I Never Gave Up

Hey! Sorry again for the late update, hopefully this will make it up to you! Anyway, From Hate to Love has, sadly, been deleted, but I'm going to repost it soon; I'm still revamping it. Just thought you'd like to know. Anyway, enjoy this chappie!

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. The rest belongs to J.K Rowling

Chapter 3

A week later, and Lily was as busy as ever. She had just gotten back from the courtroom to ask the judge for a continuance for her case, and she was exhausted, having to argue all day.

She was now seated in her office, a cup of coffee in her hand, as she looked over the file folder of the case she was currently working on. Suddenly, Kevin Tyler, the overall Head of the Department( the dept. is sub-divided depending on the type of case), as well as the most arrogant jerk Lily had ever met besides James Potter himself, sauntered in. She knew it was him without even looking because she knew the loud sound that came from his highly-polished Salvatore Ferregamo (he loved Muggle fashion because they were expensive) shoes too well. It was a sound that irritated her a lot.

"What do you want?" she asked, not bothering to look up from her work. Even though he was her boss, she did not use the tone of voice that was full of respect she used in speaking to her superiors when she talked to him.

"Are you done reviewing Jamieson's case's yet? I need the file" he drawled. Lily wrote a few more lines, then closed the file folder and handed it to Kevin. He opened it and read it, taking his time.

"Cant you read it in your own office, boss?" Lily said, sarcasm dripping from the last word she spoke, "I believe you, damaged as your head is with images of yourself, still haven't forgotten the way to your own office".

Kevin pretended not to hear her. After finishing scanning, he said, "My, my, Lily, you do seem to be losing your touch. This way you've dealt with the case is not measuring up to your usual standards. The opinion you have of it is very wrong, I must say".

"It's my own view, not yours, Tyler, that's exactly why it's called an opinion," she said through gritted teeth.

Again, he pretended not to hear her. "And not only that, I've seen that you're asking for a continuance for this case, correct? That must mean that you're finding this hard. If I'd handled this case, I would've---"

"If you are so sure of yourself, why don't you handle the damn case instead?" Lily half-yelled, very angry by now. He was the main reason why her office life was not that satisfactory.

"Because darling," he said in a condescending tone which made Lily even more angry. "I, being Head of the Department, handle only overly complex cases, and not cases like these that simple-minded mediocre lawyers can't even solve".

That was it. Lily walked out from her desk, strode over to Kevin, and, looking very red in the face, was about to slap him, but he was able to hold on to her hand. "Ah, ah, ah, Ms. Evans. You don't want to get fired, now do you?"

She didn't reply, and he smirked. Then, continuing as if nothing had happened, he began to read the file again. As he did so, he suddenly said in a casual tone, "You know, I reassigned Jeremy to another department today".

"YOU DID WHAT!" Lily roared in a voice so loud that he looked genuinely taken aback. "YOU REASSIGNED JEREMY? ARE YOU INSANE?"

"No, I'm perfectly sane, thank you very much," her boss said, his voice now like ice, "And I reassigned Jeremy because his talent is needed in another department. International Magical Cooperation. And I'm sure he will do very well there too".

"You asshole," Lily muttered under her breath. Aloud she snapped, "And my new boss is gonna be, who?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out. It'll be announced in the Ministry party, don't worry" he said coolly, and with that, he left Lily's office with the file in his hand, smirking and leaving behind a very fuming Lily Evans.

..------..

"JEREMY PAUL LEWIS!" Lily yelled loudly as she entered Jeremy's office, shutting the door with a loud bang, and casting a silencing charm on the room. "I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU DIDN'T TELL ME THAT YOU'RE GETTING REASSIGNED!"

"Lils, please don't yell". Jeremy said, shutting the folder he was reading from. "And I'm sorry, but Tyler told me only today, what could I do? I can't fight him; you know what happens when someone goes against his decision. The last time someone did they were last seen jumping into the Crocodile Lake".

