Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Reasons Why I Hate James Potter

1. He always runs his fingers through his hair

2. He is ugly inside and out

3. He's mean to Severus and he's a childish bully

"Happy birthday, dear Lily! Happy birthday to you!" A chorus of three tone-deaf singers finished.

Her sister and parents watched gleefully as Lily took in a deep breath and blew out the six bright blue candles on her cake, each one signifying a year in her life.

While blowing out candles and cutting cake was great, like any six year old, what the young redhead was most looking forward to on her special day was the presents that awaited her.

Her father and mother had given her a doll and a necklace to match with her new dress. Earlier that day when she and Severus played outside, he had given her a bag of candy she had never heard of before, but tasted wonderful. Soon, it was Petunia's turn to give her the present she had picked out for her younger sister all on her own.

"I got it for you, Silly Lily!" Petunia jumped excitedly, jiggling the terribly wrapped box, all braces and smiles.

Lily ripped open the box, paper flying everywhere, and took out a bound notebook full of blank pages.

"Even though you are still learning how to write, your sister can teach you," her mother, Rose Evans, said.

"Do you like it, Lily?" Petunia asked eagerly. "It has deer on it like the deer we play with in the woods!"

Lily grinned, admiring the cover. "Wow, 'Tunia! I love it! And I love the deers!"

"Deer, Lily darling," Rose reminded her firmly. "Not deers."

"Deer," Lily repeated with an affirmative nod.

"And you can always remember how to write in your diary, Lily," her father, Henry Evans, joked, "Always start with a 'Deer Diary.'"

Lily smiled, "Deer Diary. Can you teach me how to write that, 'Tunia?"

"Sure, Lils!"

"Do teach her the right way to spell 'diary', Petunia," Rose chastised.

"What's the fun in that, Mama?" Petunia argued, a cheeky smile on her face, while Henry chortled.

"Yeah, sweetheart," Henry wrapped an arm around Rose's waist and placed a light kiss to the side of her head. "Let the kids be kids."

Lily took a sip of her tea before opening the morning paper that the delivery owl had just dropped on her doorstep.

It was no big shock to her to see the front and center breaking news: another Death Eater attack.

She sighed, the barrage of terrible news tiring her out already. She had a break, coming back into the muggle world every summer, but for those who had to stay in the wizarding world in the midst of the rising tensions, they never really got a break from it all. The attacks never seemed to stop, it just kept changing locations, catching everyone off guard each time it happened.

Briefly, her mind drifted to Potter, and she wondered how he was doing. And-and the other witches and wizards she knew! Lily shook her head. She was thinking of them too. Not just Potter, of course.

"Whatcha reading there, sweetheart?" Her father's voice filled the kitchen. Henry Evans poured a mug with tea and took a piece of toast from the plate on table.

"There was another attack," Lily said somberly, "And it was a pretty big one this time. One Auror died, five are seriously injured and are currently admitted to St. Mungo's."

Henry's eyes furrowed in deep thought. "Lily, are you sure about returning back to that school? It doesn't feel safe with these constant... terrorist attacks."

"I'll be fine, dad," Lily reassured her concerned parent, "I promise. Trust me, Hogwarts is the safest place anyone could be in. Dumbledore wouldn't let anything happen to us."

"I know, darling," Henry fidgeted with his tie, loosening it around his neck, before admitting, "I just worry about you and I can't protect you when you're so far away from me."

"I'm fifteen, dad," Lily insisted, "I can take care of myself."

Her father scoffed. "One day when you have kids and they're fifteen thinking they can take on the world, let me know if you feel the same way."

"Haha," Lily mocked, "Anyway, I can't not go to Hogwarts. Not when they gave me this!" She waved around the shiny new pin she was given and the letter that came along with it.

Henry examined the page carefully. "We would like to congratulate you on your achievements and appoint you prefect for the coming… whoa! Prefect? My daughter is gonna be a prefect! That's wonderful, darling. I'm so proud!"

"Thanks, dad." Lily beamed.

Just then, her older sister walked in, plopping down on the seat across from her.

