Disclaimer: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling. The plot of this story was greatly inspired by the movie, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.
Author's Note: Thanks to beachbabe12, Hollabulooooooooo, iluvsinging333, Miss Myrtle360, pipperrocks13, tropicalpunch9812, pinocchio, Vanessa, alli88, siriusforeva, zuska1985, famousindafuture, Mariana-chan, Erkith, reader-not-a-reviewer, AddictedtoCookies, LCH8292, demen, JeNnIfEr88, PadfootsPrincess4Life, LandJ-SandD-Fan, and m-girls for reviewing! I love you all!
"I almost feel bad for the poor guy," Lily told Sam and Kelsey as the three girls stood in the bathroom, all putting the final touches of their make-up on.
"Don't feel bad, think of all the crap he's done to you in the past six years," Sam reminded her.
"I know, but I mean, referencing, certain parts of him, that just seems so harsh," Lily replied, giving her two friends a look of sympathy for James.
"Well, it is kind of mean, I suppose, but it's for the plan," Kelsey reminded her.
"I know, I still feel bad though," she answered.
"Where did you come up with that anyway?" Sam asked, laughing to herself as she tried to picture the look on James's face when Lily said he was small in the pants.
"I don't know, it just kind of came to me. I mean, we were sitting there, in the library, and I couldn't think of anything," she told her friends. Then, her cheeks blushing, she added, "And he lap was just there."
"Oh my God, you whore," Kelsey teased, knowing that her name calling was about as far away from Lily's characteristics as possible.
"What did he do, when you said that?" Sam asked, a large smile still present on her face.
Lily laughed and then said, "He got all defensive about it; it was so funny. His cheeks were bright red, and it kind of looked like he was beginning to sweat a little bit too… My God, that was awkward."
"That boy is going to wish he had never set eyes on you by the time you're done with him, Lils," Kelsey told her.
"I know, and just imagine, that was only day one," Lily said.
"What do you have in store for today?" Sam asked.
"I'm not sure quite yet, maybe we'll go down to the lake this afternoon, and I'll see what comes to me," she answered, grinning as she spoke. She was going to do more than make James Potter wish he had never set eyes on her, she was going to make him wish he were dead.
---
Meanwhile, James walked out of the seventh year boy's bathroom, a white towel wrapped around his waist. "I just don't get her," he complained.
"Why's that?" Remus asked.
"One minute, she's amazing. She's everything I've always looked for in a girl. She's smart, witty, an amazing sense of humor, honest, easy to talk to, and drop dead gorgeous. And then next minutes, it's like a bloody monster was released from a cage, she's completely insane," James answered, a bewildered look on his face.
"So, the whole love thing isn't working out too well is it?" Sirius asked, a grin on his face.
"Shut up," James said, glaring at his best friend.
"So, that's one day down, nine to go," Sirius said looking very pleased with himself. "Face it, Prongs, there's no way in hell she'll fall for you in nine days."
"At least not without him cracking first," Remus replied.
"No, I'm going to win this bet," James staunchly informed his friends.
"We'll see," Sirius answered, a large grin still present on his face. "We'll see."
A moment of silence passed as the four Marauders got dressed and ready for their classes. Thankfully, they were done relatively early that day, at 2:30. Afterwards, they were free to do as they please. James hoped that he would be able to spend time with Lily after classes; an effort to see her true self, one that he prayed differed from the Lily in the library last night.
Thinking about his embarrassing adventure in the library the previous evening, James looked at his friends and asked, "If there was a rumor going around the school, about me, you would all let me know, right?"
"Yeah," his three friends said in unison.
"Why?" Sirius asked.
"Just checking," he replied with a sigh.
---
At 2:35 that afternoon, Lily found herself walking the halls of Hogwarts looking for James. Although they were both in all of the same classes, James bolted for the door as soon as class was let out, whereas Lily stayed for a minute to thank the professor for another good lesson. Now, though, she wished she had left right away as well.
