mother's tried a lot of different ways to make my hair neat, and she's never accomplished it. Lily is a wonder at times."

Deanna snorted with disgust. "But James," she whined, "you used to have that sexy appeal when your hair was all messy…"

Lily held back a laugh as she laid down on her bed. Sexy appeal…ha! Potter, that arrogant jerk, has no more brains than those stupid Slytherins do.

Suddenly, she sat up, and felt guilt spread through her. Lily knew that it was horrible for her to say such a thing, and to lie about it to herself as well. She knew very well that James Potter was one of the cleverest students at Hogwarts, able to perform very difficult spells, especially in Transfiguration, that even grown wizards have trouble with. Lily sighed. Oh, James Potter was so confusing! He was the one in the midst of her mixed-up feelings.

Then she thought of the prophecy, and read it in her head again:

The flower and the stag will become one

They will have a child that will defeat the Dark Lord

But the flower and the stag will allow him to do that

By sacrificing themselves in return.

The dog will keep a secret, that will ruin lives

He will have twelve years in misery.

But his true believers will rescue him,

Where he will be a refugee in hide.

But the dog will die for his one true believer,

He will die for the one he cares about the most.

The wolf will be shunned throughout his life,

Unable to find anything for what he is.

But he will find allies, and become welcomed,

Only to find himself alone, his friends gone.

The rat will become dark,

Joining forces with the Dark World.

He will abandon and betray his friends,

But will meet his fate within the Light.

Lily pondered on those words. So…now Sirius would die, joining she and James. But who would he die for? Perhaps Arabella?

She also thought about Remus, and knew his story very well. He would leave Hogwarts and no one would accept him because he's a werewolf. But he would find people who trust him and welcome him and Lily had a shrewd suspicion that this someone was, or was related to, Professor Dumbledore.

Last of all was Peter. Lily had no idea what Peter's story would be, and found, surprisingly, that she barely cared. She always suspected that Peter would end his life by doing some stupid job like cauldron cleaning. But Peter become dark…The idea itself made Lily want to laugh. Well, Peter would meet his fate anyway, and she found out that she didn't care.

But what did this prophecy mean? Why was there a prophecy even made about the Marauders and Lily? How were they special, so that they would be mentioned? Lily had asked Dumbledore that before, but he merely shook his head and told her to ask, much to her displeasure, to Professor Trelawney, who had made the prophecy herself.

"My dear, I haven't a single idea what prophecy you're on about; perhaps you're delusional," was her unsatisfactory answer. Lily decided never again to ask Trelawney anything.

The funny thing was, no one else seemed at all concerned over the prophecy. In fact, they acted as though it were never made before at all. When Lily told the prophecy over to Arabella, Jennifer, and Violet, her three trustworthy friends told her that it was probably a practical joke that Trelawney pulled just to scare them.

"Whoever heard of Black dying for someone that he cared for the most?" Arabella had asked scornfully. "I didn't even know he cared for anyone but himself!"

Lily had decided never to ask her friends anything related the prophecy again, as well. So…her final destination was to the Marauders, to whom she shared the prophecy with.

She headed down the common room again, only to find James and Deanna snogging like mad, Sirius ogling at a blonde, Remus reading, and Peter staring out in space. Lily rolled her eyes, and approached Remus first, as he was the only one she actually had respect for these days.

"Hi, Remus."

Remus looked up and gave her a warm smile. "Hey, Lils. What's up?" He peered at her with a worried expression. "You look awfully stressed. Want to talk about it?"

"Actually, that's what I came here for."

He scooted over on the couch he was sitting on. "Have a seat."

"Thanks. Listen, Remus, you know that prophecy that Trelawney made about us?"

He raised his eyebrows but nodded. "Yeah. What about it?"

Lily sighed in frustration. Was the only one with common sense not understanding, either? "Remus!" she exclaimed, sighing. "I thought you'd understand, at least. I mean, it is a bit weird, isn't it? How James, Sirius, Peter, and I will eventually die, leaving you alone in this world. It just seems…unnatural."

Remus smiled slightly and hugged Lily, just like what a brother would do. "Listen, Lily," he said seriously. "I know you've been stressed out over this prophecy. So are we all, though we're not showing it. Especially James and Sirius—they've been doing a lot of thinking about it. Sirius still can't get over the fact that he's going to be dead because he's trying to keep another alive. Poor bloke. Peter still won't believe that he'll turn over to the Dark Side, though I highly doubt it. I mean, Peter's our friend and everything, but I just can't imagine him serving some Dark wizard, you know?"