Henry greeted his eldest daughter. "Petunia, did you hear the news? Lily has been made prefect at her school. How amazing is that?"

Petunia gave a noncommittal grunt, choosing to reach for a piece of dry toast and take a bite rather than respond.

Realizing that was the best reaction he was going to get out of her, he shifted his attention back to his youngest child. "Have you told your mother yet?" Henry asked.

"Yep," Lily nodded, taking a bite of her breakfast, "I told her before she left for her shift."

"Oh, speaking of work," Henry checked the watch on his wrist, "I should probably get going." Standing up, he placed a kiss on the top of each of his daughter's heads and grabbed a final pastry for the road. "Don't forget to write your accomplishments in your Deer Diary!"

Lily laughed. "I will, dad."

"Goodbye, sweethearts!" He gave one final wave before shutting the front door closed. "I love you both!"

"Love you too, dad," his daughters echoed.

"I can't believe you still write in that stupid thing," Petunia scoffed once their father had left. "A diary still? At your age? It's pitiful, really."

The young witch chose to ignore her sister's snide remark and continued to read the paper, leaving the kitchen table with an uncomfortable silence. It didn't take long for Petunia to leave with Lily sitting alone per usual.

Only had a few weeks remaining before she left for Hogwarts, Lily sighed to herself. As much as she loved being back with her parents, living under the same roof as Petunia was suffocating her.

If her older sister wasn't ignoring her, she was downright insulting her. There was always something to critique with Petunia, whether it be her clothes, her hair, her choice in books and friends… or the fact that she still wrote in the journal that she had given her when Lily was six.

Lily had found a spell to keep the pages never-ending, so she would never run out of writing space, and Petunia had called her a baby for writing in a diary, even though Lily insisted it was a journal.

And for the record, Lily Evans was most definitely not a baby. She was fifteen years old and technically, she was two years from being a full-grown adult, at least in wizarding terms.

Sliding her fingers down the prefect badge, Lily thought that maybe once she was officially a prefect and had more power, people would begin to see her as the grown woman she was.

The train whistled loudly at the station indicating that boarding for the Hogwarts Express had begun and Lily had immediately jumped on board after swift goodbyes to her lovely parents. Once on the train, she walked through the compartments to try and find the right place to sit.

Normally, she would find a spot to sit with Severus, but she had barely spoken to or even seen him all summer vacation. He had been spending so much time away from his home that Lily could never tell if he was in or not and it felt like he was avoiding her even when he was home.

It was natural for childhood friendships to drift apart, but she always thought she and Sev were different. Everything felt so off with them now. So awkward. She felt as if she couldn't even recognize her friend anymore. He was so much a stranger to her now and maybe she was a stranger to him.

Nothing felt real between them anymore.

Whenever Lily had a chance to see him, they would sit at the old tree by their house. She would ask him how he'd been and what he'd been up to, but his answers seemed vague at best. As if he was keeping something from her. She was too afraid to probe, nervous about what answers he may give her, James's warning constantly ringing in the back of her head.

Severus wasn't a Death Eater. It was like he told her, Lily rationalized. As a Slytherin, he was surrounded by those people, but that didn't make him one of them. Just like Lily being around the Marauders didn't technically make her one. She couldn't help what house she was sorted into and nor could Severus.

Regardless of him being a Death Eater or not, her friendship with Severus Snape was fading, so she was relieved to find out from the Head Girl that prefects sat in a different compartment on the train. Usually, she and Sev would sit by themselves, the whole compartment for just the two of them, and Lily never really bothered to make other friends, as everyone had grouped up with each other in the beginning. And now, in her fifth year of school, Lily felt more alone than ever.

She wished she could make friends, but it just didn't come easy to her. Sure she got along with everybody, but it wasn't a deep connection that bonded them. She was just friendly and they were friendly back. Nothing more, nothing less.

Now that she was a prefect, she hoped it could be a chance for her to make some new bonds and closer relationships.

Maybe, Lily thought to herself, she could even make friends with the other Gryffindor prefect whoever they were.

