Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter…

A/N: Yes, I know it's been a loonnnnnnnngggg time since I updated. I had half of this typed up when my idiot computer lost it (along with all my other files!). So I re-typed it today. And here it is! Ta da!

Chapter 5: Lily's Bad Day

The first week of Hogwarts passed uneventfully. The Diamond was a hot topic amongst the students. The fact seemed to be, however, that the person who stole it hadn't been caught and the diamond was still missing. Many people had theories, but how close they were to the truth was anyone's guess.

Lily hadn't told anybody about the dream and she still wondered whether she had been right in treading it as a prank. For one thing, James wasn't taking credit for it, and he usually liked to take credit for his word. Instead, he was giving her (Lily) odd looks. James was also seen in the library, a rare sight, thought he never seemed to be doing homework.

A prefect meeting was held on Sunday of the next week. Lily arrived a few minutes early and was surprised to see that James was already there.

"What are you doing here?" Lily asked.

"It's a prefect meeting. I'm Head Boy. Heads are supposed to come to prefect meetings," James explained.

"I know that," Lily said, rolling her eyes, "But you're here early."

"So are you," James said pointedly.

"Yeah, well-," Lily started, but was saved the trouble of responding to what would have been a most embarrassing situation by the entrance of three chattering Ravenclaw prefects.

Lily and James sat in silence while everyone took their seats.

"All right," Lily said, "First order of business. We're going to pass out your patrolling schedules. It's very important that you don't forget to patrol. If you find a person or some people out after hours, you are to give them a suitable punishment (she gave a sideways glance at James as she said this) approved by both your head of house and theirs."

She handed a few schedules to James and they passed them out.

"Second order of business," James said, ignoring Lily's warning glare, "We need a date for the first Hogsmeade trip. Any suggestions? It has to be a Saturday."

"How about November 2nd?" suggested a sixth year that was looking at her patrolling schedule with distaste.

"Or October 26th?" her friend said.

"All in favor of October 26th?"

10 hands shot in the air.

"November 2nd?"

15 hands.

"November 2nd it is, then," Lily said, scribbling it down.

They took care of a few more things, and then the meeting was adjourned. When it was over, Lily felt somewhat strange. She had come to the meeting expecting to have to tear her hair out in order to restore peace. Instead, the meeting had been, well, quite smooth.

Lily stood to leave, but James stopped her.

"Dumbledore told me that we have to plan the Graduation Ceremony for the 7th years. There's a commencement ceremony followed by a ball," He explained. "We don't need to start planning until March, though."

"Well, that's a relief," Lily said, "I'm way too busy right now."

The next day, Lily woke up on the wrong side of the bed. She banged her head on the wall and got an earsplitting headache while she was trying to put a sock on. Lily practically sleepwalked to breakfast, only to find the Great Hall deserted.

"What in the world?" she muttered, not quite awake. When Lily checked her watch and found it was 10 minutes past 9, she almost slapped herself.

"How…oh…how could…I…have…overslept?" Lily said breathlessly to herself as she sprinted toward her first class, Advanced Transfiguration.

Professor McGonagall was at the front of the room, explaining about Conjuring Spells (the incantation is-) when Lily burst in.

"Miss Evans," Professor McGonagall said, turning to Lily," Would you care to explain why you are late?"

Lily blushed. "No, not really," she said, looking at her feet, "Ma'am."

"Very well," Professor McGonagall said, "5 points from Gryffindor for tardiness – have a seat – I would've expected more from you, being head girl."

"Now, as I was saying," she continued, "The incantation for the very complicating Conjuring Spell is--,"

Sirius yawned, tuning out.

"I'm too advanced for Advance Transfiguration." He said, tilting his chair back and winking at a Ravenclaw girl.

"Right Padfoot, just keep telling yourself that," James said, rolling his eyes. He looked passed Sirius, to Lily. She was taking some notes. I have to convince her that the dream was real, and not just some stupid prank, he thought, who would play such a lame prank, anyways? For the remainder of the class, James hatched plans (most of them ridiculous and impossible) on how he could possibly persuade Lily of his innocence.

The bell rang, signaling the end of break. For James and Lily, it was time for Advanced Arithmancy, taught by Professor Stanton, a tall witch from the states. Lily was busy taking notes when she felt a sharp poke in the back. It was Potter, who sat right behind her (curse those seating arrangements!), handing her a crumpled piece of parchment.

(BoldJames ItalicsLily)

Lily, look, I know you're mad at me, but listen, I can't control your thoughts!

Lily stiffened.

I don't know what you're talking about.

You know-the dream.

What dream?

About the missing Diamond.

I don't remember.

Asking us to find the Diamond?!

Oh, your dumb prank.

It wasn't a prank!

So what was it? A joke? A hoax? A trick?

No, I think it was a message from Leroy Ledenhurl.

