Disclaimer: The characters do not belong to me, and I am not making any money from this.

Please don't take this story too seriously. I simply wanted to write a lighthearted rom-com for James/Lily, given their tragic story in canon.

Prologue

Lily's summer continued to plummet from bad to worse, which was a tragedy because this was her final summer as a carefree teenager. Next summer, she would be preparing to start university at its end. However, alas, Petunia had decided to get engaged straight out of school to Vernon Dursley, a disagreeable young man who held himself in high regard because, at age nineteen, he had a paid internship at Grunnings, a company that manufactured drills. Quite exciting, really.

To other people, their sister's impending wedding was probably a joyous occasion. However, Petunia had been unbearable throughout the entire engagement, and her behaviour was worsening as the wedding approached, approximately two months away. She had turned into a full-fledged bridezilla. Moreover, it stung Lily that she had not been chosen as the Maid of Honour, or even as a bridesmaid. Although Petunia and she were not close anymore, they had been once upon a time, and it hurt Lily not to have a role in such a significant event. Even Dursley's sister, a woman possibly more disagreeable than her brother, was going to be one of the bridesmaids.

"It's not that she wants a grandiose wedding, like those quintessential bridezillas from reality TV. It's a more discreet affair," explained Lily to Marlene as they lay on Lily's bed, browsing for a movie to watch on Lily's laptop. "It's just that she wants everything to be perfectly according to plan. If the smallest thing doesn't go as planned, it's as if it's the end of the world. I can't endure living with her for two more months while she's behaving like this."

"That sounds horrible," replied Marlene, opening a packet of crisps. "What I don't understand is why she's still here. With the wedding so close, one would think she would've moved in with her fiancé already."

"How could you suggest something so scandalous? What would the neighbours say?" joked Lily. It goes without saying that that was indeed the reason why Petunia hadn't moved in with Vernon yet – what would the neighbours think of a couple living together before marriage?

They settled for a horror movie, but the plot turned out to be quite silly and full of plot holes, so Lily's mind soon wandered. The worst part of her summer wasn't Petunia in her wedding stress; it was that she would have to endure most of the summer alone. Next week, Marlene was going to a six-week summer camp and would return exactly one week before the wedding. Dorcas was vacationing with her mum in Spain.

And Sev… well, she hadn't spoken to him since their fallout earlier in the year. She sincerely couldn't ignore his bigoted views, so she never tried to reach out. That didn't mean his absence from her life didn't hurt. He had been her closest friend since childhood. Even months later, she still hadn't gotten used to the fact they didn't talk anymore. Thinking about Sev hurt, so she tried not to. Instead, she continued dwelling on the miserable summer ahead of her.

"It's a pity I can't go to the summer camp too," sighed Lily unprompted in the middle of the movie, while the protagonist was being chased by the killer.

When Marlene had originally told her about going to a summer camp, Lily had tried to join her; her parents even gave her the money, agreeing it would be healthy and educational for her. Lily suspected that deep down, they knew the summer would be a nightmare with Petunia's wedding approaching and wanted to spare Lily, even if they couldn't spare themselves.

However, when she tried to sign up online, it wouldn't allow her to do so because they didn't have any more spots for girls; the cabins were full. They only had spots for boys.

"Aw, I wish you could come too. It would be fun to go with a friend," agreed Marlene. "Let's check; who knows, maybe a girl cancelled at the last minute."

Marlene paused the movie and went to the Summer Camp website. No luck, still no rooms for girls. Lily sighed and lay defeated in the bed.

"You know, they don't even ask for a birth certificate or anything," said Marlene, lying next to her. "Maybe you can mark 'male' and sign up. Once you get there, act all surprised as if it was an honest mistake."

"I mean, the issue is that the cabins for girls are all occupied, so I won't have a place to sleep," said Lily, seriously contemplating Marlene's absurd suggestion. "Do you think if I do that, they will send me back once they realise I'm a girl?"

"Who knows, maybe?" Marlene shrugged. "Maybe we can commit to this lie, not only sign up as a boy, but pretend to be one the entire summer camp. You could cut your hair and call yourself Liam or something."

They both laughed at the idea. It was absurd; of course, she wasn't going to do it. However, it was an amusing notion to consider before she finally accepted the reality of the depressing summer ahead of her.

They finished the crisps before the movie ended. What a terrible idea to eat crisps without a drink; they were too salty.

"I'll go downstairs and get myself some water. Do you want a glass too? Or perhaps a cup of tea?" offered Lily.

"Water's fine," replied Marlene.

Lily went downstairs, but before she reached the kitchen, she spotted Petunia looking upset while her mum tried to calm her down. A sight that would've alarmed her a few months ago, but now it probably meant that the dress was a different shade of white than the flowers in the bouquet or something.

She caught her dad's eyes, who was standing in the kitchen looking somewhat lost. He seemed to read the question in her eyes because he told her:

"The bakery had to reschedule the tasting test a couple of days." It was clear in his tone of voice that, just like Lily, he didn't understand why this was a reason to be upset when the wedding was two months away. Her mum probably didn't understand either, but bless her heart, she was trying to comfort Petunia.

Two more months of this!

She served the two glasses of water and headed upstairs. In passing, she saw her reflection in the hall mirror, and for a second, she considered Marlene's joke as a serious suggestion.

It wouldn't look too bad if she cut her hair short; she had the face shape to pull it off.

No, it wouldn't work; her body was still pretty obviously feminine.

But… she still had that binder she got for her school magistral representation of Hamlet, where she shined in her debut role as Polonius. (It was a good thing that Shakespeare died five hundred years too early to see their play and didn't have to watch how they massacred his work).

Wasn't she too short?

She was of average height for a British seventeen-year-old girl, but wouldn't she be below average for a British seventeen-year-old boy?

Well, boys came in all shapes and forms.

Would she get into a lot of trouble?

Oh well, it was a summer camp, not school or the military. They weren't even asking for a birth certificate. The most trouble she could probably get into was the camp sending her home and calling her parents, which wouldn't put her in a worse situation than she was already in.

Before she even reached Marlene with the water glasses, her mind was made up.

Author's Note: This is just the prologue; the upcoming chapters will be much longer. I'm planning for this story to have around 10-12 chapters and aiming to update weekly if possible.

English is not my native language, so please kindly point out any grammar/spelling mistakes. Also, obviously I'm not British, so I ask for your patience if the characters don't sound British. I'm open to suggestions if something feels out of place.