That positive mindset was quickly deterred once she arrived at the prefect compartment and was introduced to her partner prefect for Gryffindor house: Remus Lupin. She was surprised at first, but it slowly waned into acceptance. Honestly, out of all the Marauders, Remus was the most responsible and studious, so he being prefect actually made sense to a certain extent. Lily figured it may not be too bad.

When Remus realized she was his partner, he gave her a tight-lipped smile, looking just as uncomfortable to see her as prefect as she did him.

Before overthinking any more than she usually did, Lily took a seat next to the boy and gave him a genuine smile. "So, how did your friends react to you having the role of prefect?"

"In the words of Sirius, 'we now have a man on the inside to take the whole system down.'" Remus quoted sarcastically.

Lily chuckled. "I suppose getting away with pranks will be a whole lot easier now."

With a shrug Remus remarked, "It wasn't like it was so hard before,"

"Wow," Lily leaned back in her seat, "Cocky. Probably cause of that fancy map you all made, huh?"

Remus looked shocked. "You know about our map?" he asked.

"Uhm, yes. Potter showed me…" she hesitated at the strange look on Remus's face. "Was he not supposed to?"

"I- I just didn't know that you knew."

"I didn't tell anyone," Lily assured him. "I am very good with secrets."

He looked perturbed. "That's… good."

The conversation went dead once more and Lily struggled to revive it. Luckily, once the train started, the Head Girl and Boy made some announcements and everyone introduced themselves. After the many torturous icebreakers, they were finally let go and allowed to chat amongst themselves.

Remus threw himself into a book and Lily stared out the window, cursing her introverted self for not having the ability to start conversations.

She had a feeling that this was going to be a very long and lonely year.

Once the train came to a stop and everyone had entered the castle, Lily watched as the other three Marauders caught sight of Remus and bounded over to join their friend.

Remus let out a breath of relief at the sight of them and his face brightened. "Am I glad to see you lot."

They all began to walk in the same direction to the Great Hall and Lily trailed behind, accidently catching bits of their conversation.

"Couldn't handle the pretentious brown-nosers, huh?" Sirius teased, tossing an around his friend, ignoring the dirty looks of said brown-nosers. Peter found his way to the other side of Remus, while James trailed behind, his head slightly down. James clutched a golden snitch in his hand, which he continuously twirled and played with to distract himself.

"I just missed my gang of unruly underachievers," Remus bantered.

"Aww, you're too sweet, Moony," Peter quipped.

"We prefer the term 'disappointments'," Sirius shot back. "Just ask my mother."

"Huh, I thought she called you 'deadbeat'," James said off-handedly, his energy not quite meeting theirs though he definitely tried.

The Marauders turned their heads to acknowledge him and Sirius nodded solemnly. "Oo, that too."

"Washout," Peter added to the list of terms Sirius's mother called her son.

"Mmhm," the said son agreed.

"Good-for-nothing, no-good rapscallion," Remus said, punctuating each syllable with vigor.

The corner of Sirius's mouth quirked upwards. "I don't know if you're channeling my mother or a pirate."

"Your mother does give off very pirate-y vibes," Peter thought out-loud. "She just needs a hook hand and a peg leg."

The three of them began to laugh at the mental picture, while James grinned, the smile not quite meeting his eyes.

Sirius held his hand up in a hook form and used his other hand to cover one eye. "Arg, Sirius! Yer do be a mighty bad son!"

"Now hold on! That was actually a good Hagrid impression!" Peter exclaimed.

"What if Hagrid is a secretly a pirate? It would explain his fascination with all the exotic magical creatures," James said, some light coming back, and the boys burst out laughing again. It wasn't even that funny of a joke, but the way the Marauders laughed, it was as if James had just won Best Joke of the Year.

Lily couldn't help but giggle at the theory and as soon as James heard the sweet noise, he turned to face her.

He greeted her with a worn smile, his snitch fluttering in his grasp. "All right, Evans?"

"Potter," Lily replied back with a half-smile.

"Ehm," James stuffed the golden object in his pocket and ran his free hand through his hair, letting it rest on the back of his neck. "Would you like to sit with us for dinner tonight?"

Sirius gave him a scandalized look and Peter elbowed him before he could protest out-loud.