She desperately wanted to see James; it was like an obsession. She wanted to see him and make his life miserable. For all of the years that he put frog spawn in the hood of her cloak or hexed a boy that asked her out for a date, she was ready for payback. There was no better way, either, than a sweet revenge. This was certainly sweet revenge. She could make his life miserable without even him knowing she was doing it on purpose.
She wandered up to Gryffindor Common Room to see James's three best friends, but no sign of James. She took a deep breath and approached the three boys that were seated on the plush red sofas. She noticed that Remus and Sirius were playing wizard's chess while Peter anxiously watched the game.
"Hello," she brightly said.
"Hey," they all answered, none of them looking up from their game.
"Have you seen James around?" she questioned.
"Upstairs," they all said.
"Um, okay," she began. She was going to ask if any of them would mind going into their room to get him, but realized that if she couldn't attract their attention with a cheerful hello, there was no use in trying to get them to help her get James.
She walked away from the three boys and towards the boy's staircase, hoping to see James walking down. To her dismay, there wasn't any sign of any wizard on the empty staircase. She hesitated for a moment, looking around to make sure the coast was clear, and then bolted up the stairs. She checked all the doors, hoping to see James's name written in gold ink across the wooden doors.
Finally, about half way up the staircase, she came across his name. Along with it, the other three Marauder's names were engraved. She frowned for a moment, wondering how the four boys managed to get a room to themselves, but then ignored her thoughts.
Lily knocked on the door, and when she heard "its open" from inside, she grasped the handle and opened the door. Once she stepped inside, she was surprised to see that it was set up similar to her own dorm room. There was a bed for each of the Marauders inside, each one equipped with a red curtain. It was fairly messy, cloths and books scattered across the floor.
"Lily," James said, jumping when he saw her.
"Hey," she replied, flashing him a smile.
"What're you doing in here?" he asked.
"Your friends told me you were up here, so I came up here," she weakly answered.
"Have a seat," he offered, clearing all the junk off his bed.
"Thanks," she awkwardly said. She surveyed the room again, noticing that where she hung posters of tasteful art, he the boys hung posters of their favorite Quidditch teams. She also noticed a few magazines on the floor, most were about Quidditch, but she also glanced at the cover of one with a woman on the cover, wearing nothing but a bathing suit.
"So," he said, running his fingers through his hair, "what's new?"
"Not much," she replied. James stood in front of her for a moment, looking awkward, unsure of what to do. "You know, you can sit down."
"Um, right," he replied, taking a seat next to her on the bed.
"True or false: all's fair in love and war?" Lily asked, turning to face him.
"True," he answered, a large grin appearing in his face.
"Good."
"It was a good question," he commented. He could tell today was going to be like the moment they shared yesterday, in the common room. He and Lily were going to engage in a fantastic conversation, and she was going to be his dream girl.
"Do you believe in love at first sight?" she asked.
"Of course," he answered.
"Really?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I don't know, I guess I just never pictured you as that type of guy," she replied.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I usually think of the whole 'love at first sight' bit to be for people who are hopeless romantics. They type of people that will put their entire heart on the line, be vulnerable at times, and think that love conquers all," she answered.
"You don't think I'm like that?" he asked.
"Honestly, no."
"Well, I may not be exactly like that, but I still do believe in love at first sight," James said. "My dad once told me that the moment he saw my mother, he knew he was in love. They were at a party, he saw her across the room, and he said it was as if she was glowing. He couldn't help but stare at her, wondering who she was and where she came from. An hour later, he approached her and they started talking. They hit it off great, and six months later were married. Now, twenty years later, they're still madly on love."
"Wow, that sounds really nice."
"Doesn't it though?" he replied with a grin.
"Is that why you believe in love at first sight?" she asked.
"Partly."
"What's the other part?"
"That is for me to know, and you to find out," he answered, smiling sweetly at her.
"That's no fun."
"Its fun for me," he teased before asking, "how about you, do you believe in it?"
"No…I think you really have to know the person, and that's the only way to fall in love," she answered.
"Have you ever been in love?"
"No."
"Me neither," he replied.
