Disclaimer: All I own is the plot and a round-trip ticket to Germany.

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Chapter Three: A flower

………

The rest of Christmas break had slipped away without further incident, as well as January. So here it was, early February, Valentine's Day fast approaching. The holiday which Lily both looked forward to and despised.

She despised it for obvious reasons; she didn't have a boyfriend and it seemed like everyone else in the school did, not to mention she had to watch everyone else make out in the hallways all day.

However, every year, about a week before February 14, she began to wonder what Potter was going to do to her this year. She found many of his Valentine's escapades amusing, others downright annoying. He gave her a bouquet of flowers every year, usually lilies and roses mixed together. She proceeded to either throw them out the window or into the fireplace every year. Each year, at least once throughout the day, he said, "Care to have a snog for Valentine's Day, Evans?" Every year she replied, "In your dreams, Potter."

His limits didn't end here, though. Every year there was something more clever and annoying than the year before. Last year, he had bewitched a cupid to follow her around all day, throwing heart-shaped confetti, and saying things like, 'Be my valentine' and 'Happy Hearts Day.' She found this especially annoying, more than ever after the charm wore off and the cupid started zooming around the common room, resulting in two knocked-out first years.

………

This year, Valentine's Day fell on a Thursday, so the Hogwarts students had classes.

When Lily woke up, there were the foreseen flowers on her nightstand, this year a mix of lilies-of-the-valley, surprise lilies, and tiger lilies. She quickly scanned the card,

Roses are red,
Violets are blue.

Lilies are beautiful,

Just like you.

Go out with me, Evans?

and picked up the bouquet to throw it out the window. She opened the window and prepared to toss out the flowers, but this year something was stopping her. She realized almost at once what it was. Oh Lily, come on! I don't like James Potter, I don't. No matter what Alice says. Besides, even if I did, I couldn't keep the flowers or everyone would know that I like him. Did I just admit that I like him? Because I don't! Okay, maybe I don't exactly hate him anymore, but that doesn't mean I have feelings for him.

With that, she dropped the flowers out the window, but not before saving one lily-of-the-valley. She dried the flower with her wand and pressed it in her diary. Why did I do that? Oh well, they're my favorite flowers, it has nothing to do with Potter, I just can't resist pretty flowers. Then why did you resist them every other year? Oh, shut up! I must be going crazy, talking to myself in my head. Yeah, crazy about Potter. Arg! I am not crazy about Potter!

Lily took a cold shower, then went down to the common room with the book she was reading.

After a short while, James came down the stairs. Seeing Lily, he smirked. "Care to have a snog for Valentine's Day, Evans?"

Lily didn't even look up from her book. "In your dreams, Potter."

James grinned. "Did you get my flowers?"

"They are currently on the ground at the bottom of Gryffindor Tower. No cupid this year, Potter? Losing your touch, are you?"

"Yeah, I was too busy with being Quiddich Captain and all that this year to do anything special." James sat down next to Lily and put his arm around her. She pushed it off. "So, Evans. This weekend is Hogsmeade Weekend. Wanna go with me?"

"Horribly sorry, Potter," she said sarcastically. "I'm already going with someone." Lily got up, stretched, and headed for the portrait hole to go to breakfast.

James called after her, "Really? Who?"

Lily called over her shoulder as she was going through the portrait hole, "The Giant Squid."

………

As Lily passed a suit of armor, it sprang to life. "Roses are red, violets are blue. Flowers are gorgeous, and Lily is too." Lily's mouth opened with confusion. Then it dawned on her. "Potter, you are so dead!" She walked the rest of the way to the Great Hall, every suit of armor saying an equally-cheesy rendition of the rhyme as she passed.

All day, as she passed a suit of armor on her way to class, it would say a rhyme about her. One of them even wolf-whistled, but as she turned around to yell at Potter, she noticed that it was just Peeves standing behind the armor. After awhile, she saw the funny side of this newest prank, and even laughed with everyone else as a defective suit of armor's rhyme came out, "Violets are red, roses are blue. Remus is pretty, and James ate his shoe."

"Did you bewitch that one, Padfoot?" James whispered to Sirius.

"No, Wormy did."

"Oh, that explains it."

………

When Lily was getting ready for bed that night, she suddenly noticed that Alice was missing. "Hey, Karen. Where's Alice?"