Taking a quick look around, she found Severus sitting with his Slytherin friends, which was slightly odd because they always promised to find each other on their first day. "Oh, um. Sure. Thank you."

At the Gryffindor table, she took a seat next to James who had Remus on the other side, while Sirius and Peter took their seats across from the three of them. After Dumbledore made his usual speech and the Sorting took place, the food was served and lively conversations sparked all through the Dining Hall. Listening in to the Marauders' discussion in particular, Lily was fascinated by their ability to jump from topic to topic never really resting on anything for too long.

This was par for the course considering the Marauders bountiful spring of hyperactive energy, but one thing that was different about the situation was James Potter. He sat beside her, but it was like he really wasn't there at all.

The roast beef on his plate was under attack, being incessantly poked at, and it was the only thing that James was focusing on, even though none of the food actually seemed to make it to his mouth. Lily couldn't help but think that if this was the previous year, James would not have stopped flirting with her or making moves, but this James just sat there. He didn't flirt with her or even talk to her; he barely even interacted with his close friends.

Luckily for James, his friends were more than capable of continuing the discussion without him, and they really didn't push him to join. Lily wondered if there was something going on that she didn't know about.

She noticed a difference in his energy and how his childish air was quickly fading, being replaced with a more mature one. Maybe to day was simply an off-day for him or maybe he was just getting older. His expression was tight and he looked rundown and exhausted, nothing like the fourteen year old that had left the castle only a few months before.

"We should release ducks into the Great Hall."

Lily tuned back into the conversation just in time to hear their next grand prank being planned.

"Why ducks?" Remus asked, taking a bite of his salad.

"I just think they're neat," Peter said. "We could make them follow people around and- and sing!"

"Singing ducks?" Sirius gibed, before quickly shrugging, "You know what, I'm ready for any action." He began to plan, "We should do it tomorrow morning. Filch is usually cleaning the towers an hour before breakfast, so we have plenty of time to—"

"Actually Filch changed his schedule last year to catch you all by surprise. He now cleans the towers after breakfast and watches the halls during breakfast for any Marauder shenanigans."

The four Marauders turned to look at her. She took a bite of her mashed potatoes. "What? I'm just letting you know. I think ducks are neat too!" She sent a quick smile to Peter, who looked just about ready to melt after her acknowledgement of him.

"Good looking out, Red." Sirius gave her a wink. "So new plan—"

"Look at them…" The low grumble came from James. His glower was aimed towards the Slytherin table who were sitting there talking amongst themselves. They weren't doing anything malicious, but the look on James's face said otherwise.

"They're planning something." James stabbed his fork into the beef, his expression darkening. "I know it."

Remus sighed and he warned his friend, "Not on the first day, Prongs."

"We have to get ahead of them, Remus," James argued, "Get them before they—"

"Before they what?" Lily interrupted and for a second, it seemed like James shrunk under her withering glare. "It looks like your planning on assaulting them when they haven't even—"

"Assaulting them?" James seethed, his voice growing a fraction louder.

Remus and Sirius exchanged a quick glance before Remus cleared his throat. "Well, uh, would you look at the time… um, Lily, er… Evans. I think we have a prefect meeting or something before bed. I think we should start heading over don't you think?"

Without another word, Lily stood from her seat and began to walk to the classroom where the prefects had begun to gather while Remus trailed behind. When they were a good distance away, Lily turned to confront Remus.

"I thought he was different! He didn't flirt with me as much and he seemed nice, inviting me to sit with him and all, and then he... agh! Why was he suddenly talking about getting revenge on the Slytherins when they were just sitting there? They weren't even doing anything! He is just a bully who's always looking for a fight! It's like he always needs to be in the middle of an altercation just because! I really don't understand it."

"There's a lot of things you don't understand, Evans. And the thing is," He opened the door for her so they could both walk in, "you don't have to. Let's just get this meeting over with. I'm tired."

She and Remus did not speak to each other during the entire meeting, while the Head Boy and Girl passed out prefect schedules and passwords. They didn't speak to each other when the meeting ended and everyone walked back to their separate dormitories.

