LILY'S P.O.V.

Lily was going over the lyrics of a song in her head. Why, she hadn't quite decided. It was a song by some wizarding band she wasn't too fond of. It had a stupid, cheesy name that she despised but Marlene adored. It hadn't taken many times hearing the song for her to learn the chorus, and, it being one of those irritatingly catchy songs, she couldn't help but think of it on the odd occasion.
It got in the way of things, just like Potter had a knack of doing.
It was also a way for her to keep her focus off of James, and it kept her going in the right direction in any case. Her steps matched the rhythm of the song in her head.
Her steps were quick and brisk, meaning she shouldn't have attracted very much attention. Many other witches and wizards, her age and older and younger, were hurrying about just like her.
But not for the same reason.
Unlike the others, she was not trying to get the best of the numerous summer sales. 'Thirty percent off wands, if bought by the fourth. Half price broom cleaning kit.'
None of that mattered to Lily, not when she was speeding across the street, getting away from that dreaded, mischievous pair of scheming twits. And she nearly made it into the shop. Two metres away. Almost there. Almost inside.
Almost...
James' booming voice struck her like a blow to the head and she turned, glowering like a child.

"Well,", he said, rather loudly.
If she hadn't already recognised him, she'd have realised from the loud and confident way he spoke.
As if he owned the bloody street.
"If it isn't the Evans we all know and love. What a coincidence."
Coincidence. Yes. Sure.
It all came down to coincidence, didn't it? That's always what it was. Seeing him was coincidence enough, but he and Sirius spotting her in the crowd? That was another coincidence.
Lily spent a long moment gritting her teeth before she spun around.
A bright - and visibly faked - smile was plastered on her irritated face.
"Potter. Black." Lily nodded at them both in turn, trying her hand at being polite to them, for once; in the hope they'd do the same. Or maybe, just maybe, they'd leave her alone and go on their way.
Maybe.
But of course they didn't.
They were 'Potter and Black' were they not? They couldn't just - go. The idea was preposterous.
They couldn't leave without speaking to their dear friend Lily.
Lily would have done anything for them to turn around and leave her there.

James and Sirius both continued walking until they were both in front of her, standing in a good position to perfectly block her escape.
Not creepy at all, thought the redhead in irritation.
It didn't seem intentional, but it was.
"You're looking good Evans, as always." James said with his signature charming grin, to which Sirius just laughed.
"What a coincidence seein' you here, eh? And you're all alone. It's probably a lucky thing we found you then, to save you from slowly going insane with loneliness." Sirius said, his voice deadly serious (no pun intended) as if he actually believed the redhead would keel over and die from being alone.
As a matter of fact, Lily would have been quite keen on keeling over and dying right there, if it meant she got out of the situation. Being stuck there with James and Sirius, with the pair of them practically cornering her, well, it wasn't the best way to spend an afternoon.
"On the contrary, I rather enjoy being alone.", Lily pointed out, smiling the tight-lipped smile she smiled when in an awkward situation, or one she didn't like. Such as this one.
James of course, knew this smile very well, and so it wasn't long before he began to smirk.
Lily knew that smirk of his as well as he knew that smile of here.
"Now if you'll excuse me,", the redhead began, pursing her lips together even tighter, to create an almost McGonagall-like stern expression, "I need to get going. Lots to buy. Places to be, people to see."
With that, she tried to get going. She slipped in between the pair of them, nodding politely to them both once again.
It was strange to think of how differently the meeting could have went were James and Sirius a pair of Slytherins instead. Not that Lily was stereotypical or anything like that, but she had had her fair share of run-ins with a handful of them, to know that bumping into them whilst on her own was one of the worst things that could happen.
James and Sirius weren't horrible boys. They were teasing and annoying and irritating, but they would never ever hurt her, or force her to stay.
They were kinder than people thought. Even if Lily didn't think about it much.
And even if she didn't want to admit it either, the both of them had matured recently. It wasn't very likely for you to find them both bullying a Firstie down a corridor anymore. Mucking around, yes. But not bullying or hexing anymore.
At least not that often.

But even if they had changed, they hadn't changed so much that they wouldn't follow Lily. No, they were still up for that, especially James.
Why give up such an opportunity?
If they didn't follow her, they'd end up going back to James' and simply stuffing their faces with the wonderful baking that was always a highlight of their summers.

So James and Sirius both followed Lily. But not in a dark, secretive way. They were flamboyant about it on purpose, sneaking about in a very over-the-top fashion, ducking behind cauldrons and the like whenever she turned.
Much to Lily's disappointment and irritation, it wasn't long before she had a genuine smile on her face.
What irritated her most about those two was how easy it was for them to amuse her, even when she was trying to be angry.

JAMES' P.O.V. (WRITTEN BY THE GINGER)

James and Sirius both laughed boisterously. The two of them took a different route through the street, dodging the witches and wizards who were trundling along their way. James, being the lanky lad that he was, managed this a great deal better than his accomplice did.

It soon became a competition. With the both of them shooting smirks at one another whenever they came into difficulty. It was a game between the two of them now; they had almost forgotten the point of it.

Until James caught sight of a flare of red hair vanishing into a shop.

He sped up, chuckling behind his hand as he side-stepped a rather angry-looking and elderly wizard wearing a green hat.

It didn't take long for him to reach the store, Eeylops Owl Emporium.

