Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Reasons Why I Hate James Potter (Edited)
1. HE KEEPS RUNNING HIS FINGERS THROUGH HIS HAIR!
2. Still ugly (he has glasses and his hair is always messed up…what a nerd, right? Right?)
3. Still mean to Severus and still a childish bully
4. Still annoying/it's just a game and I'm just a prize to him
5. Still has annoying friends (they think they're soooo cool)
6. Still house-ist (Definition: thinks Gryffindor house is better than all the other houses and hates them all— especially Slytherins)
In all her life (of twelve whole years), Lily never had to face much discrimination. Sure, she was a redhead and to some, she was the bane of human existence and marked as bad luck, but Lily never took that to heart.
Sometimes when she walked across the street, someone would call out, "Look at that carrot top go!"
Lily would occasionally roll her eyes or stick a certain damning finger in the air, but most times, she just tended to ignore them. Overall, Lily could honestly say, she had never faced true discrimination before. That is, until she came to Hogwarts.
Hogwarts was wonderful. Truly wonderful. It was filled with people of all different backgrounds and histories, and cultures and stories. It was a brilliant melting pot.
At least, it would have been brilliant if not for that one sour ingredient that ruined the whole dish—dirty blood.
The word mudblood haunted her daily.
She would walk through the halls of Hogwarts and someone would call out, "Look at that filthy mudblood in our school."
And Lily…she didn't know what to do. Deep down, she felt scared. Terrified. When someone made fun of her hair color, she knew it was only skin, or rather, hair deep, and just a joke. When someone made fun or mocked her blood, her origins, her history…they were truly disgusted by something Lily had no control over.
Lily was a muggle-born and to be suddenly introduced to a world of magic was amazing! She never imagined that something so new and wonderful to her could be so ugly to someone else.
Instead of rolling her eyes or showing off her middle finger, Lily would keep her head down and walk faster, trying to blend into the crowd (as much as her bright red hair would let her).
She had heard stories of what the pureblood elitists would do to poor muggle-borns who stood up for themselves. Hell, she had seen it herself: the poor lad hung upside down and was mocked at before being dropped into the Great Lake.
"I hope the Giant Squid eats you, filthy mudblood!" The wretched crowd jeered. After having their fill and watching him struggle in the water for a bit, they finally left before any professor could arrive and stop their cruelty.
That's when the neighboring crowd sprang into action and helped the poor boy out of the lake. The wet Hufflepuff sobbed his heart out as his friends wrapped blankets around his shivering body and tried their best to comfort him.
Lily didn't do anything. She just watched from afar and wondered, That could have been me.
It was a horrible thought. She knew that. And a selfish one at that.
There was a sad first year who just went through a traumatic event and here she was, thinking only of herself and what could have happened to her.
Lily was lucky in a way. The first time someone called her a mudblood, she had no idea what it meant, but knew enough by how foully worded it was and how nasty it sounded coming out of a Slytherin's mouth that she immediately mouthed right back and gave that sleazy fourth year a piece of her mind.
Immediately, she knew something was going to go wrong. She was a first year at that time, so she barely knew any spells, except maybe wingardium leviosa, but that wasn't really going to help her in this situation. When the fourth year lifted his wand, Lily all but stood there in fright wondering what that boy was going to do to her.
That was when Severus stepped in and stopped him. Promising the boy that Lily was only joking and she would never say anything to him again.
Lily just stood there, taking it all in, not being able to say a word. She would have been cursed to oblivion if Severus wasn't there. Adrenaline was pumping through her veins, but Lily just stood there. How very Gryffindor of her… not.
The fourth year jeered at her and Severus, "The mudblood disrespected me," he spoke with such an air of superiority, Lily would have rolled her eyes if she wasn't so scared.
"She didn't mean it, Nott," Severus said, calmly stepping in between her and the boy.
He put his hands up and spoke slowly, "She was only joking, right Lily?"
Lily's face was pale white but she managed to nod jerkily.
"I want her to apologize to me," the crooked toothed boy demanded.
"What?" Severus asked.
"Tell the mudblood to apologize to me."
Lily wanted with all her heart to say no. She wanted Severus to do something, even though he did plenty by just standing up for her.
"Lily?" Severus looked at her with a pained grimace.
No, I won't say sorry to you, monster, Lily wanted to say.