A moment of silence passed between the young couple, but it was a comfortable silence. They were both lost in thought, surprisingly about each other. Lily didn't see James as the boy she was supposed to be driving away. Instead, she viewed him as a guy she'd like to learn more about, a guy that intrigued her. James, too, was intrigued by Lily. He wanted to know what she was thinking about, he wanted to study her more, know everything about the love of his life.
"Do you mind if I use your bathroom for a moment?" Lily asked, suddenly realizing that she was beginning to think good thoughts about James. She needed to get away from him for a moment, regain control of the plan. She needed to drive him away.
"Sure, it's right there," he answered, pointing to the door across the room.
She got off the bed and stepped inside, closing the door tightly behind her. She grasped her hands on either side of the porcelain sink, staring at her reflection in the mirror. She needed to think of something, anything to drive him away. She took a deep breath before splashing some ice-cold water on her face.
"Think Lily, think," she whispered to herself. A moment later, her head flipped up, looking into the mirror again. She had a large grin plastered across her face; she knew exactly what to do.
Lily opened the door and was pleased to see that James still sitting on the bed. She casually strolled over to him, giving him a seductive smile.
"Does that door have a lock?" she asked, pointing to the entrance to the room.
"Um, yeah," he answered with a gulp.
"Good," she said, walking over to the door and locking it.
She then proceeded to walk over to James, back toward the bed. She sat down next to him briefly before turning toward him and tackling him to the bed. She fiercely pinned him to the bed, kissing his lips.
Lily was surprised to find that he was a good kisser, a very good kisser. She could feel herself melting into the kiss. It was like something she had never experienced before, breath taking really. It was as if all her energy was absorbed into that kiss, making it passionate.
She almost gave into the kiss, which was what her body was telling her to do. But knowing that it would mess up her plan, she ordered herself not to get too involved in what may have been the best kiss she ever received. Instead, she straddled her legs across him and moved her hands to his chest.
With one swift action, she bolted upright, staring down at him. "Oh my God, this is way too fast for me."
James looked up at her; his breaths were sharp and deep. He hadn't been kissed like that in his entire life, nothing felt like that. It was as if he'd died and gone to heaven; this kiss was magical.
"Too fast?" he asked.
"Way too fast," she answered, still straddling him.
"Okay," he simply said, not yet over the initial shock of the kiss.
"But oh my God, that was, that was really…" she didn't finish though, because an instant later she bent back down to kiss him, this time fiercer than before. Her hands went to his hair, which she found to be surprisingly soft for a man's hair.
She felt his arms wrap around her, engulfing her into a tight embrace as he kissed her. She felt his tongue at her lips, begging for entrance to her mouth. Naturally, she obliged, wanting nothing more than to be closer to him.
Five minutes later, she sat upright again, pulling herself away from pure pleasure. "Wait, I can't, I really can't."
"Okay," he said again, this time fully understanding that she meant no more kissing. He respected her, even if his body was telling him otherwise.
"Don't get that tone with me," she snapped.
James got a confused look on his face, what tone?
"James, I'm warning you, I really don't want to do this," she told him.
Was she completely daft? He said okay. He told her it was perfectly fine that she didn't want to advance to this point of a physical relationship.
"It's more than I should have done in the first place," she told him. She began taking heavy breaths as she rolled off him, her eyes starting blinking too, and light strands of tears began to flow from her eyes. In an instant, her hands flew from her faces; she was crying.
"Lily, wait, don't cry," he said, putting an arm around her shoulders.
She shrugged him off though, uncovered her eyes, and angrily looked at him before saying, "My God, I already said no!"
"What? I wasn't trying anything," he defensively said, holding both hands in front of him.
"Yes you were, don't fucking lie to me, James Potter," she bitterly replied.
"What?" he asked, wondering where this act was coming from.
"You know, I'm sorry I'm not like her," she told him.
"Who?" he asked, genuinely confused.
She abruptly got up form the bed and walked over to the stack of magazines. She picked up the issue of Playwizard and threw it at him. "Her! I'm sorry I'm not a bloody whore like her," she shouted.
"What? I didn't expect you to be like her," he said.
