I was totally going to post this last night, but the power went out and I had no internet. I rewrote this twice. This is the third draft. I'm not entirely happy with this one, but here it is anyway. Let me know if it's okay, haha. Hope you all enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own HP. This has already been established.

Happy Reading! :)

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No.

Just no.

Lily Evans absolutely did not fancy James Potter. If one were to ask her, a cold-hearted stare awaited them, followed by a lengthy lecture on why she didn't, these reasons including:

He has a girlfriend

He sees Lily as a friend and nothing more

They're partners as head boy and girl, and romance would distract them

Of course, some people didn't believe her. Well, okay, most people. Particularly her friends Marlene and Mary. They would share a look every time James's name came up, which was often since her dormitory was very close-knit with the Marauders. Marlene and Sirius were together, and Peter and Mary were dating as well. Remus and Dorcas had been skirting around each other for months, and people had started placing bets on them.

Recently, Lily had become aware of the one circulating about her and James, and this bothered her. Quite a bit, actually. No one else seemed to care, however, and continued to act as usual.

Currently, Lily was sitting alone in the library, reading a book for her charms homework. It was a bit of a tedious read today, despite her general enjoyment of the subject. Just as she was about to slam the book shut and scream with frustration, Sirius Black came sauntering up to her, a lazy grin on his face.

"Hello, Lily-Love," he said as he sat in the seat next to her. Lily rolled her eyes at him and sighed.

"Don't call me that, Sirius," she replied in exasperation. "Don't you have a girlfriend?" Sirius waved his hand, dismissing her statement.

"Marlene knows that I only have eyes for her," he said.

"I wouldn't, given how many girls you're flirting with," Lily answered.

"Well, you're not my girlfriend, are you?" he said. "How have you been?"

"Just peachy," Lily muttered.

"What's the problem?"

"Charms," Lily said in annoyance. "Flitwick insists on torturing me."

"Do you," Sirius said, "Well, don't worry about it, Evans, you'll get it eventually."

"Will I," Lily responded, "because, at the moment, I'm seriously debating on dropping out."

"Because that's a logical idea," Sirius replied humorously.

"I'm honestly considering it," She said darkly. "what are you doing in here, anyway?" Sirius smiled.

"I'm getting a book from the restricted section for our defense against the dark arts class, and I just so happened to see you here!"

"Well, get on with it," Lily said. "The section is right over there." She jabbed her thumb in the direction of the restricted section and turned back to her reading. Sirius smiled and went to get his book.

"James is pretty good at charms, you know," Sirius said smoothly as he slid back across from her.

There it was. Again.

Every conversation she had with Sirius always ended up about James at some point.

"Is he?"

"Yeah, I could let him know," Sirius said.

"Sirius, he's one of my best friends," Lily sighed. "I can ask him."

"So why haven't you?"

That gave Lily pause. She had considered it many times. Lily had to admit, James was one of the best in their year at charms. If anyone could help her, it was him. But there was the little issue of his girlfriend. Just the thought of the girl made Lily's blood boil.

"Because his girlfriend hates me," she said shortly, suddenly furious. "and apparently James is going to cheat on her with me every time I speak to him."

Sirius laughed loudly.

"Is that so?"

"Yes," Lily continued, "and it's making our job as head boy and girl rather difficult. I know he likes her, but Merlin's beard, Sirius, she's a nightmare."

"I'll drink to that," Sirius said, sighing.

"You hate her too?" Lily looked up hopefully. "I'm not alone, then?"

"More than you know," Sirius muttered darkly. "She's a closeted blood purist. I've seen her family at my parents' house."

"Closeted? She's called me Mudblood at least 20 times since she and James started dating," Lily said, burying her head in her hands.

"Shall I curse her lights out for you," Sirius asked as he took out his wand.

"No, it's fine," Lily sighed. "I just…" she broke off and looked away.

"What," Sirius asked.

"Sirius, how can he date someone like her? She's so horrible!" Lily slammed her book shut. Sirius looked at her steadily.

"I don't think he knows, Lily."

"He doesn't—"

"I don't think he wants to see what she is. He's…trying to cope with something, and I guess having a girlfriend helps him." Lily said nothing, just looked at him sadly. Sirius took another breath and continued. "If he did; if he knew who she really was Lily, then he would drop her in an instant."

"Do you think so?" Sirius met her eyes and gave her a sad smile.

"Yeah, I do," he said.

"It just- Sirius, I hate seeing him like this.!"

"I know," Sirius said softly.

"I don't care what he says, there's no way he's really happy." Sirius said nothing, and Lily took this as indication to keep going. "She's horrible to everyone and he doesn't even know it!"

"Lily—"

"I can't stand to see them together! They're attached at the hip, and that would be fine if not for the fact that she's a massive b—'

"Lily," Sirius interrupted. "I know."

They sat in silence for a while, miserable as the rain pounded on the windows. Lily's throat was tight, and she turned away, willing herself not to cry. She thought of James, his kindness, thoughtfulness, and his loyalty. How much he loved everyone.

How much she loved him. She may as well admit it to herself. There was no reason to tell herself otherwise. And maybe, just maybe, accepting it would make it easier.

She had a suspicion that it wouldn't.

"And the worst part," Lily said quietly, "is that I love him Sirius. I love him and there's nothing I can do now."

When she looked back at him, Sirius was looking at her with a sad expression.

"I know Lily," he said. "I know."

"I rejected him for years, Sirius," she said, tears beginning to fall. "I made it perfectly clear that I had no romantic interest in him and he's moved on." A long, heavy, silence fell between them once again. She wiped her eyes, and Sirius sighed.

"Lily," he said, breaking the silence, "James has fancied you for years. And I don't care what garbage he says, he isn't just going to give up on you. It's not who he is. Trust me. He loves you too. He just thinks you don't love him back, so he's dating someone to distract himself."

"Sounds a bit stupid of him," Lily said through her tears. Sirius shrugged and let out a small chuckle.

"Yeah, but that's James. He makes stupid choices all the time. Don't worry Lily, he'll come round eventually." Lily examined his earnest, sincere, expression, and a flicker of hope sparked within her.

"You really have that much faith in him?"

"Lily, I have more faith in him than in anyone, aside from me, of course." Lily took a shuddering breath and gave him a small smile.

"Thanks Sirius," she said. Sirius smiled and squeezed her shoulder as he stood to go.

"Anytime Lily," he said, and he began to leave the library.

"Sirius," Lily said slowly, "I know that you all have a betting pool about me and James, and you're probably wanting to 'cash in' on whatever bets you have." Sirius turned to look at her. He raised his eyebrows.

"And?"

"Can you please not tell anyone? I- this is something that I need to take care of myself, okay." Sirius gave her a kind smile and nodded.

"I won't tell anyone, Lily. I promise." Lily studied him, and saw nothing but sincerity on his face.

"Thank you," Lily said, relief flooding over her.

Sirius gave her an exaggerated thumbs up and hurried out of the library, whistling as he went. As he did so, Lily turned back to her charms book. She looked at the complicated theory of the memory charm, and took a deep breath. She stood up, and exited the library. When she saw Kallie, a seventh-year prefect from Ravenclaw, one of Annie's friends, she smiled.

"Hey, Kallie," she said happily, filled with a new resolve, "Do you know where James is?"

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A/N: Thanks for reading, as well as supporting this little hobby! I appreciate it! :)