"Well, mudblood?" the boy jeered, he not so subtly grabbed his wand, which caused Lily's heart to beat faster.
"I'm… sorry," she managed to choke out.
"That's all I wanted to hear." The boy smirked evilly and patted Severus on the shoulder. "See you around, Snape."
After he left, Lily let out a shuddery breath she didn't realize she was holding and ran in the opposite direction.
Sobbing, she found a corner to hide in and ignored Severus's calls after her.
That was last year.
She was a second year now.
She was stronger. At least that was what she told herself.
Still, as she watched scenes of prideful Slytherins "teaching muggle-borns a lesson", part of her (or most of her) was too terrified to do anything but watch from the sidelines.
If the Marauders (yes, that's what they were calling themselves now) were there, they would have done something.
Pureblood James was the defender of the weak poor muggle-borns, or at least that's what he liked to believe about himself. Arrogant git he was.
Whatever, Lily didn't need him from anything. Maybe that's why she got all mad when he tried to defend her in anything.
She felt weak, but she wanted to be stronger and she didn't need James to be strong for her.
Really, all James wanted to do was help, but Lily didn't want to acknowledge that one bit.
If James and his friends were at the Great Lake when that Hufflepuff boy was being dunked, they would have fought the Slytherins to distract them and saved the boy from any further humiliation.
But the Marauders were not there and Lily just stood there and watched.
In her defense, none of the Marauders were actually muggle-born. In fact, James and Sirius were full purebloods. Not like Sirius was proud of that fact, but still.
Later that day, the Marauders did in fact get their revenge on the Slytherins by throwing an elaborate prank on the Slytherin house during dinner at the Dining Hall.
All their clothing and hair turned Gryffindor red and gold and they must have been dosed with itching powder because they all started scratching themselves like crazy.
Apparently, the only way to get rid of the itching was to douse oneself in water so the Slytherin house began throwing cups of water on themselves to relieve the itching while the other houses watched and laughed.
Lily couldn't help but feel sad as she watched Severus do the same thing. Severus who didn't share the same beliefs as the other Slytherins. In fact, there were quite a few Slytherins who never did any of the bullying, yet suffered the same consequences as everyone else.
"Gryffindors rule!" James and Sirius shouted in the Dining Hall.
Lily just went back to eating her mashed potatoes.
While the professors tried to calm the Slytherins and fix them up, Lily managed to sneak out to go back to her room.
"Evans," a voice called behind her.
Apparently, she wasn't sneaky enough. "Potter," she said with a note of disdain.
"That was quite a prank, wasn't it? I wonder who thought it up," James casually commented as he walked by her side.
"Can it, Potter, I know it was you."
"Prove it," James challenged, a teasing tone at the edge of his voice.
"Obviously, the culprit who committed the crime was a proud Gryffindor who hates all Slytherins with nothing better to do with his—"
"Or her," James added.
"Or her life," Lily finished with a nod.
"But the spell was too complicated for a little second year like me," James said innocently, "I mean the person casting the spells had to know the color changing spell, the itching spell, and a spell that reverses everything when doused in water. You know," James explained, "to parallel the bullying they did to that Hufflepuff when they threw him in the Great Lake? You heard about that, right?"
"Yeah, I got that," Lily huffed.
"The person doing the spells had to be a genius mastermind," James said grinning.
Lily breathed through her nose. "Stop complimenting yourself. And you're not as dumb as you look."
"You too," James said, and then immediately shook his head. "Not that you look dumb or anything."
"Thanks," Lily said shortly. Why were the Gryffindor rooms so far away?
"I saw you practicing self-defense charms the other day. You're really good at them."
"I like charms," Lily said, "And I want to know more spells to protect myself."
"Protect yourself from the Slytherins, you mean," James said, darkly.
"From anyone," Lily corrected, "and not all Slytherins are bad, Potter. You have to stop targeting them as a whole."
"All they care about is blood status. They are all horrible people."
"And you're just like them," Lily retorted.
James stopped in his steps and Lily faltered a bit thinking maybe she went a bit too far, but not taking back what she said.
James just stared at her, not saying a word.
Lily explained what she said, "All you care about is the Gryffindor house and you judge all Slytherins as a whole even when some Slytherins have done nothing wrong. Just like those bullies pick on all muggle-borns just for being muggle-born. You're a bully, James. You're no different than they are."
