Beginning of fifth year

"Evans!!!" James Potter yelled, as Lily walked on to the platform.

Lily rolled her eyes. Couldn't the boy talk at a normal volume? Then
again, she yelled all the time too, so she wasn't one to judge. Still,
it was irritating.

"Hey Potter," she responded.

"Come here!" he said, motioning for her to join him, Sirius and his
parents.

Lily raised an eyebrow, and then grudgingly walked over to them.
"Hey Black," she said, with a small smile.

Her and Sirius had the strangest friendship ever, and no one understood how they were friends. And yet, it worked. They had a lot in
common, and yet we're so different. They came from different worlds,
but were both prejudiced against because of their families who didn't
approve of them. She may hate his best friend, but they were still
close friends.

"So Lily-kinz, last year I met your parents. It's time you meet mine"
James said.

"No offense to you," Lily said to Mr. and Mrs. Potter "but if your genes
made Potter, you're not the type of people I really want to associate
myself with," she continued with a smirk.

Mrs. Potter looked affronted, but Mr. Potter just laughed.

"You got yourself a keeper here, James," he said to his son.

"Oh, I know," James responded.

Behind him, Lily looked at Sirius and mimed barfing.

Sirius stifled a laugh. Not quickly enough though, because James heard
it.

"Do I want to know what you're laughing about?" he asked, without turning around.

"Probably not," Sirius replied truthfully.

All of a sudden, Amos Diggory walked up to them. Lily smiled on the
inside. Amos was a handsome Hufflepuff their age,and even though he was sometimes rude, he was usually quite nice, and Lily had a bit of a crush on him.

"Hey Lily, can I talk to you?" he asked.

James and Sirius looked ready to murder him, but Lily just grinned and nodded. "Sure"

As they walked to the corner of the platform where there was less
noise, Sirius turned to face James.

"He's going to ask her out" he said simply.

"I know THAT" James replied. "But do you think she'll say yes?"

"I dunno. Probably" Sirius admitted.
He was right. When Amos and Lily got to the corner, Amos looked at Lily.

"Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?"

Lily blushed. People often told her she was pretty, with her bright red
hair, and big green eyes, but being called beautiful by a guy you like
is completely different.

Amos, who noticed her blushing, took this as a sign to continue.

"Well I'm telling you now," he said. "You're the prettiest girl in
school, and I want you to be my girlfriend."

Lily smiled slightly. It wasn't the best way to be asked out, because
after all, he had only talked about her looks, but then again, it wasn't like she was going to find someone better, who was going to not care about her looks. Unfortunately, that's the way boys worked. And anyway, she was sure Amos had thought that was the right way to ask her out. He probably liked her for other reasons, but only mentioned her looks this time.

"Why would she want to go out with him?" James said to Sirius. "He only
likes her because of her looks. He never noticed her before she, um,
filled out"

Sirius laughed. Only James could constantly flirt with a girl, but
still feel embarrassed to talk about her curves to someone else. James
could compliment Lily's looks to her face, but when talking about her,
he barely talked about them.

Sirius had no problem admitting that Lily was downright sexy. The girl
who had used to just be known as the loud Gryffindor who argued with
James Potter had become known as the sexy redhead. Sirius hated how
people called her that. Ya, she was pretty, but she's a person, not
just a thing. She was so much more than just her pretty wrapper, and
also, she was James's.

She may not realize it, but she and James were made for each other. She
would come around eventually, but that wasn't fast enough for James.

"It just doesn't make sense. What does he have that I don't? I'm a
Gryffindor, I'm quidditch captain, I like her for her, not her looks, I-"

James was cut off by Marlene.
"Hey guys! How was your summer? And James, is there a reason you're
ranting about your crush on Lily?"

James reluctantly grinned. He had missed Mar. She was a chaser in the
quidditch team, like him, and she was always willing to help him with
his plans to woo Lily.

"Hey Mar. And yes. Amos Diggory just asked her out," James said, saying
Amos Diggory as if it was an insult.

"What?!?!" Marlene yelled, causing a few people to stare. "He's no good
for her! What is she thinking? That boy is one of the biggest players
at Hogwarts!"

The three of them stood there, all insulting Amos in their heads.

"Hey guys" Lily said, as she joined her friends. She had a small but
noticeable grin on her face.

"Diggory, really? I thought you had standards," James spat out.

"Excuse me? What's wrong with Amos? And anyways, it's none of your
business."

James smirked, but on the inside frowned. How could she think it was
none of his business? Everything she did was his business. That's what
happens when you love someone.

"What's wrong with him? Where should I start? He's a Hufflepuff, he has no sense of humour, he-"

"Okay thank you Potter, I get the point" Lily said, irritated.

"However, I don't agree with you. Amos is a great person, and I'm going
to be with him no matter what you say."

Marlene And Sirius were slowly backing away. Nobody wanted to be caught in the middle of one of these arguments.

"Of course you will. When do you EVER listen to me?" James yelled.

"Never!" Lily yelled back. "Because you're always wrong!"

James looked ready to punch her. "That's not true! I'm right about
Amos, and I'm also right about Snape. You just don't want to admit it."