Once they had walked up the separate staircases and she had entered her usual dorm, Lily prepared her bed, putting her clothes into her drawers, and brushed her teeth, ready for a good night's rest. She snuggled into bed, curling comfortably under the covers, eyes shut and…

"So, you and Potter were sitting next to each other at dinner, huh?"

"Huh?" Lily cracked a single eye open and looked around her dorm to see two girls staring her down. "Ehm, hello?"

She and the girls in her dorm had a very casual relationship. Unlike the Marauders who formed an unbreakable bond with each other, Lily and the girls barely spoke to each other despite seeing each other more than anyone else in the castle.

However, now two of the girls sat at the edge of the neighboring bed and watched her with hawk eyes.

Alice and Marlene. Out of all the girls in her dorm, those two were the closest to each other, which was surprising since their personalities were polar opposites.

"You and James Potter," Marlene McKinnon repeated. "Are you two a thing now?"

"Er, no," Lily said, sitting up in her bed. "Why?"

"Why?" Alice asked, chewing a bright pink wad of Droobles blowing gum. "Maybe cause James Potter is a total smokeshow now and Marlene has the biggest—"

"Curious bone in her body." Marlene elbowed Alice—hard.

"Alice, aren't you dating Frank Longbottom?" Lily asked. Frank was a year above them and honestly one of the nicest people in the school.

"Of course," Alice said, still wincing and rubbing the spot where Marlene had jabbed her, "but I still have eyes. I mean, James totally grew up this summer. I feel like he's been working out more, don't you think, Marley?" Alice grinned and began to blow a giant bubble.

"I'm going to bed," Marlene grumbled.

"So you two woke me up just to ask me if I was dating Potter?" Lily squinted at the two girls.

"Yep," Alice said, the gum popping in sync with her answer.

"And if I was?" Lily asked.

"The whole school would have known by breakfast," Marlene said, pulling an eye mask over her head.

"Hey," Alice protested, "I'm not that much of a blabbermouth."

"Last year after Frank asked you out, I'm pretty sure the entire school knew you said yes before he did," Marlene replied.

"I'm expressive! It's not my fault!"

Marlene rolled over to the other side of her bed. "Go to sleep, Ally, and spit out your gum."

"Yeah, yeah, mum. Good night, Marls. Good night, Lily, sorry about waking you up… and that you're not dating James."

"Alice!" Marlene exclaimed.

"Okay, okay. Shutting up now."

"And?" Marlene pushed.

"And I'm spitting out my gum."

Lily giggled. "Good night."

"Hey, so, uh, James wanted me to let you know that he's sorry about last night."

Remus fiddled awkwardly with the papers in his hand. It was his and Lily's first night doing rounds and they had a list of spots they needed to check for any late night stragglers.

"If he's so sorry, maybe he should have told me that himself."

Lily swung open a broom closet to find a sixth year couple making out. After letting them off with a warning, Remus said, "He's not that bad, you know?"

"Did he ask you to say that?"

"He's just going through some stuff," he explained vaguely.

"What kind of excuse is that? What about the previous years when he would fight the Slytherins and they'd end up in the infirmary?"

"Well…"

"Don't you dare say that they deserve it!"

"I wasn't going to!"

Lily opened another closet and found a Ravenclaw couple in the middle of a passionate tango. "Merlin! When are you people going to learn broom closets are not as discreet as you think? We could hear you from down the hall!"

Remus looked embarrassed. "Ehm, just don't do it again, please."

The couple ran off together, as far away from Lily as they could.

Lily continued the conversation as if nothing happened. "It's like he's nice to me one second and- and we get along fine and then… then he turns into this flirting, cocky, macho, thinks he has something to prove, douchey—"

"Alright, I get it—"

"No, I don't think you do. Sure, he's nice to our house and the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. And sure, he's kind and caring and sweet to those people who aren't Slytherin, but it still matters. Slytherins are one-fourth of this school and he's so cruel to them and—"

"Snape."

"Yes! Especially Severus. Ever since we first got on the train as eleven years old, he has been nothing but cruel to him."

Remus shook his head, his lips a thin line. "You want to hear the truth, Evans?"