James swallowed roughly, his Adam's apple moved up and down. "Maybe you're right, Lily. Maybe I am a bully."
He called her Lily and he said it so softly and with so much hurt, Lily didn't like it one bit. As James walked faster and with more vigor back to his room, Lily couldn't help but feel she was the bully.
She never held back from speaking her mind with James. She was honest and blunt. With anyone else, she kept her mouth shut and stayed terrified. Maybe it was because deep down, she knew James would never hurt her no matter how much she hurt him.
And Lily hurt him a lot that day.
She essentially called him the same as those bullies who dunked a crying Hufflepuff into the Great Lake and called people horrible slurs on a daily basis.
Of course, James wasn't like that. Everything James did was with a good and true heart, but he was too far away for Lily to say that and Lily didn't want to track him down and confront him again. Not when he seemed so disappointed.
The next few days felt awkward as James stopped his advances towards Lily and tried to mind his own business.
He didn't seem mad at her, but Lily always saw a layer of hurt when she saw him. When she noticed him in the halls of the school, he would give her a tight lipped smile and then they would go separate ways.
Lily also noticed the pranks seemed to stop during those days. And whenever there was a mini prank, it seemed half-hearted, like a key player in the pranking business just dropped out.
Hogwarts morale seemed to decrease rapidly in those days and Lily couldn't help but feel it was her fault.
The next few days were strange. But Lily began to notice other things about James she hadn't seen or cared about before.
Take away his voice, and his actions shined through.
The same Hufflepuff that was bullied earlier by the Slytherins was found cornered once more and scared out of his mind.
This time, Lily convinced herself, she was going to stand up for what was right and defend the kid before he got hurt again. But before she got the chance, as always, James Potter came to the rescue.
Lily faltered in her steps as she saw James approach the group of five Slytherins.
"What seems to be the problem?" James asked with a faux calm voice.
"Bugger off, Potter," the short, stumpy Slytherin said, before turning back to the Hufflepuff.
"No, I don't think I will bugger off. How about you?"
"What?" the group turned back to him and before they could say, or do, anything else, James punched their leader in the face.
Rookie mistake, Potter, Lily thought to herself, it is never a good idea to throw the first punch.
It was five people against one James Potter, but James seemed to be putting up a good fight. Two of the bullies grabbed James from behind and held his arms back so he couldn't throw any more punches. However, that didn't stop James from kicking the Slytherin in front of him with all his might. A crowd gathered around them to watch the fighting, but the crowd fortunately also drew in professors, so the fight was put to a halt before James could have gotten seriously hurt… not that Lily cared if he got hurt or not.
Lily saw that during the fight, the Hufflepuff boy managed to slip away and escape from the grasp of the Slytherin team, which was exactly what James wanted.
Hearing McGonagall yell at the Slytherins and James, Lily slipped away to follow the Hufflepuff to the same corner where she broke down the year before after a Slytherin had bullied her.
"I know you're not alright," Lily said cautiously as she approached the boy in the dark crevice of the hall. "But is it okay if I join you?"
The boy looked up at her with a startled face, but slowly nodded as he tried to quickly wipe away his tears.
Lily took a seat next to him against the wall and stretched out her legs. The two of them sat like that for a few minutes as the Hufflepuff boy calmed his breathing and tried to wipe away the rest of his tears. The abandoned hallway was calm and silent. A bit echoey from the students walking and chatting in the other passageways, but in a nice way.
After a while, once the boy seemed to collect his bearings, Lily turned to him and introduced herself. "I'm Lily by the way. Lily Evans."
"I know who you are," the boy muttered.
Lily looked at him confused.
"You and James always have the loudest fights in the Dining Hall," the boy clarified.
"Ah, yes. I guess that would make us quite the infamous duo." Lily nodded.
"Not infamous, just funny," the boy said with a grin.
Well, I introduced myself," Lily said. "What's your name?"
Suddenly, "Renner Abbott!" A voice called out.
Ah, so that was his name.
Lily and Renner both looked up to see James walking up to them sporting a bloody nose.
"James!" Renner's face lit up as he the saw the one year elder walk towards them.
James sat on the other side of Renner, stretching his legs, and the two of them exchanged some weird manly handshake while Lily watched in confusion.
