Chapter 8

Now Lily Evans REALLY Hates James Potter

A week or so later, everything was back to normal. Classed resumed, the Marauders fooled around, and others. Lily, on the other hand, was a different case. Ever since that night, she was acting differently. It seemed as if her head was in the clouds and she didn't get mad so easily anymore, which made her friends happy.

..------..

"Hello, earth to Lily!" Alyssa said, waving her hand's in front of Lily's face for the umpteenth time. They were in the Great Hall, eating their dinner and Lily was daydreaming as she admired the ring while her friends were trying to get her attention. "I give up. This is hopeless!" Alyssa said in surrender.

Suddenly, Sirius and Remus arrived and sat down near the girls. "Um, could someone please tell us why it looks like Lily's in la-la land?" asked Sirius, although he knew perfectly well the answer to his own question.

"Three words," Stacie said, smiling, "her Prince Charming".

"Are you talking about me?" a voice suddenly said, snapping Lily out of her daydream. They all turned to see James, arms crossed, smirking. "Well?"

"For your information Mr. I-think-I'm-so great-come-and-worship-my-adoring-presence, we weren't talking about you. Honestly, the world doesn't revolve around you, Potter" Lily snapped, saying the word Potter laced with loathing.

"Then who is this 'Prince Charming'? As far as I'm concerned, there isn't any Prince Charming in Evans' life but ME" James retorted, emphasizing ME.

That's when Lily lost it.

'JAMES WHATEVER-YOUR-MIDDLE-NAME-IS POTTER! I HAVE HAD JUST ABOUT ENOUGH OF YOU AND YOUR ANNOYING PRESENCE! FOR GOD'S SAKE, DON'T YOU KNOW THE DAMN MEANING OF 'LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE'? I DON'T THINK SO, SINCE YOU CAN'T GET IT THROUGH YOUR OVERLARGE HEAD THAT I ABSOLUTELY DESPISE YOU! YOU THINK YOU'RE SO GREAT, BUT YOU ARE NOTHING MORE THAN AA ARROGANT, BULLYING, TOERAG TO ME. THE FACT THAT YOU EVEN EXIST MAKES MY BLOOD BOIL! NOW I SUGGEST THAT YOU GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE THIS BOOK COLLIDES WITH YOUR HEAD!" Lily screamed furiously, picking up the book she had brought with her to dinner and preparing to swing it at him. She seemed not to care that the students in the Great Hall, were staring at her and James. It was a good thing that the professors were having a meeting; otherwise the two would have gotten a lecture and a detention already.

Before she could do it, however, James backed away, saying, "Sorry. I thought that we could start a decent conversation, but judging from your anger, I guess not". He seemed unaffected with Lily's anger; it was part of his plan to make Lily even madder.

"DECENT CONVERSATION! LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, POTTER. YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO HAVE A DECENT CONVERSATION BECAUSE ALL YOU MOSTLY TALK ABOUT IS YOURSELF!"

"Alright, Evans, I'll back off so that you can deal with your issues by yourself" James said, smirking.

'ISSUES! POTTER, I WOULDN'T HAVE ANY ISSUES IF YOU WEREN'T HERE TO TORMENT MY LIFE!" Lily yelled.

"James, back off. You're making the situation worse for yourself" Remus said.

James paid no mind to him, and continued retorting to whatever Lily was saying. Finally, Alyssa yelled, "Will the both of you just SHUT UP!" Everyone stared at her. They had never heard mild-mannered and quiet Alyssa yell before.

Sirius, strangely looking as if he was enjoying watching his two friends fight, said, "Alyssa, please do not interrupt them. This is better that those Muggle soap operas Professor Brighton showed us in Muggle Studies". Alyssa simply rolled her eyes at him.

James deciding to resort to yelling, shouted, "TELL ME, EVANS, WHY DO YOU HATE ME SO MUCH? WHAT HAVE I EVER DONE TO YOU?"