"Oh, so you admit it then, you look at her when you're sexually frustrated," she accused.
"I never said that!"
"Yes you did, you slimy git," she shouted, her green eyes glowing with anger.
"No, it's not even my magazine, its Sirius's," he replied, throwing the magazine on the floor as he jumped off the bed.
"You look at that magazine with Sirius?" she asked, a look of horror on her face.
"What? No," he shouted.
"Oh my God, this is just great, just great. I finally found a guy that I like, and he's gay," she said, throwing her arms up in the air.
"What? No, no, no, I don't like men! I'm not gay," he exasperatedly said. What was going on?
"Then why do you look at it with other men?" she asked.
"I don't look at it with other guys," he answered, his voice rising slightly.
"But you just admitted you look at it," she accused.
"No," he shot back, "and especially not with guys."
"But you look at it," she said. "Am I not good enough for you? Am I too fat or something?"
"What?" he asked, he could feel himself becoming more and more agitated at every word Lily spoke. "You're not fat."
"That's what they all say," she shouted.
"My fucking God, Lily, calm down."
"Calm down? Calm down? Are you calling me crazy?" she questioned.
"What? No," he answered, but then added, "But you're acting a little crazy."
"Bastard," she shouted before turning on her heel and running out the door and down the stairs.
She left James standing there, speechless. He couldn't understand what just occurred. One second they were having a pleasant conversation, the next she was coming onto him, and the next she was yelling at him for calling her fat. He couldn't understand Lily Evans. She seemed so perfect for him, yet she was driving him mad.
An instant later, Sirius, Remus, and Peter all came running into the room. "What the fuck happened?" Peter asked.
"Lily Evans is completely neurotic," James answered, shaking his head.
"What happened?" Remus asked, repeating Peter's question.
"I have got no clue," James replied, shaking his head in disbelief. "We were having a good time, and then she just snapped…I swear, I'm dealing with a woman with split personalities here."
"Prongs, she ran up to her room looking so pissed. What'd you say?" Remus asked.
"Nothing, I swear, I said absolutely nothing."
"What did you say?" Remus asked again.
"I'm telling the truth. One minute we're just sitting up here, kissing a little bit, and then she gets up saying it's moving too fast. I said okay, making it perfectly clear that we didn't have to do it any more. And then, she snapped. She accused me of looking at Sirius's dirty magazine and wishing that she was more like the girl on the cover and then she accused me of telling her she was fat," James answered. "Which is complete crap because I didn't say anything."
"Well, she looked pretty damn upset," Sirius commented.
"I know, and I just don't understand her at all," James told his friends. "When she first came up here, we were talking, and it was really nice. It was comfortable too, like the type of conversation that I always dreamed we'd talk about. A little bit of flirt, laugher, smiles, the whole deal. And then that kiss, all I can say is wow. I've kissed a lot of women before, but none were ever like that. I something, I'm not sure what, but it was different than usual. I don't know how to explain it, but it's kind of like a thrill, like Quidditch. You know the '73 World Cup, when the two seekers were going after the snitch, and everyone just held their breath, not knowing who was going to catch it, and then finally, England got it and we won?"
"Yeah," the three boys answered.
"It was like that, except better," James told them, a look of pure bliss on his face.
"That sounds incredible," Peter commented, always wanting to impress James.
"It was," he dreamily replied, and then flatly said, "but then she changed. She transformed into the crazy psycho Lily Evans from the library."
"What are you going to do?" Sirius asked.
"I'm not sure…I mean this is only the second day that we've been going out and she's driving me absolutely bonkers, but not in a good way," he confessed.
"So dump her," Sirius suggested.
"But then again, she's magical," he said, his voice sounding heavenly again.
"Does it really outweigh the craziness though?" Sirius questioned.
"Padfoot, you just want him to break up with her so he loses the bet," Peter said, a scowling look on his face.
"Hey, that's right, the bet," James said. "Peter's right, you want me to break up with her so you win. Well, that's not going to happen. You're not going to win this. By the end of the ten days, she'll be in love with me, I can promise you that…And now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go see Lily right now, hopefully convince her I wasn't being a pig, or whatever it was she called me."
