"When exactly are we going to go out again, Lily?" asked James, after slowly pulling away from her embrace.

"Well, perhaps the next Hogsmeade visit…"

"WHAT? The next one is FOUR WEEKS AWAY! I can't wait that long!" James complained. Suddenly, he grinned.

"Oh no. What is going through your head?" Lily teased. "Nothing good can come of this…"

James rolled his eyes. "Just meet me tomorrow around noon in the Entrance Hall, alright? It won't be fancy, or anything…just fun for me." James grinned, trying not to show Lily how excited he was. "Oh, and-don't wear any of those tight, short skirts you wear, alright? Normally, I would love to see you in one, but…" James looked at her maliciously.

Lily blushed, and laughed. "So there is no chance of you telling me what exactly we will be doing tomorrow?"

James grinned, knowing that the mystery of it all was killing her. "Nope. None. It won't be fancy, I told you…but I will definitely enjoy it!" he smirked cockily, a bit of his old self coming back.

Lily started chasing him around the common room. "Tell me! Tell me!"

James laughed, running a little out of her reach. "NEVER! Don't you like surprises?" he asked Lily behind his back, because she was still chasing after him, to the entertainment of the many students in the common room. Finally, James let Lily catch up with him, because he saw that she was getting out of breath. She attempted to tackle him by throwing her arms around his neck, and wrapping her legs around him, hanging on. He merely flipped her over, so she was facing him, still holding her in his arms as if she were the weight of a feather. They laughed together, and James carried her back to the couch they were sitting on together. Lily rested her head on his chest, out of breath, while he wrapped his arms around her, thinking back to the first time he had ever asked her out on a date.

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They were in their second year, approximately when James started growing and his voice got deeper. He and Sirius were sitting under their beech tree, thinking of a prank. Remus just sat by them, reading a book. Lily was sitting by the lake, talking animatedly to Emma.

"Hey, Sirius," James said (they had not yet established their nicknames). "See that girl over there? The one with the red hair?"

Sirius grinned. "Who, pumpkin head?" He was still quite immature for his age, but then again, he was always immature for his age.

"Er…yeah…I think her name's Evans. I think I'm going to ask her out!" James was far more mature than Sirius, however he was still quite immature.

"WOW! You're going to ask her out? Really?" asked Sirius excitedly. They were twelve years old, so dating someone was quite a big deal. First of all, some boys still thought girls had cooties (one of those boys was Sirius). Second, it meant you had to admit that you "like like" them, which would surely result in being teased.

"Er…yes," said James nervously. "Well…here I go then." He stood up and gulped, trying to remain calm. Be cool, Potter, he told himself. You are quite popular, and one of the only boys in your year whose voice has already deepened. Of course she won't refuse you! You're JAMES POTTER! James felt much better after giving himself this little pep-talk. He stopped as he reached Lily.

"Hey, Evans!" said James pompously, ruffling his hair, making his voice sound even lower than it already was.

"Potter? Er…hi…what do you want?" asked Lily. Emma giggled behind her. At twelve years old, that is pretty much all a girl can do when one of the "hottest boys in school" approaches her.

"I…er…well…wanttogooutwithme?" asked James, saying it hurriedly so he could get it over with sooner. Sirius was looking on in the background, and James didn't want to embarrass himself in front of his best mate. Not that I will, he thought. I'M JAMES POTTER! She can't refuse me!

"Er…excuse me? I didn't quite get that," said Lily, Emma still giggling sheepishly behind her.

"I said…do you want to go out with me?" James said slowly, awaiting her "yes."

"Uh…I'm really sorry, Potter, but…well…no."

James gasped in surprise, astonished. "What do you mean, no?" he asked her.

Lily looked at him as though wondering why he was still there. "Well, I don't want to go out with you! It's nothing personal…well, actually, it is personal…um…maybe you should just go, Potter. Sorry." Lily looked genuinely sorry for James. James was still looking at her in shock. Then, slowly, he turned back to his friend.

"What did she say?" asked Sirius eagerly, jumping up and down, sure that she had accepted.

"She said…no…to me!" James said, still surprised.

Across the lake, Emma stared at her best friend in disbelief. "Why did you refuse him?" she asked, her mouth agape. "He is one of the best looking boys in our year!"

Lily gazed at the lake, trying to avoid Sirius, Emma, and James' accusing stares. "I…well…he's just so immature! He always pulls pranks! And…he…well…he called me pumpkin head last year!" Lily was very sensitive about her red hair at the time.

Ever since then, James vowed to make Lily his, not just so he could show everyone that he had finally gotten her, but because he really, genuinely, loved Lily, or as much as a twelve year old can love someone of the opposite gender. He started to ask Lily out nearly everyday, which quite annoyed her. He thought that by cursing other people, he could impress her. This just made her hate him more. Soon his crush on Lily turned into love, and he grew more mature. He only cursed people when they criticized her in front of him, not that Lily knew this. In her eyes, he was still stupid, cocky Potter.