"You two know each other?" she asked.
"Hell yeah," James said, enthusiastically. "Renner is my main man! He gets me in on all the great muggle candies of the world. Speaking of, you got any Mars Bars coming my way anytime soon?" James squeezed Renner's shoulders in a friendly manner. "Those are my favorite."
"You know it, James." Renner smiled at James's enthusiasm and attention.
Lily still watched in silence so James clarified further, "Renner's dad works with a muggle candy company."
"Huh." Lily nodded. "So you, uh, did you get in trouble for, you know?" Lily pointed off-handedly to James's bloody nose.
James smirked. "Oh yeah, loads of detention. But it was so worth it."
"I'm sorry I got you in trouble," Renner said quietly.
"Are you kidding me, mate?" James turned to look at Renner, "That was the best fun I've had in quite a while. You just gave me an excuse to do it." James laughed and punched Renner in the arm jokingly until Renner laughed too.
"I wish I could stand up for myself and fight them myself," Renner's whole demeanor changed as he looked worn out and disappointed in himself. "I hate when they call me mudblood. A few months ago, I didn't even know what a mudblood was, let alone that magic existed. And now, they won't leave me alone."
Lily had never related to another human being more than in that moment.
"I'm sorry you have to go through that, Ren," James said. "I wish I could help you."
"You do plenty," Renner reassured the raven haired boy. "Every time I see you stand up to those bullies, it gives me courage to maybe one day stand up for myself too."
"Whenever you want to stand up to them, let me know and I'll be your back up." James grinned.
"I'm counting on it." Renner grinned back. "All those Mars Bars have to count for something, right?"
"What can I say, muggle candy is just better than wizard candy. Right, Lily?" James asked, drawing her back into the conversation.
"Definitely. Mars Bars are my favorite too," Lily commented.
"I didn't know that." James smiled, learning a new tidbit about his crush.
"Now you do. And there's more to muggles than just candy," Lily responded. "Like… rubber ducks." She didn't really know what she was saying.
Renner giggled next to her. "Oh, yes. Rubber ducks are a real major part of muggle culture."
"Ducks? That are rubber?" James seemed to be in awe of that idea. "And what do they do?"
"Why they swim, of course," Renner exclaimed, all traces of tears and sadness disappeared completely from his face as Lily burst out laughing.
"That's bloody amazing. You think I should take muggle studies next year?" James asked. "Arthur Weasley said he took it last year and he told us it changed his life."
"Sure, maybe you'll learn grammar and basic life skills in that class that'll get you through the real world instead of random wizarding spells and potions that most likely won't get you a job anywhere," Lily sassed.
"I know grammar and words and talking sentences," James stuttered indignantly.
"Oh, yeah," Lily challenged. "Did you know Renner's name is a palindrome?"
"A what?" James and Renner both questioned.
"A palindrome is a word that can be spelled the same way backwards and forwards. Like racecar and the names Bob and Hannah," Lily explained.
"In James's defense, I didn't know that either," Renner commented.
James leaned back against the wall and stared ahead. "If you have a kid, Renner Abbott, you should definitely name them 'Palindrome'."
"Or Bob," Lily added as she also leaned against the wall.
Renner was the final one to lean against the wall and the three of them stared into the future ahead of them. "Yeah, maybe I will."
When the three of them parted ways as the day was coming to a close, Lily and James started walking in the same direction as Renner went the opposite way to get to the Hufflepuff Common Room.
The two of them walked slowly back to their dormitory, as the awkwardness became palpable with Renner gone and not being their buffer anymore. James ran his fingers through his soft, pillowy hair and pulled on it a little, and Lily resisted the urge to smack his hands.
She gulped, taking the first step to resolve the tension. "When you told Renner that you would have fought the Slytherins anyway and them picking on Renner was just an excuse for you to have fun. Did you mean it?"
Wow, Lily, great way to ease the tension. Asking the real tension-free questions.
James sighed and played with his hair some more, as Lily resisted the urge to pull his hands down and handcuff them. "Do you really think that low of me, Evans?"
At least he called her Evans again instead of Lily in that hurt voice of his. Even though his voice sounded pretty hurt at this moment too.