As James left the room, Sirius turned to Peter and said, "You just had to remind him, didn't you?"
"Relax, Padfoot, they'll never make it the ten days," Remus reminded him.
---
Lily was fuming as she ran down the stairs and across the common room. She even went as far as sighing deeply and grumbling something among the lines of "what a jerk" as she passed the three marauders still playing wizard's chess.
As soon as she climbed the stairs to her dorm room and securely shut the door behind her however, she transformed her fuming anger into laughter. She was so proud of herself. What better way was there to get rid of James than to twist his words into a huge argument? Besides, once he realized that she wasn't interested in the physical part of a relationship, he was bound to want to leave her at once.
Although, that kiss was remarkable. Her grin widened as she thought about it. He rough hands around her back, holding her tightly to his chest. The way his tongue seemed to explore her lips. Her stomach was full of butterflies just thinking about it.
"What are you happy about?" Sam asked, stepping out of the bathroom.
"Sam, oh wow, I didn't know you were in here," she said.
"Well, I am. Now answer my question," Sam demanded.
"I was just with James," Lily replied. "And I think we're over."
"In only two days," Sam exclaimed. "I'm impressed, now give me the dirt, what happened?"
"Well, it started out that we were just talking…," Lily began, recalling the entire story to Sam. She mentioned the kiss, but not to its extreme credit that it deserved. She let it pas as if it were just a regular kiss, not passionate at all.
"Wow, that's unbelievable," Sam said, laughing as she tried to imagine James Potter stuttering about how he didn't think that lily was fat.
"I know, I'm quite happy with myself," Lily said with a bright grin.
"Aren't you glad, now that it's over, that you did my plan?" Sam asked.
"I couldn't be happier," she replied with a sigh. Or at least she hoped she couldn't be happier.
Just then, the two girls heard a knock on the door followed by a second year student say, "Lily, James Potter is down stairs yelling your name. For the sake of everyone in Gryffindor, can you please, please go down and talk to him?"
"What?" Lily snapped, the smile fading from her lips.
"He's down there, screaming your name and saying he's sorry," the young girl answered.
Lily sighed, thanked the second year student, and looked at Sam. "What do I do?"
"Well, you have to go down there," Sam replied.
"Great, just great. Just when I thought I got rid of him, he's back," Lily said as she walked toward the door and descended the stairs.
As she approached the bottom of the stairs, she saw James standing with his arms stretched on either side of the entrance. He looked tired, as if all the yelling was wearing him out.
"Will you stop yelling?" she hissed.
"Lily, thank God," he said once he saw her. "I'm so sorry, I was a jerk. You're right, I'm wrong. I should have never pressured you, or said anything."
Did she hear him right? Was he actually apologizing for something that he didn't even do?
"Please, Lily, please forgive me?" he asked, hope shining in his hazel eyes.
Fuck. He was apologizing for something he didn't do.
"I don't know, James Potter," she finally said. "You said a lot of very hurtful things to me."
"I know, and I don't know what I was thinking…I should have never….Lily, please, I need you to forgive me," he begged.
Bloody hell, this was awful.
"Please, Lily, please. Find it somewhere in your heart to forgive me."
This was pathetic, absolutely pathetic.
"Please," he asked once more, looking up at her with eyes that shined.
"Okay, fine. I'll give you one more chance," she told him, coming down the remaining steps.
He gave her a quick hug, and said, "You're amazing, you know that? Truly amazing."
Lily only smiled. This was going to be a lot harder than she had anticipated.
"So, Lily, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out a little bit. I mean, it's only four, we could go outside and do some homework together," he suggested.
"That sounds great," she answered. "Let's go sit near the lake; it's so gorgeous down there."
With that said, they parted briefly to gather their school belongings. James gloated to his friends that he won Lily back, and Lily miserably told Sam that she and James were still a couple.
