A/N: Shout out to everyone who supported this story by favoriting, following, or reviewing! You guys are the best! I know they don't go to Hogsmeade until later on in the school year but let's just pretend that during the marauder era their first trip was in September. Okay? Okay. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 5: Of Decent Dates and Billy Goats

It was the first Hogsmeade trip of fifth year and James Potter was on a date. The girl, Melody Something-Or-Other was pretty enough—blonde hair, blue eyes, huge tits—and sweet. Plus, she had been laughing at all of James' jokes, which was always a good way to help a bloke's ego. She didn't insist on going to Madame Puddifoot's and she had been surprisingly okay with letting James drag her around everywhere. She was also a fairly good snog. It should have been a decent date.

To be fair, he was having a good enough time. When he pulled her into The Three Broomsticks, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were all there and she was okay with joining them. They pulled over two chairs, ordered their butterbeers, and James joined their argument over quidditch teams.

"You're being a bit rude to Melody," Remus said as soon as she left to use the bathroom.

"What do you mean," James asked.

"You've barely spoken to her since you got here. And it's not exactly nice to be sitting with your mates on a date in the first place."

"You could have told me that when I asked to sit here. I've never been on a real date before!"

"Why are you even on a date with her? You don't like her," Sirius said before taking another sip of his butterbeer.

"Who said I didn't like her?"

"It's pretty obvious, mate," Peter said. James frowned; if Peter could tell he wasn't interested in his date, there was no hope.

"I don't know what you're talking about. She's fit."

"Not as fit as Lily," Sirius teased. James choked on his drink.

"What," he hissed.

"Oh come off it. We know you only asked Melody out because Lily's out with that Williams bloke."

"I do not like Lily," James said firmly and he was reminded of all those times his friends teased him last year about liking her. "If she's not into me, I'm not into her."

"Then perhaps you should pay more attention to the girl who actually is into you instead of trying to get glimpses of Lily and her date," Remus said.

"Merlin, she's here?" Sirius laughed, turning in his seat to see what James and Remus were looking at.

"Knock it off, she'll know we're talking about her," James whispered.

"Well, we are talking about her."

"Bloody hell, why am I friends with you," James groaned, hiding his face in his hands.

"Because I keep you honest."

They dropped the subject once Melody came back and James continued to basically ignore her. He was surprised that she didn't give him the slip considering how horribly he was treating her. He honestly didn't mean to. But her only contribution to their conversation was her constant giggling. James wanted a girl who could match his wits, not someone who just incessantly laughed. When directly asked for her opinion, Melody would assert her thoughts but if otherwise unprovoked, she didn't speak. And James didn't feel like going out of his way to make her talk.

Eventually, they agreed to take a trip to Zonko's so James could pick up some more dungbombs and they made their goodbyes (the fact that Lily and her date were also leaving was a complete coincidence). James grabbed Melody's hand, just to prove that he liked Melody and wipe the smirk off his friends' faces. It just made them smirk bigger. Prats.

"Your friends are really nice, James," Melody said once they exited the pub.

"Yeah," he grinned, "they're the best." That was how potential girlfriends should view his mates. They shouldn't think you and your friends are a bunch of arrogant idiots. They should laugh at your jokes and like your friends and let you buy dungbombs. Feeling better about his choice in a date, he squeezed her hand and slowed their walk so they could enjoy each other's company some more.

"Couldn't find a better group of mates even if I tried," he said proudly and she smiled at him. "What're your friends like," he asked. The rest of their walk was filled with stories about her friends, who all seemed pretty nice. That was another positive for Melody—she didn't have any sketchy Slytherin friends.

"So, what's with you guys and pranks," she asked when they entered Zonko's.

"It's a way of life, Melody. It's in my blood."

She laughed and began asking him questions about each product he looked at. It was nice and felt much more natural than the beginning of the date did. She probably just needed to relax a bit. After he purchased everything, they decided to just walk around a bit before heading back to Hogwarts. It was just a coincidence they were taking the same path as Evans and Henry Williams. He began talking about different pranks that he and his friends pulled over the years.

"And it was really you who changed Flitwick's hair pink," she asked, laughter in her voice. James' smile faltered. He had done that last year, after Lily mentioned Flitwick looked like a muggle toy but without the pink hair.

