Disclaimer: Only own the plot, and rated 'cause I'm paranoid.

Chances Ruined

'But I don't want to go!' Lily whined.

'Lily, it's a Heads' meeting, you have to go!' Lily's best friend and roommate, Anna, retorted. Lily and Anna were in Anna's dorm room. It was the Saturday after the start of term, and there was a Heads' meeting in the Heads' common room, with the Head Boy. The Head Boy and Girl had to meet to set the patrolling schedules for themselves and the Prefects, as well as some other things. The only problem was that the Head Girl hated the Head Boy.

'I know, it's just that…he…is going to be there!'

'Well, he, is Head Boy after all, and I don't know why you hate him so much! I find him very attractive,' Anna said, a smile on her face.

'Although not as attractive as dear Remus now, is he?' Lily smirked in triumph too soon. A pillow promptly came zooming her way and hit her squarely in the nose.

'That's it. Lily Evans you are going to that Heads' meeting whether you like it or not. You will cooperate with James and you will make those schedules work. You are not to come to see me until that is done properly!'

'But –'

'No 'buts' about it. You are going and that's final.'

'Ann –' Lily started, but she didn't finish her sentence as Anna pushed her out of the seventh year Gryffindor girls' dormitory and shut the door in her face.

Lily walked down the stairs and into the Gryffindor common room, looking around at the assortment of people there, noting the Marauders (minus James, who Lily thought was already in the Heads' common room waiting for her) and some of Sirius' fan girls surrounding them. Lily internally shook her head at the ditzy girls surrounding Sirius, Remus and Peter. She smiled as she saw that her fellow Prefect of two years didn't seem to want to be there right now, as he was sending annoyed glances at Sirius, who didn't seem to notice.

Lily continued walking, through the common room and out the portrait hole, going along various staircases and corridors until she came to a specific corridor on the fifth floor. She walked briskly up to the portrait of a boy and a girl, no older than ten, playing on the swings in a park. She whispered the password ('Gum drops') and the portrait swung open to admit her into the beautiful room that was the Heads' common room.

The Heads' common room was the most beautiful room Lily had ever seen. The room was painted red, with little gold starts here and there. There were three couches and two armchairs grouped around the fireplace (with a gorgeous, wood table in the middle), which now had a crackling fire in its grate. There were also two sets of stairs at the far end of the room, the one on the right leading up to Lily's room, and the one on the left leading up to James'. There were two desks, on either side of the room, each with a chair embroidered with Lily and James' names.

Lily noticed Potter already sitting in one of the armchairs by the fire, and walked towards him, wanting to get this over with as soon as she could.

'Hey Evans!' James greeted her enthusiastically.

'Hello Potter,' Lily replied curtly, sitting down in the other armchair, which was placed directly across from the one James was sitting in, with the table in between in two pieces of furniture.

'I've only just started to work on the patrolling schedules,' he started. 'There are,' he glanced quickly down at his list, 'twenty-three Prefects now, since you're Head Girl, and I'm Head Boy, even though I wasn't a Prefect.' Lily scowled. She was obviously not pleased that James made Head Boy without even being a Prefect first. 'So, since there isn't a seventh year Gryffindor female Prefect, for patrolling purposes, I think Remus should be with…' he ran his finger down his list quickly, 'the seventh year Ravenclaws. He gets along with them. Is that ok with you?' he asked, glancing up at her.

Frankly, Lily was a little surprised that he was actually taking his appointment seriously, and that he had also thought up a solution to a potential problem so quickly. 'Yeah, sure,' she replied. 'So then there are twenty Prefects left, that means ten pairs, so eleven groups altogether to do patrolling, not including us,' Lily recited. 'Then if there are three groups patrolling a night, four of the seven nights are covered, with one night having only two groups...then I guess we have the last three along with the professors,' Lily finished glumly. Although Lily loved the responsibility of being Head Girl, having to do patrolling down dark, deserted corridors three nights a week with James wasn't on the top of her to-do list.