"I don't—"
But James interrupted Lily before she could say anything else, "I told Renner that so he wouldn't feel guilty about me getting detention, which he shouldn't feel guilty about anyway. Believe it or not, Evans, I'm not a horrible monster that picks on people for fun. And it also may come as a surprise to you, but I don't actually enjoy getting bloody noses on a regular basis!"
Lily stared at him in shock and then chuckled a little.
"What is it?" James asked in an annoyed tone.
"I think this is the first time you've done the yelling in our arguments. Usually I'm the one who's red in the face mad while you're the calm and collected teaser."
"Would you like me to yell at you more?" James offered.
Lily shook her head 'no', but still chuckled, "I actually prefer when I'm doing the yelling." She pursed her lips in thought. "I kind of miss our screaming matches. It was a great way to let off steam."
James smirked and looked at the ground as he walked. "You never did hold back in our arguments."
"I didn't mean what I said, James." Lily stopped in her steps and this time, it was James that looked startled at the mention of his first name. "Every day, I feel exactly like Renner and I'm sure other muggle-borns feel the exact same way. We live in constant fear with Death Eaters and the rise of You-Know-Who and—"
"Voldemort," James said with defiance. "His name is Voldemort and we shouldn't fear a name. I am lucky. I know that. I have two wizard parents and I was always taught to speak my mind, stand for what I believe in, and fight for it too. I know it's hard for you and I can't imagine the horror of needing to hide your blood status and be ashamed just for having the gift of magic, but I also know you, Lily Evans, and I know that you are brave and you also stand for what you believe in. The way you comforted Renner—"
"I'm not brave though. That's what I'm trying to say. In my first year, someone," Lily struggled to find her words, "Someone made me— made me apologize for being a muggle-born." Lily looked at James, her green eyes watering. "And I did. I apologized. Because I was scared and I wasn't brave."
"Do you want to be brave?" James asked her as the two of them started walking again towards their room once more.
"What?" Lily asked hoarsely, looking at James. He was a few centimeters shorter than Lily, him not reaching his growth spurt quite yet.
"Do you want to be brave?" James repeated, slowly.
"Yes, of course I do. I am a Gryffindor after all."
James smiled and tousled his hair. "Then that's all that matters. If you want something or want to be something, you'll get there. And it's harder for you because you're the one actually facing the threats and the Death Eaters. I'm sure if people started harassing others for, I don't know, being astonishingly handsome, then I wouldn't be all that brave either. You know, cause the threat would be against me… for being astonishingly handsome."
Lily laughed and slightly shoved James. "Yeah, I got that, Potter."
"You called me James." He scratched the back of his head. "You know... before."
"You called me Lily," she responded.
James pursed his lips and tried not to sound too excited. "So, is that what we're calling each other now?"
Lily bit her lower lip. "How about I start calling you that when you've earned it officially. Today was a kind of trial run."
"And the verdict?" James asked.
"Not bad, but it might take a while for us to reach first name status full time," Lily joked. "It is a high honor."
"I can wait. I think I'm pretty patient."
Lily smiled. "Are you now?"
"Of course, you think prank playing is an easy job? There's a lot of planning ahead and crouching in wait. The crouching is the worst!"
Lily looked at James with quiet concern. "I noticed there haven't been many pranks going around of late. Any particular reason why?"
"You think it was because you yelled at me?" James looked at her and then gave a soft smile. "Maybe a little. But you did help me see straight. You were right about some Slytherins not deserving the brunt of the pranks, so I've been revising my pranking methods."
"Have you now?" Lily asked. "Should I be worried?"
"Our next prank will be on the Ravenclaws. Since their so obsessed with their books…" James raised his eyebrows suggestively.
"Potter, what are you going to do?"
"Don't worry, their books will go back to normal after a few hours," James reassured.
"They will not be happy with you," Lily warned.
"But it will be so funny," James grinned at just the thought of his next prank. "It was actually Remus's idea. He plays the innocent bystander, but he's really our prankster mastermind... not to give away any of our secrets."
"Speaking of, where are your friends anyway?" Lily asked. "I thought they would have joined you in your fight with the Slytherins."
"Oh, they're in the Infirmary. At least Remus is, and Sirius and Peter are with him."
Lily looked concerned. "What happened?"
"Remus came back from a visit to his grandmothers and fell down the stairs at her home."
