A/N: Sorry that it's been two years. Whoops? I would promise to work on consistency but I don't think it would be wise to make such a promise.
That evening sat on their beds in their dorm, Lily had explained the terrible things she thought James had done to her to Dorcas, who listened dutifully.
"How could he have the audacity to besmirch my reputation all to protect his over-inflated ego?!" Lily cried, gesticulating wildly.
"Lils, I…" Dorcas tried to interject, before being cut off again by Lily on her anger rampage.
"I thought he had enough respect for me to not treat me like that, y'know. Enough respect to maybe not see me as just some obstacle on his way to having the perfect school career. And doesn't he have enough girls fawning over him to not to need to make up things about me? Does he feel the need just because he once showed interest in me to prove to everyone that he can get anything he wants?"
"Lily." Dorcas said firmly, swallowing the many counter-arguments she had on the tip of her tongue, "Do you really actually believe that James would lie like that?"
Lily answered her question with silence and a small hmpf.
"Or is it actually that you only want to believe it because you're scared now that you can not only tolerate James but you actually like to spend time with him?"
Lily sat silently, hugging a cushion to herself while mulling over Dorcas' point.
"Maybe you just might be right," Lily replied and Dorcas grinned proudly, "though I do resent that," Lily added pointedly.
Dorcas shrugged, muttering a comment about her great perception skills and how she probably wasn't appreciated enough, but this was ignored. Lily chewed her lip, still thinking things over.
"It's just," Lily started, "it seems like it could theoretically happen. James can say stupid things, everyone knows that, and those girls and Sev…"
"Snape?" Dorcas interrupted, looking skeptically at her friend beneath lowered brows, "Did we or did we not come to the conclusion that he is a good-for-nothing toerag who cannot be trusted to have your best interests at heart?"
Lily shook her head, "It's not that simple, Dorcas, there's lots of history there…"
"No, Lily. You cannot trust Snape, under any circumstances and especially when he has something to say about James, who you know he has notoriously hated, probably since they both took their first breaths."
Lily decided to abandon the point, knowing she could never make her friends understand. To them, the whole situation looked very black and white. They knew that she had had a long friendship with Severus, before even starting at Hogwarts, and then he had turned around and called her that name. But they didn't know the boy who she had loved before and during their first years at Hogwarts. That boy was overly-conscious of his standing and deeply insecure, but had guided her through the hardships of joining the Wizarding World. She understood what had driven him to say that to her, and she did not really believe that he had actually meant it with all the venom behind that word. This was not to say that she had forgiven him, rather, she understood.
"Lily, why does Snape get the benefit of the doubt when James can't be afforded that same kindness? Sure, he's been a bit of a prat throughout our time here, but hasn't he always had everyone's best interest at heart?"
Lily nodded, chewing her lip.
"It's just scary. I don't feel in control anymore. I like him far too much far too quickly. Like, he could really hurt me if he returns to being a major prat."
Dorcas nodded solemnly and then her stomach grumbled, causing both of the girls to look down in surprise.
"Well, I think I need to go before dinner ends," Dorcas said, standing to leave, "you coming?"
Lily shook her head. She didn't feel particularly hungry in her current state of emotional turmoil. Before heading out the door, Dorcas turned to say a final thing.
"But what if he doesn't end up hurting you?"
The rest of their friends had returned from Hogsmeade and were having a hearty dinner in the Great Hall, bickering about who the best at Quidditch was. Marlene and Adam had sat with them, so Adam was getting a great taste of what it was to hang out with the Gryffindor sixth-years, and he was fitting in marvellously.
"Sure, Potter, 'you're the best'. I think that you got the captaincy for your leadership skills, rather than Quidditch skills. Maybe you could be the best at Quidditch next year when you've had a little more time to practise."
"Oh, don't kid yourself McKinnon," James retorted, "I fly circles around you every game and you know that."
Sirius scoffed, "Only because you're a chaser, Prongs. It's not about speed with us beaters, but rather strength, agility, and aim, a precision which you know nothing about."
"Yeah, right, Black, like you beaters know anything about 'precision'" Marlene responded, "try catching a tiny ball smaller than the size of your fist out on the pitch."
"Maybe you should stick that fist in your mouth, Mistle," Sirius muttered, lacking any more intelligence response.
This was when Dorcas thankfully rejoined them, looking around with an air of bemusement at their angry red faces and the calm faces of the others.
"Quidditch?" she asked.
"What else?" Remus responded, starting to dollop that night's shepherd's pie onto Dorcas' plate. Her eyes lit up at the sight and she gave Remus a pretty much blinding smile. Hogsmeade outings made her unusually hungry, especially when dinner was delayed by friendship duties.
"They'll all be declaring their eternal love for each other before their next game," Peter said, rolling his eyes at the fast changing loyalties of his Quidditch friends.
"What went wrong with Lily?" Remus asked Dorcas casually.
At this, James perked up. He wasn't entirely sure he wanted to hear what he'd done this time. Merlin, he was fairly certain he hadn't done anything and was feeling rather cross at Lily being angry with him again. There was only so much more he could take.
"Snape had told her things," Dorcas answered between bites of her dinner, "he accused James of spreading rumours about Lily behind her back. I believe the exact phrasing was that there 'wasn't a broom cupboard you two hadn't visited'. Unbelievable that Snape would dare say that."