"Your right. Sorry. It's just….." Lily's voice trailed off, but Jeremy understood completely. "I'll miss having you around. And it's not fair too," her voice turned a bit whiny. "Now, you'll get to escape Tyler while I have to get stuck with Mr. Pompous Ass and get used to a new boss too".

"Tough luck, Lils," Jeremy said, smiling softly.

"How'd Kelsey react to this yet?"

"Well….uh….."

"Oh, for goodness sake, Jeremy, you didn't tell her yet, are you crazy?" Lily said, exasperated. "She's your girlfriend, and you haven't said this to her? You're unbelievable!"

"I know, it's stupid of me not to tell her right away, but I planned to tell her tonight on our date. She's usually in a better mood after eating at her favorite restaurant," Jeremy assured her.

Lily sighed. "Great. I'll miss you being my boss. Oh, and speaking of which, do you know who the Criminal Law Department's new boss will be?" she asked her friend.

Jeremy made a strangled, almost nervous sounding cough as he said hastily, "Oh, what I—um, that is….well….no. No, I…don't. You'll find out at the Ministry party, don't worry".

Lily raised her eyebrow, not looking entirely convinced, but said nothing. There was something about the way Kevin Tyler smirked a while ago and Jeremy's reaction to her question that made her think that something was up.

"Listen, Lily, I'll talk to you later. I still have a meeting with the Minister to arrange some papers for the transfer. Trust Tyler to transfer me without any warning then leaving me to process everything" Jeremy shook his head, and with a final smile at Lily, he left.

Lily sighed once again, and left the room as well, the nagging feeling of suspicion not ebbing one bit.

..------..

That night, in Jeremy's apartment…..

He was back from his date with Kelsey. He had told her, of course, and she had gotten upset, but once he had assured her that getting transferred into a new department would not affect their relationship, she gradually accepted it. That was one problem solved. Now he was thinking of the other one: Lily.

He kept on thinking about that conversation she had with Lily. He kept on reliving that instant when he told her that he didn't know who the guy who was replacing him was. Actually, he didn't tell her not because he didn't know. On the contrary, he perfectly knew who it was. He didn't tell her because he didn't want her to now. At least not now. He knew that if she knew right away she would freak and probably not attend the Ministry party at all.

In Lily's flat……

She was in her kitchen, fixing herself a cup of coffee. Once finished, she took the steaming mug with her and sat down on the couch. She was surprised to see her old Hogwarts year book lying neatly on the coffee table in front of her.

"Wow, I haven't looked at this in a while," she murmured to herself. She took a sip of her coffee and began to flip the pages.

She smiled, seeing her friend's and classmates old photos. She, of course, skipped the Slytherins. Lily didn't know whether to be amused or weirded out when she found that the Marauders had a section all to themselves, their pictures and biographies, as well as pictures of their pranks and other memorable moments.

"I can't believe they actually got to bribe whoever was printing this into getting an entire section to themselves," Lily mused to herself, an amused glimmer in her eyes. She took a closer look at the pictures.

She had a good deal of laughing when she saw some random pictures and remembered some good times. But as she peered closely over the Christmas section, she gasped.

There in the middle of everything, was a picture of her and James Potter, when they had accidentally kissed during the season. And another picture of her and James dancing—opening the dance-- during the Winter Ball. How could someone get pictures of this…..unless…..she ground her teeth and said one word. "Black".

Making a mental note to contact him tomorrow, she shut the book, and finished her coffee in silence. Rain had started to pour, first as a light drizzle then becoming a steady downpour. She sighed contentedly; she had always loved the rain.

She spent her time there on the couch, just thinking about her life in general. Without knowing it, her eyes suddenly drooped closed, and she slumped into the couch and slept, images of last Christmas seeping through her mind, particularly the one where she and James had kissed, her most hated moment.

But, if dreaming about having kissed James Potter was her most hated moment, then why on earth was Lily Evans smiling?