"JAMES!" Sirius' voice, muffled by the loudness of the Gryffindor celebration and the large pile of Hogsmeade sweets he was carrying, made James Potter jump up to help him. "Thanks, mate! That Hufflepuff is waiting outside the portrait hole for you."

"Lily, you mean? She's probably just pouting about how we won the House Cup this year, in spite of our pranking! What's really funny about all this is that we weren't even trying to gain points." James placed the goodies on the table before the fire, then whacked Sirius on the back of the head, which abuse Sirius took good-naturedly. Striding out of the room and into the alcove that was the entrance hall, James thought about Lily Evans. Poor little thing! For the first time in five years, her house had failed to win the House Cup!

She had met the Marauders in Diagon Alley in their first year, and she and James had become fast friends. She had come to Madam Malkin's dressed as a boy, after they refused to give her the pants rather than the skirt. As a result, she was the only girl at Hogwarts who wore the pants uniform. This ostracized her from the other girls, except the ones in her own house, who secretly wished that they didn't have to wear the pleated skirts either. This apparent independence made her accomplishment all the more worthy of acclaim. She almost single-handedly had given Hufflepuff the House Cup for the last five years. After being the victim of one of the Marauders' famous pranks, this one involving a paranoia of frogs watching her, she decided that she would get revenge the true Hufflepuff way: slowly, steadily, but effectively. By taking advantage of the Marauder's point-losing ways, she had knocked Gryffindor out of the runnings for the Cup every year. It didn't matter that Hufflepuff's quidditch game didn't gain them many points, and Gryffindor's made them win the Quidditch Cup practically every year, à la James, because Lily pounded every other house with her amazing test scores, with her eagerness to volunteer and her ability to answer questions correctly.

James pushed the portrait aside and scrambled out of the hole, looking for his green-eyed nemesis. "- anyway, thanks for the chat, but I believe your house's pride and joy just entered the conversation." Lily's voice came from behind the portrait, talking, no doubt, to the Fat Lady in the frame. James stepped clear, and the portrait swung back into place, revealing the owner of the voice, dressed, as usual, in her customary slacks. "Hello, James," she said, altogether too confident.

James decided a little gloating was in order. "So, how does it feel to be in the number three slot, Miss Perfect?"

"You ought to know- oh, wait!- You've always been in the number four slot!" Lily's eyes flashed with anger, then suddenly lost their fury. "I-I'm sorry, James. You have every right to gloat at me, and I'm taking it too personally."

James smirked at her, "Oh, a little down and out at having lost not only to Gryffindor, but Slytherin as well, are we?" He noted with satisfaction the hurt in Lily's eyes. Direct hit!

"James, it doesn't have to be like this, okay? I just came to congratulate your house, and you're treating me like garbage!" Her voice had a strong sense of urgency, and her eyes, were they wet?

"Well, I won, you lost! It's very simple! I'm delighted that you got your head out of your ass enough to come and congratulate us victors- of both cups!" His voice dripped with venom.

Yep, they were definitely tears, and Lily tried to hide it, her eyes furious again. "James, look here! If I hadn't changed my study habits, you never would have won this contest! I gave up my top scores and all that, maybe even my chance at Head Girl, just so you could see that I want to be your friend again, and you throw it in my face! Well, we'll just see if I give Gryffindor credit for my work next year! We'll see if you can win the Cup, James Potter!" She turned, tears streaming down her face as James stood there, trying to come up with something scathing to say. Lily ran off, and her soft crying echoed in the halls of Hogwarts.

James didn't believe her at first. Then the Fat Lady spoke, "What a shame! Poor thing! You could have been more gentlemanly, you know! She gave up the House Cup for you, and you don't even have grounds for bragging. She won the House Cup!"

James roused a bit of anger for the Fat Lady and grumbled, "Gryffindor Pride."

The portrait swung open and the Fat Lady said, "If you ask me, pride is something you have too much of! That sweet girl was good to you and all you can think about is Gryffindor pride. Perhaps you should remember that pride goeth before a-"

"OUCH!" James tripped over the edge of the hole and caught himself before he could reach the ground, stumbling into the wall. The portrait hole closed.

"-fall."