James and Lily potter: Fourth Year

Chapter 9: fourth year

"Humph. Look at Potter's smug face," sneered Lily, glaring. "He's such a prat—"

"What happened to your truce with James?" asked Arabella, amused. "I thought you guys were on speaking terms. And you went to the Halloween Ball with him."

"Yes, it was a very bad choice, wasn't it? But I was caught on that plan to get you and Sirius together that I didn't pay any attention to my sanity. Now I'm back to hating Potter again."

"Lily..."

"What?"

"Don't look now, but James Potter is walking your way with that smile of his."

Lily turned around, and sure enough, James was "strutting" toward her through the wave of supporters, grinning broadly.

"Hey, Lils," he said casually, swinging his scarlet arm across her shoulders.

If looks could kill, James would be dead and buried thirty feet deep.

"POTTER, GET YOUR STUPID ARM OFF ME!" shrieked Lily in outrage, slapping him in the process. "YOU PERVERT!"

James was shocked. "What did I do?"

Lily laughed bitterly. "Oh, that's a good one—what did I do? Gee, Potter, how stupid can you get?"

"Potter? I thought we were on speaking terms."

"James Potter, you are the most egotistical prat in this whole wizarding world, and I'm not afraid to announce it to the whole school!"

James was now clearly very confused. "Lily, I haven't a single clue what I've done wrong. This isn't about another girl, is it?"

Lily snorted. "Potter, you don't remember, do you? Don't you remember what you said a week ago?"

"Er—no."

"Well, it went something like this..."

Lily was walking down the staircase from the girls' dormitory, and saw the Marauders in the common room, plotting some prank again, as usual. But as she edged nearer, she saw that they were talking about her.

"You and Lily make a cute couple," said Sirius in a serious tone (no pun intended). "If it wasn't for your sake, I'd definitely date her—she's way hot and sexy."

James raised an eyebrow while Remus snorted. "Gee, Sirius, and I thought you loved Arabella."

"Potter, don't even say a word. So, what about Lily?"

"Evans," spat James, "is a goody-two-shoes and is such a perfectionist. Why would I want to date someone like her? It would ruin my rep for sure. Besides, she's so annoying, though it's so obvious that she likes me."

Lily's eyes widened, and she clenched her fists. Carefully, she wrote on a piece of parchment: I WILL ALWAYS HATE JAMES POTTER FOREVER.

James' chocolate eyes widened as he heard Lily finish her story. "Oh, Lils...I'm so sorry! I never meant to—"

"Yeah, yeah, save the puppy dog face for later, Potter. Just get out of my way!" She pushed him so hard that he nearly fell to the grass.

"Lily!" he called, running after her. "Wait!"

Lily spun around, her temper flaring up. "James Potter, I gave you a second chance this summer. You were decent, I admit, for a few months, but now you're acting like a jerk again. How stupid I was for ever thinking that we might actually be friends this year."

"Lily—"

"James." Lily stared at him with hatred. "Remember this: I will always hate you forever."

She left James looking after her with wide eyes.

Sirius ran over to his friend and looked at him curiously. "Hey, James. Whoa...you look like someone just slapped you. You all right?"

James glanced at Sirius before replying, "Do you know why Lily hates me so much?"

His best friend was surprised at the question. "Well..."

"It's because I've been such a jerk, Sirius. You remember me telling you that Lily was goody-two-shoes and a suck-up. I can't believe I said that. You know what, I don't care if Lily hates me forever, because I deserve that sort of hatred."

Sirius was surprised but patted his friend gently. "James, don't be so hard on yourself. One day, you'll see Lily as the most beautiful girl in the world, and you'll bend down and marry her." He grinned as he saw James' doubtful look. "Trust me, James, one day it'll happen."

"Yeah," James sighed, looking up at the sky. "One day."

"Can I have your autograph, Mr. Potter?" asked a giggling third-year girl, as she and her friends squeezed through the crowd in the Gryffindor common room.

"Er—sure." James took a spare quill and signed his name on a piece of parchment. The girl squealed with joy and she and her friends went up to their dorm, analysing the signature, no doubt.

Suddenly, Deanna Jackson appeared, smiling condescendingly. She approached James and linked arms with him.

"Why, hello James Potter," she purred.

James grinned smugly. Ha! So, Deanna hadn't ditched him after all...how stupid he had been in the first year to scoff at her so.

"Hey, Deanna," he answered, running a hand through his hair, trying to mess it up again.

Lily, who had been watching all this with an eagle eye, sneered in contempt. "Stupid Potter thinks he's so great," she muttered to herself.

Arabella glanced at her friend and vaguely wondered if she had lost her mind. "You okay, Lils?"

Lily stood up angrily. "You know what? I'm not okay! In fact, I've never been okay ever since I've known that stupid prat, Potter!" She stormed into the girls' dorm furiously, managing to shoot a charm at James while passing, making his messy black hair neat.