James Potter/Lily Evans
Romance G
Spoilers: All five books
Edited by Betas: HH & Allexandrya
Timeline: The day when James decided to hang Severus upside down and humiliate the Slytherin by removing his pants.
Summary:

It was right after Lily’s Defence Against The Dark Arts OWL paper and her day, and mood, was about to sour when the Marauders began to bully their favorite Slytherin. And it’s because of that same Slytherin that her feelings towards the famous Gryffindor Seeker began to change.

Lily walked away, muttering incoherently under her breath. A gust of wind made her hair fly all over her face and several strands managed to get into her eyes. Though frustrating, it was the gust of wind blowing in the direction of the lake that alerted her to the fact that James was about to humiliate Severus Snape in a way that was truly undignified and horrible.

No… I shouldn’t interfere… Remus will probably stop it… She bit her lip, slowing her pace. She finally turned and looked at the growing crowd in disgust. You are going to regret it, girl…

"Accio wand!" Lily commanded in a clear voice.

"What the-" James looked at his empty hand in bafflement.

Lily did not care about the looks that some of the students were directing at her as she swiftly walked into the center of the attraction. Her eyes gazed fiercely at the Gryffindors before glaring at Severus. She countered the levitating charm and the Slytherin dropped to the ground with a loud thud. It probably hurt but Lily didn’t really care.

"After all these years attending Hogwarts, I would’ve thought that you would be aware that you’ve been singled out for practice," she said calmly to the greasy-haired Slytherin. "Or could it be that you’ve been doing the same thing?" Her eyes darted swiftly at the gash on James’s face before looking back at Severus. The Slytherin was already on his feet and he pointed his wand at her.

"I wouldn’t recommend it, Snivellus, unless you wish to clean the dungeons without the use of magic for the rest of your summer," Lily responded with an arched eyebrow.

"You’re going to report this?"

She jumped briefly at the sound of Remus’s voice. When did he end up standing behind me? "Probably," she answered with a shrug.

"Stupefy!" she heard Severus shout and turned just in time to see Sirius deflect the spell.

"YOU IDIOT!!!" Lily screamed, surprising the handsome Gryffindor. "Look what you’ve done!"

Sirius blinked and began to swear creatively when he recognized the pile of shiny cerulean robes.

"Potter, Black, and Snape. Ten points from each of you and detention," McGonagall said coolly. She had been standing at the edge of the gathering all the while... no one had bothered with a second glance at the cat she had been moments before. "And you’d better see Madam Pomfrey, Mister Potter."

The Transfiguration professor knelt and muttered softly under her breath, "Ennervate."

"I almost forgotten what that felt like," was the first thing the Headmaster said, making McGonagall smile faintly.

"I believe a cup of chocolate is in order, Albus…"

"Yes… Perhaps, it was unlucky of me to take a walk at this particular time…"

"That’s exactly the problem, Albus. You should talk walks more often," McGonagall said, glancing over her shoulder and looking significantly at the Marauders.

Lily watched in relief as the professors walked away with minimum damage done to them. "I think that is your cue to disappear," she said to Severus impassively. "Maybe you ought to brush up on your Charms. You could have used a Cushioning Charm to break your fall." The Slytherin looked at her angrily. "That peer-tutoring offer is still open but it is up to you if you want to allow a Mudblood to help you achieve higher grades."

By now, the crowd had dissipated and that left only the six of them. Knowing that he was outnumbered, Severus left but only after giving them the patented death glare that would terrify students in two decades time.

Lily watched the Slytherin’s figure until the boy disappeared from view and she deemed it safe to pay attention elsewhere. She was about to nag at Remus about his duty as a prefect when James started blinking too rapidly for her taste.

"Are you all right?" Lily asked in a neutral tone.

"What?" James asked, looking confused. "Yeah, I’m fine."

Lily circled the boy until she was able to examine the injury that Severus had inflicted on him. The gash looked very big to her now that she was so close to the Seeker.

"Can you walk?" she asked, growing more concerned by the second. His brown eyes behind his glasses were unfocused.

James was silent for several moments before answering, "No, I don’t think I could." Then he slowly sank to the ground with one hand supporting his head.

"Hey, what’s wrong?" Sirius knelt beside his friend and studied the gash.

"I feel very dizzy… Can’t really see…" James answered.