Lily's whole body was shaking from anger.

"You disgusting egotistical arrogant toe rag! How can you even say stuff like that?! And after saying stuff like that, how can you still be shocked that I hate you?!" she screamed, and then punched him in the gut.

James doubled over, holding his stomach, but he also held his tongue.
He had crossed the line, and he knew it.

Mentioning Snape was like rubbing salt into a wound. Lily was still
holding on to their friendship, but everyone except her realized it
was falling apart. Still, some things are true. It doesn't mean you
have to say them.

"Evans I'm sorr-" James started, as he stood up.

"No," Lily cut him off. "Never apologize if you for something if you're not really sorry."

James raised an eyebrow at her, but stayed silent. He could tell she
was thinking about something, and he wasn't going to push her.

"Well in that case Lily flower, you wanna go find a compartment?"

"What are we, chopped liver?" Sirius exclaimed, pointing at himself and
Marlene.

Truth be told, James had forgotten they were there. "Oh whatever, let's
just go find a compartment."

"Actually," Lily said "I need to find Remus. We have to sit in the prefect compartment."

James and Sirius started to laugh, and then James said, "of course you
became Prefect. Who else could it have been? But still... Isn't there a
rule about how many detentions you have before they take away your
badge?"

Lily clenched her teeth. "Then maybe you should stop getting us into
situations that always result in detention."

James faked a gasp "when do I EVER do that?!?!" he said, pretending to
be shocked.

The whole group started to laugh.
"You're ridiculous" Lily said, shaking her head slightly.

"You love me" James retorted.

"You wish."

"Ya, a little bit" James admitted.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I'm going to find the Prefect
compartment. Anyone coming?"

The girls all started strolling toward the train, but the boys stayed back.

Just as the girls were boarding the train, James yelled out.

"Evans!"

Lily didn't even bother turning around. "NO Potter, I will NOT go out
with you" she said, hopping onto the train, as James's face fell.

End of fifth year

"Evans! Evans! Please talk to me!" James Potter begged.

Lily continued to ignore him. She had successfully ignored him for two weeks. Why should she stop now? It was his fault that her best friend had called her a mudblood.

"Lily, please! I didnt know that would happen! Please forgive me!"

James was going crazy. For the past two weeks Lily hadnt even acknowledged him. Usually, they couldn't go a day without an argument, but now Lily just pretended he wasnt there. At meals, if he sat near her, she would either ignore him, or get up and leave. At the quidditch match when they won the cup, she was the only Gryffindor who didn't congratulate him. No matter what he said or did, she didn't respond. He couldn't take it.
It wasn't his fault that Snivvelus had called her that word. At least, not really. Maybe James had caused the situation, but the way he saw it, if Snape thought that about Lily, he thought that about Lily, no matter what James did.

"Evans, I'm begging you, just talk to me! I cant take going home for the summer, knowing you're still mad at me," he pleaded.

Lily continued to walk, as if she couldn't hear the boy right behind her.

She finally reached her parents, and gave them big hugs. They hugged her back, but had puzzled looks on their faces, confused by the boy their daughter was ignoring.

The Potters were also puzzled. They walked up to join the Evanses and the two kids.

"Lily," Mrs. Evans started. "Why are you ignoring Potter?" Mrs. Evans didn't know James's first name. She had heard it before, but when Lily talked about him she just called him Potter.

"It's none of your business" Lily retorted.

Lily's parents looked like they had been slapped, and so did Lily a moment later when she realized what she had just said.

"I- I'm so-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean that!" Lily stammered, shocked by what she had just said.

She was just so sick of that question. She had gotten it from every student at Hogwarts at least twice. They understood why she wouldn't speak to Snape, but not even the Gryffindors understood why she was ignoring James.

"Well if you're sorry, then you'll tell us," Mr. Potter said sternly.

"It's complicated, okay?" Lily responded.

The Potters and Evanses were getting nervous. What had happened? Terrible situations were running through their brains.

"I didn't do anything!" James said, noticing the looks on their faces. "Not really."

The four grown ups turned to face Lily.

Lily sighed. "Because of him, something happened. Okay?"

Mrs. Evans still looked concerned
"Well, what happened, sweetie?"

Despite the situation, James smirked. Lily turned to glare at him, causing James to grin, full of disbelief. That was the first time in weeks that Lily had looked at him.

"Well?" Mr. Evans said, running out of patience.

Lily sighed again. "Because of him, Snape called me a- a mudblood."
Mr. and Mrs. Potter gasped, and James yelled, "don't say that" while Mr. and Mrs. Evans stood there, confused.

"What does that mean?" Mrs. Evans asked after a moment.

"It's only the most prejudiced term out there. Its an EXTREMELY rude term used to describe a muggle-born" Mr Potter explained.

The Evanses looked shocked.
"Why would Severus call you that? I thought you were best friends?" Mr. Evans asked, puzzled. "And how is Potter involved in this?"

Lily was getting mad now. Why were they bugging her about this?

"It just is. If he hadn't been bullying Snape, he wouldn't have said it. Potter likes making people​ not like me. Its one of his hobbies, other than bragging, bullying peope, and being a jerk."