Lily laughed at this, but then sobered instantly. "Yeah. But it's really been worrying me. I mean, it's kind of funny how you know your own future and fate when you're barely half-grown yet."

Her companion gave her a gentle smile again. "Well, I'm trying to not believe it at all. I mean, it was easy to ignore, wasn't it? Trelawney's usually a fraud and only predicts peoples' deaths. But she sounded really weird when she predicted it this time…so we all think that it was real."

"Well, of course it was real!" said Lily indignantly. "The way her eyes all rolled up and stuff and that voice."

Remus grinned and shook his head. "Lils, you really need to learn how to control your temper. I never said we didn't think it was real."

"Yeah, well—" Lily stopped, realizing that Remus was right. "Whatever."

They both laughed merrily, now chatting like old friends again.

James had managed to pry Deanna out of his chair and looked around the common room, bored. He grinned as he saw Sirius still staring at the blond-headed girl, but his smile quickly faded as he saw Lily and Remus sitting together, laughing. He looked over at where Jennifer was sitting and wanted to see how she would take it, but she merely glanced over to the couple and smiled again, probably happy that Lily was her old self once more.

He felt a sudden surge of jealousy as he saw Lily's green eyes shine down on his friend. James knew that Remus would never cheat Jennifer, but still…he did look like he was enjoying himself. Not wanting to be left alone, James strolled over toward them, trying to act as cool as possible.

"Hey, Lily, Remus," he greeted enthusiastically, though his tone was rather high.

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Hello, Potter. How nice to see that you're not snogging a girl, like you always do."

James sighed. Well, how could he expect something other than a witty and biting remark from Lily? She absolutely abhorred him so, and there was no way to ever earn her respect. He had a sudden fleeting image of himself, ten years older, waving in front of the Knight Bus with his two front teeth missing. He couldn't resist himself to snort loudly, causing Lily to become even more furious.

"Oh! So you think snogging and breaking girls' hearts is fine. Well, let me tell you something, Mr. I'm-So-Wonderful—"

"What?" cried James in alarm. "I never thought of such a thing!"

It was Lily's turn to snort in response. "Oh, gosh, Potter, I never knew a kid could be so pathetic as you are. It's so obvious, the way you mess up your hair and look over girls and show off with those stupid Quidditch reflexes of yours. It's as if you enjoy the attention you get."

"I do—" began James, but stopped as he saw Remus shake his head at him, glancing at Lily's angry face. "Well, now that you mention it, I am very ashamed of what I do and I'll try to deflate my head more."

Remus grinned at his friend, and then at Lily, who was still angry but softened slightly at the remark. Lily is way too soft on my friend, he thought, amused. With a bit of James' Potter charm, Lily will fall head-over-heels for him. I'll just make sure that James really does love her before he proposes.

"Remus Lupin, what are you grinning at?" demanded Lily, glaring at her companion, who looked as if his face was going to crack, since he was forcing his smile all the way through.

"Huh?"

Lily sighed. "Your face looks like it's going to fall off. Seriously, if this is another one of your stupid stunts, then you can count me out."

"I'm not doing anything!" cried Remus defiantly. "James just told me a funny joke," he added, lying pathetically.

"Do you think I'm stupid? I could have heard Potter saying his stupid joke, or whatever, since he doesn't miss an opportunity to show off."

"Evans," said James firmly, his voice sounding more mature and deeper, "don't make me sick. I'm not that pompous and arrogant."

"Oh?" asked Lily, her temper rising up again, "then why do you show off with a stupid Snitch in front of George Brach when you're the Chaser? And why do you always love to ruffle up that stupid hair of yours and look over at the lake?"

James pondered over her words. Yes, he supposed that Lily was right…But wasn't Snape or Diggory just as arrogant and foreboding like he was, maybe even worse? He wondered why Lily hated him more than the other arrogant gits at Hogwarts, and the question came out before he could stop himself…

"Why do you hate me more than the other people who are self-centered? Why me?"

Lily's green eyes were wide just then. Well, she did clearly hate Amos Diggory and Severus Snape just as much as James, but she never did pick on him. She felt angry that James had to ask her such a question. Why did she pick on James Potter more than all the other gits in Hogwarts?

"I don't think I need to answer that for you, Potter," she replied airily. "The answer is quite obvious, so don't use too much of your brain to think about it; you might hurt yourself."

James was starting to get impatient. "How is it obvious, Ms. Oh-So-Perfect? And don't flatter yourself that you're not arrogant, Evans. You always wave your hand around in class, hoping that you can show off your knowledge."

Before Lily could even retort to that, she thought of another thing. Why were the Marauders and herself mentioned in vague names in the prophecy? And how did the Marauders immediately figure out who was who in it?

