-1Lily Evans bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud and consequently giving the whole game away. The prank was hilarious, of course, but she was Lily Evans. She was President of the "I Hate the Marauders!" club, and the only member as well. She couldn't very well start laughing at one of the pranks that she always disdained as silly and not worth the time of the students, and very disruptive of the day. She certainly couldn't tell anyone that she had helped with this particular prank. Not just turned a blind eye when James began planning but actually helped. She was the one who had done the charms on the water balloons, oil cans, and the coats of armor. She schooled her features quickly, and turned to her friends, a scowl on her features; one that didn't quite reach her eyes. "He's head boy! He can't act like this! I'm going to go give him a piece of my mind!" She marched away.

"She doesn't really think that she's fooling anyone, does she?" She stiffened and began to quicken her pace when she heard one of her friends raise that question. Yet, she was still in hearing range when another question was posed in response.

"I hope not. Lily is way too smart for that. The real question that I want the answer to is : have they kissed yet?" Lily could feel every bit of her blushing and veered in her path towards James. She would just turn and leave then. But, that plan had flaws as well. If people saw her there and saw that she didn't yell at James like she normally did then they would speculate that there was something going on with them. Like they had been all semester. But this would be proof positive! But, it wouldn't be fair to yell at him for this prank when he let her help them. But, surely he - a marauder of all things, would understand the need to protect her image. But, would he understand why she wanted to prolong her desire to have the rest of the school think that she despised him still? These past several months had been quite pleasant. How horrible would they become if he thought that she hated him? Or that she really did enjoy his company but was so prideful that she would rather give up his friendship-and the consequent breakfasts and matching shoes that that supplied- rather than admit that her previously held position that he was the worst person on the planet was wrong. She had stopped wearing her "I Hate the Marauders!" button that had flashed their faces. She was hesitating on the steps and she knew that if she stayed there even one second more faces would start to turn to her expectantly. Before her decision was fully made, she had just shifted her weight onto the stair to attempt to slip out undetected , her lower lip was still between her teeth and the scowl had been replaced with a look of utter confusion as she attempted to figure out the complex feelings that James Potter managed to arise in her in their months as Head boy and girl.

She lowered her foot to the ground and turned and whirled around to face the crowd that was grinning at her. Waiting for her to take the Marauders down a peg or two. The students parted before she had even begun moving and she gracefully stalked down the aisle that they provided until she was nose to chest with James Potter. She tilted her head back and looked him in the eye, and rose one eyebrow. He rose one back at her, still grinning. She didn't want to lecture him, she really didn't. She had never had so much fun as when she was around the Marauders, not even when she was with her friends. She didn't want to loose that. She was careful not to allow any of that warmth shine through her eyes, however they did involuntarily soften when he started to look confused, and upset and to let the truth tell it, hurt. She removed the badge from his chest and shook her head slowly. She turned and walked away, moving towards their shared office. She made a big deal out of turning and glaring at him before firmly shutting the door.

What she hadn't allowed to seep through before was suddenly making her jittery. She hugged the badge to herself before dropping it on James's desk and rushing to her own. She pulled her knees up under her chin, as she slowly made circles in the swivel chair. "He hates me. I know he does. He hates me." Her own heart rejected that idea and tears sprung to her eyes. "Could someone explain to me when James Potter stopped being the most loathsome creature on the planet to me? Please?"

The two of them had been working together for over six months now. At the beginning of the semester Lily had still held that earnest desire to hate him for simply breathing. But, then something happened. She got to know him. She finally saw in him what all of her friends had always seen in him. She had saw in him what his friends had been telling her was there for years now. She had seen him. Not the cocky, big-headed, overly arrogant James Potter that she had always assumed was there. Someone completely different.

Just for anyone who doesn't know, suddenly realizing that somewhere along the way you have fallen in love or least a very strong sort of like for your very worst enemy is somewhat disconcerting. Or down right nerve wracking, and terrifying. Now, Lily Evans is a brave girl. She's a Gryffindor and stands for everything that the image of a fearless lion provokes in people. She could face down future death eaters, and the few Slytherines who had already been branded with the dark mark without fear. She could look Professor Mcgonagal in the eye and tell her that she was wrong about something. She could not, absolutely could not, face James Potter. Her eyes raised unwillingly to his as he walked into the small room.

No one can walk into a room like James Potter. His very animal-like magnetism automatically drew every eye, at least every female eye, to him immediately. Lily was no different, not anymore at any rate. At the moment he had moved in just enough to shut the door behind him and was currently leaning against it while he eyed her. He didn't say anything. He just had a kind of half smile half smirk thing playing on his mouth.

But, keeping under consideration Lily's state of mind, she really can't be blamed for what happened next. She stood slowly, looking everywhere but at him even as she moved towards him. She stopped when the toes of her shoes bumped into the toes of his. She kept her eyes on the third button below his collar and licked her lips.