"Yep," he said. "He was so impressed with the charm work that I didn't even get any points off from Gryffindor, just a detention."

Melody giggled and moved onto another prank. She didn't reprimand him for taking detentions so lightly.

When he walked her to the Hufflepuff common room, she turned to him and said, "I had a lot of fun today, James." It was weird being called James and not Potter, but he supposed potential girlfriends should call him by his first name, anyway.

"So did I," he said.

"Maybe we could do this again?"

He looked down at her smiling, hopeful face and stopped short. She was beautiful and kind and funny and everything he should want in a girlfriend. But her hair was much too blonde and her eyes weren't nearly green enough and his ego was big enough without her constant words of affirmation. She should have been perfect but she wasn't. Because she wasn't Lily Evans.

"Er, I don't think so," he said awkwardly.

Her face fell and she sighed. "I thought maybe I was just being paranoid but we really were stalking Lily Evans and Henry Williams all day, weren't we?"

He blanched. He thought he had been pretty sneaky with following them around. Melody never gave any indication of noticing. "Er, no?"

"Why did you ask me out in the first place? If it was to make her jealous there's no point, she's never going to like you."

"It wasn't to make her jealous. I just thought…" James struggled to find the right words. "If I asked you, then maybe I wouldn't feel so shitty about them being together. And it kind of worked. I really did have a good time with you. But I'd be lying if I said I think we're going to go somewhere."

"You seem like a decent bloke," she said slowly, tossing her long, blonde curls over her shoulder, "but Lily Evans doesn't date people like you." Melody turned and started down the corridor towards her common room. "She's too good for you," she added as she turned the corner and vanished.

James stood there for a good minute, letting her words sink in. He knew that she was angry, and rightfully so since he had admitted to fancying a girl while on a date with another girl. That didn't stop the stinging that accompanied her words. She was right, after all; Lily was too good for him. He angrily made his way to the Gryffindor common room. He wasn't paying attention and didn't notice when he almost walked right into someone.

"Sorry," he muttered, planning on continuing his walk before glimpsing who it was he almost steamrolled.

"Evans," he said, surprised.

"Merlin, Potter, are you trying to kill me," Lily joked. Her almond-shaped eyes were gleaming and her pretty lips were curved in a smile. Her hands were curled around his biceps to steady herself.

"I was just…" he trailed off lamely.

"Well, anyway," she said, releasing him and taking a small step back. "How was your day? I saw you and Melody a few times but whenever I did, I could never get your attention."

He had noticed her, of course, trying to wave him down but he didn't want Melody to get jealous. Pointless, really, looking back on it.

"Sorry, I guess I was otherwise engaged."

"No problem. So, do you think you and Melody will go on another date?"

"Doubt it," he said, his voice haughty. "I turned her down just now. Didn't take it very well, poor girl."

"Oh," she said, wrinkling her nose, "well, that's too bad."

"For her, I'm sure. I can do better than Melody," he said because apparently he couldn't help but become an ass whenever Lily was around.

Lily narrowed her eyes. "That's not very nice, Potter. It seemed like you two were having fun whenever I saw you."

"Spying on my date, Evans?" Definitely an ass.

"Good lord you are too much to handle sometimes. No, I was not spying on you. Like I said before, I saw you a few times—there are only so many places to go if you stay on High Street—and she was smiling at you all day. I'm sorry it didn't work out but right now, I'm going to have to say that Melody lucked out more than you did. Dodged a bullet, that one did."

He wasn't entirely sure what that last sentence meant, but he had a feeling it was supposed to be an insult. James watched as she walked past him. He was in a bad enough mood as it was; he really didn't need her telling him off like that, even if it was completely justified.

"Are we still on for tomorrow," he asked once she was well down the hallway. He might have been brave enough to ask, but he certainly wasn't brave enough to turn around and see her reaction.

"I'm not sure," she said and his heart sunk. "Maybe I'm not good enough for you, either."

"Trust me, you're more than good enough."

He had no idea what her face looked like or if she understood how much of an understatement his last remark was but there was a pregnant pause. Then—"Dammit, Potter. Fine, you win. Yes, we're still on for tomorrow. Don't be late and bring your bloody book this time."