"Oh my, that's terrible! I hope he's okay."
"Yeah, me too. He's so clumsy. It's been happening a lot." James scratched the back of his head and tried to act nonchalant about it, but Lily could tell he was concerned for his friend. "Anyway, I should probably go check up on him."
"At the infirmary? We've reached the common rooms, the infirmary is in a complete other hall."
James blushed and his voice squeaked a little as he admitted, "I just wanted to walk you back to your dorm."
Lily tried to hide her blush. "Well thanks, Potter, but I'm no damsel in distress."
"Just appreciate the gesture, Lily flower, I know you liked it."
Now Lily was really blushing. "We are not on first name basis yet, Potter," she warned jokingly.
"Of course, of course, Evans flower," James teased. "It just doesn't have the same ring to it though, does it?"
"I think it'll grow on you," Lily's eyes twinkled.
"Was that a plant pun, Evans?"
"What can I say? I'm too-lip good at this. Now go check up on Lupin, I'm sure he's wilting to see you."
"And you won't even give me a chance to retaliate." James shook his head. "We'll see who the true pun master is soon enough."
"I mean, you can tree." Lily shrugged. "But I think wheat all know who won this round."
"You mean this rose-ooound?" James attempted at making a flower pun.
Lily cringed. "Oo, okay." She lightly patted his shoulder. "It's okay, you're still young. You have years to work on your pun mastery."
"We're the same age!"
"Yeah, but in Pun Years, I am way more mature than you."
"You just wait for my pun spurt, I'll be way punnier than you," James promised.
"Pun spurt?" Lily questioned.
"Like growth spurt!"
Lily shook her head and tried to hide her laugh. "Lupin?" she tried to remind him.
"Oh, yeah." James remembered his friend in the infirmary. "I should go. Bye, Evans flower!" he called out as he ran in the other direction.
"Bye, Potter."
Smiling, Lily stepped into her room and pulled out her journal. She had a lot to write down that day.
After that incident, a few weeks had passed and it seemed like things had been getting back on track. James and his gang of Marauders had upped their pranking and it seemed like when they began pranking other groups, their creativity levels had gone through the roof. It seemed like everybody was enjoying the harmless, fun pranks. Even the Slytherins seemed to let out a sigh of relief as they realized that they weren't the only targets anymore and could enjoy watching others get pranked too.
Various classes, houses, years, and floors got pranked and so far, nobody seemed to complain. It was just a minor inconvenience that brightened other people's day (and got them a free pass out of class once in a while).
Everyday discussions over dinner would usually be about who the Marauders would prank next and if they would be caught or not. They were innocent until proven guilty, of course. But everyone, including the professors, knew it was them.
Maybe it was just Lily's wishful thinking, but she thought she noticed a decrease in Slytherin bullying as well. Maybe the Slytherins had changed as well, she hoped.
Of course she had jinxed it, because the very next day she thought that, she was cornered by a Slytherin. Luckily, she was prepared and had a few jinxes up her sleeve just in case.
She had finished all her classes that evening and was ready to walk to dinner when she was stuck in a dark, secluded hallway with a Slytherin. The same one that taunted her the year before.
"Hey, mudblood," Nott called out from behind her. It looked like he was quietly lurking in a dark corner, like a hungry beast waiting for its prey.
Lily clutched her books and walked faster, her heart pounding in her chest.
"Stop!" the bully commanded.
She didn't know why she did and every inch of her wanted to keep moving, but she stopped. She didn't want to run away anymore. She didn't want to apologize anymore.
She wanted to be brave.
She turned around so quickly, even the Slytherin took a small step back in surprise.
"What?" she harshly bit out.
Nott quickly got back his resolve and sneered, "Was that some anger I heard, little mudblood? I don't really appreciate that tone."
He walked closer and Lily could feel her throat closing up and all that bravery she had a second ago was slowly draining. She still had her books clutched tightly in her hands and her wand hidden there too, but her hands were so clammy she thought if she moved, she would drop it.
So much for all the hexes, charms, and jinxes she learned, Lily thought to herself.
"You know," Nott said as he stood closely in front of her, she could smell some alcohol off his breath, "I never got to teach you that lesson for mouthing off to me that other year. I know you apologized, but, uh, I never got the feeling you meant it. You know what I mean?"
