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Chapter One

Or

Do Me A Favour


However this may turn out to be, it is first and foremost a story, a story of war, pain and suffering, a story of family, friendship and unrequited affections, and perhaps most importantly, the story of how James Potter and Lily Evans came to fall, and then to realise that they were, in love with one another. Neither of them knows precisely when it started, but for chronology's sake, this story begins in the summer before sixth year.

(James)

James was bored.

It was the middle of August. Remus was sick, and as usual, Sirius was stuck at Grimmauld Place, probably enduring another one of those blasted family meals. Peter was spending the holidays in France with his mother.

That left James. On his own, bored out of his wits.

Leaning against the headboard of his four poster bed, James stared into space with nothing to do. And when there was nothing to do, James thought. He thought about endings and beginnings, about his three best mates in the world, about the blooming war that no one seemed to be able to do anything about, about the rain pattering on the windows.

What James didn't think about, however, was a certain red headed girl called Lily Evans. James couldn't bear to think about her without his stomach fluttering ridiculously, so he just didn't.

Lily's words nagged his conscience for a full week, before he finally gave in and decided to write to her. James' resolve to forget all about Lily Evans only grew stronger every time she ignored one of his letters.

Damn it, he was thinking about her.

It was fairly dark outside; his parents had already gone to bed, so only James was up when someone knocked on the front door.

He wasn't too worried; his house had an extraordinary amount of enchantments protecting it, and he felt just as safe there as he did when at Hogwarts. Still, nowadays there was always the threat that somehow the Death Eaters had managed to get past them, and the Potters were, after all, only blood traitors.

James opened the door carefully, shocked to find his best mate Sirius Black standing there shivering, with his clothes and hair glued to his body by the rain, a split lip, and a bruise forming on his left temple.


(Lily)

It was hot and humid in Cokeworth. Lily stared at the cracks in her ceiling. If she looked hard enough, she could make shapes out of them, like trees or bolts of lightning.

Lily thought about going outside for a while, maybe eating some ice cream, but she felt confined inside her own house, and not only because of the heat. In fact, it seemed that Severus Snape had some sort of Lily-radar, and was sat outside her house every time she looked out the window.

Lily felt weak for doing so, but even after everything, when she thought about that afternoon by the lake, she couldn't help but shed a few more tears. Of course, not only was it painful to lose her best friend (especially in such a horrible and humiliating way), but the embarassment of crying in the arms of James Potter was eating her alive.

At least she had something to keep herself busy with – and that was avoiding her sister at all costs. Petunia had gotten herself a boyfriend. His name was Vernon Dursley, and although Lily disliked him right away, she tried to hold back and at least be polite – after all, he hadn't done anything wrong. Yet.

However, just because things had been going somewhat smoothly over the last few weeks, it still didn't mean Lily wanted to spend her summer around the two of them. That, along with the heat and trying to avoid Severus, meant that Lily mostly kept to herself the whole summer. Yes, her friends wrote her here and there, but Lily spent most of the time curled up in her bed reading a book or watching the telly. She was desperate to get out of the house.

Besides the rare correspondence that she had with her close friends, there was another more constant flow of letters, but Lily made a point to avoid those, often resorting to shredding them to pieces as soon as she recognized the handwriting.

Lily was lying on the bed, skimming through The Daily Prophet in order to pass time. Of course, the paper was already so corrupt that she didn't believe half the rubbish they printed. Still, the headlines were pretty damn scary, and she guessed that was probably the point Voldemort was trying to make. If people were afraid, it would be easier to reign over them. And fear was the best form of recruitment.

She thought about last year… What Mulciber had done to Mary was just wrong. It was obviously illegal (after all, the curse was called an Unforgivable for a reason) and Mary hadn't been herself since. She was always afraid, always looking over her shoulder, always unhappy… And Dumbledore had done nothing about it, except taking points away from Slytherin House.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Lily looked up from her newspaper to find a beautiful eagle owl waiting outside her window. She recognized the animal – after all, it had delivered her a few letters over the course of the summer holidays.

Still, even though she disliked Potter a great deal, his owl was an entirely different matter. No animal deserved to be kept outside on such a hot day. Lily opened the window for it and James' pet hooted in appreciation. As usual, it was carrying a letter, and for some reason, Lily felt compelled to open this one, even if she was already aware of its author.

Maybe it was the fact that Potter had sent her a different letter every three days before abruptly stopping at the beginning of the month. At the time, Lily had felt glad that Potter seemed to have gotten the memo, but now she was curious as to why he had finally written to her again, after a full month.

Evans,

Before you choose to ignore this letter like I know you've been doing the whole summer, I'm asking you to actually read this one, because it's quite important.

Normally, I wouldn't go on about my friend's secrets to other people, but I know you and Sirius get along and I don't know what to do, so I need your help.