James knew Lily well enough to know she had no need for an owl – she detested the things, and this had amused James greatly on many occasions. For example, she almost always sighed whenever the birds flew into the Great Hall in the mornings. She would roll her eyes and grumble into her toast - something about 'bloody faeces'.

Lily would have been surprised to discover how much he knew about her. More than she knew about herself in some cases.

James couldn't help but smirk as he wondered why she had gone into such a shop if she had such a hatred for the things.

But he knew why. It was just to get away from them.

Nice try, he thought, as his long legs brought him to the entrance of the shop.

The owls hanging in the cages by the door squawked at him as he neared the doorway, and he nodded to them, as if they were old friends of his. He pushed open the door, and walked into the small, dark, main room of the shop.

Even with the terrible lighting of the place, James' brown eyes located a certain scowling redhead in no time at all. Still smirking like a twelve-year-old rascal, he strode over to her, arms open wide, ready to embrace her like a sibling.

And Lily didn't even notice.

LILY'S P.O.V.

Lily had always been irritated by the lighting in the room; yes, owls were nocturnal creatures and liked the dark, but so what? It was a health and safety hazard if there ever was one, and Lily, being British, had every mind to complain about it to the middle-aged woman behind the till. But before she could even muster up the courage to walk over to the woman, who should appear but the smirking eejit himself?

A huffing sound shot out of Lily's mouth, the scowl she had on her face darkening considerably.

"I'm quite sure it is the holidays, Potter.", Lily seethed quietly.

This amused James even more than the look on her face did. Letting his arms fall to his sides, he nodded.

"By Jove, I think you're right.", he responded, as a small boy squeezed past him to get a look at an owl that looked far too miniature to be real.

Lily met his eyes, giving him a look that conveyed strong irritation.

It didn't seem like these holidays were going to be the most enjoyable.

"And as it's the holidays," the red head went on, "Shouldn't you be off getting a ridiculous tan?" Her eyebrows knitted together. "You follow me enough during school hours – surely you should allow yourself some time off."

Her voice sounded hopeful, even if she knew it wasn't very likely that he would agree and run off.

Sirius had, much to his reputation, been spotted by one of his previous 'acquaintances'. The blonde girl had squealed in delight at the sight of him, and the pair had mysteriously vanished down a side-street.

"Oh, James Potter doesn't take time off," he replied, absently letting his gaze travel over the startlingly large number of owls that filled the small shop.

"Pity.", the redhead grumbled back. She hitched her bag higher up on her shoulder, sighing.

Yes, he was a git, and his manner was atrocious at the best of times, she knew it wasn't going to take long for them to fall into the teasing, almost flirty way they had began to speak to one another. Maybe it had always been like that, or maybe it had only happened as they had started to grow up some more.

James looked at her as she looked at her feet, more interested than amused now. "You don't like it in here very much, do you?" He gestured to her irritable expression. It was more than just infuriation with him – James knew exactly what that looked like.

"No, I don't.", she agreed. Her green eyes flickered towards the door behind him. She could easily slip past him, but didn't. Not just yet.

"Me neither," concurred the quidditch player, putting on what seemed to be an ridiculous attempt at a very posh accent. "It's rather fowl, isn't it?"

That was what broke Lily. That bloody pun.

She should have expected it, been waiting for it to come. But, regrettably, it hadn't even entered her mind. She was rather disappointed in herself.

A small smile spread over Lily's lips, and she almost shoved him for making her amused.

It really was an annoying habit of his; to make her laugh when she was angry.

They weren't enemies anymore, almost friends actually, even though Lily wasn't likely to ever admit that to anyone. Least of all herself.

And so, the 'friends' left the Emporium, chatting and teasing and poking fun at one another.

But they weren't friends, Lily thought, he's still a complete git.

Perhaps it had gotten to the point where she just told herself that.

If anyone were to look at them, maybe they would look like siblings. Maybe best friends. Perhaps even a couple.

It wasn't as though they were holding hands, or gazing into eachother's eyes, or doing anything that visually implied they were in a relationship. Which they weren't.

But they were doing things that made it seem that way, without even thinking of it as odd.

The way they teased and mocked eachother, and joked around, sometimes even flicking or swatting at the other's arm… well, that made it obvious.

And it made a certain young man's blood boil.

Severus Snape.

He wasn't in Diagon Alley to spend the money he didn't have, no, he simply wanted out of his house.

But apparently what he found there was even worse.

Lily, Lily Evans, with James, James Potter.

He had seen it alright. The way they had grown closer during the end of the previous year. How she had became ignorant to his imbecilic nature, and had taken a liking to his cocky, flamboyant character. Why she had suddenly became a completely different person, he didn't know. But he blamed Potter.

In reality, out of Severus' seething thoughts, Lily had not become a completely different person. She had changed, just like the rest of them had. It was he who had changed. He who had grown colder. Those who he spent time with were not the kind of people whom Lily ever wanted to look at, nevermind spend a minute of her time with.

And the worst part of it was, the more time he spent with them, the more he became like them.

And the less time he spent with her.

Could Lily really be blamed for developing a semi-friendship with James?

Seeing them laughing together like that send a wave of fury through him. He very nearly marched right over to the both of them and showed Potter how hard his fist could feel against his face… but he didn't.

Severus had patience. He had cunning.

And right now, he had anger.

And he was going to act upon it.