October 26, 1977

"Okay so if you have a poison what is the most important ingredient in the antidote?"

"Ummm… beetroot?"

"No...okay think about what we talked about earlier. What can you use in most common poisons?"

"Ohh Ohhh! I can give the poisoned subject a bezoar right?"

"Well, yes, but that's not going to help you much in the owl so try to remember."

"Hmmm…." The fifth year looked up at Lily in a pleading sorry sort of manner.

"Okay, write this down. Most common poisons need to use a mandrake in some form for the antidote."

"Oh yeah!" Laura said.

"Okay great." Laura scribbled on her parchment, and Lily took the opportunity to check her watch, still fifteen minutes.

"Hey Lily?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"You mean another question after asking me that one?" Laura blushed.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Sure." Lily shifted nervously in her chair.

"Well, I'm just really glad you agreed to tutor me because I figured you might not want to because James and I used to hang around last year-"

"Wait, why wouldn't I want to tutor you because of that?"

"Oh, well I thought…" Laura blushed again.

"We're heads but we're not dating if that's what you were going to ask."

"Actually, I was going to ask… nevermind it doesn't matter."
"When did you go out with him?"

Laura looked uncomfortable and shifted in her chair. "Well not so much went out as did a lot of snogging, and…." It was Lily's turn to blush. She also felt a strange emotion wash over her. It made her want to tear out Laura's hair, but that was irrational.

"Well let's get back to work?"

"Yeah.. but um Lily?"

"Mmm?"

"Do you, I mean don't you think that James is hot?"

"No." Lily felt a strange feeling in her stomach and shifted in her chair. "Let's do this, cause we've only got," she looked at her watch, "five minutes now."

"Right, I just, I mean how could you not think he's hot?"

"Quite easily because I know he's a prat." Lily said matter of factly and tried to move the potions textbook closer to Laura.

"Well he used to be, and I mean you could probably overlook that because of the abs you know. But now I mean wow." she started fake fanning herself and Lily had another irrational urge to wrap her hands around Laura's neck. "I mean he changed for you right, he stopped hexing people and he's being nice, he just, like that's so sweet. Now the only person he really hexes is that creep Snape. And he did it for you isn't that so sweet, he changed for you. Doesn't that make you want to be with him now-?

"Alright times up!" Lily said standing up abruptly.

"Oh, sorry… well, if you're not going to date him, maybe I'll go for it ya know, we were really good together when we were doing it." She looked off wistfully.

"Right." Lily said coldly grabbing her bag and jacket.

"Think I should dye my hair red, think James has a thing for redheads?"

"Whatever." Lily muttered rushing out of the library.

Lily was so caught up in her anger with Laura that she didn't see the person in front of her until she had bumped into him.

"Merlin, I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going and-"

"No it's not your fault I also wasn't looking where I was going." He held up a book.

"Wow, a guy that reads, are you an alien?"

He laughed. Lily tried to remember his name. One problem with not paying attention to the people around her was that when she had to interact with them she had no information about them to make small talk with.

"Well, yeah I must be." He chuckled lightly. He looked nervous but Lily had no idea why he would be. "So uh… Lily, there's a hogsmeade trip next weekend and I was wondering… well, would you want to come with me?"

Lily was only mildly surprised. She had remembered his name, Justin, and with the name she also remembered that Alice had suggestively hinted that Justin had an eye for Lily.

"Umm, Justin, I'm flattered really, but I uhh…" Lily paused, remembering her temper when Laura had talked about snogging James and felt a sudden rush of excitement and felt herself saying that she would of course go to Hogsmeade with Justin.

It was only later as she was approaching the painting of the fat lady, which was the entrance to Gryffindor tower, that she regretted saying yes even thought it would make James jealous. It was mean to use Justin like that, she didn't like him, hell she hadn't even remembered his name for at least five minutes. It was wrong. But that didn't mean she wasn't going to tell her friends excitedly and loud enough for James to hear, wait what?

"Alice, Alice! I have exciting dish for you to hear."

"Ohhh…. What?"

"Well, you remember Justin?"

"That Ravenclaw cutie who had a crush on you for a while?"

"Yup, that one. He just asked me out on my way back from tutoring Laura."

"Merlin's saggy green underpants, he did not!" Alice crowed eyes widening.

"Well he did."

A strange expression came across Alice's face. Lily noticed Frank behind her on the couch.

"Uh Lily, this really isn't my place, but umm you know who Justin is right?"

"Frank, let Lily have this one, she doesn't get guys asking her out, what's he going to do on one date?"

"I mean, I don't know, but just warn her is all." Frank stood and moved his awkwardly lanky body up the boy's dormitory stairs.

"Alice, what was Frank talking about?"

"Oh Lily, I can't believe your first date in forever is with Justin, maybe you shouldn't go…"

"Alice what is it?" Lily looked her dead in the eyes waiting for her to crack.

"Lils. He's...well, he just has a history of well...I guess it's kind of well… I'm not really comfortable saying."

"What could it possibly be, he's a nice guy right?"

"Just, don't go Lily." Alice stood and shuddered and went upstairs. Lily frowned, crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back on the couch.

"Hey Evans." James said flopping down next to Lily.

"Sod off, Potter."

"Hey where's this anger coming from, I haven't even done anything yet!"

"Not you, I'm just mad because Justin asked me out and Alice says he's bad news but won't tell me why."

James looked appalled and hurt. "Lily, you can't go with him okay?" He looked directly in Lily's eyes. Lily was finding it really hard to say no.

"Just tell me what's wrong with him."

"Promise me you won't go." James held up his pinky finger. Lily almost laughed at him, then saw in his eyes that James Potter was being entirely serious, which scared the pants off Lily.

"Okay." she said linking her pinky with his.

"Right, Justin is known… now I only know this from other girls I've, well... you know… anyway he's known for taking advantage of his dates."

"What!" Lily gasped.

"That's why Alice and I are saying don't go with him."

Lily stared at him. Was James just saying this so that Lily wouldn't go out with Justin or was Justin really what James was saying he was. Both Frank and Alice had said that Justin was bad news, but it was very confusing. Justin had seemed so nice before…

"Anyway, you promised not to go with him, so you'd better tell him you can't."

"Yeah, alright I'll go now." Lily said standing, she felt shell shocked.

"Like hell you are." James said also standing. "You are not telling him that alone at night."

"James I don't need you protecting me."
"Fine then take Alice, or Frank, or Marlene, or Sirius, or anyone, just take someone, you shouldn't be alone with him." James' concern was evident that Lily couldn't say no.

"Alright, I won't go alone." Lily still didn't trust that she wasn't being tricked out of dating Justin, but she wasn't to directly go against what James was saying when he was so worked up about it.

A/N: Hey all, just forewarning the next chapter will be darker, I will include a trigger warning at the beginning and a number to call if you have experienced it and don't know what to do. Also you can skip the next chapter without ruining the rest of the fanfiction so there's no problem if you don't read it. Have a lovely day!