Two days ago, he showed up at my door in the middle of the night, drenched from head to toe with an split lip and a couple of bruises. I'm sure you've guessed what happened by now. Sirius finally ran way, but I don't really know where to go from here. And you've got a firm head on your shoulders and I know you'll be able to take his mind off things.

He's trying to avoid the subject at all cost, but even if he doesn't talk to me about it, maybe you could come over and try to talk some sense into him? Or maybe we could go to Diagon Alley one afternoon and get started on back to school shopping. I know I haven't done mine yet. But it's your call, really.

Oh, and send your letter back with Artemis – she's been told to wait for a reply.

James


(Mary)

It was a nice day outside. It was hot, it was sunny and Mary felt happy. She hadn't felt that way in a long time. It was the summer holidays and she had done well enough on her O.W.L.'s, despite everything.

After the incident… everything had been upside down. She felt out of control, paranoid. Her friends wouldn't leave her alone, and she appreciated it. For the whole summer, Mary either was with her best friend, Marlene, or with her boyfriend. Her amazing, wonderful boyfriend who made her feel safe. Untouchable.

Mary hummed to herself as she finished getting ready. The doorbell rang and Mary skipped down the stairs to open it.

Bertram Audrey was one of the most handsome boys at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He had curly, blond hair and the prettiest pair of green eyes. He was a seventh year, a Ravenclaw Prefect, a Muggleborn (such as herself) and most importantly, he was Mary Mcdonald's boyfriend. The two of them had been dating for the past two months and she had never felt so lucky.

"Good afternoon, love." Bertram leaned down to give his girlfriend a peck.

"Shall we go?" Mary said goodbye to her mother, and, with the promise to be back in time for dinner, the young couple apparated to Diagon Alley.

A couple of hours later, an angry Mary Macdonald was marching purposefully back towards the house. Tears were streaming down her face, smearing her mascara across her cheeks.

"Mary, come on!" Bertram shouted, but Mary slammed the door shut. So much for a nice day.


(Sirius)

"Wake up, Padfoot." James threw the covers off the bed and, after twenty minutes of ignoring his best friend, Sirius was finally forced to wake up.

"It's way too early for this." It was too early to face anything but the comfort of his sheets.

"Mate, it's three in the afternoon."

"Exactly my point, Prongs." He was too tired and it was all too much and Sirius wasn't sure he could take it. So, as usual, he decided to attribute it to simple laziness.

"You big baby. Come on, we're going to Diagon Alley with Evans."

And even though it took him every ounce of the effort he had to spare, after a bit of prodding on James' part, Sirius finally decided to get up and get ready.

The truth was, he didn't know what to do. Sirius was angry about his brother, pissed off at his parents and hurt that none of it was a surprise. Maybe he was defective, doomed to feel like this all the time. James helped, of course. Sirius knew that no other person would have opened their doors in the middle of the night and let someone into their home, especially not at the present time.

Still, it was like a weight he had to carry all on his own, and what annoyed him the most was that he really ought not to care about his family, but despite all the abuse, he still did. Not that he'd ever admit it to anyone and, just like he did with everything, Sirius blamed it on Regulus.


(James, again)

"Hey." Lily waved at James. "Hi, Sirius." Sirius hugged her.

"Hey."

"Thanks for coming," James told her.

"It was no problem." Lily smiled at him, and James decided to ignore the way his stomach flipped uncomfortably or the way his heart started to beat faster. It was likely that she was only being civil towards him for Sirius' sake.

"Should we grab some ice cream?" Lily asked, trying to diffuse the tension. Sirius nodded; James was still a bit too overwhelmed to answer.

Sirius and Lily were walking side by side, a little ahead of James, but he didn't mind. If it was any other day, James would have felt jealous of the way Lily casually looped her arm through Sirius'. But today was not about ogling the prettiest girl he'd ever seen: today was about getting his best friend to feel a little better.

Even if Sirius pretended not to care, James knew the comments and jabs still affected him, especially when it came to his brother, Regulus. The pair of them had spent too many sleepless nights as thirteen year olds when Regulus was sorted for James not to know.

The three of them walked around Diagon Alley for a couple of hours, entered all the shops, ran into some friends and ate way too much chocolate ice cream.

Mary MacDonald and her boyfriend were there, but she didn't seem to be having that great a time. It probably had something to do with the fact that Bertram was paying more attention to the cashier at Quality Quidditch Supplies than he was to his girlfriend, which didn't make any sense whatsoever because James knew that the only sport Bertram actually liked was football.

"And his middle name is Fleamont! Fleamont!" James heard Sirius laugh. Usually James would have already protested, but seeing his best mate finally cheerful again only made him happy. It was then that he decided that Lily Evans was a ray of sunshine in him and his best mate's miserable existence.


Sirius had gone straight home, but James, however, had decided to walk Lily to her door. He wasn't exactly sure why.

"Can I talk to you for a bit?" She asked all of a sudden and, while she seemed unsure of her own actions, nothing could top James' confusion.