Mmhmm

I'm serious!

And I'm the Minister of Magic. You know, I don't even know why I'm bothering to reply to you. In fact, I'm just going to ignore you from-

"Miss Evans," Lily was called the second time that day, this time by Professor Stanton, "Does what you are writing to Mr. Potter concern the lesson?" She had obviously been watching them closely.

"Uh, n-n-no," Lily stuttered. James winced. He would have denied he had been writing anything at all.

Professor Stanton held her hand out to take the parchment. Lily handed it to her shakily. Professor Stanton scanned it and narrowed her eyes.

"Detention," she said, "For both you and Mr. Potter."

Lily closed her eyes and counted to 10. She had NOT just gotten detention. She never got detention! NEVER! Lily was distinctly aware of some whispering around her.

The bell rang. Lily walked into the Great Hall in a trance-like state.

"Lily, are you okay?" Alice said as she sat down beside Lily. "I-uh-heard about what happened."

"How could I get detention?!?" Lily said hysterically.

"It's not that bad," Bella said, "Sheesh, I mean, it's just detention, not a death sentence or something."

"Listen to the girl," Alice said, "Take – the Marauders; they get detention all the time."

Unfortunately, this was the wrong example.

Lily's brain started to work again…Marauders…James Potter…Potter…HE was the reason she got detention!

Alice watched nervously as Lily stood up abruptly.

"Potter!" Lily shrieked. Everyone looked up.

"Lily!" Alice grabbed Lily's hand, but she broke free.

James realized what was happening and sprinted out of the Great Hall. Lily ran after him. People gradually went back to their lunch and the babble of talk broke out again.

"Should we go after her?" Alice asked worriedly.

"Let her deal with it. It's probably better for her to – calm down first," Patricia spoke up unexpectedly.

"I guess," Alice said.

"Potter!" James heard Lily yell from the other end of the table. Uh oh. He saw Lily coming after him.

"Guys…" James said to the other Marauders, "I think I'll see you…later."

He jumped up and ran out of the Great Hall, with Lily hot on his heels.

James had been running for a few minutes when a thought crossed his mind. Why was he running? From a girl, of all things. He skidded to a stop. Lily grabbed his shoulder and pushed him against the wall. I guess that's why.

"Well…Hello, Lily," James said nervously. "N-nice day, isn't it? Wh-hat's up?

"What's up? WHAT'S UP?" Lily screamed, "YOU got me in DETENTION! That's what's up!"

"…well…not real-,"

"Shut up! You-do-not-have-the-right-to-talk!"

"O-okay – but-."

"But what? But it doesn't matter that you got me in detention because you're James Potter, right? You don't have to follow the rules or turn in homework or apologize, do you? You only care about yourself!"

"I-DO-NOT!"

Lily looked taken aback.

"It's just one lousy detention! If someone else got you in detention, you wouldn't be mad at them! If someone else told you that they had a dream about being chosen to sole a mystery, you would believe them! But if I do any of those things, you'd get mad at me! I'm SICK of it! I just can't do anything right in your eyes, can I? Sure, I've made mistakes, but everyone can forgive and forget, right? WRONG! And I do NOT only care about myself! I have 3 loyal friends, which is more than most people can say!" James took a deep breath.

Lily's eyes looked a little red.

"Fine," she said, "Fine!" She ran out of the hall they were in.

"Lily?! Lily! I didn't mean that! I'm-sorry!" He finished resignedly.

James closed his eyes. He wished he had not let his temper get the better of him. It had just ruined his chances with the greatest girl on earth (in his opinion). It was just that slight on his supposed selfishness. That had hurt.

James heard footsteps behind him and turned around quickly.

"Who's there?"

It was Sirius.

"Hey…"

James breathed a sigh of relief and shook his head.

"Only you could be insensitive enough to follow me." He said.

"Hey!"

James laughed a little.

"So…are you okay?" Sirius said, studying his friend.

"Perfect. Couldn't be better," James said dully, "I just ruined my chances with the girl of my dreams. Let's party."

"You still have a little chance…"

James gave him a look.

"Okay, so not really, but, hey, if at first you don't succeed, try try again."

"Since when do you say lame comments like that?" James asked, laughing.

"Learned it from Moony. He's an expert on lame comments," Sirius replied.

James laughed again.

"Why don't we head to the kitchens for some food?" Sirius asked, his stomach growling.

James checked his watch, "It's time for class, Padfoot."

"Oh, come on; don't tell me you're going soft, Prongs." Sirius said, shaking his head, "I'm afraid Evans has had a bad influence on you."

"I said we had class," James said pointedly, "I didn't say we were going."

"Whew," Sirius said, wiping imaginary sweat off his forehead. "For a second there, I thought-."

"Let's just go, Padfoot," James said, "You're boring me."

So they left.

A/N Now that you've read, REVIEW!!