TRUE LOVE IS BLIND

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. Just the plot…

A/N: I've finally found time to retouch this fanfiction. I started this quite a few years back, and obviously my writing style has changed A LOT. I changed quite a lot of this first chapter, and hope you guys like it!!

Chapter one: Hidden

For Lily Evans, the beginning of a new year at Hogwarts signified a new year of hope, and quite possibly, another year of disappointment. She didn't know for sure why she still bothered to hope that her prince charming would come and sweep her off her feet when it had still not happened after 5 years, nor did she know what exactly it was that nonetheless convinced her to stick to her plans.

Lily grudgingly lifted her head off her pillow, her soft auburn hair falling gracefully at her shoulders. Pulling out a pair of baggy jeans and a large oversized T-shirt which she quickly threw over her head, she slowly made her way out of the warm, cozy bed.

All throughout her life, she had been called beautiful by various admirers. Some claiming that her sparkling emerald green eyes attracted them to her like a spell, while others praised her for her hair, body, lips, or skin. Not once, has anyone told her they loved her, not for what she looked like, but for who she is.

It was the first letter from Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that served as the first glint of inspiration. It was a time to start afresh, at a place where no one recognized her, surely she thought to herself, there must be one person who would genuinely love her…

Every morning, Lily said goodbye to the beautiful reflection that stared back at her in the mirror. She had always been naturally talented at Charms, so her daily transformation was a simple task for her. Unlike most girls, who tended to make themselves look as pretty as possible, Lily concentrated on hiding herself. Hiding the beauty that attracted boys to her – but all for the wrong reasons.

Her magnificent red hair was kept tied up, and transformed into a dull brown. Her lovely green eyes were disguised behind a pair of thick black-framed glasses. Her blood-red lips were colored a pale pink. Her soft, yet flawless and glowing skin was gone also, and instead it was dry and dull.

The girl that stared back, was simply unrecognizable.

Lily sighed, then walked out of the girls dormitory hoping that perhaps today, someone might make an effort to talk to her.

Anna had always been one of Lily's closest friends, even before coming to Hogwarts. But now, Anna was her one and only friend. She was the only one who knew Lily's secret, the secret that has been kept from the rest of the school. Anna of course was not extremely gorgeous, she had a cute face and a slightly rounded body. But next to Lily, she was still much prettier and definitely stood out more than Lily did as far as guys were concerned.

The Marauders, sat in the center of the Gryffindor table, being the center of attention as always.

Lily sat down next to them and rolled her eyes. Naturally, no one noticed.

It wasn't much of a surprise that the 4 good looking boys would have almost the entire Hogwarts female population swoon at their feet. James Potter, leader of the group was no doubt, one of the best looking guys in the school, and quite possible the country. His messy brown hair, and soothing chocolate eyes, was enough to melt any girl's heart.

Sirius Black, like James was undeniably good looking. His lustrous black hair that blew casually in the wind, along with his dark grey eyes that were filled with mischief were enough to gain him the reputation as one of the biggest players in the school.

Remus Lupin unlike the other three was sweet and sensible. He had light blonde hair, combed smoothly with dazzling hazel eyes to match. He was always calmer than the rest of the Marauders, more mysterious, yet just as charming.

Anna, couldn't help but smile at their presence. Lily saw this and nudged her. They had made a pact many years ago, that none of them shall ever be interested in the arrogant and immature. That is, the Marauders.

Peter Pettigrew was chubbier and much shorter than the rest. But simply being one of James, Sirius or Remus' best friends was enough to give him his share of admirers.

Lily was about to take a bite of her pancake when Sirius banged his fist on the table, shaking with laughter. A huge group of girls sitting beside them giggled and admired their idols.

The thought made Lily's stomach churn with disgust.

She attempted to continue with her breakfast.

A few girls holding hand in hand wriggled their way through the crowd around the table. James turned to look their way, nodded calmly and shot them a smile. In an instant, the girls turned red and ran out of the circle bubbling with happiness.

Lily's stomach churned once more. She had to admit however, to say that James Potter was good looking was definitely an understatement. His features were so perfect, in almost every single way. But as for why so many girls would go crazy for their attention? She had no idea.

To her all guys were the same. The same narrow minded people who would just never understand the phrase 'Beauty is skin deep'.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Sirius suddenly burst with laughter "Did you see his face when he started growing a tail? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA".

On the third churn of her stomach, Lily threw down her place in frustration. Their immaturity disgusted her. 'What a bunch of idiots, how can they possibly find something as low as that funny?' she muttered to Anna as she picked up her books and left the table.

Trust the Marauders to kill her appetite.

"So who are you planning to go out with this week?" Sirius asked James, taking no notice of Lily whatsoever.

James looked at a few girls sitting across at the Ravenclaw table. He grinned at them, almost urging them to come over. As anyone would have guessed, they practically skipped over to him in utter delight.

"Hey James!" said the girl in the middle. She wore a mini white singlet top and a mini skirt to go with it. "I'm Mandy".

James scanned her, up then down, a glint of satisfaction evident in his eyes. He turned to the rest of the Marauders who gave him approving nods. James turned back to face her, looking into her eyes "How would you like to Hogsmeade with me this weekend, Mandy?" he said, winking at her.

Mandy's eyes lit up almost instantly, "I'd love to!!" she exclaimed, bending down and kissing James on the cheek before she ran off to tell her friends what had just happened.

Sirius eyed James suspiciously, a slightly dissatisfaction in his eyes. "That was pretty quick," he said, turning over to Rachel his girlfriend for the past 2 years and kissed her passionately.

James and Sirius, players as they are, both have made commitments to their respective girlfriends. The girls didn't mind obviously. After all, they were the only ones who could rightfully claim one of the Marauders as their own. Rachel, for instance, knew that Sirius was committed to only one person – her, and this was more than enough for her.

James smiled at him with contentment. "It's just all to easy for me", he said in a joking tone.

"Too easy?!" Sirius answered back right away, "Well maybe I should find you someone harder then."

"Go ahead" James said coolly as he winked at another girl walking past. She quickened her pace as he did, blushing. "I bet you that there is not a single girl in this school I can't get."

Sirius smirked at his friend "Give me 2 days" he said. "I'll find you a girl. But no matter who she is, you have to make her fall head over heels for you."

It was hard to tell who was more confident. James simply laughed as if Sirius was being absurd. "Still too easy" he said once again with a smile "How long do I have to be with her for?"

There was a brief silence as Sirius paused and calculated his chances. He didn't want James to win a bet. "One month," he said finally, "And If you succeed, I'll pay you 20 galleons."

James thought for a split second about this. One month isn't that long. All he has to do is keep the girl satisfied for that period of time, and that's it.

"20 galleons if I succeed! Deal!"

A/N: I will post the next chapter soon. It's all written up obviously, so I just need to edit it. )

Please read and review and tell me how you like the new and improved posts!

(if you find any errors in spelling/grammer, please let me know and i'll fix it asap thanks!!)