Lily cast an incredulous glare at him before screaming, "HONESTLY POTTER, HOW DENSE ARE YOU? YOU HAVE BEEN AT IT FOR THREE YEARS AND STILL YOU DON'T KNOW WHY I HATE YOU SO MUCH? WELL THEN, LET ME TELL YOU: I HATE YOU BECAUSE YOU ACT LIKE THE MOST ANNOYING PRAT IN THE ENTIRE SCHOOL WHO HAS AN EGO THE SIZE OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN! HAVEN'T YOU EVER HEARD OF THE PHRASE 'GROW UP'? I DON'T THINK SO, SINCE THAT LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING THAT ISN'T GOING TO HAPPEN ANYTIME SOON!"

"Your point being what, exactly?"

"My point being that I HATE YOU, understand?" Lily snapped, not shouting, although a furious expression was still set on her face.

"Evans, do you know that holding a grudge against someone is bad for you? I once heard that it affects your mental health, which would explain why you've been acting so crazy towards me lately……" James said.

"Potter, I swear, on all that I hold dear, if you don't shut up, I am really going to hurt you" Lily said in a dangerous voice, her eyes narrowing. Her anger was at it's boiling point and when that happened, it was not a pretty sight.

James matched her angry gaze with his own calm one. He knew her expression too well, and he knew what was coming next, as he had been at the receiving end of her anger too many times. Strangely though, he did not care one bit.

"So anyway Lily, there was something I was supposed to tell you. Now what was it…Oh yeah, now I remember. I was supposed to tell you that everything you wrote in your diary about me was pretty amusing. Harsh, yes, but amusing" he said as he held up a beige notebook.

"Potter didn't I tell you to shut up?" she said in the same dangerous voice, although this time it was mixed with shock when she saw that the notebook James was holding was really her diary. By now, everyone was watching the scene intently. It was obvious that Lily was clearly trying to control herself from hexing James into oblivion.

"Yes you did, but you only told me to shut up. You didn't tell me when to shut up, so……"

That was the final straw for Lily. She took out her wand and she was supposed to say the first curse that came to mind, but before she could do it, a hand restrained her. She turned and was a little shocked and horrified to see none other that Professor Dumbledore.

"Lily, James, please see me in my office right now" he said.

"But sir, I didn't do anything wrong!" James protested.

"Mr. Potter, even if I arrived here to witness only the last few moments of your argument, I would have no hesitation in saying that this whole thing would not have happened if you hadn't provoked Ms. Evans, which I must say, you do quite often. Now the both of you. In my office. Now" he said shrewdly.

The two students followed Dumbledore to his office, neither speaking. James was looking strangely calm, while Lily was looking as if one more remark from him would cause her to snap and kill him. "Although that wouldn't be much of a disappointment" Lily thought.

When they finally went in, the professor motioned for them to sit. After they were settled, Dumbledore stared at them, his expression unusually grave. He then said in a serious voice, "This has got to stop. This ridiculous behavior you two have been putting up for the past years has been getting even more serious by the day. You should understand that, as Heads you should be setting an example"

Her anger still taking control of her, Lily said, trying her best to be polite, "Professor, I hope you don't mind me saying but, you did realize what you were risking when you appointed this git beside me as Head Boy….."

"Ms. Evans, please control yourself from saying more insults. Now listen to me, the both of you---" he added as he eyed James, who was leaning casually in his seat, looking bored, "---You will have to try and get along. Not only for your sakes, but for the school's as well"

"Sir, if I may say so, but I do try to make an effort, but Evans here is the one shunning me," James interjected.

"Mr. Potter, I must say, if you didn't act so immaturely towards Ms. Evans, then she wouldn't hate you so much. Now, this is the first and last time I am going to play the part of both your headmaster and a guidance counselor and say this. If the both of you cannot control this love-hate relationship that you have, some day, one of you is going to get hurt, either emotionally or physically. Mr. Potter, please stop provoking Ms. Evans. Let me tell you that if annoying her is your way of courting her, it will not work. Ms. Evans, please try not to react so violently to Mr. Potter's provocations. You will resolve this as soon as possible or I will be forced to relieve you of your Head's positions. That is all. You may go".

The pair nodded and stood up. They made to leave but Dumbledore added, "Oh yes. One more thing. The both of you will serve detention because of your behavior at 8 pm, at the Transfiguration classroom for the next three days".