Soon enough, Lily and James found themselves sitting under a large tree that sat fifteen feet away from the water's edge. It was a beautiful day outside, not a cloud in the sky. Additionally, it was unusually warm outside. Neither Lily nor James needed a coat, their school dress code clothing was quite comfortable for the weather.
For the most part, their study time together was quiet, with the exception of asking to borrow some notes, or asking questions about an assignment. Every once in a while, one of them would put down their quill or book and look out at the lake, watching the small, blue waves form.
Sometimes they would break and watch the other work, just as Lily was doing at the present moment in time. She watched as James scribbled away at a paper, she guessed it was an essay for Charms, one that she finished late the previous night.
"How's the essay coming?" she asked.
"Umm, it's alright, I suppose," James answered, looking at it from afar for a moment.
"Do you need help?" she asked.
"I don't think so," he replied, but then on second thought said, "Well, actually, if you don't have anything else to do, would you mind reading it? You know, just to make sure its okay."
"Sure," she answered, smiling at him as she took the essay from his hands. For a brief moment, their fingers touched, sending shivers down both of their spines. It was a strong connection that they felt when their skin brushed, one that sent jolts of energy through both of them.
Almost as quickly as it happened, however, Lily took her hand back, the essay with her. "Sorry," she muttered.
"It's okay," he said, unable to take his eyes off her.
"I'll just read this," she softly said, breaking eye contact with James and looking down at the scroll.
Still though, James was unable to look away from her. The feeling he felt when their hands brushed made his heart pound. Never in his life had just touching a girl's hand make him feel that way. But Lily was different, and he already knew that. There was something about her, something he would never understand, that made him long for her. The kiss earlier that day and the moment they just shared were only physical evidence of it. His heart knew it all along though. Ever since he first laid eyes on her, he knew she was special, he knew she was amazing.
Even as she read his paper, she looked graceful. Her long, red hair was blowing softly as the wind picked up, flying loosely behind her. Her skin was still radiant, as if the summer's sun wasn't quite faded yet. She looked beautiful, especially against the deep blue lake scene behind her.
"It's pretty good," she said, looking up from the Charms essay.
"Really?"
"Yeah, I'm impressed," she answered.
"I spent a long time on it," he informed her. "I started it last night, and just needed to finish it today."
"Well, I can see why you get such high marks from Flitwick," she told him. "You're an amazing writer."
"Well, thanks," he said, looking slightly embarrassed.
"I mean it," Lily replied. "You've got a lot of skills. I mean, I know it's just some essay, but the words you chose, they really brought it together…Have you ever considered writing for a career?"
"What?" he asked, stunned that she would make such a suggestion.
"Writing for a career," she repeated.
"Are you kidding me?" he questioned.
"I'm dead serious," she answered. "This was amazing. And, okay, now don't think of me any less, but in fifth year, when Binns passed out that sample essay, I knew it was yours."
"Huh?"
"Remember, in fifth year, in History of Magic class. It was an essay about the affects on the middle class after the War of 1856, and it was brilliant, probably one of the best essay I recall ever reading…And well, I begged Binns to tell me who wrote the essay, wanting to talk with whoever it was. Finally, he gave in to my nagging and told me it was you. I, of course, being the brat that I was, was disgusted that you could ever write something like that and was a baby about it and didn't talk with you about it," Lily answered.
"You remember that?" he asked.
"I told you not to judge me," she warned, only half-joking as she spoke.
"I can't believe you remember that," he stated.
"Well, it was brilliant, and I just think you should know that. You're an incredible writer, and I think you could really go places with your skills," she informed him.
"Well, thank you."
"You're welcome," she answered, a smile playing at her lips. As they sat there, looking at each other, Lily got the sudden urge to kiss James, but not like last time. Last time, the only reason she kissed him was to provoke a fight; this time, she wanted to kiss him for herself. She wanted to taste his lips again, embrace in a passionate kiss.
She leaned slightly in, and could feel that James was coming closer to her as well. She could feel his heavy breath coming closer. Her stomach began to fill with butterflies. She could smell a scent that was remarkably his own.
That is until, "If it isn't Potter and the Mudblood."