He waited until her footsteps completely faded before he trudged his way back to the common room.

She had a boyfriend and was too pushy and hung out with his nemesis and expected too much of him and let him know whenever he was being stupid and didn't get along very well with Sirius. But he knew he was never going to have a decent date with anyone but her because he was completely, horribly, stupidly smitten.

o0o0o0o

Lily Evans had a boyfriend. James had no idea when or how or why this happened but he couldn't deny the proof that was right in front of him. There she was, laughing and smiling and holding hands with some random Ravenclaw that James hated on sight.

"You alright, Prongs?" Sirius asked, slapping his friend's back when he approached him in the hall.

"Yeah." James forced himself to look at Sirius and not at the sickening couple. "Any idea when that development happened?"

James wasn't stupid. He knew that he had seriously destroyed any chance he had with Lily the previous year and the best he could hope for was to not be cut from her life completely. He knew that she would eventually date someone else because any sane, straight man would want her. He knew that one day she was bound to get married and have children and that he would have to grin and bear it. That didn't make the reality any less painful, though.

"Nope. All I know is it is a recent thing and word in the hallway is it won't last long."

"How trustworthy is hallway gossip, though," James asked, refusing to get his hopes up. They began the reluctant trip towards Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"Depends," Sirius shrugged.

"What's his name, anyway?"

"Billy Davies, seventh year Ravenclaw."

"That's a stupid name," James said.

"Sounds like a goat," Sirius agreed.

James looked at Sirius. "How do you get goat from Billy Davies?"

"Well, billy goats are a thing, yeah?"

It took merely a second for James to think this over. "He looks like a goat, too."

"He does, doesn't he? Got that weird beard thing going on and his nose is shaped funny."

"I'm much better looking."

"By a longshot, mate."

James sighed and let the topic drop when they took their seats. He didn't particularly enjoy talking about Lily's new boyfriend, even if they were making fun of him. Sirius, bless him, could sense his discomfort and changed the subject.

"What are the chances Professor Hubbart will let me leave class early?"

"Why do you want to leave early in the first place?"

"Come off it, like you wouldn't want to leave if you got the chance."

Professor Hubbart was not too fond of the pair ever since they played on a prank on her back in September. It was relatively harmless—they just made it so everything she wrote one day would automatically translate into Arabic so no one could understand it—but she was furious and had yet to forgive them.

"True. I don't know why we bother showing up in the first place. She doesn't teach us anything we couldn't learn from the textbook. And the textbook won't yell at us."

The professor arrived and began the lecture. Everyone else stopped talking immediately.

"If I had thought ahead I would have brought something to distract her while we made a run for it," Sirius whispered.

"Maybe you can fake an illness and I can bring you to the hospital wing."

"That only works when you're trustworthy."

"Mr. Black. Mr. Potter. Something you'd like to share with the class?" Professor Hubbart's voice boomed across the class.

Everyone turned to look at the pair and James was acutely aware of Lily's green eyes on him. He didn't know why people still had to look at them whenever they were called out in class; he would have thought everyone would be used to it by now.

"Not really," James said. "Private matter, you understand, Ma'am."

"I understand that you were talking while I was trying to teach, Mr. Potter. I will separate you two if I have to."

The boys smiled sweetly and shook their heads. Once Professor Hubbard resumed her lesson, Sirius scribbled 'Evil Cow' on James' notebook. He appreciated the thought well enough, but James couldn't help but think there were too many farm animals at Hogwarts.

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"Do you still want to be an auror," Lily asked, apropos of nothing. They were in the library again, working on a Transfiguration paper. Lily didn't really seem to have trouble with essay-writing or the theory behind transfiguration, it was mainly the actual execution of spells that stymied her. James figured she didn't need his help at all with the essay but she asked and there was no way he would turn down the opportunity to spend more time with her.

"'Course," he said easily. There were a few months when he first made the Gryffindor team where he contemplated doing quidditch professionally but aside from that, James knew he wanted to be an auror ever since he was a little boy. It was what both his parents did and he couldn't think of a more noble cause. "Do you?"

