Life is no bed of lilies

Disclaimer: Do we really need to go through this again?

Chapter 3: Anger Management Classes

A/N: The mention of the Giant Squid is thanks to my friends Pailin and Stephanie. Guys, be thankful that I mentioned you!

The following Friday night found Lily in the library, head bent studiously over a monstrously thick book.

"Aren't you ever the smart one, Evans?" said a male voice from behind her. This was, without doubt, James.

An unexpected groan came from Lily as she slammed her forehead onto the crinkled pages of the textbook.

"GO AWAY, POTTER. I DON'T NEED YOU HERE RIGHT NOW!" came the muffled reply.

Now, James was never one for obeying orders, so he walked towards Lily and sat next to her, tilting his head curiously to judge her mood. Lily, sensing the boy's presence, lifted her head slowly and turned the full force of her merciless glare upon him, hoping to send him scuttling away.

"Now now, Lily flower, it's not good for your image if people hear you yelling at me. They might think it's a lovers' tiff!"

If the git thinks he's helping, boy is he in for a surprise!

James managed to count to three before he became Lily's personal punching bag.

"Evans, ow! Stop! Don't you… ow! Hey! Stop it! Don't you think we could… ow! Talk this through maybe?" the poor boy asked hopefully amid punches.

"Talk? You want to talk? I didn't see you do much talking when we were at the last Prefects' meeting, did I? Did you talk when your idiot of a friend Black thought it'd be funny to throw me into the Lake? Did you?" Lily questioned angrily, her face once again resembling a tomato. To James's great surprise, her brilliant eyes welled up with tears and her punching ceased to continue. Lily's hands now hung limply by her side as she slid down the wall, tears streaming down her cheeks.

No-one truly understood what she had been through the past week. After the incident involving the conspicuous love letter, James had become the object of everyone's conversations. Being the kind and loving (not in that sense!) friend that he was, Sirius had decided to shine the spotlight on the school's beloved Head Girl by throwing her, books and all, into the Great Lake with the Giant Squid as her companion. Needless to say, the soaked and severely cold Lily had not been pleased with the turn of events, and had resorted to her cosy corner in the library. The books did make a better companion than the Giant Squid ever would.

James stood up cautiously, eyeing Lily with something akin to sympathy. He squatted down in front of her and pulled her to her feet, offering the girl some comfort.

"There now, it's alright, Lily. I'm sorry, really I am."

As a reward for his kindness, James became Lily's punching bag once again. With a sigh, the Head Boy admitted that the redhead's temper and resolve never wavered even during times of distress.

Moments later, when Lily was certain that her waterworks display wouldn't continue, she lifted her head from James's chest and stared at him, unable to figure out the reason behind his helpfulness.

"I'm not such a terrible guy, Evans, if that's what you're wondering. But I highly suggest anger management classes for you!" James teased.

It was no wonder that James entered the Gryffindor Common Room sometime later, bruised and ruffled from all the physical abuse he had encountered.

Review, and I won't have to hyperventilate. That was a bit of a short and quick chapter, wasn't it?