Lily tried to get her hand to move, her feet to move. Anything. Just run away, her brain screamed.
Suddenly, there was a sound of a voice clearing its throat. Lily glanced up to see it was James Potter leaning against the side of the hallway entrance watching the scene enfold.
"Potter," Nott snarled, "What are you doing here? Want to start a fight? Cause I have some spells that'll make you feel some real pain," he held up his wand and waved it a little as he straggled to the side in his drunken state.
"I was considering it," James said, coolly, "But I see Evans, here, has it all under control and she's no damsel in distress."
"This one?" Nott questioned, pointing at Lily. "She's so scared, look at her. Nothing but dirty, sniveling mudblood is all she is."
James seemed to have had enough of intoxicated Nott and made his way towards him, but before he had the chance, Lily used all the strength she had and used all her books to WHACK Nott right in the face, sending him straight to the hard ground of Hogwarts castle.
"Don't ever call me mudblood ever again," Lily growled. "Ever."
Nott looked up at Lily and held his cheek which was starting to greatly bruise in all shades of red, there was true fear in his eyes. Lily must have looked terrifying for an upper classman to look at her with such terror.
"Do I make myself clear?" Lily asked.
Nott was still silent.
"Do I?" she asked again, this time louder.
Nott nodded vigorously.
Lily smiled, a hard glint in her eye. "Good. Now apologize," she demanded.
"What?" Nott asked hoarsely. Even James looked at her with surprise.
"You heard me," Lily said. "Apologize for calling me a mudblood."
Nott stayed silence, the fear slowly leaving him and being replaced with a seething hatred once more.
Lily crouched down and looked him straight in the eye, her wand held firmly in her grasp. "Because if you don't," she continued, "I have some spells that'll make you feel some real pain."
Nott's eyes widened at Lily's repeat of the words he had said before. "I-I'm sorry."
Now Lily relaxed, feeling she had full control of the situation.
"Now I'm going to leave. But I do hope you learned your lesson because I don't ever want to see your ugly face even look in my direction ever again. Goodbye now."
And she stood up, gathered her books, and walked away, James following closely behind, his mouth hanging slightly open in mesmerized awe.
Then from behind the two of them came a loud, "SECTUM—"
But Lily had been practicing her spells and was prepared. She quickly turned and cast a shield charm and then a bat boogey hex.
"Volatilis Lutum!" Lily exclaimed while at the same time James yelled, "Run!"
And he and Lily took off before Nott could retaliate and get rid of the hex.
Turning through different hallways and corridors, James and Lily made sure they were a good distance away before leaning against a wall to catch their breath.
Then, Lily burst out laughing. James looked at her in surprise, his hands still on his knees as he took in her ecstatic form. And then he burst out laughing too.
"Bloody hell, Evans! That. Was. Amazing!" James exclaimed in between laughs.
"I feel amazing!" Lily choked out, tears prickling in the corner of her eyes from laughing so hard.
"The way you threw the words he said right back in his face… and that bat bogey hex! Holy merlin, that was so cool!"
Lily grinned from ear to ear. "It was, wasn't it?"
"I knew you had it in you!" James said proudly.
"I feel braver. I don't think those Slytherin bullies who think they're so much better than me could ever scare me again. Not them, not the death eaters. Not even Vol— Voldemort."
James stared at her with unhindered pride and shook his head as he looked down. "I don't think I can ever get over this momentous day. This day should be in history books. This day should be a national holiday."
"The day Lily became a true Gryffindor," Lily commented.
"No way," James disagreed. When Lily looked at him with confusion, he clarified, "You were always a true Gryffindor. You just embraced your inner self."
Lily huffed and said, "You are so cheesy."
Shrugging, James replied, "I just think everyone has a little bit Gryffindor in each of them and that's what makes them so great. And that's what makes Gryffindors extra great," he joked.
Lily chuckled. "Oh really? Even the Slytherins that you hate so much? Do they have a bit of Gryffindor in them?"
James thought about it for a bit before he answered, "I suppose they do. And maybe we have a little Slytherin in us too. And Hufflepuff. And Ravenclaw."
"I have a little Slytherin in me?"
"Oh, definitely. You more than most," James teased. "The way you made Nott apologize... I mean, if that's not Slytherin, I don't know what is."
