Lily Evans was sliding down the corridor towards Gryffindor tower on a puddle of slug slime, bubotuber pus, and "The Sorcerer's Soft Soap, super strong and super slippery". She was trying hard to keep her balance, for she had no intention to fall down and ruin her robes.
The day had started out so good: The sun was shining, the birds were singing, it was a beautiful spring morning, she had been sent muffins by her dad, and she had gotten more points in the latest transfiguration test than James Potter. She was nowfirst of the class alongwith Remus Lupin, but since he wasn't as arrogant as the other "Marauders", that didn't bother her. But then she'd stepped out of the Great Hall onto this film of slime, and was now rapidly sliding towards James Potter's open arms. That boy took every opportunity to hit on her and embarrass her. And when he wasn't occupied with trying to win her over, they were fighting. She briefly considered stopping and falling down, but remembered the slug slime, and surrendered to her fate of being caught by James Potter. And there it was.
"Need some help, Evans?" his mischievous voice sounded. Then two strong arms closed around her, a little too tight. She was crushed against his chest, and if he hadn't held her so tight, she would have fallen down. Since her feet were still standing on the puddle of soap and slime, he lifted her up and placed her back on solid ground. There, he still didn't release her, but kept holding on to her a little too long.
"You can let go of me now, Potter!" She pushed against his chest, so when he released her abruptly, she stumbled backwards a few steps and would have collapsed again, hadn't he caught her arms.
"Someone's a little weak in the knees, huh? Maybe it's got something to do with the nearness of me? Want to get back into my loving embrace?"
"Oh, you figured me out! Being crushed by you is what I always wanted! Now sweep me up into your strong arms and kiss me senseless!" He smiled mischievously and took a step towards her, his eyes sparkling. She turned around quickly and walked away, almost stepping into the puddle again.
"In your dreams, Potter!" if Lily had turned around and would have seen the crushed expression on James' face, maybe she would have gotten another impression of the black-haired boy. But as it was, her picture of him was complete: Arrogant, stupid, mean prankster who thought he was irresistible. Pah! Even if half the female population of Hogwarts was drooling after him, she wouldn't even consider going out with him, like he had asked her since her third year. But that boy just wouldn't take a no for a no!
"Aren't you gonna thank me for saving you, Evans? Next time I see you sliding down the Great Hall, I won't catch you again!"
"Thank you!" Lily answered without looking back, and even she herself wasn't sure if it was for saving her or for promising to leave her alone.
"You're welcome, Evans. As always!" In spite of herself, Lily had to smile. Sure, she couldn't stand that git. But something about his patience, or stubbornness, or whatever it was that made him go after her for three years without giving up, even if he was rejected almost every day, made her admire his perseverance a bit. In a way, being asked out by Potter had become a point in her daily routine. Every time he missed it, she felt a little uneasy, as if something was wrong. Maybe she'd just gotten used to it. Still, it was kind of annoying. And worse, itscaredall the niceboys away. Once in a while someone tried asking her out, butas soon asit started getting more serious, some mysterious "accident" happened to the boy, and he never spoke to her again. Of course she had confronted Potter and his friends, the "Marauders" as they called themselves. But they'd just denied everything and claimed to beinnocent. And she could never prove anything. It seemed as if her only choices were saying yes to Potter or dying a virgin. The thought that immediately came up in her mind made her shudder and blush.
Lily had now entered the common room through the portrait of the fat lady. Sighing, she threw herself into one of the armchairs opposite of her friend Sophie. The other girl looked up.
"Trouble with Potter again?" Lily nodded, and her friend looked at her sympathetically. They had been friends since their first year, and Sophie knew everything about the whole Potter affair.
"Transformed the corridor into a slimy slide just to be able to catch me and sweep me into his arms."
"That is such a poor excuse to try and touch you! I thought that boy claimed himself smart!" Lily snorted.
"Smart? That boy claims himself a genius. And a sex god at that. I can't believe he stops me from dating, while he sleeps around the whole school."
"Actually, he doesn't. He hasn't so much as hugged another girl for the last two years, let alone done anything else." Sophie replied.
"Whose side are you on!" Lily snapped. For a moment, there was a slight tension, but then the girls laughed and forgot about it. But even though Sophie agreed with her friend about Potter being arrogant, maybe there was more to the boy than Lily wanted to see.
meanwhile, on the other side of the room
"You did that? Boy, that's brilliant! The perfect excuse for touching her! And she even has to say thank you!" Sirius exclaimed after he'd heard the little episode in the hall from James. He and the two other marauders hadn't been able to see it because they'd had detention with Professor McGonagall for a prank they hadplayed on two Slytherin prefects for taking points from them. They had dusted every single portrait in the classroom corridors for two hours!
"Prongs, that's not brilliant, that's simply lame! Sure, you got to hold her for three minutes, but do you honestly think she'll start liking you if you act like some second year? You'll have to prove her that you've matured. And that simply is the wrong way!" Remus shook his head. He knew the brave, intelligent James behind the marauder façade, and he was sure Lily Evans would like that other James, too. James just had to discover and show his other side. Until then,Remus could do nothing but stop his friendfrom bigger mistakes. For example like when that Ravenclaw seventh year had asked Lily out several times, and James wanted to go and beat him up. Lily would have never even looked at James again if he had done that. ButRemus alsoknew that stopping Lily from going out wasn't enough. James also had to convince her that he was the right one for her. And that would be some piece of work.