The pair nodded once more then left. Lily was even angrier than before; not only did she receive a lecture from the Headmaster, but she had gotten detention as well. "And all because of stupid Potter" she thought bitterly.

"This is all your fault!" Lily hissed as they made their way back to the Great Hall.

"Let's not get started on that again. Goodnight" James said curtly then changed directions, heading instead to the Head's common room.

..------..

The next day at breakfast, James was complaining and whining to his friends. He had told them a while ago that, while his only intention was to do part of his plan, he had not planned on getting a lecture and detention from the Headmaster himself, therefore making him mad at Lily.

"The nerve of her! She even said that it was MY fault! You've got to be kidding. I mean, I never do anything wrong," he said.

Remus, Peter, and Remus rolled their eyes, getting annoyed at their friend's arrogant behavior. "You'd think that after fifteen minutes of whining, he'd stop, but no……." Sirius thought.

"Anyway, sometimes I don't get why I like her so much. She's unbelievable!" he continued.

"James, please, for the love of Merlin, do everyone a favor and shut up. You'll get over this and g back to being infatuated with her by tonight, trust me," said Sirius, groaning.

James didn't reply because he had just noticed the ring he had given Lily on her finger. Still mad at her, he took the opportunity and called out, "Hey Evans, nice ring. Who gave it to you, your Prince Charming? From all I've heard, he sounds more like a FROG PRINCE to me".

Lily turned and said menacingly, "James, do you really want a repeat performance of last night, because it seems as if your really asking for it. Just say the word and I swear I will do it again, only this time, I will really hurt you".

"Hey, you called me by my first name. It proves that you don't hate me as much as you say you do. Maybe you even like me. Or better yet, maybe you love me" he said, smirking at Lily's sip of the tongue.

"I-I--" she tried to say but couldn't because she was trying to keep herself from killing James. God, I've been thinking about killing him a lot, haven't it? Lily thought.

"You LIKE me. Come on, say it"

"No, I was about to say that I HATE YOU"

"Lily, don't you think that the word hate is a little bit overused? Don't you know other words that mean the same thing? Oh well. And here I was, thinking that you had a great mind. Guess I was wrong, But, let me point out something to you. The words, or the sentence "I Like James" have never been used, right?" Their friends, as well as the rest of the students, groaned. For someone who claimed that he liked Lily, James sure was annoying her a lot.
Lily's eyes flashed as she snapped, "One, I do have a great mind (sorry if that sound a bit arrogant), I just don't want to waste it on you. Two, we are not on a first name basis. And three, the only times I will use the words I like James is when there is the word DON"T in between I and like. Understood?"

"Fine, be that way. Just don't come crawling to me when you realize that I'm the only one for you"

"YOU ARE IMPOSSIBLE!" Lily yelled as she stormed out of the Great Hall.

"Guess I should say the same to you" he muttered quietly then went back to his breakfast as if nothing had appended. When the rest of the student body realized that the scene was over, they followed suit.

..------..

It was midday and James was lying in his bed, thinking about Lily. He had realized that his actions had been completely stupid. Sirius was right; he was falling for her. Hard. He sometimes even toyed with the idea of being in love with her, but he brushed it off. Right now, there was only one thing on his mind: Apologizing to Lily. Suddenly, an idea came to mind.

He got out of bed and left the room. Using the Marauder's Map, he located his friends. Eventually, he found them sitting under a tree, taking, Sirius occasionally looking over, smiling, and winking to a group of girls huddled near them. James rolled his eyes.

"Hey Prongs. Done beating yourself up for infuriating the love of your life, again?" said Sirius, grinning as James took a seat beside him.

"Shut it, Padfoot. Anyway, I've got this plan to apologize to her" he said and for the next five minutes, he told him his plan. When he was done, he asked, "So, what do you guys think?"

"You know what I think? I think that that blonde over there is pretty hot, although Stacie is prettier" Sirius said, giving everyone a clear indication that he had not paid any attention to what James had been saying.

"I meant my plan, not those girls," James said, smacking Sirius on the head. 'Honestly, sometimes you act as if you don't have a girlfriend"

"Hey! I said that Stacie is prettier, that shows that I'm loyal---OW!" Sirius protested just as Remus smacked his head as well. He turned to glare at Remus, then asked, "What the hell was that for?"