James rolled his eyes. "What is this, one of those muggle shampoo shows they made us watch in muggle studies? Stop being a drama queen!"

It was Lily's turn to roll her eyes.
"First of all, its SOAP operas, not shampoo shows. Second, I'm not being a drama queen, I'm just noticing a pattern. Because of you threatening him, Amos dumped me. Because you died his hair pink, Ben canceled our date to Hogsmeade, and because of you Snape called me a you-know-what!"

"Well I'm sorry for caring about you! I'm sorry I get jealous every time I see you with another guy! I'm sorry that I love you, okay?!"

If it had been any other guy, Lily would have swooned, but since it was Potter, she didn't.

"Who's acting like they're on a soap opera now, huh Potter?"

James clenched his jaw. "Can we just TALK about this?"

"No." Lily said stubbornly

James rolled his eyes. "Fine. You won't talk. Just listen. Give me a minute to talk. Please."

Lily looked at him warily. He gave her a pleading look, complete with puppy eyes. Lily had to quickly look away. Curse that boy's good looks! At this point, there was no denying that James was hot.

Over the past year, he had gotten much taller, and much more muscular. The irritating thing was that he knew it. But even so, it was hard to resist the look he was giving her, and besides, it couldn't hurt to let him talk.

Lily sighed. "Fine. You have a minute. Talk."

"I'm so sorry Evans," James started. "I didn't mean to hurt you, and you know that. I didn't realize that Snape would call you that, I really didnt. But it was still stupid of me to have been picking on him in the first place. I wasn't thinking straight. I was tired after having stayed up studying the night before for the O.W.L and I saw you there, and I was trying to impress you. Stupid, I know, but that's the truth. Please just forgive me. I'll do anything to make this better. Please just forgive me."

Lily stood silent for a moment, her face not showing any emotion. On the inside though, there were so many emotions, she couldn't keep track. First, she was shocked. James Potter had just said one of the sweetest things she had ever heard. Next was sadness. How could it be that Potter could apologize like that, but Snape, a boy she had grown up with, had apologized once, only sorry for calling her a mudblood, but not for calling others mudbloods. Overall, she felt confused. Did she forgive him? Did she not? Was it his fault? Was it no-
Lily was jolted out of her thoughts by her mother.

"That was a beautiful apology. Lily's lucky to know a boy like you," Mrs. Evans said, beaming. After no one said anything, she continued. "Aren't you Lily?" she said, nudging her youngest daughter.

Lily wanted to respond with a rude comeback about how annoying he was, but what was the point? He had been right. All those years he had told her not to be friends with Snape, she had put it down to prejudice or jealousy, but now she realized, that he might have just been trying to protect her. It wasn't worth being mad at him. Sure he was a jerk, but he was HER jerk. She could be furious at him, but they were still friends. It didn't matter if she hung up his baby pictures in the great hall, he would help her with Transfiguration homework that night. No matter how embarrassed she was when he asked her out, she would still let him use her charms notes. That's who they were, and there was no point in losing that, just for the sake of her pride.

Lily grinned at James, who looked like he had just won the lottery.

"Ya alright, I forgive you." She said, pretending to be exasperated.

James laughed. "Just like that? Lily Evans is moving on, not punishing me for what I did?" he said, sounding shocked, but the happiness in his eyes gave him away.

"Oh I'll get you back. I'm just waiting for when you least expect it," she replied mysteriously.

James's grin widened. That was the Lily he knew and loved. That was the Lily he had fallen for in 3rd year. That was the Lily he was going to marry one day. That was the-

It was his turn to be jolted alert when Lily slapped him across the face.

The parents standing near there all gasped simultaneously.

"What was that for?" James screamed.

Lily laughed. "Well one, I still haven't forgiven you completely, and two you were staring at me."

James rolled his eyes. "You know, most girls would be flattered that a guy stared at them, not SLAP him!"

"Ya well, after 5 years of knowing each other, you may have noticed I'm not like every other girl." She retorted.

"Oh I've noticed" James said, smirking.

Mr. Evans looked like he regretted fixing their friendship. Mrs. Evans on the other hand, looked like a child in a candy store. The Potters were just smirking, with the famous Potter smirk, as if they knew something the others didn't.

Like father like daughter, though, so Lily was also looking disgusted.

"Just shut up Potter. God, I can't wait for two months without you."

"Distance makes the heart grow fonder, you know." James said, his smirk getting bigger.

Lily faked fascination. "Let's see if that works! I'm gonna get in that car, and drive as far away from you as I can, and then when I'm forced to see you again, we'll see if it worked" she said in a sarcastic voice, as she picked up her trunk, and walked toward the car.

Her parents had no choice but to follow her.

"It was great to see you again!" Mrs. Evans called to Mrs. Potter "I'm sure we'll be seeing more of each other in the future, if you know what I mean" she said mischievously.

Mrs Potter grinned in agreement, laughing.

As the Evanses got into the car, James yelled out to Lily, "I'll write to you!"

Lily had a defeated, yet amused look in her eyes. Instead of her normal 'No way Potter, I hate you' response, she simply said "fine" as her father drove the car out of the parking lot.