'Alright,' James muttered, already scribbling furiously on the parchment, careful not to miss anything Lily said. He wanted her to know that he wasn't all pranks and immaturity; that he really could be serious and mature about things. He wanted her to see the side of him that he never got to show her. The side of him that was always overpowered by his desire to impress her. The side of me that I should have taken the time to show her a long time ago, James thought as he continued to write feverishly on the parchment. Now it's just going to take even longer to gain her trust. James chanced a quick glance up at Lily, who had a faraway look on her face, and sighed quietly. But I'd wait a lifetime for her. Even if it's just for her to be there, at my deathbed, when I take my last breath…

James cleared his throat, brining Lily back to Hogwarts. Her expression was annoyed, and James, noticing that, showed her the timetable he made. 'Monday would be Remus with the seventh year Ravenclaws, with the seventh year Slytherins. They can be the two groups because there are still five people, so it's not that off-balance. Wednesday can be seventh year Hufflepuffs, the sixth year Slytherins, and the sixth year Hufflepuffs. Friday would be the sixth year Ravenclaws, the sixth year Gryffindors, and the fifth year Slytherins. And then finally on Sunday it would be the fifth year Gryffindors, fifth year Ravenclaws, and the fifth year Hufflepuffs.' James looked up at Lily. 'Then we'd get Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday with the professors. That way we don't have to patrol two nights in a row. How does that sound?' The only thoughts running through James' head were that of hoping Lily liked his schedule.

'It's pretty good, but I think we should switch the sixth year Hufflepuffs with the…fifth year Ravenclaws. That way the patrollers on Sunday aren't all fifth years, and if they have a question they can ask someone with experience.'

Lily watched as James scratched out the offending pairs and switched them. He handed her back the list. 'That better?'

Lily studied the list for a minute. 'Yeah,' she said. 'It's good. There aren't any double Slytherin pairs patrolling on the same night so I think we're good.' She rolled up the parchment and stuck it in her robes. 'The professors are going to continue patrolling tonight and tomorrow night, so the official patrols will begin Monday night then.'

'Alright, so now…what else do we need to do?' James asked. He yawned and leaned back in his armchair, stretching his arms, while Lily took out a different scroll of parchment from her pocket. She unraveled it, crossing off Patrol Schedules and reading the other things the Headmaster had asked them to agree on. Apart from figuring out the patrolling, the two Heads also had to agree on Hogsmeade dates. Lily blinked and looked back at the list. There were only two items on the list. Agreeing on the patrol schedule and Hogsmeade dates for the first two months. She turned it over to reveal a blank back.

'All we have to do now is figure out Hogsmeade dates for this month and next,' Lily said, surprised there was nothing else to do. James looked surprised too.

'Seriously?' he asked, holding out his hand for the paper.

'Yes, Potter, seriously. You think I'm lying to you?' Lily snapped, irritated that he thought her a liar. She quickly re-rolled the scroll up and stuck in back in her pocket.

'No, Evans,' he exclaimed, raising his hands in the air in mock surrender. 'I just thought the list would be longer is all.' How stupid can I be? James thought, angry with himself. Now I'm back at square one. Great.

'Well, that's it, so let's get this over with quickly. We only have to do two months worth. I thought we could do every other Saturday, starting with next weekend.'

'Fine with me,' he agreed.

'Every other Saturday it is then,' Lily muttered, and jotted the dates down on the same parchment as the patrolling list.

Lily glanced at her watch, and without another word stood up and headed for her room. 'Hey, Evans,' James called out, just as Lily's foot touched the bottom-most stair. Lily turned around, almost in slow motion, annoyance clearly etched on her face.

'What, Potter?' she said, trying to keep her voice calm. James knew she was angry with him already, and shouldn't push her buttons, especially if he wanted to show her how responsible and mature he could be, but the word were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

'Come to Hogsmeade with me?' Internally he was cursing his impulsiveness with every fiber of his being.

James could see Lily's beautiful face contort with anger, her emerald green eyes flash, and her vibrant red hair practically crackle with electricity. God, James thought, she's even stunningly beautiful when she's angry.

'No Potter,' Lily said, trying to keep her voice even. 'I will not go to Hogsmeade with you. You know why I won't go to Hogsmeade with you, Potter?' There was a moment of silence. 'BECAUSE I HATE YOU!'

Lily stamped up to her dorm, careful to slam the door at the top. And as James watched Lily make her way up to her dorm and violently shut her door, he felt as if his heart was breaking in two.

A/N: Woo! My first story that isn't a one-shot. I'm so proud of me! Lol.

Love? Hate? Let me know and review! Thanks bunches. :hugs:

In case you guys needed a visual thing or whatever, the following chart is the Patrolling Schedule Lily and James made:

Monday – Gryffindor, seventh year; Ravenclaw, seventh year; Slytherin, seventh year

Tuesday – Lily, James, and Professors

Wednesday – Hufflepuff, seventh year; Slytherin, sixth year; Ravenclaw, fifth year

Thursday – Lily, James, and Professors

Friday – Ravenclaw, sixth year; Gryffindor, sixth year; Slytherin, sixth year

Saturday – Lily, James, and Professors

Sunday – Gryffindor, sixth year; Hufflepuff, sixth year; Hufflepuff, fifth year