Lily suddenly felt pity for him and was kind enough to conjure a stretcher. While Peter watched worriedly, Sirius and Remus loaded their friend onto the stretcher and lifted it up.

"How people would laugh seeing you in a faint," Sirius teased and James groaned.

"Lily," Remus called, "thanks for the stretcher… and… for not lecturing me…"

It was only when they were out of earshot that she finally found her voice. That Remus! The gall! Oh! She was shocked that Remus actually knew she was going to nag him. Is that his impression of me? A nag? She thought in dismay. Oh dear! She combed her hair with her fingers and looked out onto the lake. For some reason, the sunshine did nothing to lift her spirits and she decided that she’d probably be better off studying in the library.

He had been working on the potion since he had finished his OWL exams. Of course, it came with a price and his sunken cheeks, waxy complexion and dull black hair reflected just how much of an effort he had put into it. How funny that I should spend days just to concoct a perfect potion for my revenge. On a Mudblood, Severus thought with a sardonic smile.

It was time for him to deliver his ‘gift’ but the only way he would get the girl to drink the potion would be to spike bottles of pumpkin juice. He mentally planned which batch of drinks he should tamper with. There was always the possibility that Lily might buy a non-contaminated bottle but to Severus, it did not matter. He was a very patient boy and was willing to enact his revenge on the redheaded Gryffindor when he came across her again. In his heart, Severus Snape was truly a scientist and he was curious to see how his potion would affect his victims.

While the plump witch entertained several Slytherins who were deciding what they should snack on, Severus silently used a spell to unscrew the caps of a dozen bottles. That done, he quickly reached into his pocket for his unnamed potion and placed a drop into each opened bottle with a small pipette. His eyes flicked to the witch; she was oblivious to the fact that her merchandise was being tampered with. He charmed the caps to refasten themselves and quickly left the area.

It is good to know that I could be invisible, he congratulated himself as he sat in his seat and promptly began to read a book.

**********

Lily was truly thirsty and she couldn’t wait for the old witch with the trolley to pass her compartment. Therefore, she made a bold decision to leave the security of her fellow Gryffindors in search of refreshments. Normally, she was patient enough to wait for the trolley but her cramps made her desperate to distract herself from the pain.

She ignored the Marauders as she entered their compartment and was quick to enter the next. Fortunately, she didn’t have to go far since the woman was in the third compartment over.

"What do you want my dear?" the witch asked with a smile.

"Uhmmm … juice, three Chocolate Frogs and two of those wands please," Lily said cheerfully.

"Here you go, dearie."

Lily paid the woman and tried to put the sweets into her pockets. Two girls giggled as they watched her pressing her cheek into the bottle of ice-cold pumpkin juice. She grinned back at them, uncapped the bottle, and drank a portion of it slowly. She sighed in relief as she felt the cold travel down her throat and settle in her stomach. She suddenly felt strange. What is it? She frowned and then shrugged. Probably just the cramps.

It somehow slipped her mind that she would have to pass James and his crowd before she could get to her own seat. It was only when her brain registered that she was looking at him that she finally remembered. James was standing, chatting with Sirius about their vacation plans. Sirius is staying with James? She was standing two feet away from the boy who had bargained that he would stop picking on Severus if she accepted to go out on a date with him. Why must he stand when he could sit opposite Sirius? She was going to have to pass very close to him if she wanted to get through the door.

She saw Sirius nodding his chin in her direction and at that signal, James turned. Lily was surprised to see his eyes flare. He looks so awestruck. She had never seen anyone ever look at her like that ever. The boy looked dazed and she saw that both Sirius and Remus were looking at her oddly, and Peter too! She shuddered. The latter was looking at her in a way that made her feel like she was being mentally stripped. Shut off that thought!

"Uhmmm … Lily?" It was Remus and he was still eyeing her strangely. "What happened to you?"

What happened to me? What on earth is he talking about? Lily felt herself frowning.

"What happened to your hair, I mean."

"What happened to my …." her voice trailed off and she suddenly felt the clasp holding her hair out of her face vanish. The simple black hairclip reappeared in Sirius’s outstretched palm and he was grinning rather maniacally.

"Don’t move," Black said and began to fumble inside his bag. He proceeded to take out a camera and took several pictures of her. "Souvenirs. I doubt James will ever have the chance to see you like this ever again."