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James grinned. He had finally gotten Lily Evans to love him back. He sat there, still allowing Lily to lean on him, her eyes looking up to meet his. She loved the way he casually ruffled his already messed up jet black hair when he was nervous or concentrating. She loved his calm, hazel eyes when they looked at her admiringly. She loved his tall stature and his strong physique, which allowed him to pick her up like she weighed nothing. She also loved how he always seemed to keep her safe somehow; it was like he was always protecting her. She felt comfortable and secure in his arms, and leaned in closer to him, kissing him on the lips passionately. He returned her kiss, causing her to melt in his arms, not able to think about anything but him. They carried on for quite a while, until they heard screaming from the common room entrance. They reluctantly pulled away from each other.

"HOW COULD YOU?" Emma shouted at Sirius, glaring at him. "I THOUGHT WE WERE STILL DATING!"

"Please!" Sirius growled, returning Emma's glare. "You were the one that completely ignored me for days! What was I supposed to do? Wait around for you?"

"Well, yes! You can't go around dating other people!"

"SHE HAS A NAME, YOU KNOW! JESSICA!"

"JESSICA SPARKS? Is she a good snogger, Sirius? Up to your high standards?" Emma asked him mockingly.

"Yes, she is, thank you! UNLIKE YOU!"

Emma blushed, then recovered almost instantly. She whipped out her wand. "BLACK! ONE MORE WORD, AND I SWEAR, I'LL-"

"Come off it, Clearwater! You wouldn't dare duel with one of the marauders! You've seen what James can do to those Slytherin gits-" he paused here, after James loudly cleared his throat. "Or what he used to do, sorry Prongs. You don't think he taught me any of that? I know curses that would make your head spin," he said through gritted teeth.

"Alright, try me!" Emma dared, lunging at him.

Sirius gaped at her, trying to form words, staring at her in surprise. "But I can't curse you! You're a girl! That's-that's-that's just…wrong!" James laughed. He knew his friend was about to get it, considering how Emma was Lily's best friend, Lily would have rubbed off on her a bit. Lily stared at Sirius in surprise, glaring at him.

"Excuse me? What, exactly, is wrong with cursing a girl, Black? We're just like you, you know! I can handle whatever you throw at me, but thanks so much for trying to be my hero!" Emma said coldly.

Sirius just stood there, surprised, his manners not allowing him to hex her. He looked at James helplessly, who nodded. James could understand what Sirius was going through. It was basically a rule for wizards everywhere (the respectful ones, anyway), that you do not, under any circumstances, hex a woman. It's just wrong!

Suddenly, Emma lunged at Sirius, seeming to forget that she could have used her wand. Sirius did nothing, his feet glued to the floor, completely confused. Lily and James grabbed their best friends and pulled them apart, reprimanding them.

"What were you thinking, Emma?" asked Lily of her best friend, staring at her in amazement.

Emma started to cry, trying to hide it from Sirius and James, who were extremely confused (both of them thinking about how impossible it was to understand women's motives). Lily understood that she was sad about her break up with Sirius. "Do you want to talk about it, Em?" she asked. Emma merely shook her head, and ran upstairs to her dormitory, hiding her face from James and Sirius, who were now looking at her uncomfortably, apparently aware that something, although they did not know what, was wrong, because she was crying. Sirius looked down at the floor sheepishly.

"Er…what…just happened?" asked James awkwardly. He never really knew how to handle it when girls got too emotional.

"She feels bad that you're dating Jessica, Sirius," Lily said, gazing at Sirius, hoping for some type of emotion from him. "She really liked you, you know."

Sirius remained to stare at the floor, apparently interested in it."I liked her, too," he said weakly, feeling horrible about making a girl cry. He hated it when girls cried. You never know what to do, he thought. They start sobbing all over you for no apparent reason, and you're supposed to know why! They really ought to come with a manual. "Erm…I think I'm going to go upstairs now," he said to them. "'Night Lily. See you when you're done snogging her, Prongs," he teased, looking at them knowingly, making Lily's face match the color of her hair, and James to ruffle his hair nervously.

Both Lily and James looked at each other with concern for their friends. "I suppose there is nothing we can really do for them right now," said Lily, looking at James reasonably.

James grinned, and looked at Lily, his eyes full of mischief. "Well, if there's nothing we can do for them, right now, how about we take Sirius' suggestion?" he asked, referring to Sirius' previous comment. Lily blushed madly, nodding her head fervently, while James remained to be calm, not at all embarrassed about the suggestion, which amazed her. He pulled her with both hands onto the couch, and started to kiss her.