A/N: Written for IWSC Writing School, Round 1 (A/N with sentences to be judged at the end.)

School: Hogwarts
Year: Exchange 2
Topics: Gripping Opening Sentence & Special Punctuation
WC: 847

"Leave me alone, Potter. I'm done."

Lily turns and storms off while James stays rooted to the spot where he's standing in the middle of the long corridor. He's not convinced she's done. She never has been; she never will be. Their relationship means just as much to her as it does to him—he knows this—and she'd have to be Imperiused to let the Death Eaters' decree forbidding marriages between Pure-bloods and Muggle-borns stop them.

Yet, the further away she gets causes his confidence to weaken. He has to do something to draw her back, so he calls after her retreating form.

"So, that's it, then? You're just going to give up?"

He waits, knowing how much she hates to lose and when she doesn't respond, he continues to goad her (though it's against his better judgment).

"This isn't worth fighting for? We aren't worth fighting for? Even after everything we've worked for all these years?"

Finally, James's words break through the barrier Lily's thrown up in an effort to ignore him and walk away. She halts and turns around, her long, auburn locks whipping around in matched ferocity with the blazing look on her face. Angry sparks fly from the tip of her wand, matching her demeanor. He's in for it now.

"That's not what this is about and you know it," she snaps.

James throws his hands up and rakes them through his already messy hair, making it more unruly with each swipe. "Then what is it about? Please, Evans, enlighten me."

Lily groans in frustration and takes off again to avoid his question. This time James chases after her, determined to get some answers. He almost misses her dart into an empty, abandoned classroom, but his movements are agile and he slides through the slit in the doorway before she has a chance to lock him out.

The door clicks shut and in an instant, Lily's wand is pointing at James. He throws his hands up in surrender, thinking she's going to hex him, but instead she casts a locking and silencing charm on the door. He's not sure how long he has to convince her she's wrong, so he launches into pleading his case.

"Lily, you can't do this. You can't walk away. It's as good as letting them win!"

She crosses her arms across her chest before James can reach out and take her hands. "It's not about letting them win. It's about you and your need to be chivalrous; your need to protect those closest to you. If I stay with you, you'll somehow manage to get yourself killed, and I won't be able to live with the knowledge that it's my fault."

"That's not—"

"Yes, it is!" Lily cuts him off. " Just look at your track record. There's Sirius, who you invited to live with you during school holidays so he didn't have to go back to his wretched home life; Remus, who you learned how to become an Animagus for, risking your life every month to make his transformations easier; Peter, who you welcomed into your group of friends because he had no one else, even though it wasn't the most popular of decisions at first. Need I go on?"

James clenches his jaw tighter as she runs down her list. He wonders when it became wrong to show loyalty and devotion to those he cares about. He'd do anything for any of them, which is what leads him to his next bargaining chip to keep his girlfriend.

"So, what do you want me to do? Not join the Order? Stand on the sidelines while others fight for me? If it means I can be with you and we can hide away until this is all over, I'll do it. Lily, you mean more than anything to me."

Tears fill Lily's eyes as she looks up at him. In a hushed, broken voice she whispers, "I know."

James holds his arms open and steps toward her, wishing only to provide comfort. Lily steps into them gratefully, wrapping her arms tight around his middle. They stay in each other's embrace for who knows how long. Lily's tears soak into James's robes but he doesn't care, so long as she's close.

"Please don't do this. We can make this work." James breaks the silence.

It's his final plea. He presses a soft kiss to her crown and waits with bated breath for her answer. After several agonizing seconds that feel like minutes, she pulls away.

Her lip quivers. "I'm sorry," is all she can muster, leaving James with the verbal gut punch before lifting the spells and escaping the privacy of the classroom and the comfort of his arms.

All James can do is listen to her footsteps echo until the distance becomes too wide to hear them anymore.

This can't be over.

Yet, despite how desperately James clings to the tiny glimmer of hope the thought provides, he can't ignore the seeds of doubt poisoning his brain slowly, surely, until he wonders if she ever loved him at all.

A/N: For the punctuation challenge I'd like the following sentences judged please:

Semicolons:

1) She never has been; she never will be.

2) There's Sirius, who you invited to live with you during school holidays so he didn't have to go back to his wretched home life; Remus, who you learned how to become an Animagus for, risking your life every month to make his transformations easier; Peter, who you welcomed into your group of friends because he had no one else, even though it wasn't the most popular of decisions at first.

Dashes:

1) Their relationship means just as much to her as it does to him—he knows this—and she'd have to be Imperiused to let the Death Eaters' decree forbidding marriages between Pure-bloods and Muggle-borns stop them.

2) "That's not—"

"Yes, it is!" Lily cuts him off.

Brackets:

1) He waits, knowing how much she hates to lose and when she doesn't respond, he continues to goad her (though it's against his better judgment).

Thank you for reading!