"Whatever, Potter. I just need to ask you one more thing—in the prophecy, how did you know who you were when it was mentioned?"

James and Remus exchanged anxious looks, but said nothing.

"Well?" demanded Lily impatiently. "How? How did you know that you were a stag, Sirius was a dog, and Peter was a rat? Of course, it was obvious that Remus was a wolf and I was the flower."

James took a deep breath and said, as casually as possible, "Oh…lucky guess."

"Really? Well, I do suppose it all fits. I mean, you're a stag, because you're so proud; Sirius is a dog, because he's cuddly and lovable; Remus' a wolf, because, well, he is; and Peter's a rat, because he's not as large or confident as the rest of you, and he's very insignificant to many people, namely, the teachers."

"Yeah, yeah, that's right," said Remus, nodding vigorously.

Lily stared at them suspiciously. "You guys sound like you're hiding some secret. Well, out with it."

James' face was nearly covered with sweat by then, and Remus was having trouble breathing.

"It's nothing," said James, shrugging his shoulders and trying to be cool and casual like Sirius always was. His hazel eyes were extremely worried. "Really, we're—"

"JAMESIE!"

The trio turned around to see Deanna grinning at James stupidly. Lily rolled her eyes and amused herself by looking at Deanna torturing James by hugging him roughly.

"Where were you, baby? I was so worried!"

The redhead snorted loudly, and Deanna looked over to her, smirking.

"Ah, Evans. You were the one who took my boyfriend away from me in your first year, right?"

Lily stiffened. "Your boyfriend? So that's why you and Potter were cuddling away…Shouldn't you be studying for your O.W.L.S.? You do take them this year, after all."

Deanna ignored the last comment completely, and dragged James off to her dormitory.

Remus smiled at Lily when they left. "Deanna's a sweet girl, isn't she?" he asked sarcastically.

"Oh, very. Sh—shoot, I forgot to do my Potions homework!" cried Lily in distress, as she rushed over to her bag, where heaps of parchment and books were piled.

"Lily, you still have two weeks. Hurst actually extended it…for once in his life, he was actually decent."

Lily laughed but it turned into a choke as she saw Sirius flirting with the same blonde he was staring at before. Remus looked too, and furrowed his brow as he turned back to Lily.

"He's not thinking properly," he said, trying to stick up for his friend. "He—he still likes Arabella, if that's what you're worried about…"

Lily sighed. "The world is falling apart, with Potter in the midst of it."

"Is it that extreme?" asked Jennifer amusedly, walking toward her. Lily grinned and nodded.

"Jenny!" exclaimed Remus.

"Remie!"

The two ended up in a fierce embrace, while Lily watched, entertained.

"If you two would stop snogging, the world will be right once more," she said, trying not to laugh.

Remus and Jennifer smiled at each other, while Jennifer whispered, "The world will never be right, Lily, without James here."

***

The weather chilled once more as winter approached. The fourth years were busier than ever, since the teachers seemed to be thinking along the lines of Lily and gave them a lot of homework to prepare for the O.W.L.S., which weren't until more than a year later.

"Stupid McGonagall," mumbled James, as he glared at the growing pile of homework at his table in the common room, "she could have spared us some."

Sirius looked gloomily as his even larger pile of homework. "Reckon we shouldn't have pulled that prank on Snivellus, James?"

"Nah. The look on his face was worth this homework."

Lily, however, had barely a parchment of homework on her desk, as she finished off her last assignment, which was an essay on goblin rebellions for the History of Magic.

"Look at Evans," said James, his eyes shifting to Lily. "She has no homework to do at all. How does she do it?"

"She doesn't procrastinate like you two," came Remus' amused voice as he seated himself near his two friends.

"Huh! Well, at least we have a life, unlike her," said James heatedly, his hand ruffling up his hair again as he looked over at Lily admiringly.

Sirius snorted. "Just ask her out."

"I have. Guess what she said?"

"You're an arrogant git and she'd never go out with you."

"Well, similar idea, but here's the direct quote: 'Potter, I'd rather go out with the giant squid than with you'."

Sirius laughed. "Spunky lass."

"You're friends with her, Sirius. What does she say about me?"

His best friend peered at him earnestly. "Well, James, she really doesn't mention you at all. She says that she can't work out her feelings for you. Sometimes you act like a sensitive and shy sort of guy, and then you act like a complete idiot and jerk."

"Thanks a lot," James muttered under his breath.

"Enough of that, mate," said Sirius, waving it dismissively. "Now, about our potion…"

"I'm definitely a stag," said James quickly.