Both Lily and James moved apart from each other, both looking up to see Snape approaching them. He was still wearing his school robes over his shirt and tie, and his hair looked as greasy as ever.
"What did you call her?" James asked, standing up from his spot on the grass. He had a fierce look in his eyes, one that showed how intense and strong he was.
"You heard me, a Mudblood," Snape repeated. "You know, I didn't think it was true, that you would sink so low as to actually dating a Mudblood, Potter, but I guess I was wrong."
"Take it back, Snivellus" James warned through his teeth.
"Make me," Snape warned. Towards the end of last year, Snape had been getting more and more outgoing toward the Marauders. It was as if he wanted to get into fights with them, perhaps to try and one day win a battle against a Marauder.
An instant later, James whipped his wand out of his pocket and pointed it straight at Sirius. "Oh, I will Snivellus, you can be sure I will."
"James, stop it," Lily said, getting up from her spot on the ground. "He's not worth your time."
"Are you going to listen to your Mudblood girlfriend?" Snape asked, putting an emphasis on Mudblood.
With the flick of his wrist and a muttered spell under his mouth, James had thrown Snape back twenty feet in the air, forcing him to land on his back. "That'll show him," he muttered.
"James, you really shouldn't do that, you're going to get in trouble one of these days…and besides, you're Head Boy, you're supposed to be setting an example," Lily said.
"I am setting an example, one that says don't take any crap from Slytherins when they insult your girlfriend," James replied.
Lily rolled her eyes, he was hopeless.
Just as she was trying to think of something to say to make James stop bullying Snape, James was knocked to his feet, stiff as a board. Snape walked up toward him, a disgusted look on his face. "Don't ever turn your back, Potter," he yelled.
Lily grabbed her wand and sighed before saying the reverse spell to Snape's curse, allowing James to get up off the ground. This, however, may not have been the smartest move, because James was furious when he got to his feet. He pointed his wand at Snape and muttered another hex, sending Snape twenty feet in the air before plummeting down into the icy, cold lake. Then again, Snape was lifted out of the water before plunging back down into the lake.
The process repeated once more before Lily screamed, "Stop it right now, James."
Obeying her, James flicked his wrist and Snape was transported over to dry land, coughing up water as he landed on the grass. "I was just having a bit of fun," he said.
"James, that's not funny, you could have really hurt him," Lily argued, getting genuinely angry with James.
"He's fine, he always is," he replied.
"I'm serious, this is enough. You've tortured that poor boy for nearly six years, don't you think he's had enough emotional damage to last a life time?" she asked.
"Lily, come on," he said. "Did you hear what he called you? He deserved it."
"I did hear it, and as awful as it is, I've learned that prejudices aren't fair, but they exist. I'm dealing with it, and so should you," she scolded.
James didn't have time to respond though, for at that moment, Snape had regained enough energy to mutter one more hex. This time, James was thrown forward a good twenty feet, landing hard on the ground.
James sat grabbed his head with his hand as he sat up, rubbing the spot where he hit the ground. He could feel a headache coming about, which only made him more pissed off at Snape than before. He boosted himself off the ground just as Lily ran over to him, asking if he was okay.
"That little piece of shit," he muttered, moving past Lily and toward Snape. Once he got within hexing view of him, James lifted his wand and tossed Snape toward the nearest tree, leaving him to hang there, unable to get down.
"James, are you okay?" Lily asked as she ran toward him. "Oh my God, you're bleeding."
He felt his forehead, and looking at his fingers, he saw blood. "I'm fine, that just hurt…I mean, when Sirius and I hex him, we don't actually physically hurt him too bad, never anything to leave a bloody gash in his fucking head."
"James, let me fix that, it looks painful," Lily said.
"No, no, it's fine," he replied.
"No, James, I'm not kidding, let me wash it up…we'll just go up the castle, to the Head's bathroom, and I'll fix it up," she said.
"Fine," he grumpily responded.
As they made their way toward the castle grounds, using a spell to fly their books back to their rooms, they forgot all about Snape, leaving him hanging there until someone took pity on him and let him down.