Lily hesitated, looking down at her hands. "I'm not sure," she admitted. James looked at her with surprise. They might have gotten into their fair share of arguments with each other over the years but one thing they always seemed to agree on was that the world would be a better place without Voldemort and his supporters. He always pictured going through auror training with her and fighting the bad guys side by side. Even those awful months they weren't talking to each other, James couldn't picture a future without Lily in it.

"Why not?"

"It's just… I still want to fight," she assured him. She moved her arms as though she was about to reach across the table to James but stilled and let her hands drop instead. "But every day I read The Prophet and learn about all the shit the ministry is doing and… I don't know if I want to be a part of that."

James nodded slowly. He knew what she meant, of course. The ministry seemed to care more about image than the actual take-down of death eaters. More often than not, he'd read about someone getting sent to Azkaban without a proper trial. Death eaters were getting off if they provided names. It wasn't right, what they were doing. But…

"How else are you supposed to fight, if you don't become an auror?"

"I don't know and that's my problem."

"We'll think of something," James said confidently.

"We?"

"You don't think I'd let you get a sweet gig without me, did you?"

A reluctant smile bloomed across Lily's face. "You're not so bad, Potter. Remind me, next time I start yelling at you."

James bit down a laugh. "You bet it, Evans."

They lapsed back into silence. Lily went right back to working on her essay but James was thoroughly distracted now. It never occurred to him that there may be a better way to fight dark wizards. His father certainly never mentioned anything and whenever he discussed his future career with McGonagall, she failed to point out a non-ministry job. Still, if there was a way, he was determined to find it.

James looked down at his half-complete essay then glanced at Lily. She was hard at work, scribbling away again. A few strands of red hair fell out of her bun, framing her face. He wondered what about human transfiguration caused her to think of their careers as aurors and how she could go from such a serious topic straight back to mundane schoolwork. He couldn't get the idea out of his mind.

"Shouldn't you be doing your work?" Lily's voice wrenched him from his thoughts.

"Can't. You've successfully distracted me."

"I know I'm sexy, Potter, but you've got to get past that."

James smirked, glad that her unbearable sexiness wasn't (for once) the cause of his neglect. "Don't flatter yourself; you're not that good-looking."

Lily pretended to gasp and threw a previously crumbled piece of parchment at him. "Rude. I retract my previous statement of you not being bad."

"Hey," James laughed, holding his hands up in mock-surrender, "I'm just trying to be honest here. I think that makes me fantastic."

"You sure know how to make a girl feel good."

James felt something warm bubble up inside him. Their bantering and teasing felt so familiar that it was easy to forget that they had ever stopped this. It wasn't quite the same as it used to be but it was loads better than he could have possibly ever imagined.

His response was on the tip of his tongue, begging to be released into the open air between them but James bit it back. It was way too flirty and he knew they weren't on the right terms to warrant such a statement, especially when she had a boyfriend. Instead, he gave her the boring response of, "I try."

"But really," Lily said, all business again, "what was distracting you?"

"I was just thinking about what you said about aurors and stuff."

"I didn't mean to insult you or anything," she said hastily. "There's nothing wrong with becoming an auror."

"No, I know. But I can't help but agree with you. If we can actually figure out another way to be actively involved in the war without having to deal with senseless politics, I'd love to."

"Really?" Her eyes brightened and James looked away quickly. She was too beautiful to handle sometimes. Naturally, this made him put up his defenses.

"No, I just said that for fun."

"You're not funny when you're sarcastic."

"Who says I was being sarcastic?"

"You're so full of it," she said and James flinched when he heard a note of annoyance in her voice, even though that was the desired effect. "Are you capable of having a real, honest discussion?"

"Nope," he said cockily. Since he was still looking at the table and not her mesmerizing face, he only heard her take a deep breath. He prepared himself for the onslaught of anger that was about to ensue.

"Well, luckily for you," she said with a surprisingly calm voice, "I know how passionate you are about fighting in the war so I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and tell you that I would very much like to research career alternatives with you."

That was not what he was expecting. At all. He stared at her while his heart clenched painfully in his chest.

"That—that sounds great," he stuttered.

All of her anger seemed to completely disappear. "Great! I tried talking to Mary and Marlene about my doubts but they didn't get it. I knew you would, though. You always do."