"I don't know. Where's Corinne?"

"Probably off snogging with someone."

Leighna came out of the bathroom, braiding her hair. "Jason Willard."

"What?" Lily and Karen said together.

"Corinne's off snogging with Jason Willard."

"Oh." Karen giggled. "How long do you think this one will last?"

"Well, they're going to Hogsmeade together this weekend if it lasts that long."

"That's nice," Lily said absentmindedly. She had just opened her diary and her eyes had fallen on the flower from this morning. Karen and Leighna looked where she was looking.

"Hey Lily, is that one of the flowers James gave you? I noticed there were some of those in the bouquet this year."

"Ye- Hey wait a second. How do you know what the flowers looked like? I threw them out the window a good half-hour before you got up."

Karen and Leighna exchanged a look. "Well…er-"

"It's you, isn't it? You're the ones who put the flowers on my nightstand every year for Potter! You filthy traitors!"

Leighna spoke up first. "Look, Lily, we're sorry, but-" Then she noticed Lily was laughing. "Lily? You're not mad?"

"Why would I be mad?"

"Why wouldn't you? We were helping Potter. The person you hat-" Leighna's eyes widened. "Wait a second!" She looked down at the flower in Lily's still open diary, and then back at Lily's face. "You like him don't you!"

Lily stopped laughing immediately. "What! No!"

"Yes you do! You kept a flower!"

"So what? Just because I kept a bloody flower doesn't mean I like him! I just happen to like this kind of flower, is all," she added defensively.

"Lily likes Ja-ames, Li-ly li-ikes Ja-ames!" Karen and Leighna chanted in a sing-song voice.

Lily rolled her eyes. "You guys are impossible! I'm going to the common room for some peace and quiet, since I can't get any here!"

"Say hi to James for us, Lily."

Lily just rolled her eyes.

………

When Lily got down to the common room, James was indeed there. Lily completely ignored him and settled down in a chair next to the fire. She opened her diary and began to write.

February 14, 1977.

Dear Diary,

Today is Valentine's Day, and when I woke up, there were the usual flowers on my nightstand. I went to throw them out the window, but this year, something was stopping me. I don't know what was wrong with me; I mean, I can't possibly have feelings for James Potter, can I? Anyway, I did finally throw them out the window, but I saved one and put it in here.

Then, on the way to breakfast this morning, I noticed that Potter had bewitched the suits of armor to all say cheesy 'roses are red, violets are blue' rhymes at me. It seems he did this to every suit of armor in the castle, because they continued to rhyme about me all day whenever I walked by one. Darn, he's getting cleverer. Or he has really good friends that help him with ideas (cough-Remus-cough). I found these stupid rhymes very annoying, but eventually, everyone else's laughter rubbed off on me.

Tonight, Leighna and Karen noticed the flower that I kept, and asked about it, causing me to realize that they are the ones that help Potter get the flowers to me every year! And I call these people my friends! What Potter-accomplicing traitors! Oh, and they think I like Potter! So does Alice. Where do they get ideas like that?

Speak of the devil, Alice just came in. She was with Frank! They had a long drawn-out good-night, in which barely any words were spoken. When Alice was half-way up the stairs, I called out, "Have a nice Valentine's Day, Alice?" She jumped and turned around, then seeing me, blushed. I said, "I told you he stares at you all the time during History of Magic!" She just mumbled, "Yeah, shut up," and ran the rest of the way up the stairs.

James (he's here too, but so far I've done a pretty good job of ignoring him) chuckled and said, "That was pretty mean, Evans." I just shrugged and said, "What are best friends for?" Then I laughed. Ilaughed. While talking to James Potter. What is this world coming to?

Well, I guess I'm going to bed, now. Rather, I'm going to make fun of Alice some more.

Love always,

Lily Marie Evans

………

When Lily was walking up the stairs, James said, "'Night, Evans."

Lily ignored him, but as she was about to open the door to the sixth-year dormitory, she changed her mind and called down the stairs, "Good-night, Potter."

Right as she was about to climb into bed, Alice ambushed her. "So you kept a flower, and you said good-night to him, but you don't like him?" Alice grinned mischievously.

Lily just blushed and added a post-script to her diary entry:

Sometimes I hate my friends.

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Thanks to animerockstar for reviewing!