"What on earth is going on?" she demanded nervously. Remus silently conjured a mirror so that she could look for herself. When she saw her reflection, she abruptly sat down across from Sirius, gripping the mirror with a trembling hand.

Oh no! She started chewing on her lower lip, an indication that she was really nervous. Mum’s never going to let me rest in peace now! She placed the mirror on the empty seat beside her. She drew out her wand and tried to lift whatever curse had been placed on her. It didn’t work.

**********

It has to be a Potion, James thought resolutely as he watched the girl he’d always admired trying to charm her hair back to normal. And there’s only one bloody person who is capable of doing this to my Lily. He stormed out of the carriage to search for Severus. He faintly heard Sirius’s remark to Lily, "You never cease to make his life exciting."

How true. He found himself blocked by a group of Slytherins. All of them pointed their wands at him, eyeing him warily. "My fight’s not with you, but if you wish to be turned into a half-pigeon-half-rat …." He shrugged suggestively and they immediately backed down.

As he searched each compartment carefully, his eardrums were abused by loud screeching. This time, it was a blond Slytherin girl, who was wailing in dismay, "My father’s going to kill me!!!"

James shook his head, trying to clear his ears. He finally found the Slytherin he was searching for. Severus was calmly drinking his own bottle of pumpkin juice. "Hello, Snivellus," James greeted sweetly. "Thanks to you, you’ve finally confirmed for all of us that Lily is a beautiful witch indeed."

"What nonsense are you blathering about, Potter?" Severus hissed.

"Don’t be coy now," James replied with a smile. "What? You don’t want to see the art you’ve made with her hair?" And the Gryffindor left with a bright smile, shocking the Slytherin with the fact that he had not cursed him after the odd interview.

**********

Snape managed to ignore the Gryffindors and repressed his curiosity to see what had happened to those who had drunk the spiked juice. His patience was rewarded when he got off the train. Now he had the chance to see what his potion had done to Lily’s hair. He blinked his eyes in disbelief. Instead of making her hair extremely curly and puffy, her brilliant red hair was prettily curled, framing her heart-shaped face perfectly. What have I done? Severus moaned as he muttered a Lightening Spell on his trunk before carrying it.

**********

They had just crossed the magical barrier and Lily was begging Sirius to give her clip back.

"Why? You look great with your hair down like that." Sirius pouted but gave the clip, not to her, but to his friend.

Potter glared menacingly at his best friend who merely chuckled. Remus meanwhile, nodded his head encouragingly.

Lily felt herself blushing suddenly and wondered what James was going to do now that he was approaching her. She felt frozen and broke out into a cold sweat when the boy stood behind her. She jumped slightly when she felt fingers gently combing through her now curly hair before gathering all of it up.

He’s so gentle! Her mind screamed and her cheeks burned even more. Am I about to die of spontaneous human combustion now?

James, on the other hand, was careful with her hair and deep in concentration. He finally caught onto the trick of how girls tie their hair up. "There!" He sighed, smiling and feeling as though he had accomplished something great.

Lily carefully moved away and looked shyly up at the boy who had just tied her hair up for her. "Thanks," she mumbled.

"My pleasure," James murmured in reply. Then he suddenly paled. Lily looked to where his eyes were fixed.

"Oh no!" both of them groaned in unison, seeing that Mr. and Mrs. Evans were watching them. James hurriedly backed away from her to rejoin his friends. Lily’s father was still scowling in his direction while her mother smiled broadly.

"Come on," James hissed to his friends. Then to Lily, "Uh … see you again … soon?"

The girl stared at the boy, green eyes gleaming brilliantly. "I’m going to Diagon Alley on the twentieth next month," she said impulsively. What am I doing?

"Really?" James’s eyes lit up. He gave her a stupid grin and she rolled her eyes in exasperation and approached her family.

The first thing she said to her mother was, "It is not what you think it is."

"Oh really?" her mother asked skeptically, still grinning at her. "He’s quite a handsome bloke."

"Mum!" Lily groaned as they walked into the parking lot. What have I gotten myself into? Lily asked herself but she couldn’t stop her thoughts from straying to just how nice it had felt to be touched by James, even on the hair. Soon, she was imagining just how it would feel if she sat on the floor while the boy sat on a chair behind her to brush her hair. I’m hopeless!

"Nothing, eh?" her mother’s voice penetrated her awareness. "Then what’s the blush for?" she asked in a knowing tone.

"Mum!"

~ The End ~

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