"That, Sirius, was for being a prat and for not listening to James's plan" Remus explained. The he turned to James. "I don't know Prongs. What you're planning sounds like something only a love-sick desperate idiot would do. I think Lily will be angrier than pleased".

:Remus, you forget. James IS a love-sick idiot" Sirius interjected.

"Okay, when you've finished deciding whether I'm an idiot or not, will you please help me pull this off?" James said in exasperation, glaring at Sirius.

After a while, his three friends nodded in enthusiasm. As they began planning, James thought, "This is gonna be great". His friends on the other hand, were thinking, "James is really digging his own grave. This is going to be a DISASTER".

..------..

The enchanted ceiling looked exactly like the night sky that night, as everyone sat down to eat dinner. For a while, clinks of cutlery were heard as the students chatted in between eating.

Lily noticed that James was unusually quiet. "Hey guys," she said to Stacie and Alyssa, "haven't you noticed that Potter's so quiet today? It's unusual"

"Oh, concerned about him, aren't you?" Alyssa teased.

"NO way. It's just that, whenever Potter's quiet, in the next few minutes, he and his friends will pull another prank or something like that. I think I smell trouble" she explained, although her cheeks had tinited a nice shade of pink.

Stacie sighed and said, "Lily, why is that the only word you seem to associate James with is 'trouble'?"

"That's not true!" Lily protested. Her friends looked at each other relieved, thinking that Lily was about to list down some of James's good qualities. Until she continued, "There are other words I associate him with. Words like arrogant, aggravating, unbelievable, jerk, selfish and---"

She didn't get to finish her sentence since an owl dropped by to give her a letter. Puzzled, she opened it. Big mistake. Just like a Howler, the voice, whom Lily recognized to be James's, was magnified. Unlike a Howler, it was saying an apology. He said:

MY DEAREST LILY,

I AM SO SORRY FOR MAKING YOU MAD AGAIN. I REEALIZE THAT MY CURRENT BEHAVOIR TOWARDS YOU WILL NEVER MAKE YOU LIKE ME, LET ALONE LOVE ME, AND THAT I MUST CHANGE IT FOR YOU. PLEASE FORGIVE ME. I KNOW THAT, SOMDAY, YOU WILL WAKE UP TO REALIZE THAT I AM THE ONLY ONE FOR YOU. UNTIL THEN, I LIVE IN HOPE.

As the students laughed, the familiar feeling of resentment coursed through Lily as she struggled to control the urge to bring him six feet under. Instead, she did the next best thing.

"Oh James. Come over here please" Lily said sweetly, a smile on her face. James walked over to her eagerly. Could this be it? Could Lily have realized that he was sincere?

"Yes, Lily? You came to tell me something?"

When he was in front of her, he waited for a few seconds. In a flash, Lily's smile turned into a glare full of hatred, which was reserved only for James Potter. "POTTER YOU ARE SUCH AN IDIOT! YOU COLD HAVE JUST APOLOGIZED TO ME PRIVATELY, BUT NO, YOU HAD TO MAKE A BIG DEAL OUT OF IT. DIDN'T YOU REALIZE THAT I'D BE MADDEr AT YOU THAN PLEASED!"

"Told you so," Sirius said in a sing-song voice.

"SHUT IT SIRIUS!" Lily yelled. Sirius winced; that was the second time one of his friends had told him to shut up.

"I HATE YOU!" Lily yelled the left before any of the teachers could stop her. The students, of course, carried on laughing at the scene.

"This is just great" James said sarcastically, hitting himself on the head. "Somebody please kill me" he added with a dramatic sigh.

"My pleasure" Sirius said, missing James's obvious sarcasm. He took the book Remus had brought along and was about to hit James with it.

"OW!I wasn't serious, you idiot" James said angrily, stopping Sirius from hitting him again.

"Of course you're not Sirius. I am Sirius" he replied, grinning. His friends groaned when they heard that. That joke, in their opinion, was too old, not to mention lame.

"Hey, Padfoot?" James asked suddenly.

"What?"

"SHUT UP!"