Fifteen minutes later, they were in the Prefect's bathroom, which was closer than the Head's bathroom, and Lily was trying her best to clean James's wound. It wasn't easy though, because every time she attempted to put water on it to wash it up, he flinched and yelped.
"James, really, if you don't let me clean it, it could get infected," she told him.
"Well, let it get infected," he said.
"James, come on, it's just a bit of water."
"It stings though," he complained.
"James."
"Lily."
"Just suck it up," she told him. She took the washcloth drenched with water and dabbed at his forehead, soaking the formerly white material with red. "There that wasn't too bad, was it?"
"No," he admitted.
She then held his head in her hands and began to blow on the cut, making it jerk away from her and ask, "What the hell did you do that for?"
"James, I'm just blowing on it. It needs to dry before we can put a bandage on it," she informed him.
"No, I draw the line there. I let you wash it, which stung. But this, no way, this is painful," he replied.
"You are such a baby," she complained.
"No, I'm not."
She sighed and then blew in his face. "Ouch," he hollered. Lily only smiled at this and continued to blow in his face. He caught her off guard though and grabbed her wrists, making her laugh instead of causing him pain.
"Let me go," she said as she laughed.
"No, you're just going to start blowing on it again," he replied, a smile forming on his lips again.
"No I won't."
"Promise?"
"Promise," she answered. Just as he let go of her though, she turned toward his face and blew on the cut once again.
"You lied to me," he stated.
"Yeah, what're you going to do about it?" she asked, taunting him with her flirting voice.
He grinned at her before launching at her sides, tickling her. She laughed and squirmed, trying to get away from him. She no longer concentrated on his cut; she was only trying to save herself from his fingers.
"Stop, stop, stop," she cried out as she laughed.
"No way," he answered, a large grin on his face.
She grabbed at his hands, trying to clench his fingers together to prevent the tickles from coming. After a minute or two of struggling, she finally won, making him stop. She beamed at him, realizing how close they were together.
It was as if time itself had stopped, and only Lily and James were left. She could smell the soapy scent on his face, could see where he missed when shaving that morning, and could almost taste his breath. Her heart was beating fast again, her stomach filled with butterflies. She could feel him moving closer, he was almost to her, their lips were almost touching.
"Oh my God, I'm sorry."
They both abruptly stopped and jumped away from each other. At the door's entrance, a sixth year in Hufflepuff was standing, a towel in his hand.
"I, I didn't mean to, I'm sorry," he began.
"It's okay, we were just leaving," Lily told the boy.
With that said, Lily and James awkwardly left the Prefect's bathroom, both of them silently cursing themselves for not using the Head's bathroom as they had planned. They both desperately wanted that kiss, but now the moment had past, and they knew it wasn't coming back that night.
They reached Gryffindor in a matter of minutes, said their goodbyes, and went their separate ways towards their dorm rooms. Neither of them could forget the moment they shared, nor did either of them want to forget it.
James sighed as he wandered into the room and plopped down onto his bed.
"What happened to you?" Sirius asked, referring to the cut on his head.
"Snivellus," James responded.
"What'd he do?"
"Insulted Lily."
"So, you guys are okay?" Remus asked.
"More than okay, we're perfect for each other," he dreamily answered.
"And does she feel that way?" Remus questioned.
"I hope so," James replied.
---
"Why do you look so happy?" Kelsey asked as Lily entered their room.
"No reason," she answered.
"Lily, were you with James?" Sam asked.
"Yeah."
"Lily, pay attention," Kelsey snapped. "You're not, falling for him, are you?"
"What, me? No way," Lily said, tumbling back into reality. Sure, she had a great time with him during the past few hours, but she was certainly not falling for James Potter. She hated him, despised him. She did not like James Potter, not at all.
"Okay, because for a moment there, it seemed like you did," Kelsey replied.
"No, not at all," Lily answered, sounding very assertive. "I was just thinking about what to do to him next, that's all."
Author's Notes 2: Hey all! I know it's been a while, I hope you can forgive me! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and please remember to review!