Sophie and Lily were sitting right across the common room. Lily was occupied with her arithmancy essay, but Sophie had just finished her last homework. Now she was comfortably snuggled into her armchair, playing idly with her cat Lavender and looking around the room. Her gaze fell onto the marauders, who were sitting in their usual corner. James was telling something, probably what he had done to Lily earlier in the hall. The others were listening intently. When James had finished telling his story, Sirius jumped up and clapped his friend on the shoulder. Peter looked very excited, but Remus frowned and looked at James pensively. Then he said something that made James look a little crushed. Sophie looked at Remus as he stood up and began talking to James animatedly. She always wondered why Remus hung out with James and Sirius. He was so different from them: Intelligent, quiet, polite… She also admired how eloquently he could talk, and the way his eyes sparkled when something preoccupied him, which was happening right now. She wondered what he was talking about.
"Listen, James. You have to stop pulling these pranks on her, and start acting like an adult. She can only start to like you when you give her the chance to change her picture of you. You know there's more to you than your reputation as a prankster and playboy, but she doesn't."
"You know, if you were anyone else, I would have punched you for saying that."
"I know. That's why I'm saying it and not someone else. I know you don't see why you should change for her, and that you think you are irresistible-"
"Which I am!"
"-but she doesn't think so. And you don't even have to change what you are. Just change your behaviour towards her. For example, stop asking her out, until she wants you to."
Sirius wolf-whistled.
"Look who's talking, the master of seduction. You know what women want, Remus!" Remus threw his friend a stern look, and the black-haired boy immediately fell silent. Peter laughed.
"You know, Remus, sometimes you act like Professor McGonagall. You'll certainly become a teacher here in Hogwarts one day."
"Yes, of course. A werewolf as a teacher. Then the students would learn about the dark creatures from one of them!"
"Come on, Remus, don't be so bitter. We all know you're great, and everyone who doesn't believe that just because you're getting a little wild once in a month is not even worth looking at." James said. And it was the truth. He admired his sensible, practical friend. If Remus hadn't been there, he would have done more stupid things than were good for him. And the same went for Sirius.
Sophie still looked at Remus pensively. In spite of his good reputation, she knew the boy had some dark secret. She had noticed how he got sick once in a month, and how his grey eyes were already surrounded by deep lines that made them look older than they should have. She was itching to find out what it was that made him so earnest and bitter, so different from his careless friends.
"Hey, Moony, look at Evans' friend, giving you the glad eyes!" Sirius had noticed Sophie watching Remus.
"She's probably got a crush on you or prongs!" Remus said in an indifferent tone. Still he looked up. He liked the brown-haired girl. She was sitting beside him in potions, and they often talked. She was smart and funny, and always had a little smile tugging at her lips. She wasn't careless or naïve, but she had an optimism that made him feel as if everything wasn't as complicated as it seemed at the moment. She smiled at him, then quickly looked away again.
"Yeah, of course! Come on, moony, don't be ridiculous! She doesn't even talk to padfoot and me. Trust me, the girl likes you. Why don't you try and ask her out?"
"That would be nice! Hey Sophie, wanna snog a bit? I just have to go before the moon comes out, or I'll become a wolf and rip you apart? Yeah, I can imagine that."
"Moony, you're just as hopeless as prongs here! Why couldn't you have gotten a little bit more self-confidence and James a little bit less!"
"Because if I had, I would be just as bad as you, and then no one would stop you from ruining your lives or pull you out of bad situations. I guess that's the price, hm!"
"Remus, don't be pathetic. You sound like some bitter old weirdo. Just because of one night in the month, you don't have to put off your whole life. Now go get yourself the girl and have a little fun, for heaven's sake!"
Sirius pushed him in Sophie's direction, and before he could even think about what he wanted to say to her, he was standing in front of her.
Note to self: Kill Sirius! Remus thought.
"Um, hi, er, so, how are you doing with that Transfiguration essay?" He stuttered. But Sophie smiled at him encouragingly, so he sat down beside her.
"Actually, I'm already finished. It wasn't nearly as difficult as that one about the Transfiguration of magical creatures last week, don't you think?"
"Oh no, I thought this one was more difficult. I just couldn't think of any useful ways to transfigure a cat. All I came up with was a spell for a mugglepopcorn machine, and that's not exactly useful, is it?" Sophie giggled.
"That depends. If you own a stand on a fair…" They both laughed, and Remus relaxed.
"But honestly, I don't believe you would have any difficulties with homework. I mean, you're the best in almost every class, apart from Lily."
"I guess it's only like this in transfiguration. It's not that I find it difficult, I just don't see the sense in transfiguring a teaspoon into a tuning-fork or something like that. I can't even sing." Again, they laughed, and the conversation went on smoothly. They didn't even notice when Lily put away her books and went up to the girls' dormitory.
Later that evening, in the boys' dormitory the boys lay on their beds dreaming, one of them of red hair and green eyes, the other of dark brown hair and blue eyes. Sirius was fantasizing about how a certain blonde Ravenclaw girl would look in a bikini, and Peter was dreading potions the next day.
A/N: I've been working on this story for a long time, but I've always had the feeling it's not ready to be posted yet. I've finally decided to do it, anyway, so please let me know what you think.
Also, this story originally contained lyrics at the beginning of each chapter. Unfortunately, posting lyrics is not allowed here at Fanfiction, so I had to take them out, even though they're very important in creating a certain atmosphere to the chapters. I will try to post this story somewhere else, if you'd like to see the complete version. The song for this chapter was by Sarah Brendel and I think it is called "Some say".