James who had been feeling pretty smug about having Lily volunteer to help them pull off a prank, and not only did they not get caught, but he had the immense pleasure of watching her practically dance with giddiness as the prank unfolded. She made an awful prankster. One look at her and you knew that the hyper organized, good girl extraordinaire Lily Evans was involved. It was a good thing that she left when she did, Dumbledore had been eyeing her with some amount of suspicion. He had been in an utterly good mood until this moment. She was standing so close that her hair was fluttering from each breath that he took. He could feel the tips of her breasts lightly brush his chest when she took deep breaths, which she was doing often. His fingers were crying to touch her, her hair, her lips, her back absolutely anywhere that he could safely get away with. But he held still and stared down at the top of her head. He wasn't prepared when she suddenly looked up and captured his eyes with her own. Her eyes dropped down to his mouth, and her tongue came out to lick her own lips. The lower one was momentarily caught between her teeth as her eyes moved rapidly from his mouth to his eyes and back again. Her decision made, she quickly rose to her toes and allowed her body to melt into him as her lips melded with his.

All thoughts had left Lily when James had walked into the room. She stopped trying to figure out when something as monumental as falling for him happened. She couldn't be concerned with exactly what about him, if anything, had changed. Almost before she had realized that she had moved she found her self taking deep, steadying, breaths as she stood toe to toe with him. And then, then, she looked up at him and whatever part of her that had previously been in control had gone out of the window and it was her instincts that were in charge. And they were at war. Stand there forever and watch the light play off his eyes? Count the laugh lines that he already had around his eyes? Just stare at him in general? Or, kiss him? When that thought came unbidden and yet fully formed to her brain, her breath had come out in a huff. There was really only one choice after all. She rose to her toes and experienced the full force of kissing James Potter.

After several long breath stealing seconds Lily had tried to pull back to breathe. James wasn't having any of that. He left her lips but only to trail kisses along her hair line and jaw and down her neck. Lily wasn't trying to push him away and was focusing solely on remembering how to make her legs work, which was a job in itself considering the havoc that he was playing with her senses. She had just begun to feel her legs again when his lips crashed onto her once more. Her arms came up around his neck and she could feel his hand move to her waist moving in short smooth movements from the small of her back to the curve of her behind, steadily pushing her closer to him. And then sense returned.

Lily pushed herself out of his arms and looked up at him. His eyes were dark and could really only be called passion filled. His lips were slightly swollen and she wondered if hers looked the same. His hair was even more mussed than usual. Her hand came up to her own hair. She bit her lip in uncertainty. "I have to go." She made to move behind him and only ended up melting into him once more when his hands reached out and pulled her to him.

"We need to talk, Lily." His voice was deeper than usual. More husky.

"I-I c-can't. I have somewhere that I need to be!" She tried to struggle once more out of his embrace. He looked at the clock on the wall.

"Here."

"What?"

"You're supposed to be here, Lily." He wrapped his arms more fully around and energetically returned to kissing the exposed skin of her neck, subtly pushing her collar aside to reveal more skin.

"No, no I have to go…" She was losing the point.

"It's time for the heads meeting." He murmured, moving up to nibble on her ear. The heads meeting.

That's when it had happened. During the head's meetings. She had known at the beginning of the year that she was going to have to give James Potter a chance. She had known it because he was Head Boy and she was Head Girl and she had simply seen no way around it. At the beginning of the semester she had decided that she would go out with him once, and one time only just to show him that they were not compatible. She had hoped that they could be friends so that their working environment wouldn't be hostile. James turned her around so she was facing him once more and kissed her. She had known that he would have her then. She had said it to herself that day on the train, she just hadn't thought that it would be like this. If she had had any idea that kissing James Potter would be this much fun she surely would have done it sooner. She still hoped that they could be friends. Friends make the best lovers after all!

Authors note: as always, my homies, thanks for taking the time to read this bit of fluff. And thanks to everyone who reviewed me, and told me their honest thoughts on my Lily. I've always had a bit of a time understanding her. Thanks as always to my most excellent beta who rocks my socks. Hello friend! Who actually didn't beta this so don't read it , see all of the mistakes and think she sucks, she's really quite the awesome chick. Here's a little shout out for my up and coming fic, it'll be out before book 7. Book 7 is coming out can you believe it? Have you all pre-ordered? I have! Smiles. Oh, my fic. Its called the screening process. James wants a girlfriend and Sirius and co. don't want James to get his heart broken by another soulless female. So, they decide any and all future Mrs. Prongs must first be put through a screening process, including filling out honest applications. Wait a minute, Lily Evans? Why did she fill out an application? (Cue dramatic music) it's a light hearted comedy. I hope y'all will like it. I'm not going to start posting it until its 100 finished. Look for it around March/April. Happy new year and what not.

isa