"Well, obviously, since we all know our forms from the prophecy, but…well, Dumbledore heard the prophecy, didn't he? Then he'd know why we know what we are…"

"Dumbledore doesn't understand the prophecy," said James stubbornly, "so it doesn't matter to him."

"What if the potion doesn't work?" asked Remus quietly. "It'll all be my fault if you three turn into mutants or something…"

Sirius snorted. "Remie, stop worrying. You worry as much as Lily and James Potter," he added slyly, grinning at his best friend.

"Shouldn't you two be doing homework?" came a bossy voice. Lily was hovering above them, frowning.

James jumped in alarm. "Gods, Evans, you could've warned me!"

Lily smirked. "Why…were you discussing something secret?"

"Er—of course not."

"Right. Anyway, I see that you still have quite a pile of homework." Her eyes went over the stacked textbooks and parchments.

"'Tis none of your business."

"Maybe I can help."

"What is this? Now you're being nice! You know, I think this is a joke that you're trying to plan…"

"Potter, I don't plan jokes. I've decided to take pity on you, and help you out. Mind you, I won't do this often, so don't take advantage of the opportunity."

"Evans, I don't need your help on my homework; I can do it perfectly well, thank you."

"Really? Well, that's wonderful! Now I don't have to waste my good time teaching you bumbling idiots how to write good essays so you can get ten out of ten…"

"Wait," said James suddenly, attracted by the prospect of getting ten out of ten by simply having Lily do the work. "Maybe I'll consider your deal."

"Ha! Deal's off until next year, Potter." Lily cackled.

"What? Why next year?"

"Because that's when we take our O.W.L.S., and when you're likely to fail your career if you don't get enough of them. That's when I take pity on you."

James glared at her. "I can get all the O.W.L.S. possible, Evans, and get an 'Outstanding' for all of them, too."

"Really? Five Galleons that you can't get an 'Outstanding' on your O.W.L.S."

"Deal."

Lily grinned. "Consider yourself lost, Potter."

"As if, Evans."

Lily went off, now deep in thought. She knew very well that she would lose the bet, since James was an outstanding student who had the potential to do anything he liked for his career. She had gotten a spurt of pity and kindness when she saw James and Sirius complaining about their pile of homework, but caught herself just in time when James asked Lily about the deal.

James was having similar thoughts. He really liked Lily, though he wouldn't admit it for his life, but he didn't understand why he felt disappointed when he asked Lily out for a joke. He felt as if his heart was broken when he was "rejected" by her. He shook his head and sighed. He was going mad! Here he was, a brilliant student liked by most of the teachers, excellent at Quidditch, and had the most beautiful girlfriend a boy could ever dream of. What could he possibly be depressed about?

But for some reason, he was always off in his little world, not paying attention to what Sirius or Remus would say. James would find himself showing off like a prat whenever Lily was around, and not even meaning to. What was wrong with him?

"James? Hello…JAMES!"

"What?" James snapped out of his reverie, only to find Sirius goggling at him.

"You were spacing out, man. Why do you always do that these days?"

"Oh…just thinking about the next person I'm about to hex," said James quickly.

Remus frowned. "You mean you hex more than the Slytherins?"

"Well…naturally, since some people at Hogwarts bother me so much just by existing."

Sirius and Peter snickered, while Remus remained silent.

"Well, the Hufflepuffs are a bit pathetic, but the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors are friendly enough."

"Remus? Hello? We're trying to live up to our reputation at Hogwarts as mischief-makers and pranksters. The people want this."

James felt guilty as he continued saying this. Sirius and Peter kept laughing at his ideas, but he felt like what Remus felt: like he was going way over his head to impress people. He had nicked a Snitch from the lockers, and played with it, feeling proud whenever Peter or some passersby gasped at his reflexes. But most of all, he felt as though he was making Lily hate him by the second. All he ever wanted was attention and maybe some admiration from Lily, but by the looks of things, he doubted he would ever get either.

- - - - - -

Disclaimer: I own nothing and J.K. Rowling owns everything.

A/N: I am SO, SO sorry that this took forever to post up, but I'm currently working on "Red Footprints", my historical fiction novel, so I have barely any time at all to work on this. No, I am not, or never, going to give up this story because of time or the release of the fifth book, or anything like that. This story will go through until the end.

Is anyone so disappointed in the ending of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix? It is SO sad, and I always feel grief whenever I read fics about the character who died. Sorry I'm not exposing much information here, but lots of you out there probably haven't read, or finished, the book yet, so…yeah.

Thank you to all my reviewers! You're all wonderful!