Sirius snorted, "She couldn't have believed that, could she?" Dorcas merely raised her eyebrows in response. Sirius then turned to glare at the back of Snape's head across the hall.
"What is his problem!?" Marlene exclaimed, "Why can't he just leave Lily and James alone?"
"I think you know the answer to that," Remus answered gravely. The faces of the others at the table darkened. Adam knew, of course, about the relationship between James and Lily, about the incident next to the lake last year, and the people Snape was choosing to spend time with.
James merely sighed, glowering at the food on his plate like it was the source of his anger. The excitement of their argument was long forgotten.
"I'm not sure what I'm to do at this point. Staying friends with Lily is difficult enough without the influence of bloody Snivellus. And why does she have to be so easily swayed by him?"
It was Peter who then piped up. He had had enough of seeing this despondency appearing on his best friend's face every week. In his view, there was no reason why James should have to be so enamoured with Lily if it meant his hurt. There were plenty of other fish in the sea for someone like James.
"Just forget her," he said simply.
The others glanced at him, but he avoided making eye contact, lest he had annoyed one of them with the slight to Lily. As Lily's friends, they semi-understood James' obsession, but they did not want to argue with Peter. Most felt that James and Lily could be very good for each other, but was James' constant hurt really worth the possibility of maybe there being some future happiness?
At this, James stood up and walked out of the hall without replying. He felt confused on his own, without his friends pushing him to act one way or another. By chance, he caught sight of Cressida Clearwater also leaving the hall ahead of him. After how he had treated her in Hogsmeade, James felt he owed her an apology no matter how he felt about Lily at that point.
"Cressida!" he called, jogging to catch up with her, "Can I have a word?"
She stopped, smiling at her friends to let them know they were could leave without her. They walked away, curiously looking back at James.
Now that he was stood here in front of her, James didn't know what to say. He had never been the best at apologies. Moreover, he found Cressida rather formidable. She was a Hufflepuff who excelled at all of her classes, even once nearly beating a few of the Marauders in a Transfiguration test, of all things. Yes, she was a gossip but this was only enabled by her great popularity. This was not a girl James wanted to mess with.
"Cressida, I'm sorry for how I treated you today. I shouldn't have ignored you and tried to brush you off like I did. That was rude and uncalled for."
She waved him off, "No, no, I understand. Well, not completely but I can come on a bit too strong sometimes. It's just, I've had a little crush on you for a while now, and I don't know how to act normally around you" she said, a red tint appearing on her cheeks.
"You don't know how well I understand that," James chuckled, running a hand through his hair.
Cressida nodded, "Not sure I've ever seen more inexplicable behaviour than James Potter exhibits when he has a crush."
James went pink.
"I should really work on that."
Cressida laughed brightly at his embarrassment.
"How about we be friends from now on?" James asked, "Get to know each other better? Inform me if I make any more of a fool of myself?"
"Gosh, does being friends with you always involve such an enormous duty?" Cressida teased, "But, yes, I would like that."
Severus passed by the two. Neither noticed, but Snape did tend to slip around the castle without being noticed. At the sight, Snape smiled to himself. He hadn't really expected his little attempt to distance James and Lily to work, so it was a surprise to see James already giving another girl his trademark grin. These thoughts only lingered in his mind for a moment though, as he swept down to the dungeons. Snape had a mission. If he was to join Voldemort, which was seeming more and more likely, he had to prove himself as worthy. He didn't want to end up being the bottom of the heap again, ignored and without respect.
Upon entering an empty Potions classroom, he slammed his bag down the desk. Slughorn didn't mind Severus doing a little extra-curricular brewing; it was all good practice. Tonight, it was veritaserum. If Snape was to find the best information for Voldemort, then he could do with a bit of help. He didn't currently really know who he planned to use it on. Teachers would probably know the most, but it was dangerous to use a potion like that on them. No, it was the students who were the better option. But who knew anything? Voldemort would likely want information about who was likely to join his cause, or information about what the Aurors were planning. That was when the idea came to Snape, and he smirked as he leant over his cauldron.
Adam and Marlene strolled back up from the Great Hall hand-in-hand, both smiling widely. They had spent a great day together, visiting all of the shops in Hogsmeade, discovering their love of the same sweets and then wandering around the outskirts of the town before returning for a hot drink. It was everything that Marlene had been daydreaming about for years after Adam had helped her perfect her flying technique when she joined the Quidditch team.
"So…I would call that an excellent date," Adam said, "And I hope I'm not alone in that because otherwise this is going to turn out to be a rather awkward interaction."
"No," Marlene replied, smiling up at him, "I would also describe that as a definitely most excellent date."
"Good good." Adam answered and squeezed her hand.
"Sorry if my friends were a little… much" Marlene said, hoping that the dinner time conversations would not prove a problem for Adam, "They're quite spirited and there always seems to be some sort of little drama going on."
Adam laughed, "Don't worry, it's entertaining. The seventh-years are far more docile so this was quite fun."
"Good good." Marlene responded.
They were reaching the portrait at this point. Neither of them particularly wanted to say goodnight and officially end this 'excellent' date, but both had homework which they needed to do the next day. Adam turned to Marlene and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. It was short and sweet, and Adam disappeared into the common room as fast as it happened. Marlene stood there for a moment, a little shell-shocked, before jumping up and down squealing, and dashing up to her dorm to tell her mates all the small details of her date.