"Sure. Let's hear the truth."

"He sees Snape as a threat," Remus said bluntly.

"A what?"

"He likes you," Remus casually continued, "and you like Snape. You see where I'm going with this?" and before Lily could open her mouth to protest, Remus said, "And even if Snape is just a friend, James doesn't see it like that. James doesn't like that he's close to you, especially when the other people close to Snape have less… savory sentiments about people like you."

"People like me," Lily said flatly.

"Muggleborn," he said, his tone brusque, "It's no secret that the Sorting Hat doesn't sort muggleborns into Slytherin because that was what Salazar Slytherin wanted and that's the kind of people that are being sorted into that house. People who share similar sentiments."

"They're not all—"

"Yes, yes, you don't have to give me the whole spiel. I realize that and to an extent, so does James. It's just that… James is a pureblood. He's been around other pureblooded Slytherins and he knows them. Probably better than you and I ever will. He's seen what's gone on behind the scenes and he's suffered at—" Remus coughed, changing his sentence halfway, hoping Lily would not notice, "Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that you judge him too harshly sometimes. He's a good person."

Lily took a couple of seconds to process all the information Remus threw at her before relenting and cracking a smile. "Did he ask you to say all of that?"

"Sure, he asked me to tell you that he's sorry, but he'd kill me if he found out I told you that he was jealous of Snape. It's not something you would ever hear him admit."

Lily snorted. "I suppose that's true." Then her expression changed becoming more serious. "I appreciate what you told me and it does help to clear up why he behaves in certain ways, but it honestly sounds like a bunch of excuses and—"

"I know I'm defending him and I will always defend him. He's my best friend. He's done more for me than you could ever know."

She sighed, knowing exactly what James had done for his friend. "I understand, but from my perspective, it's always been Potter who starts everything. Especially with Severus and him being 'jealous' is no excuse for him to act like a…" she struggled to find the right words, "like a…"

"Toerag?" Remus supplied helpfully.

"Yes, exactly!"

"Well, he does have his moments. But he is also very kind and understanding and—"

"If you spend the entire evening being James's wingman, I am turning my badge in, Lupin."

"Alright, alright," Remus raised his arms in defeat, "I give up. And call me Remus. If we have to do this for the rest of the year, we might as well be on a first name basis."

"Alright, Remus," she agreed, "Call me Lily."

"Let's talk about something else, Lily. We still have three more corridors to check."

Lily groaned. "Maybe I should turn my badge in anyway, I don't think I can bear three more corridors of horny teenagers."

Remus snorted. "I'm just glad we haven't run into Sirius yet. We've hit all his favorite make-out spots." He walked to one of the closets and reached for the handle. "I told him earlier not to fornicate tonight and I'm glad he listened for once aaaaaaand I spoke to soon."

"Moony, mate!" Sirius stumbled out of the broom closet and began buttoning his shirt. From behind him, a fifth year Hufflepuff scurried away awkwardly trying to fix her hair. "What's up?"

"Nothing much, Pads, just considering bleaching my eyes."

"Mhmm, sounds good." Sirius looked past Remus and Lily to the Hufflepuff who waited for him at the end of the hall. "Well, good talk, see you tomorrow morning!" he said cheerfully.

"Go to one of the lower level halls!" Lily called out after him. "We've already checked those!"

"Thanks, Red!"

At the look Remus gave her, she exclaimed, "What? It's not like him getting caught is gonna stop him and I'd rather not run into him again."

"Touché."

The rest of the patrol went a lot more smoothly and Lily found that she and Remus actually had a lot in common. The two of them got along well and it felt like when the matter of James was taken out of the equation, they actually agreed on many topics and issues. Lily could see herself on the way to becoming good friends with the young wolf.

Perhaps this year was not going to be too bad.

Author's Note: I wanna start with a huge shout-out to Puhinkam for translating this fic to Polish! She also translated the first fanfic I ever wrote, "The Annoying Potter Prat". The two stories are on my Favorite Stories list so definitely check it out if you read Polish!

I would really appreciate it if you could take the time to review cause whew, this puppy took a while to write!