On a normal day, this declaration would have elated James but for some reason all James could think about was Billy-The-Fucking-Goat-Davies. She had gone to her two closest friends and then to James, not Billy.

"I always do," he repeated, trying his best to keep his bitterness out of his voice. It wasn't Lily's fault that she was dating a goat. It was, completely and entirely, James' fault she wasn't dating him and he really didn't want to take out his anger on her.

"We really should get back to work though. We can talk about this another time, okay?"

James nodded and brought his textbook closer to him. After a few minutes of moping, he eventually got back into the essay and set off. Human transfiguration was an easy subject for James so he barely even needed to refer to the book. He couldn't wait until they got to animagi, as that was the next unit and a topic very close to James' heart.

They sat in silence for another half an hour before a bleating voice interrupted them with a jolly, "Lily!"

"Billy," she whispered happily.

James looked up at the man disrupting them and took in his curly black hair and ridiculous beard. He had no idea what Lily saw in him. Also, their names rhymed.

"Hullo, Goatman," James said in a falsely friendly voice.

"What'd you call me, Potter?" Billy asked angrily. James was pleased that the goat knew his name.

"Don't take it personally," Lily cut in. "He gives everyone the most ridiculous nicknames."

Billy visibly relaxed at this news. "What does he call you, then?"

"Evans, usually," James said. "Used to call her 'Ginger' but she always got mad at that one. Occasionally I'll go with the classic 'Red' but that's a rare occurrence."

"I got mad because I am not a ginger," Lily asserted.

"Right," Billy said. "Anyway, we should get going, Lily. Wouldn't want to be caught out after curfew, would we?"

James looked between the two indignantly. "We were working. It's rather important so maybe you can catch a broom closet another time."

"Get your head out of the gutter, Potter. We weren't going for a snog," Lily said, gathering her things. She turned to Billy. "I didn't realize how late it was, I'm sorry. I'll be ready in a sec."

"Take your time, darling."

"Yes, darling," James drawled, unable to keep his irritation out of his voice. "Take your time. Those closets have all night."

"Oh sod off, Potter. I promised Billy we could go on a walk tonight after we did our work."

"I'm sure Goatman is looking for just a romantic walk in the moonlight." The boy in question clenched his fist but James paid him no mind.

"I don't get you. One minute you're perfectly pleasant to be around and the next you're the most insufferable lummox I've ever had the misfortune of meeting," Lily growled under her breath.

"That's me," James said lazily, looking at his fingernails. "The most insufferable of all lummoxes. Glad we got that sorted out."

"Ugh," Lily groaned as she stood up. "I don't know why I put up with you."

"Just forget it, flower," Billy said, putting a supporting hand on Lily's arm. "He's not worth your aggravation."

"You put up with me," James said, rising from his seat. "Because I'm—and I quote—'not so bad.'"

"I was clearly mistaken when I said that." Lily clutched something near her chest and James realized with a pang it was the necklace he and his friends had given her just the night before.

"Look," he said, "I've been in a foul mood and I got annoyed that you were leaving before I finished my essay. I'm sorry."

Lily's face softened. "You've no right to take your anger out on others," she said strictly but without malice.

"I know," he said sincerely. "I shouldn't have and I'm sorry."

Lily shrugged and grabbed Billy's hand. "You're a smart boy, Potter. Use that brain of yours before you speak."

"I'll try. It's hard for us lummoxes, you know."

"Oh, shush. I'll see you tomorrow."

With a short nod, Billy led Lily out of the library. James watched them leave before falling into his chair. He looked at his belongings scattered about in front of him and decided that it was futile attempting to finish the essay now.

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James loved Peter, he truly did, but the pudgy boy wasn't the best person to go to for advice. He was too scared of saying the wrong thing and too often just agreed with whatever James said. This was nice on a day to day basis but when James had a problem, it didn't help much. Unfortunately, when James arrived in his dorm, Peter was the only one there.

"How was the library," Peter asked. He was on his bed, sorting through his chocolate frog collection.

"Mixed bag," James replied before diving headfirst onto his own bed. He grabbed his pillow and squashed it under him, holding onto it as if his life depended on it.

"What happened?"