"Look… I know the two of us have never been on good terms exactly... and I'm sorry to have been avoiding your letters. I was just embarrassed about what happened," Lily looked at the ground as she spoke, her eyes darting from one speck of dirt to another. "And while I understand if you don't want to be, I'd really like it if the two of us could be friends. Or just try to get along, really..."

"Sure." She visibly sighed with relief. "I'll see you on the train then?" James asked, ignoring once more the way his heart rate had quickened.

"Yeah, see you." Lily turned around, face flushed and hands trembling. Her hair caught the light as she went under the front porch and James' stomach flipped once more.

James got home right in time for dinner. His father had made lasagna, James' favourite. He loved his father's cooking. Fleamont Potter's recipes always had a special touch to them, maybe because he was a Potioneer.

Sirius was still in a sour mood; his jaw was still clenched, his hands were still balled in fists. After all, even though the Blacks were not – never had been – a nice family, and even though they'd never treated Sirius properly, he had still lived with them for the past sixteen years. One afternoon with Lily Evans couldn't change that.

James knocked on the wooden door of Sirius' bedroom, only to find him packing.

"What are you doing?" James leaned on the door, running his hands through his hair as he spoke.

"Leaving." Sirius said in a short breath, not bothering to look up from his school trunk.

"No." James crossed his arms. "You're not."

"I am though. You can't stop me, James." Sirius continued to mindlessly toss clothes into the trunk.

"Yes, I can." He walked over to his best friend and started to unpack.

"I told you last night that I'd find a new place. I can't just turn up here in the middle of the night…" His voice was shaky; He was very nearly crying. "And especially after what I did to Moony last term, I won't…"

"Stop, Sirius. Just stop. I told you, you're home." James replied, as he put his hand on Sirius' shoulder."I swear to Merlin, my parents probably like you more than they like me. And I'm nothing short of amazing." At this, Sirius snorted.

They stood there, in deep silent conversation, for James and Sirius could read each other's thoughts with just one glance. After a while, Sirius jolted.

"What about Evans?" Sirius asked.

"What about her?" James lifted his hand to his hair.

"Why did you ask her to Diagon Alley with us? More importantly, why did she say yes?"

"For you, I suppose. I wrote her a letter."

"You two looked fine today, even though things didn't end very well between the two of you this term, if I remember correctly. And I have quite a good memory."

"We're… trying to get along."

"Hm. Interesting..." Sirius muttered to himself. Most likely, James wasn't supposed to hear it but alas, he did.

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing."

What was Sirius getting at? Sure, they were mates now… well, potentially anyway, but it was something. Still, James recalled the things she had shouted at him and the things he'd said back. He knew it was difficult to bounce back from something like that. And the two of them always bickered so much. But it was too fun seeing the girl with the fiery hair get worked up like that. They were two stars, waiting to collapse.

No, things hadn't ended well between the pair of them… But James couldn't shake the image of vulnerable, sweet Lily Evans crying in his arms, only minutes after calling him an arrogant, bulllying toerag.

And, of course, there was also the fact that he fancied the pants off the girl. Yes, that could most definitely get in the way of their potential friendship. So, James decided, he'd forget all about his little crush on Evans. It didn't matter that he'd decided the same thing in the past, many, many times, because this time he was actually going to go through with it. It was far better, in James' mind, to be mates with Evans (potentially) than to suffer from unrequited affection.

But was he strong enough to ignore the tugs on his heartstrings, the fluttering in his stomach? Maybe it would be better to steer clear of Lily Evans...

Of course, you and I both know, James Potter never did what was best for him.


(Severus)

Severus was positive that this summer had been the worst so far. His first summer without Lily since they were nine. He didn't know what bothered him more, the fact that she didn't want to have anything to do with him or the fact that she was right in reacting that way.

Every day for the first two weeks of summer break, Lily would go out for a stroll at precisely three in the afternoon and, every day, Severus faithfully waited outside for her. She'd stopped coming outside. After that, everytime he went to her house, her mother would say she wasn't home.

He lurked in the shadows, thought about ways of gaining her trust back. Maybe if he just proved to her that Potter and his friends were up to no good, she'd accept the fact that she was better off without the git.

Before, she'd have said that she didn't need anyone to tell her so, that she knew Potter was rubbish thank-you-very-much, but apparently she'd forgotten all that because suddenly his fucking bird was constantly flying about Cokeworth.

Besides, neither of them had noticed, but Severus had seen Potter walking Lily home, and he had noticed the way that he'd looked at her and the way that she hadn't seemed to despise him as much as usual.

What did they know anyway? They were sixteen years old and they were foolish. If Lily didn't understand that, it was Severus who was better off without her. But he still craved her. He still wanted her back. He wanted her to be his. Most importantly, he wanted her not to want Potter, ever.

The whole thing made him sick. The whole thing made him fucking sick.


A/N: Sixth year begins in the next chapter, and thus the real fun will begin. Don't forget to tell me your thoughts! What were your favourite bits? x