"Hey!" Lily laughed. "If I had to be another house, I would want to be in Ravenclaw. I would be a GryffinClaw." Lily thought about it for a moment. "Or a RavenDor."
"I'd like to be Hufflepuff. A GryffinPuff!" James said excitedly.
"Is the great James Potter actually considering the possibility of being in another house?" Lily teased.
"You think I'm great?" James smirked.
"I think you think you're great."
"I think you think that I think that— I'm just confused now." James scratched the back of his head.
They both burst out laughing again and as the adrenaline began to wear out, the two of them realized how tired they were.
Lily swallowed roughly, not being able to acknowledge that she was actually having fun talking to James Potter. "I better go now. Busy day tomorrow and all that."
"Oh." James seemed surprised. "Oh yeah, same here. Totally. I should go too."
Except their busy day tomorrow was a weekend with no plans and nothing to do. But they would never admit that. Oh the woes of pre-pubescent awkwardness.
As the both of them turned to go in separate directions, their heads and heart whirring with strange feelings, it felt like a new chapter in their lives had begun. One with more understanding of how the other half lives.
Settling on her comfy bed, Lily decided it was time for a new journal entry.
Dear Deer Journal,
I feel like every time I talk to you, it's about something James Potter has done. James Potter this. James Potter that. Well, today… it's no different.
James Potter helped me be brave.
That was something I never thought I would ever say (write) out loud (on paper), but it's true.
I just remembered my first year when I was confronted by Nott and I was so scared and Severus was there and I should have felt safe with my friend by my side. But I didn't. I felt scared and violated and I never wanted to feel like that again.
Today, it happened again, but this time it was Potter.
Lily paused in her writing and re-thought her words.
It was James, she corrected.
And he was by my side and I wasn't scared anymore. I felt brave. I mean, he didn't do anything. I stood up for myself, but it felt really good having someone by my side who didn't make me apologize for being who I am.
I am a muggleborn and I am proud of that. I'm proud that my parents are muggle and I can have the best of both worlds. The wizarding world and the muggle world. They're both lucky to have Lily Evans in it.
Lily smiled as she re-read her words.
That feels really good to finally write. It was almost like I was ashamed of both halves of my life for so long. At Hogwarts, it's a shame to be a muggleborn and at home, it's a shame to be a witch. Not to my parents, of course, but to my sister. I just wish she would accept me as who I am. One day, we could both have kids and they would be best friends and have play dates together and we could go to the zoo and—
Lily stopped writing and realized how silly her dream was. She didn't even notice she was crying until a tear drop landed on the paper and stained the paper.
Wiping her eyes, Lily continued, I'm getting carried away. What I'm trying to say is that I am proud of who I am and I am never ever going to let anyone bring me down again.
Older Lily: If you're reading this and feeling down about yourself, twelve year old Lily has a message for you. You are brave. You are strong. You are Lily Evans.
She smiled softly to herself as she whispered the message to herself. Despite her dislike of James, she kind of owed this breakthrough to him. James helped her unlock a side of her that was hidden for so long.
Whenever she looked at James, she saw an arrogant git who only cared about himself and his house, but when Lily got to know him more, she realized that he cared about people. People other than himself.
James was a protector. Defender of the defenseless. And Lily didn't realize it, or didn't want to realize it, until he wheedled his way into her life and opened her up.
James was loyal. Not just to one house, but to people. His friends. And it didn't matter what house they were in.
It was time to revamp her reasons why she "hated" James Potter. Lily was even considering changing the word "hate" to "strongly dislike", but then decided against it since it was too wordy.
She began to write down the reasons, flipping from the current page to the page with the original list.
When she go to reason six: he thinks Gryffindors are better than all the other houses, she stopped and put her quill down.
Looking at the new list, Lily pursed her lips. Now that reason six was out. She only had five reasons left why she hated James Potter.
But they were good reasons, Lily tried to convince herself.
She hated James. She had to.
He had dumb prejudices (towards Severus) and dumb friends and even dumber hair.
That damn dumb hair.
Lily rolled her eyes as she shut her journal and got ready for bed. She was worried about nothing. As if she could ever not hate (strongly dislike) James Potter…
Author's Note: Yep, you keep telling yourself that, Lily. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and all the puns!
I'll see you all next time! Love you guys!