"Goatman showed up."

"Goatman…?"

"Billy."

"Ah. Fitting."

"I thought so."

James remained silent for a few minutes, listening to the swish of the cards as Peter moved them about. It was oddly relaxing.

"Need any help," James eventually asked, rolling over to face his friend.

"Nah. I have a system going."

"I don't know what to do." James had tried to hold it in, to wait until Sirius or Remus showed up but he always had a problem keeping his mouth shut.

"About Lily and Goatman?"

"Obviously."

"What are you supposed to do? Break them up?"

"No. If she's happy with him then I wouldn't want to do that. I want to forget about her."

"So forget about her. You've been chasing her long enough. Maybe now you can be proper mates." Peter didn't look up from his cards once.

If only it were that easy. "Proper mates would be nice," James mused. "She's probably the nicest person I've ever met. Puts up with me far more than she should."

"Do you think you'll be able to get over her?"

"Not in a million years," James said honestly.

"That's bad luck."

"I'm aware."

Maybe it was good that James only brought it up to Peter. It was evident that the poor boy didn't want to talk about Lily again but he was too nice to protest. Sirius wouldn't have been quite as polite.

"I'm glad we're mates, Wormtail. You're a good friend." James probably said something similar to his three roommates a few times a year. He realized he could be incredibly sappy and vowed to stop.

"So are you, Prongs. Even if you only ever talk about quidditch and Lily."

"Oi! That's not true! I talk about loads of stuff!"

Peter chuckled. "I was only kidding, Merlin."

Just then Sirius burst into the room, looking murderous. He slammed the door shut behind him and stormed over to his bed.

"Who pissed in your cauldron," James asked.

Sirius merely glared at him before pulling his curtains shut. James and Peter shared a look. It was best to let Sirius cool off a bit before trying to talk to him.

Once Remus finally joined them fifteen minutes later, James decided he had given Sirius plenty of time. He marched over to Sirius' bed and yanked the curtains open.

"Bugger off, Prongs." Sirius said, rolling over to face the other way. "I'm in no mood for one of your motivational speeches."

James ignored this. "Budge over or I'll sit on you."

Sirius muttered something under his breath but he did wriggle forward to make room on the bed. James sat down and began playing with a hole in the sheets. The three marauders waited patiently for their fourth member to start speaking.

"Regulus," Sirius spat out finally. James glanced at Remus with dread.

"What'd he do?"

Sirius sat up quickly. The movement nearly knocked James off the bed but he steadied himself.

"So I was charming all the doors in the DADA hallway to not let a certain professor get through when I heard a scream." Sirius still wasn't facing anyone but James didn't need to see his friend to know he was still glowering. "I ran toward where it came from and Regulus and a bunch of other Slytherins have her cornered and they're laughing at her. At her pain.

"She put up a good fight but it was five versus one and by the time I got there, they were already running away. I managed to get one of them but it was too late. Everyone else got away. I took her up to the hospital wing. There was blood everywhere." Sirius turned and punched his pillow as hard as he could.

"You did the best you could," James said. "And they probably only left because you showed up. It could have been worse."

"It was my brother, Prongs. He was one of them. I don't know if he cast any of the spells but he was still there. Laughing. The blood... It really is too late for him. I kept hoping…"

"I know, Padfoot. It's—"

"I don't want to talk about it anymore. Not right now."

James nodded and got up. He was getting onto his bed when Remus asked, "Who was the girl?"

"It doesn't matter," Sirius mumbled.

"Padfoot."

Sirius sighed and turned to face them for the first time. His eyes sought out James. Amidst the anger and pain James could make out the hesitation swirling in his grey eyes.

"It was Lily," Sirius admitted reluctantly. "They got Lily."

A/N: Dun dun dunnn! Thank you for reading! Don't forget to leave a review to let me know what you think!

And to answer alyia's question (is there another way to respond to people who aren't signed in?)- I don't really have a set schedule of when I post. I try to post as frequently as possible and I don't think I've gone longer than two and half weeks but it depends on how long it takes to write. I know that doesn't really help but you can PM your email if you want me to notify when I update or you can follow me on tumblr (link in my profile). Thanks for reviewing, I'm glad you like it!